In the school, there is no bad boy

Received this little card in a sharing session... Wow! There is no bad boy in a school?
First thing first, have I ever label any of my students 'bad boy' in my teaching career to-date... especially all the normal technical and few N(A) classes I had (bascially throughout my years of teaching)...

There are those who really made me literary vomit blood!!! Yes, hated to hear their voice, hated to see them... just hated to even to get into those classes... Yes, indeed, those 6 months, I really dragged my feet those classes... I thought, with my forgiving nature and optimism, I could fight back the 'setback'... no, I lost those 6 months... the regretful 6 months... It has done enough damage on the good things I saw among my students since it started day 1... nevertheless, I must say, I've never label anyone of them being "BAD". Things didn't work out because of many reasons and factors... anyway, they were just there to toughen me, I guess. There isn't enough time and effort to establish the kind of chemistry with them, I need more time to 'tune' to the right channel... perhaps, the biggest excuse I could have, I took over the classes in the middle of the year and have not had enough time to re-adapt the N(T), N(A) environment...

So, what really defines "BAD"? Very subjective! No child is bad, by choice, by nature.
Lots of these are shaped by the environment, the kind of influences the child has been subjected to. So, what he is, is really what he had gone through, what the external environment has done to him. Back to the school of thought that says, all are born like a blank slate. So, how it turns out... depends what's next, and next, and next... as Jen commented, 人之初，性本善。

What seems to be bad in our eyes may not necessary bad from other perspectives. It's bad because there is a misalignment in values, in perspectives! What's not right in one community might not appear right in another. Similarly, for people! There's where we should step back to think... put ourselves in others' shoes and see from their perspectives. Perhaps, that helps us to understand better why that particular person is "BAD" or the action/choice is inappropriate. Background story tells alot... and it may just change our perspective. Be less judgemental. Of course, if it is necessar, then help one to re-align its values/perspectives to those of the organisation/community. If not, perhaps the person shoud 'get off the bus'?

As Mrs Chew summarised nicely, Habit #5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood: Principles of Mutual Understanding (Stephen R. Covey).