In Praise of Handwritten Notes


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Brenda Power

When asked what was the most important thing she wanted to teach her students, long-time kindergarten teacher Isabel Beaton replied, "The art of gracious living!"

Whether you're five or fifty, there's really no more worthy goal for any group of learners. What's the point of learning and literacy, if in the end it doesn't help us create gracious, kind, sustainable communities? I think that is why I value handwritten notes so much, and find the work they do in building community to be immeasurable.

When I receive a handwritten note from someone, I know that they were moved enough by something I said or did to make an effort to express themselves, well beyond the energy it takes to zip off an email. And when I take the time to write a brief note to anyone, I am trying to do the same.

My friend Jennifer Allen recently visited a teacher she had been mentoring throughout the school year. As she was waiting for the teacher to return to the classroom from the playground, she spied seven small notecards tacked on the wall behind the teacher's desk. The cards were all handwritten notes Jennifer had quickly dashed off after each classroom visit that year, saved and posted by her colleague where she could look at them every day.

While we may not post them on our walls, I think all of us have handwritten notes in our files and desk drawers from friends and colleagues that we keep close by. We hold onto these notes for weeks or even years, flipping through them in those moments when we need to be reminded why our teaching has meaning and purpose.

In Leo Tolstoy's retelling of the Russian proverb "The Three Questions," the final question is the most critical:

What is the most important thing to do?

Of all the things I've done in my life to sustain relationships with colleagues, students, and schools, I think the routine of handwritten notes sent to others may be the most important. This may strike you as absurd, or make you wonder if I've ever done anything that matters in my professional life. But time and again, when it comes to innovation and collaboration that endures, nothing forges more of a connection or an impression than taking the time to write a short, kind note on stationary at a time when it isn't expected or required.

The Habit of Personal Notes

In recent years, email has replaced the handwritten note as the standard for communication. Email is great for many purposes, but it's designed as a timesaver. Handwritten notes are "timesavors" - they help us pause, reflect, and honor the work of others.

If you already have the habit of writing short notes regularly to colleagues, you know a lot of tricks and tips for managing these notes and writing a slew of them in very little time. My goal is to spend roughly 5 minutes a day on handwritten notes, and in a typical week I will send out at least 5 - 10. Over a year, that is a minimum of 300 - 500 notes. It adds up quickly. Here are some simple tips for building a notewriting habit:

Carry notes with you to write in odd moments or when you find yourself with unexpected free time. Literacy coach Jennifer Jones almost always has a small packet of notes in her purse; I keep mine in my laptop totebag. When I'm waiting for a meeting to begin, I can easily scribe a note or two.

Use small stationary or postcards. If the stationary is small, it lends itself to a quick note. If you need more than three or four inches of space to make your point, it probably needs to be a conversation, not a note.

Write a quick note at the end of any observation or classroom visit, before you leave the room. Jennifer Allen always drops off her notes before lunch in the teacher's mailbox when she completes an observation, so the teacher has an immediate bit of positive reaction before they meet for a more extended debrief later. I like writing when I am still in the room, because when teachers and students are literally before my eyes, it's easy to think of something specific to highlight in a note.

Focus on one positive, concrete point. Writing a note to a colleague for me mirrors many of the same principles used in conferences with students - I home in on one thing I appreciate about how they worked with a child that day, or a colleague recently. I find a strength, express my appreciation for it, and thank the person for letting me visit their classroom. If I am writing the note after a classroom observation I might use one of these stems to begin:

I appreciated...

When you did X, I learned Y...

What a change in X since the last time I visited...

I enjoyed the...

I heard...

I was surprised by...

Isn't it amazing that...

One thing I've been noticing in your classroom recently...

Supplies

The most inexpensive place to find stationary is often the local dollar or bulk discount store. Many times you can get cute stationary for less than ten cents a card at discount outlets.

Pomegranate has a big sale now on surplus cards, including a deal of 200 postcards for $29.95:

http://pomegranate.stores.yahoo.net/jupoblsa.html

If you have a little more to spend, there is a new line of small cards based on children's books - offerings include Curious George, Frog and Toad, Miss Rumphius, and Charlotte's Web. These cards are currently on sale at Amazon as part of their "4 for 3" promotion.

If you want something a little more sophisticated, The New Yorker will turn almost any cartoon they've published into a box of stationary for you. If you have a favorite cartoon from a past issue, it's a fun way to express yourself, and there are many available with literacy themes:

http://www.cartoonbank.com/gifts_notecards.asp

No one ever has enough time in the day to pen a handwritten note - which is why when one appears in the mailbox, we are so delighted. And isn't that what gracious living, and learning, is all about?