Recently, I heard about a school teacher that has a unique way to help kids stay connected in her class.
Every Friday afternoon, she asks her students to take out a piece of paper and write down the names of four children with whom they'd like to sit the following week. The children know that these requests may or may not be honored.
She also asks the students to nominate one student who they believe has been an exceptional classroom citizen that week. All ballots are privately submitted to her.
And every single Friday afternoon, after the students go home, she takes out those slips of paper, places them in front of her and studies them. And she looks for patterns.
Who is not getting requested by anyone else?
Who doesn't even know who to request?
Who never gets noticed enough to be nominated?
Who had a million friends last week and none this week?
What is she looking for? She is looking for lonely children. She is looking for children who are struggling to connect with other children. She's identifying the ones who are falling through the cracks. She's looking for kids whose gifts are not being recognized by their peers.
And she uses what she finds to break the patterns of disconnection. She reaches out to the lonely kids and gets them the help they need.
There are lonely kids sitting in our services every week. Do we know who they are? Are we reaching out to them? Are we being intentional about helping them get connected?
How do you identify the lonely kids?
What do you do to help kids stay connect?
Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.
