Rekindle Your Motivation for the School Year Ahead

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. It's been another beautiful week here in western New York, a lot of phenomenal days out there. And it's given me a lot of time to spend outdoors, which is great. But the mosquitoes up here right now are out of control. And I want to running the other night. And I felt like I was a buffet line for these guys. But I will take these summer nights with some mosquitoes. Because if you're from the north, you know how long those winters are. So I definitely cherish this beautiful weather that we're having right now. Now, this week, one of my best friends came home to visit. And this is someone that I grew up with. He's one of my longest friends. And his journey is taking him to Florida. So we usually only see each other once a year. And obviously, with everything that has taken place over the last year and a half, he wasn't able to come up last summer. So it's been over two years since we've hung out. But due to certain things, I'm not able to connect with him this year. And I've known this for a while. But I've dragged my feet on telling him because I cherish our friendship. I didn't want to disappoint them. So I kept putting it off. Because one thought of mine is I don't like those uncomfortable conversations. But I knew I had to tell. So I called them up. Now, have you ever built something up in your mind? Where you know, you have to have a conversation. But you put it off? Because that's the easy thing to do? You know, unfortunately, I do that more. And I like, well, I gave him this call. And we talked. And at the end of the conversation, you know what he tells me? With all this sincerity in his voice, he said, I get it. I completely understand. And then he followed it up with what type of friend would I be? If I didn't? Listen, I can't begin to say how much this conversation meant to me and how I felt about our friendship, and how I felt it was strengthened, just in those few words. And I just wanted to share that with you. Because I think there's a few takeaways. Number one, get yourself some friends who have your back, who support who encouraged who have a level of understanding for you and aren't there to judge you. Second, he made me feel seen and heard just by saying he completely understood. And that meant so much to me. And third, be that front others. Sometimes we need to step back and see things through their eyes, and taking time to verbally let them know that it's all right, that you let them know that they're seen. And they're heard. Those small words can mean the absolute world to someone. Last, don't put off those uncomfortable conversations. You know, I'm guilty of it all the time. But I've also learned it can come back to bite you. So it was always best to confront those situations head on. And oftentimes, they go a lot better when you address it right away. So that's just a little food for thought for today. Now school season is starting to ramp up. Many of you are already back in action and the rest of us will be starting soon. And I saw a post on Twitter that really stood out to me, a teacher mentioned that our motivation to start the school year just wasn't there yet. And there were several people expressed how they felt the same way. So I want to dive into motivation a little, and how we can capture it moving forward, especially if you're feeling like it's lacking right now. And let me start out by saying, if you're struggling with motivation right now, it's okay. Give yourself a little grace. Last year wasn't easy. And this school year came to a close, we were all left emotionally in a little different place. Some still had that fire, and they were rock solid and going strong into the summer, and for others, had been super challenging. And they needed some time to regroup. And then everyone else fell somewhere in between. and on my end, I knew that at the end of the year, I was pretty taxed. But I don't think I appreciated it enough, until the break happened, and how much I needed that time. So no matter where you're at, rest assured that it's okay. Now, one way to recapture that fire is to set small, achievable goals, sometimes we end up going from zero to 60. And it's too much all at once stress in that overwhelm of the new school year beginning it sets in, and it can suck the joy right out of it. So each day, set a manageable block of time to work on something school related. If you do a little bit each day, it starts to ease back into our minds. Another way to rekindle some motivation is look for inspiration. Think about what gets you fired up about teaching, read new books, browse through Pinterest for something new to add to your classroom. Use social media and connect with like minded educators, find things that look interesting that pique your interest, things that get you excited to add to your classroom. Also, pay attention to the voices that you listen to, whether we realize it or not. We are listening to who we are hanging out with the videos, we watch the things we read, the social media content that we take in, it affects us. And it can affect you positively, or can bring you down. So if you're struggling with motivation right now, think of the voices that you're allowing to take room in your mind in seek out those who are going to lift you up. And one last way that we can find that motivation is to step back and reflect. Take time to think about those good moments that you've had while teaching. Those moments that have filled you up those moments that have reminded you of why you do what you do take time to remind yourself of the joy that there is in teaching. And on the last day of school this past year, I had run back to school in the early evening, because I had forgot something. And I entered the building and it was around seven. And the night custodians weren't there that night. So it was just me. And I stopped in the main office, and I was clearing out my mailbox. And it was a picture that one of my students had dropped off for me. And I am folded the paper. And it was from a young lady. And she had drawn a picture of our whole class. And we were holding hands. And across the top of it. She wrote I love the superstar scholars. And that melted my heart. I was 100% remote last year, my students were able to meet only one time at the end of the year in person. And that was it. And even through all of that the students bonded they connected. We still became a family. And I folded that paper up and I pause for a second. And then I walked down the hallway of my school's hallway basically forms a square so you can make a loop around the whole school. So with the drawing in my hand, I took a slow walk around the school. The lights in the hallway were off, but the sun was still giving off enough light to brighten the hallway. And then the quiet of those halls. I walked past the classrooms that were all packed for the summer. It was surreal. And I thought of the year that was the joy we had. The last we share the growth that my students had. It was far from perfect. But it's something that I'll never forget. And then as I was walking through the hallways, I took time to think about the future. Knowing that those silent hallways that I found myself standing in, will be filled again with laughter and buisiness, I thought of the connections that will be made. I thought of the joy, the happiness, the love, that will fill those classrooms, I thought of the curious minds with their own unique personalities that can do so many unbelievable things. I thought of the aha moments that were going to take place, the moments of triumph, the moments of discovery, the moments where tears will be wiped away, and strength and courage and resilience will be shown. I thought of the beauty that this profession brings in the amazing journey that is still the comp. And there's this school year approaches, I find myself standing in those hallways again, all by myself, holding on to that picture. Knowing that there's going to be a time soon when those hallway lights will be on. When that quietness and emptiness will be gone. When a bell will ring and the music will start blasting over the intercom and life will be breathe into that building. And I will stand at my classroom door with a smile on my face. As I look at the young minds that are walking towards me who are going to spend the day with me. And I hold on to that. Now no matter where the school year takes us know this, you will inspire you will laugh, you will connect you will listen you will teach you will help minds grow, you will make that difference. remind yourself of that. Thank you for being part of the teaching champions community. I appreciate you. This is a phenomenal community. We encourage we support we lift each other up. And I just want to share some good news about the podcast real quick. The teaching champions podcast has been blessed to join the road the awesome team, I've linked up with some great authors, podcasters and bloggers. So definitely check out the road to awesome out. It's led by Dan peppered, I will leave a link in the show notes to check out the website. And if you're looking to learn to grow, or find a little motivation, like we were talking about today, definitely look to check these great minds and resources out. Now 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 mesh. And we're always better together. And my challenge for you this week is to really take some time and reflect, reconnect to what your joy is inside the class. Think about those special moments that you shared those aha moments, those moments where you bonded and connected those moments that have been etched in your memory. So important every now and then that we reconnect with them, that we relive those moments in our mind that we reconnect with that joy. This job isn't easy. There's going to be some tough days ahead. But there will also be so many amazing moments as well. So remind yourself of that joy, because we're so lucky to do what we do. Keep being amazing, my friends, and as we go out into this week, may step into your strength, may you step into your shine, and let's build our champions up. Have a great week, everybody.