November and December can be hard months, especially for educators. There is so much to do and many feel overwhelmed with holidays, report cards, assessments, behavior and just fitting it all in.
As I have worked with different groups of educators from teachers to administrators in the last couple months I have started to be more intentional about starting off with celebrations.
I often start with, “tell me something good” , which is what I say to my own kids regularly:). I love the Chaka Khan song but the message and the impact are even more important. It is easy to be focused on what is NOT working and pinpont all the things that are wrong as opposed to what is going well or even simple steps in the right direction. Usually people turn to a partner and freeze because they aren’t used to focusing on something that is going well or they just revert back to a challenge. But knowing the benefit, I push each person to focus on some success, growth, or positive moment, the momentum usually shifts and people start to smile and engage differently.
I know that I am not always the best at this and it’s helpful for me to create structures and habits that can help me celebrate the good in myself and others. Here are 3 simple ways to create routines that help you and others celebrate the good.

To begin a staff meeting or morning circle

Taking 5 minutes to highlight what you notice in others and focus on what is going well can and build each other up and intentionally create rituals that ensure the individuals feel seen and valued and inspired to make an impact.
Our students have a lot going on and just like the adults, it’s easy to focus on what’s not working it what they didn’t do but if you can start your days or even once a week with a celebration and allow students to verbally share something they notice about each other, it can shift the course of someone’s whole day.

Create a space for shout outs

There’s a good bit of research about increasing your own happiness when you show gratitude. In our office we have a wall and a virtual space for people to shout out one another and acknowledge when someone had a big win. It’s powerful for those being recognized as well as those who are celebrating their colleagues.

Intentionally look for the good

I love to work with educators and plan for their aspirations and what we really want school to be but it can be also overwhelming to think about so many things that need to shift. As you continue to grow and evolve, it is critical that you make time to walk through classrooms with the lens of what’s working, when you are meeting with students or colleagues, try and identify progress, growth, positives that you can highlight and let them know what you see.
There is so much that happens throughout the week and it is easy to get bogged down by the challenges but it makes such a difference when we focus on the positives and celebrate one another because when we focus on the good, the good gets better. This is not to say that we ignore challenges and only focus on the good, but it does mean that we should create time and space to acknowledge and celebrate success.