Leadership Lessons for the Classroom

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. It was a pretty solid week for me this week. But there was one day when I was a little off when I definitely wasn't my best self, from the patients and enthusiasm that I showed my scholars from my words and my actions to the energy that I gave certain thoughts. Now, as a grown man, I like to say after watching the Buffalo Bills lose to the Patriots on Monday Night Football, who wouldn't wake up the next day and not be their best self. But I guess I'm going to take a little ownership for it, though. And truthfully, those days when maybe we don't show up as our best selves are the days that we can grow the most from. And I sat down that night, and I just reflected a little bit and thought about different interactions that I had. And I was a little disappointed in myself. But I really tried to use that moment to grow from to look at who I am, my values, the code that I want to live by. Because at the end of the day, no matter if it was an extremely successful day, or a day that was filled with setbacks, the most important thing to me is that I can look myself in the mirror, and know that I was true to who I want to be and what I want to give to the world. And it really made me think, how often do we take time to reflect and whether or not we honored our personal code. We all have those personal codes, the code in which we try to live by. And personally, I believe in people. There are amazing people all around us. And there are great people all over that we're never going to meet. But sometimes, I wonder if people just step back, and they disregarded all the noise around them. And they listen to what they put out into the world. Would they change what they said at the end of the day? Would they change what they put out on social media? You know, we're all a work in progress. We're all going to have those moments we wish we could do differently. There's nothing saying that we can't use those moments to learn and grow from and become a better version of ourselves for the days ahead. And it was just something that's been on my mind this week, my friends. Now today's podcast is inspired by the television show tad less than I had heard about how amazing this show was for a while. And often someone hypes up the show. And it usually doesn't meet all the hype. But I have to say, this has quickly become one of my favorite all time shows. It's about an American football coach who was brought over to England to coach a soccer team, or what is known as football, if you're not from the US. In 10. Lasso finds a team that is struggling and a locker room that is divided and full of individuals. And through his infectious optimism and his coaching strategies. He's able to turn around this program, and he's able to bring that team together. And what is beautiful about this show is it's funny, it's heartwarming, but it also tackles important issues and it serves important leadership reminders. And I'm not going to ruin the show for you. But I'm going to discuss a few of the reminders that this show gifts. And if you enjoy comedy, if you like shows that are filled with joy and make you feel good after watching it, then definitely check out Ted last out. Now one of the biggest reminders that this show passes on from episode to episode is the power of hope. The power of belief, the power of the energy that we bring. And these are huge. Think about the people in your building who bring these, the difference that they make. When you're in this field, it's stressful. There's no way around it. People are overwhelmed, frustrated, many are feeling burnout. And it's easy to get swept up in. And have you ever been in a meeting where one person says something negative, and you just sit back, because is that domino effect. And you can feel the energy gets sucked out of the room, as one voice becomes two, to become three, and so on. Now, there's also been times when I've witnessed others come into meetings, and just with their energy, they lift the whole room up. And instead of being a drain, and sucking all the energy out of the room, they're like a fountain. And they pour that positive energy into the room. And people walk away feeling good, they walk away feeling accomplished, they walk away, feeling ready to tackle new things. And this isn't saying that these people ignored issues, they did it. Instead of focusing on problems, they spent their time focusing on solutions. Instead of saying, what couldn't be done, they painted a picture of what could be done. These people who do this are invaluable. And honestly, there's no reason that we can't do that. And the same goes into the classroom. If we pour hope, belief, positive energy into our students do know what these champions can do. Just this week, I sat down with a student who's been working really hard on their reading, and it's starting to come together for them. And it's so special, to start to see things click for them. And more importantly, it's awesome to see their faces light up, as they start to see it click for themselves. And they want to read more and more, they want to take more chances, they're volunteering to read more often. And there's a little more of a smile on their face when they're reading. And it's a beautiful thing. filling those champions up. Letting them know that learning isn't always easy. But letting them know that what they can achieve. letting those champions know that you believe in them every step of the way. And being there to guide them, to cheer them on. To see them light up is so priceless. And there's always going to be stress, there's always going to be something going on things that are are out of our control. But we can choose hope, we can choose belief. And we can choose the energy that we bring. Another reminder that Ted lasso gives us is to be curious. We walk the hallways of our school, we pass by students, we pass by colleagues, we give them the plight courtesies, and continue on our way. And rarely do we get a chance to truly know those around us. You know, our plates are full, then there's always something more to do. And it's easy to get caught up in our own universe. And sometimes we forget to be curious about those around us to learn about them, to grow from them. And one thing that we get great at is making assumptions. We assume we know the people that we work with, we assume we know, those that we teach, we may hear things about them. And we may form opinions based off of that. But that may not be who they truly are. People are pretty interesting, and there's a lot more to people than we know. And all it takes is giving them a chance. It starts with a few less assumptions and a lot more curiosity. A third reminder that Ted last or shares is that every member of an organization needs to be seen. They need to be heard. And they need to be valued from the top position on down. Because how we treat people matters. And it comes through to our students as well. You know, they're always watching and they're always listening. They see how we interact with support staff. They see how we talk to custodians. They take that all in. And every single person within the walls of a school plays an important role in the education of a child and they influence them. Where I work at, there's a young man who absolutely adores the custodian and several times A week, this young man follows him around after school, to the different classrooms to help him out. This right here makes a difference. The time that this child looks forward to the most every single day isn't time with me, it isn't in time with any other teacher, the most impactful moment for him comes at the end of the day, when he can help out the person, he looks up to the most in the school. Every single person in our schools matter. So take time and recognize them, see the gifts that they have. Think about the ways that you can incorporate those gifts into your classroom, and make sure that you give them the respect that they deserve. And another big reminder that this show offers, is to remember that you are more than just your role. This is an important reminder for all of us. And it's something that is important for our students to hear as well. When I was an assistant basketball coach, we had a lot of amazing young men come to the program, and allow these young men were great athletes, and they had wrapped up their entire identity around being a star athlete. And myself and the other coaches would always stress that they were so much more than just athletes, we would have conversation after conversation about that end, point out other areas that help define who they were. And this just doesn't go for the athletes, it's important that we help all the young people see themselves for who they are, and help them embrace that. And this goes for you as well. You are more than just a teacher, it can be easy to wrap up our whole identity to teach, and be worried that if that title got taken away, that a lot of your identity would be gone. But that's so far from the truth. Teaching can be your passion. It's a piece of you. But it's not all of you. You wear many hats, and you mean a lot to so many. You have skills and you have talents that are unique to you. So see yourself for all of who you are in a friendly reminder, to take care of yourself. You don't have to sacrifice yourself for this job. And last, this amazing show reminds us about the power of investing in others of showing up and investing those around you day in and day out pouring into those we serve. With an understanding that change doesn't happen overnight. Whether it's academic change, or behavioral change, it takes love. It takes patience, it takes energy. And there's going to be nights when you leave frustrated. And you may have doubts about what you're doing. But a lot of times these champions need to hear it and feel it over and over and over again. And you just hope that all these seeds that you're planting and watering, that they're going to take root. And one day, you're going to see them blossom. And it was all because you chose to invest and never give up on them. These are just a few reminders that I got from the show. And it truly doesn't give this show justice. If you're looking for a show to brighten up your day a little bit, definitely check out Ted last Oh, thank you for being here for being part of the teaching champions community. It's hard to believe that this podcast will have its one year anniversary next week. I appreciate all of you who have joined me for this ride so far. And if you're new, thank you for checking this podcast out. If you think there's someone who could benefit from this message, I would truly be grateful if you would share it. This 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. And my challenge for you this week, is do a little reflection, a little journaling. Take a few minutes and really think about what you're putting out into the world. What are you putting out to your students? What are you putting out to your colleagues, to your friends, to your family? Are you staying true to who you want to be? And if not, how can you be intentional tomorrow and living up to your cope? You know, we're never going to be 100% all of the time. But we can always look to learn and to grow, and to be a little bit better tomorrow than we were today. Keep being amazing, my friends, and as we go on to this week, may you step into your strength, may you step into your shine, and let's build our champions up. Have a great week, everybody