Trust and Respect

Yes, it is time consuming, yes, sometimes you feel discouragingly insignificant in such a huge blogosphere, yes, the impact you produce is next to zero in this stage, but… but…

The satisfaction to discover and re-discover out there thoughts and ideas you have always had and kept for yourself for some reason compensates for the “wasted time” and transforms it in “time regained” because finding out there, in the wide world, people sharing same values and attitudes compensates for the frustration of not finding them in the immediate proximity. However, I know there are such people around, and I’ll do my best to find them.
As to the impact, I don’t worry, you can’t have it in such a short time. Making an impact needs patience, focus and self-confidence…and trust from others.

At the same time, yes, Trust and Respect, said Chris Betcher on his blog, Betchablog, are decisive values in the creation of a good relationship between educators and students. This reminded me of old wounds – the suspicion climate in a Romania traumatised by communism –
So, others too fight rigid frames within which you “are guilty until proven guilty” – others too have to fight educational policies in which students roles are restrained to accepting passively decisions taken for them, with too little space left for discussion or negotiation –

Food for thought for all of us: to what extent do we offer our students a framework based on TRUST and RESPECT, meant to bring us THEIR Trust and Respect?
Or, in Chris Betcher’s words: Seriously, what’s the worst thing that could happen if we created an environment of trust and respect?