The Value of Human Interactions

Ive noticed this a lot lately and after a visit with a good friend and mentor in China last week  I was glad to have this most valuable conversation to get me thinking and reflecting.

What I’ve noticed is the inability for us to often have a real conversation sometimes. Case in point, I noticed my pre teen daughter and her friends walking the hall with their devices in hand. Four of them. All seemingly having a conversation but at the same time looking down at their screens. I started to think, were they really listening to each other? What were they doing on their devices anyway? I got thinking.. I do that sometimes too. Sometimes I try to multi task or finish up something on my device (a tweet, sentence..post) when someone comes to see me. Am I too ‘busy’ to value their time? Because thats the message I am sending.

The next time someone comes to talk to me face to face I will:

1. Realise that it must be important enough to come and see me and value that visit
2. Close my device,or at least  lower the lid
3. Face that person and look at them
4. Give them 100 percent of my attention
5. Be an active listener and not a passive one
6. Value that interaction and time

My friend and I talked at great lengths that most valuable resource we have as teachers (and perhaps as people) is time. Time for our learners, our own children and each other. The next time I am ‘busy’ – busy is still the boss of me these days as we wrap up our school year and plan for a change of schools, new city, completing my studies- working away on laptop or reading the latest posts of my favorite blogs, or reading some interesting tweets and someone comes up to me in person, my goal is to remember the 6 step programme and put it into action.

Because people and time are something we all value.