Barry, first let me say thank you for your dedication and hard work. We need more like you in our industry. A lot of research has been done in the area of cognitive psychology within our sector of higher education and according to Dr. Joe Pace from The Pacific Institute it takes at least 11 positives to make up for a single negative in the life of our students. Think about this for a second and how it relates to your comments. For those students that are constantly around negative influences they may need dozens of positive experiences to make up for the amount of negative energy in their lives. Through affirmations and positive self-talk we can teach students to be positive and for them to actually feel good about themselves. Continually find ways to provide positive ways to accomplish your desired learning outcomes. There are no wrong answers while learning but we can lead them to the more correct ways of thinking. Great post and a very important topic, thanks for sharing. James Jackson