Second Chances Can Make a Difference

I learned a lesson about second chances as a teacher in 1996.

I was starting at a middle school after teaching for five years at a local elementary school. It was a wretched first year. The classes were large and the students were in full-on puberty mode. The environment was difficult. I did a lot of venting that first year but I also made some good friends.

However, there was this one young female teacher I did not like. She overheard something that I had said in anger about my class, but she had not heard the full context of what I was saying. She had jumped to a conclusion about me and I was ready to clarify my point of view in no uncertain terms. Fortunately, our department chair knew about our antipathy for each other and asked us not to sow discord in what was already a difficult school year.

Fast forward a few months and the department chair who had asked us to let it go was having marital issues. He was a friend of mine but, ironically, his other close friend was the young female teacher I disliked. It turned out that we became the ones that spent a lot of time listening to him and supporting him together in the same room. We were able to put aside our differences for the sake of a friend. We gave each other a second chance in this new scenario.

After a few months I started to see her in a different light. She was actually a very caring person and passionate about education. What I learned was not to write off someone just because our first interaction involved miscommunication. You really never know how things will turn out. If you haven’t guessed already, we started dating and eventually got married. We have been together for 22 years. We have two sons and we try to instill in our children that giving people second chances can make a huge difference. It did for us.

Ready to set some goals and give yourself a second chance? Connect with Coach Carlos Lossada, today.