Kids are great BS detectors- Mark Johnson

At Mission Monday we do a lot of work providing you with weekly missions to help make your school a better place by developing a strong culture and positive climate. One of those missions is telling a chosen student that you think they are awesome, or giving them some sort of affirmation. This is one of the most powerful missions we preach, and it makes a very big impact on the students with which you interact.

All that being said, you can royally screw this mission up by doing one thing: Not believing the words you are saying to the student as you are saying them. If you tell a student they are awesome, you need to believe they are awesome. If you tell a student you believe in them, you need to honestly and genuinely believe in them. If you are just saying it to say it, but don’t believe it, the student won’t believe you either. They will see right through you. 

Kids are great BS detectors. They know when they are hearing something that doesn’t seem quite right. They are experts at calling someone out who isn’t telling the truth. Some of our students have been lied to their whole life. They have been told things and promised things that haven’t happened. They have been let down. And they are tired of it. So tired of it. 

What I’m saying is, don’t be just another person in their life they can’t trust. Don’t be a person in their life that shares worthless comments that just sounds like endless amounts of “blah blah blah” in their heads. Be a person that changes lives. Be a person that means what they say. Be a person that finds a student, and says, “Has anyone told you yet today that you are awesome?” Or “I believe you will do amazing things today.”

Don’t just say it with your words. Say it with your smile. Say it with your eyes. Say it with your heart. Help defuse their BS detectors. And hopefully when that students walks away, they believe it, too.

You can read more of what Mark and Sam have to say in their book It Happens In The Hallway. Just click here.