Slice of Life: The Head in the Door

(Slice of Life is a month-long writing challenge to write every day in March, with a focus on the small moments. It is hosted by Two Writing Teachers. This year, I’m going to pop in and out, but not write daily slices, as I did for the past ten years of Slice of Life. You write, too.)

He stuck his head in the door. A colleague from another grade. We don’t see each other all that often because his classroom is in another wing of the building, up a set of stairs.

“I wanted to tell you,” he said, “that for a paper for my class (for administrator licensing), we had to write about digital learning in our building where we teach. I focused on the EPencil.”

The Electronic Pencil is our sixth grade home base for digital literacy learning and sharing.

“You’re doing some great things with the kids,” he said, “and I wish more of us were, too. Sometimes, we do things that we think no one ever sees. We still do them, anyway. I appreciate what you are doing with our students. Thank you. Great work.”

And then he was gone, but I sat there for a few minutes at my desk, pausing in my pile of papers that were helping me with the approaching report card deadline, and glowed a bit in appreciation for his gesture as one colleague to another.

The noticing is a powerful thing. It only took a few seconds but those few seconds set the tone for the rest of my day. I need to remember to do more of that, too.

Peace (sharing it),
Kevin

10 Comments
  1. Your title drew me in and I’m glad I did. With few words you had me smiling and then reflecting as you did. I too need to be a head in the door for others.

  2. The power of moments, of words, of gratitude, of simply saying I notice and you matter. Sometimes a moment is all it takes to make a monumental difference – as your colleague did for you, as you do for us here in this slice of life, as you so often do through your profoundly beautiful poetry. It matters deeply, Kevin. Thank you.

  3. “The noticing is a powerful thing.” Such a small gesture that yields so much positivity. As I get ready for what will undoubtedly be a packed day in the library, I will take that word–notice–with me.

  4. What a wonderful moment to savor. Don’t know why, but it seems so rare to hear anything about what we do that is good or matters to others. I try to make it a habit as a literacy coach to pass on ANY positives I hear about teachers. Humility is important, but it’s nice to hear something positive once in a while. Love this line: The noticing is a powerful thing.” Yes, indeed.

    • I think that is the power of a literacy coach, or any coach in a school — to pay attention and to surface what others may not see at the time (too close to the action)
      Kevin

Leave a Reply to Chris Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *