0.8 Mirci, p., loomis, c., & Hensley, p. (september 2011). social  (Page 15/19)

Jose spoke about how his life changed when he switched schools: “Being in a positive school environment where teachers persuaded me that I could succeed and ensured that I did, made me want to make the world a better place.” Maria also expressed this desire: “When I ended up at the school that made my success possible, I wanted to live my life making things better.” Susan said: “I wanted my life to make a positive difference in the lives of others.” Kathy indicated: “I know people are hurting because of the way they are judged by others as being inferior and I want this to change.” Jaime echoed this sentiment: “I want to treat others throughout my life with the dignity and respect everyone deserves.” Rosa’s success led her to want to be a counselor helping at-risk students. Peter asserted: “I learned that you can choose to live your life in ways that improve how others view themselves so they can see a positive future.”

All of the participants experienced a sense of transformation as a result of interacting with positive and caring educators who were committed to not only their success in school but also to their potential to succeed in their future lives.

Concluding thoughts and implications

Everyone in this world has a heart, mind, soul and feelings about himself/herself in relation to his/her environment and the world. These feelings may be positive or negative based upon interactions with self and others. According to Seyfarth, (1996) all individuals want to experience psychological success. We must remember that all students who walk through the doors of schools do not enter with the self-belief that “I want to fail today.” Students want to succeed. The moral and ethical imperative of teachers and educational leaders is to ensure a sense of belonging, a sense of importance (Hensley&Burmeister, (2008). The probability then becomes much greater that students will assimilate into the school and ultimately succeed. Furthermore, it is incumbent upon all stakeholders to make every attempt to engage students in learning and to search for ways in which to guard against labeling students and eradicate the oppression that exists in schools today. Hensley and Burmeister, (2009) emphasized the need for individuals to feel safe and supported. They poignantly indicated that

As humans, we need to feel physically, emotionally, and psychologically safe to live our lives. We do our best work when our primitive instincts to fight or flee are calmed to a reasonable state. Only when we feel safe can we shift our energy from basic survival needs to complex thinking and reflecting. People strive on complex problem solving when they feel safe. The fear and helplessness associated with threat fall away, clearing the path for creativity, productivity, and, ultimately, fulfillment. (pp. 53-54)

Reflecting on the categories of the Marzano’s self-system and perceptions of experiences of ten students reveals the power of educators in influencing the minds, hearts, and spirits of students, especially those most vulnerable. Educators have the incredible power of helping or hurting students. They truly have the power to shape students’ futures simply by their words and actions; they have a profound affect on students’ minds, hearts, souls and consequently their lives. The power of educators is breath taking in its positive or negative effects. They can teach students the following: “We can reshape our patterns of thinking. Through our own search for meaning, we can unfreeze ourselves from our limited perspective, find the key, and unlock the door of our metaphorical prison cell” (Pattakos, 2010, p. 4). On the other hand, teachers can continue to make judgments based on ideology from the 18 ^th Century. We hope this is not the case.