Gratitude Practice 2017 Day #9: My Youth & Family…Family

I work for Salt Lake City Corporation and I get to manage the YouthCity out-of-school time programs. Without question, I am grateful for the terribly talented, endlessly patient, incredibly creative and all around goodness of the people I get to work with. The YC family, as imperfect as we are, make our little community a better place one kickball game, one art project, one field trip and one snack service at a time ...day after day...kid after kid...year after year...and I am honored and humbled to get to hang out and watch the magic. Most days it's just keep the oil and gas flowing ...and then there are the other days...many of which we've had this week...that produces opportunities for our little team to stretch and grow and learn and I marvel at their collective and individual dedication and resiliency.

This quote by Haim G. Ginott is one of my favorites...and it sums it all up ...”I’ve come to a frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It’s my personal approach that creates the climate. It’s my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child’s life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a child humanized or dehumanized.”

YouthCity 4Life!