Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Back when I taught junior high I would give each of my students a shamrock note on St. Patrick’s day. And on that note it would say why I was lucky to have them for a student.
The notes took me awhile to write. But it was a tradition and even though I only taught school for 7 years I never missed a a year…or a student. Some notes were easier to write than others. Some students were so easy to connect with and were such a joy to have in class while others were, well, more difficult. However, that is why I always felt that I needed to write the notes…for the difficult students.
I needed to remember why I was lucky to have them in class so I could be a better teacher for them and they needed to know that they were wanted in my classroom because they weren’t always wanted in every classroom. (And they knew that.) Sometimes it took some thinking to come up with genuine thoughts to personally share with them….and they had to be genuine…nobody can see through fake adults faster than junior high kids. But in the end I could always think of something. Something real, and I was often surprised at what I discovered that I truly loved about each of my students. Especially those difficult ones. It was an exercise that, quite frankly, I miss.
I was thinking about this the other day as I was driving. And about a few of these students in particular….and how I felt so fortunate to have had the opportunity to let them know just how fantastic I knew they really were.
I think sometimes we get so caught up in what we are doing…our goals…our ambitions…our whatever…that we forget to stop and look around and be thankful for those people who are in our lives…even the difficult ones. So this year I was thinking why do I have to stop writing these notes just because I’m not a school teacher? I can write them to my own children, neighbors, friends, etc. And I’m going to.
Here’s what I’m thinking:
Printing out the image from this post (it’s a printable so feel free to print it out for yourself to use if you would like) and writing them a little note.
Then giving them a treat….mint chocolate chip ice cream, sprite, green apple Hi-Chews, or a basket of pears….whatever I can find at the store that best fits with their personal likes.
Nothing fancy but something to help me remember how lucky I am to be surrounded by such interesting and wonderful people. (Even the ones who are “difficult”.)
-liZ
I love this idea! I used to teach kindergarten and I did something that reminded me of your notes. I called it “good news.” At the end of the day, I wrote a simple note for one child that I noticed doing something good during that day, signed it, and read it out loud to the class (divulging the name at the end of the reading) before giving the specific child the note to take home. To make sure I caught everyone doing good regularly, I’d write each child’s name on one notecard and pull from my pile of preprinted notecards when I was writing. The kids loved it and it was great for the parents too! I need to do more things like this for my own family, thanks for a good reminder. Going to write some lucky notes today.
What a lovely lovely thought! thank you!!
I used to play a little game with myself when I commuted to Seattle by ferry for work. Every day, I would look at the people I passed on the street, and I would choose one thing I really liked about them. It wasn’t easy to do, but it made me feel more connected to those around me, and a lot more kind towards them.
I love your tradition! We all need to take some time out to say nicer things!