Noticing What Matters

It's November!

By now, we're well into the school year, and it's easy to become so focused on what isn't working that we overlook what is. We notice disruptions, frustrated teachers, and students who struggle.

But what about the small moments when things go right?

• A student who usually argues but follows a direction.

• A child who asks for help instead of giving up and acting out.

• A teacher who welcomes a challenging student with a smile, doing something different.

• The parent who comes in grumpy but leaves smiling because you asked her what she wanted to talk about.

Each of these situations deserves your comment… given with incredible curiosity, not praise. Responding that way makes the action their success and they are much more likely to do it again.

This Week's Experiment

1. Notice something every day that you want to see happen again!

Look for a small sign of effort, courage, kindness, self-control, persistence, or connection. A student who picked up trash and threw it away. A student who normally throws their backpack down but today, just set it on the floor. It doesn't have to be extraordinary. In fact, the smaller, the better! That can be easily repeated.

2. Say what you noticed with curiosity!

• "I noticed you kept trying even when that got frustrating. How did you do that?"

• "You helped someone today without being asked. What made you decide to do that?"

• "Yesterday was difficult, but you came back ready to try again. Tell me your secret."

• "I noticed how calmly you handled that situation. How did you know what to do?"

3. Watch for what happens next.

When we notice something worth repeating and say something about it, we help students recognize strengths they may not see in themselves.

Sometimes the smallest comment can make the biggest difference. When we acknowledge, we give someone a reason to repeat.

Watch their reactions. That will motivate you to do it more!

PS: Share this Monday Ideas with all of your staff this week!