Have a Better School Year Using These 3 Strategies

What's going on everybody, I hope this finds you striving and thriving and doing absolutely amazing. This was our first week back at school, and we had a staff day, and then three days with the students. And I have to say it was such a great feeling to be back with the students. And there's always a special level of energy that comes with that first few days of school when that excitement is high, and everyone's raring to go. And let's be honest, though, there's definitely a level of exhaustion that comes with it too. And as I reflect on that first week, and I think about where I want to go, I think about what are some of the things that I need to do that are gonna keep me mentally at the top of my game this year. So today, we're gonna dive into what we see what we hear, and what we speak, and how that affects our debt. And before we get into it, though, I want to share a quick message from my buddy Phil Danna zoo ski about a great opportunity that's coming in to all of us right on the horizon. Hello fellow educators and pardon the interruption from the teaching champions podcast and the ever kind and impactful Brian Martin friends. I'm Phil jnusu, ski and extra positive and proud High School Chem and physics teacher ever since 2005, that is looking to recruit positive educators from across the nation. That's right, I'm assembling the most positive educators to join my positive growth lounge membership, which is kicking off this October 2023. Now, if you are an educator looking to feel more energy, avoid burnout, connect and grow with other positive educators and make a bigger impact on your personal life and classroom then this group just might be for you here is your official invite to a new insincere educator family. So friends, if you're feeling a little frisky, head on over to www dot positive growth lounge.com that's www dot positive growth lounge.com. From there, you can join the positive growth lounge, email crew and learn more about our BI monthly virtual evenings. That will be the highlights of your work weeks, consider this your invitation and consider this your sign to invest in yourself. I am sending you all health, happiness and patients for the school your friends. And I'll see you all at WWW dot positive growth lounge.com. And now friends back to the inspiring kind and always giving Brian Martin and his teaching championship podcast asked, as we said, what we choose to see what we choose to hear and what we choose to speak this school year. It's going to affect us all throughout the course of the year. And the truth is the school years long, there's an ebb and flow. And every year contained peaks and valleys. And it's always important that we remember that there are things that we can do that are going to truly affect how we feel throughout the course of the year. Now, if you choose to do these will make every day a great day. No, I wish it would. But that's not reality. But maybe can make those tough days, a little less tough. Maybe it can make those hard days, a little less hard. Maybe it can make those good days a little better. And maybe it can make those great days last a little bit longer. So the first thing that we can do is we can choose to really see the those good moments. And as I said it was our first week of school saw the ladies in my school went all out on the first day because they wanted to make it the most for our students and families. So the theme for the school years rocking in a new school year. I pull up to school on that first day. And as I'm getting out of my car from the parking lot, you could hear the buzz and excitement coming from the entrance. And as I walked toward the school, there was a line the students and their parents waiting for a photo booth that was set up outside the sidewalks. They were covered with positive messages and chalk drawings. There was a red carpet and the teacher on a microphone cheering the students on our phys ed teacher. He was dressed up like a heavy Metal drummer, and he's banging away on a real drum set. And I just have to say, he definitely looked the part. And he had this phenomenal wisdom. But there's a reason why he's an amazing phys ed teacher, and not a music teacher. Just by walking by all of this, you saw the smile on the students faces, you saw the smile on the parents faces as they entered the school. And it was special. And there were a lot of people that banded together to make that such a special moment for the families. And that was easy to see, there was so much there that you could look and see and appreciate. But there was a lot of hard work and effort that I chose to see as well. There were people within our school that spent a lot of time off hours time the night before setting all of this up to make that great moment happen. And I appreciate them for that. And I feel pretty comfortable in saying that in every school building, there are people who are doing special things on a daily basis, there are people lending, helping hands, there's people out there that are doing kind deeds going above and beyond. And we just have to be present and see them. You see there's special moments happening all around us. They're happening every single day. They're there for us to see if we choose to see them. And when we're present to see them. When we recognize the effort, when we recognize the love that others around us are putting into our students, what they're putting into our buildings, it can have a huge impact, and how we approach the day, and how we view those around us. So be on the lookout for those beautiful things that are happening all around, be on the lookout for the smiles and the kind acts that others are doing. Be on the lookout for the learning and from the growth that's taking place in your classroom. Because when we see it, when we appreciate it, it makes such a positive impact on us. Now another thing that we can strive to do this school year, is listen for the great things that are happening all around. This week, I stepped out of my class. And right across the hall from me is the nurse's office. And from inside the office, I heard one of my grade level teammates. And she's sitting next to a student. And I could hear her comforting this child. She was trying to make that child feel love seeing comforted. And in that moment, it made me appreciate her so much. And it made me smile. And if you take a step outside your classroom, and you listen, if you take a walk around the school, and you pay attention, you're going to hear a lot of pretty special things. From student learning, to staff pouring into student to students lifting each other up to staff members picking one another up, there are things that you're going to hear that will fill you up, you just have to be present. You just have to choose to hear them. Now, there's always going to be things that you hear that can bring you down as well. And that's why it's important that we're present. And that we're conscious of how much energy that we placed into what we hear. Because too often, we put so much energy into the negative voices that we end up totally disregarding the positive ones. So be deliberate and hearing be deliberate and appreciating the great things that are happening all around. Pay attention to where you're placing your energy. Now the last piece, I'm gonna try and ensure that the best versions of ourselves show up is the words that we choose to speak. And personally, I know that I've never left the conversation feeling uplifted, feeling good. When I've used my words to pull someone else down. It just doesn't happen. But when I use my word was to lift up others, it makes me feel completely different. And maybe you feel the same. Speaking highly of others, always makes us feel so much better. We only speak so many words in a day. So why not let those words elevate rooms that we enter. And it brings me back to something that Dr. Joe Sanfilippo talks about. And he often talks about, one way that we can have a good day is to start by recognizing the great things that are happening around. And then our school, there's so many opportunities for us to recognize some amazing things. And he says, After you recognize what others are doing, take an opportunity, take a moment and acknowledge it. let those people know, you see them, let your peers know that you appreciate the work that they're doing. And then Dr. Sam Flippo, he says, one of the most important things that we can do with all of this is to then extend it to others, that after we see someone doing something amazing, we walked down the hallway. In the next room we enter. We tell those inside that room about what we just saw. We sing the praises of that other individual. And when we speak highly of others, what does that do to the room that we just entered? When we use our words to elevate others? What type of impact is that having. And Dr. Sanfilippo, he says, what happens is eventually that person that we're speaking highly of, they're going to hear that message it's going to get back to. And this in turn, it's going to inspire others around us to recognize to acknowledge to extend the great things that they're saying to others around that. And what happens is when we enter spaces where people around us are cheering one another on, that they're praising each other, that they're taking time to elevate one another and makes for a pretty awesome work environment. And honestly, when we use our words to lift others up, we feel better. This podcast is a proud member of the teach better Podcast Network. Better today. Better tomorrow, and the podcast to get you there. Explore More podcast at WWW dot teach better podcast network.com. Now let's get on to the episode. So this school year, pay attention to what you see. Pay attention to what you hear and pay attention to the words that you speak. These will truly impact your desk. 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 would benefit from this message, please share. And always remember, it doesn't matter 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 to get keeping amazing my friends and edge ground to the wheat may step into your strength may step into your shine. And let's build our champions up. Have a great week everybody