Monday, January 7, 2008

It Pays To Be Nice

Man leaves $50,000, car to waitress

This article made me think of how I am always telling my students that “You get more flies with honey than vinegar!” Some people may call it butt-kissing or brown nosing but it doesn’t matter what you call it, it pays off. I always told my students that they never know when they will see someone again so it always pays off to be nice to people, even if you don’t feel like they deserve it. This news article is proof that what I have taught exists. I know this waitress could have been mean or said something nasty to this man but she kept control of herself and did her job. As teachers, we have to do that almost every day when we are working with students, their parents, administrators, or even other colleagues. I wonder if someday I will end up working for a former student. I always laugh when former teachers come before my husband, who is a judge, and they are scared to death. Apparently these teachers and my husband did not get along for the most part and they had written him off as worthless and would never amount to much. He was the square peg that didn’t fit into the round hole (but that is a whole other story). Here they are, with him deciding their fate, praying that he doesn’t remember what they said about him or how they treated him. Luckily for them, he has grown up to be fair and admits that he probably deserved a lot of that. To be honest, he usually doesn’t remember them (maybe it was a traumatic time in his life) and wouldn’t remember them if they didn’t come up to introduce themselves after court. They are always amazed at his success and compliment him on his accomplishment. I never forget this when I’m teaching because that could be me someday, whether in court, or a doctor’s office, or who knows where.

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