Be STRONG, Be a Listener, and Be Their Warrior with Pamela Hall

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 today, my guest is Pamela Hall. She's an award winning teacher, a blogger and author, and so much more. And in this conversation, listen for Pamela's tips on creating enthusiasm and engagement. listener, she talks about the power of modeling for our students, how we should be intentional with our energy, how to be strong, and so much more. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. I am super excited to welcome Pamela hall to the teaching champions podcast. Pamela, welcome, my friend. Hey, Brian, thank you for having me. I'm super excited to be here. I'm super excited to have you because you have so much wisdom and just talking to pre show you have so much joy and so much positive energy to share. So I can't wait for the wisdom that you're about to drop for us. Now, well, I'm looking forward to it. For those who listeners that don't know who you are, would you mind sharing a little bit about your journey? Well, I'm kind of up there in age. So that might take like all night long. So I'll give it like quick snippet synopsis. So I was fortunate enough to live overseas for 14 and a half years in Germany. And I taught for the Department of Defense. And then my husband and I came back to America. And at that time, actually, we home educated our children for 12 years. Let me back it up. When I was working for the Department of Defense, I was actually honored with two national awards. One was the Presidential Award for science and mathematics, teaching. And the other one was the USA, all star Teacher Award. And I just have to say any success, or any awards that I've ever been fortunate enough to have a really just a byproduct of the wonderful people that I've gotten to work alongside learn from connect with. And also, I believe I'm a child of God, and I draw my strength from God my maker, so I'm just thankful that I'm able to live my calling each and every day. And so after my kids graduated from homeschool, I went back into the public school and teaching first grade for three years. And then now currently for the past four years, I teach elementary engineering to 680 Pre K through third graders. And in addition to that, I authored my first book this past year, and I really have a passion for reaching all teachers because our future depends upon teachers. Four years ago, I burn out I almost left the profession entirely said that created me overcoming that situation has created a passion in me to help tire teachers stress teachers go from stress to enjoying like more. And I know how to do that. Absolutely. And you have travelled a path my friend and from Germany to homeschool to back into a regular school. And a quick question. I want to dive into this for a second. So you come back from Germany, you and your boys and you start this farm. It wasn't a typical like when the listeners might be thinking it's you know, your home teaching your boys just inside the home. Can you elaborate a little bit about this homeschooling experience and maybe how that's helped you become a better teacher inside the regular classroom. So absolutely. Sometimes I think People I don't, there's lots of stereotypes in the world about everything right. But I truly believe we were not a stereotypical homeschool family, for instance, when they will, first of all, when they were in their primary ages, we had a co op, and we did PE and the presidential challenge. And we did things with other families, and we create a community. And we had high expectations, and we had schedules and they were in scouting. Both of them are Eagle Scouts. And because they're Eagle Scouts that's open doors for them in their career fields, because it shows leadership skills. But on our family, they had chores and they learned to be entrepreneurs. They had an egg business from chickens, and they had to take care of those chickens and market the eggs and deliver the eggs. And I was the instructor, which they didn't like because sometimes the eggs were not clean. And I'm like, do you want to get dirty eggs and pay for them. And so one of the things that you and I talked about Brian is we were beekeepers. And what that did is not only did it teach us about the fascination of bees, but it taught us just about communities how the bees work together. And they're amazing this and when I went back into the classroom, my first graders wanted to learn about bees. So I was able to connect them with beekeepers, we went to a bee yard. And they got to put on full beekeeping suits, do beekeeping, we got, of course, medical consent and everything before we took this field trip. But they got to feel the bees. And they would say things like I didn't know bees were fuzzy. And they learned that bees are, are good not to be scared of them. And from that experience, these were first graders, they started chanting to me, this is home, we got to tell the world, no bees, no food. And so they wanted to have a parade in our community. And so instead of a parade, I listen. And that's part of why kids are so excited about learning. And engaged that I work with is I listen to what they want to do. And I said, Well, what if instead of having a parade, we just partner with a local business. And maybe we can go to their business and hand out flyers and show them Be friendly products instead of pesticides. And what if we show them Be friendly plants. And so that's actually what my students did. They created fliers, they went out into the community. And they were first graders so they learned speaking skills they learned in measurable life skills, but also Standards of Learning. We live in Virginia, and it's all about the SOLs. But I always just take those Sol ELLs marry them up to your students interest. And in the when you're learning even better, you don't have to worry about how they're gonna test, they will do well, because you've exposed them to all these opportunities and experts, and they've had a chance to implement life skills. So anyway, homeschooling helped me be able to be a better educator for all kids. That's so good. I love the fact that you took your beekeeping experience, and brought that to the classroom, that you connected them with local businesses that they had the opportunity to really learn about how important bees are, and then take that active role in the community. So good. And then I loved and I think it's important. And I want to emphasize this, that you said, listen, that you listen to those students. Because when we talk about engagement, if we listen to him, and then we bring that into the classroom, they're going to be engaged, that's where they're gonna find the excitement. So I love that. Now in your club in your book, which congratulations, by the way, try to be their warrior. You talk a lot about culture. What are some ways that you look to enhance your school culture, the classroom culture that you can meet the needs of all the learners. So number one, everything begins with me And, and you who you know, you're wonderful listeners, you, it always begins with us. And we know this logically. But sometimes we're just so focused on. Because that's what we do as teachers, we love our students, and we want to impart knowledge, and we want to help everybody be the best they can be. But truly, it begins with us. So the third principle, which I think we'll talk about later on, is starting with ourselves. But then after we start with ourselves, it is really about being that role model. So I make sure that I have good relationships with my colleagues. I don't have to like everybody, and certainly they don't like me, not everybody likes me. And that's okay. And I tell the kids that it's okay. But be kind to everybody work as a team, they have knowledge you don't have, you have knowledge that you can give to them. So it's really, first and foremost, always about being a role model. But also even talking about that to the kids, and explaining it to them, because I teach pre K through third grade, but I think any age, you've got to explain it. And maybe you've heard that term before things are caught, not taught. So when we walk the talk, the kids see that. So I model love, respect, trust, I stop and like we talked about just a moment ago, I listened to them, I believe in them. I look at their facial expressions, what's going on? How can I help you and we just create this family like environment. And then I give them tools and strategies to communicate with each other. When they're all angry and upset with each other. I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, let's talk about that. And, and I teach them that I feel statements like when you did, whatever it was, I feel, can you please. And that's not accusatory anymore. It is owning it. And then the other person can, then I teach them to take turns, well, how are you feeling? When you take the time to do this, you create a culture of love and trust, when you take the time to applaud, everybody's wins. The kids start applauding wins, you don't have to do it anymore. You actually do work less, it's on the front end, it takes a lot more work, a lot of consistency. But all the way through, it's way better, because you've created this family like environment that is unstoppable. And they will help each other achieve. Because you can teach them to coach each other. And I teach them, you know what coaching looks like? What it sounds like, you're not just giving them the answer that does nobody any good. Teach them how you thought to get the answer. So those are some things about the culture that I think are important. And I just want to interject to that. I am not the teacher that goes to all the birthday parties. Are you not the teacher that goes to the ball games, I get invited to the mall. But here's the thing, I am the teacher, the kids love whether I go to those things or not. Because I have boundaries. And my family's just as important as this children. And I tell them that. I tell them, I love you. But I can't go to all the games. So I'm not going to go to any. Yeah, no. And that makes complete sense. Sometimes, you know, we may want to go to a game or two. But then it's not fair to those other students that you can't make it to. And like you said, we need boundaries. Those boundaries are really important. And what I really love what you're saying right there about that culture is that we are the role models that we show that if we're walking that walk, we can't just talk the talk, we got to walk the walk, and we have to show them and I love how you talked about giving them the tools and strategies is not just telling them, you know, you got to be kind. It's showing them what does that look like? Here's some strategies to do it, teaching them about how to be a coach making that visible. And one of my favorite authors, I've referenced them a bunch of times but it's John go Word. And he's big on positive culture. He works with a bunch of like division one college football teams. And he was saying with culture, it's about what you celebrate, and what you tolerate. And I know when when you're talking about making it visible, those bright spots visible for the students, we mean, you both work with the young ones. So you know, it's our language with them, we definitely want to show them that. My experience also I helped out for about 14 years coaching, I was an assistant coach on a varsity basketball team that was extremely successful. And one of the things that made us successful, same principle. It's what are you making visible to those players about culture about how they treat each other? What are you making visible, like speaking out loud, naming it as far as their actions on the court, so I loved how you brought that disability piece into it. You just triggered a thought we talk a lot about all of us, versus me. You know, it's, it's all of us. And so, when all of us are stuck, when one of us is struggling, we're all struggling, let's help. When one of us is winning, we're all winning, let's celebrate. Absolutely in language like that brings that classroom community together two simple language pieces. And, you know, I was talking, I was looking through your Twitter feed the other day. And one thing that I love is the hands on activities that you bring. And you had a picture of this hydroponic gardening system. Can you talk about and I know that you teach steam and engineering in your classroom? But what are some tips that you might give to an educator about bringing in that engineering piece into the to the classroom? And what are some of the benefits that you've seen? So Well, first of all, our brain neuroscience shows that 50% of our brain is wired for visual. So anything that we can do visually, of course, increases learning 50%. But then you take it even to a higher level, when you can have your students touch and feel it. So for example, let's just take a worksheet. So look at a worksheet and think about how can I turn this into a game? How can I turn this into collaboration, because when the kids can talk about it, and manipulate it and work it out? Well, they've already increased that learning. And then the reason why I love the coaching aspect, teaching them to coach each other is when you teach someone else, well, then you've learned it. And so that solidifies learning. But as far as hands on, let's talk about hydroponic gardening. Once again, I asked the students what they wanted to learn about, and even though we live in a rural community, it's amazing. They did not know where their food came from. They did not know what the word agriculture meant. And I'm talking third graders. And even last year, one of my third graders after I explained about cows, she, she said, so that's where my almond milk comes from. Like, well, we still have a lot of work to do. So anytime I can get them out on a field experience, bring in an expert where they can touch and feel things that hydroponic gardening. They got to engineer so they designed that I was like, Well, if we want to be able to grow our food, and we want to do it year round. How can we do that? And then I led them to that. And what we did is we repurpose those old fashioned trophy cases. We repurpose them into hydroponic gardens. So now when the students all the students in the school are passing by, they can see their own food growing, and also kids that had never eaten salad before. They will eat it because they grew it. They're like, Oh, I'm a solid person now. So I think it's just what we talked about already, Brian, it's really about listening to them. And being intentional. You don't have to be over the top. I see so many tips. I don't I'm not on Tik Tok that much but real We'll send videos of classroom transformations. And I've done that before. And I'm not downplaying that it's wonderful. But I think it's really mostly be consistent. Love what you do, bring your passions into the classroom, consistently consistency and being intentional, goes way farther than a one big bang show. And I'm not saying people do that for show, but sometimes that is what happens. I just think the daily consistency when you're doing math, something as simple as I brought in Lucky Charms cereal, and then all the kids are like, what's that cereal sitting there for? Like, all the day until we got to our math time? What are we going to do with the cereal? So that already creates engagement? Because they're wondering, what are we going to do with the cereal? So, you know, just think of all the skills and standards you have to teach. And think about how could you bring in a tactile piece? How could you bring in the senses? And it's not as hard as you might think it is? No, absolutely not. And I love what you talked about as far as that consistency in that intentionality. Because you're right, you know, we can have one big day, where we put a ton of effort into something that and make it great for that day. But it's that piece where we're showing up every single day, being consistent every single day, it doesn't have to be a big show, we can make that difference, we can make that learning so fun, just with the little things, bringing in those Lucky Charms, setting it on that desk, creating that anticipation. So good. And I also liked about how you, you talked about real quick, that salad piece, you know, they're growing those plants right there in the school, they're seeing it, and then they're having the opportunity to eat it, I think we take for granted sometimes the background knowledge that they have, I think we take for granted, the things that they've been exposed to up so simply exposing them a little bit to some fresh, good healthy food can truly change their diet habits, which is a big thing. Now, we touched on it a little bit. And we said we're gonna get into this, that if we want to be extremely effective teachers to make that impact the best that we can. Our own mental health piece is so important. And you do a great job within your book about this. And I think you had the acronym be strong. Can you elaborate a little bit on that? Yes, I can. And this might seem like going backwards a little bit. But I did want to end with that whole hands on piece with this quote. And it's telling me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me, and I learned. And I think that's attributed to Benjamin Franklin. So once again, just thinking about all the ways that we can involve kids. Yeah. And it starts just like what you lead into, it starts with us staying strong. Because when we don't have the energy to be intentional, we're not going to be, let's just call it what it is. And so those are two really big words in my life is being intentional, that everything is being intentional. And right now the big buzzword is mindfulness. But just you have to, with anything going on in your life, you have to name it to tame it, right. Feeling anxious, you name it. Why are you feeling anxious right now? Then you can team it. Well, you're excited, you're happy. Why are you excited and happy right now? Name it. And then you can intentionally do it again. But strong. I'll go through those letters. It I created it five years ago when I was about to exit education entirely. And I truly believe education is my calling. And the S stands for stop and remember your why. And I know that's a big buzzword as well. But it's a little deeper than then what I used to think it was. I used to say, well, I want to make a difference. I truly believe all educators want to make a difference. That's why we do what We do. So we got to go deeper with that. Maybe your why this day is different than what it was yesterday, sometimes my y changes year to year, one year, my Y was a picture of one of my students. And I kept his picture in my lesson plan book. Because he had lost his mother, he was six years old, he lost his mom, and his dad was incarcerated. And he had experienced so much trauma. And he challenged me every day. And I wrote about that, also in my book, and the strategies we used and how we overcame that he went from throwing furniture, cowering under a table, to being part of our community. And it doesn't happen overnight. But when you wake up, and you know your why it helps you get through, every day, I would drive to school, I had a bracelet, and it had the word inspire. And I would chant, I get to inspire, I get to encourage children today. So S is stop and remember your why for whatever it is in your life, it doesn't have to just be teaching. And then the T is take time to thank I call it the daily trio. So that means every day think of three things in which you're thankful for you're grateful for. So there, we know, through neuroscience, that gratitude brings joy and happiness. But I actually write in my book, some steps to do that, with thanking others wake up thinking about three things you're thankful for. Where your attention goes, energy flows, right? Absolutely. Oh, when you stop, and you take time to thank, that's your attention now. So now your energy is gonna flow that way. It doesn't mean there's no longer any cruddy parts of your life. It just means you're not giving it attention right now. Absolutely. And so that helps you stay strong. And you know, I just did this this week in my classroom, because I see all the classes in the school, there are some I really look forward to. And there are some that I'm like, Could I be sick today, I challenge you a little bit, per se. And so, this week, I did this, I was like, I'm just gonna start being thankful for the kids that do the right things. And I'm gonna make my energy flow to every good thing. And guess what it was, it was a good class period. Because where your attention goes, your energy flows, and our natural default is negative. So that's being intentional. So that's the T. Truly is I just want to jump. Yeah, I just want to jump in there real quick. Because when you talk about like, you know, some classes push you a little bit it, it brought me back, because one of my favorite stories that I read last year from Dr. Darren peppers book, um, wrote the awesome. And so he's a administrator at the time. And he talked about, he's leading this faculty meeting, and they're discussing the problems that they're having in the school. And it's just a really negative situation right there. And a woman raises her hand, and she goes, Why does it always have to be what they do wrong? Why can't it be about what they do? Right? Yeah, I think it's so important, because there were moments last year, and I took that story. And I held it with me, where, you know, I had one of my little guys, sometimes he would push back a little we weren't on the same page all the time. And I can find myself easily just waiting for him to push back. So when I found myself doing that, I had to, like you said, Where, where your attention goes, your energy flows, that I remembered this. And I started well, what is right about this young man, what is he doing that I really appreciate? And it's just how I chose to see him really affected like the patience and the energy within the classroom. And just wanted to share that that popped in my head as you were talking about that. No, that's awesome. But that's because you did that Brian. You created a champion. And your podcast is teaching champion. So you doing that you are creating a champion, because now you are seeing him as a champion. And you will do the actions to meet those beliefs. So beautiful. Yeah, no, it's important. So, all right. So S, T, R R is rest, and revive. And rest isn't necessarily just sleeping, although most teachers do not get enough sleep. So I have strategies about what you can do to make sure that you are calm and getting enough sleep. But resting and reviving is doing anything that fills you up. And so back to those two words, be intentional. By intentionally put on my calendar, that I meet with one particular friend, at least once a month, we're both extremely busy, but once a month, we're gonna get together. And we have a fun adventure. And it fills both of us up, it's filling, and it's reviving. Every weekend, I plan something that's going to revive me. And I would encourage all listeners to go to my blog, Pam hauled to inspire.com, I wrote a whole series on self care. And self care isn't just bubble baths. In fact, it's it's way more in depth than a bubble bath. It is all about your mental health. And there's different there's six categories to self care. And each blog post, I talked about those to self care in your workplace, self care, socially, care, emotionally, self care, physically, what do we do to physically take care of ourselves, and those all playing into resting and reviving, so it will look different for different people. For me, it's totally shutting off electronics and getting outside being in nature. But it'll be different for others family friends. So that's the our resting revive. Oh, isn't strong is omit negative. And we've already talked a bit about that. And what I mean by omit negative, it just means to channel your thoughts in a different way. Take captive those thinking negative thoughts, because negative is everyone's default, negative stuff is in our lives negative happens just today, I found out I gotta have foot surgery, I cannot change that. It's the bone is bone on bone, my positivity is not going to change that. But my attitude will change the level of pain that I have. Right? Yes. So So omitting the negative is just channeling your thoughts in a different way, instead of ruminating on on what's not going well. Think about what you can do. I've always loved for years, the Serenity Prayer is what it's called. And it's God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. And I used to say those words, and not probably really understand it, but truly, I live by it now. Because I got stuck in traffic the other day made me a half hour late for work, and any teacher knows, that's anxiety, because we got to be there for our kids. And instead of ruminating on I'm not gonna get there, and this topic needs to go, I put into podcast, yay, me. I get to listen and learn. Because, you know, I text message and my team, there's nothing I could change about the situation. So I took courage to change what I could change and turn it for a positive, right? Yeah, that's so important. And I think, you know, I'm reading a book is an old school book. It's all about that self talk piece, and how important and how it's almost like a computer program running behind the scenes and the words that we speak to ourselves. They can either make us stronger, they can make us more positive, or the words how we phrase things. They can pull us down they can almost ruin our days or ruin mo minutes because of what we're focusing on. And you know, a big piece for me that I think about when you're when you're talking about like, omitting the negative is the voices that you're allowing in your space we can get into the people, but also, what is the social media that I'm consuming? Because we you can go down two different paths with the social media, you can get get into a lot of negative, but there's a lot of positive as well. Podcasts, what type of podcasts are you listening to? Are you doing ones that are very controversial, that are fueling, you know, maybe very passionate, almost discourse? In some ways? Are you listening to people that are spreading and making you feel better and more knowledgeable? Also, like the books that we read? Is what we consume is going to affect those thoughts as well. Absolutely. I love that. Yes. So I want to tell a quick story. If I got time for that. There was a family and their little boy kept digging in the manure. And so they were concerned about him. And they took him to a psychologist. And the psychologist did an experiment, put a pile of manure, and saw the boy just digging in it gleefully. And the psychologist asked, Why are you doing that? And he said, Well, with all this crap, there's gotta be a pony under there. I love that. And so that's what I mean by a myth, the negative, you know, if it's, if it's not serving, you get it out change. What could be instead of all the things that can go wrong 100%. That was the Oh, how about the end. So the n is never give up. And so it's never give up on yourself. Like, sometimes we have goals and aspirations and it goes back to that omitting negative, maybe we think it's not going to happen, because we didn't do it before. But you can try again, and, and be resilient and teach that to students, and you never give up on a student. So going back to that culture piece. If I already know, being a human, that I am not going to resonate with every child that comes across my path. So I will do everything in my power to be a conduit to connect them to someone who can change their life for better. And that is never giving up on a student, if I can't do it, I will use every resource in my power to find someone who can do it. I love that. So that's the end never give up. And we all know there's challenging kids. But I have found when you find people that can help them and, and get over your own ego. And let go, that actually those children will be better and they'll rise. And I just want to talk a little bit about relationships with that never give up in that kind of tie it to the culture piece is it really bothered me the other day, I saw something on Instagram that said, you know, relationships with kids aren't going to fix trauma. So do relationships really matter? quit preaching relationships. And I just want to beg to differ because relationships do matter. They won't undo the trauma. So those words are absolutely correct. But here's the thing. Without the relationship, you will never even know there's trauma. And you won't even have a chance to find someone to help them deal with that trauma. Everything begins it's the foundation just like building a strong house. Everything begins with a relationship. And I did want to share this book. It's not mine. It's called the deepest Well, it's by Nadine Dr. Nadine Burke Harris. And she has strategies for healing long term effects of childhood diversity. When we love kids, respect them have those relationships, it actually starts the healing of trauma. And then we can get them you know more strategies that will help them so I just want to encourage anyone and everyone don't ever give up on yourself or kids. Just never give up, you will reach a point you want to give up, find someone who can help you. Yes, yes. And I love real quick like, like you said, we sometimes our ego wants us to be the champion, like we're the number one, and that we can solve every kid's problem. And that we're like the best teacher out there. But the truth be told, different kids, different students are going to connect with different people. And I love how you talked about using every resource that you have to connect those students with people who they might really resonate with. I think that's beautiful. So thank you, thank G and strong is go deeper, which is personal and professional development. So just like thank you, all you listeners for showing up with Brian and for showing up with this episode. Because that's personal development, and they go hand in hand personal and professional development. Taking a step what what is it you want to accomplish? What could you do better for yourself? Is it eat better? Is it drink more water? Going back, be intentional. And you alluded to this, Brian, but we are the sum of the last five books we've read, and the five people we hang out with. So going deeper is being intentional with what are you listening to? What are you reading? Who are you hanging out with? Because that is your professional and personal development? Yes, it all makes a big difference influences our thoughts. And like it, like we've said multiple times, you know, those thoughts are gonna influence where our attention where our energy is going to flow. So thank you so much for sharing all of that wisdom. Now, as we come to a close with the episode, two of my favorite questions is any books or podcasts that you would recommend? And I know the one that you just recommended, looks like a fantastic read. Is there any others that come to mind right off the tip of your tongue that you'd recommend? Yes, of course. Well, first and foremost, I would recommend teaching champions by giving it you just, you cannot feel bad after listening to an episode. So it's so positive and uplifting and purposeful, with strategies that really help so that's the number one. And then I like listening to and here's his book to Bob Gough dream big. So if you're looking for positivity and overcoming challenges, the Dream Big podcast is the way to go. And if you're looking for mindset, and channeling your thinking and being mindful, it would be Mind your business podcast by James Wedmore. It's really good about focusing your thoughts. I love love atomic habits by James clear. Absolutely. That's a must read for anyone that wants to develop those habits accent. Yes. And a shout out right now to all my optimal is friends on Twitter, Sarah Candela, Brian lamb and so many others. I'm in a book club right now called focus by Daniel Goleman. And, and my friends at at focus of all but this once again, it's the hidden driver to excellence. And it all begins with your thoughts. Go figure. Yeah, absolutely. That looks like a fantastic book. Right? There. It is. And I Yeah, so those would be the books and of course, I would recommend be the warrior warrior. Because that will help you stay strong, and have tips and strategies for culture and community. 100% is a fantastic read. Now Pamela for those people that want to connect with you what will be the best way and I'll put all your social media links in the show notes for all those people that do want to connect what's the best way? Well, thank you, Brian. I would like to say on the website, so go to the website. It's Pam, how Pam H A L L and then the numeral two so a to the word inspire ins PIR free.com And I promise you, if you message me, I will answer. Because this is for you any, any listener, any person that wants to reach kids or wants to be better for themselves, I want to help you, this is not about glorifying me, this is about reaching you, and helping you, I mean it. So please go there. And you can fill out the contact form, I'll answer you my Gmail there. Also the self care blog series, and you can join others and getting a newsletter called inspiration in your inbox. And these days, it only comes about once a month, because I teach littles and I'm depleted at the end of the day, because I give it i It is very draining. Now, Pamela, for all of this on the teaching champions community, what will be one thing that you would really want everyone to walk away with from this episode? Yeah, that's, that's so big. Oh, one thing, I think it's this, you are the author of your life, you get to write your story, your next chapter, the chapter you're living. And I would encourage you to focus on the now there is a book out there called The Power of Now focus on the now be intentional. Because you have the power to choose this beautiful life you get to live, you get to choose how you'll impact the kids and people placed in your life and those you lead. So I just want to encourage you to be intentional with how you love and care for yourself. And then you'll have the energy to be intentional, and even more intentional with all those that you love and care for. And I truly believe that you all were born to make a difference to go do it. I love it. Pamela, thank you so much for sharing so many great takeaways for sharing just your love and your energy and your joy. You through Your book, through what you do for your students through your blog, you make such a difference. And when you say, you know, reach out, because I want to help. It truly comes through. Like just looking at you on the Zoom call right now. It just resonates right through. And you make a difference. And thank you so much for who you are. Oh my gosh, thank you, Brian, I think you make a difference. Well, I appreciate it. Have a great night there Pamela. Pamela was so good. Her energy, her passion, her enthusiasm came right through. Now, this is the teaching champions tape, where I share three of my favorite gems from this conversation. The first gem is when Pamela talked about creating a classroom that was filled with excitement and engagement. And she said the key to all this was just to listen. And that's so true. We can learn so much if we just take the time to slow down. And listen. The second gem is the reminder that Pamela dropped that where our attention goes, our energy flows. If we expect that that we're going to look for the bad, whether we realize it or not. And the same is true for the good. If we expect good, we're going to see the good in others. We're gonna find that good all around. So be present, be conscious of what you're focusing on. Because this is going to have a tremendous effect on how you're going to interact with those around you. And the third gem that I really appreciated was when Pamela said that she will use all of our energy and resources to connect students with adults who are going to be the best fit for them. Because the truth of the matter is we will not be the best fit for every student that walks into our classroom. And that doesn't mean that we still can't connect with the students. But there may be another adult in the building that students just have a stronger rapport with. And that's okay. We should feel lucky that we are in a place where there are so many adults that are going to go above and beyond for your students. So promote and foster those relationships with the other adults in your building. Because it's gonna make a huge difference for your students. And these were just a few of them amazing takeaways that Pamela dropped. Hit me up on social media and let me know what were a few of your favorite takeaways. A big thank you to Pamela. And thank you, Tom via 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 it. And don't forget to subscribe to the podcast, so that each episode comes directly to you once it's released. 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 you step into shine, and let's build our champions. Have a great week, everybody