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Inspirational and Motivational Influencers Ep. 90

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 Inspirational and Motivational Influencers

Season 6   Episode  90

phone with podcast playing, Inspirational and Motivational Influencers

What are we listening to now? Listen to this episode to find out what to look for in following inspirational and motivational influencers.  

 

Show Notes:

Episode Summary:

For the last 20+ years, there is no denying that the world has been radically shaped by social media influencers. Whether directly or indirectly, how we dress, decorate, or spend our money has been shaped by online influencers.

There are also motivational and inspirational leaders who have used the social media available to them to share their positive and insightful messages with the world. They challenge us to show up in the world as our best selves, they give us quotes to live by and they remind us of our strength and perseverance.

In this episode we share what we look for in inspirational and motivational social media influencers. We also share some influencers we’re currently following. If you aren’t following them yet, we bet you will be by the end of this episode.

Introduction:

Ah, the social media influencers. They are there every time we pick up our phones to scroll. 20 years ago that wasn’t even a thing and now, depending on how much time you spend on social media, you could be hearing hours and hours of social media influencers’ thoughts each week.

With the advent of YouTube in 2005, Instagram in 2010, and new social media outlets popping up regularly, social media not only became a way to share ideas, it also reinvented how people promoted brands, products, and ideas.

All of a sudden we were no longer learning about products through television commercials, but were instead hearing about them from celebrities and soon-to-be-social media celebrities in the feeds on our phones.

When was the last time you actually watched a commercial?  Today we stream things or fast forward through commercials.

It is pretty crazy when you think about the reach that some of these social media influencers have. Of course, the number of followers and degree of influence can vary drastically. Some of the most popular influencers have millions of followers and endorse multiple products.

In today’s episode, we will share ideas about social media THOUGHT influencers. We stress the word THOUGHT. These are influencers who use social media to put positive thoughts out into the world. They motivate us and they inspire us. They use the platform of social media to challenge our negative thoughts and to encourage us to live our  very best lives.

Specifically, we share three things we look for when finding social media inspirational influencers to follow and we then share a few of our favorite social media motivational thought influencers.

3 things to look for when deciding which social media inspirational and motivational  influencers to follow:

They share your values.

 We have done several episodes in which we have talked about staying true to your values. It is a key component of living an inspired and fulfilling life. We are at our best when our actions align with our values. We should be striving to surround ourselves with people who value the same things we do. What is the feed that is going into your head?

The beauty of social media is that there are likely hundreds or even thousands of motivational and inspirational social media influencers who share the same values as you.

Here is where a word of caution is needed. Just because they share some values with you does not mean they will motivate or inspire you. For example, there are teacher influencers who share the value of love of teaching with you. However, they may use their platform only to sell cute bulletin board templates and behavior management charts that they sell on Teachers Pay Teachers. You may share the value of teaching as a vocation but dislike behavior charts. It doesn’t align with your values. You likely will not be inspired or motivated by their posts. They might be great for someone else to follow, but their values are not aligned with yours.

On the other hand, you may find motivation in your teaching and life from a non-teaching influencer. For example, we are always motivated by Natalie Ellis from Bossbabes who has millions of followers. Her career is not teaching but her message of helping women “make more money + live a lifestyle they love” speaks to our values so we find her very motivational. She is real and shares the good things and the challenges.

They are authentic.

Being in education, you can likely read people fairly well. You can tell when people are being authentic and when they are putting on a show. If you feel like someone is not authentic, you are not going to trust them. In that case, move on and find another inspirational influencer.

Sometimes you can tell when someone is only trying to pitch you something. They are acting and you sense that you are not getting to know the real person. For example, you have all heard of influencers who say how much they love a product so they can pitch it and make money but then find out later that they never even bought the product. The same kind of thing can happen with a thought leader. In some cases, they aren’t even selling a product, they are selling themselves as a brand.

This can be a touchy point, because many of the inspirational leaders have written books or have courses they sell.

Selling something doesn’t make the influencer inauthentic. If they have a great message and you want to buy a book, a course or a membership to hear more of their thoughts, great! However, if you feel they aren’t being authentic and they are just trying to sell you something, it may mean it is time to move on and find another influencer.

In many cases, authentic influencers didn’t write the book or create the course just to sell. They wrote it or created it to educate. Social media became a place to share their knowledge and insight. Of course they want to sell, but the selling didn’t come before the product.

We want to reiterate that just because someone is selling something it does not mean they are not authentic. Being in the online world costs money. There are expensive websites, software, graphic design programs … the list goes on and on. And that doesn’t even count the hours spent creating content.  Would you go to a book store and expect the books to be free? Of course not.

Paula: There is one popular motivational influencer I like to follow….sometimes. I loved her first book and her second. Usually, I like reading her thoughts about being a mother and better person. However, there are times I have felt that she was inauthentic on certain topics, just to put her voice into a popular topic when I felt like she was stretching to make it meaningful for her. I typically find myself being drawn back into what she is posting but I feel like there is a clear difference when she is being authentic and she isn’t. This motivational influencer has over half a million followers on Instagram alone so she is clearly speaking in a way that people listen, but I can easily move in and out of following her based on how authentic I feel she is being at any given time.

You find their words inspirational and motivational.

When you read their quotes, you commit them to memory. Think about the last quote you saw on social media that spoke to you in a way that inspired you. Whoever posted it might be an influencer you want to follow!

We both love Brene Brown and Daniel Pink as motivational and inspirational leaders who have used social media to grow their audiences into millions of followers. The other day, Brene Brown posted a Daniel Pink quote on her social media. For us that was a sign that we are following like-minded people! We have quoted both Brene Brown and Daniel Pink many times on our podcast. Why? They inspire us and motivate us. They challenge us to think differently. Not only do we quote them on our podcasts, we copy down their quotes and use them for sounding boards for our lives.

The next time you are scrolling through your social media and see a quote you want to commit to memory, note the author and the person who posted it. The odds are good that one of them might be a social media motivator that you want to follow.

Michele: I secretly collect quotes. I have a physical notebook and write them down when I like them. We often use those quotes on the podcast or in our workshops. I also write them in my planner- one quote every week because quotes inspire me.

 A few of our favorite social media inspirational and motivational influencers…

 Now that we have discussed what we look for in a motivational and inspirational social media influencer, we will briefly share a few of our favorites in case you would like a jump start in finding some people you might enjoy following.

 Brene Brown

 There are so many things we love about Brene Brown and we are not the only ones. She has millions of followers across multiple social media platforms. She is a researcher and a storyteller. We love her messages about vulnerability, courage, shame and empathy. We also love her books. But when we don’t have time to sit down and read, the videos, podcast episodes and posts she shares regularly on social media are small doses of the inspiration we need.

Malcom Gladwell

 With almost a half million followers on Instagram and almost a million on each of his other social media platforms, Malcom Gladwell is as entertaining as he is inspirational. You may know him as the New York Times bestselling author of Blink, Outliers, and other books or maybe you know his Revisionist History podcast but if you don’t know him as a motivational social media influencer, it may be time to follow him. On an interesting side note, Gladwell has even written on, and spoken about, the power and limitations of social media. Malcolm Gladwell is quirky, and he is an original thinker.

Arthur Brooks

 Arthur Brooks is a social scientist who studies leadership and happiness. We are very interested in happiness research. He has a lot to say about happiness!

Michele: I  took a course from him at Harvard and he was also a really good teacher. He also writes a column, How to Build a Life in the Atlantic which I like. Like most of my recommendations, I came to him through his books and research first, then followed him on Linked In.  That is usually how I find thought leaders, through their books first.

Daniel Pink

Though Daniel Pink doesn’t have as many followers as Brene Brown or Malcom Gladwell, he is only in the hundreds of thousands, lol, his message is just as powerful. Daniel Pink is a great example of someone who shares a lot of inspirational quotes. Most of his quotes are by famous people you would recognize and most of them. He talks about  about motivation, personal growth and creativity. If you like to read motivational quotes, be sure to follow Daniel Pink. We’ve shared tidbits from hi book Drive many times. If you are interested in motivation, check out Dan Pink.

Elizabeth Gilbert

Elizabeth Gilbert is a creative soul. She wrote the book Big Magic. You may also know her from the book Eat, Pray, Love or from the movie. She has a creative mind. She puts ideas together in ways that others don’t, which is fascinating.

Gabby Bernstein

Gabby Bernstein teaches about mindset shifts, which we often talk about on our podcast. Her shifts seem a bit wild at first, and her approaches may seem unusual at first. She is very real, honest and authentic about her own personal struggles and insights. She brings new ideas and news ways of thinking. She might help you with your own mindset shifts.

Adam Grant

Adam Grant is a researcher first and an influencer second. His ideas often connect to things we are interested in, such as human potential, which is a topic we have discussed and even create an entire workshop around. His discussions are also backed with science. We life like Shawn Achor, author of Big Potential, and The Happiness Advantage, and James Clear who wrote Atomic Habits for the same reason.

Conclusion

We end with this quote by author and speaker, Dave Willis:

“Don’t use social media to impress people; use it to impact people.”

That is exactly what social media inspirational and motivational influencers have the power to do.

Make sure you follow those that understand that power and use it to make your life better.

 Recap:

In this episode we shared three important things to look for in a social media inspirational and motivational influencers- shared values, authenticity, and quotes you want to commit to memory. We also shared a few of our favorite social media motivational influencers. If you decide to follow them, we hope you find them as motivational and inspirational as we do.

Quote:

Dave Willis

“Don’t use social media to impress people; use it to impact people.”

Dave Willis

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

Inspired Together Teachers Network  Facebook Group

Linked In:  Inspired Together Learning

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.

This post may use affiliate links. If you purchase an item through our link, we will receive a small portion of the profit with no extra cost to you. This helps us to pay for the costs of bringing this free podcast to our community.

8 Nonfiction Books that Can Change Your Life Ep.75

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8 Nonfiction Books that Can Change Your Life S. 5 E.75

picture of book and coffee on a rainy day, 8 Nonfiction books that can change your lifeListen to this episode to hear about some of our favorite nonfiction books that can change your life. 

Show Notes:  

Episode Summary:

Are you a reader? It’s no secret we love to read. We also love to share the best of the books that we read. Let’s talk about nonfiction books that can change your life!

Fiction is fun and relaxing and enjoyable, but nonfiction books allow you to learn and grow. They help you understand the world in a wider way, and build knowledge.  Nonfiction books also grow your vocabulary, make you think, help you solve problems, and allow you to dig into interests.

Today we are going to share the best of the nonfiction books that we have read. Believe us when we say that these are nonfiction books that can change your life!

In this episode:

If you are a reader, we already know that even if we haven’t met, we are connected by the power of books. We both love to talk about books, to get new ideas from books, and to share the things we‘ve read.

This summer we’ve shared some of our favorite recent fiction books. We’ve also shared life lessons from some of our favorite children’s books, and children’s books with fabulous teachers.

Today we get to talk about some of our favorite nonfiction books.

Why do we read nonfiction books? 

Michele: I read non-fiction in the morning. It motivates me, gets my brain working and gives me lots of ideas and inspiration. I always get ideas when I read informational text and get really excited when I can apply the ideas to my life or work.

Paula: I listen to fiction on audio but really appreciate non-fiction in a text form. I like to highlight and put notes all over in the margins. I usually have a non-fiction book or two that I am in the middle of in my purse, car or bookbag.

We are excited to share some of our favorite nonfiction books with you. While most of these books are carefully “researched” and many of them are written by scholars, none of them is overly scholarly, too stuffy or difficult to read.

Quiet:  The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain

If you are an introvert, Susan Cain is speaking your language. Susan Cain helps you understand what it means to be an introvert, and more importantly, how it can be a strength.

If you are an extrovert, this book will help you relate better to an introverted spouse, child, friend or coworker. Michele recommended this to her sister who said it totally changed her relationship with her introverted son. This is a child who was surrounded by the extroverts in their family. After reading this, she understood her son’s strengths and learned how to help him be successful in his own way.

This is powerful, relationship building stuff!

DRIVE: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink

Drive explains motivation in a way that makes it easy to read and digest. Basically, everything you think you know about motivation is either true of an era in the past or just plain wrong.

If you want to understand what motivates you or others, this book will tell you and give you many examples of motivation that works today.

Teachers need to read this book. When you understand how motivate works, and you know which techniques to use. Even more importantly, which ones not to use.

Though this book starts out like a business book, don’t give up. All of the motivation ideas work for anyone. Pink also relates it to teachers and even has a full section on what it means for classrooms.

Worthy:  How to Believe You are Enough and Transform Your Life by Jamie Kern Lima

Jamie Kern Lima is a highly successful entrepreneur and the founder of IT Cosmetics.  She shares her personal journey, especially how she felt a lack of confidence in her life. When she started to be successful, she met Oprah, who offered to help her. Oprah gave Jamie her personal phone number and told her to call. Jamie held on to that number for years, but never called. She didn’t believe she was worthy of having Oprah mentor her.

When we conduct workshops, teachers often tell us about their lack of confidence. People, especially women, label themselves with words like failure, unattractive, too old or too young. They see themselves as damaged,  or not smart enough, or not good enough. They feel like they are imposters, and worry that someone is going to call them out.

If any of this rings true for you, Jamie Kern Lima will take you on a journey to help you understand why you think the way you do. Worthy will help you transform your thinking and actions so that you can let yourself shine.

Here is a favorite quote from the book: “In life, you don’t soar to the level of your hopes and dreams, you stay stuck at the level of your self-worth. You don’t rise to what you believe is possible, you fall to what you believe you’re worthy of.”

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck

Mindset is not another book with success tips or habits. What Dweck presents here is a whole new way of thinking. It is a shift in understanding our mindset. Dweck’s concept is that there are two different mindsets, a fixed mindset or a growth mindset. Having a growth mindset is the path towards fulfilling your potential.

Once you read this, you will never be able to “unread it.” You will see fixed and growth mindsets in people you work with and students you teach.

Many teachers have been exposed to the idea of growth mindset. If you have never actually read the book, you will find it useful, not only for your life at school, but with family, friends, and others that you interact with every day.

Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More than IQ by Daniel Goleman

If you weren’t the valedictorian of your class but found out that you were very successful anyway, this book will explain why. It turns out that intellectual intelligence and life success aren’t particularly connected. Our view of human intelligence is far too narrow. Other abilities such as empathy, self-discipline, self-awareness, resilience, and grit matter more.

These skills have often been dismissed as “soft skills”. Fortunately, today there is a lot of discussion around social and emotional skills. We’re glad these topics are growing in importance.

We wish that every parent who believes that teachers should stay out of teaching any social or emotional skills would read this book.

Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Great Things  by Adam Grant

Hidden Potential is about how people learn to understand potential in themselves and others, and then use it to do great things.

Grant shares lots of stories in this book. He describes someone who has hidden potential, and how they learn to see it and understand what they are capable of through the help, guidance or mentorship of others. Often, those others are teachers.

He talks about schools in one chapter, but there are connections for teachers all the way through. What would happen if we could see our own hidden potential and bring it out?  What could happen if we could see the potential in all of our students and then help to bring it out?

We could absolutely change the world, and that is a powerful thing to strive for.

Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone by Brené Brown

Brene Brown was a bit ahead of her time with this book. The world is even more divisive now than it was  in 2017 when this book came out. We need it now more than ever.

At its core, this is a book about building relationships. In a divisive world, it is easy to take our ideas and back into a corner where we only seek to be with and understand people who share our vision and positions.

Brown encourages us to open up, to be vulnerable and courageous in being who we are and yet begin open to those who are cultural or ideologically different.

In doing so, we can recognize our true humanity, that at the core we share many things. Brown tells us that it is hard to hate people close up. It is an important idea in a world where there is too much hate.

After reading this book, you’ll understand both why and how to build stronger relationships.

Also by Brene Brown and worth mentioning is The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You are Supposed to be and Embrace Who You Really Are by Brené Brown

The Gifts of Imperfection would also go well with the book Worthy.

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Don’t let the title scare you off. You know the feeling of flow- when everything is working well and when you are performing at your best. You are enjoying your work or activities and time just slips away from you. This is flow, the ultimate self-motivating experience. Who doesn’t want more of that?

This is the most scholarly of the books in this list, though you don’t need a PH.D. in Psychology to understand it.

Michele: This book has been very valuable in helping me understand what I need to do to live a life  of intention. This is a book that makes you understand what makes people excited to greet the day and excited to be alive. Where you find flow, you will also find joy and love and happiness and ultimately, self-actualization.

If you struggle with motivation or motivating your students, this book will help you understand how we are motivated on a deep level.

Recap: 

Thanks for listening as we shared some of our favorite nonfiction books. We hope you were inspired to read one, or listen to the audio version. Nonfiction books can educate, extend your knowledge base, inspire new ideas and give you suggestions for creating the life you want to live. They are truly nonfiction books that can change your life.

Quote:

“In life, you don’t soar to the level of your hopes and dreams, you stay stuck at the level of your self-worth. You don’t rise to what you believe is possible, you fall to what you believe you’re worthy of.”

Jamie Kern Lima

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Each of the books mentioned is highlighted in the text title.

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

Inspired Together Teachers Podcast episode 68 Important Life- lessons from Children’s Books

Inspired Together Teachers Podcast episode 69 Our Best Summer Reading Suggestions

Inspired Together Teachers Podcast episode 72 Inspirational Teachers in Children’s Books

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  Inspired Together Teachers: Inspired Together Teachers Facebook Group

Linked In:  Inspired Together Learning

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.

 

This post may use affiliate links. If you purchase an item through our link, we will receive a small portion of the profit with no extra cost to you. This helps us to pay for the costs of bringing this free podcast to our community.

 

 

 

Inspirational Teachers In Children’s Books Ep. 72

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Inspirational Teachers In Children’s Books  S. 5 E. 72

Book teachers mrs. Frizzel and Mr. Faulker, Inspirational Teachers in Children's Books

Check out this episode to hear about some beloved and inspirational teachers in children’s books and learn what they have to teach us as teachers. insert podcast link to player here

Show notes: 

Episode Summary:

Could you use a little inspiration from some fabulous fictional teachers to renew your passion for teaching? Maybe you would love a guide to help you work with children with differing abilities, or another teacher to help you devise a plan to improve your classroom. Perhaps you could use a good teacher role model for how to handle difficult situations.

In this episode we’re talking about our favorite teachers in children’s books. In a world where teachers are often maligned and underappreciated, these teachers are fun, clever, imaginative, effective, and yes, even a little magical.

Who are these amazing teachers?  We think you will recognize some old friends and make some new acquaintances.

Listen in for some great tips from beloved teachers in children’s books.

In this episode:

In Episode 68 we shared important life lessons we can learn from characters in children’s books.

Today, we are back with some lessons we can all learn from fantastic teachers in children’s books. If you are listening to this live, it is summer and you might find yourself with time to read a few children’s or YA books. The following amazing teachers have traits that make them good role models for teachers.

Mr. Slinger  in Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse  by Kevin Henkes

Mr. Slinger is cool. He is sharp as a tack and wears artistic shirts. His classroom includes a writing center called “The Lightbulb Lab… Where Great Ideas are Born.”

One day Lily comes to school excited about her new purple plastic purse that holds jangling coins and plays jaunty tunes. When she can’t stop sharing, Mr. Slinger takes her purse and puts it away until the end of the day. Lily writes Mr. Slinger a terrible letter. He handles it with grace and understanding. We love Mr. Slinger, who manages to be both firm and kind, and is not above joining in with a little dancing.

See also, music teacher Mrs. Twinkle in Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes.

Mr. Falker in Thank You Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco

Trisha is a fifth grader who struggles to read and suffers from taunting by the other children. Feeling stupid, she hides at recess, until the new teacher, Mr. Falker discovers her. Mr. Falker takes her under his tutelage and helps her to understand that she isn’t dumb. He recognizes her artistic talent and helps her to understand her value. With the help of many after school tutoring sessions, Mr. Falker teaches her to read and ultimately changes her life.

We love Mr. Falker because he does not give up on kids.

The last page?  We dare you not to cry.

Mrs. Peterson in The Junkyard Wonders by Patricia Polacco

As if writing about one brilliant teacher wasn’t enough, Polacco gives us another amazing teacher in Mrs. Peterson. Mrs. Peterson is the teacher in a special education classroom known as “The Junkyard.”  She recognizes the special gifts of her students and brings out the genius in them. She understands that a junkyard is a place with wondrous possibilities, and makes the students understand that they are full of potential.

Mrs. Peterson turns a class into a community of learners. They support each and work together in project based learning. Most importantly, she helps them to believe in themselves.

Miss Nelson in Miss Nelson is Missing by Harry Allard

Miss Nelson is sweet and kind, but her class begins to take advantage of her good nature. One day she is absent, and there is a substitute- the mean and terrifying Miss Viola Swamp!

As the children experience the unforgiving Miss Swamp, they learn to appreciate Miss Nelson. But where is she?  We’re not telling…but it involves a diabolical scheme!

We love the way Miss Nelson solves a challenge with a bit of creativity!  There is a lesson in that for all of us!

Miss Frizzle in the Magic School Bus books by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degan

What’s not to love about Miss Frizzle?  Science and history have never been more fun. What does Miss Frizzle have that makes her special?  She has wild red hair, amazing clothes that relate to her lessons and of course…a magic school bus. The fabulous Frizz leads the students on outlandish field trips…to the solar system or through the inside of the human body. In later years she rocked ancient history, exploring Imperial China, ancient Egypt and a medieval castle.

We might never be as cool as the Frizz… but  she inspires us to try to make learning come alive for our students. She sparks curiosity in her students, and that is a great way to inspire learning!

Miss Agnes in The Year of Miss Agnes by Kirkpatrick Hill. 

When a remote Alaskan village loses its teacher, the community wonders if school will be closed. In walks Miss Agnes, a skinny woman who wears pants and has “a little mileage on her.”

In this historical fiction book, Miss Agnes is a woman ahead of her time. She carts away the old, decrepit textbooks. She brings out art supplies and music. She connects with the children and their families, valuing their culture and knowledge. She invites in a child who has been left out of school because she has a physical disabilities.  She also teaches some of the elders of the community. She individualizes lessons, teaching students skills when the students are ready. She believes in the power of learning.

In the classroom of Miss Agnes, learning is meaningful, reading comes alive and people understand how knowledge can transform you.

Mrs. Granger in Frindle by Andrew Clements

Mrs. Granger is the teacher we all love to hate. She is strict. She is old-fashioned. She is unrelenting. Mrs. Granger has x-ray vision. And she loves the dictionary.

Nick is smart and rambunctious. He likes to liven things up and cause a little disturbance.

Don’t we all know some children like Nick?  They are full of energy and mischief and you can’t help but both love them and get frustrated by their antics.

When Nick discovers that we all have a role in changing language, he decides to test the idea by inventing the word “frindle”, which is a synonym for pen.

A battle between Nick and Mrs. Granger ensues. Who has the power to determine what words mean?

The final lesson is worth waiting for and you see the magic of a teacher’s influence!

Miss Edmunds in Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

Miss Edmunds is different from everyone else at school. Some call her a hippie. Miss Edmunds is a free spirit who sings folk songs and plays guitar. She is the kind of music teacher who lets children try different instruments and sing with abandon.

Jess loves Miss Edmunds. She encourages his drawing talent and takes him to an art museum. More importantly, Jess feels safe with her. She understands him. She won’t crush his dreams or stifle his imagination. She is a kindred spirit for a soul who desperately needs one.

We all need a Miss Edmunds in or lives, someone who believes in us and sees our potential. Some teachers have the power to save students by building relationships, and watching Miss Edmunds is a master class in building relationships with students.

Miss Stretchberry in Love That Dog by Sharon Creech

We never officially meet her

Miss Strechberry

We see her through the poetry of Jack

reluctant writer

Jack writes poems

Miss Stretchberry guides him

with a gentle hand

and no pressure

and Jack’s poems

shine.

         see also Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech.

Madame Poitier from Sahara Special by Esmé Raji Codell

The new teacher, Madame Poitier, also known as Miss Pointy, is a breath of fresh air. She wears sparkly dragonfly barrettes, brings flowers and a red lamp to school, and teaches classes with names like “Time Travelers” and “Mad Scientists.” She teaches children to leave their troubles at the door and all of her rules begin with “yes.”  She focused on social and emotional learning before it was a thing.

We think that Miss Pointy is a thinly veiled description of the author herself, known for the book she wrote about her first year of teaching Educating Esmé.  That is a good thing, because Esmé is also one of our superheroes. We’ve had the chance to meet her in person and she is everything a good teacher should be!

Who are your favorite teachers in children’s books?  We would love to hear about them in the comments below.

And if you’d like a reading list of 25 Great Books About Teachers That Every Teacher Should Read, fill out the form below:

Recap:

The world of children’s and young adult books is filled with good teacher role models. Thanks for joining us today to learn from Frizzle, Falker, and other fabulous teachers in children’s books.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

All books we referred to in this episode are linked in the headlines above.

This post uses affiliate links. If you purchase an item through our link, we will receive a small portion of the profit with no extra cost to you. This helps us to pay for the costs of bringing this free podcast to our community.

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

Inspired Together Teachers Podcast episode 68 Important Life Lessons from Beloved Children’s Books

Inspired Together Teachers Podcast episode 69 Our Best Summer Reading Suggestions

 

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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.

 

 

 

 

 

Our Best Summer Reading Suggestions Ep. 69

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Our Best Summer Reading Suggestions

S. 5 E. 69

person with sun hat reading on a beach, Our Best Summer Reading Suggestions

Listen to this episode to hear our best summer reading suggestions and find some good books to add to your summer reading list. 

Show notes:  

Episode Summary:

Calling all readers!  It is the beginning of summer, and we’re ready to head outdoors, drop into a comfy chair,  pour a big glass of iced tea and spend some time with a good book. When it comes to finding books, we’re always open to suggestions, so today we’ve decided to share some of our own suggestions. Grab a pencil and a notepad and get ready to write down some titles as we share some of our recent favorites.

Introduction:

Michele: I don’t think there is anything I love more than sitting on my patio on a nice summer day and getting lost in a good book. It is the perfect antidote to stress and the overwhelming to-do list that is so prevalent during the school year.

What about you Paula?

Paula: I couldn’t agree more. Reading is one of my favorite past-times and summer is the perfect time to indulge in a good book without the guilt I sometimes feel during the school year when I know there are papers to be graded and lessons to be planned.

With that in mind, we’ve decided to share some of our recent favorites.  For this discussion, we’re going to focus on fiction. We’ll be back in a couple of weeks with our favorite non-fiction titles.

A book every young woman should read: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

First up is a book we both read and loved: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus.

The title sounds like a textbook, but this is anything but. It is actually easy to read and funny at times, but it packs a punch.

Elizabeth Zott is the main character, a brilliant and inventive chemist in a time period where female scientists are not accepted. As she attempts to work in chemistry, she is treated with disrespect by her colleagues and delegated to tasks of a secretary and assistant. When offered a “more suitable role” in a television cooking show, she accepts.

When ensures is hardly your average cooking show as Elizabeth is out to teach more than cooking. Elizabeth isn’t a perfect character, but she stayed true to herself and found a unique support system to help her succeed despite the challenges.

This book has been turned into a series on Apple TV +. Whether or not you’ve seen the series, you will enjoy this book!

A classic book revisited: James by Percival Everett

This book is a retelling of Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the viewpoint of the runaway slave, Jim.  It has all of the adventure of traveling down the Mississippi River from Huck Finn and it is often funny.

Jim, we learn, is not illiterate and naïve, he is actually wise and perceptive. You’ll understand slavery in a whole new way after seeing the story through Jim’s eyes.  There is new perspective to the story of Huck and Tom and their adventures, and we are wiser for it. There is a lot of buzz around this book for winning a Pulitzer Prize.

Historical Fiction:  The Women by Kristen Hannah and Absolution by Alice McDermott

Paula: This story is about a group of women nurses serving in the Vietnam war.  Honestly, I hadn’t given any thought to women in this war, which is something I am a bit embarrassed to say. However, the book makes that exact point. No one really knows about the women who served our country in Vietnam. While it is a coming-of-age story about a young woman named “Frankie” in the 1960’s, it is also a unique portrayal of all that was happening in the political and social climate surrounding the Vietnam war. This captivating story is ultimately about a courageous young woman facing society’s expectations of women at that time and her experience of women as heroes not housewives. You will love Frankie, even in all of her brokenness and you will learn a lot about the political and social environment of the Vietnam War era. I have read a lot of Kristen Hannah and this is at the top of my favorites list.

Michele:  I haven’t read The Women, but it reminds me of another book I read this year, Absolution by Alice McDermott. Absolution takes place in Saigon in 1963. It is about a group of military and corporate officers’ wives and how they learn to fit into a new culture while also maintaining their role as spouses of important men. They are outsiders, very sheltered and protected, but want to reach out and help the people in the city. I’ve never read a book from this perspective before.

This book brings up the humanitarian issues of the time. It makes us question whether we are really helping those we think we’re helping. I thought it was a fascinating book. If you’ve read The Women, this might make a great follow-up.

A good YA Book: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

The this book was a National Book Award finalist, and Michael Printz Award Honor winner.

Paula: When I first picked up this young adult lit book, I was intrigued by the recommendation of New York Times bestselling author John Green on the cover. His recommendation said. “Thrilling, beautiful, and blisteringly smart. We Were Liars was utterly unforgettable.”

I had high expectations. About halfway in, I thought, “This is good and captivating, but unforgettable? Not so sure about that.”  However, when you get to that half way point, I encourage you to keep reading. It is unforgettable. I listened to this one on audio and finished the book on the way home after a meeting that went late. When I walked in the door, I had been sobbing so hard, my son looked at me and said, “Mom, are you okay? What happened at your meeting?”

Michele: I read this a few years ago, but liked it and it kept me guessing.  It is a great choice for those of you who like thrillers. You will either love or hate the ending.

Science Fiction/Fantasy/Time Travel: The Measure by Nikki Erlich and The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Neither of us is a big science fiction or fantasy reader, but sometimes we really like these books. We have a couple in this category to share with you.

 The Measure by Nikki Erlich

Paula: The Measure was nominated for best science fiction book of 2022 and best debut novel by Good Reads Choice Awards.

How would your life change if you knew when it would end? Would you want to know if you had the opportunity to find out when you would die?

That is the premise of this book. I am not ruining anything by telling you, that the premise is that everyone on Earth over the age of 22 receives a mysterious box with a length of string that tells them the length of their life. The question is, would you want to open the box and find out how long your string is?

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Paula: This, like The Measure, is one of my favorite books of all time.

Basically, every moment we make choices that impact the rest of our lives. The premise of this book is that the main character has an opportunity to go into a library of sorts filled with endless volumes of books. Each book represents what her life would have looked like if she had made a different choice at any given time. She has the opportunity to explore these lives.

Good Reads description:

 “ Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself? Would any of these other lives truly be better?”

How intriguing is that?

A book series:  Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear, The Comfort of Ghosts

Michele: I have loved series books since I was a kid and first read The Boxcar Children series. If you love series, I highly recommend the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear.

It takes place between WW1 and WW2.  We meet Maisie as a young girl who is a servant. When her employers realize she is actually quite gifted, they mentor her. Eventually she becomes involved in both world wars and is a private investigator and a spy.

The book I am most excited to read this summer is The Comfort of Ghosts by Jacqueline Winspear. It came out June 4th, and is the final book about Maisie Dobbs in a series of 18 books.

A book about Witches and history and magical realism: Weyward by Emilia Hart 

Paula: This book was recommended to me by two different friends so I knew I had to read it. Most of the story takes place in Weyward Cottage, the home of Kate’s great-aunt. It is a story about Altha, who is going through a witch trial in the 1600’s, Violet who is coming of age in the 1940s and Kate, their relative who is living through a crisis in 2019.

The book weaves together their stories of bravery, courage, compassion, and female resilience. If this gives you any idea of the book, the final lines include a quote about the connections between and among women being among the most transforming force on the planet.

Our last book, a generational family saga: The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese

Michele:  I loved this book and didn’t want it to end, which is saying a lot because it is 715 pages.  It is a current best seller.

The book takes place in India, beginning in 1900. We meet our 12 -year- old protagonist, who is on her way to be married to a stranger she has never met. Then we follow her and her family through seventy some years. We meet her children and friends and the people in their community. We experience all of the heartbreak and sorrows of the years and also the joys.

I learned a lot about India and the Caste system that separates those of different social standing and different religions.

If you love a big, juicy book that allows you to really know the characters, I highly recommend this one. It is a commitment, but it is beautifully written.

Conclusion

We hope that our suggestions intrigued you to pick up a good book and spend some time relaxing and recharging this summer.

 Recap: As a quick recap- here are the titles we mentioned in this episode:

Please note, we have included affiliate book links in this post.  If you buy a book on Amazon through our link, we earn a small portion of the price at no extra cost to you. This allows us to pay for the costs of podcasting in order to keep our content free for you.

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.

Life Lessons from Beloved Children’s Book Characters Ep. 68

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Life Lessons from Beloved Children’s Book Characters  S. 5 Ep. 68

children's book covers, Life Lessons from Children's books

 

Listen to this episode to revisit some beloved children’s book characters and see what lessons they have to teach us!

Show Notes: 

Episode Summary:

We all love children’s books. Reading stories provides great lessons for our classrooms, but our most beloved storybook friends also have a few life lessons for us as teachers and adults. What do our favorite storybook characters have to teach us? Check out this episode to see if we reference your favorite children’s story character AND to see what important life lessons we can learn from these beloved fictional characters.

Introduction:

We love children’s books. Since you are a teacher, we are guessing you do too.

When we read these books, we escape to a new world. So do our students. We also use these books to help our students learn important life lessons. But as an adult, especially as a teacher, have you ever considered what your favorite characters have to teach you?  Well, as true book lovers we couldn’t resist that challenge.

Here are the life lessons we, as teachers and adults, can learn from our favorite children’s book characters:

Ramona from the Ramona series by Beverly Cleary
Life Lesson: Assume that others have the best intention, even if they are making things difficult for you.

Ramona often finds herself in trouble, but she doesn’t mean to be a mischief maker. Like many children, Ramona is impulsive and inventive, a combination that can lead to trouble. She really does have good intentions though the receivers of her actions often don’t feel that way.

This is how Ramona describes herself:  “My name is Ramona. I’m nine and three months, and no matter what my sister Beezus tells you, I’m not a pest. My dad says I just having overactive imagination, which does come in handy. It makes the fun parts funner and the scary parts scarier.”

There is a lot we can learn from Ramona. Remember when your students get into trouble that they rarely mean to cause harm. Remember when your family members annoy you that they are probably doing the best they can in the moment with what they have. The same can be true for co-workers and administrators.

Alexander from Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
Life Lesson: Some days are going to be awful but tomorrow will be better.

You all likely remember that Alexander is having a bad day. Chances are, you are going to have a bad day, all teachers do. You may want to run away to Australia, but know that tomorrow will be better.

The book ends with this quote: “It’s been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. My mom says some days are like that. Even in Australia.”

On your way home from work, or before you lay your head down for the night, you might think that it’s been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. We’ve all been there. Many times. We all need to remember that some days are just like that…even in the schools with more resources, the families with more financial means, or whatever looks better than the place or space in which you experienced your bad day.

Lily from Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
Life Lesson: Disagreements will happen but it is possible to make up and move on without holding a grudge.

In this well- known story, Lily and her teacher Mr. Slinger have a disagreement. You are going to have a disagreement with a student, with your significant other, your principal, your friend or your coworker. In the end, Lily and Mr. Slinger make up. They don’t hold a grudge, which is good advice for all teachers.

We love the simple way Kevin Henkes addressed this in the book. He said, “Today was a difficult day. Tomorrow will be better.” That is a mantra we could all live by.

Curious George from the series by H.A. and Margaret Rey
Life Lesson: Don’t lose your curiosity. Be curious in your life and work.

Curious George is curious! That is what makes him endearing. We love his inquisitiveness. This quote from The Complete Works of Curious George, reminds us about the power of curiosity, “Curiosity is a powerful thing. It can lead to great discoveries.”

Teachers should remember to encourage and love children who are inquisitive, even when they are adventurous “little monkeys” like George. We also should remember to hold on to that curiosity as adults. When did we lose that curiosity and what steps can we take to get it back? That is a question we should all be asking ourselves.

We love this quote from The Complete Works of Curious George, “Curiosity is a powerful thing. It can lead to great discoveries.”

Anne from Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
Life Lesson: Be an optimist and embrace each day as a new adventure.

Anne is an eternal optimist. She wears her heart on her “puffed sleeves.”  Most children are optimistic.  Teachers can follow their lead, embracing each new day and each new adventure as Anne does.

Consider this quote from Anne, “It’s been my experience that you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that you will”. It doesn’t get more optimistic than that.

Then there’s this quote about embracing each day as a new adventure, “When I left Queen’s my future seemed to stretch out before me like a straight road. I thought I could see along it for many a milestone. Now there is a bend in it. I don’t know what lies around the bend, but I’m going to believe that the best does. It has a fascination of its own, that bend, Marilla.”

Wow! Imagine how our lives would be different if we looked at challenges this way.

Flat Stanley from Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown
Life Lesson: Resilience and Explore New Things/Places

When a bulletin board falls on him and he becomes flat, Stanley doesn’t despair. He adjusts! He is resilient and makes the most of his situation. Teachers, and all adults, will always have days when things don’t go as planned. Like Stanley, we need to be flexible and pick ourselves up and move on. We also can take life’s bumps as an opportunity to learn more things.

How many Flat Stanleys have traveled the world because they could be packed up in envelopes and shipped to family and friends?

Consider this quote from the book: “Stanley enjoyed going in and out of rooms by sliding through the crack at the bottom of the door.” Flat Stanley was definitely resilient, making the most of his situation. Because of that Flat Stanley is probably the best-known world traveling book character. How cool is that?

What life lessons have you learned from children’s book characters?  We would love to hear your ideas in the comments section!

Conclusion:

To quote author George Orwell, “The best books… are those that tell you what you know already.”

The information we shared with you today is not anything that you didn’t already know. In fact, we hope this trip down memory lane, helped you reconnect with book characters that you already know and love. We hope it helped you remember the important life lessons we can learn from these beloved characters.

At Inspired Together Teachers, our motto is “Work life. Home life. Best life.” We appreciate that these book characters help us learn how to accomplish that lofty but necessary goal.

Recap:

 Our most beloved storybook friends have a few life lessons for us as adults and teachers. Today we revisited some of our favorite children’s story characters and explored the important life lessons we can learn from these beloved fictional characters- assume the best intention in others (thanks, Ramona), some days will be difficult but tomorrow will be better (great reminder, Alexander), move on from disagreements without a grudge (per Lily), be curious (good advice from that little monkey, George), be an optimistic adventurer (thanks Anne with an E), and be a resilient explorer (per our flat friend Stanley).

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Books are tagged in the show notes above. If you purchase a book through our link, we receive a small percentage of the total cost at no extra cost for you. This allows us to pay for the production costs of this podcast.

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

Inspired Together Teachers Network Facebook Group

Linked In:  Inspired Together Learning

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.

 

 

 

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