“Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words can change your brain.” Wait a second, that’s not how I learned it! Many of us grew up reciting some version of this common idiom, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” This childhood chant means that hurtful words cannot cause any physical pain and thus will be ignored. I will speculate and say that as we grew older, we all learned that this chant is not true; words can and do hurt; they can actually change your brain!

Have you ever been on the receiving end of someone’s message where you felt belittled, demeaned, or just walked away questioning yourself? I’m in total support of self-reflection and evaluation, but when someone’s words make you feel horrible about whom you are, that is definitely not ok! Nowadays, people seem to say what they want without censoring or filtering their word choice. It’s one thing to be brutally honest with someone or to offer constructive criticism to someone who wants to hear it, but if it’s shared without regard to the person’s feelings, then the impact could be devastating.

If this negative talk or word choice is what our children are consistently hearing, imagine the impact this can have on them when learning how to express themselves in speaking and writing. More importantly, let’s not forget how word choice can affect the development of their self-esteem. In the book, Words Can Change Your Brain, the authors write, “a single word has the power to influence the expression of genes that regulate physical and emotional stress.” It is our job to teach students the true value of selecting appropriate word choices so that they can develop the necessary tools to make their impact intentional when they communicate. In other words, making mindful word choices can have a positive or negative effect, so teach students to choose their words wisely.

Stay tuned for Part Two to learn how your Shurley English lessons can help your students become mindful communicators in and out of the classroom.

Newberg M.D., Andrew B. Words Can Change Your Brain New York. The Penguin Group.2012