Lessons to Transform Your Classroom

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, I hope this finds you striving and thriving and doing absolutely amazing. I wrapped up my first full week of instruction face to face this week. And it was pretty special, then one of the fun things about starting the school year is that process of getting to know your students, you feel them out, you see little aspects of their personalities, what makes them tick, you find those different things that you can bond over. There's just a lot to be said in that discovery process. So it was definitely a fun week. Before I get started with the main point of the podcast, I just want to share two small stories with you. And if you can get anything from today's episode, please do this. Look for the good things that happen all around you. You know, you might look at your school culture, and say is great. You might look at your school culture and say it struggles, you might have had a great week of school, you might have had a rough week at school. But the one thing that I truly believe, is that on a regular basis, there are great things happening all around us. And they don't have to be big. Sometimes there's such beauty in the small things. But we have to be open to seeing them. And we have to be open to appreciating them. And if we look for them, and we appreciate them, it only helps our mental state. Well, this week, my class was visited by our school safety officer. Now this gentleman is top notch. He's a retired police officer. And he just brings so much joy to our school. And I love when he comes to the classroom, because he's someone who cares. And he's someone who enjoys this phase of his life. And he's a grandfather. So he brings that special happiness to the classroom. But he's also has that personality of a gentleman who spent his career as a police officer. And it's just awesome. And the kids eat it up. Well, he's big into the outdoors. So he collected some nuts from the trees on the school's property. And he brought them in to show the students. And he explained to them how the squirrels use these nuts for food. And as he's talking, the students are so dialed in, they're eating up every word that he says, this may sound like something small. But if you step back, and you were able to watch them, and you were able to look around the classroom, and you could see those students. It was just a beautiful moment. Another special thing that happened recently, it was about two weeks ago, before school started. I was setting up my classroom. And I was standing by the doorway, and I hear this young man and he was around eight years old. And he's calling out to his mom. He said, Where's Jeff at? Can we please go find Jeff. Now, just our nighttime custodian, and he's about six, three, and around 260 pounds of just pure muscle. So he's just a tank of a teddy bear. And there was so much excitement in this child's voice as he was begging his mom to go find his buddy Jeff. And I just sat there and I listened to him. And I smiled to myself. It was just such a great reminder that we're surrounded by awesome people in our schools. Every person that walks through those doorways they It plays such a pivotal role in the lives of our champions. And if we just keep our eyes open, we're gonna see great things happening all around us. Now let's get into the episode. And I have to apologize upfront this week to all of my Notre Dame football fans as being a fan of the Irish myself. I understand that I'm maybe kicked out of the fan club, because today I want to talk about a few lessons that I've learned from the head coach of Clemson football. Dabo Swinney. Now, if you're not a football fan, please rest assured that this episode has very little to do with football. And it has everything to do with how we approach our classroom and the mindsets we have. Now, if you're unfamiliar with Coach Swinney, and Clemson football, then just know, they are one of the very best programs in the country, Coach Sweeney took over a program that had very little success. And since he's taken over, he's won two national championships. clemson is one of the top five programs every year. And my intention for this week was to focus on just one leadership point from Dabo. But I got sucked into listening to podcast after podcast and was reading article after article about this man. And it would be cheating you if you didn't hear some of the words of wisdom the coach Swinney has shared. So these are five things that I'm going to share with you that apply to your school, to your classroom, but they also apply to your life. So as you listen to some of these gems, think about how it applies to how you can use it inside your class, how it relates to your life. Now up first, is that power of belief, in the messages that you set. See Coach 20, he says that in every team meeting that he is ever had, as a head coach, he will always bring with him two signs. And these signs are not huge, you could hold them in the palm of your hand. But they're symbols. And he said, if he forgets them to a team meeting, his players will call them out on and make them go get them. In the first sign. It says belief in that second sign, it says can't be done. And it has the team can't crossed out so that reads can be done. In these messages set front and center for his team to see in coach Sweeney said when he took over the program, that the expectations were so low, that very few people within the community believed that Clemson could become a powerhouse. But he believed he believed that they could become successful, he believed that his players, his individuals could become successful. And he said that he let them know that each and every single day. And we know about that power of belief. We know what it means to have someone believe in you, for someone to seen you what you don't see in yourself, how powerful that is. And that is something that we need to give to our students. And it's more than just saying that you believe in them. It's telling them in such a way that they just don't hear it. But they feel. And it's about giving them the opportunities to see what they can achieve and what they can become. And if they slip up. And if they fall down. We help them out. We brush them off. And we give them another opportunity. Because that belief that we can instill in others is huge. And then you have that other side that coach Sweeney has, it can't be done with the T crossed off. Coach when he said that these young men have lived in a world where everyone is telling them what they can't accomplish, what they can't achieve, what they can't be. And he said is about showing these men what they can become. And this is so true. We need to express to our young people, that things can be accomplished because so many young people buy into can't. And it happens at such an early age. In fact, this past week, a young lady in my class told me I can't you know it's the beginning of the school year and we're working on skip counting by fives, and my champions, they're doing a great job of this from zero to 100. So I said, Let's go from 100 to 200. And there's a wonderful young lady who is sporting a flower headband, she looks at me, she shakes her head, and she says, I can't do that. And this just opens the door for me to go on a long rant about can't, and I write code swinney's quote on the board, it can't be done. And I cross out the tea. And I tell her, you can't. And she gave me a half smile. She looked at me like I had lost my mind. But I went over to her desk. And together, we walked through the problem. And by the end, she was doing it on her own. And we celebrated her success. But that's the initial reaction of so many of our students when something is outside of their comfort zone. And I'm working with the youngest of them who are probably more forthcoming about verbalizing that. So think about what a lot of our older students are thinking, when they're pushed outside their comfort zone, instilling in our students, that power of belief, that power of can, it's so important. And if we can do that, if we can get them to believe in themselves, if we can get their first reaction to a problem, to be I can, rather than I can't think about where they can go. Now a second point that coach Sweeney drives home is to focus on the little things, he tells a quote from George Washington Carver all the time, and it goes, do the common things in an uncommon way. And you will command the respect of the world. And the same goes in our class, if you master the fundamentals of teaching, if you master making your students feel seen, heard and valued. If you master the art of making connections, if you take pride in mastering all of these small things, then you will achieve extraordinary things. And the third takeaway comes from a lesson that he gave a couple of young graduate assistants. He said that he was at a coaching conference, and he was waiting by an elevator in the hotel lobby. And these graduate assistants come up to him. And they asked him for advice. And he said he looked at them and he told them, when I get on this elevator, I'm going to hit the button for the 14 floor. And when the elevator stops, I'm going to get off at the 14 floor. If you want to be great, you can't take the elevator, you have to take the stairs, you have to embrace every role that you're in, you have to learn every step of the way. And you have to work your way up to the 14 floor, that there's no elevator for that. And that's so true. And sometimes it feels like we live in a microwave society, what we want that instant success. When I heard this, it also made me think of our students. You know, there's no doubt in my mind that you want your champions to succeed. They you want them to achieve amazing things that you want them to be unbelievable to make those strides while they're with you to just flourish. We all want that. What we forget sometimes though, in order for that to happen, our students have to take the stairs, they have to slowly work their way up step by step, our school year is 180 days. Progress, whether it's academic, or behavioral. It doesn't happen all of a sudden. It's a lot of little steps. So remind yourself of that. Remind yourself it's a process. Remind yourself, it takes time. Remind yourself to fall in love with the process in bond love with the journey. lesson four from Coach Sweeney is all about creating a winning culture, about taking a team that had a history of struggling and transforming it into one of the elite programs in the country. And the first thing he said is if you want a winning culture, you have to have phenomenal communication. You have to be open and honest. You have to over communicate Second, he said, You have to have a vision, and everyone in your program must be able to articulate that vision. Third, he said, Every member of that program must be bought into that vision and be centered around a common purpose. And last, he said, each and every single day, you have to show appreciation. And when we break that down in our school setting, think about how do we communicate? If you're an administrator, how are you communicating with the staff? If you're a teacher, how are you communicating with all the individuals that work within the classroom, and have contact with your students so much lives and dies with communication? how we communicate, what we communicate, it truly can make or break our school culture. And when we talk about vision, what is your school's vision? What is your classrooms? Do your students know the core values of your classroom? Do they know your objectives? Would they be able to articulate what the classroom community is striving for? And if you have teaching assistance, would they be able to articulate the same vision? You know, laying out that roadmap is important. Everyone who walks into your classroom, they should be able to see it, and they should be able to feel it. And last coach Swinney says you have to show appreciation, you have to let the people around, you know, that you care and appreciate what they do. And it's important that we make a conscious effort to let those around us know, we appreciate them, whether it's our students, our classroom assistants, the nurse, the Secretary, the administration, our custodians, every single person plays a role in the education of our scholars, and taking a moment on a regular basis, to let others know that they're valued. It's so important. And the last point that I want to bring up is from a podcast that he did with one of his former players, who now plays an NFL, his player said that coach Sweeney would often huddle up all the guys. And he would say this saying at the end of practice, he will go, I will do what I can, while I can. So when I cannot, I will not wish I could have when I could have. And I'm gonna say that one more time. Because it's powerful. And it goes beyond the class, arrange to for work, for service that you might do outside the classroom, for what you put into the friendships, for what you pour into your family. So listen carefully to these words. I will do what I can, while I can. So when I cannot, I will not wish I could have when I could have. Think about that for a moment, my friends. And to wrap it all up, you know, bring that power of belief that power of we can into our students, Master those little things that you do each and every single day. Because those little things drive huge success. And remember that the growth our students show, it's a process. And it happens one step at a time. Build culture through communication, vision, purpose, appreciation, and make today count. I heard a quote a while back, and it's always stuck with me. And it said he we treat money. Like it's finite. But we treat time, like it's infinite. But the exact opposite is true. We can always go and make more money. But we can never have more time. So make time count. I hope you were able to gain a little insight into coach Sweeney today. I didn't give the man justice. So I'm going to leave several the podcast I listened to him on in the show notes. And if you have time, take a listen. It's so worth it. Thank you for your time. I truly appreciate you. The teaching champions community is truly special. Show because we support we encourage, we lift each other up. If you could rate subscribe or review this podcast, I would be so thankful. And always remember, whether you're from rural America to urban America, to Canada to spend about rain. 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 to look around you. There's a beautiful things happening each and every single day. There's such beauty and joy, if we just step back, and if we consciously pay attention, and look for those little things. So this week, be aware. Look for the acts of kindness. Look for the moments of joy. Look for the special instances that happen all around you. If you look for them, you'll see them. If you look for them, you will feel them. Keep being amazing, my friends, and as we go out into this week, may you step into your strength may step into your shine, and let's build our champions up. Have a great week, everybody.