Reflection on Struggles and Resilience: From Loss to Strength in the Classroom
The salient theme of this podcast episode revolves around the profound connection between personal struggles and professional resilience within the educational sphere. In our discourse, we delve into the complexities of grief and setbacks, elucidating how these experiences can be transformative, ultimately fortifying our capabilities as educators. We explore the imperative of embracing risk in teaching, positing that such risks, when navigated with intention and support, lead to significant growth—both for ourselves and our students. Through illustrative anecdotes and practical strategies, we emphasize the importance of scaffolding and celebrating incremental successes in the classroom. By reflecting on our journeys of overcoming adversity, we elucidate the vital role that resilience plays in fostering a nurturing and effective learning environment.
The exploration of resilience in the educational realm is poignantly articulated by Mr. Funky Teacher, Nicholas Kleve, who draws upon his personal encounters with grief and adversity. In this insightful episode, he reflects on how these life-altering experiences have not only shaped his character but have also influenced his teaching philosophy. Kleve asserts that the struggles educators face can serve as profound learning opportunities, enriching their interactions with students and enhancing their pedagogical practices.
Central to Kleve's message is the notion that vulnerability and authenticity in teaching are crucial. By openly discussing his own challenges, he cultivates a nurturing environment that encourages students to confront their own difficulties. This symbiotic relationship between teacher and student fosters resilience, as students witness firsthand the transformative power of overcoming adversity. Kleve emphasizes that it is through shared experiences of struggle that trust is established, and meaningful connections are forged within the classroom.
In addition, the episode underscores the significance of reflective practice in navigating the complexities of teaching. Kleve advocates for educators to embrace risk-taking as a means to invigorate their instructional methods. He suggests that by implementing structured supports and celebrating incremental successes, teachers can empower students to tackle challenging projects with confidence. Ultimately, this episode serves as a reminder that resilience is a collective journey, where both educators and students can learn, grow, and thrive amidst adversity.
Takeaways:
- Reflection upon one's struggles fosters resilience and ultimately strengthens our teaching practice.
- Navigating risk in the classroom requires careful preparation and scaffolding to ensure safety.
- Empowering students through risk-taking experiences cultivates their courage and fosters personal growth.
- Celebration of student achievements emphasizes the significance of resilience and determination in overcoming challenges.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Be a Funky Teacher
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 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:He'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 Be a Funky Teacher dot com.
Speaker B:I'm coming to you with another Be a Funky Teacher podcast.
Speaker B:Welcome everyone to today's episode.
Speaker B:Today we're going to be focusing on managing risk and teaching balancing challenges and safety.
Speaker B:That's right, that's what we are going to be focusing on today.
Speaker B:But first let's talk about three things I'm thankful for.
Speaker B:First thing I'm thankful for is friends who help.
Speaker B:Like when I need someone to, to fix a chainsaw, I was able to reach out to a friend of mine and help me.
Speaker B:I must say I'm just learning how to use a chainsaw to help cut down some trees at my dad's place and I had a chainsaw throw a chain and getting the, the chain fine tuned, adjusted in was giving me some challenge and I needed some help and I had a friend who he knows about chainsaws, a lot about chainsaws and he was able to help me and spent some time with me giving me some tips and pointers and some guidance.
Speaker B:So I appreciate that.
Speaker B:Next thing, when risky things go smooth.
Speaker B:Well, I was a little worried about cutting some trees down because there's risk in there like trees falling into structures like my dad's house, like if I, if I do it wrong.
Speaker B:But I, I did some research, I did some practice, I, I, I took multiple safety precautions and things did go smoothly.
Speaker B:I was, I had safety precautions in place thankfully.
Speaker B:But there's still no guarantees as you're learning something new.
Speaker B:And it did actually go pretty smoothly.
Speaker B:So so far in the process their thing sleep.
Speaker B:Because honestly when I'm tired a good night's rest can make all the difference in the world especially if you've been cutting down some trees in the evening.
Speaker B:So all, all of those things tie into some work I'm doing at my dad's but they're still meaningful and relevant to my life.
Speaker B:All right, should we get into it talking about managing risk in teaching, balancing challenge and safety.
Speaker B:Okay, so let's talk about this idea of risk in teaching.
Speaker B:Just like using a chainsaw, teaching carries risk.
Speaker B:It does.
Speaker B:There's definitely risk in it.
Speaker B:Some risks are obvious, like lessons, flopping behaviors, blowing up.
Speaker B:Others are more subtle, like trusting students with independence that you give them.
Speaker B:Reverse isn't about recklessness.
Speaker B:Risk can't be about recklessness.
Speaker B:It's about being intentional, being prepared, and being willing to stretch ourselves as professionals.
Speaker B:That's really what risk is all about when it comes into the teaching space.
Speaker B:Now, we do have to channel.
Speaker B:We do have to balance challenge with challenges, with safety.
Speaker B:Students need challenge to grow, but also need a safe environment.
Speaker B:So we have to have that.
Speaker B:Like, we can't compromise a safe environment.
Speaker B:That, that, that is first and foremost critical that they have as a focus.
Speaker B:Safety.
Speaker B:But for example, if we want to let students take on a project that feels big, but scaffold in some support so students can be successful.
Speaker B:I love having my students taking a really big project that's going to take not just days, it's going to take weeks, and it could go longer than it could go into months.
Speaker B:I, I'm not shy to take on projects like that.
Speaker B:I do put the correct scaffolding in place, the correct sports in place to set students up for success.
Speaker B:So those are some safety measures that I put in place, the scaffolding that I put in place to help set students up for success, micro goals, really, that lead to the overall big goal.
Speaker B:Our role as educators is to create the safety nets while still raising the bar for student success in our classrooms.
Speaker B:It is, you know, we, we don't want to have students.
Speaker B:We can't just bubble wrap students and just to keep them safe from, from the world and everything that's not going to be fruitful and beneficial for anyone.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Because kids need to have safety measures put in place, but then be able to take some risk and try different things.
Speaker B:And us as educators have to do the same.
Speaker B:Like, we can't bubble wrap ourselves from challenges, from risks that we might face in the classroom.
Speaker B:I think about different challenges that I've had students face.
Speaker B:I've asked students to step up big for different things, like different performances in a classroom, like learning and performing different songs as a class and performing them at assemblies where students have to present in front of the peers and families and community leaders.
Speaker B:I think about where I've had students do one Big project comes to mind in past years where I've done the Great Americans unit, where kids research, prepare, and present their Great Americans figures.
Speaker B:There's risk in there for students.
Speaker B:There's risk in there for teachers too, because it could all, of course, it could all fall apart.
Speaker B:But I do that scaffolding.
Speaker B:I set scaffolding.
Speaker B:I set up safety measures in place that really help make it words less likely for things to go wrong.
Speaker B:And then it almost runs itself.
Speaker B:The final culminating project, the Great Americans Wax Museum.
Speaker B:When you're in that if I've scaffold things correctly and the teaching team that I've worked with have scaffold things correctly, students will be successful with it.
Speaker B:It's not a matter of if they will be successful, but.
Speaker B:But when they are successful.
Speaker B:But that scaffolding is so important.
Speaker B:Safety.
Speaker B:With risk taking, there's kind of, you gotta strike that fine balance.
Speaker B:These moments that I've had with students can be risky because they require time, trust and vulnerability, student vulnerability, teacher vulnerability, principal trust and vulnerability.
Speaker B:But they do.
Speaker B:The payoff was huge.
Speaker B:And those kids rose to the challenge.
Speaker B:And they surprised themselves.
Speaker B:They didn't surprise me because I knew they could do it, but they surprised themselves.
Speaker B:And I think they surprised.
Speaker B:Over the years, they have surprised a lot of families and community members when they see them showcase what they've been working on.
Speaker B:So through that process, that's when I realized that risk creates growth.
Speaker B:Write that down.
Speaker B:It's going to be in the test.
Speaker B:Risk creates growth.
Speaker B:How important that is.
Speaker B:So what are some strategies for meaningful classroom risk?
Speaker B:We got to prepare.
Speaker B:Like double checking my chainsaw, making sure that, hey, it's got chain oil, it's got the right gas and oil mix combo in it.
Speaker B:That the chain tension is just right.
Speaker B:That, that I have.
Speaker B:Oh, that, that it's.
Speaker B:The chain's not too tight, not too loose.
Speaker B:Just like checking the chainsaw.
Speaker B:We have to prep lessons.
Speaker B:We have to give students clear models for success too.
Speaker B:So prep those lessons, give students clear models, and then.
Speaker B:So not only do we have to prepare, but we have to then support, break big challenges into micro steps and celebrate each one.
Speaker B:Like, it goes back to that.
Speaker B:I love the, the adage, how do you eat an elephant one bite at a time?
Speaker B:And now someone could say, well, why would you eat an elephant?
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:But you're missing a point if you're thinking about that.
Speaker B:How do you eat an elephant one bite at a time?
Speaker B:And so you can't think about just eating the whole elephant.
Speaker B:You have to think about the Micro steps to eating the elephant.
Speaker B:You know, that's kind of a funny, silly thing to refer to, but it's true.
Speaker B:Like, if we're having students do.
Speaker B:We're going to do something really big, a big, big challenge with students, we break it into a lot smaller steps.
Speaker B:I don't care if it's a.
Speaker B:If it's learning how to add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators.
Speaker B:Cool.
Speaker B:Okay, let's break that into some micro steps now and some micro wins that we can work students up to.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Like, like, what are some things?
Speaker B:Clearly, there's certain steps that lead up into the ultimate Being able to add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators.
Speaker B:How do we get there?
Speaker B:So let's do some micro wins leading up into that.
Speaker B:So that's where you.
Speaker B:We have to put the support in place, and then we have to reflect.
Speaker B:If you know me, you know I'm big on reflecting.
Speaker B:That's one of the biggest keys to my success is reflecting.
Speaker B:And, and if something fl.
Speaker B:And as you reflect, we have to reflect.
Speaker B:If something flops, don't give up, adapt and try again.
Speaker B:If something really didn't go according to plan, reflect, oh, this didn't go so well.
Speaker B:This is how I'm going to tweak it and I'm going to make it work for the future.
Speaker B:So if something flops, adapt and try again.
Speaker B:And then the next thing is to celebrate.
Speaker B:Point out to students the courage it took, not just out to come.
Speaker B:Don't just say, hey, you know, you were able to do this and then be done with it.
Speaker B:No, celebrate with students that, hey, if they did something big, they, they overcame something to, to get to the outcome.
Speaker B:Let's celebrate with students and, and celebrate the journey.
Speaker B:Celebrate being brave and not giving up and having that resilience, facing adversity and saying, hey, I can.
Speaker B:I can do this.
Speaker B:I can do hard things.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:That's what we got to do when working with students.
Speaker B:So those, those are the things for strategies for managing classroom risk.
Speaker B:Prepare, support, reflect, and celebrate.
Speaker B:Now, why risk taking matters for students?
Speaker B:Well, students learn courage by watching us step into risk.
Speaker B:So if we want, if we want students to take risk, we have to take risks too.
Speaker B:Now, once again, safety's got to be a consideration.
Speaker B:But we can't fully bubble wrap everything we do and guarantee that.
Speaker B:That something's not going to flop.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:We can't guarantee a lesson's not going to flop.
Speaker B:We can't guarantee that students aren't going to necessarily mess up a song, performing it in front of the school.
Speaker B:We.
Speaker B:There's no we.
Speaker B:There's no guarantees there.
Speaker B:But we've tried to minimize risk as much as possible through practice, through structure, through preparing supports, reflect, and then.
Speaker B:And celebrate.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:We go do all those things.
Speaker B:But students truly do learn by watching us step into risk and not be afraid, not be, not be, not be Risk avoidance in that respect.
Speaker B:And when we believe in students, when we believe in students enough to stretch them, they often will exceed our expectations.
Speaker B:And then safe classrooms don't avoid risk.
Speaker B:They teach kids how to navigate risk.
Speaker B:They do.
Speaker B:They.
Speaker B:They teach kids how to navigate risk.
Speaker B:We want to teach kids how to navigate risk, not.
Speaker B:Not avoid it.
Speaker B:There's.
Speaker B:There's something inherent.
Speaker B:There's something so important about teaching kids to, hey, let's take on some risk and navigate it.
Speaker B:And how do you approach risk?
Speaker B:How do you approach it?
Speaker B:How do you work through it?
Speaker B:Well, risk doesn't have to mean recklessness, but it does mean believing in growth enough to step past the comfort zones, whether it's cutting down trees or putting kids on stage.
Speaker B:The reward.
Speaker B:The reward.
Speaker B:The reward comes from when we prepare, support, and celebrate with students.
Speaker B:We celebrate that courage that brings our episode to a close.
Speaker B:I want to encourage you to take risks in a classroom.
Speaker B:Take risks.
Speaker B:With risks, come reward everyone.
Speaker B:With that being said, 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, he's Mr. Funky Teacher yeah, yeah, yeah.
