Being Intentional With Your School Day
Educators are intentional with a lot of things. We are intentional with the set up of our classroom, the flow of our school day, and the designs of our lessons. Sometimes though we are not as intentional with the things that we notice. The small things that are happening all around that could lift us up. This episode is all about finding those moments and embracing them.
What's going on everybody, I hope this finds you striving and thriving and doing absolutely amazing. Now I'm gonna go out on a limb. And I'm gonna say that you're very intentional in many things that you do. They are intentional, and meeting your learning goals. You're intentional about the setup of your classroom, the flow of your day, the design of your lessons, and then your personal life. There's no doubt about how intentional you are. But let me ask you a question. How intentional Are you in noticing the little things around you? My name is Brian Martin. I'm a second grade teacher and hosted the teaching champions podcast. And recently, I've been reading the book, The Art of noticing by Rob Walker. And it's all about creativity, finding inspiration and discovering joy in your day. And in it, Mr. Walker talks about being intentional, and how we notice things. So I challenged myself to make it a point to really be intentional about looking out for things I appreciated, things that made me smile, things that filled me up. And if you work in a primary building, you know how special picture day is. The young ones come in to school, and they're looking like a million bucks. The young ladies have cute outfits on their hair's all done up. That gentleman come in, and they're looking all suave. And it's just a pretty special day. And I'm walking past where they're taking the pictures. And I noticed our resource officer. And he's a retired police officer, someone who just adds so much joy to our building. And the young man standing in front of them. And this police officer was smiling. And he's straightening out this young man's bow tie form, with the same care that he would give his own grandchild. And that was pretty special. Another moment, throughout the week, a colleague dropped something off in my room. And as she stepped out of my room, I heard her talking to a student that she had. And she was just filling this child up with so much love and encouragement and enthusiasm. And this week, I also took a step back. And I appreciated the time and initiative that one of my colleagues was taking to set up different programs within the school that are going to benefit the kids. And the list could go on and on. There are so many amazing things that are happening all around. And these events that I talked about, they weren't even ones that directly involved me. But I was intentional about paying attention to them. intentional about looking for the good that's within the school, intentional about hearing, the love and the joy that was being spread. intentional about appreciating the hard work and the effort of those around us. And we know what those moments, they made me feel good. They gave me a smile. They made me feel a shot of gratitude. The tough moments, the negative moments, they were still there. And I'm pretty sure that they're always going to be there in one form or another. But being intentional, and hearing the good. being intentional and seeing the good. being intentional about appreciating the good things that are right there in front of us. It just makes you feel a little better. And who doesn't want their day to be just a little bit better. So I challenge you today. Be intentional in seeing, hearing and appreciating the good things happening around you. We've been blessed with another sunrise. I hope you have an awesome day.
