The Words We Speak, Appreciation, and Belief

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 host of the teaching champions podcast. And today we're going solo. And it's a little bit more of a reflection to that. And in my neck of the woods, we just finished up our second full week of school. And we're gonna dive in to a few things that have been at the top of my mind after the first few weeks. And these are just thoughts. And then some of it spawns from conversations that I've had others or thoughts I've had from experiences, and others is just from stepping back and listening and watching the world around. And that's something that if we just took time to listen to ourselves, to slow down, and just listen to the world around us, do you know how much we can learn? Do you know how much others give us to step back, to think about, and to learn? There's so much. So this episode is a little more on the random side, we're gonna bounce around to a few different topics. But each of these have weighed on me. And they've caused me to pause and think. And I can only hope that maybe these are something that are going to make you pause and think, or there's something that's going to trigger another memory inside you something that maybe has recently happened to some words that were spoken to you, something that happened to you that makes you pause and think, because sometimes we look for others to give us the answers. But sometimes the best reminders come to us when we just step back, and reflect. And the first thing and the most important that's weighed on me comes from a conversation that I recently had with a friend and their child. And it was just such an important reminder of the words that we speak. And I ran into this woman or daughter at the store. And this woman was telling me how amazing this young person was doing in school. And this young person is on the National Honor Society. She's receiving all sorts of academic rewards, and she's just crushing it. Well, this summer, the young person was being honored at a banquet for her achievements in math. So the mother and daughter, they go to this banquet. And while they're there, and the adult comes up to the two of them and starts talking to them. And the young person reveals that they want to be an accountant. And there was something that she had always wanted to be. Well, this woman that they were talking to, happened to be an accountant. And you know what this person did? She looked at this young lady. And she gave her every reason under the sun. Why she shouldn't be an accountant. I guess she absolutely blasted the profession. Now this woman walked away from the conversation. And she probably didn't think much of it. However, this young lady walked away from the conversation saying that she doesn't want to go into that profession anymore. Now is that fair to that student. And I fully believe that we shouldn't sugarcoat things. But at the same time, we have to be careful. And this is just such an important lesson on the meaning of our words, and how our words can impact others. And I don't know this woman, but I'm going to go out on a limb. And I'm going to say that she's a pretty good person. I'm going to guess, that she had no idea about the impact that she was going to have on this young lady. And when I heard this story, to be honest, it actually stuck with me for several days. And it really bothered me the words that we speak, how we say things. We're constantly planting seeds. And it's important to recognize that those seeds, they can be positive or negative. The seeds that we plant, they can lift others up, or they can pull them down. Those seeds can make others rise up or make them fall down. And the most important part are to remember is that we're always planting seeds with our words with what we say, even if it's just a brief conversation with someone that we just met, the words that we speak in others, they matter. They make a tremendous impact on others. So we have to be conscious of what we say. Another powerful reminder came to me when I was talking to one of my good friends. He's big into bodybuilding. He's passionate about it. He's extremely knowledgeable in the science of it. And we were talking this week. And he was telling me about a friend that he trains. And he says, he trains this person for free five days a week. And under his guidance, this person's gains have shot through the roof, the weight that they're moving, isn't even comparable to when they first started. And this person has commented how others have noticed and offered a ton of praise about the gains that they're making. Well, my friend, he was venting a little bit. And he just said, the one thing that this person that he trains never says is Thank you. This person never tells others about the guidance that they're getting from my friend. And this isn't to put down the other person, because they're probably very appreciative. And honestly, they may think that they do show appreciation. But what I do know is my friend doesn't necessarily feel it and was bothered by it. And I share this with you right now. Because after I listened to my friend talk, it really made me step back and think about how do we show those around us that we appreciate that. The truth is, our schools don't run without every single person within those walls. And every single person deserves to feel appreciated, every person needs to feel appreciated. And we can say that we appreciate those around us. But it's important that we step back. And we really think about when was the last time that we let the people around us know, of the special things that they're doing. When was the last time that we let someone know that we appreciate them. Because each and every single one of us wants to feel seen for what we do, we may appreciate others. But if we don't let them know through our words, and through our actions that they're appreciated, then do they really know how we feel. So make it a point to show your appreciation and make it a point to do it off. We might even find that, we start noticing more of the great things that others are doing, the more often we show our gratitude. Now the last thing that's been on my mind is something that happened a few years back, but it was one of those moments that you never forget. And at the beginning of the year, I always remind myself of it. It was the first few weeks of school, and I got a new student. The student was sitting next to me and I was doing a few evaluations just to get a baseline of the skills of where we were going to start at. And I asked him to read me a passage from a grade level text. And the young child was struggling. So we grabbed a first grade level text and tried to read that. And this young man, he looked at the words. Then he looked up at me. And he looked me right in the eye. And he said I can't read. And it was one of those moments where everything, it just kind of stops. And all the other students, they just fade into the background for that moment. And you just see this young child looking up at you and saying that, and I put my arm around him. And we did some basic skill work that he was able to do. And I hyped it up for him and I fist bumped him. I told him that he was lying to me because he was a reader and he could read and the smile spread across his face. And we worked and we worked and we worked. And while this student may not have been at the level of his peers when he left second grade, he made great gains, and I was so unbelievably proud of them. And the point in sharing this is students come to us at all different levels. And that's okay Sometimes we get lost in the deficits. Sometimes we get lost and how far behind a student might be the deficiencies they have, what they can't do. And sometimes we forget how that might feel, to see your peers succeed. While things are struggle for you. So be conscious of that. Celebrate these young champions wins, find ways to create momentum, show the students the growth that they're making, and let them know. Let them know each and every single day that you believe in them. From the high achievers, to those who struggle a little bit more, and everyone in between. Let them know that you believe in them. Because you see a little belief, someone taking time to celebrate the small wins someone to be there to support them, when they struggle, and feels that they can't do something, someone to be that voice. That's constantly saying, I know you can to be that voice that magnifies their wins for them, to be that voice that celebrates with them to be that voice that says, I believe in you. Sometimes, that's the greatest lesson that you can pass on. Now, we were all over the place today. Well, hopefully it made you think little. Maybe it made you think of your own experiences this week. So take that time to pause to think to grow. And remember the words you say matter. Remember, the power of appreciation, and being intentional about showing those around you that you see them that you will appreciate them. And remember, the greatest gift that you can give one of your students is letting them know I believe in you. This podcast is a proud member of the teach better Podcast Network. Better today. Better tomorrow, and the podcast to get you there. Explore More podcast at WWW dot teach better podcast network.com. Now let's get on to the episode. Thanks for being here. Thanks for being part of the teaching champions community. We support we encourage we lift each other up. And if you think someone would benefit from this message, please share. And always remember, it doesn't matter 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 you go out into the week, May you step into your strength may step into your shine, and let's build our champions. Have a great week, everybody