Glancing out my kitchen window on a hot summer evening, I stared through the approaching dusk at my neighbor's trees, mindlessly enjoying the scene. Out of the corner of my eye I saw something fleeting. I turned and looked carefully to try and confirm what I thought I had seen in my peripheral vision. My heart jumped as I opened my eyes wide trying very hard to see in the increasing darkness.
After waiting what seemed like minutes, I saw it again, but not where I expected it to be! If there had been no intervening wall, I probably would have found myself running through the yard to try and follow it, just as I had many years ago as a child.
If you haven't guessed what I saw, then you probably have never chased fireflies, or "lightning bugs" as we used to call them. I don't see them as much any more, and when I do, there don't seem to be as many.
The only other time I remember staring that hard was when my parents took my sisters and me to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. We walked down to the bottom of the caverns on a tour. I remember them turning out the lights creating the thickest, blackest darkness I have ever seen. I was staring hard trying to see anything! No matter how wide open my eyes were I could not even see my own hand in front of my face.
When was the last time you looked that hard for something? Have you ever looked that hard for something in the classroom? How much time do we actually spend looking for those momentary 'aha' flashes that come from our students? How many missed opportunities have we had because we haven't had our eyes wide open?
It is easy to see negative things. We all have found ourselves correcting students continually throughout the day: "Please get back in line", "Put your chair down", "Please keep your hands to yourself", "Go back and sit down", "Please stop talking". The list can, and does, go on and on of ways we can find to correct students behavior, choices, and work in the classroom.
What if we spent just as much, or even more time, and energy, looking for things for which we can praise students? Looking for those moments of comprehension and understanding that might be just as fleeting as the flash of a firefly. How powerful would it be if we responded to that flash at just the right moment, in just the right way, to encourage, support, and expand on their learning?
Paul says in Philippians 4:8 "Finally brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."
Maybe I don't see as many fireflies as I used to because I am not outside looking for them with my eyes wide open. This year I plan on being intentional in keeping my eyes wide open for my students. How about you?
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