“Just look at us, all of us, quietly doing our thing and trying to matter. The earnestness is inspiring and heart-breaking at the same time.”
Isn’t this quote true for all of us? Aren’t we all entering the field of education because we think it matters? Because our students matter? Because we think we matter?
I usually always have something to say. It’s how I assert myself into situations that make me uncomfortable. I smile, I listen, and then when I see an opportunity to say something witty, I go for it. And then I’m in. All of a sudden, people are looking at me as if I all of a sudden matter.
We all love the feeling of belonging, don’t we? Some of my friends are really good about not caring about the opinion of others, but I’m not one of those people. It genuinely bothers me when someone doesn’t like me, and it really bothers me when I can’t figure out why he or she doesn’t like me.
The sense of belonging is a natural feeling. We desire human connection, in small doses or large ones. If you thrive on trying to matter, won’t your students?
Even though I love to talk and be heard, the first thing I do when I enter a classroom is look. And then I listen. And I observe. What are these students doing? How are they interacting with one another? Who gets along with who? Who probably needs to switch seats soon?
Later, as students warm up to you, you can tell how hard they’re trying to impress you. They try really hard on their classwork and keep making eye contact with you as you walk past their desks, checking on them. They want you to tell them “good job” or “great thinking”, but they don’t blatantly ask you to compliment them. They want it to be genuine.
Just as we desire to be liked and to belong, so do our students. Even when they are quiet and intensely writing a story, or when they are waving their hand around incessantly waiting to be called upon, they’re trying to matter.
Just like you.
Rosenthal, A. K. (2016). Textbook. New York City, NY: Penguin Random House.