The Noticing Project: Week 1 - Just Begin

I want to invite you to try something this week:

Not a program.
Not a new initiative.
Not something that adds to your already full plate as the semester finishes up.

Just a small shift.

I call it The Noticing Project.

It’s a simple, one-week experiment, and it’s also a glimpse into what I’ve been writing about in my upcoming book, The Breaking Point: Keeping Hope Alive when Classrooms are on Fire.

We spend so much time in education trying to manage behavior, correct problems, and respond to what isn’t working, that sometimes we sit back and think, “there’s nothing more I can possibly do until that student wants to change.”

Big mistake. Big!

What might happen if we started somewhere else? What if we began by simply noticing?

Noticing those we don’t tend to focus on takes time, so, over the next few weeks, I am going to give you tips on what to do each week.

Today, I’m asking you to choose 3 students you don’t usually connect with, because you have tried without success or just don’t know what to do.

They are not your easiest students.
They are not the ones who always participate.

Choose:

• The quiet one who rarely talks

• The one who challenges you

• The one others may have warned you about

And today, do something different.

Just notice them.

Notice:

• When they walk into the room, what is something about them that makes you curious.

• When they attempt something, even if it is halfway, what’s different then?

• When they pause instead of react right away, what helped that to happen?

• When they show even the smallest sign of effort, what was the project?

That’s it. Don’t do anything, just notice.

I’ve learned something important over my many years in schools. And that is, before students change behavior, they need to feel seen. And many of the students we should be the most concerned about have been unseen the longest.

This week, we’re not solving everything. We’re just beginning. Next week, I’ll share the next step in The Noticing Project.

For now, just look. Make a mental note.

You may be surprised by what you see.