Becoming a More Resilient Educator Through Compassion

I'm Brian Martin, I'm a second grade teacher who find so much joy and fulfillment in what I do. Being in the classroom for almost 20 years, I know all about the time, effort and energy that you are continuously pouring into those you serve. That's why each week, I'm going to bring you an inspiring message to give you a little joy, and help fill your cup back up. Thank you for being here, and welcome to the teaching champions podcast. What's going on everybody, I hope this finds you striving and thriving and doing absolutely amazing. I hope you had a wonderful New Years, then a one year and the beginning of another is pretty special is definitely a time to celebrate everything that you've accomplished, and celebrate the possibility of what lies ahead. And for myself, looking back at 2021, I finished teaching a year that was completely virtual, which I would have never dreamed of before. And then in September, I transition back into the classroom, the teaching champions podcast started and 52 episodes were published, I had the opportunity to speak at three conferences in the year also had a lot of laughs and special moments. And there were a few moments that weren't so good. And there were things that I learned, there were things that I had to unlearn, and things I had to relearn. And I don't know if it's an age thing, whether it's the pandemic or what, but this year, has really made me a lot more conscious of time, and having a greater appreciation of how fragile it truly is, and how blessed all of us are to see another sunrise and overbraid, I was visiting my in laws for a few days, and a few blocks away from their house, they have a wonderful part. There's a couple soccer fields, a basketball and tennis court, there's volleyball courts. And they also have a pretty decent sized wooded area with a paved path through it. And when we're visiting, I go through it every single day. And in the summertime, when that weather is nice, and it's beautiful. You go down this path, and you're surrounded by trees on both sides. And it's bright and green. You hear the birds, and it's awesome. And there's I'm taping this podcast, I was actually up there this morning, and I went out on the path again. And this time though, the leaves had fallen off, and it was barren and quiet. It was snowing up there. So the path was covered with snow. And the cool breeze was hitting me in the face. And it definitely had a different feel than it does during the summertime. And it was a reminder of life, and how it brings its own seasons. And all of us have to go through these seasons. Some seasons are sunny and vibrant, and others are cold and bear. One way for us to face the seasons in a more resilient manner is through compassion. We can build resilience, showing compassion for those around us and showing compassion for ourselves. When you lead with compassion, you're able to deal with negative emotions better. When you lead with compassion, you're able to lessen depression and anxiety. When you lead with compassion, you're able to see people in a different light, you see more potential within them, you gained more of an appreciation for them. Now we're coming off a well deserved break. And hopefully you're feeling pretty recharged. And I don't know about you. But at the end of these mid year breaks, there's always a piece of me that feels like the breakdown way too quick and as refueled as we are. One thing that happens for many of us is that we tend to get depleted a lot faster now than we did at the beginning of the school year. Monday morning rolls around. That alarm clocks going off a little bit earlier than it did over break. You make your way into school. You see the kids and you get energized again, as you see the excitement on their face as they're rolling through the doors and You're feeling pretty good as the week goes on. But then you get a note from a disgruntled parent, one of your champions has a rough day, school meetings start firing back up, and the work starts to stockpile again, the weight of everything starts adding up. And before long, we can find ourselves in those negative ruts once again. And one way that we can help maintain a healthy mindset throughout the rest of the school year is through compassion. This time of the year is good for reflection. And I took a lot of time over break just to slow down, to be still and to look around. And as beautiful as life is. Life is an easy, life isn't easy for me. Life isn't easy for you. Life isn't easy for your family members, your neighbors, your colleagues, your students, everybody has something, everybody has a weight that they carry on their back. And we forget that sometimes we get so caught up in our own stories, and the way that we see the world. And if we lead with compassion, and we take a step back, and try and look at the situation from another's perspective, it may help you relate a little more, and may help you connect to others a little bit more. And when you read that note that sent in from a parent, it may help take away some of that staying away from it. If you take a step back and look from their perspective, somewhere along the way, at times, it seems as if laws have been put up between teachers and parents were in some instances, it's become the teachers versus the parents. And that's the absolute opposite of what it should be that parent teacher relationship. It's beyond important. Working together, having an open line of communication, letting parents know that we're here for them. And we're a team, it's critical. Now, have you ever been in a meeting about a student, and there's multiple school personnel there, and the parents are there, and you're all gathered around a table. There's been times when I've been at those meetings, and my heart goes out to those parents. I've seen parents come to these meetings with all of us sitting around the table. And the adults are giving school jargon that many of the parents aren't familiar with. And decisions are being made about their child. And they're trying to process everything that's coming at that. And the meetings that I've been in have been very respectful. My colleagues have done a phenomenal job. But what if we switch places with those parents, and we were surrounded by a bunch of adults, whom many of them we might not have a personal relationship with. And they're saying things about our child, using terminology, that we may not have a strong understanding of think about the stress that they must feel in that seat. Think about how overwhelming that could be. and think, how meaningful it might be. If you pull that parent aside before in the meeting, and you assured them that you're going to do everything you can to help their champion out that you're going to walk with them through this every step of the way. What if you took that time in the meeting, and you didn't just give that typical one line statement that's positive about the child. But you really looked at those parents, and you assured them that all of you there are a team, and you let them know how much you care. And it said in a way that they just don't hear it, but they can feel it. How much is that going to mean to the parents? How much stronger will that parent teacher bond be? When we leave with compassion? It helps give us a greater understanding of others, where they're coming from, why they may say certain things. And in many ways, it helps protect us emotionally. And when it comes to showing compassion to your students. There's no doubt in my mind that if you're listening to this podcast, you have a huge heart. They you show up every single day for your students. You make them feel seen. You make them feel heard. You make them feel valued. And in her book onward. Elena Aguilar says that compassion is empathy and action is doing all those little things for your students, like those small notes you give them to pick them up, is when you see two friends that are having a little blow up, and you pull them aside, and you work together to help them through that situation. It's when you give a student a pass on their homework, because you know, that child's family is going through some tough times. And as good as all of us are, we forget sometimes about what's happening in the lives of our students. And when certain things happen inside the classroom, it can be frustrating. But I recently saw a poem trending on social media, and it stood out to me. And I think it's something that we all need to hear that we all need to listen to, and that we all need to remind ourselves from time to time. And it's called, cuz I ain't got a pencil. by Joshua Dickerson. I woke myself up, because we ain't got an alarm clock dug in the dirty clothes basket, because they nobody washed my uniform. Brush my hair and teeth in the dark, because the lights ain't on. Even got my baby sister ready, because my mama was at home, got us both to school on time to eat us good breakfast. Then when I got to class, the teacher fast, because I ain't got a pencil. Just as our lives are complicated, it's important that you always remember that the lives of our students are very complicated as well. One piece of building resilience is compassion. And it's not just compassion for others, though, you need to show compassion for yourself. Do you say things to yourself that you would never say to any of your friends? Are you harder on yourself than you would be on anyone else? Be your own best friend. As we start the second part of the school year, you need to make it a point to show yourself compassion. Every lesson doesn't need to be perfect. You may have a tough lesson, a tough day, you might even have a tough week. Give yourself permission not to be perfect. Remind yourself that you're human. Remind yourself of what you've achieved so far. Remind yourself of all those small wins that you're collecting day after day. Remind yourself of the smiles that the students give you the small conversations that they go out of their way to have with you the notes, the drawings, the gifts that are given to you. And all those are given to you not because you're perfect. But because of who you are, and what you mean to them. When you're having those tough moments. Give yourself advice that you would give a friend. Ease up on that self judgment. Remind yourself that we all go through different seasons. There are moments on our journey, when it's sunny in the path that we walk on is surrounded by beautiful green trees. And the day is just perfect. And there's also going to be seasons. When our path is covered with snow. The wind is whipping in your face and trees are barren. And it's all you can do to put one foot in front of the other, doing the best you can show that person that you've seen the mirror a little compassion, you make a difference in the classroom. There are students who every single day, they can't wait to see you, who can't wait to share things with you who hang on to every single word that you have to say. And there's people in your personal life who cherish you for who you are for all of you. So be easy on yourself and love that person that you spend every minute of the day with. Thank you for being here. I appreciate your time. Thank you for being part of the teaching champions community. A reviewer rating is always appreciated. And if you think someone would benefit from this message, please pass it on. The teaching champion community is all about supporting, encouraging and lifting 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. My challenge for you this week is to take some time and view things from others perspectives. It's easy to get closed minded when we only view situations and different things from our own perspective. So look through the lens of another. What place are they coming from? How might situations affect them? Is there something going on in their life that you're aware of that may be affecting how they're making decisions? See if taking a step back, changing the lens in which you view things, affects your understanding or appreciation for others, and what they're going through. 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 up. Have a great week, everybody