5 Lessons On Bringing More Joy, Fulfillment, and Creating Stronger Connections in the School Day

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 host of the teaching champions podcast. And as this episode is coming out, it's right after Thanksgiving. So I hope everyone had a little time to relax, and had that special time with those close to you. And my district head school on Monday and Tuesday, this past week. It was parent conferences this week. So it was nice to get a chance to sit down with the parents, and have discussions about where the students are at. And going into the conference. I always remind myself that every single one of these kids, no matter who they are, there's someone's world. And I just think when we talk with parents, it's important for us to remind ourselves of this, and be conscious of the words that we speak about our students. And on another note, I had a little guy come up to me this week, while I was doing attendance, and He's seven years old. So he comes up to a little above my waist, he weighs about 50 pounds. And he looks up at me. He starts rubbing his chin. And he says you know what, Mr. Mar? A chin is pretty itchy today. And I think I'm starting to grow some whiskers. I had a pretty good chuckle about this. But if my man shows up on Monday with a full beard, I know he wasn't joking about those whiskers. But let's get into it. As we get ready to roll into the final month of the year. Let's think about finishing this calendar year on a strong note, I guess the holiday season will hopefully infuse some of that joy into the classroom. But today I want to talk about what are some things that we can intentionally do to spark that joy, to spark that fulfillment in our jobs, to spark those connections that we have with our students and our school community. And I think the best way to do this is to share some of the wisdom that my most recent guest shared on this very topic. So here are five gems that you can think about in orders help spark that joy, find fulfillment and strengthen those connections. The first jam is from Dennis Matthews. And he really hammered home the point to seize those every day moments. Use those moments that we have to praise our students to have real conversations with our students, to show our students gratitude. And to just use those moments to really work on building those connections. As fast as the day goes, and it goes fast, at least most of the times, because there can be moments. But within the scope of the day, there are so many opportunities to have these moments of connection, while we are locked in giving our students our undivided attention. And we let them know that they're the most important thing in that moment. And those moments, which can be just a few seconds long can go a long way. And for that student, that moment right there. That short conversation. That might be the only time all day long. That someone shows them, that they're seen that they're heard that they're valued. So seize those everyday moments. And the second jam is from my conversation with Pamela Hall. And something that she said, has so much to to, she said we are the ultimate role models, any behavior any trait that we expect our students to display. We should be the ultimate model of that. And Pam also talked about how we have to give the students the language. We have to make the invisible, visible for our students. We need to talk and explain feelings. We need to talk and explain behaviors and actions. Putting feelings to words they can be tricky for adults. So imagine how difficult it can be for a young person. So we have to model and give these students ways that they can communicate how they feel, because it's critical. The third gem to help us find joy, fulfillment and spark connection with our students comes from Laney Rao. And she talks about one way to bring more gratitude into your life is to be intentional. And to be that person that's lifting others up to be that person that's recognizing others. So make it a point to see the good that's happening all around you. And there's lots of it. You can walk into any school, you can walk into any classroom, and you will see special learning taking place, you can walk down the hallways, and you're going to hear joy, laughter. And you're going to hear so much caring, being shared. And when you see it. And when you hear it pointed out to others, let people know that you see the great things that they're doing. Because it doesn't matter if you're a second grader, a high school senior, or a teacher that's been teaching for 20 years, all of us enjoy being recognized for the things that we do, so why not share. And an added bonus is when we share those good things to others, is going to make us feel better, too. So don't keep those special comments to yourself. Because I can't tell you how many times I saw someone do something special. And I said to myself that I'm going to let that person know. But then it never happens. It stays within me. So don't hold on to that. lift others up, recognize them, and build those strong relationships. Now the fourth gem that I want to share comes from Laura Williams, and she was talking about the Agile learning framework. And she said that this framework consisted of four things. And she said that if you ran a business, if you taught a classroom, etc. And you applied these four things, you will go so far, so fast. And the people that were part of it will be B and happy. And these four things are, make it a safe space. Continuously deliver value, experiment and learn rapidly. And last, make people Awesome. All four of these things are fantastic and much needed. But for today's purposes, what if we just settled on making people awesome? What if we made it a point to enter our schools, enter our classrooms and focus on making each unique individual in our space? Awesome. What if we did something said something, or put someone in a position to bring out the best in them? What if we saw the greatness inside of them, and we made sure that they knew it that they saw it in themselves as well. Imagine what your day could be like and the bonds that you could have if you did this. And gem number five comes from Josh Tovar, an amazing principal in Texas. And he talks about setting up patterns of positive behavior. And in his school, he has themes for each day of the week. And he has positive things set up to encourage the students and the staff. He had weekly moments designated where he would highlight a student or staff member on social media. These things that he put in place were designed to be uplifting, encouraging. They were designed to drop a little positivity into the day. So think about your own class. What are some weekly routines that you could implement, to help build anticipation to help drop a little bit of positivity, to help give everyone yourself included, something to look forward to. We're slowly creeping towards that sticky middle part of the year. I know for myself after winter break, I always find myself having moments where it's a struggle. So taking these reminders from some pretty special guests. I'm hoping to avoid some of these really tough day and hopefully you will be able to avoid those days as well. So look to seize those everyday moment. is to let others know that they're seen that they're heard that they're valued. Because everyone deserves that gift each day model what you want from your students and give them that vocabulary to express themselves. And if you do this, then you're going to start to see those students thrive. And if you make it a point, to pay attention to the great things that are happening all around you, if you make it a point to share those great things with others, and lift others up, then it's going to benefit them, but it's going to benefit you as well. And in the same breath, if you make it a point, to really find ways in the day, to make others awesome, to let them know the gifts that you've seen them, to help them see it for themselves, to put them in different positions or roles that are going to allow them to display their shine, then you're elevating them, and you're elevating yourself as well. And if you can establish patterns of positive behavior, that will give something for those around you to look forward to. And to give yourself something to look forward to, then you're going to bring a little more joy, a little more fulfillment, and strengthen the connections a little more. Thank you for being here for being part of the teaching champions community we support, we encourage we lift each other up. And if you think someone will benefit from this message, please share. And don't forget to subscribe to the podcast so that you don't miss out on any new episodes. And always remember, it doesn't matter if 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 you go out into the week, May you step into your strength may step into your shine, and let's build our champions. Have a great week, everybody