Make Their Day - Change Their World

Several weeks ago I had my School Administration Manager Project "shadow." For those of you who are unaware of the "shadow" experience, he/she shows-up to your school wearing all black clothing and follows your every move. Every five minutes, the "shadow" notes what it is you are doing; deciding if the task is related to instruction or management. All the while, from the time the "shadow" arrives until the time the "shadow" leaves, they are not supposed to talk.

Depending on your choice of adjective, you might describe one of the days that I was being shadowed as: bad, busy, stressful, eventful, etc. For the record, in my mind it was an eventful day.

You see, on this particular day, I had multiple communications with our local police department concerning multiple incidents. At my site, interaction with law enforcement is a rarity. To have two incidents involving the police in a year AND especially not twice (in a year, let  alone a day)

Anyways, at the end of the day, my shadow said (to me), “You did a good job. You covered all your bases; you handled everything very calmly.”

Day, flipped.

I don’t usually have someone following me around to see my every move. I don't usually have someone that is able to give me this type of authentic feedback. However, on this day I did (and it meant the world to me). She made my day.

Two mornings later, I received an email from a parent. Her email expressed her gratitude in regards to an individualized comment that I had made to her son when walking through classrooms. She went on to say, "I just wanted you to know that your presence isn't going unnoticed and you're doing a great job."

I didn't make the comment to her son in hopes to get anything in return. I did it because I LOVE interacting with kids. I did it because while I might not change the world, I can make one comment like this to change someone's world. I can make their day.

Inspiration from Buddy Berry's keynote at ITEC 

It is amazing how when we act kindly towards others, kindness finds its way back around to us. Why don't we do this more often?! Why aren't we more intentional about this?!

Being frantically busy is not a good look, not for you, not for me, not for anyone.

My first "official" principal mentor emphasized how very rarely is there an actual emergency in education. Most of the issues that we face will still be there, waiting for us, the next morning. Yet, (a lot of) our actions don't always reflect this. We tend to treat everything as urgent; when we do this, we miss the little things that can bring such joy to our profession and our life.

So stop what you’re doing. Right now. It’s not that urgent. Take a moment to say thanks to someone, show them that they are appreciated, celebrate them.