207 - Coaching Across the Generations - with Ben Sondgeroth

Coaches work with a very diverse set of educators. Not only do coaches take into account the experience levels, content areas, and general backgrounds of educators, they might want to start considering an entirely new variable…. Generational differences. Educators make up a pool of very different generational representation- Millennials, Gen X’ers, and Baby Boomers. This episode we're talking with Ben Sondgeroth to explore  how coaches can better understand the needs and values of each generation to build their capacity for effective technology integration.


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Podcast Team

Hosts- Katie  Ritter & Justin Thomas

Editing Team- Megan Whitacre, Michael Roush, Mark Gumm,

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Transcript

Justin Thomas: 0:00

Calling all technology coaches join for an edge this summer for a two day coaches camp packed with high quality professional development exclusively for you. Attendees will work with like minded coaches on creating strategies for teacher relationships, executing coaching cycles and building a culture of coaching and tech integration within their school district. There are two opportunities to attend coaches camp this summer join us either June 25, and 26th in New Orleans prior to iste 2022 or in Cincinnati on July 28, and 29 please visit For and hyphen edge dotnet slash coach camp to reserve your spot today.

Katie Ritter: 0:51

Aloha, I'm Katie Ritter.

Justin Thomas: 0:53

And I'm Justin Thomas. And this is the restart recharge podcast, a podcast by coaches for coaches. We're bringing the tips and tricks to help you in your everyday work as an instructional technology coach or whatever they call you in your school district.

Katie Ritter: 1:05

So hopefully, you're going to leave this episode with us today feeling just a little bit less on your own coaching Island.

Justin Thomas: 1:11

We have an awesome episode today because coaches work with a diverse set of educators. And not only do coaches take into account the experience levels, the content areas and general backgrounds of these educators, they might want to start considering an entirely new variable, generational differences. Educators make up a pool of very different generational representation millennials, Gen Xers and baby boomers. So this episode is going to explore how coaches can better understand the needs and values of each generation to build their capacity for effective technology integration. So today, we have been Sonne growth. And Ben is here because he had a amazing session at FTTC that one of our coaches, Brooke was able to join in. And we have one here because it is going to be an awesome episode talking about these generational differences. So let's introduce Ben here. That passion that led Ben to become a national instructor and presenter allowing him to work with 1000s of educators across the country. So now working for the LTC of Illinois, his focus is on helping districts in Illinois leverage technology effectively in the service of learning. He has presented national conferences such as FTTC, SD, idea Khan and many more. He holds a master's degree from the University of Illinois and a bachelor's degree from the University of Indianapolis and currently lives in Dixon, Illinois with his wife, Rose Sunrider. And future baby song Roth coming in May 2022. So welcome in Ben, thank you for joining us.

Ben Sondgeroth: 2:40

Thanks, Justin. That was the first time I think I've heard that bio read out loud. So that was like, it wasn't too bad. I was kind of nervous. You know, when I always write them yourself. You're like, I wonder how that actually reads. So yeah, that's okay. I'm happy with it. So good job. Thanks for reading that for me. Yeah, you're

Justin Thomas: 2:53

absolutely welcome.

Ben Sondgeroth: 2:56

Especially the little ending line, like usually, like when I submitted to conferences and stuff, like I lead off like my wife, because like, yeah, who cares? But yeah, so I'm glad that you're I figured I'd throw it in there. For the podcast listeners, though.

Justin Thomas: 3:07

I'm sure that she really likes it. And it's exactly. Well, hey, Ben, tell us a little bit about yourself and a little bit more about your background. And how did you become so interested in this topic of coaching across generations? Yeah. So

Ben Sondgeroth: 3:26

you know, it's, it's kind of cool. So like, I My background is as a high school history teacher to get started in this like educational journey. I that was all I wanted to do. I wanted to teach high school history. I wanted to coach varsity baseball, I played college baseball play high school baseball, like it was like the mission since like, I think it was sixth or seventh grade was like grow up be a high school history teacher, and coach baseball. And I did that right away right out the gate, got a varsity squad got to coach got to teach, it was awesome. But then I got a chance to get iPads into my hands. In my second year of teaching actually, so 2012 When the iPad twos were brand new, and that actually like opened up this whole new world of technology to me and like I was like I was all in like from the get go like, this is going to change education. Like there's actually a Facebook status and I don't know about you guys, but whenever my like memories come up, I like look at like what old Ben said, and

Katie Ritter: 4:20

am I gonna be mortified by this or really proud? Yeah, yeah, like

Ben Sondgeroth: 4:24

I look at it. I'm like, Why did you put that on there? This wasn't Twitter. But like, I guess Facebook kind of was Twitter back in like 2007 and eight, right? They raise it up. There's one status in particular that like I got an iPad and I put it on there. Like, I just got my first iPad, this thing is going to change education. And it's just funny, like, every year when it comes up, I laugh and I'm like that set my career on like this completely different trajectory than where I was before. Because it like I started doing a couple of workshops locally and like I presented at a conference and I just got this bug to help teachers, like integrate tech now. He. So I decided to make it a career. And I switched from what I always wanted to do, which was teach history. And coach and I went in to be a director of technology didn't really enjoy that. I don't like the boxes and wires aspect of sharp knowledge. In education, it's hard, I don't get it. I'm a history teacher, like, I don't understand networks and things like I still tried to figure that out. But it's not my jam. Started working for ed tech teacher, then after that got a job with them. So that's where the nationally part gets it. I got to go all over the country, work with schools do PD just really like loved the travel aspect of it, or app until my son was born. And then I was like, Man, this travel aspect was like really cool like pre kid now not so cool. So I looked for something a little more local, which led me here to the LTC which is what I work for now Learning Technology Center of Illinois. And so as a regional Ed Tech coordinator for the LTC, we facilitate anything educational technology related in the greater state of Illinois. So we have all 857 school districts that we support, I have the northwest corner from Dixon, small town 16,000 People in the middle of nowhere, two hours west of Chicago. And I get to travel all over the state, working with educators and leading events and consulting with schools like it's do a little bit of it all. So it's just been a really cool journey. Going from history teacher, to what I get to do now and impact lots of different educators and stuff. So yeah, so that's kind of my, my journey in education, I guess, to get to where I am now. And then your question about, like, where did this topic come from. So it actually is like a combination of all of those things. You know, working with educators, like you guys get to do, and you guys get to see, like, you know, there's like one of the things that at least found I was when I was with that tech teacher, it got to a point where I was actually doing a lot of redundancy, like we were working with bills and digital promise. And we were doing a lot of the same workshop over and over and over again, which gets to be boring when you have to do the same thing over and over again. But it was part of the program. So we had to do it. So I started to like, kind of analyze people, like on the side, it was like, easy for me to go in and be like, This is what you do with your iPad. Do it. And then like work with them, right? And like, they were great. But like then I was like trying to figure out like, what makes these people tick? Like how can I better like be a people person and like relate to these people and like social analyzing administrators, and like, you know, just getting the vibe of places. And a lot of that actually relates back to my history background, where this all comes into play. Because I found that when I was teaching history, I like in studying history, I liked to analyze the social component of history. So not so much like I don't find myself fascinated with like world leaders, I find myself fascinated with the people that the decisions that world leaders how the decisions that world leaders make impact the people around them, right. So like, so a leader can make a decision. But then what's that like for the person who's just living on the street? Like, what was it like to live during the Great Depression? What was it like to live as a civilian during the American Revolution, like, like studying how those people ticked and like what the environment around them is something that really like, just fascinates me. So when I started to actually do some research on like generations and stuff for a priest, this presentations, history is actually one with my dad. So my dad was a educators and administrator, we got asked, yeah, right. So it's in the family. This is actually his office, like I used to work in the office. Really? Yeah. So kind of cool. Got to go see my dad at work every day for three years until he retired. So that was neat. And he was very active in the community. So he was actually approached by the Chamber of Commerce. And we both were in education. So like, you know, business world separate from us. But they knew that we worked with like lots of different generations, like he's a baby boomer, I'm wanting. And so they asked us to do this presentation about what it was like to work and manage people of different generations. And so we started to do some research on it. And I found that like, it was a like, perfect topic for technology to like, take it another step further, and technology and education, and really dive into what makes people tick from a historical perspective, and then match that to how we can meet them where they are with educational technology in the same way. So like, you know, we go into a classroom with a boomer, like what does that what does their background and how they're raised actually reflect on how they learn and how we can approach them with technology. So that's why I'm super passionate about this like topic because it's like a combination of history, technology, coaching, like education all wrapped up in one so yeah, that's, that's my pitch for it. It's super fun.

Katie Ritter: 9:47

Yeah. And it is. Our team was fascinated by I mean, Brooke came back after your presentation and, you know, shared your work with the rest of us. We were all pretty fascinated. It's kind of like people watching to the Next level, I feel like that, that you're doing that analysis. So, okay, so for those folks who haven't gotten, you know, the download on this presentation and the work that you did at FTTC, you really went through like the different generations that are currently in the workforce, you know, just like you said, You gave kind of this historical background of sort of what their generation really lived through, and what kind of defined some of the character traits and like anything, it's not a one size fits all, just because you're a boomer or a millennial, or, you know, Gen X, or up and coming Gen Z, or doesn't mean you will absolutely, like be motivated by this or that or operate in this way. But it definitely helps us as coaches think about things in a really kind of unique way by Hey, this is how you were impacted. This is how you were made to think and, and believe more than likely, you know, this group of folks. So it really kind of helps put some of these things in context. So with with that kind of thought in mind, how, how can coaches best support some of the different generations that we have currently in, you know, that we are supporting with baby boomers kind of leaving a little bit really getting close to retirement in retirement? Lots of you know, maybe Gen Xers millennials, and then those Gen Z years kind of coming up the pike here into the workforce, what what tips would you give or advice would you give to coaches working? How they might think about approaching these different generations differently? And working to support?

Ben Sondgeroth: 11:34

Yeah, sure. So can you actually made like a really good, like, you use a really key word there of like, providing context, because I think that's what this is really like, one of the things that we actually look at is, like I have actually seen, and I think this is a commonality amongst people that work with a variety of different generations is you also fall into like, the stereotypes. And sometimes you're like, Oh, that's a stereotypical baby boomer, like, they don't know what they're doing, or like, you know, the, the Gen X, or does this or the beat the millennial or their eyes on their phone, or the Gen Zers. On connected, you know, it's like, those are stereotypes that, that they're, they're there, and they exist, but some of them have like a foundation like more than a stereotype, like they provide, like, you need the context as to why maybe that person is acting like that, right? So so that's a good I just want to, that's a great way to like frame it in is like to put it there. So. So for like the purpose of this, like we broke down, like breakdown generations, and this is varies across research, like across lots of different like, you look at these ages, and they're all over the map. And if you ask somebody what they are, they're going to probably identify a little bit differently. So when I say an age, like don't get offended, hopefully listeners,

Justin Thomas: 12:41

like range.

Ben Sondgeroth: 12:43

Yeah, I've said like, where the millennial cut is, and some people are like, I'm not a millennial. Don't include me in that. Like, I'm sorry, but like, you know, yeah. And it's also funny, too, because like, six years ago, when I did this, like we're the age cuts were don't actually reflect with, like, where they are now. So it's like a moving target. I don't know. It's, yeah, like, I looked it back up. And like, I was revising a presentation from even like, three years ago. And I was like, Wait, it's like six more years on to this atrium. Like doesn't make any sense. There was only three years ago when I found these numbers. But anyway, I digress. Yeah. So like, you have like a traditionalist, which is somebody that's like, 75. And over there, like the retirees, they're your volunteers in your classrooms, more than likely, they're your, your substitute teachers, you know, that are coming back to dislike hanging out, because they just can't, you know, staying not being in the classroom, right. So, like, that's one age group that's like very much out of the workforce. But somebody as a coach you might run into from time to time, like, if it's an active sub, that's there, and they need to log on to take attendance and they need to, but they probably haven't been in a classroom, some of them for like, 20 years, like as an active teacher, like, as a full bull active teacher, you know, like, they were retiring, like, I'm 35, like, those teachers were often retiring when I was in high school, you know, so, so those people are, you know, most of them are retired, they're going to be there. The thing to like, keep in mind with them, like, if you do run across these, you have to support a traditionalist, like, one of the things that I find with them is that they will love and this is something that's a trait, it's a character trait of them, like they love to be valued and offer the opportunity to mentor right, like, we have to tap into that generations like knowledge of things. And these are the ones that you like, showing them as valued members of the society still is like, super important to them, you know, like being able to like tap in and ask them a question because, you know, it's like one of the things like oh, man, like, I just can't imagine like when I'm that age, like all young whippersnappers asking me a question. Like, I feel valued, right.

Katie Ritter: 14:51

I feel like that now sometimes, Ben.

Ben Sondgeroth: 14:57

What do you mean? tiktoks Beyond that, I got nothing I clicked back. That's the Gen Z thing I can't relate to but so so like you have this traditional generation, we're not gonna focus a lot on them because they are like low in numbers, but just something to be aware of like value them, ask them to mentor, ask them to be a volunteer if they need help on something like might have some older tech people that are like aging out and like they just want to come help and like value that and stuff. So, so it's just one of the things with a traditionalist, but the big one here, there's there's two big like, age demographics is the baby boomers and the millennials that are dominating the workforce. The Gen Xers and the millennials, like those are the three that are dominating the workforce right now. Boomers are starting to retire and if there are baby boomers that are listening, I'm gonna call you boomers is no offense to that, but it's just easier for me to say Boomer over and over and over again. I'm not saying it in a way it's like, oh, boomers. But just fun to say to. I don't know, do you guys like saying Boomer, I think it's funny, like, oh, Boomer, whatever. But so baby boomer like these folks, we're looking at like 60 to 75. That's kind of our like, range on on a baby boomer here. These are the folks that they actually and my dad was one and I'm sure like your guys's you guys, we all look alike. We're very similar in age. So like, I'm sure your parents are probably in the same category. Like one of the things that we find with these folks is that they lived a lifestyle of like more work equals more hours equals greater work output. Like, they were always at the school, if they were a teacher, like they're super early, they stayed super late. They were working on grading papers during holidays, like I think of my aunt who was a retired AP US History teacher. And she would come to every holiday with like a sling bag that was just filled with AP History essays. And she had a great, and we get done eating dinner. And we're sitting around as kids are playing and she's sitting there just creating these essays like the whole time. And you're like, Man, that sounds like zero fun. Like what a terrible way to spend your holiday. Like, but she did it because that was her thing. Like it wasn't leave work at work. It was like no, like, I have to keep working. The other thing that is like interesting, I think when we look at this is like they're dedicated to their place of work to, like, they're, they're the generation that like, showed up to Work Day one is like, I'm just going to work here for 40 years, and then I'm going to retire. Yeah. Because I'm loyal to this place. And even if I don't like it, I'm gonna stay, which is like sometimes to their detriment, like a lot of these things. Like they probably now regret like my dad, like regrets all the hours he put in, and tells us that he's like, we didn't go on vacation, because I was just working all the time. And I really regret that now. And so like when we're looking at, like, how we want to support these folks that are kind of on the end of their career, if not retired already. But like, I find that one of the things we like working with them, and specifically like in technology, too, is like, we have to show them that their tried and true lessons. Like can be enhanced with technology. So that's a big thing that I try to use and a word that I try to use when I work with anybody really and this goes for Gen Xers, too. Yeah. But is it but like, with baby boomers especially like I use the word enhance, like, I'm not going to make this better? Because that sounds like it was bad to begin with. So I'm going to make it better. You know, like, you see, no, that's a really good lesson. But like, Let's enhance it with this technology. And then how this can then like continue to grow, right. So like one of the values that they get is they get positive reinforcement, positive reinforcement goes a long way with a baby boomer. And so like you treat them with such so like they do something good. And it's hard for us as technology professionals sometimes to like see a very minimal task to complete it and get excited about it. But like for them, that minimal task that they completed could be a huge deal. And so like I always feel like I put on a little bit of a cheerleader hat with baby boomers like over almost any other generation and support them in like they do something. I'm like, You did it like Let's go, you know, you shared that Google Doc, like you create an assignment in Google Classroom, like, awesome, like, good job, you know, and like, let's do it again. Now, like, let's reinforce it, like let's keep going, given that encouragement, you know, because they don't get that a lot like they come in with that mindset of I'm bad at technology, or I don't understand technology. And I'm sure you guys have seen this, but like the negative mindset of them coming into a workshop or a coaching session, it just derail you right off the start. So it's not something that they've done before, or they're nervous about it, because it's not the exact same thing that I've done for 35 years. Yeah, I've been teaching.

Katie Ritter: 19:34

And Ben, I really like to how you said something like the key word is enhance. And to me that stands out because I also think that this this age range here is there. So a lot of like our building leaders and district leaders in this age range that we are trying to get to support our work is technology integration coaches, and a lot of things start with them and their understanding and their support. Have it and if they're not used to it. So I think we just wrapped up by the time this episode airs, it will be the first episode after all three of our three part mini series around admin and coach relationships. So I think maybe my brain is still on that just a little bit. But I think that's super important too. Like for coaches, you know, we just had this whole three part series talking about how important it is for you to work with your admin. You know, I think that maybe that's important to think too, even if you're not helping support them, like, implement their staff meeting. But still, like, even in your approach to talking with them and talking about how you can support teachers in a way that may connect with them differently than just here's this technology, we should be using it now.

Ben Sondgeroth: 20:41

Yeah, and I think one of the ways that I like to do that and frame that too, especially with admins or teachers, but both is like, sometimes we get them to buy in, like showing them the the productivity tasks that their job can get better at quicker. So it's like, Hey, I'm not gonna like that admins not gonna need to sit down on you, like revolutionising the world and Google Slides. But like, if you can show that admin like how they can quickly like, share a collaborative Google Doc that allows everybody to voice their opinions or a jam board that they can, you know, be able to show and brainstorm as a group, and it made everything like so much easier for them. Then, like, you've got to win, right? And then they buy in, and then they understand your value, they understand the value of some of the stuff that the teachers are doing. So yeah, absolutely. Like our leadership, a lot of them are in that baby boomer age, our superintendents, probably more than anyone, you know, like, our admins are probably in that Gen X or role. And then or age group, and then like our principals, or building principals and stuff, but then you get those superintendents like, those are where our baby boomers are, you know, so, yeah, then they're important. They make decisions. So, so yeah, supporting them. And the other thing too, is like showing them how they can do stuff. Like what technology in their personal life makes a huge buy in to for baby boomers, like, Hey, here's how you can take apple clips on your iPhone, and like, make a really cool video of all your grandkids like doing really fun stuff. Like just when equipable like did look at this, you got this awesome video, and then they're like, that was easy. I could do that with my kids. Like because they have iPads in the classroom, or they have iPhones. Like what if they did the same thing? It's like, yeah, and then you get them to buy in a little bit with that. So yeah,

Katie Ritter: 22:14

yeah. Awesome. So, um, let's, let's transition to Gen Xers. What How can coaches support our Gen Xers in our millennials to

Ben Sondgeroth: 22:23

this super interesting group like Gen Xers they're like really close to me, or, you know, right above. They're the ones that are probably predominant in our workforce right now. There are teachers that have been teaching for 20 years. I don't know about you guys, but sometimes I find Gen Xers are the hardest sell on anything. Because sometimes baby boomers Oh, I'll take that bullet. The baby boomers are like, Yeah, whatever was rolled it like I'm about to retire anyways, I don't care if it blows up. Like they can't do anything to me. I've been here for 35 years, like, try. But Gen Xers are like, nope. Like, I don't see it.

Katie Ritter: 23:03

And Park age range for the Gen Xers that you're using

Ben Sondgeroth: 23:06

are looking at, you're looking at right around that 42 to 59. Okay, so you're looking at those folks that are kind of close to retirement and is near like there's light at the end of the tunnel. They're locked into what they've been doing. It's been working, we've sent tons of kids to college doing this the same way. Like we've got a great graduation rate at this school. I've heard that a lot of like independent schools, right? Like, why do we got to bring technology and we're getting kids into Harvard left, right and center, it's like it, we can make it better. Like we can make their learning better. Like we can even enhance thing comes in again here with this group a lot, right? Because one of the things that they value is they're super goal oriented, like they are super independent. Like that's the Gen X way that they thrive on independence. And they want to be challenged. And they're always going to ask why. Like, that's this group of Adrian's is like, Well, why do we have to do that? And not in a why, like, sometimes Gen Xers put on millennials, like that millennials are like, Why do we got to do this? It's like, why? Prove it to me? Show me how it's going to change my students learning. And if it does, I'm all it. But you have to show me examples. Like in show me why this is going to work, how it's going to work, and then I'm going to do it. And they're independent. And here's a really funny antidote. I think about this independence. So baby boomers don't have so much of an independence because that's an age group that had you know, that there they were defining the historical concept of growing up like post world war two posts, Korea, but there was still an age range when like dad was the one who was going off to work and mom was staying home. Our Gen Xers were really the first generation where mom went into the workforce full time. And so these are latchkey kids, like they're the kids of the 70s and the 80s. And it was mom and dad both went to work. Both worked 40 hour work weeks. They were you know, they're working hard, and it was like we're gonna I'll leave you at home all summer long go out on your bike ride around come home when it gets dark for dinner, you know, and so they were on their own. Like, that's where this independence comes from. Like, this is the first generation of like, kids, it was really like thriving, like independently in the 80s in the 90s, when like, life was good, and you didn't worry about the creeper down the street, because he didn't have Facebook to show how creepy was right. So like, you have, like sad but true. Right? So, so they want, what we're looking at with Gen Xers is like, giving them the experience of why this is going to help them. And like showing them concrete examples. I often treat like a Gen X or with like, Hey, here's a challenge that I want you to do with this technology. And I'm not going to hover behind you while you do it. Because that weirds you out that makes you nervous. I'm standing there, I'm pointing at your screen. I'm usually not doing that I'm around so they can help. They they can ask for help if they need it. But I'm not going to be hovering, like unless they directly asked me a question versus a baby boomer where I might like stand there and actually, like help them and I might actually like move their mouse for them to show where it's at. Like, I'm not going to so much do that with a Gen X or because they're they're thriving more on that independence Street, right. So being close by to them I think is super important versus like a baby boomer where I might be more like up with them one on one. Gen Xers I'm gonna encourage a nice, like community of like, ask questions like be vulnerable, like go out on a limb. And then I got to show them examples of why this is going to work. You know. And that's I think really important as coaches is providing those like, Hey, this is a Google slides that this history teacher did at this school right here. See how cool this is? See all the learnings changed here. Here's how you can use mo here's how they're using Flipgrid here's how they're using Book Creator like you know, and that's why they're doing that's why they're good at so. So yeah, so Gen Xers are definitely the interesting group. These are our responses. Like these are the ones that are like, if this thing doesn't work, I'm throwing it out the window. Computer I'm unplugging from an awkward in the dumpster like this thing's garbage.

Katie Ritter: 27:08

Every listener good visual. Yeah, exactly. Right. They now have their teachers base on top of Ron

Ben Sondgeroth: 27:15

Ron Swanson to a tee. Yep.

Katie Ritter: 27:19

So what about millennials?

Ben Sondgeroth: 27:21

Yeah, so our millennial group, this is me. This is 24 to 42? Not 42. Mark, weird 4140 3940 4142.

Katie Ritter: 27:32

This is depending on if you're claiming in that upper echelon of the generational tear. Yeah.

Ben Sondgeroth: 27:39

I hate to say it, but like, it is more than millennials. And even if like there's a lot of luck, there's a lot of like leniency in these age groups. Like I could definitely see some 40 year olds falling into Gen X for sure. Like, like I said, it's all over the place. But Millennials are the interesting group here like I'm one of them. So like, I feel this, I live this every day, it's actually been eye opening to kind of like research some of this stuff and be like, oh, yeah, that's why I tick like, you know, that's why I respond to something like that, like, it makes sense. And one of the things I think is important with millennials, when you're dealing with them, especially if you're a Gen X or if you're a Gen X coach, and you're working with millennials is that you have to understand that just because a millennial is sitting there, like they get done with something really fast, and they whip out their phone. It's not because they're more than likely they're not paying attention. It's not like oh, I'm not paying attention. I'm on my phone. It's like they're able to just do stuff faster. They might not know it beforehand. But they're getting stuff done quicker. And then they don't care if they get their phone out. And they're like scrolling Twitter or Instagram. It's not that they've checked out. It's just that they're done. And they're like, Yeah, I'm done. I got my challenge completed. You gave me a task. I did it. So I'm just gonna wait for the next one. And there's a little bit of different discrepancy between baby boomers, how baby boomers, and Gen Xers feel that because like the baby boomers were like, on a clock, we're gonna punch the clock from 7am to 5pm. Gen Xers are like, I'm gonna get this done, boom, boom, boom, and millennials are like, you gotta tell me what to do. And I'll do it. And then when I'm done with it, I'm just gonna be like, Yeah, I'm done. So now what, and they're very independent in that way. But it's a different type of independence than a Gen X. And the other thing that comes with a millennial is you have to, like challenge them, give them a problem to solve it. And then you have to make sure you give them feedback on that. So like when they're sitting there on their phone, and you don't go up to them, engage with them, and ask them like, Hey, did you like as a coach, like, you present a challenge in a workshop like, Hey, do this, and then you don't follow up with them. They're gonna be like, they might not ever go back to it because they never got any feedback. Like, they like I appreciate feedback. Like when I do something, I want somebody to pump my tires, or tell me what I did wrong. Like positive feedback means a lot to millennials. being valued means a lot to millennials, including them in teams, with older people, like older Gen interations means a lot to millennial like having a voice I think for our generation, or my generation like really means a lot. You see that a lot like in recent events like you when you look at like people that are, you know, out there voicing their opinions and protesting and standing up for stuff like, a lot of it's the millennial age group, because like, we feel going collective we hear from millennials, like we need to exploit feel our voice needs to be heard. Because our some of the older generations didn't have their voice be heard, you know, or wasn't heard. And so that's why like, the baby boomers tend to shut down, right, like, or whatever, like, so. It's one of those like that feedback, like give them constructive feedback, give them positive feedback, let them know how they're doing, because otherwise, they're gonna sit there maybe spin, especially when it comes to tech. Now, here's the big thing, like we're talking about technology and supporting Millennials versus like Gen Xers and baby boomers. And the reason why millennials tend to maybe be better with technology. It's not because like, part of it is like we grew up with it, like totally. But the other part of it is, and I'm on the edge of this, and I don't know Justin, Katie, how old you guys are, but like, I'm right on the edge of this in my mid 30s. Of having like I have, but like people that are like five to 10 years younger than me, I don't have as much. But I have this extreme amount of scar tissue from Microsoft tools. And like, this is

Katie Ritter: 31:22

like, I'm not sure Justin is but I for sure am.

Ben Sondgeroth: 31:26

Yes, like we have this like complete scar tissue that has been built up from Microsoft tools and not saving something or the computer crash or the printer.

Katie Ritter: 31:36

Do you remember a time when there was not an autosave? There was no autosave.

Ben Sondgeroth: 31:40

So like Baby Boomers and Gen Xers, and then us millennials that are in our mid 30s and above, were the reason why sometimes these groups are hesitant to use and try technology and to click a button. It's because we've all been burned by the button not working. And then we broke it. And then now it's like, what do we do now? Like we just lost our entire research paper that was due and 20 minutes of school, right? So it's bad. Like, that's really bad. And that's hard to like chip through. And I think that's what a lot of like Baby Boomers and Gen Xers have have, I'm not even going to try and click something because it might break it versus a younger millennial, or a Gen Z. Or it's like, I don't care, it's Google, it saved it, I'll be able to get it back. Like, whatever. I'm just gonna click around and figure it out. So it's not that they are better at it than anybody else. It's just, they're they're a little more fearless in that.

Katie Ritter: 32:34

Yeah, and I think that's so important. I mean, Brooke shared that that like specific nugget with our team. And it was like, you could just kind of like look around the room. And it was like everyone was like the little Brain exploding emoji. And it just made so much sense. Because in the past, I've said, like, you know, a response that I have like to coaches sometimes or even teachers is like, it's not that you're good or bad with technology. It's just like, the coaches aren't afraid to click and try typically speaking, right? So when like, I thought that was like comforting, in some ways, and then hearing your take on maybe why that is it just made so much sense. Like, of course, there's like some PTSD there of like, no, like, is it okay to click like, I can't tell you how many teachers or educators have asked, like, can I click this and they want to like double check that they're clicking the right thing. I'm like, yeah, just go ahead. And I like I wasn't understanding it. And your take on why, with that perspective, again, like the context, and that doesn't mean every single person in that generation is that way. But when they are behaving that way, it just like, it made me have this entirely new frame in my mind of just like empathy and how to approach someone being afraid to just click the button, right? Because they've lost everything before we

Ben Sondgeroth: 33:50

all lost. Yeah. And it's the worst feeling in the work to know that what you work on so hard is just, you know, I've lost I lost so many pictures when my laptop and from college died. Some of them are really good that they are gone. Here. Yeah. But I lost like a bunch of them though. And I'm like, I like long for some of those memories that I just don't have anymore. But now like, there's Google Photos now. Like, literally everything is backed up if you have Google photos on your phone. So like, I'm never gonna lose a picture of my son. Unless I somehow like lose access to my Google account. Like I'm gonna have them all and that's unbelievable. Compared to where we were 1015 years ago there was like, you know, if you didn't have an external hard drive that was you know, 100 gig you were not saving your pictures like they were just would be gone if your computer crashed, you know? So yeah, it's just that's that's that's the antidote was like working with a millennial of why they might get stuff done faster. It's because they have no hesitancy and quicken and you know, like they have a real open mind and then this is the one thing that is tough for some Have the older generation understand to is one of things when millennials is they're not tied to their place of business or their place of work or their school like, they, if they don't feel valued, they're gone. Like they're gonna go get another job somewhere. And I think that's a real problem in education right now where like teachers are leaving, millennial teachers especially are leaving the field because they're not vested maybe in their pension, and they're just like, you know, what, I'm only a couple of years in five years in, I don't have that much saved in retirement anyways, I'm gonna make double, you want something over here for this company. He's, I'm out like this. That's it, like, I don't care. And whereas like, some of those teachers that are Gen Xers and baby Morris put up with the same stuff that they stayed, because that's what they're supposed to do. Like, if you went to another school, you would start back over on the pay scale, and you wouldn't get your years and they didn't want to hire you because you had a master's degree, like, we've all heard those like things, right? And it's like, don't get your Masters until you're four years in and you have tenure, because you're too expensive, and they'll refuse, you know, it's like, alright, well, I'm gonna go somewhere else that pays me more than

Katie Ritter: 36:02

Yeah, then I'm so glad that you brought that point up. Because when Ben was sharing this, as someone who is like, the leader of a team, two things keep me up at night. And that is the retention of our customers that we serve, and the retention of the people on my team. And so I think that it was interesting to hear how you got started, and it was presenting this to a business right, you know, from a business perspective, because I think, you know, for any, you know, our our primary audience is coaches. But for any leaders, education leaders that are listening to this episode, I think that this is so important to also hear these key nuggets that you are gifting us with this information from a retention perspective, because, you know, I this was something that I actually asked Brooke, when she was sharing, you know, I asked if you had talked about this because I remember myself, I you know, my mom is in that baby boomer right where she was like, loyal, started working 18 years old, worked, worked, worked. And then when I was in, I think it was when I was a sophomore in high school, she lost her job because they were having to you know, whenever whenever the recession was, she lost her job because they had to cut costs. She had been loyal, she had worked there for over 20 years. And I saw it like rip her apart for a while because it was nothing she did. It was just like an unlock of the drawl, right. So I immediately had the sense of companies aren't loyal to you, why should you be loyal to them? You know, until I have very much if I don't feel valued, if I don't feel like I'm like getting an opportunity to grow. Like, that's when I look for another job. And so I totally hear that. So I hope that our education leaders are, obviously our coaches can take so much out of this and how we approach and empathize and work with our teachers. But I hope our leaders can understand some of this and how we have got to rethink the system and how we are pouring into all of our educators regardless of your position, so that you are feeling valued. Because, you know, I know in some of my own research on retention, Gen Z coming up, right after millennials, it's going to be even worse, for worse, better, however, we want to look at it, it's yeah, it's gonna be even more prominent for them to feel valued to feel like they have flexibility to feel like they have experiences and people are for a good cause. So it's just gonna be amplified even more.

Ben Sondgeroth: 38:23

And I think coaches play a huge role in this too, with like partnering with the administration to make sure that that's happening, but also, like you, as a coach are one of those valued components to support teachers that a district can provide to retain them. Hey, you know, the refrain is like, I'm going to leave because I'm not supported. And that's one of the things like millennials, like if we're not supported, we're gone. But a coach can be there to support so if you're a coach, and you understand how these millennials are ticking, and you can be the one to support them, and you can make your stuff fun and your your sessions fun and your your engagement fun. Like that helps, that all drives the climate that like serves this drink that keeps people around, you know, and in you can be that support that an admin maybe isn't providing, like, if they feel unsupported by an admin, you can maybe fill that void to like help with them and keep them retain so. So I think coaches play a big part of that middle ground, you know, to help in that in that world. And, yeah, because Millennials were fickle, fickle bunch.

Katie Ritter: 39:29

Then I love that so much. And I think that's maybe kind of the perfect time for us to take a quick break here to hear from our sponsors. We'll be right back to hear about some stories, some personal stories up in his head and of course, stick around to the very end to hear his top tips for coaches.

Justin Thomas: 39:48

Instructional Coaches support teachers, students, administrators, and really everyone in the district. In fact, research shows instructional coaching is one of the most impactful forms of professional development that results in improved of teacher instruction and student achievement. But who is supporting the coach Ford Edge provides multiple year long mentorship options recommended by the Google for Education certified coach program. To help you gain the valued support you need as an instructional coach, visit Ford hyphen edge dotnet to start giving PD to the ultimate PD providers looking for a program that reaches all teachers in learning new tools to integrate in their lessons, and you badges is the answer and she was in anytime anywhere badging program that is designed to take bite sized tools for instruction and teach teachers how to use them as she has received the SDC of alignment for Educator Standards. And each patch in our expanding library is aligned to the ISTE standards and the Samer model. Learn more about the program that teachers call addicting and for hyphen edge dotnet backslash and you badges Welcome back to the restart recharge podcast, Justin Thomas, Katie Ritter, we have been assigned girthier joining us talking about coaching across the generations. And then you've given us some really enlightening information on kind of those age range. They're, you know, they're very, you know, kind of blended, but that's okay. On how to look at supporting traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Gen Xers millennials, and then the up and coming Gen Z years. But is there any personal experiences or stories that you'd be willing to share on these generational dynamics that have played a role in your time as a coach that maybe are kind of interesting or fun?

Unknown: 41:33

Pick a story.

Ben Sondgeroth: 41:36

I mean, there's there's a couple you know, there's, there's good and bad, you know, like there's, there's obviously good and bad out there and good and frustrating maybe more as the word. I'll tell a funny, frustrating one that like really just stood out, like, so I was doing this workshop down, and Brooke might have realized this one, because this was like, just unbelievable. So like I wear an Apple Watch. You know, I'm an Apple guy through and through. I got done with this workshop I had it was a Google level one certification workshop. So we were prepping teachers to take the certification test. And there was, like, 28 people in the workshop, I always like to keep my workshops, usually to 25, especially that one, because it's pretty intense. The lady kept saying, Hey, can we add one more? Can we add one more? Hey, can we have more? And finally, like 20, we're done. Take it anymore. You know, I've been there. More than you know. Yeah. In this group was absolutely the most challenging group I've ever had in any workshop. In the seven years I've been doing this. I was in a conference room that was fairly big, but not super big. Like it was just a nice sized room two per table three per table to fit 30 People in roughly right. And I got done with the day and I had walked seven and a half miles around that room. Because that's how needy this group was. There were 15 teachers from one school that their administrator made them go to it was telling them they had to be certified. And it was the day after they got out of school,

Unknown: 43:08

that they were super.

Ben Sondgeroth: 43:11

They were just so pumped to be their mindset was not good. Like, and I was trying every trick in the book to get them to view like engaged and it just wasn't working like at 1.1 of the I think she was a Gen X or I know she was actually so this is there's like two stories from this workshop that stand out. So this is a Gen X or one we'll start and then we'll shift shift to a baby boomer. I'm telling like when I do these Google ones, I tried to put little antidotes and like oh, hey, you can do this in Chrome like along with this thing. But it's not on the test. But like it's just a helpful thing that you can do. So I showed a couple of these. And I'm showing one and this lady talking about independence, speaking their mind, Gen Xers. She raises her hand in the back of the room, and I said yeah, so what do you what do you got from? She goes, Is this going to be on the test? I said, Well, no, but it's a cool thing to do. Good thing. I'll help you. She was let's move on then. Did you did you tell me to move on in my own workshop?

Unknown: 44:14

Very strong. I was like, What the heck just happened? Like Did she just tell me like, well, it's not a test move on. And I'm like, Whoa, like, you know, so it was like that she didn't see the value. And so she was ready to get going. He was not a part of the test. The Y was not there for her. So she was ready to go. And I'm like, I was like flabbergasted like I was like, Oh my God. She was sitting right next to a baby boomer same school who are not getting I think I went behind her and talked her out of the seven miles I walked I walked for them just to give that to her because she was just hanging up constantly throughout the entire day, just hand up and up, hand up. And we're doing a Google Sheets challenge. And they had to like it was just like a sword range or conditional format. I can't remember but like or no was Insert Chart, that's what it was insert chart. So she raised her hand. She's like, I don't know where it's at. And I'm like, okay, so I go back behind her, I'm standing there. I'm like, Go to Insert. And she, like, takes her mouse on her Chromebook, and like, goes up to the menu bar, and then just like, just keep going. I don't see it. See it? She was literally circling, like the word insert, like with her mouse, and was generally like, I don't know, where inserts that I can't find it. I can't find it. I can't find it. And I'm like, it's right. I just want to be like, it's circling it. I'm like, right there. Just right there. Right there, right there. And then my head, I'm like, What are you doing? It says, insert Can you read and like, but I'm on the outside. I'm like,

Katie Ritter: 45:46

what are those silent screaming moments? I call it? You know,

Ben Sondgeroth: 45:49

and then. Yes, exactly. Then she finally like she was oh, there it is. And she clicks on it. And I'm like, Okay, we're done. She's like, I don't see where charts at. And I'm like, Oh my god. You gotta be kidding me. I'm like, it's like, just definitely down. Like, it's right there. She's like, I don't see it. And we started all over again, she started like circling the Insert menu. I'm like, just just read, but like, she was like, had that mindset of, I don't know what I'm doing. I am going to be basically like, I am this baby boomer dumb technology user, like self proclaimed like self anointed. So you have to take and show me everything. And so that's a lot easier in a coaching one on one situation to be able to have that patience and like that in a bigger group when you have 27 other people that also need your attention. So more frustrating to deal with. And but like, you know, they don't see those things like they don't like I shared a Google site with my dad that I had made. And he shared it with his staff. And like one of the things was like, click on the click this to learn about this thing. It was a picture. And he had baby boomers on staff that like, couldn't figure out where to click. Because they have grown up with web 1.0. There was like, just text. Yeah. And then a hyperlink has to be blue. And underlined. A picture is not something you click on. Like, they don't get that like or they didn't like now it's more prevalent. But like when I was doing this, like five, six years ago, like when the story happened, like they didn't know, they're like, What do we click on? What do you mean? Are we gonna click on a picture? No, you just click on the picture, you know, like so. So those are two like ones from that day that I ended up like, I got a text from the lady who was organizing it, like in the middle of the workshop. She's like, now I see why you only wanted 25 people in here. I'm like, I know. I know what I'm talking about. But then, like, you know, you have like good stories to you know, you have the teachers that just like resonate, you have the millennials that, you know, like, I use that, like get on their phone thing. Like I was doing another because I just did another certification workshop. I don't know why these stand out. But like, there's this this gal and she was younger, she's a little younger than I am. And I'll give him a challenge. She gets done. And I'm like, you know, like, she's on her phone. And I'm like, okay, weird. And then like, I walked by like, Oh, she's done, though. Then I give another chance. My next thing she's back on her phone, like flipping around. I'm kind of like getting a little annoyed because I'm like, hey, you know, like, what are you doing here? You know, and then we got done. She's like, No, I'm just like, Thanks. That was awesome. Like, I had a really great time. I can't wait to go take the test. And Pat, I think when it passed, and she emailed me, like two days later, she's like, Hey, I passed the test. Thanks so much. That was a great workshop. I'm like, Oh, she was engaged. Yeah. Like, you know, so, you know, there's just little things like that little tidbits that like, kind of make your day, you know, like, you gotta laugh at them. You know, you gotta you gotta get home, maybe have a cocktail, and then laugh about it and tell the story on a podcast. laugh with you, hopefully. But, yeah, the one about the circling of the insert thing. I'll never get over that. Like, I couldn't believe it. I mean, she circled it seven times. Right there. Yeah, so it's good stuff. You know, it's one of the things you gotta have empathy.

Katie Ritter: 48:51

Yeah. Like background knowledge of like, you know, maybe where she's coming from and everything, I'm sure like, in the moment, right? We're all human. Like, of course, we that's why I say I call it silent screaming, because it's like you're screaming in your head. And you're like smiling and nodding on the outside and being very patient on the outside. But, you know, we all have those moments. But um, I think that's, you know, that's helpful to know, as a coach to keep in mind for the next time you're in that situation, right, that maybe there's some other things at play that like we have taken for granted because of our background, or our generation and things that have have structured and impacted us. But I think those stories that you shared, Ben kind of play in to our last question that we have for you. And then of course, if there's anything that you want to share that maybe we didn't like specifically asked, feel free, but we end every episode of the podcast with like, quick top three tips. So Justin has clever names for them. But the question has landed on me this time, so I don't have to intentionally. So what are your top three tips for other coaches? From all of this knowledge that you have that we can take? I'm back to help improve our coaching practice. When we are working with educators across all generations,

Ben Sondgeroth: 50:08

I think a lot of it has to do we'll start with like, the biggest one, I just kind of said it was like that having empathy for their background in like, how they were raised, where they're coming from, why they are the way that they are. And it's, that's, you know, it's not a stereotype, but like, just understanding that, like, that independence, that when they get kind of snippy with you isn't, like, maybe not malicious, but like, that's just that, like, that's their, like, that's their thing. That's how that generation works. Like, so like, have empathy for understanding, like the independence part of that and, and things like that, you know, so, so the empathy part is huge. I mean, that's just being a good person in general, you know, like, and being, you know, there. I go to for like, a strategy across all generations. So for my second tip is just constantly providing positive feedback. I think that resonates with every generation. It's just like, that positive affirmation, that positive feedback, you know, I think is so helpful, like, it makes people feel good. And that's what we're all about, right? Like making people feel good, even if it's the most mundane task that they completed. You know, one of the one of the principles I use sometimes when I asked teachers in a coaching session or workshop is I use a visible thinking routine of praise, question polish. And so it's like, do something like, I want you to tell me something that you did that was good, like, praise yourself, because teachers often don't do that. Tell me something that you need to, like, what's a question that you have? And then what's something you can polish and get better at? So it's not a negative thing? Like, you know, like, what's something you did wrong? It's like, no, what could you get better at like, what could you polish up? But the praise part of that, I think, is something we can do too, is like, you know, I say, hey, share something you did with technology. I don't care if it's a win that you share to Google Dr. Google Classroom. That's like the one of the more simplest tasks it's out there. But like you did it. So good job, share that, you know, that's important. Or you recorded a podcast with your students like that's awesome to two very different levels of the Samer spectrum. But like equally as important to baby boomer as it might be to a millennial, right. So that positive feedback, I think is really important. And then the last one, I think as far as like coaching across all generations, stuff that spans all that is having a personality that is relatable and approachable, for everyone to feel like they can come to you. I think that's so important when you're coaching too. And like, again, some of these things may seem like, yeah, of course, like check the box on all that stuff. That's called being a good human is what it all comes back to. But like, honestly, like, as another little antidote of what happened, like after my presentation, FTTC I had a gal come up, she was a coach. And she's like, I made a comment. And I didn't get to it here with the millennials thing. But like I said, like, in my session, I said, you know, millennials, like we have feelings. We like to express those feelings. And when people are mean to us, we like we don't like that. And we will show that we are sad, or like when people are positive with us, then we are happy. And we will show it we're a Gen X or baby boomer my bottle that up and like, you know, they get angry, and they're in the inside. And they're complaining in the teachers lounge. But as soon as the door opens, like, they're silent, and they don't express that there's a millennial might be mopey, or something like that. It's like, it's not a bad thing. But like, you have to understand that that's a thing that's happening. And I think that comes back to like being relatable, being approachable. You understanding as a person, to the people that you're coaching, right and like understanding that millennials do have feelings. You know, like everybody has feelings, but like if you tell them something that's not positive and they get sad that a positive like away like that's like their and I'm going to also like push the blame on to the baby boomers for that because you guys are the ones that gave us growing up freaking Barney, and I love you. You love me. We're one big happy family. So what do you expect? Like our TV was telling us to be happy all the time and to have feelings so that's on you baby boomers, so you can't be mad when millennials have feelings? Because the TV that you guys all created? told us that feelings so so here's my thing on that too. But yeah, those would be my top three tips with you know, just compassion in general to kind of sum it all up like

Katie Ritter: 54:24

good human tip like you said, yes.

Ben Sondgeroth: 54:27

Good human. I think I always like really back to that was like, Was I a good human today? I hope so. You know, like that's, that's that's like what I always get back to like, just be a good human. I don't know. They don't do optimistic sometimes. But that's the millennial and right.

Justin Thomas: 54:42

Well, Ben, do you have a social media account that you'd be willing to share in case any of the followers on the our podcasts like to follow you as well? Yeah, sure.

Ben Sondgeroth: 54:50

So it's at Mr. Underscore song Groth s o n D, G, E R O th On Twitter, I tweet. I try to tweet about educational stuff. I'm more sometimes tweet about sports stuff. I'm a super passionate sports fan.

Katie Ritter: 55:11

are on our team. right up your alley.

Ben Sondgeroth: 55:15

Yeah, there's a lot of University of Illinois tweets right now with our basketball team rollin. I was at the game last night, we won the big 10 Regular Season championships on the court. I am very tired today, because I didn't get home till one o'clock in the morning, but I'm here recording the pot. So

Justin Thomas: 55:30

thanks for joining us. Yeah, well, I had to come to work in

Katie Ritter: 55:35

any other ways that listeners can get a hold of you then if Twitter is not the best way? What is a good one?

Ben Sondgeroth: 55:39

I mean, I'm there all the time. You can. You can also like you want to follow more of like what Ben's doing social like life wise. Like I love posts on Instagram, probably too much like, I'm a millennial. So like, I like Instagram, right? That's just been dots on growth on Instagram. But that's more like if you like golf, I do a lot of that. So I take a lot of golf course pictures. And then my of my family to like we're always doing stuff, fun stuff, like having fun and posting things and going places and traveling and stuff like that. But that's more definitely social stuff. There's no educational content that gets shared on that at all. But Twitter more so you can DM me on there, you can reach out to me on there. You can you can email me if you want is the song graph at LTC illinois.org. That's kind of hard to find. But I'm actually like fairly Google Mobile, which is weird to say like, there's not a ton of Ben sandgrouse out there, which is kind of nice.

Justin Thomas: 56:31

There's a lot of Justin Thomas's Yeah. You can find

Katie Ritter: 56:37

me. Yeah, I'll link all of that in our show notes too, to make sure that listeners find it. So restart recharge. podcast.com

Justin Thomas: 56:44

Yeah. Are you any conferences coming up? Just real quick.

Ben Sondgeroth: 56:48

You know, this summer, my wife is due, as I said, May 16, the baby is coming. 8am may 16. So that is putting an unfortunate fortunate pause on my summer conference season like not going to be an SD because the big boy the five weeks old and I wanted to be like, Hey, babe, I'm going into New Orleans for five days. I see you later with a five week old but didn't think that would probably fly. So the marriage that if you have listeners in Illinois, though, we're doing a an awesome event for the LTC called ed tech. Next. It's going to be in Galena, Illinois, which is an amazing town in Northwest Illinois, is going to be an eagle Ridge Resort and Spa for two days of unbelievable learning. Just in the mornings, though, because it's summertime is August first and second. Eight o'clock to noon, both days but the afternoon on Monday, you get to actually partake in any of the resort activities. That's part of your conference registration so you can choose to go horseback riding ziplining can play golf on their golf course. Or you can take a shuttle to downtown. A lot of teachers did that last year, and then they hit up wineries that were downtown Galena, which I was cool. And then we have a dinner that night on the patio that overlooks Lake Galena, and then you get to come on at 8am The next morning and do four more hours learning and then you're turned loose for the day and it's only 150 bucks. And it's all included in all that. Wow. Yeah, so you guys should come to Illinois for yeah yeah, it's pretty cool.

Katie Ritter: 58:24

If the awesome two days you had me at the wineries? Yeah.

Unknown: 58:31

Dinner like a lot of people were a little buzzed up when they got I endorsed it. That's fine. That's what the shuttles for

Ben Sondgeroth: 58:40

Yeah, so that's gonna be really fun event. So if there's any Illinois teachers out there, look up the LTC. The eye tech next informations on there for him. So yeah, light summer as far as events go because of newborn babies on Earth coming soon. So. Yeah, yeah. All the big ones next year, though, if etc. I'll probably be back at SC 2023. You know, and all the Illinois conferences I tried to go to so.

Katie Ritter: 59:07

Yeah. Well, we'll look forward to hopefully meeting you in person. Thank you so much for coming on the show today. This was I feel like I could talk about this with you for hours. It's just incredibly fascinating. So thanks for the work that you've done to put into it. And thank you more importantly, for being so willing to share it with others so we can learn and benefit from your

Ben Sondgeroth: 59:25

work. Yeah, I'm always happy to talk and share about anything. So you know, feel free to use anytime you want a guest. I'm happy to come on. As you notice. I like to talk so I'm talking about coaching and technology and all that stuff is right up my wheelhouse. So happy to be on thank you guys for having me.

Unknown: 59:42

Yeah. Thanks. Have a good one. All right. Thanks, guys. Awesome. So

Justin Thomas: 59:45

this was a really great session. Just a reminder that we do have our coaches camp coming up. We're talking about you know, some of the things and what's all happening. So we have a coach's camp coming up two opportunities. One is going to be in New Orleans before st and the other will be in here. and Cincinnati so make sure that you get registered for that. And you can use the promo code our our podcast in all caps that gets you $50 off for your registration. And then make sure you tune in for our next episode on April 26. We're going to have Jill Dubois and Anna Marie Reinhart joining us. And they're gonna be discussing how you can create positive moments of joy in our schools and just in life in general. So that should be a really good episode coming your way as well. Next in two weeks,

Katie Ritter: 1:00:28

yeah, and hopefully everyone will be able to use a little, a little joy during testing season so hopefully it lands time. So be sure to subscribe to restart recharge wherever you listen to podcast and follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at our our coach cast, and also

Justin Thomas: 1:00:46

feel free to reach out and let us know what topics you want us to discuss on social media.

Katie Ritter: 1:00:51

So press the restart button,

Justin Thomas: 1:00:53

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Katie Ritter: 1:01:00

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