The Noticing Project

Over the weekend, I thought about how in schools, we are trained to fix.

We try to fix attendance problems, behavior issues, failing grades and peer conflict.

We are called in when something is wrong.

Over time, it can begin to feelstressful, as if you are stretched thin.

But what if we changed our thinking from fixing to noticing.

Just noticing.

Because students are not broken machines waiting for repair.T hey are developing human beings who are constantly wondering: Does anyone see me?

Most of the time, they only time they feel seen is when...

• They are in trouble.

• They have failed a class.

• They exploded over something small.

And, then we wonder, why they continue to do this.

I don’t think it’s so hard to figure out why.

It takes a special lens for us to see times when the troubled student is not in trouble, or the student who failed the test, engages in group work, or the high school senior who lost it last week over a “B,” grade helps a friend with an assignment.

But there is extraordinary power in noticing.

When you notice a student who does better, you are reinforcing self-regulation. When you notice the student who turned in one assignment out of three, you are strengthening effort. When you notice a student who chose not to escalate, and instead, stayed in class instead of walking out, you help the student experience competency.

And it’s how you say it that is important too!

Praise is overrated.

When you praise, you are the expert, but when you get excited and are curious, the student is the expert. The sly smile that appears signals “she sees me.”

Noticing can be as simple as saying, “I noticed you stayed in class the whole period. That took effort.”

Or “You handled that respectfully.”

Or “I saw you help him and that says something about you.”

No lecture. No fixing. Just specific, genuine acknowledgment with a sprinkle of curiosity.

So before today ends, notice three students (or more) doing something better. Say it out loud. Make it specific and act surprised and pleased. You may be the only adult who names their effort, but it will most likely result in effort from your student.

We cannot fix kids.

But we can notice them.

And that is exactly what changes everything.