Who Influences You? Ep.26

August 23, 2023 by Inspired Together Teachers Leave a Comment

Who influences You? S. 2 E. 26

Listen to this episode to understand who influences you and how they affect your attitudes, behaviors, beliefs and actions.

Show Notes

Episode Summary:

The people who are around us influence our every day actions and behaviors. They also influence our beliefs, our values, and our attitudes. Who influences you and are they influencing you in a way that is positive? Today we’re talking about the people around you and how to make sure their influence is helping you to live the life you want to live.

In this episode:

You may have heard this often shared quote by author, speaker, and personal development coach Jim Rohn, “you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”

This quote speaks to your environment, and how your environment affects you. Today we are going to break this down and look at the implications.

So, who are the five people you spend the most time with? We’re talking adults here, not your children or the students you work with.

Go ahead and take a couple of minutes to think of your five people.

Ready? Let’s take a look at how the people we spend the most time with influence us.

The people you spend the most time with influence your daily habits.

Your daily habits influence almost every aspect of your life. We’re looking at small things here, for example, what you eat or drink, and what you wear. They influence the books you read, the TV shows you watch and the movies you go to.

You have all probably experienced the phenomenon of showing up at school dressed your colleagues. That’s happened to us, and we see you and your colleagues dressed alike in your Instagram and Facebook posts.

All of these may seem like very small things, but small things take up much of our time, and in doing so, have the power to shape our lives in ways we may or may not have intended.

For example, Paula is a reader. She loves historical fiction and could happily read it for the rest of her life. However, a good friend convinced her that memoirs on audio were wonderful. Her friend’s latest recommendation was Finding Me by Viola Davis. Paula loved the book and found herself enjoying other memoirs as well. It is a perfect example of how a small act by a friend influenced not only Paula’s reading habits, but also how she views others as she learns about their lives.

The people around you influence your actions.

If we take the habits idea one step bigger, we are looking at how others influence your actions. You likely buy drive a car that is similar to the people around you. You go on vacation to the same campground or resort your friends have been to. If all of your friends smoke, it becomes easy for you to smoke as well.

The people around you influence how you spend your time. If the five people you spend the most time with spend their time taking classes for professional growth, you are more likely to do so. If they spend their time hanging out in bars or playing tennis, you will likely do so as well.

We are not making judgements here, we want to make you aware that you are probably being influenced by others, even if you aren’t consciously aware of it.

At our workshops, we will often have teacher friends attend together. One of them will always say something like, “I thought the workshop sounded interesting but I hadn’t taken action to sign up. Then, when my teacher bestie messaged me to see if we wanted to go together, we were both signed up by the end of the day. We like to do things together. She loves to learn and so do I so when we can do so together, we are all in.”

The people you spend the most time with influence your world view.

If you live in a bubble, it can be difficult to see outside of that bubble. We may be enriched by opening up our worldview, to understand different points of view, different options, and different opportunities.

The more we know about different ways of life, of different cultures, and different perspectives, the more we understand other people. This filters down to our work with children, as we can better understand their background and experiences, we can work with them in more supportive ways.

Recently we worked with a teacher who shared that her worldview was opened up through travel. Until she was married, she had never traveled outside of her home state, and even then rarely beyond a hundred miles or so. Her husband had family all over the world, and after they were married, she traveled with him to see family. She was amazed at different foods, different cultural traditions, and even different climates. Prior to these experiences, she often just thought that everyone was raised and lived with the same values and culture as she had experienced in her small farming community. She saw her family’ ways as the right ways. After traveling, she realized that there are many right ways to live. She came to understand that other families also cared about their loved ones, and that they worked hard to provide for their families needs too.

Author Brene Brown says, “It is hard to hate people close up.” Expanding your world view helps you to know and understand other views. It doesn’t mean you will change your values, or what you personally believe, but it does mean that you respect that there are other points of view.

The people you spend the most time with influence your attitude.

When you think about people you know, you can probably think of some negative people. These are people who are often in a bad mood, who bring a lot of drama, or who are naysers. They bring you down and drain your energy.

It is also possible that this influence comes through who you are friends with on social media. Do you read posts from negative people, or people who are always complaining?

On the opposite spectrum are people who are positive and supportive. They have an optimistic outlook. They are consciously working on their own goals and their own improvement. They are energy bringers, and life affirmers.

Here is an example. When you are watching television, you are basically inviting the characters into your living room. If you regularly watch a show with an angry, abrasive character who is rude and condescending, you are essentially allowing that person into your house every time they are on the screen. If they showed up at your front door, then acted obnoxiously in your living room day in and day out, would you let them in? Probably not. Yet when you turn on the television out of habit, you are exposed to that negative behavior on a regular basis. The same could be said about kind and caring individuals on your screen.

Whether it is a series, a movie, or a short video on social media, consider this- would I let that person walk in my room right now and spend time with my loved ones? If not, maybe it is a sign to “spend less time” with them.

What kind of attitude are the five people you are spending the most time with bringing into your life?

Do you want to be surrounded by people who complain and whine? People with no vision except for what is right in front of them? People who drain your energy or make you constantly defensive? People who kill your dreams, the naysers and dream slayers?

Do you want to surround yourself with people who hold you back?

Or do you want to be surrounded by growth minded people, people who are optimistic and inspiring? Do you want to be around people who bring positive change, and people who bring out the best in you?

We’ve chosen to surround ourselves with people who are daring to lead an inspired life. That is the basis for this podcast, which we explained in the very first episode.

The decision is yours- do you choose to be around people who suck the life out of you or people who bring life to you?

You get to choose who you spend the most time with.

Choose wisely.

Recap:

The people who are around us influence our every day actions and behaviors. Take time to think about the people you spend the most time with. These people are influencing your beliefs, values, attitudes, habits, world view and actions. Are your people influencing you in a way that is positive and that helps you to live the life you want to live? Surround yourself with people who lift you up and inspire you. They are impacting you daily.

Quotes:

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”

Jim Rohn

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Book: Finding Me by Viola Davis

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

Inspired together Teachers podcast Episode one The Inspired Life

Connect with the Inspired Together Teachers Community:

Download our FREE resource: The Inspired Teachers Guide to Taking Back Your Life.

Website: https:www.inspiredtogetherteachers.com

Instagram: Inspired-Together-Teachers

Facebook: Inspired Together Teachers

Facebook Teacher Warriors Group: Teacher Warriors Facebook Group

More About Inspired Together Teachers:

Are you a teacher struggling to balance your best work with your best life?

If you are dedicated and caring but often overwhelmed and exhausted, join us at Inspired Together Teachers. We’ll give you inspiration, strategies and tips that help you navigate life’s challenges as a stronger, more confident, and more joy filled person, both in and out of the classroom.

Inspired Together Teachers will give you practical tools to experience more of what matters most in your life.

Co-hosts Paula Schmidt and Michele Vosberg are award winning educators with the experience and skills to help teachers thrive in life and work. They’ve taught at all levels, worked with thousands of teachers, and conducted workshops around the world. They are also the authors of the #1 best-selling book The Inspired Teachers Journal: A Weekly Guide to Becoming Your Best Self.

Paula and Michele would love to have you to join them on their quest to lived inspired lives.

The Courage to Be Bold Ep. 25

August 16, 2023 by Inspired Together Teachers Leave a Comment

The Courage to Be Bold S. 2 E.25

Listen to this episode to learn why being bold is good and 4 steps you can take to have the courage to be bold.

Show Notes

Episode summary:

When you hear the word “bold” what do you think of? Does boldness have a negative or positive connotation for you? Boldness can actually be one of your best attributes if used well. Today, we’re examining what it means to be bold, talking about why being bold is actually a good thing, and discussing 4 steps you can take to build your boldness muscle.

In this episode:

When you hear the word “bold” what emotions does it stir up for you? What images come to your mind?

Most people think of boldness as the friend with the pink colored hair, the co-worker who is quick to speak their mind in a meeting, or the family member who asks personal questions.

But have you ever considered that boldness is so much more?

And what does boldness have to do with helping you find fulfillment in your work and home life?

A lot actually so stick around.

What is boldness.

Yes, “bold” is a four letter word. But is doesn’t have to have the negative connotation of those other 4 letter words. 😊

The adjectives used to describe someone who is bold are actually extremely desirable traits. Let’s examine a few of the traits associated with people who take bold action or are described as bold:

People who are bold often:

Display energy and excitement
Prioritize, are seen as strong, vivid, and ready for action
Have confidence and courage
Believe in reaching the next level
Have the ability to make strong connections
Look forward with clarity
Take risks
And have a belief in themselves

Finally, people who are bold are often perceived to be joyful and fulfilled.

With a description like that, doesn’t boldness seem like something we should all be striving for in our work and home lives?

It is true that some definitions of the word “bold” include doing something that might be considered audacious but almost all definitions of “bold” include language about taking a risk with confidence and courage. That is something to strive for.

Notice that the definition does not say you have to be bold with EVERY decision you make in a day. However, what would it look like for you to pick things in you work and home life that really matter to you and then take the risk with confidence and courage?

Quote:

“Sometimes the leap in real life is a simple change we’ve waited a long time to make.”

and

“You’ve been waiting. Be bold and go.”

Brendan Burchard.

Think about a time when you acted with boldness at home or at work. How did it feel?

Fred Joyal, author of Superbold, stated, “In essence, boldness is simply moving from inaction to action. But that is a big move. Most people choose inaction. Most people stay in their comfort zone 24/7. It’s a whole lot easier. But if you’re dissatisfied with life so far, and want to discover what’s really possible, you’re going to have to make that crucial, simple move from inaction to action.”

4 Simple Steps You Can Take to Build Boldness in Your Life.

After hearing the characteristics of people who are bold, we are guessing you identified with some of them. You are already bold in some way. We want to help you to build upon your boldness.

However, before we start the 4 steps, it is important to set the stage. As you move toward becoming more bold in your personal and professional life, we offer these important reminders:

Stay true to you, your “bold moves” are not the same as what others might see as bold.
Have faith in yourself, you are more capable than you give yourself credit for.
Have courage. It will not always be easy, but important things are rarely easy.
Stay positive.
Look for opportunities that align with your values, and then jump in.

Most importantly, understand who you are, what is most important to you and what you want. If it aligns with you what is important to you, then it is where you should venture into your boldness.

Building Your Boldness

Step 1: Start with Your Values

Ask yourself, “What matters to me?”. Examine your answer. Those are the areas where you should be bold.

If you believe in something enough, you will have the courage to work toward it. If you don’t believe in it, your motivation and boldness will quickly fade.

If someone else is pushing their values on you, it is ok to say “no thanks” and focus your energy on what matters to you.

Why? Because it is easier to be bold with something you care deeply about.

Step 2: Look for Opportunities and Discern

Consider opportunities to be bold. Consider both those that exist and those that do not yet exist. Listen to that voice that has been saying to you, “I really wish…” or “If I could, I would….” Those things might be sending you towards an opportunity to be bold.

Sit in silence and solitude to really contemplate if this is where you want to be bold.

Ask yourself, “How does being bold with this opportunity feel in my head, heart and gut?”

In Episode 17, we talked about IQ, EQ and GQ. Make a plan for what boldness will look like in this opportunity. Visualize, write it down, make a mind map. Do whatever works best for you to create a clear understanding of what boldness would look, feel and sound like for you in this situation.

Step 3: Prepare Yourself for Courageous Conversations

Author and activist, Glennon Doyle, says, “I see your fear and it is big. I also see your courage and it is bigger. We can do hard things.”

Your boldness may spark resistance in others. This is especially true if they expect you not to be bold. Expect resistance so you are not caught off guard when it happens. Consider who you expect to resist, in what way, when and how. That way you can start to prepare yourself.

Have the difficult conversations. Expect uncomfortableness and stay true to your values.

Use “I statements” since you are explaining why something matters to you.

Not everyone will agree with you. That’s ok. You may still learn from their viewpoint. For example, even if you don’t agree with their stance there is a chance that others may have the same objection. By listening to their objection, you can note it and address it in your opening argument to the next person so you can acknowledge it right away and then move past it.

Another idea is to carefully decide who you share things with and what you share. Don’t share your dream project with the naysayers, or as we like to call them, the Dream Slayers.

Step 4 Proactively Create a Plan to Maintain Boldness

You don’t want your boldness to be a passing phase and you don’t want to lose momentum.

Momentum will matter to you and to others.

What supports will you build in to keep you bold, courageous and confident? Will they be people? Notes you leave yourself? If you are not naturally courageous and confident, how can you make sure that you celebrate your wins and build a plan for continued success? How will you celebrate your successes and who can you go to in difficult times so you don’t give up?
What physical reminders will you create to remind you that you are being bold in alignment with your values? An examples could include a vision board.

Here is our example of boldness.

When we started this podcast we knew we were going to needed to be bold and take a risk, putting ourselves out there to do something we had never done before. We also knew were going to need momentum to keep it going. Why? Here are a few interesting podcast statistics:

At the time of this recording:

4 million podcasts have been started
Of those 4 million only 20% make it past 10 episodes
Of those 20% that make it past 10 episodes, only 20% post of them post on a weekly basis

This is episode 25, and we have posted a new episode every Wednesday since we started this podcast! It is not because we are better than the millions of other podcasters who haven’t had 25 consecutive weekly episodes, it’s because we were intentional about keeping our momentum.

How? First, we have each other. Second, we record our stats. Paula looks at them regularly and updates them in our spreadsheet so we can visually track our progress and see the impact we are making. Every time we hit a milestone we celebrate together. When we made the list of top Education podcasts in Barbados? Yep, we celebrated. List of top podcasts in India, yep, more celebrating!

Every month, we watch the numbers as we move up in the rankings of Educational podcasts in the US and globally. Talk about motivation! You give that to us every time you listen to a podcast! We continue to be bold because you are our motivation.

Being bold matters. When you are living boldly:

You are living closer to your values.
You will have more personal fulfillment and happiness.
Others will benefit from your commitment.
You can make the world a better place.

Grow, Advance and Elevate Yourself

Is building your boldness easy? No, not always. Is being bold in things that matter to you important? Absolutely.

Fred Joyal, who we referenced earlier in this podcast, once wrote, “As I present people with the possibility of becoming bolder, one of the classic defense mechanisms they default to is saying, ‘This just isn’t me.’ From wherever you are on the boldness scale, you can choose to grow, advance, and elevate yourself to untold heights of boldness until you are superbold, summoning it whenever you choose. You’ll still be that essential you. Just a more wonderful version.”

Recap

You can be bold. Once you know what is important to you, speaking up or taking bold action can be not only rewarding, but life fulfilling.

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

Inspired Together Teachers podcast episode 17, Get Out of Your Head

Connect with the Inspired Together Teachers Community:

Download our FREE resource: The Inspired Teachers Guide to Taking Back Your Life.

Website: https:www.inspiredtogetherteachers.com

Instagram: Inspired-Together-Teachers

Facebook: Inspired Together Teachers

Facebook Teacher Warriors Group: Teacher Warriors Facebook Group

Linked In: Inspired Together Teachers

More About Inspired Together Teachers:

Are you a teacher struggling to balance your best work with your best life?

Inspired Together Teachers will give you practical tools to experience more of what matters most in your life.

Paula and Michele would love to have you to join them on their quest to lived inspired lives.

How to Increase Student Engagement Ep. 24

August 9, 2023 by Inspired Together Teachers Leave a Comment

How to Increase Student Engagement S. 2 Ep. 24

Listen to this episode to learn tried and true ways you can increase student engagement.

Show Notes:

Episode summary:

Do you ever wish that your students were more engaged, that they cared more about what they were learning or that they would take learning more seriously? If so, you might need to increase student engagement.

Let’s face it, it is more fun and less stressful to teach students who are engaged. When students are engaged, you have fewer behavior challenges. Your lessons run more smoothly, and you accomplish more in less time. Students complete tasks and turn in their assignments. They also remember more of what they learned. Does that sound like a dream? It’s possible. In this episode we’re talking about tried and true ways you can increase student engagement.

In this episode:

It is more fun and less stressful to teach students who are actively engaged. When your students are engaged, there are fewer behavior challenges. Discussions are fluid and energizing. Your lessons run smoothly and you accomplish more in less time. Students will complete tasks and turn in their assignments. They will also likely remember more of what they learned. The chances are that when students are engaged, they are also having more fun and enjoying learning!

What’s not to love about that?

We are always excited to talk about student engagement because few things are better in teaching than watching students when they are fully engaged in their learning.

Today we explore these 4 tips to increase student engagement in more detail:

First, take a lesson from the business world. Before you shut off the podcast, trust us on this one. You will understand why in just a few minutes. The second tip is build and activate a learning strategy toolbox so you can plan engaging lessons. We will also explore our third tip which is about switching up the learning environment. Finally, we will talk about the importance of adding joy to the classroom.

These 4 tips will help you to increase student engagement exponentially.

Engagement Tip 1: Take a lesson from the business world.

One of our favorite authors is Dan Pink, the author of Drive and A Whole New Mind , both which we have referenced on other podcast episodes, among other best sellers. In his New York Times bestselling book Drive- The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us, Pink looked at four decades of research on motivation and then summarized into one book for business leaders to help them keep their employees motivated, satisfied, and performing at their highest levels.

What Pink learned has direct application to the classroom. Basically, in order for people to be motivated to work and learn and be engaged in what they’re doing, they must feel a sense of autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Once those three things are incorporated, motivation and engagement skyrocket and management issues decrease. Let’s take just a minute to talk about autonomy, mastery, and purpose.

Autonomy

Autonomy means that students have some say in what they are doing or learning. They don’t need total control, but they need to make some of their own choices. This might be setting their own learning goals, choosing which learning materials to use, or choosing between several types of projects. You might give them a choice in partners or groups, a choice in tasks, or a choice in which book they read.

Students will still need some sort of accountability, but giving them some say in what they do will greatly increase the chances that they will do it.

Teachers are sometimes nervous about giving students control, thinking that they will lose control, but the opposite happens. Students don’t need ALL the choices, they just need some choices. Teachers can control the choices.

Daniel Pink offers this advice: Control leads to compliance, autonomy leads to engagement.

Mastery

The second thing that creates engagement is the opportunity for mastery.

Engagement leads to mastery. Think about it, did you ever really master anything without being engaged in it? We’ve all had the experience of memorizing something for a test, only to forget it the minute we walk out the door. That is not mastery.

Mastery is the ability to get better and better at something that matters. Our educational standards require students to master skills. What can teachers do to increase mastery?

Make sure tasks are not too easy or too challenging.
Give students time to get into flow, time where they can focus and work on a task uninterrupted.
Make work look like play. There is often joy in the pursuit of a goal. Have you ever been so involved in something that you lost all track of time? Learning and work and enjoyment are not mutually exclusive!
Encourage a growth mindset where students believe that with effort, they can get better and better at something.

For example, think of kids and gaming, where they work hard trying to reach the next level. Or think of adults with golf, or completing their step rings on their watch. It becomes a competition with yourself to keep getting better and better and reach the next level. It is why professional musicians who are at the top of their profession keep practicing for hours a day. It is also why athletes keep running, or keep shooting hundreds of baskets every day. They are going for mastery.

Purpose

The third aspect of motivation from Daniel Pink’s discussion is purpose.

When students understand the purpose for their learning, they are more motivated to learn. Students are less likely to engage when they view work as a waste of time. Can students answer the question, “why is this important?” If so, they understand the purpose of the lesson.

Tell students the objectives of the lesson. Share the outcomes. Show them the learning standard. However, that is not enough, standards can seem dry and unimportant without context. Make sure students know what they are going to learn. Tell them and post it on the board. For example, you could use this prompt:

“Today you are going to learn to…” Then make sure students understand how they will use this information or why it is important.

This piece creates relevance. When students understand how they might use something, or how it will help them in the future, or how it will improve their skills such as critical thinking or the ability to analyze, they will be more likely to buy in to the activity.

You could say, “Here are some of the ways you will use this information or skill in the future…”

Or, better yet, ask students how they think the information or skill will be useful in their future.

You can increase student engagement by paying attention to autonomy, mastery and purpose. It is not just a solution for the business world. It is also a powerful formula to increase student engagement.

Engagement Tip 2: Build an active learning strategy toolkit so you can plan engaging lessons

Are you using active learning strategies in your classroom? Teachers who are looking to build engagement are always adding new active learning strategies to their toolbox and then using these strategies when planning to make sure their lessons are engaging. A great active learning can usually be used in any curriculum area and across different grade levels.

We love active learning strategies and have written several blog posts with our favorite active learning strategies, all of which we will link in the show notes so you can have easy access to them. Most of our favorite active learning strategies can be completed in 10-15 minutes.

Here are four of our favorite active learning strategies:

Walk the Walls

This strategy works as a strategy to get students ready to learn new content or as a way to review what they have read or discussed. It is a good warm-up and generally takes 10-15 minutes.

Determine a set of 6-8 questions related to the day’s lesson. For example:

Which mammals have you seen in person? (3^rd grade science)

Why do you think enslaved people joined the confederate army? (9^th grade US History)

How do you think you would have reacted to finding an abused dog? (5^th grade reading)

What are some different ways to greet someone in Spanish? (1^st year Spanish)

Gather 6-8 large pieces of paper. Place one question on each sheet. Place the sheets on the walls around the room. Instruct students to take a marker or pen and walk around the room quietly writing their answers on each sheet. When time is up, discuss their answers.

Speed Dating (or for elementary students “Line Learning”)

Prepare a list of questions for discussion. The questions can help to introduce new content or review previously learned content.

Have students stand in two lines, facing each other.

Set a time limit, such as one minute. Determine which line will talk first and which line will listen. Ask a question. Students have one minute to talk about the answer with the person facing them. Then reverse speakers. For the next question, have one row move one place to the right so that each person is facing a new partner. The person on the end goes to the other end of the line. Repeat.

In addition to these strategies, remember you can always add small engagement elements to your toolbox and lessons as attention grabbers, community builders, and learning disguised as fun. For example, introduce a lesson on states of matter by playing music from the movie Frozen. Then conduct experiments with ice, snow, and water.

Engagement tip 3: Switch up the environment.

Too much time in the same environment can make anyone feel restless. New and unique environments can increase engagement dramatically. There are many ways to switch up the environment without abandoning your curriculum or academic standards.

Consider what you can do to switch up the environment:

Move to a different space for a lesson or a day- consider going outside. On beautiful weather days, if students are staring out the window longingly, let’s face it, you probably are as well! Consider how you could take all or part of the lesson outside. Or could individual student work portion of a lesson be done in the hallway? Could you go on a nature walk or use sidewalk chalk to practice spelling words or math problems?
Change up your classroom. Rearrange the desks. Add a reading tent in the corner. Make your bulletin board and interactive board where kids can engage with the classroom content.
Bring in more “things”. Let the students see, feel, hear, touch and maybe even taste what you are learning about. These can be used for manipulatives in learning and can help students see relevance.
Add “Walk and Talks”. Have students pair up. Give them an assigned topic to discuss. Often you can use the discussion questions you would have used with the entire class. Have them walk and talk in your school hallway or outside about the question for a minute or two, then switch partners. Bring them back to a large group to share their insights. Repeat as time allows. This activity is also great for language classes when students must talk in the language they are learning!

We do want to remind you to be clear and specific in setting your behavior expectations and directions when you switch up your environment. For example, you might say something like, “I know we would all like to work outside today. Before we can do that, I need you to agree to follow my rules and behavior expectations. First, while we are outside, you promise to focus on doing the work of the lesson. When I call for your attention, you promise to stop and listen to directions. If you do not follow these rules, we will immediately return to the classroom. Please raise your hand if you can agree to these rules.”

Engagement tip 4: Add joy to your classroom.

Joy helps students love learning. If students love learning, they will be engaged. Joy encourages creativity, which opens the door for creative problem solving. Joy encourages curiosity and self-motivated learning.

Here are just a few of our favorite ways to increase joy in the classroom:

Try to incorporate laughter into your lessons. Laughing reduces stress. Look for opportunities to inject humor into the day’s activities. Offer to tell a joke if students line up quickly and quietly. Get a joke book if you need one. Telling a joke takes less than 30 seconds and adds fun. We all remember a teacher who told corny jokes. Notice that we remember that teacher.
Add Music. There are songs that fit into all areas of the curriculum. Check out You Tube for songs about multiplication or grammar from School House Rock. Better yet, let students work in groups to write and perform their own songs based on their topic of study. Music brings about engagement and as a bonus, it also helps with retention!
Read funny literature. When you are reading aloud to your students or finding literature to incorporate into your lessons, look for and choose funny stories. When students have positive experiences with literature, they learn that reading is fun. If reading is fun, they will be more likely to do more of it.

Joyful classrooms are less stressful, less anxious places. Neurological studies have shown that students’ comfort levels can influence long-term information storage and transmission. Teachers and students face many challenges in today’s educational climate. Living without joy does not have to be one of them.

Recap:

We often hear that students today aren’t engaged. The days of “sit and get” learning are in the past. By understanding how autonomy, mastery, and purpose lead to motivation, and by following up with lessons that include fun and actively engaging activities you can increase students’ engagement and maximize learning in your classroom.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

4 Great Active Learning Strategies for All Content Areas

Mix and Match Active Learning Strategy

8 Simple Ways to Create a Joyful Classroom

How to Engage Students the Week Before Break

Spring Fever? Take Students Outside!

Related Podcast Episodes

Episode 2: What Every Teacher Needs to Know About Motivation

Connect with the Inspired Together Teachers Community:

Download our FREE resource: The Inspired Teachers Guide to Taking Back Your Life.

Website: https:www.inspiredtogetherteachers.com

Instagram: Inspired-Together-Teachers

Facebook: Inspired Together Teachers

Facebook Teacher Warriors Group: Teacher Warriors Facebook Group

Linked In: Inspired Together Teachers

More About Inspired Together Teachers:

Are you a teacher struggling to balance your best work with your best life?

Inspired Together Teachers will give you practical tools to experience more of what matters most in your life.

Paula and Michele would love to have you to join them on their quest to lived inspired lives.

10 Tips to Get Your School Year Off to a Great Start Ep.23

August 2, 2023 by Inspired Together Teachers Leave a Comment

10 Tips to Get Your School Year Off to a Great Start S. 2 Ep.23

Listen to this episode to learn our top ten best ways to get your school year off to a great start.

Show notes:

Episode Summary:

As every teacher knows there is something special about the beginning of a new school year. Each new year brings new beginnings, new opportunities, and a fresh start with fresh faces. Today we are talking about steps can take to make sure the year gets off to a great start. Keep listening as we countdown our top ten suggestions for starting the new school year with energy, strength, and optimism.

In this episode:

Quote:

“The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called truth.”

Dan Rather

Introduction:

We love the start of a new school year and bet that you do too. There is little that can compare to the excitement and opportunity that a new school year brings. Along with the smell of new pencils, there is so much potential that is out in front of us, waiting for teachers and students to bring it to life. There will be new relationships with new colleagues and new students. There will be opportunity for new ways of learning and plenty of light bulb moments. There will also be growth- for the students and for you.

Call us eternal optimists, but we want to embrace each new year and give it our best. So, we created a countdown of ten of our favorite suggestions for starting the school year with energy, strength and optimism that we are excited to share with you.

Our top ten tips to get your school year off to a great start:

Success Tip Number 10: Create a good sub folder.

We added this to our countdown because we believe in the power of a great substitute folder and the beginning of the school year is the perfect time to create that sub folder.

You need a great sub folder. It is going to happen, you are going to be sick or have an unexpected emergency that requires you to be absent from school. No matter how healthy you are and how strong your immune system, you will be in contact with students who sometimes come to school ill. You will sleep better knowing that you have a solid sub folder when those unexpected sick days occur.

Trying to prepare good lesson plans when you are not feeling well or when you are in the midst of a family emergency is no fun. We recommend that you prepare a complete and highly usable sub folder.

We have a whole blog post on our website dedicated to specific items to add to your sub folder, which we will link in the resources. At the very least we suggest you include the following in your sub folder:

Your daily and weekly class schedule
Your class attendance lists and seating charts
Attendance and lunch count procedures
Passwords to the white board or computer if they need it to run the lessons
A list of classroom rules and expectations
A list of students with medical concerns (be thoughtful about student privacy issues but share what is necessary)
Location of emergency information for fire drills etc.
A general note to the sub explaining your routines
A list of reliable students and colleagues who can answer questions or be helpful
2 or 3 days’ worth of lesson plans and activities that are related to your subject and that provide important skill work. Your emergency lesson plans should not be directly connected to your current unit of study. This allows you to keep emergency sub plans without having to change them in the moment to reflect the current unit.

Though it does take some time to set up a good sub folder, the time will be well spent when you find yourself suddenly ill or in the midst of a family emergency. You will feel a level of security and comfort knowing that no matter what happens, you have done your best to leave your students in good hands.

Success Tip Number 9: Build time for yourself into every day.

It is important that you take some time to recharge your own battery. Try to do at least one small thing every day that makes you calm and happy. Do things that feed your soul- even for ten or fifteen minutes if that is all that you can manage. This will help you to stay positive and connected to your values.

Many of you are exploring ways to teach mindfulness to your students. It is also important for you. Stress is real and has many negative health effects. You give so much to so many every day. If you are looking for ideas for self-care, check out Episode 16 where we talk about the difference between real self-care and faux self-care.

Where do you find the time? You don’t. You create it. Use time blocking to carve in a block for yourself. Use a master weekly calendar. Block in your prep times and other work blocks. Then block in buffer blocks, which are short times blocks where you will do multiple small tasks such as sending an email. Then add people blocks, which is where you spend time with people you care about. You also need personal time blocks where you block in some time for yourself. This helps you to use your time wisely.

Success Tip Number 8: Help students get to know you.

When students feel like they know and understand you, it will go a long way in making your school year run smoothly. Let the students know a bit about you right from the beginning. Tell a funny story about your dog. Talk about your favorite sports or activities. Share a read aloud from your favorite book or tell them about your favorite summer activities. Students will respond better to someone they know, like and trust. You can share bits of yourself without oversharing or becoming a friend rather than a teacher.

One of our favorite teachers has a framed picture of himself when he was the same age as his students so they can envision him when he was their age. Other teachers like to share pictures of their summer adventures so the kids have something to talk with them about. For example, the teacher may project a funny picture of her looking terrified while white water rafting which sparks a later conversation with a student who says they felt that way when they went kayaking with their uncle. Little details about yourself at the beginning of the year can lead to big connections throughout the rest of the year.

Success Tip Number 7: Establish positive relationships with parents and guardians from the start.

At some point in the year you will need to talk with parents. You don’t want the first thing they hear from you to be that their child is failing or that there are behavior issues that need to be addressed.

Start the new year by introducing yourself. Write a note to parents in a letter home, newsletter, or in your parent communication portal. Give a few details about your interest, your education and your hopes and dreams for learning this school year.

Follow up with information about your expectations, and procedures. You can also include a syllabus or a description of some of the content you will explore or projects that students will experience.

This is also a good place to establish boundaries. Tell them the best way to contact you and the times that you are available to schedule a phone call.

Success Tip Number 6: Be open to change.

Flexibility is uncomfortable for many teachers who are naturally organized and well-planned. Teaching involves working with real, live, active participants whose needs are ever changing and always evolving. There will be situations out of your control. Sometimes the best strategy is to go with the flow and figure things out as you go. If you thrive on being well-planned, create some contingency plans for days when your regular plans aren’t possible. Setting a goal to go with the flow, right from the beginning of the year, will set you on the right path toward a successful school year.

One middle school teacher gave us this cheeky motto: “Flexibility is our favorite “F” word.”

Success Tip Number 5: Get to know students as individuals and as learners.

This goes hand in hand with Tip number 8. Let the students get to know you. In return, it is important that you get to know who your students are as individuals. Building good relationships with students involves getting to know who your students are as individuals. Ask about their interests, backgrounds, families, and favorite activities. Give students interest inventories or have younger students draw pictures of things that are important to them. Look at student records to find out about medical issues such as allergies or any other special concerns. The more you know about individual students, the better the bonds you will be able to create with them.

The more you know about students as learners, the better you can help them learn. Give students learning inventories, multiple intelligences surveys or ask them to answer questions such as “How can I help you learn best?” Other good questions are, “Tell me about a time when learning was fun and easy for you,” and “Tell me a time when learning was a struggle for you.” Be sure to check students’ IEPs and understand the type of accommodations you will need to provide. Ask for clarification if something is not clear.

Success Tip Number 4: Create a classroom environment that you love.

You spend a lot of time in your classroom, make it a place that you love to be in.

Rearrange the furniture. Find different furniture- most schools have a room in the basement or behind the gym with left over odds and ends. Go thrifting. Add a table or another bookshelf. Make your classroom work well for you and for your students. Ask yourself, “What would I need in order to make this room function well?

Consider the colors of your room. How does it feel? Is it open, inviting, and warm? Consider different lighting. Add some plants. Don’t be afraid to add something fun or quirky.

We’ve seen stuffed animals as classroom mascots who hold fun signs with reminders or compliments, and even a model of a human skeleton that dressed up with hats and ties and sports shirts for different holidays and events.

Make bulletin boards that work for you that are not difficult to maintain.

Here are some ideas for easy bulletin boards. Use a quote board. Leave the background and change out the quote each week. Use a large world or US map. Pin things to it, or use it to discuss connections to content. Leave a board for student work and student ideas. Cover it with blank white paper and have students write their key takeaways. The next week they make a connection from something they learned to something in their life… the ideas are endless.

Success Tip Number 3: Positive Notes for Days I Really Need Them

If you haven’t yet made yourself a folder for Positive Notes for Days I Really Need Them, the beginning of the school year is the perfect time to create one. As a teacher, you are going to make a difference to someone. It is the nature of our profession that sometimes you will never know how you might have affected someone. Fortunately, other times you will know. People will thank you. You will get scribbled cards, written in messy crayon that says “You are the best teacher.” You will get a grateful e-mail from a parent or a guidance counselor. Someone will tell you that you are doing a great job.

Get yourself a folder or box or an accordion file and save every single one of those positive notes.

Save them for days that are difficult, and there will be plenty of those. Save them for when you are working too hard, and not making enough money and it just doesn’t seem worth it. Save it for those days when a parent makes you cry and days when the students are acting out and you are tired of dealing with it all.

When you are down or struggling, take out that folder and start reading. Those messages, notes and cards will lift you up. They will encourage you and remind you that what you are doing matters. They will feed your soul and revive your spirit.

If you are looking for more information on this type of folder, we wrote a blog post about it. We will link to it in the resources.

Success Tip Number 2: Focus on building good relationships with students.

The more you know and understand students, the easier it will be to teach them. The more that they know you care, the more likely it is that they will thrive. When students thrive, they can learn. Spend as much time as you can in the early weeks of school, getting to know students and helping them to know each other. Building relationships with them from the beginning maximizes the opportunities to expand upon that connection all year long.

Everyone likes to be called by name, and using students’ names when you talk to them is a sign of respect. Get to know student’s names as soon as possible. Ask students how to pronounce unfamiliar names and if they prefer a variation or nickname.

Greet students at the door each morning using their names. Call on students by name. Seating charts and name tag tents on the desks may help in the first few days. Knowing names may seem like an obvious step, but making a real effort here shows students that you care.

If you are a teacher who sees hundreds of students in a day, consider taking a picture of each student, adding their name to their picture, and creating a class roster with the pictures. Using this photographic roster may help you learn the students’ names better.

We can’t say enough about the power of building relationships with your students. Having a relationship with students makes the difficult conversations just a little easier, and makes the celebrations of a student’s accomplishment just a little more sweet. We think this quote from Dan Rather shows the power of a positive student and teacher relationship:

“The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called ‘truth.”

We can have more truthful conversations when we have built good relationships.

And Finally, our top tip for getting off to a great start this school year…

Success Tip Number 1: Spend time building classroom community.

Students who know, like, and understand each other will work better together. Time spent at the beginning of the year can go a long way towards building a positive classroom community. Use community building activities during the first weeks of school that help students to get to know each other. There many available activities, use your favorites or search for more on line.

We have a blog post entitled Essential Tips for the First Week of School that lists a few of our favorite community building activities for the first weeks of school.

Another great way to build community is to have good conversations with them about things that matter to them. Be honest and respectful. Let them share their ideas and opinions. You can have a classroom meeting or in the elementary grades, use your morning circle time.

The first weeks of school can make or break how your school year unfolds. Getting off on the right foot will help you set expectations that will reward you all year long. The time you spend building community will pay off in terms of better relationships with and between the students. Students will be more engaged with you and each other, which will result in fewer classroom management issues and THAT is an excellent way to start the year!

We end today with a quote from one of our favorite educators and authors, Esme Codell:

“Thirty-one chances. Thirty-one futures, our futures. It’s an almost psychotic feeling, believing that part of their lives belongs to me. Everything they become, I also become. And everything about me, they helped to create.”

We hope you have a great school year. Know that together, we are cheering you on!

Recap:

To recap, starting the new school year with energy, strength and optimism will set the stage for a happier and more engaged school year. Don’t delay, start that sub folder and the folder for the “Positive Notes for Days I really Need Them”. Get to know your students as people and learners while letting them learn a little about you too. Send a positive message to parents. Be sure to set aside a little time for yourself each day and be open to change. Create your classroom in a way that makes it a great space for you and your students. Focus on building those good relationships with students and remember, you can’t do enough community building in the first weeks of school. All of your efforts will ensure a more positive experience for you and for the students for the rest of the year!

Resources:

Inspired Together Teachers Podcast Ep. 16 Real Self -Care

Positive Notes for Days I Really Need Them

Essential Tips for the First Week of School

How to Create an Amazing and Effective Sub Folder

Connect with the Inspired Together Teachers Community:

Download our FREE resource: The Inspired Teachers Guide to Taking Back Your Life.

Website: https:www.inspiredtogetherteachers.com

Instagram: Inspired-Together-Teachers

Facebook: Inspired Together Teachers

Facebook Teacher Warriors Group: Teacher Warriors Facebook Group

Linked In: Inspired Together Teachers

More About Inspired Together Teachers:

Are you a teacher struggling to balance your best work with your best life?

Inspired Together Teachers will give you practical tools to experience more of what matters most in your life.

Paula and Michele would love to have you to join them on their quest to lived inspired lives.

What’s Draining Your Energy? Ep. 22

July 26, 2023 by Inspired Together Teachers Leave a Comment

What’s Draining Your Energy? S. 2 Ep.22

Listen to this episode to find out how to stop the things that are draining your energy.

Show Notes:

Episode Summary:

Have you ever started out a day or week with lots of energy only to find that you are somehow drained of all of that energy, leaving you feeling frustrated, tired, or maybe even angry? In today’s episode we are going to discuss what might be draining your energy and talk about solutions to the problem. Your energy is important; you’re going to want to hear today’s episode!

In this episode:

We all need energy to do our best work and enjoy our lives outside of work. Every action you take- and even action you don’t take, can drain your energy. Energy is not just physical, it is also mental and emotional.

How do you think of energy? Is it something you are given? Is it something you create?

Brendan Burchard says, “The power plant does not have energy, it makes energy.”

Like the power plant, energy isn’t something that just exists in you. Energy involves taking what is coming to you and controlling it in ways that help you to have energy. You can have more or less energy, depending on how you react and control life’s circumstances.

The first step is to notice where your energy flows well and where you are lose your energy. Once you figure out what is causing your lack of energy, you can address it.

What is draining you of your precious energy? What can you do to reclaim that energy?

Quote:

“You often feel tired, not because you’ve done too much, but because you’ve done too little of what sparks light in you.”

Alexander den Hejer

Fix the small things that are draining you.

Let’s start with the little things. Little things add up. Sometimes, the easiest fix to draining energy is just to deal with little things that have been piling up.

We’ve probably all done this-letting dishes build up in the sink. We don’t wash a few dishes from breakfast, which would have been a five minute job. Then we skip dishes again, now it is a 20 minutes job. Two days later we have a pile of dirty dishes. You get to the point you just want to burn the kitchen down.

In the meantime, those dishes have been nagging at you! Every time you go near the kitchen, it drains your energy a little bit.

It’s like vampire electricity. When you have many different appliances plugged in, you don’t realize they are using electricity even if you’re not using them at the moment, but they are. They might have a small light on in the control box, for example the little on the microwave or stove panel. It’s no big thing, but if you have dozens of things using tiny bits of electricity, it adds up. Those things are literally draining energy!

Here are some more examples of little things that drain your energy bit by bit:

A messy desk which means it takes more time to find something

A missing button on a shirt that you keep reaching for in the morning before you realize you can’t wear it

You keep putting if off making an appointment, for example driving around with the maintenance light on in your car.

Make a list of all the little things in your house or at school that are bugging you. What are you putting up with?

Consider taking a few minutes to sew on that button or make that appointment. Or set aside an hour and see how many of those little things you can take care of. It will feel good to cross them off the list.

Every little thing that you are tolerating is draining you down.

Look for things you are doing that are emotionally draining you.

You might be worrying.

We worry about things that haven’t happened yet, and might never happen.
We worry about what others think of us.
We worry about problems out of our control.
We worrying about things that have happened in the past.

Worrying is a habit, and we can learn to worry less by remembering this quote from Barbara Cameron, “Worry about tomorrow steals the joy from today.”

Another example of emotional energy drain is comparison.

You can’t control what others think of you.
Comparison often caused by too much social media or FOMO.
Comparison steals your joy and drains your energy.

Another emotional drain leak is getting involved in things that are not yours to do.

You get involved in someone else’s drama.
You spending time and energy on things you shouldn’t do, for example taking on someone else’s work.
You are working on something that is not in your circle of influence.

Solutions for emotionally draining experiences:

Notice what is draining you emotionally. Spend quiet time to think, meditate, journal, pray- these things often help bring you back to your center and can calm anxiety and stress.

Focus on things you can control. You might want to listen to episodes 6 and 7 to help you set priorities and prevent, reduce and eliminate stress.

Look at things that are physically draining you.

You already know these things so we will just mention them briefly.

What are the things that drain your physical energy:

Lack of sleep

Lack of hydration

Unhealthy food and drinks

Lack of physical activity- Physical activity actually gives you energy, though it seems in the moment like it is taking it.

Unfulfilled medical needs- a nagging toothache, physical pain in the body

Pay attention to what your body needs. You will never have enough energy by skipping these essentials.

We also lose energy through draining relationships.

We have all kinds of relationships, some by choice and some by birth or through work. There are things that can drain our energy in all kinds of relationships. You can’t control all the people in your life or all the ways they may drain you, but you can control your reactions.

You may have to deal with gossipy family and friends, emotional meltdowns of your children, or other issues with family members or colleagues who drain your energy. Some relationships are especially difficult, leaving you feeling frustrated or even angry.

These people are energy vampires. The energy vampire tends to be pessimistic. When there is an opportunity, they will see all the ways that it won’t work.

Energy vampires often engage in negative talk. It is true that sometimes we just need to vent to someone we trust. However, some people have negativity bias that works on overload, allowing them to see all the ways other people are problems without seeing the strengths that they bring.

Energy vampires resist change. “The way we have always done it is fine, thanks.” “We tried that years ago and it didn’t work.” Along with this attitude comes an unwillingness to problem solve. “What’s the point? It won’t work anyway.”

Inflexible people often see the world in black and white. It is often all or nothing with this kind of person. They tend to have strict rules and never relax them. They are quick to see right or wrong and not willing to look at individual circumstances. They may also struggle with empathy, seeing someone else as wrong or bad.

Energy vampires can also be grumpy. You smile or say good morning and they answer with a grunt. They are irritated by cheerful people. They are not inclined to engage in social niceties. This type of person can easily take the wind out of your sails and change your attitude if you let them.

How to deal with an energy draining person:

Don’t take things personally. Their attitude is not about you or caused by you.

Paula shares that in situations where she is reminding herself not to take things personally, she often tries to channel her inner Dr. Phil. If you remember Dr. Phil, he was often heard saying, “It’s not about you!”

Understand that you may not be able to change the person.

Do your best to stay positive and not let their energy affect your own energy. Try to reframe their statements in a productive way or at the very least, try not to perpetuate the negativity.

Keep this little mantra in your pocket:

“I will not let this person frustrate me or make me angry. I choose not to let this person change my attitude.”

There may be times when you can choose to limit your exposure to people who drain you, though there are some relationships you want or need to keep in your life.

We also want to say that when dealing with severe conflicts or heavy emotional trauma due to relationships, you may need professional help.

Doing things that do not align with your values drains your energy.

When we expend time on things that are not important to us, or where we don’t find purpose, it often feels energy draining.

Examine how you are spending your time. Do the things you are spending time on have purpose for you?

Here is an example. You are asked to be involved in running a school or charity event. It will require a good deal of your time. Is the cause important to you? Will it positively impact people you care about? Is it within your circle of influence? Asking yourself these kinds of questions and considering how it will align with your values will help you make wise choices.

Doing too many things that don’t align with your values will drain your energy.

Make sure you find time for things that you love. Alexander den Hejer says,

“You often feel tired, not because you’ve done too much, but because you’ve done too little of what sparks light in you.”

Take time every day to do something you love to do, something that sparks a light in you. Go for a walk, read a book, paint, cook, talk with a friend. Even just a few minutes a day will help you to renew your energy. Doing something you love is like wearing garlic around your neck to ward off an energy draining vampire.

Don’t spend all of your time invested in things that distract you from your real priorities.

Recap:

We want to maximize our energy. When it comes to energy, you don’t have energy, you create it. Being aware of where you can create energy and what is draining your energy can help you to have the energy to do the things you want to do in you life.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

https://inspiredtogetherteachers.com/dont-be-the-colleague-that-others-want-to-avoid/

Podcasts episode 6: Set Priorities to Take Back Your Life

Podcast episode 7: Prevent, Eliminate and Reduce Stress

Connect with the Inspired Together Teachers Community:

Download our FREE resource: The Inspired Teachers Guide to Taking Back Your Life.

Website: https:www.inspiredtogetherteachers.com

Instagram: Inspired-Together-Teachers

Facebook: Inspired Together Teachers

Facebook Teacher Warriors Group: Teacher Warriors Facebook Group

Linked In: Inspired Together Teachers

More About Inspired Together Teachers:

Are you a teacher struggling to balance your best work with your best life?

Inspired Together Teachers will give you practical tools to experience more of what matters most in your life.

Paula and Michele would love to have you to join them on their quest to lived inspired lives.

Who influences You? S. 2 E. 26

Listen to this episode to understand who influences you and how they affect your attitudes, behaviors, beliefs and actions.

Show Notes

Episode Summary:

Quotes:

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”

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The Courage to Be Bold S. 2 E.25

Listen to this episode to learn why being bold is good and 4 steps you can take to have the courage to be bold.

Show Notes

Episode summary:

In this episode:

Building Your Boldness

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How to Increase Student Engagement S. 2 Ep. 24

Listen to this episode to learn tried and true ways you can increase student engagement.

Show Notes:

Episode summary:

In this episode:

Engagement Tip 1: Take a lesson from the business world.

Engagement Tip 2: Build an active learning strategy toolkit so you can plan engaging lessons

Engagement tip 3: Switch up the environment.

Engagement tip 4: Add joy to your classroom.

Recap:

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Connect with the Inspired Together Teachers Community:

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10 Tips to Get Your School Year Off to a Great Start S. 2 Ep.23

Listen to this episode to learn our top ten best ways to get your school year off to a great start.

Show notes:

In this episode:

Quote:

Our top ten tips to get your school year off to a great start:

Success Tip Number 10: Create a good sub folder.

Success Tip Number 9: Build time for yourself into every day.

Success Tip Number 8: Help students get to know you.

Success Tip Number 7: Establish positive relationships with parents and guardians from the start.

Success Tip Number 6: Be open to change.

Success Tip Number 5: Get to know students as individuals and as learners.

Success Tip Number 4: Create a classroom environment that you love.

Success Tip Number 2: Focus on building good relationships with students.

Success Tip Number 1: Spend time building classroom community.

Recap:

Resources:

Share this:

What’s Draining Your Energy? S. 2 Ep.22

Show Notes:

Fix the small things that are draining you.

Here are some more examples of little things that drain your energy bit by bit:

Look for things you are doing that are emotionally draining you.

Solutions for emotionally draining experiences:

Look at things that are physically draining you.

We also lose energy through draining relationships.

How to deal with an energy draining person:

Doing things that do not align with your values drains your energy.

Share this:

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