2 Simple Words

How can you not feel happy after hearing this song? Don't you get the same feeling when someone says good morning to you? I do.  I have worked in five different schools and at least that many businesses before becoming an educator. It may sound trite, but whether or not good morning is used in a place of employment says a lot about the culture.

One place that I worked for seven years good morning was rarely spoken.  People would walk by open doors and not acknowledge the person in the room with a simple "Good Morning."  You could say, "Good morning" to someone and if you happened to catch them on a good day they might respond with a grunt.  You would walk into a meeting with just a few folks in the room and no one would utter the words "good morning."

Imagine how this sets the tone for your day.  To not be acknowledged by the other people you work with.  To be treated as if you don't exist.  Walking around the building feeling as if you don't matter.  How can that not effect your work productivity?  How can that not effect creating and maintaining even professional relationships?  How can that not impact what happens in your classroom and how you treat your students?

Another place I have worked was quite the opposite.  People walked by open doors and said "Good Morning."  Walking through the halls, even if a couple of people are engaged in a conversation, they said, "Good Morning."  You walked into a meeting with a handful of people sitting and chatting, they said "good morning."  Imagine how that impacts your day; to be acknowledged by the people you work with.  You feel as if you matter.  And when you feel like you matter you have a bit of bounce in your step.  How you interact with other people, including your students, is positively impacted.  

If this is true for us, how can it not be true for students?  Just a simple good morning can change their day.  As it changes ours.  It puts a smile on their face.  It makes them feel as if they are important to you.  And why wouldn't it?  You took a few seconds to acknowledge their presence.  To say to them, "I see you are here today.  I'm happy to have you here." While there are a lot of things that can change and impact a school or classroom culture, sometimes it is as simple as two words.  Try it.  You'll see.