Sprinkling Joy, Assumptions, and Taking Action

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. This week was a good one, my friends, but in a way, it was like the universe was plotting against every educator out there. Think about it. We had the Super Bowl on Sunday night. Valentine's Day on Monday. My school celebrated the 100th day of school on Wednesday. And for a little cherry on top. We had a full moon this week. That's the perfect storm. But hopefully it was a good one for everybody. Now there was over 100 million people that watch the Superbowl, the game, the halftime show the commercials, they were all great. But what I also appreciate is when they spotlight the players a little more and you get to see some of these athletes and who they are off the field because they're more than just football players. And one of the players that they spotlighted was Andrew Whitworth. And if you watch the game, you'd recognize Andrew Whitworth as the offensive lineman for the rams that they talked about often. And with Tom Brady retiring. He's the oldest player in the NFL at 40, which is pretty, super impressive. And he won the Walter Payton Man of the Year award. And this award is given to one NFL player for excellence on the field, but also excellence off the field for their volunteer work in their charity service. And they have this big banquet to honor all the nominees, they named the winner. And he was presented with the award this year. And I listened to Mr. Whitworth acceptance speech. And he mentioned a few things that I think every educator out there needs to hear, because it runs deep into what you do every single day. And in his speech, he was talking about the work that he does. And he was talking about the way that he views service for others. And he said, it's called an investment. You can apply these three things to any charity, or cause you have a passion for you can invest your time. You can invest your finances, or you can invest your voice. It doesn't matter which we just have to keep investing in each other. And he said, Let your heart lead you all the way. Then he talked about an experience that he had this year. And he said, One experience brought it all together for me this year. And it happened to me on the football field. And one of our games against the Detroit Lions. I had a young player from the lions run up to me as soon as the final horn went off. I saw him sprinting over. And I didn't know what was going on. Like we had known each other forever. And I couldn't place and it made me nervous. He was thinking to himself had I actually played long enough that a coach's son or a player's son is playing against me. And the player running toward them stopped and said, Hey, man, you're not gonna remember me. I'm Derrick Barnes. And you spent time with me when you're a young player in Cincinnati at the Boys and Girls Club. And it meant the world to me, used to sit with me and talk to me about life. And I was just a little kid. And I want you to know how much it meant to me. And the main thing I wanted to say wit, I made it, I made it to the NFL big wit. And Mr. Whitworth closed his acceptance speech by saying none of us know when the investment is going to present itself. But the key is to be available when it does. And how true is this? Every single day, you make an investment. And there's a lot of times when you might not know the difference you're making. You might not realize as how much your champions are getting from you. But they're listening. They're paying attention. They're hearing your words, they're taking in your actions. And there are moments where it almost seems like you're pouring out so much of yourself. And you may not be getting that immediate feedback, and you might not get that feedback at all. And sometimes, it's about keeping a little faith that what you're doing the love that you're showing everything that you are trying to pour into others that it's being received. And it reminds me of a quote, the true meaning of life, is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit. And that's a special story that I thought you would enjoy. Now, let's move on to today's podcast. And this episode is just going to be a little hodgepodge of thoughts that I had throughout the week. Because one of the best ways that we can learn is to truly take some time in reflect, reflect about ourselves, our thoughts, our actions, reflect on what happens, whether it's personally or professionally, to look around, and reflect on the world around us. And there's lessons to be learned if we just open our eyes and see what's happening around us. And that's not in a judgmental way, but through the lens of looking to learn and grow. So this is just a collection of a few lessons and reminders that were given to me this week. And I hope it's a few things that you might be able to learn from as well. And the first one is on school culture. All of us want a healthy workplace environment, a place where we're seeing where we're heard, where we're valued, a place where we're cared about, and administration plays a big role in this. But everyone who enters the building plays a big role in this as well, and how we talk to each other, and the energy that we put out matters. And a lot of good things have been taking place at the school that I work at lately. And it's made a big difference. Recently, a lot of my colleagues have been sending out schoolwide emails where they're outwardly commending, and thanking one another for many different things. And sending a school wide email, it's a small thing. But in those few seconds, the day take the time about a two sends email those individuals, they're expressing gratitude. They're showing appreciation, they're taking time to make others around them feel seen and heard. And they're putting out positive energy. And it's not just to one or two people, but they're putting it out there for the entire school to feel. And this is a small thing. But you start stacking enough small things on top of each other, then you create a lot of momentum, you create a pretty special place to be, and who doesn't want to work at a place where others around you are taking the time to recognize and celebrate the great things that people are doing. Now a second thought that came to me this week was when I was watching a basketball game. And it brought me back to my own days as a varsity assistant coach, and I was lucky enough to be involved in a amazing program that achieved a lot of success. And part of achieving that success was having high standards and having a high level of accountability. And our players had both. And there were some days when the young man would come in, and they just weren't putting forth the effort and intensity that they needed. And the coaching staff would get after them. And there were times when they really got after them. And the players, they weren't always happy about this human nature. There's gonna be times when many of us need someone to light a fire under us. Well, whenever this happened, and we lit a fire underneath the players, one of the members of the coaching staff would always remind the young man that we were getting after them, because we cared. We were getting after them. Because we wanted them to succeed and achieve the goals that they dreamed up. We would remind them that they shouldn't be worried because we're coaching them up. They should start to worry when we stop coaching them, because when we stopped coaching them, that shows that we stopped caring. And by letting these young men know that we cared about them, and that we were pushing them because we had their best interest in mind that allowed us the ability to coach them to a high level that allowed the us the opportunity to get after them. And I think the same is true in our classrooms, there are going to be moments, when we have to hold our champions accountable, there's going to be moments when we may have to light a fire inside our champions. And when we do that, it's important that within the same breath, we're letting them know I care about you, I want the best for you. And they may not always like what you have to say, but reminding them that you care about them, and that you only have their best interests in mind. It pays huge dividends. And the third reflection that came to me this week, was when I watched a friend get hurt. And this friend has a huge heart. She's unbelievably kind. And she's gone out of her way to go above and beyond for someone with something happened. And this other individual misread a situation. They made terrible assumptions, and they ended up hurting my friend. And this may have happened to you, or someone you care about where the best intentions have been perceived the wrong way, when there's hurt feelings, and people lash out. And as I watched this all go down, it made me think of a few things. Number one, it really made me go back and think about the book, The Four Agreements, and how one of the major teaching points in the book is to not take things personally. And my new my friend knew what she did. She knew she did nothing wrong. And she knew that this other person had made the wrong assumption, and that their words and actions were coming from a place of hurt. And it's not easy. But she knows that this is about them and not hurt. It's about the way that they're choosing to see the world and their misperceptions. And I once heard a quote that said, hurt people, hurt people. And while this situation has been really hard for my friend, she understands that this is more about them, and less about her. And she's able to move past this situation. And at the end of the day, she can look at herself in the mirror and hold her head up high. And this is just an important reminder to you that when hurtful words and actions come your way, try and remember what is the place that these people are coming from. And always remember that their words and actions speak a lot more about them than they do about you. And this situation is also such an important reminder that we should always try to assume positive intent, situations are going to arise, words are going to be said, and we can make snap judgments. And the people involved in this situation that I was just talking about, they never bothered to come to my friend and ask about what happened. They didn't take time to try and clear the air, they automatically just made an assumption. And it's extremely unfortunate, because they assumed wrong. And they've done a lot of damage to a relationship for us. Try and see the best in people try to give people the benefit of doubt. And if you want to clear the air, approach them and have a conversation with them, see where they're coming from, and what led them to their words and actions. We can solve so many issues, and strengthen so many relationships, if we just take time to be open, to be honest, and have an actual conversation. And the last reflection that I want to share is all about when a problem arises. And where do we put our energy in the problem or in the solution. You know, just like you, I take a lot of pride in teaching, and I strive to be good at this craft. And there was a day this week where I felt a little fiery about something that was going on. I felt like I was coming up a little short on my end. And if I put it into baseball terms, I'm a big fan of hitting homeruns. But it felt like I was just striking out. And this is on me, Nana, my champions. Well, one night this week, I woke up in the middle of the night I rolled over, and it's three in the morning. And I couldn't get back to sleep. And what is it easy for teachers to do in those quiet moments? We start thinking about school and within less than a minute of being awake. My mind starts racing and thinking about the area that I I feel as if I was coming up short. And there's online that my mind is racing. And I'm ruminating over this problem. And I can physically feel myself getting fired up, as I'm laying there. And eventually, the alarm clock rings, I felt like I didn't get any sleep. I was a complete Grump. And I was still thinking about this issue. And finally, after my second cup of coffee, I stopped wallowing in my problem. And I stopped beating myself up. And I started actually thinking of ways that I could switch things up, I started thinking of the actions that I could take to fix the situation. And when that happened, I started feeling better. And honestly, the key was to Stop glaring at the problem. And to start thinking of the actions that I could take. It broke me out of the funk. And I was good after that. And whether or not these actions will be the best remains to be seen. But it creates movement. And if I have to adjust, then I will. And when all I did was fixate and ruminate on the problem, I felt awful problems are always going to pop up. So give yourself time to deal with your feelings. But ultimately, the best way to get out of the funk is to start coming up with some actions that you can take. Take them and adjust as you go. But take action. And these are just a few things that were on my mind this week, I hope you're able to take some things away. And remember, little things add up. Sprinkle some goodness for those around you. Hold high standards have accountability. And make sure that those around you always know how much you care. assume positive intent. And remember, don't take things personal as negative words and actions will always speak more about others than they do about you. And last, when you hit those snags in your week, don't just sit in the problem. Take action. Thank you for being here for being part of the teaching champions community. I appreciate your time. And if you have any reflections of your own, I would love to hear them. So please reach out to me on social media. And let me know. I'm definitely a work in progress. And we'd love to learn from your insights. And if you haven't yet subscribed to the podcast, please do that way the episodes will be delivered to you every week. And if you think someone would benefit from this message, please share the episode. The teaching champions 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 to do a little reflection, whether it's in a journal, or just some quiet time alone. Each day is going to present us with so many lessons if we're willing to receive them. So think about the lessons that you've been given. How can you use them to be the best version of you? Think about them. Learn from them, and grow from them. Keep being amazing, my friends. And as we go out into the week, May you step into your strength may step into your shine, and let's build our champions up. Have a great week, everybody