Some words are predictable—”arrogant,” “intimidating,” “mean,” “stoic,” “blunt,” “sarcastic.”
Predictable, that is, as descriptions of me.
I anticipate them, and I recognize they are inaccurate in some (most?) ways. They also hurt, sting at the very core of who I am, who I try to be.
Especially as a teacher.
Recently, a new label popped up—”passive aggressive.”
I didn’t expect that because “passive aggressive” doesn’t square with “blunt,” which I most certainly am. The context was also frustrating since it involved me frantically communicating (mostly on my phone email App) with a student who had put themselves in a precarious situation, about to fail a course by not meeting minimum requirements.
Since expectations for my course are explicit on my course materials, and since I routinely email students reminding students of those expectations (as CONTINUE READING: Brevity – radical eyes for equity