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Three passionate, dynamic voices pioneering pathways forward for
SEL implementation in education!
Igniting Purpose Through Traditions That Say "You Matter"!
Heather Lageman for xSELeratED
A Back-to-School Blueprint for Creating Classrooms where Every Student Knows they Belong
As September arrives with its familiar rhythm of fresh notebooks and hopeful anticipation, we stand at the threshold of possibility. We have a unique opportunity to intentionally craft traditions that not only welcome students back but fundamentally communicate their worth.
The convergence of two powerful educational philosophies offers us a roadmap for this fresh start - a combination of the time-tested traditions that teachers swear by, and Angela Maiers' transformative "You Matter" movement. Together, they create a foundation for classrooms where every student doesn't just feel welcomed—they feel essential.
The Power of Intentional Beginnings
Angela Maiers' 2011 TEDTalk on "You Matter" went viral, sparking a universal movement that challenges us to make "mattering" a way of life. When people accept that they matter and that their actions count, learning, lives, and worlds change. This isn't just inspirational rhetoric—it's backed by decades of educational experience and neuroscience research.
But how do we translate this powerful message into the daily rhythms of classroom life? The answer lies in weaving "You Matter" into the very fabric of our back-to-school traditions.
Reimagining Classic Traditions Through the Lens of Mattering
The "You Matter" Welcome Photo
Transform the simple first-day photo into a profound statement of belonging. Instead of just capturing smiles, create individualized welcome signs that declare each student's unique value. One teacher sets up a cheerful background and takes a photo of each student so that the first communication home about a student is positive and celebratory.
But imagine amplifying this tradition: Each sign could feature the student's name alongside "You Matter" and one thing that makes them uniquely valuable—perhaps discovered through a brief conversation or parent insight. These photos become more than memories; they're declarations of worth that students see reflected back at them throughout the year.
Time Capsules That Capture Dreams
The beloved tradition of creating class time capsules takes on new meaning when viewed through the lens of a legacy of impact. Instead of just preserving current interests, invite students to include their dreams for how they want to matter in the world. What problems do they want to solve? How do they hope to make a difference? When opened at year's end, these capsules remind students not just of how they've grown, but of the potential they've always carried within them.
Coffee, Connection, and Purpose
That beloved teacher tradition of back-to-school week breakfasts and faculty room coffee and connection becomes a ritual of preparation for the school year ahead. As educators fuel their bodies, they're also preparing to fuel young minds with the knowledge that they matter. Simple acts of self-care models for students that caring for ourselves enables us to better care for others.
Parent Partnerships That Amplify Worth
The tradition of asking parents what would make this their child's "best year ever" is a beautiful way to elevate the gifts each student has to give. Consider adding this question: "What unique gifts does your child bring that the world needs?" This reframes the conversation from fixing deficits to recognizing assets, immediately positioning each student as someone who matters not just to their family, but to their community.
Building Community Through Mattering
Helping people recognize their value and contribution is the foundation for the community-building activities many teachers incorporate at the year's start. Social contracts become more than classroom rules; they become agreements about how a community of people who matter will treat one another. SEL activities shift from managing behavior to nurturing the whole person, recognizing that when students feel they matter, behavioral issues often resolve themselves.
The Ripple Effect of Mattering
When we begin the year with traditions steeped in the message of mattering, we're not just creating positive classroom culture, we're addressing fundamental human needs. Organizations across all industries are finding new ways to ignite the genius of their employees. This same principle applies in our classrooms: students who feel they matter become more engaged learners.
The traditions teachers have shared—from watching inspiring films to creating celebratory photos and meaningful time capsules—all serve the same fundamental purpose: they communicate worth. They say, without words, "You belong here. You have value. You matter."
Your September Action Plan:
25 Ways to Show Students They Matter
As you plan your back-to-school traditions this year, consider these "You Matter" enhancements organized by implementation timeline:
Week One: Foundation Setting
Day 1-2:
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Name Pronunciation Mastery: Learn and practice every student's name pronunciation perfectly. Create audio recordings with students saying their names if needed. Nothing says "you matter" like hearing your name said correctly and with respect.
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Individual Welcome Letters: Write personalized notes to each student before they arrive, mentioning something specific you're excited to learn about them or share with them.
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Expertise Inventory: Have students complete a survey not about academic skills, but about life experiences, hobbies, languages spoken, places lived, or unique knowledge they possess.
Day 3-5:
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Student-as-Teacher Moments: During introductions, give each student 2 minutes to teach the class something they know well—from origami to video game strategies to caring for pets.
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Comfort Item Integration: Allow students to bring one meaningful item from home to keep at their desk/in their space throughout the year as a reminder of who they are beyond school.
Week Two: Community Architecture
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Strengths Spotlight System: Instead of icebreakers, create "Strengths Spotlights" where students identify and celebrate each other's unique abilities through observation activities.
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Problem-Solver Matching: Present real classroom or school challenges and invite students to volunteer their ideas, showing that their thinking matters to the functioning of the space.
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Cultural Asset Mapping: Create a classroom map showing all the languages, traditions, foods, and cultural knowledge present in your room—demonstrating the richness each student brings.
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Future Self Visualization: Have students write letters to themselves at the end of the year, focusing on the positive impact they hope to have made on others.
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Time Capsules: Have students create time capsules that capture not just their current favorite things, but dreams for making a difference in the world.
Week Three: Systems That Sustain Mattering
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Daily Affirmation Rotation: Each student gets one day per month where a specific positive affirmation about their contribution is shared with the class.
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Expertise Exchange Board: Create a bulletin board where students can post what they're willing to help others with and what they'd like with help learning.
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Impact Documentation: Start a class journal where students record moments they helped others, solved problems, or made someone's day better.
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Choice Architecture: Build meaningful choices into daily routines—from seating arrangements to learning modalities—showing that their preferences matter.
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Social Contracts: Establish social contracts that honor each person's inherent worth and unique contributions to the classroom community.
Week Four: Deepening Connection
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Story Circles: Weekly sharing circles where students tell stories from their lives, with the rule that every story shared teaches us something valuable.
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Strength-Based Partnerships: Pair students not by academic level but by complementary strengths, creating mutual mentoring relationships.
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Community Connection Projects: Begin identifying real community problems or organizations where students' specific talents could make a difference.
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Mattering Moments: Begin now and document moments throughout the year when students demonstrate how they matter—creating a year-long narrative of significance.
Beyond September: Year-Long Mattering Strategies
Monthly Rituals
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You Matter Mail: Once monthly, students write appreciation notes to classmates, focusing on character traits and contributions rather than just academic achievements.
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Genius Hour Extensions: Regular time for students to pursue passion projects that connect to their sense of purpose and potential community impact.
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Reverse Mentoring: Students teach you something each month, positioning them as the expert and you as the learner.
Assessment That Affirms Worth
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Strength-Based Feedback: Frame all feedback around what students do well and how to leverage those strengths for growth, rather than deficit-focused language.
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Process Portfolios: Document not just final products but the thinking, problem-solving, and growth journey that shows their learning matters.
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Impact Reflection: Regular reflection sessions where students identify how their learning connects to making a difference in their own lives or others'.
Classroom Environment Strategies
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Work Display Equity: Ensure every student's work is displayed at some point, with accompanying statements about what makes each piece special or meaningful.
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Voice Amplification Systems: Create multiple ways for students to share ideas beyond traditional participation—writing, drawing, movement, technology, or partnering.
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Celebration Rituals: Develop specific celebrations for different types of contributions—academic growth, kindness, creativity, leadership, persistence, or community service.
Connection Beyond Classroom Walls
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Family Expertise Integration: Invite family members to share their skills, careers, or cultural knowledge with the class, showing that students' home lives matter.
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Community Impact Documentation: Keep track of how student learning and projects connect to real-world applications or community benefit.
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Alumni Connection: If possible, connect with former students who can share how their time in your class mattered to their continued growth.
Digital Age Mattering
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Student Voice Platforms: Use classroom blogs, vlogs, or digital portfolios where students can share their thinking with authentic audiences beyond the classroom.
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Global Connection Projects: Connect with classrooms in other locations so students can see how their perspectives matter to peers around the world.
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Digital Mentorship: Facilitate connections between students and professionals in fields they're interested in exploring.
Trauma-Informed Mattering
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Emotional Check-In Systems: Daily or weekly systems for students to communicate their emotional state without having to verbally share if they're not ready.
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Flexible Participation: Multiple ways to engage and contribute that accommodate different comfort levels and processing styles.
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Strength-Based Identity Work: Help students identify and build on their resilience and survival skills as sources of strength and wisdom.
The Long View: Building a Generation That Knows They Matter
Every tradition we establish, every ritual we maintain, every moment we invest in showing students they matter contributes to a larger transformation. As educators, we share the mission to disrupt the status quo and empower individuals everywhere to transform their own world—and the world around them, but our influence extends even further. We're not just teaching curriculum; we're shaping the internal narratives that will guide our students for decades to come. It's about human connection, belonging, and purpose. As we embrace both the comfort of familiar traditions and the power of intentional innovation, we create classrooms where learning flourishes because students know, without question, that they matter.
Consider the ripple effect: a student who learns they matter in your classroom carries that knowledge into their family relationships, their future workplaces, their communities, and eventually into their own parenting or teaching. The traditions we establish today echo through generations. When we intentionally craft experiences that communicate worth and belonging, we're not just improving test scores—we're healing societal wounds and building a more compassionate world.
The Neuroscience of Mattering
Research in neuroscience confirms what educators have long suspected: the brain learns best in environments where it feels safe, valued, and connected. When students know they matter, their stress hormones decrease, their prefrontal cortex engages more fully, and their capacity for complex thinking expands. This isn't just feel-good pedagogy—it's scientifically sound practice that optimizes learning conditions.
But the impact goes deeper. Students who experience genuine mattering in educational settings develop stronger identity formation, improved emotional regulation, and increased resilience in facing challenges. They're more likely to engage in prosocial behaviors, show empathy toward others, and persist through difficulties because their sense of self-worth isn't dependent on external validation alone.
Beyond Individual Impact: Cultural Transformation
When we commit to showing every student they matter, we're actively counteracting harmful societal messages that suggest worth is conditional, competitive, or scarce. In a world that often measures value by productivity, grades, or conformity, our classrooms become sanctuaries where inherent human dignity is recognized and celebrated.
This work is particularly crucial for students who have been marginalized or whose identities aren't reflected in traditional educational narratives. When we center mattering in our practice, we create inclusive spaces where diversity becomes a source of strength rather than a challenge to manage. We model how communities can honor different ways of being, knowing, and contributing.
The Educator's Transformation
Perhaps most surprisingly, when we focus on helping students recognize they matter, we often rediscover our own sense of purpose and worth. Teaching becomes less about delivering content and more about nurturing human potential. Our job satisfaction increases, burnout decreases, and we remember why we entered education in the first place.
The traditions we implement—from learning every name correctly to celebrating diverse forms of intelligence—also remind us daily that our work matters profoundly. We're not just covering standards; we're shaping souls. We're not just managing behavior; we're modeling how humans can treat each other with dignity and respect.
Sustaining the Movement
School is about far more than curriculum delivery—it's about human connection, belonging, and purpose. At the start of each school year, we have a unique opportunity to rebuild education around what matters most: the recognition that every person in our learning community has inherent worth and unique gifts to offer.
But this work requires sustained commitment beyond the initial enthusiasm of September. It demands that we continuously examine our practices, question our assumptions, and adapt our approaches as we learn more about our students' needs and strengths. It means advocating for systemic changes that support this philosophy, from assessment practices to disciplinary policies to resource allocation.
Your Ripple in the World
This September, let your traditions be more than routine. Let them be declarations of worth, invitations to belonging, and catalysts for the kind of transformative learning that happens when students know they matter—not just to their teacher, not just to their families, but to the world that needs their unique gifts. Let them be declarations of faith in human potential. Let them be invitations to co-create learning communities where every person's worth is recognized, celebrated, and nurtured.
You're part of a larger movement of educators worldwide who refuse to accept that any child is disposable, any culture is deficient, or any dream is too small to nurture. Your classroom becomes a laboratory for what's possible when humans are treated with dignity, when potential is recognized and cultivated, and when learning happens in the context of love.
Every time you learn a student's correct pronunciation, celebrate their unique perspective, or create space for their voice to be heard, you're sending ripples into the future. Those students will carry forward not just academic knowledge, but the lived experience of being valued. They'll know what it feels like to matter, and they'll be more likely to create that feeling for others throughout their lives.
When students truly believe they matter, everything changes. And that change starts with you, in your classroom, this September. The future is waiting for the gifts only your students can bring, and you have the power to make sure they know those gifts matter.
Coming this Autumn!
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Building upon past work together, Leigh Alley and Heather Lageman reached out to The Worthy Educator to express their interest in launching a new joint initiative, xSELeratED, that champions their life's work building social-emotional learning into the education of every child in every classroom in every school around the globe. Given their tremendous passion, we responded with an enthusiastic "YES!"
We are excited to welcome xSELeratED to The Worthy Educator community, knowing it adds value to everything we are doing to reimagine education to reflect the needs of our fast-changing world. Join us and help lead in this important work!
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