If you know me, you know that high school was a time of misery for me. HERE is a link to an article that explains what I went through in high school. After reading this article the principle at Watertown High School asked me to come in and speak to the teachers and faculty a few years back. Pretty sure the talk I gave was pretty lame due to how nervous the whole thing made me feel. I kept my hands in my pockets the whole time because they were shaking.
Fast forward to today. I was talking with a young adult today at Applebee’s. Because school starts back up this week here in South Dakota we were talking about the opportunity that exists for teachers and school faculty to have a huge impact in the lives of their students. It instantly made me think about the movie, The Perks of Being a Wallflower. In the clips you will see below Charlie is the student who struggles massively with being shy. Little do you know at the beginning of the movie that Charlie has deep emotional trauma from sexual abuse that he experienced as a young boy. This abuse caused him to be very quiet and withdrawn. He became a wallflower. One of Charlie’s teachers, Mr. Anderson, took the time to talk with Charlie. Get to know Charlie. Still to this day when I watch these scenes I become very emotional. Why? I would have loved to have known a teacher like Mr. Anderson when I was in high school.
So what? I guess I just want encourage you as a student, teacher or parent to be on the look out for the wallflowers at your school. Take some time to get to know them and let them know you care. You never know the hurt they are dealing with. You never know the difference your kindness might make in their life. Be warned, there are a couple inappropriate words used in these scenes.
MichaelWallenmeyer.com 