Better Community

How can I better connect the humans in the room?

Had a hard week. Feel in many respects this is the most-demanding year of my twenty-six, a title I thought last year would champion forever, but so far, this year will eclipse even last year. And we’re only five weeks in.

But I am not going to drag everyone down this morning. I know I am not alone in this–if Cheney High School is anything like the rest of the world, so I will not stir up that which we all are living with right now. And Sundays are already hard enough, so I will instead share a bit of brightness from room 206.

I have shared this before, so I apologize for the repeat, but some things are worth repeating, and my Kindness Card activity, I believe, is one of those things.

Every Wednesday, after Smiles and Frowns (the undisputed Connections Champ), we do an activity I call Kindness Cards. Kids write them to each other. I deliver them. We talk as a community about the importance of being inclusive. It takes 5-10 minutes. Former students frequently tell me that they have kept them, and that they still cherish them. It’s a powerful way to cultivate connections in the classroom.

And I write them, too. Not every week, but this week I felt compelled, so I wrote one to each of my kids in 4th period.

And sometimes they write them to me, too.

This one meant a lot to me, for we indeed had had a “real” conversation earlier, and I was not sure where I stood with him after, but he let me know, and I am glad he did. And I told him as much.

Shoulder injury? Sadly, yes. Well, shoulder owie, anyway. It’s better now. Seems to be how “nearly fifty” is gonna go.

Anyway, gonna keep it short and sweet this week, my friends. Take care of yourselves. I am going to spend the day outside, doing my best to forget about school.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.