You Matter

I'm not the smartest person. I'm not the prettiest. I was never picked first for any team. I'm not the best and I really don't want to be. I work hard at so many things but what's most important to me, what I value the most is being kind.
  

The end of the school year is time for reflection. I ask my students to reflect and I reflect myself. I think about what I did well and where I can do better. In my reflections this year, I've come to the conclusion that I did a good job at developing relationships with students and connecting with them. 

Here are some of their thoughts...

"You Matter" is how I communicate to my students that I see them and they are important to me and to our classroom community. Every day those words are on the board and it's made a difference. Many students told me that seeing those words every day in class made a difference to them.

We talk about what those words mean. We discuss how to communicate those words to each other, verbally and non-verbally. It's something I value and I see the value transfer to all very soon. We use these words. It becomes part of our daily conversation.

It's important, it's necessary, it's non-negotiable, to SEE our students every single day. It makes a difference. One class told me that I was their hero. (By the way, it isn't really about me at all, it's about the message: "You Matter!" It changed them. It meant something to them.) They created beautiful gifts. First of all, I got my very own superhero cape...

  

They also created a notebook for me. This notebook is filled with pages and pages written for me and to me. I see my students and they see me.

My hope for these students is that they remember their worth and share it with the world.

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