Sheryl Green: Someone has to tell them

My sister used to call me dumb and stupid all the time when we were growing up. I guess most big sisters do to their little twerp, annoying younger sister.

I probably need to thank her for that, because those childish taunts made me strive to prove her wrong.

But I was instilled with that fortitude from a secure, nurturing family.

I was told by a safe circle of support that I could be someone successful and do something powerful.

But what about the thousands of kids who don't eat at the dinner table with two loving, supportive parents and don't live in a stable, secure home?

What about those kids? Where do they find the words of life to counterbalance the negative ones?

Schools. Classrooms. Teachers. Community.

There's absolutely no doubt that teachers have a certain power of influence.

I remember my third grade teacher, Ms. Gunter, looking me in the eyes and speaking life into my floundering, elementary soul. I recall my sixth grade English teacher, Mrs. West, calming my adolescent whirlwind-of-a-mind with the gentleness of her encouragement. And my high school economics teacher, Ms. Freeman, challenging me beyond what I thought was my ability.

All of us, every single one of us can look back at our grade school years and find a teacher who spoke over us words of life. Said something that inspired us. Challenged us to rise up and conquer a daunting task. That's the huge impact teachers can have with a simple, often underused, underrated tool: the tongue.

I told my unskilled, inexperienced soccer team two years ago that they could do anything they wanted. They wanted a Region title, and they got it.

My preacher told me I could be a writer, and people

would want to read what I had to say, and here I am.

There's someone in your life who used the power of the tongue to prompt you to do something that has changed your life for the better, so you know the influence positive words can make.

There just is no other profession that has the awesome magnitude that teaching has to inspire change, to motivate thinkers and dreamers, to captivate an audience of impressionable minds.

What an amazing opportunity we have, my comrades, to speak LIFE to our students -- to tell them, "Yes, you can."

I asked one of my soccer players how she did the seemingly impossible.

She responded, "Because you told us we could, Coach."

It really is that simple.

If we could grasp the concept of and the enormity of our influence through how we speak to others, what a difference we could make, and not just in the education profession. In your office building. In your neighborhood. On the streets of downtown. In your home.

There are choices to be made.

Be a life-speaker or a doomsday sayer. Listen to the big sister or hear the truth.

The truth is, there is potential in us all, from the struggling reader in the school desk to the homeless man on the sidewalk.

The truth is, there is just as much potential in the schoolyard bully as there is in our valedictorians.

Someone just has to tell them.

You don't have to be a teacher to speak life into others. So, let it be you.

Sheryl Green is an independent contractor. Contact her at sherylgreen14@yahoo.com

This story was originally published December 1, 2015 at 10:12 PM with the headline "Sheryl Green: Someone has to tell them ."