Fri, September 25, 2009 - 9:11:57

Teacher Turns Negative into a Positive and Creates YouTube Sensation

Dalton Sherman liked to talk.  He liked to talk so much that his teacher often grew frustrated with his chatty antics, which frequently disrupted the work of his fellow classmates.  But instead of simply punishing him for talking out of turn, she came up with a new way for the fourth grade student at Charles Rice Learning Center to channel his energy and put his stellar vocabulary to good use.  And in doing so, she turned a rambunctious ten year old into this:

Recognizing the unique strengths many exasperated teachers and parents might otherwise identify as behavioral problems, Sherman’s dedicated teacher, Irene Redmond, found a way to accentuate the positive and encouraged Dalton to put his young communication skills to good use as a competitive public speaker.  And by turning a negative into a positive, she helped the bright young boy to discover his gift as a brilliant orator and consequently turned him into a YouTube sensation.

With more than a half of a million YouTube hits to his name, the newly minted sixth grader dreams of one day becoming a television news anchor and having already spoken live in front of an audience of 20,000 people, we know he is well on his way.

Or course, Dalton Sherman’s story is just one of many amazing examples of how people from all walks of life can harness the power of nice to look at a problem with a new set of eyes.  As managers, teachers, parents, and friends, we all will encounter difficult situations with others, whether it’s a hot-headed employee, excitable child, or prying neighbor.  But, the next time you’re ready to confront someone about their weaknesses, take a minute to get to the root of the so-called problem, find a way to redirect it and as the old saying goes, “turn lemons into lemonade.” 

Have you ever taken a negative and turned it into a positive in your own life?  Share your own NICE story with a comment below!

 

Posted by Linda and Robin