November 22, 2021
By Aleta Margolis, Founder and President, Center for Inspired Teaching
Hooray for Monday is a weekly blog filled with questions, ideas, reflections, and actions we can all take to remodel the school experience for students.
Saying thank you is mostly an ordinary thing. We say it reflexively when the barista hands us a cup of coffee or the server places our entrée on the table or a friend holds the door for us. We wave at the driver who lets us get in front of them on the beltway and smile at our spouse or roommate when we arrive home from work to a freshly cleaned kitchen.
It’s a phrase we were trained to say. And it’s one we anticipate hearing when we do something kind – expected or not – for another person. In fact, we tend to miss thank you when it’s not offered, as Jerry Seinfeld famously pointed out in the Gimme That Wave! episode of his sitcom.
Thank you is more than a reflexive response. It means: I see you. I acknowledge you. I value you and appreciate your actions. We say it to close friends and complete strangers.
As we gather with family and friends this Thursday, around a real or virtual table, we’ll be invited to offer our thanks. Lots of families, and classrooms, have traditions – inviting one another to list things they are thankful for, offering thanks for a lovingly prepared meal, and the like.
Thank you is a powerful phrase. As you and yours utter it this week, here are some activities to try – with your students, and with those who gather with you around the Thanksgiving table:
Thank YOU, to all my readers. Thank you for collaborating with me to make school a place of wonder and learning for all students, and for teachers and school leaders too. I appreciate you. I see you. I value you. And I wish you a restful and truly thanks-filled weekend.