Finding Joy in the Small Things: How Simple Moments Can Refill a Teacher’s Heart
Joy does not always manifest through grand achievements; rather, it often resides in the mundane yet profound moments that punctuate our daily lives. In this episode, we delve into the significance of recognizing and cherishing these small joys, which can serve to replenish a teacher's spirit amidst the rigors of their vocation. By cultivating mindfulness and practicing gratitude for seemingly trivial pleasures—such as the warmth of a pet's greeting or the refreshment of flavored water—we can foster a more positive mindset and mitigate feelings of burnout. Furthermore, we explore how grounding ourselves in these moments can not only enhance our well-being but also reverberate positively within the classroom environment we strive to nurture. Ultimately, we emphasize that the essence of teaching lies not in the pursuit of perfection but in the appreciation of the quiet beauty that resides in our everyday experiences.
This engaging podcast episode delves into the nuanced understanding of joy within the context of teaching, positing that authentic happiness often resides in the minutiae of everyday experiences rather than in significant achievements. Mr. Funky Teacher, the host, elucidates this concept through a variety of relatable examples, such as the simple yet profound joy derived from the enthusiastic greeting of a beloved pet, the refreshing experience of enjoying flavored water, and the calming presence of a rainy day. These instances serve as reminders for educators to cultivate a mindset that prioritizes mindfulness and gratitude, encouraging them to slow down and appreciate the small moments that can significantly recharge their spirits.
In the broader context of this discussion, the episode emphasizes the critical role of gratitude in reframing the challenges faced by educators. Mr. Funky Teacher illustrates that while gratitude does not eliminate difficulties, it offers educators a new lens through which to view their daily experiences, allowing them to focus on the positives amidst the chaos of the teaching profession. This shift in perspective can foster resilience and reduce feelings of burnout, creating a more optimistic outlook on both personal and professional challenges. The host encourages listeners to integrate a simple gratitude practice into their daily routines, thereby reinforcing the importance of acknowledging the small victories that contribute to a more positive and fulfilling teaching experience.
Moreover, the podcast underscores the influence of an educator's energy on their classroom environment. Mr. Funky Teacher advocates for a balance between high energy and moments of calm, suggesting that incorporating tranquility into the classroom dynamic can enhance the learning experience for students. By modeling the appreciation of simple joys, educators can not only improve their own well-being but also instill a sense of mindfulness in their students. The episode concludes with a powerful reminder that joy is often found in the quiet moments between life's more chaotic events, encouraging educators to celebrate these small instances to cultivate a more joyful teaching experience. Through this exploration of joy, gratitude, and mindfulness, the podcast provides valuable insights for educators seeking to thrive in their profession while maintaining a positive and fulfilling approach to their work.
Takeaways:
- In the realm of education, it is imperative to recognize that joy often resides in the mundane moments, such as the affection of a pet or the tranquility of nature, rather than solely in grand achievements.
- The practice of gratitude, particularly for the small and seemingly insignificant aspects of daily life, serves to reframe our challenges and cultivate a mindset that is oriented towards optimism and positivity.
- Teachers must acknowledge that they cannot control all variables within the chaotic environment of a classroom, yet they possess the power to choose what they observe and appreciate in their surroundings.
- Fostering calmness within the classroom not only enhances the learning environment but also models for students the importance of finding serenity and joy in simple, everyday occurrences.
- The act of slowing down and intentionally noticing the small joys in life can significantly replenish a teacher's spirit, enabling them to bring renewed energy and focus into their teaching practice.
- Creating an atmosphere where laughter and playfulness coexist with learning can lead to a more effective educational experience, demonstrating that perfection in lesson planning is not the sole determinant of a successful classroom.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- beafunkyteacher.com
- Aldi's
Transcript
Yeah, he's Mr. Funky.
Speaker A:He's Mr. Funky Teacher.
Speaker A:Mr. Funky Teacher inspires greatness, makes you feel good.
Speaker A:Like your favorite playlist.
Speaker A:Keeping that fresh and funky.
Speaker A:Yes, he does.
Speaker A:He got some funky cool ideas to share for all you teachers.
Speaker A:He can empower others, students and teachers.
Speaker A:It's all about hard work and creativity.
Speaker A:He brings out the kindness in everyone.
Speaker A:He's got the passion to teach.
Speaker A:You hear it when he speaks.
Speaker A:He knows how to build strong relationships.
Speaker A:If you're seeking the best bunkiest, he is it.
Speaker A:He will empower you to improve.
Speaker A:You'll be helping others and loving it too.
Speaker A:He's Mr. Funky Teacher.
Speaker A:Yeah, he's Mr. Funky Teacher.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:This is Mr. Funky Teacher with beafunkyteacher.com I'm coming to you with another Be a Funky Teacher podcast.
Speaker B:Welcome.
Speaker B:Welcome back, everyone.
Speaker B:Today's episode is Finding joy in the small Things.
Speaker B:How simple moments can refill a teacher's heart.
Speaker B:That's right.
Speaker B:That's what we are gonna be focusing on.
Speaker B:But before we get into it, I wanna talk about three things that I'm thankful for.
Speaker B:First thing that I'm thankful for is, well, my dogs.
Speaker B:That's the first thing I'm thankful for.
Speaker B:My dogs.
Speaker B:I have two little mini cockapoo dogs.
Speaker B:And I'm thankful for these dogs and their unconditional love and steady companionship.
Speaker B:I love doesn't matter what type of day it's been.
Speaker B:Their tails are wagging.
Speaker B:Their presence always makes things better when they come up.
Speaker B:I have one of my dogs that he greets me every day when I come home with a shoe.
Speaker B:It doesn't matter who.
Speaker B:It's not even my shoe half the time, but it's somebody's sho.
Speaker B:And it's like, it's an offering that, hey, everything like, welcome home, here's a shoe.
Speaker B:Dogs remind us to live in the moment, to rest, to play, and to love without overthinking.
Speaker B:And so I love my dogs.
Speaker B:Second thing I'm thankful for flavored water.
Speaker B:I'm just grateful for it.
Speaker B:It's a small comfort.
Speaker B:Even something as simple as as flavored water can be overlooked sometimes.
Speaker B:But I'm so grateful for it.
Speaker B:It's those everyday little things that make long teaching days feel a little bit more human.
Speaker B:And I love so I love my flavored water.
Speaker B:Sometimes a small upgrade or change in routine refreshes energy more than you can realize.
Speaker B:You know, a small I just get bored with regular water.
Speaker B:And so you throw in a flavored water and it's like a Little pick me up.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:It kind of refreshes my energy.
Speaker B:I actually get them at Aldi's.
Speaker B:This type of water, it doesn't have, like the.
Speaker B:I'm sure there's something in it that still is probably awful for me.
Speaker B:But it's the sparkling waters.
Speaker B:I guess it seems like.
Speaker B:Like I said, I'm sure there's somebody listening who's like, oh, those things are awful for you.
Speaker B:But these don't have, like, the artificial sweetener per se in them.
Speaker B:I'm sure there's still something in them that's bad.
Speaker B:But I like them.
Speaker B:And I don't drink.
Speaker B:I rarely drink soda or pop, as they call it in the Midwest.
Speaker B:But the flavored water keeps me hydrated.
Speaker B:Kind of keeps me in a game of drinking some water.
Speaker B:And I just like them, and so I'm thankful for them.
Speaker B:Third thing, rainy days.
Speaker B:I'm thankful for rainy days.
Speaker B:They can slow down life and make reflection a little bit more possible.
Speaker B:I think at least rain brings calmness to me, perspective, and sometimes the reminder of just being still.
Speaker B:There's.
Speaker B:Sometimes there's something interesting about, like laying in bed listening to rain on the roof of the house that I just love.
Speaker B:There's beauty.
Speaker B:I think there's beauty in letting the world just quiet down as you listen to the rain.
Speaker B:And sometimes even heavier rain.
Speaker B:Heavier rain.
Speaker B:You know, sometimes I've been in the building teaching, and you can hear heavier rain happen on the roof of the building.
Speaker B:And there's something to that, too, that I think still has a calming effect.
Speaker B:So I'm thankful for those rainy days that we get sometimes.
Speaker B:And I think our farmers are also.
Speaker B:They like the rain, too.
Speaker B:Instead of day after day of no rain, I think it definitely helps the soil and the crops.
Speaker B:Well, I want to talk about finding joy in small things.
Speaker B:How simple moments can refill a teacher's heart.
Speaker B:That's what I want to get into.
Speaker B:First.
Speaker B:Big idea I want to talk about is that joy doesn't have to be big to be real.
Speaker B:I think we can agree that teachers often wait for big wins.
Speaker B:Sometimes perfect lessons, successful units, major breakthroughs.
Speaker B:I mean, I'm guilty of it some of myself.
Speaker B:And I have to remind myself that real joy usually hides in those small, ordinary moments when you're teaching a lesson.
Speaker B:Some of the laughter between lessons or a student smile, or some kind words between students and teachers, or between teachers and other teachers.
Speaker B:You can't control the chaos always, but you can control what you notice.
Speaker B:And I say chaos because sometimes teaching can feel very chaotic.
Speaker B:Learning can feel very chaotic.
Speaker B:Even I don't care how great or how strong or how organized of a learning environment you set up, there still feels like there's sometimes chaos, sometimes just for the act of.
Speaker B:There's so many.
Speaker B:There are so many variables that we.
Speaker B:I mean, we control.
Speaker B:We can control a lot of variables, but there's a lot of other variables we can't control as educators.
Speaker B:And so we can't always control what might feel like chaos, but we can control what we notice.
Speaker B:And joy grows when we choose to slow down and notice things.
Speaker B:Notice some of those small things.
Speaker B:I think of, like, once again, like, if I've been out, go back to my talking about my dogs.
Speaker B:If I'm out walking my dogs in the rain, or I'm hearing a quiet rhythm of drops outside on my house or on a building that I'm in, or even driving in the rain.
Speaker B:I like hearing rain fall on my car, too.
Speaker B:There's something kind of hypnotic about that.
Speaker B:Just don't fall asleep.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:You don't want to do that.
Speaker B:But there's some.
Speaker B:There's.
Speaker B:There's a.
Speaker B:There.
Speaker B:There's a calmness in that when you just really focus in on that and not ignore it, but notice it.
Speaker B:You don't want to ignore it, but notice it and just take that moment of pause, that moment of peace in motion.
Speaker B:It's powerful, y'.
Speaker B:All.
Speaker B:It is.
Speaker B:Second big thing I want you to think about.
Speaker B:The second big idea is that the power of gratitude for simple things.
Speaker B:The power of gratitude for simple things.
Speaker B:So let's pick that apart here.
Speaker B:Gratitude doesn't erase challenges, it reframes them.
Speaker B:So when you notice the good, even small comforts like a favorite drink or calm weather, it can rewire your brain towards optimism.
Speaker B:I want to encourage you to try starting or ending your day with one tiny gratitude.
Speaker B:Maybe one thing you're thankful for.
Speaker B:Now, I start these episodes with three things I'm thankful for, three things of gratitude that I focus on every single episode.
Speaker B:You know, you might be sitting there saying, now, I'm not a coffee drinker, but maybe, maybe if you are a coffee drinker, you might be saying, some of you.
Speaker B:You might be listening to this episode saying, he's not a coffee drinker.
Speaker B:Is he a real teacher if he's not a coffee drinker?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yes, I'm a real teacher.
Speaker B:Yes, I'm not a coffee fan.
Speaker B:I've tried coffee.
Speaker B:I'm not a fan.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:I don't know what it is.
Speaker B:But you might be sitting in there saying, hey, I'm thankful for my coffee, and I'm thankful for some hot coffee this morning, or I'm thankful for our students kind gesture.
Speaker B:You know, those are our little tiny micro gratitudes, things that we can notice and be thankful for.
Speaker B:These small recognitions add up in our minds, and they can shape how we respond and to stress and struggle, because we do have to deal with stress and struggle on a daily basis.
Speaker B:But if we can start really kind of reframing and rethinking and shaping how we see things, it can make a huge difference, y', all, to us as educators.
Speaker B:And so I want to challenge you to consider the power of gratitude, the importance in recognizing small, simple things and giving thanks for them.
Speaker B:Giving, having gratitude for those things, even just noticing them and being in the moment with those things matters.
Speaker B:We feel like.
Speaker B:Sometimes I feel like we're going a million miles an hour, you know, I don't know if you feel that way.
Speaker B:I feel that way with my life, where my life feels so busy sometimes.
Speaker B:But if I slow down and just try to notice things, man, I can make a difference.
Speaker B:That's part of my three things I'm thankful for.
Speaker B:It forces me to be thankful for what I have, and it helps reframe my thinking into something positive.
Speaker B:I actually just.
Speaker B:Just yesterday, I had a.
Speaker B:It was really nice.
Speaker B:I had a teacher friend, our kids play a sport together, and we were at a sporting event, and I had mentioned something about, you know, because I'm new here in the district I'm teaching in this year, and I had mentioned something about my classroom, and it was a positive thing about my classroom.
Speaker B:And the impact.
Speaker B:Something that I did that I think impacted the students I work with in a positive way.
Speaker B:And that teacher friend of mine, her name is Erin, she had said when we were all just kind of standing out watching, watching our kids play football, and she said, hey, you know, you're always so positive, and you're always.
Speaker B:You always are.
Speaker B:So you see things in such a neat, positive way.
Speaker B:And that was such.
Speaker B:That was like the ultimate compliment to me.
Speaker B:That meant more to me than she can possibly know.
Speaker B:Because I don't want people to see me as a negative person or a toxic person or someone that spews negativity or just looks at like a.
Speaker B:Like a.
Speaker B:Like a negative view of the world or challenges around me.
Speaker B:I like to.
Speaker B:My language, how I talk about things.
Speaker B:I like to kind of keep upbeat and positive, but realistic, like, I'm not gonna.
Speaker B:You can't sugarcoat a turd, right?
Speaker B:Or like a piece of poop.
Speaker B:A.
Speaker B:A piece of poop is still a piece of poop even if you roll it in sugar.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:You know, so, you know, it's.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:I did just say sugar.
Speaker B:Sugar coat.
Speaker B:A turd is still a turd.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:However, you know, so we do have challenges we have to face.
Speaker B:We have challenges we have to face.
Speaker B:We have.
Speaker B:There's still not so great things.
Speaker B:I'm not saying like sugarcoat a turd.
Speaker B:I'm saying are there opportunities where we can look at little things in our life that we can be thankful for?
Speaker B:The small little things, those little wins, those micro wins, while also still acknowledge.
Speaker B:I mean, it's okay.
Speaker B:It doesn't make you a negative person if you acknowledge the challenges or some of the bad things that are going on.
Speaker B:It just can't dominate everything we say.
Speaker B:Or then we can give off that energy that we're a negative person or even a toxic person if we're, like, doing a lot of complaining.
Speaker B:Complaining.
Speaker B:I should do a whole episode on teachers complaining and how that can destroy a learning environment so fast.
Speaker B:So the third thing I want to talk about is the third big idea is bringing calm back to the classroom.
Speaker B:Now students pick up on our energy.
Speaker B:Now I'm the Mr. Funky Teacher, right?
Speaker B:You're a funky teacher.
Speaker B:And so high energy is part of the game, bringing a lot of high energy excitement into the classroom.
Speaker B:And so students pick up on our energy.
Speaker B:And part of being a funky teacher also is not just running at a level 10 all the time with like an intensity where I'm screaming around all the time like my hair's on fire.
Speaker B:Like that is, you know, being a funky teacher is about having some balance in what we do too, and bring.
Speaker B:And so I think it's important to bring some calm in the classroom.
Speaker B:Some calmness, but some calm joy also.
Speaker B:Some calm, quiet joy can be also very impactful, very powerful to the learning environment, and also model for students how to find beauty in simple things, how to direct students attention to maybe a quiet moment or, hey, there's some good teamwork happening in here.
Speaker B:When we were working in groups or having a shared laugh.
Speaker B:I love mascots in my classroom.
Speaker B:I have ligament.
Speaker B:Larry is a big mascot in my classroom, he's a plastic skeleton.
Speaker B:I have Coco Puffs.
Speaker B:Cocoa Puffs has been with me from the beginning.
Speaker B:Coco is the mom.
Speaker B:Puffs is the baby.
Speaker B:Together, they're Cocoa Puffs.
Speaker B:It's a stuffed kangaroo combo.
Speaker B:I also have other different mascots in my room.
Speaker B:And those give us opportunities for small laughter, small playfulness that incorporated into it.
Speaker B:Those actually have been so impactful and just the calm playfulness in the classroom that bring a lot of laughter in, but in a way that is controlled and purposeful to learning and just the learning environment.
Speaker B:See, y' all don't have to have a perfect lesson to create a great day or a perfect day, because there's no such thing as a perfect day.
Speaker B:But you don't need a perfect lesson plan or a near perfect lesson to create a great day.
Speaker B:Y', all, the tone you set matters more than the agenda or plan you follow.
Speaker B:So I mean, think about it like you can impact like you got a rainy day.
Speaker B:Lower the lights, play some soft music.
Speaker B:You know, play some soft music in the background while students are working, maybe even slow learning down, and try to incorporate some peace in action into the classroom.
Speaker B:Because there's times and opportunities for high level, intense learning or where there's high energy, there's an activity going on where students are actively engaged and hands on and highly focused and driven, and there's just an intensity in the classroom.
Speaker B:You know what I'm talking about?
Speaker B:Like a group interactive project, let's say there's times for that, but there's also times for calmness, calm peace and action that is important for us to bring into it also.
Speaker B:And as funky teachers.
Speaker B:And those moments are also important, y'.
Speaker B:All.
Speaker B:So some reflective takeaways here that I want you to think about is that life and teaching are full of noise, joy, y' all is found in the quiet between the notes.
Speaker B:The best teachers don't chase perfection.
Speaker B:They notice beauty in the small things.
Speaker B:So a key takeaway here, y', all, is that what when you learn to celebrate the small moments, you'll find the joy that's been waiting there all along.
Speaker B:Well, I hope you found value in this episode.
Speaker B:If you found something I said useful to you, jump on over to Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcast episodes and hit me up with a five star and let me know what you think in the comments.
Speaker B:And ultimately, I want you to remember to inspire greatness in young people.
Speaker B:And don't forget to be a funky teacher.
Speaker B:Bye now.
Speaker A:He's Mr. Funky Teacher yeah.
Speaker A:He's Mr. Funky teacher yeah, yeah, yeah.
