A little success Already on Day Number -3

Yesterday was one of those big days in the life of a school year - Meet Your Teacher Open House.  With just a few precious days of summer remaining, my new 6th grade squad got to make their first visit to their new school and meet... me.

Open House is fun.  With a lot of families, you get to meet everybody - parents, grandparents, and all the siblings.  Some families want to know everything, some what me to know everything, and some just want to say their obligatory hello and get out of there.

The kids are generally nervous, but excited.  New school, new teachers, new rooms - they don't know what to expect and they take it all in.  Even if they aren't looking forward to being back in school, they're interested to see what the new year will be like.  There's a distinctive everything is new and anything is possible buzz energy in the kids, and that kind of vibrant spirit feels great.

My very last student to come visit had no such spark.  She walked in with a scowl and sent me a clear message without saying a word - "I don't want to be here today, and I don't want to be here next week."  
 
There's no telling where the negative energy came from.  Maybe she's had horrible experiences in school or with teachers in the past.  Maybe there's something going on at home that she doesn't want to be away from.  Maybe she was mad at her mother that they got there so late and had to rush.  Who knows?

What I do know is how I decided to interpret her energy and message - "I don't expect this to be a place where I feel like I belong, so I'm coming in on defense." 

Having spent most of last year learning about signals and systems of belonging, I decided to go to work on her even though the school year hadn't even started yet.  Maybe, just maybe, a few rudimentary tools from the belonging toolbox could make an impact at a pivotal moment.  I chose these:

• I said her name at least five times while speaking to her
• I made sure to speak to her as much or more than to her mother
• I asked for her opinion
• I smiled and joked around with her, including jokes at my own expense

I took my shot.

As the principal made his second "thanks for coming but it's (past) time to leave" announcement over the intercom and her mother rushed her out the door, she smiled, waved to me, and literally skipped down the hall as they left.

A little belonging goes a long way.

​It's only the negative-third day of school, and a little success already.

If you enjoyed this post, please share it!

Want to make sure you never miss a new post?  Subscribe below for email notifications of new content.

Want to read more right now?  You're in luck - this is my 58th post! You can browse past posts by category:

• ​Building A Thinking Classroom
• Leaning Into The Science and Engineering Practices
• Classroom Practices
• Classroom Stories
• Ideas and Opinions
• Pandemic-Related Issues