Introductory Episode to Teaching

I'm Brian Martin, 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, this is episode number one. And before we get started, I just want to say thank you so much for being here. I appreciate you. And I want you to know that this is more than just a podcast. This is about creating community, like minded individuals that believes that we should be learning from one another, that we should be growing from one another, and that we should be supporting one another, especially during this time. Now, a little background information about myself is I've been teaching for almost two decades. And it's all been at the primary level. Currently, I'm teaching second grade. And I've been 100% remote since the beginning of the school year. And working with the youngest of the scholars, I have to say that every single day, these young ones, they challenge me, they push me, they amaze me. And each and every single day, they bring me so much joy. I did a tour of duty in Iraq with the United States Army. And that experience, it's helped shape my beliefs, and has given me so much appreciation for what we have and the opportunities that we have. I've also been part of a coaching staff for a high school basketball program for the past 15 years. And during that time, I've celebrated with young athletes in locker rooms after winning state championships. And I've also been in locker rooms, where young athletes have shed tears, because a chapter in their life is over the lessons learned the relationships, all those special moments, they were so special, I learned so much. And it's truly shaped a huge part of my perspective. Now, this podcast, it's a collection of thoughts from my experiences, in my quest to learn and share knowledge from so many of the great thought leaders out there today. Because there's so many amazing people that have so much knowledge. And truth be told, every single person that we come across every single person that is around us, they have lessons, they have knowledge, they have things that they can teach us. And my goal is to learn as many of those lessons as I can, and hopefully to share them with you. And I want you to know that I believe in you, and what you do each and every single day, because in a good year. What we do, it's not easy. It's stressful. But in the world that we live in right now is draining. It's overwhelming. It's frustrating. But at the same time, at the same time is rewarding and gratifying. And I believe that we need to be there right now to support one another. Not to criticize, that we should be lifting each other up and not tearing each other down. And then we should care from one another and not judge one another. And I believe that there's power in community. And there's power and what we can do together. Now I named this podcast teaching champions, because the young men, the young women that come into our classrooms each and every single day, they're champions. And it's so important that we view every single one of them as a champion, not just the ones that we bond with right away, not just the ones that soar academically. so important that we recognize those quiet ones, those shy ones, those ones that are a little bit different from their peers and stand apart from them. It's important, as well that we view the ones that push us away. The ones that are the hardest to reach, is champions to, because everybody deserves to feel as if they're a champion. They deserve to know what they have inside of them. They need to know what to have inside of them, they need to know the potential that they have, in the endless possibilities what they can do. And some of them see, and there are others, they need a little help to see it. But there's also other students that we interact with that have no idea. They don't see it, and they need people in their lives that aren't going to give up on them. They're going to help them find that shine that they have within them. And all you have to do is think of our own life. And each and every single one of us at some point in our own lives, we've had people who believed in us, who spoke strength into us, who helped us see a vision of what we could do and what we could become. And when we talk about calling our students champions, it's not about trying to inflate egos, because I don't believe in that. But I do see the champions carrying themselves a little bit differently, that habits, they have mindsets, they have work ethics, they carry themselves a little bit differently. And it's important that these scholars, they learn about that, and they're held to that. And it's imperative, how we see them, it's imperative that we view these scholars as champions, because how we see them, that shine that we see inside of them, is gonna dictate how we speak to them, and how we treat them. And how we see them and how we treat them is gonna play a big role in how they see themselves. And how they see themselves is gonna directly influence the life that they create for themselves. So we need to speak that greatness into them, that we help them see their shine, that we help them find that strength, that we help them create those habits, we help them form a vision. We help build them up, that we armor, their minds with the tools and the skills that they'll need to help them navigate this journey. Because that's what we do. This is the teaching champions podcast. And that's it guys. That's the first episode. And I promise you with a true growth mindset that this podcast is only going to continue to get better that I'm going to continue to grow. So I welcome you to this community, so that we can learn together, that we can grow together, that we can support one another. And every single person has a seat at this table here, every single person to have a voice because we're always better together. So once again, I just want to say thank you. And as we wrap up, may you go out into this week, and may you step into your strength. May you step into your shine, and let's build these champions up. Have a great week, everybody.