Because I am one of the sponsors, and closest in proximity to the cafeteria, I arrived early. Middle schoolers were still eating and playing and lining up and being kids in the cafeteria. The workers were in the kitchen and had not begun cleaning tables, so I set my things down and quickly grabbed a cloth and bucket of cleaning solution.
I wanted to be able to begin our meeting right away because time was limited with lots to do, but I did not want to sit at the dirty tables. By the time the Betas were called to the meeting and arrived, I had cleaned most of the tables.
They were surprised to find me washing down tables and asked me why I was doing that...it's not my job, they reminded me. Our meeting began on time, and we managed to get to everything on the agenda. Later, when students asked me again about cleaning the tables, I told them simply that the tables needed cleaning. At that point they realized that I'd cleaned all the tables--not just my own--and thanked me. I believe in teaching by example.
"Children may think about what I say; they learn from what I do; and they never forget how I make them feel."
1 comment:
Good for you, Mary!
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