The Greatness of Gratitude
There is so much power in expressing gratitude to your students. On this Thankful Thursday, let’s reflect on how inviting authentic thankfulness shifts the entire environment in our spaces of learning. I want to begin by pointing out that the type of gratitude I’m talking about is genuine and puts the person first, not their actions or an attempt to get a particular behavior to happen. Here is an example of inauthentic gratitude that I see (and have done myself) sometimes in the classroom:
A teacher looks around at students following and not following a direction she just gave. She notices Carry forgot to write her name on her paper. So she turns to Jeremy and says loud enough that the whole class can hear, “Jeremy, thank you so much for writing your name on your paper! That shows me you’re listening and this is important to you.”
While this seems like a strong strategy to get students to follow a direction without giving nagging reminders, the underlying purpose of the “Thank you” is an attempt to get someone to behave in a way that we want. What if instead, we focused on deep, intentional thankfulness in our spaces of learning? Here is an example of what authentic gratitude may look like:
As students are arriving in the classroom and the teacher is taking attendance, she notices Jeremy is sitting at his desk, eating his breakfast, without his usual carefree and happy attitude. The teacher casually walks over and says in a one-to-one voice, “Jeremy, can I share something with you today? You have an amazing ability to always put a smile on my face. Every morning when you walk in, you do something - or just you being here - that makes me smile. I need that smile in the mornings! Thank you.”
This example may not fit with your teaching style, and that’s okay! My point is to emphasize the power that is held in authentic gratitude to our students. Thank them for showing up, for being who they are, for working hard when it gets tough, for displaying empathy, for taking the risk of asking or answering a question. The beautiful reality is that thankfulness is contagious. When you set this as the culture of your classroom, students will begin to express this gratitude to one another as well.
