That is why parents, teachers, grandparents, and those relating to children ought to take it seriously

Contributed By:Dorothy Nevils

Well, many kids are back in school now, the place where they’ll return almost every Monday, and the days following, for ten months, beginning with this one. Some, hopefully just the littlest ones, cannot tell you why it’s important that they keep going back to that place each week, month after month after month – again, hopefully it’s just the tiny ones.

If you ask me, which you didn’t, I’d say that learning how to communicate effectively is high on the list, and that’s true for the littlest fellow, to the one who has to fold to fit in his desk! See, that’s the one thing that’s geared toward others, and I know of no other time when we really, really need to be other directed!

Whether we realize it or not, we are forever being judged: Supervisors judge us, friends judge us, even folks we’ve never seen, nor ever, judge us. Why? Because we are a part of community, or folk who will, all their lives, live and interact with, as well as respond to, each other, even when we don’t know we do.

“That doesn’t make sense,” you may be thinking, but it’s the truth. As I’ve written numerous times, the etymology of the word is, loosely, “together,” as in “with one.” Think union, unit, united, unified; then add com, meaning with, and you’ll see that we’re all joined together, dependent upon and impacting each other. I used to gross my students out when, in the midst of their bickering, I’d say, matter-of-factly “Why are you quarreling when you just shared the air that just circulated around his toes?”

The point is this: Communication is the way people relate to each other, verbally and/or nonverbally. It can result in positive or negative behavior. It can build up your status in another’s eyes, or diminish it. There is no such thing as “it don’t matter” in communication: It always does; and that is why parents, teachers, grandparents, and those relating to children ought to take it seriously.

Let’s look at it from a nonprofessional angle: People with whom we or our children are most comfortable will overlook “communication deficit.” In fact, many times, friends will “piece out” what we fail to do ourselves. They know us, are accustomed to us, and take our failures in stride. On the other hand, if we are challenged when it comes to conveying an intelligent message, we may send the wrong message, hurting feelings and ruining friendships; and, since friendships intertwine and overlap, we may find others in the circle avoiding us.

On the professional level, we are out of our intimate circle and judged with less leniency. Co-workers and bosses are, as a rule, less forgiving. Our speech habits or deficiencies impact their livelihood: Would be customers won’t be coming back, leading to decreased profits, leading to decreased staff. In addition, slovenly speech will repel the clientele a business wants, drawing those whose speech matches our habits.

Thus, it is important that teachers, parents, and others in the child’s life model good speech habits for our children – from day one. Children take their cues from their teachers, and every one of us is their teacher: We push them forward … or we push them back!

Story Posted:08/13/2016