The Little Things

Willis Core Value #5 Willis is a place where doing little things can make a big difference.

I received two e-mails today that have me thinking.  The first was a glowing message from a parent to a team of teachers, thanking them for their efforts with her son.  The second was a message, sent by a former student of  John P., thanking him for the "kindness and attention" shown to her as a student and recognizing John's role as a mentor in her life.  John forwarded this e-mail, to a few colleagues, with the following message:

I send this to you in the sincerest form of humility to say...."Keep doing what you're doing.  If your heart is right and motives sincere we never know the impact we have on our students."

Both of these e-mails are illustrative of the tremendous power of doing little things to recognize the contributions of others.  Take a moment to consider a time when you have received a positive note, phone call, or recognition from a student or parent.  If you are like me, these are the moments that "float the boat"--they reinforce purpose, renew energy and bring a smile.

Now consider how we might translate the positive experience of a compliment, or words of encouragement, to our students and parents.

Edutopia (a great site to follow) recently ran a post entitled, The Power of the Positive Phone Call Home, by Elena Aguilar.  I would encourage you to take a few moments to read the article.  This is obviously not an earth shattering new strategy, but a good reminder of how taking a few minutes to share something positive can have a significant impact on classroom climate.  Even if you don't read the entire article, consider the challenge issued in the last paragraph:

In the long list of priorities for teachers, communicating good news is usually not at the top. But try it -- just for a week -- try calling a few kid's parents (and maybe not just the challenging ones -- they all need and deserve these calls) and see what happens. The ripple effects for the kid, the class, and the teacher might be transformational.

Sometimes the little things make ALL of the difference.

by J. Delp