Resilience in Teaching: Overcoming Struggles and Helping Students Do the Same
Resilience in teaching is paramount, as it embodies the capacity to surmount challenges and serves as a crucial model for students facing their own difficulties. In our discourse, we delve deeply into personal struggles encountered within the educational sphere, emphasizing the necessity for educators to embody resilience, thereby instilling a similar tenacity in their students. We acknowledge the alarming prevalence of low expectations that often permeate educational environments, particularly for those who have been marginalized or overlooked. It is imperative that we, as educators, maintain high expectations for all students, communicating unwavering belief in their potential and capabilities. Ultimately, our commitment to resilience not only enhances our personal growth but also empowers our students to aspire toward greatness, fostering an environment where they too can learn to navigate their struggles effectively.
The discourse presented by Mr. Funky Teacher, Nicholas Kleve, unfolds a rich narrative focused on the theme of resilience in the educational sphere. He articulates the myriad challenges that educators face, emphasizing the critical need to model resilience not only as a personal endeavor but as a powerful exemplar for students navigating their own adversities. Mr. Kleve's reflections resonate deeply, particularly when addressing the pervasive issue of low expectations that afflict many educational institutions, particularly those entrenched in socioeconomic difficulties and historical traumas. He advocates for the notion that every student deserves an advocate who steadfastly refuses to relinquish hope in their potential, thereby reinforcing the idea that educators must maintain high expectations as a means of fostering student growth.
In this episode, Mr. Kleve shares poignant personal anecdotes that illustrate the transformative impact of belief and encouragement in the lives of students. He posits that educators have a responsibility to cultivate supportive relationships and to celebrate even the smallest advancements in student progress, thereby nurturing a culture where resilience flourishes. The dialogue further encompasses practical strategies that educators can adopt to empower their students, such as implementing scaffolding to facilitate learning and ensuring that high expectations are met with compassion and understanding. Through these discussions, Mr. Kleve emphasizes that teaching is a collaborative journey, one that requires both dedication and emotional investment, ultimately leading to a more resilient and capable student body.
As the episode draws to a close, Mr. Kleve reinforces the notion that educators play a pivotal role in shaping the narrative of resilience in their classrooms. He implores listeners to recognize that teaching transcends the mere dissemination of information; it is an endeavor centered on nurturing belief, fostering resilience, and inspiring greatness in the youth entrusted to their care. The episode serves as an inspiring reminder of the profound impact teachers can have on their students' lives, urging them to remain steadfast in their commitment to cultivating resilience and empowering the next generation.
Takeaways:
- Teachers play a crucial role in modeling resilience, thereby inspiring their students to overcome challenges.
- High expectations are vital in education; they communicate to students that they are valued and capable of success.
- Celebrating progress rather than perfection fosters a positive learning environment for students facing difficulties.
- Building strong relationships with students is essential in reinforcing their belief in themselves and their potential.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- beafunkyteacher.com
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:Today's episode is don't give up on kids.
Speaker B:Raising expectations in every classroom.
Speaker B:That's what we're going to be focusing on with this episode.
Speaker B:But first, let me talk about three things I'm thankful for this morning.
Speaker B:The first thing, a few extra minutes of sleep.
Speaker B:I decided to sleep just a little bit longer this morning.
Speaker B:I've been getting up extra early to get some stuff done at school and, and go in, take care of some stuff.
Speaker B:But this morning I decided just to sleep just a little bit longer.
Speaker B:And that was just a little treat to myself.
Speaker B:That was just a small thing and it just, it's going to help keep me going today.
Speaker B:Actually.
Speaker B:The second thing, support systems, family, colleagues and friends that can carry me through.
Speaker B:They are individuals who carry me through.
Speaker B:I'm so thankful for them.
Speaker B:The third thing, my health.
Speaker B:I'm very thankful for my health because without it, the rest of this work, it just wouldn't, would not be nearly.
Speaker B:It would be impossible.
Speaker B:Let's just be real.
Speaker B:How would I be able to do what I need to do to try to help others and impact others if I don't have my health?
Speaker B:So with that being said, let's get into it.
Speaker B:So I want to focus on expectations, not giving up on kids.
Speaker B:And here's the problem of low expectations.
Speaker B:There are too many kids.
Speaker B:Too many kids have grown up in schools, communities, or systems where people have given up on them.
Speaker B:A good friend of mine once described some Native schools as sometimes places where people have.
Speaker B:They're almost like forgotten schools.
Speaker B:And that has stuck with me, that, that has stayed with me since she said that because it hit me hard when she said that because these are the places where students most need teachers who believe in Them.
Speaker B:And so whether it's a native community, like on a reservation, if it's.
Speaker B:Maybe it's a community where there's lower socioeconomics or more systemic trauma, historical generational trauma, whatever the case may be, there are things where students have experienced people giving up on them or having low expectations and not expecting much, just kind of getting them through, just expecting that they're not going to do much and that's okay.
Speaker B:And why can't.
Speaker B:Why is that messed up thinking, why is that wrong?
Speaker B:Thinking?
Speaker B:Well, why we can't give up on kids?
Speaker B:Why is it not an option?
Speaker B:Every child, y', all, every child deserves someone who refuses to write them off, who refuses to give up on them.
Speaker B:Students.
Speaker B:There was a.
Speaker B:If you have students with IEPs or behavior challenges or even just academic challenges, but they're not in an iep, they need support.
Speaker B:And people who believe in them, not just to lower expectations, people who, who are, who come from different communities that might not be sometimes as a forgotten community, can't give up on them.
Speaker B:High expectations communicate to students that they matter, that they are capable and showing up for them every day, that communicates that you value them.
Speaker B:I can't help but think I had a.
Speaker B:A student just, Just this year, actually, it was.
Speaker B:I was in an IEP meeting with a certain student and it had come back that the parent said that the parent said that.
Speaker B:I'm just thinking here because it makes.
Speaker B:It makes me laugh, but it makes me smile too, because of what.
Speaker B:What this student said.
Speaker B:As soon as told the parent, Mr. Cleese said, we are going to learn how to change the world this year.
Speaker B:I don't know how yet, but we're going to learn.
Speaker B:That's what he told his mom and his mom communicated that in our meeting.
Speaker B:That's the kind of hope.
Speaker B:That's the kind of hope I want kids to carry with them when we speak life into them.
Speaker B:I want them to see that they can change the world, if they can make an impact on the world, that they can do good things in the world and that they're valued in this world to make a difference.
Speaker B:When you hear something like that coming back from something you've said to students, that's what keeps me going.
Speaker B:That's what helps me keep getting up in the morning and getting fired up.
Speaker B:That's what it's about, all about right there.
Speaker B:And that just.
Speaker B:I think that's something that's going to stick with me for many years to come.
Speaker B:When I.
Speaker B:When I remember that parent telling me that that child was telling her about that.
Speaker B:As I was getting up and getting ready for work this morning, my wife told me that, thank you for not giving up on your kids.
Speaker B:She wasn't talking about my own children.
Speaker B:She was talking about my students.
Speaker B:See, even when days are tough, she sees the way I keep believing in them.
Speaker B:And that meant a lot to me, her saying that, because some, some of the students that, that, that I've worked with over the years, they have had people who give up on them their entire lives.
Speaker B:Not just in the, where I'm at now, but also in my prior school district where, where people have given up on them.
Speaker B:And you might work in a school district where people have given up on, on the students that you work with too.
Speaker B:Or maybe you've seen teachers give up on students.
Speaker B:And that reminder for my wife to, hey, thank you for not giving up on my students.
Speaker B:That's just a reminder that, hey, she sees the work I'm doing, she knows the work I'm doing, she knows there's good days and tough days and to keep on going.
Speaker B:What are some practical ways that we can show up and show students that we haven't given up?
Speaker B:Well, we have to celebrate progress, not just perfection, because there's no such thing as perfect.
Speaker B:No such thing as perfect.
Speaker B:But we got to celebrate progress with our students, got to celebrate it with them.
Speaker B:We gotta use scaffolds with them too.
Speaker B:Not shortcuts, teach them how to grow.
Speaker B:We can't just give students short, quick shortcuts.
Speaker B:We've got to scaffold up their learning, build their learning up in a way that will set them up for a lifetime and not just say, oh, they can't learn it.
Speaker B:They can't learn as academic or they can't learn, they can't learn about empathy and compassion.
Speaker B:No, we, we have to build in the place and put into place scaffolding that will build up and, and set them up for a lifetime of success.
Speaker B:Whatever they're doing and wherever they're at.
Speaker B:Like I tell my, my fifth graders, like, I don't.
Speaker B:When, when you're an adult and you're, your, whatever career path you're doing, maybe it's going to be living here in the community or maybe it's, maybe it's, you'll, you'll grow up and you go to a trade school or you go to college off somewhere in the United States or world, and then maybe you won't live back in this community or, but maybe you will bring those skills to, and, and those traits or Whatever it is you've learned how to do them.
Speaker B:Come and bring.
Speaker B:Support the con.
Speaker B:Support your community that you're living in.
Speaker B:Now you come back or not, like, you have options, and that's okay.
Speaker B:I'm trying to kind of get them to kind of scaffold up to some of that big picture, even, like, hey, like, what is possible in their lives, and then kind of take them where they're at, build up the.
Speaker B:And then start building up and scaffold up to where we need them to be while also not giving up on them.
Speaker B:Speak life into students, y'.
Speaker B:All.
Speaker B:We have to speak life into students, saying things like, I believe in you.
Speaker B:I want you here.
Speaker B:We're going to figure this out.
Speaker B:Those are three.
Speaker B:Those are three things that we can say to students that can send a message to them that, hey, we haven't given up on them.
Speaker B:I'm going to say those again.
Speaker B:I believe in you.
Speaker B:I want you here.
Speaker B:We're going to figure this out.
Speaker B:Those are three things, and there's different versions of things that you can say to students to let them know that you want them in your classroom, you want them there, and that you value them and that you haven't given up on them.
Speaker B:Also, we've got to keep our expectations high when working with students.
Speaker B:We have to have those high expectations when working with kids.
Speaker B:Keep our expectations high, but keep our softs hard.
Speaker B:Keep our.
Speaker B:Our heart soft.
Speaker B:I'll say that again.
Speaker B:Keep our expectations high, but keep our hearts soft because we.
Speaker B:We have to approach teaching.
Speaker B:Teaching is a hard profession.
Speaker B:Teaching is a real.
Speaker B:It's a relentless profession.
Speaker B:But we've got to keep those hearts soft, keep our expectations high to help keep us driving forward for those students that we are.
Speaker B:We.
Speaker B:We.
Speaker B:We are entrusted to work with and.
Speaker B:And to send that message that.
Speaker B:That we're not giving up on them.
Speaker B:And as we wrap things up here, as we wrap this episode up, I just want us to remember that every kid deserves someone who won't give up on them.
Speaker B:Someone who says, you belong here.
Speaker B:You can do this.
Speaker B:You will change this world.
Speaker B:If we believe that we can be that person, even on the tough days, we give them more than lessons, y'.
Speaker B:All.
Speaker B:We give them way more than lessons.
Speaker B:We give them belief.
Speaker B:That brings our episode to a close today.
Speaker B:You know, this.
Speaker B:This thing that I say at the end of every episode here about inspiring greatness in young people and be a fun fe teacher, you know, that's a part of what I incorporate into every single day, trying to inspire greatness in young people, because that's where the.
Speaker B:That's where the Changing the world and teaching kids about changing the world and keeping on the forefront of, hey, what are we doing here?
Speaker B:We're teaching kids to change the world.
Speaker B:Why?
Speaker B:Because we want kids doing great things.
Speaker B:It doesn't have to be where they're out there making lots of money or being famous.
Speaker B:No change in the world.
Speaker B:And this is going to be a whole nother conversation.
Speaker B:But we can inspire greatness in young people, and greatness can look like a lot of things in a young person's life as they grow up and grow into adulthood.
Speaker B:And being a funky teacher is a way that we can do that and to help make that greatness happen, the way that we can inspire greatness in young people.
Speaker B:So they really go hand in hand.
Speaker B:And I end my episodes every time.
Speaker B:Every Be a Funky Teacher podcast episode, I end with it to help remind us that is what is important.
Speaker B:So that really complements this episode here today about not giving up on students.
Speaker B:Well, that brings our episode to officially a close.
Speaker B:I want you to remember to inspire greatness in young people 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.
Speaker B:Sam.
