By Michael H. Brownstein
PROMPT — Who am I today?
Tempers are not something easily held. Students know this. They understand how to get a reaction from a teacher and they know how to get the reaction to go on and on.
In the inner city, a student's lack of self-discipline becomes obvious quickly and the teacher's reaction to it can change almost everything.
I was a great yeller. I could out scream, out temper tantrum, out fuss—I was the master.
How can anyone brag about that?
I had to change and it took time, but I managed—I managed because I did a grave disservice to my students. I needed to model behaviors I knew they would need in order to thrive in school, home, the community, and in life itself.
So I changed. I put a large glass jar on my desk and every time I yelled, I fed it a quarter.
I stopped yelling.
In the end, I learned to speak softly, but it took time. Time is not something teachers always have.
And my classes became more and more successful, engaging and meaningful.
Michael H. Brownstein's latest volumes of poetry, A Slipknot to Somewhere Else (2018) and How Do We Create Love (2019) were both published by Cholla Needles Press. In addition, he has appeared in Last Stanza, Café Review, American Letters and Commentary, Skidrow Penthouse, Xavier Review, Hotel Amerika, Meridian Anthology of Contemporary Poetry, The Pacific Review, Poetrysuperhighway.com and others.
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