I got up this morning, sat in meditation, had a nice breakfast and went for a walk. I was feeling fine until I checked my email. I had an angry message from a student.
He made a mistake a few days ago which I asked him to correct in an e-mail message. He told me that he didn't appreciate my tone and that he wasn't stupid so I didn't need to treat him like he was. He also told me that he was reporting this to his counselor.
I read a story when I was a kid about a guy who was treated badly and went home and kicked his dog. It was about how a foul mood can be transmitted from one person to another person (or dog). If I had a dog I probably would have wanted to kick it after reading that email.
Instead, I spent a very long time crafting a response. I was careful not to apologize. I told him that I was confused by his anger and asked for clarification. I also told him that I was disappointed that we were starting our relationship off in this way and expressed my desire to communicate without hostility and threats.
I suppose I could have been defensive (my first instinct) or pulled rank as the teacher. What good would that have served? Besides, he was obviously already having a bad day and maybe be has a dog.
No comments:
Post a Comment