Well my students had a field day with this one. First they got stuck on adversity. So after the vocabulary lesson, we went on to talk about the quote. Right away they assumed I was talking about politicians. While in my mind, his quote may be about a politician, I make it a point to NEVER discuss specific politicians with my students. Issues yes, but particular people – not so much. I want them to understand that this quote applies to all people
at any given time. Generally everybody is in a position of power at one time or another. I explained that as their teacher, I’m in a position of power. And I asked them how do I use my power. Am I too laid back and let them walk all over me, or am I a total dictator in the classroom. They thought for a while and said I was in the middle. I didn’t take any crap (they had a different word lol) but I wasn’t a total b*tch either. But they still weren’t getting it….they didn’t see that they have any power. So we brought it down a little. I had them think about their friend group. Somebody is always the alpha. They have power. Then I asked them how long would the friendship last if the alpha or person in power always demanded things go their way? It started to make sense. Power is something that shouldn’t ever be abused, and a true measure of a person is how they act when they have power. It all comes down to treating people how you want to be treated, power or no power. Another important lesson they figured out today was you may not always be in power, and if you want those who are in power to treat you well, you’d best treat them well when you’re the one with the power.
