How to make your students feel loved

When I was a kid in 4th grade we had this old Hebrew teacher.  I think he was a Holocaust survivor; he was a terrible teacher, but the school just didn't have the heart to fire the guy.  Every day he sent us 4 questions to answer in our workbook in full sentences like they used to do back then (as in: Yes, Moses went up the hill to get the commandments.)  Well, I thought that was pretty stupid, and also really boring, so I made a point of always answering exactly 3 out of the four questions.  Always.  Exactly.  3 out of 4.  He never noticed.  When he called on me to answer the one I hadn't done, I just said I hadn't understood it.  When my parents came for the parent-teacher meeting, he told them, "Sometimes Chaya (me) doesn't complete her homework."  SOMETIMES?!?  wtf!?! The guy just never knew how much went on under his nose.  We girls especially passed mountains of notes to each other (no cellphones back then!) and he caught me exactly twice.  On the same day.  You know what he did?  He wrote my name on the board.  And the second time?  He put an X next to my name.  Oooh.

I believe in keeping discipline in my class, but not for the reasons you'd expect.  For me it's about showing I notice, showing I care.
 
This is an important idea.  I'm not out to punish or shame, but if I'm aware of when someone in my class isn't on task, then I'm also aware of when they are on task and having trouble.  It's possible to be aware of the former but not the latter of course, but it's almost impossible to be aware of the latter and not the former.

So how to let them know that I'm aware?  Nagging is just annoying.  "How come you're not working?" "Don't speak Spanish!" etc. is irritating in the extreme and bound to produce the opposite effect once your back is turned.  A simple "How's it going here?" is much more effective.  Especially if you make a point of walking aorund the room while the students are working and asking everyone periodically and individually; not just the ones who are misbehaving, but everyone.

Have you ever had a teacher who asked you that?