The Power of Stories

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? This is episode number three. And I hope it finds you striving and thriving and doing absolutely amazing. And today, I want to talk about the power stories that we tell ourselves, you see, the stories that we tell ourselves, they dictate so much, they can lift us up, when they can pull us down. They can make us stronger, or they can make us weaker. The stories that we tell ourselves, they can propel us forward. Or they can act like a chain and hold us back. When we think about the power stories, we should think about what are the stories our students are telling themselves about who they are. It's important that we try to listen to our students so that we can recognize what is the message that they're telling themselves. And one of the reasons why I wanted to do this podcast is because the other day, I had a student that reminded me of how truly important this is. Not our school day starts at 815. And I'm 100% remote this year. And teaching virtually, has put a whole new spin on when you look at a student. And it looks like they just rolled out of bed in the past. Well, now literally, I have students that are basically just rolling right out of bed. And that's alright, because I'm a pot of coffee in and I got enough energy and enthusiasm for everybody. But it's 815, we fire up zoom, we get the music going. And I'm trying my best to set the tone for the day. And every single day when my students show up, the first thing that I want them to hear the first thing that I want them to know is that I see you, I hear you, I believe in you. So I start my morning message to my students. And in the middle of my message. One of my little friends, he unmute himself. And he shouts right out, Mr. Martin. Why do you always say amazing? I'm bad. I say bad things. And you know, in that moment, everything just stops. And for that split second, you process everything that was said, right in that state. Now my little friend, he's someone who has had some tough moments throughout his young school career. And the day prior, something happened that had to be addressed. But he's a good boy. He's seven years old. And there's no doubt in my mind that he's going to do some absolutely amazing things in the future. But listen to all the words that he said to me right there in that statement. Why do you always say I'm amazing? I'm bad. I say bad things. That's powerful. And so much was said right there. And as a teacher, you know, in that moment, that you take those lesson plans that you had, and you slide them off to the side, because a much more valuable lesson is about to take place. And it's one of those moments where you look at your students, and you tell those boys and girls that they better sit up, they better look at you, and they better listen, because it's about to get deep and we're about to have a real conversation. And then that moment we talked about the stories that we tell ourselves, we talked about how each and every single one of us, including every single adult that those students know, especially me, makes mistakes. And the mistakes that we make there to help us learn to help us grow. And making a mistake slipping up making air doesn't make you any less amazing. Now, one thing that I know, is that conversations good in the moment. But this young man has been so ingrained with these thoughts, that for the rest of the school year, every single day that I'm working with him, I'm gonna have to continuously pour into this young man about that story that he's telling himself. Because that story, that story that he's telling himself, that he's not amazing that he's bad, and needs to be raised. And the truth of the matter is, there's going to be more instances where he's gonna make a mistake, and he has to be held accountable. But I also have to make it a priority on how that's addressed. Because how we view the mistakes that we make, helps shape our stories. And changing this young man's story is never going to happen in one conversation. It's gonna take every single conversation, every interaction every moment that we have together throughout the remainder of the school year. Now, one thing that I appreciate about my young champion is, he's outspoken. He's gonna let me know how he feels. But there are many others there that are much quieter, who are much more reserved, that aren't gonna let me know. And that's true in everyone's class. So it's important that we pay attention to their body language, we pay attention to how they act, the words that they use. And as adults, we have to understand that stories are framed, to every conversation, every interaction every moment. So every time we meet with our students, we're helping them create a story about themselves. So we need to be careful of our words, our actions, and understand the role we play, and helping them craft those stories. Because those stories, the stories that our students tell themselves, it can make them weaker, and drag them down. Or those stories can make them stronger, and lift them up. And we're always building our champions up. Thank you so much for everything that you've been doing in your classrooms, or schools or communities, you're making a bigger difference than you know. And remember to keep an eye on each other. Remember to keep an eye on yourself, and recognize when you need to stay, take a step back and refill yourself back up. Now, the goal of this podcast is just to try and bring a little joy, a little inspiration to everyone who's out there, serving our children. So I'd be extremely grateful. If you could leave me a review, subscribe to the podcast. Or if you could share it with anyone that you think might benefit from it. We're growing a community. And one thing that is important, it doesn't matter. Whether you're from rural America, to urban America, to Canada, to Spain, to Australia to Bahrain, we're all on the same team. We all have that same mission. And we're always better together. And before I wrap up, a little challenge for each and every single one. At some point today, take a step back and think about the story that you're telling yourself. Are you lifting yourself up? Are you strengthening yourself? Are you propelling yourself forward? Or just story, making yourself a little weaker? Check those stories, my friends. Now as we go out into this week, may you step into your strength may step into your shine, and let's build these champions up. Have a great week, everybody.