Originally posted in our December 2023 Top of Mind Newsletter.
In the landscape of education, Haim G. Ginott’s poignant text serves as a reminder of the teacher’s decisive influence. It underscores the teacher’s power to influence the climate of their classroom, emphasizing the responsibility to foster a positive and nurturing environment.
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. ~Haim G. Ginott
This insight from Ginott holds particular significance when nurturing entrepreneurial thinking, emphasizing that our responses shape the educational journey, deciding whether challenges escalate or de-escalate, and ultimately determining whether learners are empowered or disheartened. The above quote anchors our commitment to psychological safety, a cornerstone in the entrepreneurial mindset journey. To feel safe is to know that failure is not the end but a moment to learn from.