Teach Your Kids to Look for the One as the School Year Begins

As school doors open across the country, gates fling wide, and tardy bells toll, let us teach our children to look for the one.

As they fill the hallways and crowd the classrooms and line up in the lunchrooms, let us teach them to look for the one.

The one whose head is downcast.

The one who stands apart.

The one who sits alone.

Let us teach our children to offer a smile or a seat. To extend help or a hand. To speak kindness and mercy.

Let us teach them to go to the fringes. To welcome the immigrant. To befriend the friendless. To embrace the outcast.

Because the hurting and the cast aside, the misfit and the marginalized… these aching souls walk within the halls of our schools, desperate simply to know someone cares.

Let our kids be the someones who care.

So before we make their lunches or lay out their clothes or snap that back-to-school picture—

Before we tuck them in or read that story or say that prayer—

Let’s have a conversation, telling them to look for the one.

Because if we teach them to look for the one, then perhaps, one day, there may not be any more ones to be found.

Originally published on the author’s Facebook page

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Articles by Shalene Roberts

Shalene Roberts

Shalene Roberts is a grace-clinger, wife, mother to five, writer, and the owner of Lily & Loom Vintage Rugs. As a former national magazine editor, she writes with authenticity about faith, family, and motherhood. Her popular post, “When Mothering is Hard and No One Sees” boasts more than half-a-million views and has been shared around the globe. Her work has been seen in a variety of publications, including Motherly, Modern Luxury Dallas, Thrive Moms, and more. In Spring 2026, Shalene's first book with Whitaker House Publishers will hit the market. Connect with her at https://shaleneroberts.com or on IG at https://www.instagram.com/shalenerobertsblog/

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