In a continuation of Tuesday's coverage of last weekend's two-day conference at Fairmont Southampton staged by clinical psychologist Dr. Robert Brooks, educators shared their views with Lifestyle's Lawrence Trott.

Soon after a former student of his stood up to speak at last week's conference on "Angry and Resistant Youth", Northlands Primary School principal Stanfield Smith knew he was going to be put on the spot.

The former Berkeley student, whom Mr. Smith taught in the mid-1980s, responded to Dr. Brooks' question on what experiences, positive or negative, impacted on their lives.

The woman, now a school counsellor, told how her Biology teacher showed interest in his students and encouraged them to do better, even taking them to his home one weekend to help them study for their GCE exams.

Acts like that - and negative ones, too - have a lasting impact on young people, as those attending Clinical Psychologist Dr. Robert Brooks' conference were reminded.

"She was saying in a nutshell that she had this teacher who showed he cared," said Mr. Smith of his former student.

Mr. Smith has been in the education system for 27 years, first as a teacher and now a principal and appreciates the important roles educators play in children's lives. "My aim was to encourage the students to strive to do their best and I guess she would say I went beyond the call of duty," said Mr. Smith who was gratified to hear a former student speak so highly of him.

"I was caught totally by surprise, but once she stood up and mentioned Biology, I said `oh, oh, I'm going to be put on the spot'," he stated. "Basically it was very rewarding, that I played a small part - she would probably say major - in this young lady's life and now to see the fruits of the hard work and dedication.

"There were other persons - expats - there (at the conference) who came up to me and said `Sir, I wish I had a teacher like you when I came along', so obviously it also had a very positive impact on the audience as well. It makes it all worthwhile.

"I'm in year 27 and I can tell you I still enjoy every day. I have now moved from Berkeley to the primary level and there are never two days alike as everyone knows."

Even after almost three decades, Mr. Smith says he still learned something from the conference which he could apply to his profession. "What it did for me as a principal is we do have to remember the impact that we have on children's lives, positive or negative," he stated.

"It is important that we ensure it is a positive experience for them. I think, basically, he was reminding us that we are the key, especially us in education.

"We have to recognise what we can do to make that child feel welcome, special and fell valued, so basically he was reiterating to us what this job is all about... and that we are dealing with people's lives.

"I know it is very challenging, we all know that times have changed, students have changed and attitudes have changed, but the bottom line is, as he mentioned, every child wants to succeed in school, be respected and appreciated."

Added the principal: "He also said that if the children see a teacher embarrass or put you down, it gives them a licence to do it as well. The main thing is that we all need to make school a positive experience for our children.

"If we are not going to stay positive, if we are not going to insure that we make a difference in this child's life, than we will ask who will. We never know what's going to happen when that child leaves us."

Disa Oubella, head of year seven at Warwick Academy and in her 28th year as an educator, also attended the two-day conference.

"He was a real dynamic speaker, spoke from the experiences he had in life and that was the big element," said Mrs. Oubella who still loves to teach.

"The whole inference of empathy and empowering children to be responsible to themselves is a biggie. We have Random Acts of Kindness this weekend and when I watch the kids' faces in assembly you can see that they feel part of the responsibility.

"Once you empower kids to be a part of the solution - and the same with parents - it is so powerful. What I liked about him (Dr. Brooks) is he was not afraid to admit he made mistakes.

"I taught in the prisons, at Prospect for Girls, Devonshire Academy and at Northlands and children may be different but they all have feelings. All adults, I don't care who you are, don't like to be embarrassed or demoralised."

Mrs Oubella picked up some vital information from the conference which she has already begun using with her students.

"I told every class I taught today about that man, how dynamic he was," she revealed. "What I like about him the most is he wasn't afraid to admit his failures as well as his successes. What he did for everybody in that audience, including myself, who has made mistakes, he validated it's okay to make mistakes as long as you can say `okay, I made a mistake, now I'm going to try to fix it'.

"I saw some of the evaluations afterwards and some people were absolutely blown away, there was not one negative evaluation."

Mrs. Oubella can remember as a student in England being forced to sit in a trash can in front of her classmates. She remains determined not to make the same mistakes with her students.

"The music teacher made me sit in a trash can because I misbehaved," she explained. "The funny part is the art teacher told me I was the most uncreative person ever and I have never, ever forgotten it. I'm not artistic but I am creative. It does stay with you forever, because it's a put-down."

Francis Patton principal, Gloria Martin, stood up and spoke about how she thought a conference of that type could be a good thing for the Bermuda Union of Teachers.

"I'm not a member of the BUT, of course, because I'm not a teacher, but part of the ASP (Association of School Principals, whose president Livingston Tuzo was also in attendance)," said Ms Martin.

"I thought the conference was excellent, we all need techniques to assist ourselves as well as to pass on to our staff on how to deal with children.

"I really wished I could have had my whole staff there and that's why I mentioned to Mr. Tuzo that maybe this is something he could pass on to Mike Charles, the organiser of the BUT."

Ms Martin admits it is more challenging to raise children today, but also points out "the stuff we're experiencing is not the sins of the children, it's the parents".

"We're getting the backlash of a lack of parenting or young people feeling that maybe their parents were a little too harsh on them and that they feel that going the other way (as parents themselves) is going to be a better situation.

"So many agencies are saying the school should do this or the school should do that, but there is only so much the school can do. We need parents to become responsible, but how can we ensure that parents are responsible? We have a licence for everything else, why not a licence to become a parent?"

Wendell Smith, the principal at Paget Primary and one who spends lots of time around young boys as a youth cricket coach, found Dr. Brooks' lecture thought provoking and informative.

"He talked about some of his own experiences, some of his own shortcomings to help us see he was human," said Mr. Smith who has already started to read Dr. Brooks' book, "Raising Resilient Children".

"He talks from a research-based perspective, he's dealt with thousands of children and is not talking off the top of his head but from experience. "There were a few things in the two-day presentation that really stand out, he spoke a lot about empathy, putting ourselves in children's shoes and looking at the world from their perspective.

"Another thing that was very significant is he talked about the need for adults not to be sarcastic with children, because what we say can have a devastating effect on them. Also, what we do and say can have a life-saving impact on them.

"I really like the idea of connecting with children, it's all about letting a child know you care about them. It goes above and beyond the text book and curriculum."