Joy & Connection

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This past week I saw a video on Facebook that gave me pause.  It wasn’t a political rant from either side of the aisle.  It wasn’t a celebration of my friendship of 8 years.  It was this video of a child’s school day, and it felt intricately connected to our work together this Friday, reflecting on the messages we send.

Joy & Connection

We have the power to make school a safe, connected, and joyful experience for students.

I see it in the hugs and high-fives you get on the playground after helping students navigate conflict, the shy smile revealed after connecting with a new student who is struggling to fit in, the way students walk with more confidence when you call them by name as they enter your schools, your hallways, your classrooms.

I see it when you pull a chair up next to a student and ask, “How’s it going?”

listening to students, their thinking, their emotions > listening for right answers

How else would a student be able to share his love of puzzle-solving and connect it to a new love of reading pattern books in kindergarten?

How else would a little girl be able to share that what is holding her back from writing is not word knowledge or mechanics but more the pain of her experiences and thoughts?  How else could she talk through strategies to get her emotions and thoughts on paper to make sense of them?

Listening is an act of love, and that message is one of the most important ones we can send to our students.

When do you make time to listen to students?  What have you learned from listening?  (Use the comments below to share!)

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