What Happens in the Sandbox, Should Stay in the Sandbox?

What happens in the Sandbox, Stays in the Sandbox?

Winston W. Wright

Science Leadership Academy

January 4^th, 2011

As a child, adults constantly told me

" A hard head makes a soft ass."

“ Stay in a child’s place.”

“ Don’t you have some sandbox to get dirty in? “

“ The only thing bigger than your forehead … is your mouth. “

 I never understood these common phrases until; in the 4th grade I received a 75% on a project about my original origins. We were studying the cultural differences in the different regions of America. I, being from the Pacific Northwest did a paper on Seattle, Washington. According to my teacher, there was no such thing as the Pacific Northwest, and I was very confused because everyone I knew recognized it as that. I told her it was common sense to any intelligent person, and under any circumstances I should have received an A on the project. The next day she singled me out in class, saying I imagined a place in America and lowered the class average. I was baffled, and when I told my parents they were furious.

 “ How dare this woman, tell our son that where he is from is not real? “

“ Ben, it is sad that adults feel inferior to a 4^th grader.”

 “ Indeed, honey, indeed.”

            At the time I was not conscious of what was going on, and that is when the first observation of society entered my mind. Language was something that I never paid much attention to, and never changed the way I talked in front of anyone. Now my mother used to tell me to watch the way I talk to people, because I talk so smart. Myself being a little kid, I used to think,

“ If I talk smart, what is the problem here people ? “

 It had seemed my 4^th grade world history teacher, was offended and rightfully so. Only she had accused me of being a rude child, and exaggerated on how I contradict the history lessons we learn, and claiming I made it hard for other children to progress, due to my immature language and nature. This put me in an awkward position because I felt, conscious of what I was doing. You can put your own connotation on a word, without even describing it. It is easy to let the way you speak, leave impressions on other people. Whether it is adults, people from different ethnic groups, or even the Social Economic chain. They rhythm, tone, pitch, articulation, and resonance, can change the outcomes of many situations in ones life.  Now seeing this, I realized that language would be the bridge that I can walk on to the road of success. It is not the extended vocabulary that one has, or the dictation, but it is the power of words, and how they are used to make a life lasting impression. Thus, one word can express over 1 million different emotions, and can affect people in any type of way.  Here are some interesting quotes from Winston Churchill, which can easily be related to language.

Eating words has never given me indigestion. 
Winston Churchill 

Ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put. 
Winston Churchill