To Be Noticed is to Be Loved

Why helping children feel noticed is arguably the most important thing we can do in schools

It starts with a belief system

Making children feel noticed is arguably the most important thing we can do in schools.

Why? Because my belief system is this:

• When children feel that they are noticed
• It helps them to feel seen and known,
• which makes them feel loved,
• which makes them feel like they belong.

Noticing is the root of belonging. And belonging is the root of happy and healthy children.

I came across this US school study involving over 66K students. Only 51% of students shared that they thought their teacher would miss them if absent. And only 46% of students said that they felt valued at school. That’s truly shocking. The impact on self-worth, motivation and depression, when people feel unnoticed, unseen and unknown, has been well documented for some time — and has only been amplified through COVID, increasing polarization, and social media.

For teachers, noticing is the intentional act of seeing a student’s uniqueness and showing an interest in their full life. So when teachers pay attention to young people…