Recently, a teacher sent me a very kind text message. It didn't feel like I deserved her words of affirmation, but I cherished them and held them dear. It felt nice to have someone see something good in me, and it made me want to live up to those words the next day and every day. I guess all I'm saying is that our winters are long. The middle part of the school year can feel long and messy. But the work feels better when we feel better and a great way to feel better is to notice and acknowledge what's great around us: the people. The people make our schools special. Let's hype them up.

No gesture is too small. All gestures matter. If we all took the time to make those small gestures, our classrooms would change. Our schools would change. Our districts would change. Our communities would change. This is how we change the world. Through small caring on a daily basis. If we all do our part, the world will change.

If someone makes a small move that has an impact on you, tell them. If you see someone make a small move that has a positive impact on another person, tell them. Tell them with specificity and joy in your heart. That encouragement may be just what they need to keep making those small moves tomorrow. Too often, our small beautiful moves get swallowed up by loud problems. When you look at all of our work at one time, it's overwhelming and easy to see problems everywhere. When you train your mind to celebrate small moments, you see possibility. You find hope. It's not that we ignore our problems. We work on them, but we don't mentally live there.