What the Hallways Taught Me

When people talk about education, they often focus on the classroom. Standards, lessons, test scores. And yes, I’ve spent years designing learning experiences, aligning content to student needs, and pushing for academic growth.

But some of the most powerful lessons I’ve learned haven’t come from a classroom at all—they’ve come from the hallways.

The hallway is where a student might let their guard down, where a teacher might take a breath between periods, or where a principal might stop to offer encouragement with nothing more than a nod. It’s in these in-between spaces that relationships are built, trust is tested, and culture is either cultivated—or neglected.

I remember one student in particular—let’s call her Maya. Bright, strong-willed, and emotionally shut down in class. No matter how engaging the lesson or how much redirection I offered, something wasn’t clicking. One day, I saw her in the hallway, arms crossed, eyes low. I simply walked with her. No lecture. No assignment talk. Just presence. That moment unlocked something. It was a hallway conversation—not a classroom intervention—that became the foundation of our connection. From there, everything shifted.

What happens outside the classroom matters just as much as what happens inside. That’s why I’ve always taken a holistic approach to education—whether I’m working with gifted elementary students, teaching life skills to teens, training parents, or designing professional development for teachers.

The hallway moments remind me:

• Every child is more than a data point.

• Every interaction can be a turning point.

• Every educator needs space to breathe, too.

As we continue shaping schools and systems, we have to ask: Are we only planning for instruction, or are we planning for connection?

Because culture lives in the cracks—in the transitions, the glances, the walks to lunch. And when we pay attention to the hallways, we start to build schools that feel less like institutions and more like communities.

Let’s not miss the moment between the moments.