When students say hello in the mornings, teachers who are helping one another, students doing exactly what they are supposed to do. Things like this often fade into the background in a busy school day. They aren’t students in distress, they aren’t a problem that needs fixing and they really don’t demand my attention. But they should be noted all the same.

Something I am trying to work on lately is to appreciate the small moments in my day-to-day. I think that for many of us, we spend so much time trying not to worry about the little things, that we overlook them entirely. But often, it is the small moments that help us to get a determination of how things are going and how people are doing. 

As an example, whenever I am in the staff room for lunch and it is full and people are in a good mood or laughing, I like to reflect that it could easily be like some other staff rooms that are places to be avoided because they are so negative. 

Or when I see a dedicated teacher navigate a student conflict with tact and care it may be easy to just attribute it to their skill set (and it sort of is!) but it also has a lot to do with the relationships and knowledge they have developed of their students as well. 

The funny thing about the small moments, is that they rarely happen all by themselves. There is a lot of work and relationship building that goes into them. These are usually more the small manifestations of all that work that shows up in practice. 

As an example, during an awards assembly I had a new teacher who ran over to me before I handed out an award to tell me that one of the recipients was a young lady for whom shaking hands was culturally uncomfortable (typically, the student comes forward, I shake their hand and we pose for a picture). Because this teacher took the time to get to know the student and knew this about them, he was able to prevent an uncomfortable situation for his student. A small thing, but likely meant a lot to her.

A harder one to see might be the student that may be acting out 5 out of 5 days. And then one week it’s only 4 out of 5, or 3 out 5. There are some students where I felt they were able to blow and instead went in a more positive direction instead. This was likely only possible due to the work that went into that student earning their trust and teaching them coping skills.

It is so important to not only notice these things, but also to comment and give that positive reinforcement on them. Telling that student or teacher that you noticed they did a great job, handled a situation well, or made a good choice is so critical to helping them to do more of the same. Sometimes a quick note of thanks or a short conversation is all you need to have a big impact (another small thing!).

One of the cautions of observing someone else’s classroom while they teach is that you are rarely doing it on the first day. More likely, you are seeing it after some norms and routines are established. You may also be seeing someone who is giving a little extra if they feel they are being evaluated or watched and this may not be indicative of their day-to-day classroom. Instead, when I go in, I tend to look for routines and patterns. As an example, I have been in classrooms where students come in and take out a book to read while the teacher takes attendance, or use that time to get a portfolio of work unprompted. When students do expected behaviours unprompted it is likely the result of a lot of effort upfront rather than something they do naturally. Appreciating these small things helps to paint a larger picture of what’s happening. 

All these small things speak to the culture of your building. Culture is all these thousands of small interactions all woven together into a larger tapestry. These ‘look fors’ are constant feedback and temperature checks in your schools. Be sure to notice them, and let people know you notice them. I still encourage you to not sweat the small stuff, but to take notice when the small stuff is really cool.