Seeing Versus Watching

I believe that when we truly see young people—recognizing who they are and what they bring—we connect to our shared humanity and in doing so we all rise. Seeing is so different from watching. I don’t ever want to watch for compliance or catch anyone’s mistakes; that changes nothing. Seeing on the other hand changes everything. 

I spent twenty-four years in the classroom, first teaching middle-school French and Spanish (a heroic calling I held for only four years) and then, happily, high-school Spanish. Somewhere in that whirl of wonderful students I stumbled on the seed of Root 2 Rise: give the restless, unsure, or anxious kids real leadership and their eyes light up. Hand them a role - coach a peer, explain a verb chart, guide a small group - and they begin to see themselves as smart, essential, and valuable. Their cultural knowledge, bilingual skills, and lived experience shift from “extra” to “asset,” and suddenly school feels like a place where they matter.

When, in my 25th year as an educator, I left my beloved classroom for the halls to step into a newly created position as “Positive Behavior Coach,” I saw how surveillance policies promised order but quietly eroded trust. So I built the opposite: a program where high-school juniors and seniors volunteer—yes, voluntarily sign a contract—to serve as Tutor-Mentors in K-5 classrooms. We trust them to guide, to show up on time, to keep their phones away, to teach. In return they gain punctuality, patience, and purpose—skills that follow them into college, work, and life. Most importantly, they hear a message many of them have never heard: “You are important. You have value. Use it to lift someone else.”

Yes, there is a stipend, and yes, that money is an incentive to many. Perfect, I say, because I know that even if they sign on for the stipend, they stay for the classroom of K-5 learners who fall in love with them and who help them fall in love with themselves. 

Root 2 Rise frames success as a shared climb. When young people are truly seen, they don’t just stay out of trouble; they step into leadership and help everyone around them grow. Surveillance may control behavior, but recognition unlocks potential. That is the heart of my work and the promise of Root 2 Rise: You belong. You matter. You can lead.