Your Students Are Always Listening
This episode dives into a reminder a former student gave me that are students are always listening and the words we speak matter.
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. Now, do you ever wonder if your students hear what you say, if it sinks in, or if the words they use speak, just pass right over them. And I'm here to tell you that the words that you say, stay with your students. And the other day, my school was practicing a fire drill, and the alarm goes off, my students line up at the door. And as I'm looking down the line to check in on my students, I come across a student that was in my class last year that unexpectedly jumped in my life. And we get out of the building. And we're all lined up, and I get my former rock star back with her class. And while I'm reuniting her with her teacher, she said that she remembered the discussions that we had the year before, on what to do if the alarm went off, and you weren't with your class. And this superstar reminded me through her actions, something that's very important that the words that we speak matter that our students are listening. Now I know that there are moments when it feels like nobody hears a word we say sometimes every morning, I try and give my students a pep talk, I go full Tony Robbins on and no matter how locked in, I think my students are, I will often finish up, I hand shoots up in the air. And I think my champion is going to have a fantastic insight into what I just said. Only to hear them ask how much longer until they're special. And that happens all the time. But ultimately, our students do hear what we say. And the words that you use the message that you send them, it matters, it stays with them, it leaves an imprint on them. And with our words, we can build our students up to new heights, we can help them build grit, and perseverance, we can build that self esteem within them in that confidence. With our words, we can help them discover their hidden talents and their gifts and help them cultivate those to our words, through our actions through our beliefs. We can help them see things inside of them that they never knew were there. You see, they're always listening. They're always taking mental notes even when we think they're not. And as we can help our students level up. It's also important to remember that our words can do the exact opposite. That if we're not cognizant of the words that we speak, that we can end up weakening, and pulling down our students as well. And we're human. And there's going to be times when emotions run high in the classroom. And we say things in a way that we wish we wouldn't have. Or there might be a moment where we just slip up. And if that happens, own it. Seek those students out. model what it means to offer sincere apology, help them replace those negative thoughts with ones that are going to help build them up. So as you go out today, be purposeful with your words. Be intentional on how you speak to others and the message that you send them because whether it seems that or not. Your students are always listening and the words that you speak into them matter. We've been blessed with another sunrise. I hope everybody has an awesome day.
