The Prophecy, I Made It Up...

My wife, Filipa, and I went to see the Lego Movie the other day and we really enjoyed it. I wouldn't say it's a kids movie though as it explores some very real philosophical questions like the power of belief and self fulfilling prophecies.

The main character, Emmit, starts out being a conformist who questions nothing and is happy to just be a cog in the machine run by Lord Business. But then Emmit accidentally finds the Piece of Resistance which a prophecy claims makes him the "Special" destine to save the world.

As Emmit is encouraged to believe that he is the Special, things start to change and he finds the courage to take more risks and think outside the box. Even after we find out that the Prophecy is made up, Emmit is able to build off the confidence he's gained and continue to lead.

Emmit's new found belief that he's valuable makes it so, a self fulfilling prophecy. As educators, we need to be keenly aware of the power of the self fulfilling prophecy when we speak to or label the students in our care. How they think and talk about themselves will have a much bigger impact on their lives then anything else we teach.

Unfortunately, most of us won't have the good fortune of a prophecy that changes how we think about ourselves in an instant after years of negative self talk. There's no quick fix when it comes to improving our internal dialogue, which is the voice of the self fulfilling prophecy.

It's especially important we keep this in mind when we're dealing with social skills issues and bullying. There's no quick fix. As children grow, they develop coping strategies and those strategies, however socially awkward or unacceptable, help them deal with the life challenges they face. In order for real change to take place, new strategies must be taught and practiced.

We can stop the bully and protect the victim but then what? If the bully isn't taught new strategies, the cycle of violence and abuse will continue. If the victim isn't taught new strategies and ways of thinking about themselves, a victim mentality can easily take hold.

Hanging up slogans about bullying, creating bully free zones and encouraging bystanders to intervene may create a safer school in the short term but it won't help develop healthier human beings, which is what I thought education was all about. Maybe someone made that up as well.