Appreciation Program

Teachers reinforce weaknesses—and we also reinforce strengths. 

Let's not focus so intently on building our weak muscles that we forget to maintain the strong ones—those are super helpful in moving the boulders from our paths, climbing and lifting each other. And when we're building bridges across gaps, we want to root them in solid foundation—we want to root them in strengths. So we survey and map our terrain, familiarize ourselves with characteristics and qualities, weaknesses and strengths—and we plan accordingly. 

In my classroom, I carry a notebook with me at all times—in it a print-out of student names. I jot down celebrations throughout the day—helping a friend, cleaning up litter, pushing through a personal struggle—and write quick, personal notes thanking and congratulating each student on exercising a super power and working to leave it better than they found it. It really has an effect, not only on the students, and not only on me, and not only the parents—but also our interwoven relationships with each other and the community that we work so diligently to build. 

It's 100% one of my favorite parts of teaching, and is a habit that I neither can nor want to break—I love finding micro-celebrations all around and throughout—there is so much worth celebrating. Moving forward, I think I would like to write the notes in the Learning Logs to both reinforce it as a helpful tool and also to ensure that we track our celebrations and growth as well as our struggles; reinforcing our weaknesses by reinforcing our strengths.