Gordon Flett

And especially needed, if you've had experience as the anti-mattering, you need to build the positive mattering as a buffer to that.

Well, you know, we always talk about the contagion of things that aren't so good, but I do believe that once you experience it, you know, the concept, I've seen this with adults too.

Once you have this lens on the world about

Valuing people, you interact differently with people.

You see things that other people might not see.

I was talking to a principal now superintendent who had a situation with a teacher who had to be suspended for, I don't know what happened there.

But when he came back, you know, because he knew about mattering, the principal is looking and he sees this guy who's ashamed of himself for whatever happened.

I don't know.

And he's sitting in the lunchroom with all these other teachers off by himself.

And he said, knowing what I knew about matter, I couldn't leave that guy sitting there by himself.

I needed to know that he was forgiven.

He did his time for whatever was the problem and that I was welcoming back.

And this, this principal told me he then got promoted.

And he said that when he went and told this fellow who he'd now built this connection with him, sort of built him back up.

He says rare, but the other teacher, he started to cry because he was now losing

The guy that had seen him when everybody else was off to the side.

So, you know, I, I do believe it can create this.

And for kids, once kids learn about mattering, I know the New York times article from about two years ago now had a write-in segment and kids were saying in there, you know, now that I know about this, I'm going to do something about it.

But the part about the connection with the parents too, like undivided time.

where there's no looking at the phone and social media, where the kid is the focus.