Daniel Kahneman won a Nobel prize in 2002 for applying psychological research and decision making to the world of economics. He basically showed that our memories of experiences are based on tiny moments, generally only a few seconds long. And our brains sort these moments into three categories, good, bad, neutral. But we don't remember the neutral. We remember the good, and of course we remember the bad. And he says we make meaning by combining these moments or bits of remembered experience. He gave an example at a recent talk about a man listening to a recording of a symphony. He was in heaven. The music was incredible. But there was a screeching sound at the end of the recording, and the guy said it ruined his entire experience. Kahneman pointed out that the screech ruined his memory of the experience, but not the actual act of listening to 20 minutes of inspirational music. But, the man can't think about that symphony without thinking about this screeching. Quite frankly, this reminds me of way too many experiences in my own personal life. Okay. But why does this matter? Because if our reality is defined by and comprised of these tiny moments, and if our goal is perma, then the scale has to tip toward the positive. Ed Diener's research makes the following point about subjective well-being, or what you and I would actually probably call happiness. His research proves that subjective well-being actually increases productivity, creativity, helpfulness, good health, as well as the ability to pursue goals and set new goals. Ultimately, our kids need to accumulate more good than bad. More positive than negative in order to flourish. So, let's bring this back to the classroom. If we view our days and lessons as a collection of moments, moments where students, you know, mostly remember the good and bad, our goal should be increase the number of positive moments. That's the inspiration behind mico-moments, which are any moment of time where you can strengthen a relationship with another person. This doesn't have to be just in school. Micro-moments have three essential attributes. And, as a reformed math teacher, I like to think of them as a triangle. We'll get into each in the coming activities, but I'll list them all here. Constructive responding. Growth mindset. And character behavior language. There are two things that are unrealistic, and it's important to note here. One, not every interaction is going to be positive. That's always the first question teachers ask me. Every interaction doesn't need to be positive. We're not trying to create some type of false or fake Pleasantville. And, two, not every interaction is going to have all three elements. That could also seem forced or fake, and, quite frankly, it would take too much time. The goal, is at the end of a period, or the end of a day, if you had a map of your micro-moments, it should look something like this. And that would be fantastic. You want to work that triangle. You really want to work it. Moment after moment, so that the total accumulation tips well in favor of the positive. That way, when kids go home they have more good to remember than bad.
