(Warning: This may cause you to disagree with me, and that’s okay! Share your comments below)
Don’t lie…
When you read that title, what immediately jumped in to your head? If you’re an educator, I’d bet fifty bucks that state testing, or some other high stakes accountability assessment, leapt into your mind.
Why?
Why do we harp on students to eat a good breakfast and get plenty of sleep during testing season? (Is it truly a season???)
Why do we leave students notes of encouragement on their desks during testing?
Why do we ask parents to make sure students are at school on time, and that appointments be scheduled before or after school on testing days?
Maybe the better question is …
Why don’t we do this every day?
… What messages are we sending about our values when we roll out the compassion ticker tape parade one time a year? And when that parade just happens to coincide with the test upon which schools are judged? Do we value the student or the test score?
All those awesome desk notes and hallway banners and granola snack packs I have seen on Twitter and Facebook this past month are fabulous. They truly are. So let’s make sure they don’t just happen during state testing.
Let’s make sure students know that EVERY SINGLE DAY they matter! Because they do. (And so do you, awesome teachers!)
Laura K Spencer, Ed.D. 
I would argue that most of the teachers who leave notes like this (myself included 😀) are generally enthusiastic, caring, encouraging, and loving every single day with our kids & they know it! For me, the note/treat is about making something super boring fun (for at least some of them).
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Thanks Wendie. That makes sense!
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