10 Reminders Used to Help Navigate the School Year

What's going on everybody, I hope this finds you striving and thriving and doing absolutely amazing. My name is Brian Martin, I'm a second grade teacher, and hosted the teaching champions podcast. Many of you that are listening have wrapped up the school year. And hopefully you're enjoying your well deserved break. And at the time of this release, I still have two weeks to go. And you get to this point in the school year, and the students see the finish line, the staff sees the finish line. And there's definitely a little excitement in the air. And I remember last year, I taught 100% remote. And it was the last day of the school year, all my online classes had ended. And I needed to pick something up in my physical school. So I went in around six o'clock, and I was the only one in the building. The lights were off in the sun was dimly lighting up the hallways. And I remember I took a lap around the school. And it was very quiet. And it was surreal. And it had been a really unique year and a year in which I will always have a special bond with those students that we met online all year long. There's something to say, though, about walking down a hallway, and hearing the Teach, feeling the energy passing by the students in interacting with them. I remember missing that. And then you fast forward to this. And you could write a whole book about this year. And if you think of everything that's transpired over the course of the year, but one thing that I promise is, every single day, over the next two weeks, I'm going to take that same lap around the school that I did a year ago. But instead of the quietness of those hallways, I'm gonna soak up the energy and the joy that is filling them. Now I'm not gonna lie, there are moments when I have missed the mute button that came in handy over zoom last year. But there's energy in those hallways right now. And I'm here for it. And with all that being said, in a very interesting year, to say the least, I want to share a few reminders that I had to give myself from time to time. The first one comes from Dr. Jody Carrington. And in one of her books, she reminds educators that you don't have to get it right, every single time. You don't have to be perfect. And there were many times this year, where there was a level of disappointment that I had in myself, whether it was for a lesson, falling short, Miss learning opportunities, or even interactions that I had with students, or maybe a colleague, that at the end of the day I look back on and I wish that I would have handled it differently. If you've ever found yourself sitting at your desk on break, or at the end of the day, and you just ruminate on those, you know how draining those thoughts can be. So when those intrusive thoughts start dragging you down, remind yourself that you don't have to be perfect every single time. A second reminder that I kept close to me comes from author John Gordon. And he's a best selling author. He's big on positivity. He speaks to major corporations, all the professional sports leagues, high level Division One collegiate programs, and he's big on positivity. And he says, We need to feed them weed and weed and feed. And what he's talking about is we need to feed the positive and weed out the negative in our work environments. And I've tried to bring that into the classroom and with the interactions with my students, especially the champions who require a little more of our attention. For some of those students, by the time that they've hit second grade, they've heard so much negativity. They've heard so many negative labels placed on them, that even at the age of seven and eight, they start viewing themselves in the negative light. And this reminder has been important, because our job just isn't the academic side. But we need to nurture that entire child. And we need to fill them with love, encouragement, support. And none of us set out to put any negative labels onto a student. But it happens, especially for those who are demanding a lot of our attention. And it might not be in the best of ways. That's why keeping this thing close to my heart, and reminding ourselves that we need to weed out the negative and fuel the positive. And understand it's a process, we don't always see the fruit of this right away. And sometimes, we might not see it. But our champions are always listening, even if we don't think they are. And the last thing that we want ingrained into any of our champions minds, is those negative labels. And maybe, just maybe, if you feed that positive enough, you're gonna plant that one seed in their mind, that is just waiting for the right time to bloom. Now for those days, when it just wasn't a good day, and you find yourself driving home, and you're fired up, and there are still things bothering you late into the night, remind yourself that tomorrow isn't today. Because today was a tough one doesn't mean that tomorrow's going to be a difficult day. And I don't know if it's ever happened to you. But if you've ever had a tough day, and you go to bed at night, dreading tomorrow, and you wake up with that dread, it doesn't set you up for the best day. That's why it's important, before you rest your head at night, that you get yourself in that right mindset that you remind yourself tomorrow is not today. With that being said, this year, there were moments when I reminded myself that I'm responsible for the energy I bring in this is the absolute truth. And sometimes we have to step back and remind ourselves of this. Because there's always going to be external factors, some of those are going to bring out the best in you. And there are other external factors that might look to bring you down. But it's up to you to be aware of the energy that you bring into your colleagues. It's up to you to be aware of the energy that you're bringing into your classroom, that energy that you're bringing to your students. And that energy is 100% within our control. And it takes self awareness, it takes having an understanding of tools and strategies that we can use to help bring our energy up when it's down. Because we don't always walk around feeling 100% all the time. But even when we're not feeling it, we're always responsible for that energy. There were also moments this year where I had to ask myself, Am I controlling the things that I can control? Because it's amazing how much of our time can get so easily consumed. Because we direct our attention and so many things that are outside of our control. Sometimes even listen to those around you hear what they're saying? Where is their energy focused at? Are they bent out of shape over things that they have no control over? are they letting these things dominate their energy? Now step back and look at your own focus. Is your energy going to the things that you have no control over? Or are they focusing on the controllables even though there are so many things outside of our control, if you put your energy and so all the things that you can control? It's amazing at the difference that that makes. Another reminder that I really made an effort to do this year was grabbed my joy to look for those moments within the classroom, in the hallways throughout the day. In really focus on those moments that brought a smile to my face. And sometimes it was the smallest of things. The other day, some of my students made friendship bracelets for their classmates, and they were handing them out. It was a small act of generosity. But it was a moment of joy. Those moments when a student from last year stops to talk to you in the hallway, some micro moment, but it's the little joy. When you hear two colleagues laugh, or two students laugh, when you look around your classroom, and you see your champions helping one another out, are all those one liners that the students drop that have you rolling, they're small moments, but they can fill you up in your day, is always going to be filled with stress, that's going to be a gift. But there's going to be small moments that if you're present, if you're aware, if you allow yourself to enjoy them, these moments can carry you throughout the day. And there were times this year that I also had to remind myself that we can do hard things. And you know, all too well, the challenges that we have faced. And sometimes we forget how strong how resilient, how capable we are. And I think about a few of my colleagues who are retiring this year, in the last few years, haven't necessarily been what anyone has considered to be easy. And each and every single one of us have been pushed outside of our comfort zone. And anytime I let that frustration creep in a little more than it should this year, I reminded myself of my colleagues who are both in their 60s, and were forced to take their classrooms in which they taught for 40 years and move it to teaching online. And I think about how brave and strong these ladies were at the end of their careers, when they were presented with an unbelievable challenge. And it's truly inspiring, and they were able to persevere through it. And I keep that as a reminder to myself, that we can do hard things. Another reminder that I have started using recently comes from a podcast I listened to that had Marshall Goldsmith. And if you don't know who he is, he's a best selling author, and one of the most sought after executive coaches in the world. And he said that if all of us could become world class, at one thing, it should be at forgiving ourselves. Because we're harder on ourselves, we say things to ourselves, that we will not even say to our worst enemies. And Mr. Goldsmith, he says, life happens, learn from it, grow from it, and move on from it. And that's definitely something that all of us need to remind ourselves. And the last reminder that I gave myself this year, is to remember to laugh. To not take myself so seriously, that I forgot to enjoy the day. If we can find those moments in our classrooms, to share that laughter with our students. Think about the classroom culture that you create. Our days are too valuable. And truthfully, they're too limited, not to make the most of it, and share those laughs Now different points of the air, different days of the week. They offer different challenges. And there were moments throughout the school year, where I had to remind myself that we don't have to be perfect all the time. To feed and weed and weed and feed that tomorrow isn't today that I'm responsible for the energy that I bring to remember to control the controllables to grab those moments of joy to remember that we can do hard things to be world class at forgiving myself and to laugh Now my challenge for you this week, let's do a little reflection. Take five minutes, jot down the reminders that you gave to yourself this year. We go through so much in a year. And a lot of the time, if we don't take that time to look back on the road we traveled, we forget about some of the different ways that we were able to successfully navigate those challenges. Write down the reminders that you gave yourself. Put that paper in a safe spot. And as you look to start the next school year, take that slip of paper out, look over those reminders, and prime yourself for the year to come. Thank you for being here for being part of the teaching champions community. I appreciate you. And if you think someone will benefit from this message, please share it. The teaching champions community supports, encourages and lifts each other up. And always remember, whether you're from rural America, to urban America, to Canada, to Spain to Bahrain, we're all on that same team. We're all on that same mission. And we're always better together. Keep being amazing, my friends, and as we go out to the week, May you step into your strength, may you step into your shine, and let's build our champions up. Have a great week, everybody