Powerful Words

The other day I went to a women’s circle meeting at church to get to know our new vicar. One of her statements was, “One of the most powerful things you can say to a person is Me too!”

The more I thought about this, the more it made me think about how true this is in the classroom.

When I got food poisoning one time, I was so disappointed when my husband told me that he didn’t feel bad. We had eaten different things and I was afraid I was sick from what I had eaten. If he felt the same way, then I would know that it wasn’t the food but unfortunately, I was wrong.

Many times when I’m in a training session, I hate to raise my hand to ask a question because I feel like I’m the only one who has that question. Sometimes I whisper my concern about a specific topic with someone close by and I’m so relieved when that person tells me that they have the same concern.

When I’m in a group learning something new and I share that I’m a little nervous, it is nice when someone tells me that they are feeling the same way

I remember in a math class when I kept coming up with a wrong answer, I was worried that I was the only one doing something wrong. Sometimes it is nice to know that others are making the same mistake.

When I’m excited about a lesson and I share this with others, it is fun to know that others may feel the same way. I am able to share my feelings with others who understand.

I never thought about how powerful the words “me too!” were until now.

These words mean that we aren’t alone.

Maybe my students need to hear this more often. They need to hear that I have felt the same way they have many times when times were difficult. They need to hear that with practice and experience over time, these feelings have gone away. If they learn that these feelings are not new and they are all alone, it might help them deal with these feelings. My students need to learn that they are not alone.

How do you feel about these words? Do you think there are others that are more powerful? Please share.