Third grade teachers may very well be the happiest, nicest people on earth. (Full disclosure: My sister, Michelle, is one of these angels.)
At her elementary school they have a program to promote values by focusing on a word every month. “Gratitude” was the word last November. Michelle taught the suggested lessons about gratitude and they were helpful. But one afternoon as she walked over to a small group of kids an idea popped into her head. She looked at one of the girls and said: “I’m grateful for you.” The kid’s face just lit up. Michelle hadn’t expected such a powerful reaction but knew she might be on to something. She turned to the next kid and said: “I’m grateful for you.” He also began to beam. Then she said those magic words to each and every student in the group. They all beamed. That in turn guided her to visit everyone in the room to say those words: “I’m grateful for you.”
Needless to say, the “gratitude” lesson has continued in Michelle’s classroom long after the school values ended. It’s now an everyday part of her curriculum. Kids now naturally turn to one another in class and say it. Michelle communicates it every day. It was like the power of catching a big wave while surfing. The class visited the library one day, and on their own turned to the librarian and said, “I’m grateful for you.” She was touched. They told the principal, she cheered. Everyone that visits the classroom get an earful of gratitude.
But I like this story the best: Every morning, third grade starts with sharing. Often a student raises her hand to share what happened at home or on the playground. Michelle’s favorite is when one little boy raised his hand to say that at dinner the night before that he told his grandmother: “I’m grateful for you.” Grandma started crying, and the whole family joined in.
“I never expected that just saying this simple phrase would be so powerful,” Michelle said.
“It’s been like a giant wave of love expanding and growing outward from our classroom out into the community.”
