The Middle Matters

The Power of a Moment

First off, let me say that I’m honored to be the first guest blogger of The Middle Matters. It’s been fun to watch it grow into its current form throughout the summer and the start of the year. I can’t believe that it’s October 14^th already! Mr. Ken Rogers and the entire Germantown Academy community have made me feel instantaneously comfortable, and I feel lucky to have been able to join this special community.

 

At the recent grade-level orientations, I shared the following quote by Dr. JoAnn Deak: “Every interaction a child has during the course of a day influences the adult that child will become.” This is a powerful and somewhat scary statement for parents and educators alike to consider. With this quote, Dr. Deak forever changed the way I think about my daily craft. Immediately after I first heard it in the summer of 2012, I began to break down my interactions into series of moments. I’ve realized that every moment of each interaction I have with a student has the potential to affect that young person for the rest of his or her life. Powerful stuff.
 

We’ve been talking about moments often this fall in the Middle School at GA: Mr. Rogers opened our first Morning Meeting with a Moment of Civility (see 9/16 post); The wall outside of Mrs. Evans’ office is adorned with photos of “Middle School Moments” that will continue to grow as the year progresses; sixth graders have reflected on their favorite moment at Refreshing Mountain; and this Friday we’ll take a moment of the school year to engage in community service.

I do not pretend to try to control every moment, nor does each interaction I have go exactly how I hope. But I do believe strongly that it is important be purposeful and intentional with words and actions. And while not every moment will be significant, it has the potential to be. There have been many powerful moments already this year; I’m eager to watch, learn, and grow as the year continues.