Naming the Good

I go to the car wash on the weekends. Normally this is just a simple, mundane part of my weekly routine until yesterday.

The particular spot I frequent is a locally owned business, and the guy who walked up to my car to greet me is a familiar face. He’s been working there for at least 15 years. Time has come and gone. My cars have changed. My jobs have changed. But I love seeing him because he’s a reminder of what remains true. As much as I typically embrace change, I find change easier to embrace when there is consistency in other areas of my life. Like the car wash, ha.

Now, I had a lot on my mind when I pulled through. I was ready for a typical, kind “but keep it moving” kind of interaction. But not today. He said to me, “We are excited for you to try the car wash today. It’s been completely renovated. New brushes and everything. We think you will really enjoy it. It has exceeded our expectations, and it was $500,000 well-spent.” Gulp. That’s a big investment.

This got me excited to roll in and try it! And it was lovely! I noticed that the dryers were more effective, and I didn’t have as many water spots.

But in the hustle of my errands and with a lot on my mind, would I have noticed had he not pointed it out? Maybe not.

And this got me thinking. He wasn’t just sharing because he was excited. He was sharing strategically. He was leading me to notice the good. He was excited, and this got me excited. When I looked at my receipt, the cost had remained the same. That information about the expense of this renovation caused me to think differently about the price. It made me feel grateful that I was receiving an upgraded service without any increase cost as a customer.

Had he not told me, I probably wouldn’t have appreciated the experience or cost in same way.

We, as educators, can learn a lot from this car wash. We can be telling our stories more. Naming the good with great specificity, so the busy communities we serve can see the good more easily. When we look for the good, we find it.

If a car wash can do it, we can do it too. We have so much to celebrate and be proud of in our schools.

Yesterday marks a year since the release of Legacy of Learning. This book has been my thank you note to educators and a deeply important profession.

As I say in the conclusion, “Thank you for your commitment to nurturing the potential of other people’s children and each other. Every time someone goes out into the world to do good, those who nurtured, inspired, and stretched them along the way are part of that person’s story. Educators are changing the world through others every day. This is our legacy.”

And the more we can tell our stories of impact, the more we will feel seen and appreciated by our busy communities. It’s not that people aren’t wanting to celebrate our work. It’s often that they don’t know about it.

And we can fix that. One person at a time. One story at a time.

So this week, go out of your way to celebrate the good with great specificity. Notice how it makes you feel. How it makes others feel. And notice how that “good gossip” can spread and make a positive difference in your school community.