Jealousy Is a Form of Control That Operates Through the Withholding of Love
If you pour hate and suspicion into the world, you contribute to the cesspool of corruption
In my days as a teacher, my colleagues often criticized me for being too lenient. They believed that any appearance of misconduct required a harsh and immediate response.
I didn’t agree. Where they saw certainty, I saw grounds for reasonable doubt.
For an animal trapped in captivity, testing for boundaries is both normal and healthy. I certainly indulged in my own testing when I was young. I always believed a need for control undermines your effectiveness in any form of relationship.
My colleagues seemed to think it was the end of the world if a student got away with anything inappropriate. In contrast, I thought it was the end of the world if I made an accusation without irrefutable evidence. I was content to let them get away with a few small things. If the behavior persisted, I trusted that I’d catch them eventually. I also wanted to give them the chance to change without my intervention.
In my years as a student, and my decades as a teacher I didn’t meet many people who agreed with my perspective. The generally accepted belief was that students would take…
