The classroom is a reservoir of different students with different personality types, and daily issues. Some students come to class with a chip on their shoulders. These are the one if not too many challenges a teacher must deal with. From the very start, I emphasize communication as the one of the most important tool for success. Whether dealing with positive or negative conflict, or issues, I encourage students to openly communicate their concerns. For the first time, in my nth year of teaching, I received an email from a student with an address IHATEU.COM, I did communicate with this student and did try to ignore the email address that she created and focus on her goals and or issues. I discovered that the was undergoing a lot, and her plate was full. To top it all, she is dealing and coping with a loved ones' forthcoming death. His father has terminal illness and has six months to live. I realized that somehow, students really do not know how and who to direct their anger or hatred. That oftentimes, they are angry with LIFE itself. I tried to redirect her anger by asking her to change her term project topic to the Five Stages of Death.....and explained to her that she, too, is undergoing the same process of DENIAL, ANGER, BARGAINING, DEPRESSION...After she wrote her term project, she came to the ACCEPTANCE STAGE.
I am still keeping her term project, and I asked her If I could share her beautiful and meaningful realization with other students who maybe are experiencing the same. With this experience, I was indeed blessed to be able to encourage students to communicate or open up their deepest feelings, (NO MATTER how negative it will be) to create an email of IHATEU.COM to be free from the bondage of anger and depression.and come to ACCEPT the truth of death.