Lunch Lady Squad, Student of the Minute, and Making Learning Visible

What's going on everybody, I hope this finds you striving and thriving and doing absolutely amazing. My name is Brian Martin. I'm a second grade teacher and hosted the teaching champions podcast. And it's been another great week in my world, this time of year, it just always breathes a little different energy into the school day, and it feels good. And this week's episode, I just want to share a bunch of different thoughts, whether it's from a podcast, I listened to Twitter chats I participated in, or things that I experienced, that I observed and reflected upon this week, this episode is just going to be a grab bag of sorts. But I hope that you're going to be able to resonate with something, or there's a reflection that sparks something in you an idea or a thought, something that you've experienced lately that you can grow from, we're always a work in progress. We're always learning and growing, and reflections are a big piece of that. And the first is how we speak about our students matters. The words you use, what you put out there, it matters. And one would say, of course, it matters. But do we ever step back and listen on how we speak about our students? Have you ever taken a second to listen to how others speak about their students, specially those champions who may have behavior issues, or those students who academics just doesn't come quickly to them? The words we speak about our students, all of them, it matters, how we portray our champions to others, and what we say about our champions to ourselves, it affects the way that we view them. And if all we do is focus on the negatives, and the shortcomings, then how are we going to view those students? How are we going to talk to those students? What expectations are we going to have for those students? How we speak about our students matters so much, because it's going to influence our interactions with them. And there's been moments this year, when things may not have been going exactly as I have wished they will be going with a student. And I've had to remind myself of something that Dr. Darren Peppard said in his book, The Road Das. And if you're a regular listener to the podcast, then you know, I've mentioned it before. But that's because it's powerful. And in his book, Dr. Pepper said, there are two questions that we need to ask ourselves. Why does it have to be? What's wrong with the students? Why can't it be about what's right with them. And there have been moments when I've had to take a deep breath, and remind myself about all this right with my champion, and make a conscious effort to speak about their strengths, what makes them shine, because they all have a shine. And it's important that we see it, that we recognize it, that we speak about it, that we celebrate it. Because if all you see is the negative, if all you speak is negative, then in your interactions, your expectations, what you pour into them, is going to be affected. And it may not always be easy. But when you see the good, when you speak the good, it impacts them. And it's going to impact you as well. So see their shine. And number two is make that journey and that growth visible for your students. Every year on the first day of school. My young champions come into the classroom, they find their seats, and I give them a little talk. And at every year, I hold up a chapter book that is above the majority of the class's reading level at the time, and I'll tell them by the end of the year, they'll be reading this. And then I go over to the whiteboard, and I'll write a basic single digit addition and subtraction problem. And I'll tell them that they can do that right now. Then, I'll write a problem that's in the 1000s and I'll Tell them by the end of the year, this is what you're going to be doing. And their eyes get real wide in the look around the room. Fast forward to this time of the year. And I referenced that talk that we had at the beginning of the year, on multiple occasions. And we'll talk about how far we've come, what we've learned where we were at in September, and where they're at now. And sometimes you might question yourself on if the message that you're sending out to your students is taking root. But on Friday, one of my champions, who's worked extremely hard this year, and has made some great gains came up to me. And he referenced this talk. And with a big smile on his face, he talked about how in the beginning of the year, he could only do basic addition and subtraction. But now he was doing so much more make that learning visible to the students, show them the progress that they've made, celebrate their successes, their accomplishments, their hard work, their willingness to push themselves. And this just isn't for the high achievers, or for the students who are hitting the standards. This is for the students who may not be hitting those standards as well. But they've shown up and they've made gains, they need to see their shine, just as much as the other students, they need to see their growth, just like the other students do. They need to be celebrated like those other students. So take that time to step back with your students. Help them reflect on how far they've come this year, and the great thing that they've done. And the third reflection I had this week, was all about school culture. This week, I stumbled on a group of ladies from a school in Florida. And they call themselves the lunch lady squats. And they have their own tick tock channel. And many other videos have gone viral. And I got sucked in to watching some of the videos. And you could just see the joy in their faces and how much fun they had creating those. And it was just a great reminder on several fronts. Number one, every single person in our schools matters. Every single person plays such an important and vital role. And number two, find people that you can have fun with this year was stressful next year, to be honest with you is going to be stressful. So find those colleagues in your school that you can have fun with that you can laugh with that you can have a good time with that make it an enjoyable place to be. Number four. I participated in a Twitter chat this week. And there was a question about celebrating our students. And one of the participants mentioned that he started using a phrase that he deemed student of the minute. And he said, when he caught a student shining and doing great things in class, he would announce to the class that someone saw was the student of the minute. And he said the students loved it. And the power in this is by naming it student of the minute. Instead of student of the day or student of the week, he was able to recognize multiple students over the course of a single period. And I thought this was a pretty cool idea. And something that was worth passing along to. Number five, I sent out a tweet this week that talked about not getting so consumed with the negative and the stressful things in our lives, that we miss out on all the great things that are happening all around. And someone responded that they wished that their administrator would take time to highlight the good things that are happening, instead of always just reporting the negative. And the truth is, whether it's an administrator, whether it's the teacher across the hall, or other members of the staff, you can't control what they say or do. But we can always control our words and our actions. You can always control the energy that you burn. When you're in the teacher lounge. When you're passing others in the hallway. That energy you bring when you close your classroom door. And it's not always easy. When those around you may be creating a negative atmosphere. But we want to create our world from the inside out and not the out signed in. And this week, I've also been reflecting on how sometimes it's not until the end of the year, near the finish line, where you see the breakthroughs. And it could be an academic breakthrough, it could be a behavioral breakthrough. But when you start to see results of all that time and energy that you poured in, and that made me think of one of my favorite quotes by author John Gordon, he said, you weed and feed and feed and weed. And he's talking about feeding the positive and weeding out the negative. And every day, you show up, and you pour that love, that joy, that belief in your students, you show up and you help guide them, you show them what they can do, you highlight the strengths that they have, you help them see the potential that they have within them. But you also disarm those limiting beliefs, you try and help them change any negative self beliefs that they have about themselves, you help them try and recognize those negative behaviors that they have. And it's a process. It's a process of feeding and weeding, and weeding and feeding. And there are times when you may feel that everything that you do is not making a difference that it's not taking. And then then to that moment, when you look at the champion, and you see it in their eyes, and you hear in their words, and you feel with their actions. And it reminds you that everything you invested over the course of this school year, that has made a difference. Another reminder came to me this week, when I was listening to John Maxwell's leadership podcast. And John Maxwell is an amazing speaker and leader. So I definitely recommend this podcast. And in the episode I listened to, he was talking about the power of being grateful, and the effect that it can have on us in those around us. And he talked about making your gratitude greater than your success. There you should see the value in people and things through proactive gratitude. Because when we lead with gratitude, and we appreciate those around us, we naturally show respect to them. And he encourages us to compliment others in front of others. And lastly said the world responds to gratitude by making more of what we appreciate, come to us. And it was a powerful lesson on gratitude, and a reminder of why we should lead with it. That we should see the gifts that our students have the gifts that those around us have, that we should walk around our buildings, and see those smiles, to hear your colleagues crushing it with their lessons inside their classrooms, to see the work that the students have up in the hallways. And to make it a point to remind people how much you appreciate them in front of others. And think about the times when you received a compliment in front of someone else. And how that made you feel. How that made you feel about the person who gave you that compliment. So pass that along to others, and days that are filled with moments, some wonderful, some stressful. When you lead with gratitude, it can change your day. And John Maxwell also says what you appreciate, appreciates and what you depreciate, depreciate. And these are just a few of the things that resonated with me this week, be cognizant of how you speak about your students. Teach your students about looking back and recognizing how far they've come and have fun celebrating that and have fun with the people that you work with. Remember, we can't control the energy that others bring. But we can always control the energy that we bring. Find those students of the minute and lead with gratitude. And my challenge for you this week is the think about this following quote that was sent out to me by my principal this week, and that resonated with me. And it made me think and I want you to take a minute and think about how it translates to you and to your students. The quote comes from The great TED lasso, and it says, For me, success is not about the wins and losses. It's about helping these young fellows Be the best version of themselves, and an off the field. And it ain't always easy. But neither is growing up without someone believing in you. Let me say that last line again, it ain't always easy. But neither is growing up without someone believing in you. Thank you for being here for being part of the teaching champions community. If you think someone will benefit from this message, please share. And don't forget to subscribe to the podcast, the teaching champions community supports, encourages and lifts each other up. And 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. Keep being amazing, my friends. And as we go out into the week, May you step into your strength may step into shine, and let's build our champions. Have a great week, everybody