Goethe’s Statement

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Goethe’s statement, “Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help then to become what they are capable of being” is commonly used in both a positive and negative form in today’s society. When a person looks the statement carefully over, they will find the meaning into what he is saying. From the Bible, the quote “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you” is very similar to Goethe’s statement. If a person acts in a certain way toward somebody, then the environment and the people in which that person is surrounded by affects his attitude directly. When a person believes somebody has the capability to be more than they are, and the person pushes that person to succeed, the person will live up to those standards. By having another source other than yourself see what you are capable of doing, it lets people see themselves from a different perspective. There are many examples in modern day society of Goethe’s statement.
A positive example of a modern day Goethe statement is in the Army. When a person thinks of the Army, the first thing that a person will think of is the quote “Be all that you can be.” The is an encouraging statement for people, and this will make people feel as if they can be part of something more helpful and proud. If a person exerts their whole self into becoming a soldier, and if other people tell them that they have the power to be more than just average, then, they put forth more effort, and feel better about themselves. Another positive example is in the acting business. While an actor is on stage saying his lines, he might meet the criticism of the director. The director of a play should know the ability of an actor, and by criticizing him; it is helping them become a better actor. There are also people with professions that, on a daily basis, they help people better themselves. These people are teachers and tutors.
Teachers and students interact with each other more out of a day than most students interact with their parents.
Teachers help us expand and open our mind by giving us skills throughout students’ early life to help students when they are older. By learning information from teachers, students become better people, in a couple of ways. Besides inquiring knowledge from their teachers, students learn to work with one another, open their mind to other peoples’ thoughts and ideas, respect one another, and learn different techniques for life’s issues.

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