Thankful for life...

Today for Social Studies, I had the students make Thanksgiving cards where they drew a picture of something they are thankful for. The typical answers came out – video games, gaming systems, sports, and family. Several students even wrote about their teacher.

Some were sweet:

(Picture of Mr. Lin with what looks to be a crown or a halo)

“I am very thankful for my teacher Mr. Lin. Mr. Lin thinks about his students and cares about them. Having Mr. Lin as a teacher is like a lifetime experience.”

Some were hilarious:

(picture of Mr. Lin wielding a stick)

“I’m thankful because Mr. Lin let me live. His favorite catch-phrase is “stop jibber-jabbering.”

In his work “The Prince,” Nicolo Machiavelli discussed the role of a leader and whether it is better for a leader to be loved, or better for a leader to be feared. In a scenario where a leader can only have one or the other, his conclusion is that it is better for the leader to be feared and respected than to be loved. However, it is best to be both loved and feared.

Teachers are the leaders of our classrooms. Hence, we NEED to be feared, but we want to be loved as well. From these Thanksgiving Day cards, it looks like I might be getting a healthy amount of both!