It's Nice to be Remembered

Photo from http://www.kidsdeserveit.com/canva

I'm reading Kids Deserve It!: Pushing Boundaries and Challenging Conventional Thinking,  by Todd Nesloney and Adam Welcome, along with other educators at #OrEdChat. We read a few chapters each week and discuss them on Twitter each Sunday night 8:30 p.m.PST/10:30 p.m. CST. I really appreciate how the book brings me back to the real things that are important as a teacher. The most important things are those that bring my focus back to the kids. Kids deserve to be seen, and they want to be remembered.

• Make positive phone calls home. Parents are entrusting me with their most precious commodity every day. Parents want to be part of the successes and celebrations that happen at school. I have made a goal to make positive parent phone calls home with my students. The parents I have spoken with are more than willing to take calls from school while they are at work.
• Remember the little things.  When we have conversations with students, it's essential to be engaged and remember the little things. Ava has lots of baby dolls at home. Alexandria likes to cook with her grandma. Jonah's little brother is always getting into mischief at his house. Austin spent the weekend at his family's farm. The important things in their lives need to be important to me.

  

  Photo from http://www.kidsdeserveit.com/canva 

I've been teaching at the same school for twenty-one years. Many kids and families have come and gone through Lincoln Elementary School during those twenty-one years. Last week I was walking through the hallway during Parent/Teacher Conferences and recognized a face from many years ago. I stopped and talked with the former parent and asked about her children. It was a short conversation, but what she said in closing really left an impact. She said, "It's nice to be remembered." Being remembered makes us feel valued. Remember families. Remember kids, because kids deserve it.