The Lesson My Students Taught Me

Another school year is coming to an end. In 13 years, I’ve taught in 3 different buildings, 4 different classrooms, and have had the opportunity and privilege to teach over 300 students.
 
Even with all that experience, this has been the most challenging year of my teaching career. At times I have felt restless. Earlier this year, I heard Jill Briscoe speak and she said,
 
“You go where you’re sent, and you stay where you’re put, and you give what you have until you’re done.”
 
I don’t know if I will spend my entire working career in a classroom, but I do know that God hasn’t called me out of the classroom yet. And because of that, I continue to invest my time and energy into the students with whom I’ve been entrusted.
 
Even though I’m their teacher, this year, my students taught me an important lesson.

They helped me realize just how much of an influence teachers have over their students.  
 
If we model love, compassion, patience, kindness, and respect to our students, they are more likely to be loving, compassionate, patient, kind, and respectful to others. Our students look to us and will follow our lead.
 
When thinking about what I could do to end the year and influence my students in a positive way, the phrase, “Speak love,” kept coming to mind.
 
I wanted my students to leave our classroom feeling loved and encouraged.

I wanted to speak words of affirmation over them, so that they would know how to do this for someone else. 
 
And so I sat down and wrote “Tootle Notes” to each of my 23 students.  
 
In case you’re wondering, a “tootle” is a specific compliment/praise. It is the opposite of a tattle. Throughout the year, I have written “Tootle Notes” to students when I see something praiseworthy, and students have written Tootle Notes to each other. They love giving and receiving Tootle Notes.
 
In these final Tootle Notes I wrote things such as:

• One of the things I love most about you is….
• I’m especially proud of…..
• You have improved (#) reading levels this year….
• I love how you …..
• One of the things I will remember most about you is….
• Thank you for ……

Writing these notes reminded me about the positive qualities of my students and the progress they made this year. Sometimes, it’s easy to forget how far they’ve come.
 
When I was done, I had a sea of Tootle Notes and I couldn’t wait to share them with my students!
 
When I got to school, I gathered the kids on the carpet for a special “Tootle Time.”

​One by one, the students sat in our special chair. I read their Tootle Notes aloud before giving them the actual notes to keep.
 
There is something powerful about hearing specific praise, not just reading it.
 
Seeing my students’ faces light up with smiles was wonderful, but what touched my heart the most was that they clapped loudly after each Tootle Note was read.
 
They cheered for their friends.
 
They celebrated each others’ successes.  
 
They were proud of one another.
 
And I was proud to be their teacher.