Intentional Tenderness

I have this article  postponed to come back into my inbox every 2-3 months or so. It helps ground me as AI continues to swoop through things that I used to take for granted.

Report writing - AI can do it. Lesson planning - AI does that. Assessment? It can probably do that but not the way I like to - sitting down with my student and talking to them 1:1, although AI can analyse the data I collect pretty quick!

As 2026 continues, I have adopted two 'buzz words': intentionality and tenderness.

Intentionality may be invented, I can't be bothered to look it up, but I am basically trying to ensure I am more intentional throughout my day. Breathing intentionally, talking, listening, nodding intentionally. I honestly think that little twist is helping be a bit more, dare I say it, human. 

Tenderness...with myself, my loved ones, my colleagues and my students. I think this 'digital age' is doing something to my brain: on the computer I no longer use just Microsoft Office's Word, Publisher, Excel and Powerpoint, now there's Canva, and Copilot, and Toddle, and Miro, and OneNote at work, then at home with Android phones it's Google this, that and the other, then there's the iPad, and fizz, pop, bang, my brain fries! 

Things feel...faster?...shorter?...more intense? I'm not so sure. Either way, at times I notice a harshness in my voice when speaking to others, an unnecessary urgency, and the same distinct hurried voice in my own head when trying to do too many things at the same time.

And so, intentionality and tenderness. Let's see how long they can be my focus in the hope they wind themselves down into the deepest, darkest parts of my soul. After all 

[1] A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1 NKJV