Saying The Right Thing At The Right Time

Saying the Right Thing at the Right Time

The words of the godly are a life-giving fountain.

Proverbs 10:11

In 1982, Jaime Escalante left a well-paying job as a computer engineer to become a math teacher at Garfield High School in East Los Angeles. You may remember his creative teaching techniques, discipline, compassion, and encouragement depicted in the movie Stand and Deliver. By saying the right words at the right time, he awakens the potential of a group of inner-city Latinos.

During his first year, eighteen students willingly give up their Saturdays and vacations to prepare for the Advanced Placement Calculus Exam. When they finally take the test, Escalante’s students unexpectedly pass with flying colors. These unprecedented high marks from this particular Hispanic demographic prompt suspicious testing officials to disqualify the scores, alleging the students cheated. The only way the students can prove they didn’t cheat is to retake the test. They reluctantly agree to take it again.

Crowded in a classroom in sweltering summer heat, the kids huddle around their teacher. Mr. Escalante breaks the news to them that they have only one day to prepare. The students are understandably disheartened.

Mr. Escalante begins to pace the classroom and offer encouragement. “Just go step by step and play defense,” he advises like a coach in a locker room at halftime. “Don’t bring anything. No pencils. No erasers. Nothing. Don’t wear clothes with too many pockets. Don’t let your eyes wander. No spacing out. Don’t give them opportunity to call you cheaters.”

He pauses, takes a breath, and then speaks proudly: “You are the true dreamers, and dreams accomplish wonderful things. You’re the best!” Escalante cheers. “Tomorrow you’ll prove that you’re the champs. Now let’s start with chapter one.”^a

If there’s one thing Jaime Escalante understood, it was the value of saying the right words at the right time—and making sure those words engendered optimism. How about you? Is there something your spouse needs to hear from you that you may not be saying?

Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.

—Benjamin Franklin

^a 105