The Power of a Great Story

Some stories cut straight to the heart.

For years, I’ve used videos with powerful stories as part of my efforts to inspire teachers to see new possibilities in themselves. A short, well-shot video with a powerful message grabs our attention, and when shared, gives us the chance to exchange insights on how the story relates to our own students and teaching.

A few days ago, I watched this piece from the Upstanders series:

Like a lot of powerful stories, there are easy connections to our work.

At a time when so many of us are working just to finish the semester, get the grades handled, and get to our vacations, it’s worth remembering that you may be the only adult who gives a kid some stability and hope.

Keeping that in mind, you may have the patience to counter with a kind word when one of your students is pushing your buttons. That kind word may be what keeps the student going until school starts again.

Other items of potential interest:

The deadline for the Next Vista Creative Fire video contest has been moved to January, so there’s still time to enter! Find details here.

You can find lots of inspirational videos in the Sources of Inspiration section of the Next Vista resources page. Been gathering ’em for years, I have.

Earlier this week I posted the December Next Vista newsletter. If what you find inspires you, feel free to sign up to get the email each month.

image credits:

• divider by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay (CC0)