It was a warm cloudy spring day in 1970. I was on lunchtime yard duty along with a colleague watching and controlling well over 300 4th and 5th graders at a New York inner city public school. I was asked to work the lunchtime duty because of my ability to control large groups of students. Where other teachers would blow whistles or yell to get the attention of students I would simply say, “SHH”or use the word “FREEZE”, or “THATS IT!”and get an instant quiet attentiveness.
My responsibility was to ensure the lunch time crowd of students knew and followed the freedoms and barriers of what was permissible as they enjoyed their lunchtime experience.
This day was quite normal, all the students were enjoying their outside activities after eating their lunch. And with little warning it started to drizzle and almost immediately it started to downpour, everyone was getting soaked and wanted to rush indoors out of the rain. I told my colleague to control the students as they rushed to the doors of the school while I would go into the auditorium to handle the students as they came indoors..
I went right into the auditorium waiting for the students to come in. I knew the students would be right behind me, but no one was coming in. After a few seconds I knew something must be wrong. I went to the entry door, and my colleague was not there; students were shouting and pushing to get into the building. But no one was entering, There was a granite step leading into the building that became very slippery when wet, and the first students trying to enter the building had slipped and fallen; the students right behind them were unable to pass them. The students on the outside were getting drenched and were shoving and pushing to enter the building, only to be held up by the few students who were right behind the students that had fallen. The potential for injuries was very great.
Even though I was in the building I knew I had to stop the pushing and shoving from students who were trying to enter the building. I knew I had to get everyone’s immediate attention. So I focused on the students at the back of the shoving crowd and yelled, THAT’S IT!!!! Amazingly everyone stopped shoving and pushing and I was able to help the children who had fallen and opened the path to get into the school. I don’t believe it was the volume of my THAT’S IT that reached everyone, it was my total intention to save the fallen children from being trampled or even crushed.
Not knowing, not finding and not pursuing the path to the career that is truly the right choice for you, may not be in the category of tragedy; however it certainly can fall into the category of something that diminishes the quality and happiness of one’s life. Perhaps even one’s self-respect.
It is the same intention I had in preventing the potential tragedy that I have when helping everyone I consult on the Foundations of Brilliance program, helping them find the career path that is truly the right one for them.
For more information you contact me at bcpercy3@gmail.com, call me at 323-804-5113 or go to my website at www.careersolutions.biz.
With much appreciation,
Bernard