In recent news a Baltimore city school teacher, Camille Hinmon, came back to school after battling cancer. On her first day back, which was also her birthday, she found her return was anything but pleasant after a 17- year- old student punched her in the face.
Hinmon is a mother of three, a member of her local church and has taught in many schools with bad reputations. Hinmon adds that she thought she was invincible, but after this experience she is not so sure and it is easy to see why she would feel this way.
Days after the incident, the teacher saw the video of her assault for the first time after the video went viral. The video wasn’t all that was going around though. The teacher says that there was so much hate directed at the student. And it would be easy to understand why so many would rally around this educator, however, Hinmon is not one of them.
Instead Hinmon hopes something good will come out of the incident, and she believes that comes with forgiveness.
Instead of worrying about how to punish the student, Hinmon is worried about how to help the student. “All of us have had ups and downs. I don’t know what the ups and downs are in her life,” said the veteran educator. What a message this teacher is sending to the rest of the world about kindness and compassion.
Hinmon has reminded the world that sometimes people are fighting battles we know nothing about and though this teenager’s actions are inexcusable, they are not unforgivable.
Obviously this student should be punished for her actions, but what comes after her punishment is most important. Yes, it would be easy to write the teen off as just another delinquent, but what good will come from that? Nothing.
Instead, if we take time to reserve judgement and instead offer a second a chance, we might find teens like this one will rise up instead of getting beaten down even more.
The truth is you do not know what is happening in someone’s life until you ask and that is the only way to build a relationship that could change a life.
Camille Hinmon is a reminder for all of us to recognize the power of forgiveness and the importance of perspective.