Depending on who you ask or which search engine result you click on, I’m either the youngest of the Millennials or the oldest of the Gen Z. I wore Soffe shorts and danced to Soulja Boy. I got my first cell phone (a turquoise LG Scoop) for my birthday in 8th grade, only a few short years after my parents got their first cell phones. I remember the September 11 attack vaguely, but was young enough that parents and teachers shielded me from the worst of the societal impact.

I took hundreds of selfies, checked iFunny for memes every day, had a Facebook, a Pinterest, and a Twitter account. I got my first smartphone shortly after buying my first car, and life was never the same.

I love to read about the differences between generations, and I also think it’s interesting that, as with all people and generalizations, I don’t quite fit into either one. I will say though, that when I was in high school, there began a push to teach the “soft skills” and today, over a decade later, those skills are becoming even more important in education.

There are so many things I could say about the importance about taking care of the small details that are easy to overlook. In fact, I’m not even going to claim to be good at them. However, I know that when I take the time to work at those small things, over time, those small things grow into big things that mean everything to other people. Here are three things that I have to work hard at, and try to teach my students the same.

Names

You know how you meet someone, introduce yourself, shake their hand, tell them it’s great to meet them, then 2 seconds later you realize you have no idea what their name is? Yeah.. it happens to me ALL THE TIME. It makes me glad when I am in a place where everyone is wearing name tags, I am the master at sneaking glances.

Unfortunately, I have not figured out a graceful way to let someone know that I have forgotten their name, BUT, names are important enough that you just have to ask again. I can tell you that when I humble myself and go through that process, I rarely forget their name a second time. (I also tend to go to Facebook my first free moment and search for their name – even if I don’t “friend” them right away, they will pop up in my recommended feed multiple times. Seeing that name next to a face repeated really helps me!)

In the classroom, I do two things to help me learn my students names.

• Create a seating chart with student names both on the desk and on my attendance chart. If you use PowerSchool, there is an option to move student pictures around. I place their pictures where I have them seated. Not only does this help with taking quick attendance (I can easily look and see who is missing based on which seat is empty.) but it also helps me with learning student names, and again, matching face to names. When I have not had access to PowerSchool, I have written paper charts with student names and gone through the same process.
• I always give students a survey at the beginning of the year, and ask what they would like for me to call them. This helps me with nicknames and how to correctly spell them. Occasionally I will also find that a student would prefer to be called by their given name rather than a nickname that their peers use – it means a lot to them to be called by what they like (even if, as with many teenagers, their preference changes from year to year!).

Proactive Communication

In one of my education classes, we had a professor named John Vincent, a former high school teacher, administrator, coach: you name it, he’d done it. Something he said to me really stuck out.

The worst thing you can do to your principal is surprise them.

John Vincent – Fort Hays State University

There is nothing wrong with sending a quick email to your principal to update them with the ‘goings on’ in your classroom.

A kid seemed a bit out of sorts today in class? Send an email.

You had to discipline two students for throwing things at each other in the hallway? Send an email.

Someone got a D on a test when they normally get an A? Send an email.

You made contact with a parent and the conversation didn’t go well? Send an email.

Just like the old spelling trick (your principal is your ‘pal’ not your ‘ple’) your administration is on your side. But, it is hard for them to be on your side when they get an upset parent on the other end of the phone and they don’t know what is going on. Keep an open line of communication, let them know you are willing to ask questions and take constructive criticism. Be proactive, tell the truth, and take the extra time to send an email.

Follow Up

Truly, to follow up really is related to communication. No matter who it is, be they friend, relative, co-worker, boss; when someone sends you some type of communication, it is important to acknowledge that you received that communication.

When you are in person, that acknowledgement comes in the form of a smile, a nod, eye contact.

With written communication, that acknowledgement can be a “thumbs up” symbol, a “got it”, an “okay, thank you”, a “sounds good”.

There is nothing worse than being “ghosted” when you send someone information, even if that information doesn’t necessarily require an answer.

That is NOT to say that you need to be available 24/7. There absolutely needs to be limits on when you respond professionally. With few exceptions, even if I see the message, I will not respond to school related emails or messages outside of school hours. In Gmail, I have my inbox set to where “unread” messages stay at the top. I make sure that messages I need to respond to are “unread”, and I take care of those responses as soon as possible.

If it is a difficult email from a parent or an administrator or another teacher, or something that requires more thought on my part, I will often send a “message received” email, with the promise that I will respond with more detail once I have had a moment to think about it.

The Little Things Are HARD to Do

It is hard to say why the small details mean so much. Maybe it is because consistently taking care of of the little things can help build trust and reliability, the small gestures show that you acknowledge others as individuals and show them they matter.

I think that paying attention to the little things can have an impact beyond the immediate moment – and that positive action can ripple throughout relationships, teams, and communities.

What little things are important to you? Share with me in the comment section below!

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