The Shape of One’s Self

As teachers in a school, and, so, presumably, as the adults in the room, we must always, to the extent that it is possible, adopt the moral and behavioral high road in relation to the young students we serve. 

This means aspiring to two objectives:

1) remaining consistent—fiercely so—regarding the high character we attempt to model; and 2) protecting students from “losing face” in front of their peers, which means never intentionally embarrassing a student or intentionally causing a student to feel unnecessarily less than.  Both objectives have to do with the shape of one’s self—the former calls for preserving that shape within ourselves as the adults, the latter, preserving that shape, aspired to, we hope, within the young person.