Surprisingly Simple Ways To Support Belonging and Attendance Series
Part 1: The Surprisingly Simple Words Students Remember for Years
The other day, Tiffany’s teenage daughter came home from her very first day of high school.
Almost immediately, she started telling her about one of her teachers.
"Mom, she told us she loves her job. She said she loves teaching math, and she loves teaching high school. She said that if we need any help at all, she's happy to help because she just wants us all to have a great year. Mom, it was so cool."
That was it.
It was such a simple thing to say.
And it made enough of an impression that Tiffany’s daughter came home and told her about it.
It was such a small moment, but it was a big reminder.
Because here’s the thing: most educators care deeply about their students.
Of course we do!
Why else would we do this work?
We know how much you care about your students.
But you know who doesn't always know that?
Our students.
Kids do not automatically know how much we care.
They don't enter school thinking, "Wow. I'm so lucky. All the adults who work at school are here because they love me and care about me."
Kids don't think that.
So we have to tell them that we care, out loud.
Or, as we like to say, we have to Care Out Loud.
The good news is it doesn't have to be hard.
In fact, some of the most powerful ways we can show students we care are incredibly simple.
We do professional development all over the country, and often we ask educators to think about something an educator once said to them that they still remember.
What always strikes us is how simple so many of the positive statements are.
They aren't groundbreaking.
They are often just a few kind words someone took the time to say.
And these former students still remember them, all these years later.
So what does Caring Out Loud actually sound like?
What are the kinds of things people remember?
I'm so glad you are here.
I care about you.
You got this!
You are awesome!
This class is better because you are in it.
You are such a cool kid.
I believe in you.
We missed you when you were gone.
The last one is especially powerful when we think about attendance.
Because "We missed you when you were gone" tells a student something much bigger than "You were absent."
It tells them: We noticed you weren't here.
Your presence matters.
You matter.
That teacher probably had no idea that those few sentences would be one of the first things Tiffany’s daughter talked about when she got home that day.
She simply told a room full of kids that she was happy to be there with them.
She showed them that she cared about them.
And at least one of those kids heard her.
Our students won't always know how much we care about them unless we make sure they do.
So tomorrow, start small. Care Out Loud.
Next week, we will share another simple way to Care Out Loud that can make a big difference in helping students get to school: Intentional Greetings & Goodbyes.
Want to go deeper?
We recently hosted our training Escape the Behavior Trap, where we break down why traditional responses don’t work - and what to do instead.