Middle School Life
Welcome to Middle School Life, where innovation meets education! Join us as we explore the latest trends, share inspiring ideas, and discuss strategies to create an enriching middle school experience for all.
In each episode, your hosts, Assistant Principal Victoria Hammond and middle school teacher Dr. Jennifer Erdmann, will bring their wealth of knowledge and passion for education to the forefront.
Middle School Life
Vital Connections: Self-Care and Building Powerful Relationships
Welcome to Middle School Life, a heartfelt conversation between educators seeking to build a positive learning environment for students. I, Assistant Principal Victoria Hammond, along with my co-host, Middle School teacher Dr. Jennifer Erdmann, share our unique perspectives derived from various backgrounds and roles in education. Excited? So are we! This episode kicks off our discussion on significant topics.
Ever wondered how self-care links with effective teaching? We shed light on this vital connection, unraveling how prioritizing personal well-being can prevent teacher burnout and enhance performance. We also stress the importance of celebrating past victories and nurturing student relationships beyond academics. Sounds intriguing? Brace yourselves for more insightful discussions ahead.
Strengthening communication between teachers and administrators takes center stage in our conversation. As leaders, we discuss how to bridge knowledge and experience gaps and navigate challenging conversations with curiosity, not judgment. We further touch upon strategies to foster open, respectful communication, highlighting its role in building a better environment for educators and students. Let's embark on this enlightening journey together, shall we? Let Middle School Life guide you towards educational excellence.
Welcome to Middle School Life, the podcast where teachers and administrators can exchange ideas and learn from one another. Your hosts, Assistant Principal Victoria Hammond and Middle School teacher Dr Jennifer Erdmann, helped to bridge the gap between educators and administrators, discussing ways to create a more productive, efficient and welcoming environment. Join us as we work to inspire change in middle school education. Let's get started.
Speaker 2:All right, welcome to our first episode on Middle School Life, the podcast. We are so excited. All of you guys are joining us today and before we dive into our first episode, I really want to take the time, with Erdman, to explain to you guys how this podcast came to be and why we felt so compelled to take this dream of ours really and turn it into a reality. So it was about a year ago, it might even be a little bit more than that, but somewhere in that realm we were having a conversation and I feel like Erdman and I have some great conversations. Some of them we see eye to eye, some of them we have a little bit of differing perspectives. But when we started talking and we're sharing these ideas, we just really were like we can't be the only people that have these questions and there has to be more people out there who want more answers, who want to collaborate to really transform middle schools into the best environment for kids so that they can be all that they're made to be. And one of the main points of our conversation was that middle school itself is just one of the most transformative years and it's where those students truly decide whether they want to continue on an education where they really build trust for adults, where they really start forming opinions about education in general and how they want to move forward with their lives. And we were just having conversations about it and we're like, well, how do we, how do we get more voices involved? How do we collaborate with others, not just in our county, not just in our realm, but with people from all over the world and really start diving into? How can we make the largest impact? And so it really just started as a dream, on the back of a pool deck to have an abnormal conversation and we really just wanted to make a difference on an even larger scale, but also to just have those conversations. And we're like, you know, maybe and hey, we'll find out soon this is our first episode Maybe nobody wants to hear our thoughts. It's possibility.
Speaker 2:But you know, we got to try, but we have to try. And so we took this idea and I really want to just say a huge thanks to Erdman, because I have lots of ideas and she has lots of ideas but we, we decided that this was something we really wanted to do, and I really feel like Erdman went through the, the, the logistics of it and found out a way to make it happen. And so here we are, and Erdman, like, what do you have to add to that from your perspective?
Speaker 3:Well, I remember the conversation and I said you know, someday I'd like to do a podcast or something. You're like, oh, we should do one together. And it started from there. But it took us a while to figure out, to basically rein it in and figure out what what this is going to look like, and we had different versions of this until maybe four or five months ago. It was. It would be nice if we could talk about these topics from our perspective Me being a teacher, you being an administrator, and that's something that I think is important and it just kind of became that launching point from there. We do have a lot of differing opinions, but, again, we've talked about this podcast from the teacher perspective, from administrator perspective, but we're also different ages.
Speaker 2:True.
Speaker 3:I'm a little older.
Speaker 2:Just barely.
Speaker 3:Barely, barely. I'm just a baby. We used to teach together in the same school and we're no longer in the same school, sadly, but I remain in a Title I setting. Tori is no longer in Title I, so we're going to have that difference to talk about as well. So our experiences, our age, our job roles, they all come into play with this. We're really excited. I mean we might just have our parents listening. But hi, mom, also Tori, as you might well imagine if you don't know her personally, she is very extroverted. I am not. We're complete night and day personalities, great friends, best of friends. So this is it should be fun. We'll see.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. I think that, as you'll hear in our intro and I know we're not going to mention it a lot but I do know that Dr Erdman worked very hard at getting her doctorate degree and she doesn't want to brag about it. But I feel like I just have to take a second to, because I feel like she really cares and she works super hard to find the research and the data behind it and I feel like that's another piece where we balance each other out. I mean, I love data and I can dive into data all day, but she can take ideas and turn them into reality and she really has done that with this podcast and I'm just super grateful for her because I really truly on my bucket list was do a podcast. But there's also a hundred other things you know in life going on when you have families and you have this. So I know for a fact that if it would not have been for her dedication and her working super hard, that this dream would still be a dream today.
Speaker 3:Now I don't know about that, but thank you for that. But what I say for you is again, it's this balance, because I don't put myself out there a whole lot. This is huge. I mean, you're you're, this is how you know we met. Was you doing some ridiculous thing at work and I'm like who is this? And anyways, that can come in a later episode, but I'm not good at putting myself out there, so you bring that part out of me. So I'm glad that you've given me that confidence to do this and hopefully we'll have a few listeners.
Speaker 2:I mean I think we should at least get 10. Like, if we get 10 listens on episode one, I feel like that will be a little bit of a success. Okay, and I mean that's your mom, my mom my dad, your dad and my brothers.
Speaker 2:Oh, I have sisters. That's 10 right there. So if we don't have at least 10 listeners, we will find you. So now that you know a little bit about our backstory, we want to jump right into our first episode of middle school life, the podcast new adventures, new perspectives.
Speaker 2:And when we go into this topic, we're really just trying to look into what are some of those perspectives when it comes to running a school and being with students, and what are some of those differing perspectives of how administrators and educators might view certain things differently. So how, how would we look at different initiatives and I know everybody loves that word or what's going on around campus? What are some of those ways that we look at it differently? And then how can we also use those perspectives to compliment each other? So I also wanted to add really quick that when we create these podcasts, we come at each episode not knowing what the other person is going to say, and we did this intentionally because we wanted you to hear our genuine, authentic conversations around a topic without us being able to come in fully scripted. So while we do have notes about what are some of those main points we want to touch on, we're also coming at it, not knowing what the other person is going to bring to the table. So, without further ado, and as always, teachers first. Erdman.
Speaker 3:Teachers should always go first. So my fresh perspective this year is not necessarily a fresh perspective, but more of a reminder. I've got three main topics that I was gonna talk about today. So the first one I wanted to mention was I think teachers need to make sure that they start prioritizing themselves in their self care and I know that that often can be buzzwordy and I'm hoping to get rid of that sentiment really. But I think teachers, by definition and honestly, truly by practice, that we're givers. Our job really is service to others, but I think we often forget the service to ourselves. And I come at this from a place of experience and it really is difficult to not work all the time. Honestly, you know, as an administrator and as a teacher, your job is never done. I mean, there's always things that have to get done, an email you need to respond to, there's, you know my assistant principal is needing something, whatever that is, there's always something that is unfinished and that's hard to let it go at the end of the day.
Speaker 3:And for years, I was the type of teacher that took work home every night. I would work on weekends, always at the expense of my family, or myself, really and I wouldn't say that that practice was encouraged by administration, but it certainly wasn't discouraged, and you know I've been a teacher now for 13 years and that all the teachers around me were doing the same thing, and I thought that's what I had to do. I found myself in a constant state, though, where I was feeling perpetually like I was fighting burnout, and it would be September and I would be counting down the days until Thanksgiving, and that's no way to have a job or to do what you're supposed to be doing and do it well, and I can honestly say it didn't make me a better teacher, and in fact, I would argue that it had the opposite effect. I think it made me less effective. So I think, now that I've tried to figure out a way to give myself back my time, that I do think it's made me a better teacher, a better colleague.
Speaker 3:When I do step away for a bit, I would like to start with the reminder that we have to take care of ourselves first, and this looks different for everybody every day. It doesn't look the same for me every day. I'm a planner, so I actually have to literally write it in my planner. What am I gonna do that day? For me? So it could be walk outside, read a book, a new hobby, whatever that is. I just think that we have to do that and not feel guilty.
Speaker 3:And in fact I heard somebody at work recently that said that they feel guilty when they're not working on stuff, and I think that it's even in today's climate, it's even more important to take care of yourself. My second point that I wanted to bring for a fresh perspective is in order to have a fresh perspective this year, you need to reflect on last year.
Speaker 2:Very important.
Speaker 3:And you have to take a moment to acknowledge the victories. Look at the things that didn't go as well, but in see those as growth opportunities. You don't have to live in the negativity or live in oh my gosh, that went wrong, how am I ever gonna fix that? Don't have to live in that space. This doesn't have to be reflecting on and looking at that through the numbers only. Everything that we are driven at and everything that's coming at us is all about the data, all about the data, and I get that. But all too often our students become number points and data points, and so we need to reflect on the relationships first, and reflect on those relationships that we built in the classroom, because that is the part that matters the most. We can teach the kids and again, we do need to reflect on that data, but it's and I'm not saying it doesn't need to be at the forefront of what we do. I think it does. It needs to obviously dictate what we do and how we do it, but it can't be the only thing.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 3:And I think a lot of these kids. If they took a state assessment and they scored a level one or a level two, they identified themselves as that number and I think that's criminal.
Speaker 2:I 100% agree.
Speaker 3:So I think there's so much more to celebrate and reflect on that than just the data. So that's my second thing is reflect on it, but then use that to build your new year and your growth opportunities. Then my final point that I wanted to bring and I almost hesitate to say it because it sounds cliche, but find joy in the teaching. There was something positive that happens every day that can remind us of why we chose this career. It is so easy to get sucked in the negativity and drama and it will steal your joy faster than anything. So I catch myself being extra judgmental or negative and it's hard to avoid. But we all need to remember why we serve these students and that is because we believe in the power of building our future, and I think that that's a good way to start the year with just those three things. Again, it's a work in progress for me all the time. That's why I brought these three to the forefront for our first episode, because I know that that's what's important to me as a teacher.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, and I just feel like listening to you right now, like those three things are so vital to, to keep reminding yourself about, like you said, like those reminders, so like you can't pour from an empty cup Student stories and their lives and what they go through every day can be Unimaginable. Like you, you can't just understand and label a student based on what their you know Academic successes. Like students are so much more than that, and that practice of finding the joy mindset is everything. And I feel like, if you Find some time whether you're a planner and you need to write it down, or whether you're going to, you know just remind yourself every day mentally, if you find time to think of, like, what are three positive things that happened today, or what are three things I'm grateful for, even if it's not school related, the power of positive thinking is a thing that can make a ginormous difference in your life, and so when I come to my new perspectives, new adventures today, I come from a very similar point of view. So I really I find it very interesting that, even though we have no idea what each other is about to talk about, that we have such Similar points of view and just a little bit of back story. So I started out as a substitute teacher, then I became a science teacher, then I became a STEM coach and now I'm an assistant principal, and I feel like one of the things that changed for me over time was how the way I viewed things changed, when I understood the way things worked.
Speaker 2:And I think that one, one important role for leaders is to understand that If you've been in it for a long time or you've only been in it for a year, no matter what, when you have different teachers and you have different support facilitators and you have custodians and you have cafeteria staff, it's important to be understanding that not everybody has the same scope and sequence of knowledge that you have because of the role. So, for example, I specifically remember that when I was a teacher, I remember getting very frustrated about little things that I didn't understand, because I didn't have to view things From a whole school wide perspective. I didn't have to think about oh well, how will this impact, you know, the sixth graders, or how will this impact the eighth graders? All I was concerned about was what was going to impact me and my students in my classroom, because that was what was most important to me and my success at the time. But sometimes, when you're looking at it from a more global perspective you're looking at it from the whole school perspective it might make sense oh, the reason I'm doing this as a leader is because of X, y and Z, and if that isn't communicated to the teachers, sometimes it feels like, oh, why are they putting the testing schedule that way when that's going to impact my lunch schedule, and I remember that being very frustrating. But as my view got wider and wider, it was like, oh, it's because of this. And so I think one thing I try to focus on as a leader and a perspective I try to keep in mind is people only know what they know, and I know we all know that and we've all said it.
Speaker 2:Like you can't know what you don't know. But if you aren't communicating that, why? Or you're not checking in with your staff and making sure, hey, is everything okay? Do you have any questions about what's going on? It's hard to understand why different things are happening, and when those different things happen, I think it's super important to be curious and not judgmental, and anybody who's who has seen Ted Lasso knows they have that. You know why. Why are goldfish you know my favorite animal, that's what Ted Lasso says and he's like because they're curious and not judgmental and they have a 10 second memory. So when you only have a 10 second memory, you can restart with people, because no matter what happens in a given day, there are going to be days when even the most positive person is just not having a good day and if you come, if you come at that person on that not so good day, you might not have a good interaction. So, instead of, as soon as that negative interaction occurs, you going into more of a defensive judgmental mode, and then you go to your team leader and you're like I can't believe the way. So and so talk to me today. I don't know what their problem is. And then your team leader goes oh, they're not allowed to talk to you like that. And then they end up going to the AP and they're like hey, so and so talk to so and so, like this, and that's absolutely unacceptable. And now you have the possibility of an AP approaching a teacher about how they spoke to a staff member. Now, if this was a continuous thing, that was a toxic environment and you tried to solve it on your own and it was a continuous problem. That's a different story.
Speaker 2:But what I'm talking about today is when people come off the wrong way and it's the first time and you're not sure why, maybe give them some space for a minute, because sometimes people need some space for that. But come back to the person like. Come back, like to the person who would actually happen with, before it goes and spreads to the other places and go hey, yesterday, like we were having that conversation, I felt like you were really upset at me and you said X, y and Z, like what was going on? Or how can I prevent this from happening in the future? Or how can I help you? Because if you come to people who are even maybe not in the best space and you ask them how can I help you, even if you don't have the tools that they need to be helped, in that moment you can really make a difference and you can truly help them. Even if they just go. You know what? There isn't anything you can really help me with today. I'm just kind of off today, but like thanks for you know checking in, or thanks for caring, and so I think a lot of the times it's it's understanding that 99.9% of humans don't have a malicious intent.
Speaker 2:It's that they either have a lack of information, they don't understand everything that's going on, or they maybe are missing something, or it comes from a place of oh, I misunderstood, and it doesn't 90 times in a time. It doesn't come from a place of malice. It's not somebody going, oh, like they're out to get me. And I think that a lot of the times when you're, when you're coming into a new year and you're coming into different personalities, and it's okay not to jive with everybody. You're not going to vibe 100% with everybody, and that's okay, but it's trying to handle those situations human to human instead of spreading that around.
Speaker 2:And I think, when you look at things from a perspective of curiosity, it's always going to end up better than if you come from a place of judgment or you come from a place of, oh well, that person's just always been like that and that's who they are.
Speaker 2:So I think that's super important when we come into the new year. And, taking that a step further, I think that if you've been in education and any type of a role, you know that when you have that kid in your classroom that everybody has had like oh well, you're getting Johnny kid, you're getting Johnny and you know what Johnny is like. Really, be cautious to try and start every year with. I'm going to give Johnny a fresh start and I'm going to try my best to be who Johnny needs so that he can grow, because I also feel, at the end of the day, like their kids, we're the adults. Their actions most likely are from a place of trauma, hurt, mistrust, and when we just label them as the bad kid and we talk about them as the bad kid, they'll live up to the expectations.
Speaker 3:And I think that in order to do that, when you start a new year and you get your roster, the previous year's teachers of that student are, oh, did you get so and so in your class? And if you say you know, yes, I did. Oh, let me tell you about them. I really don't want to know about them, I want to learn them myself. So I was.
Speaker 3:I don't like to know, other than, do they have a 504 IEP? You know I'll read that. I don't want to know anything else, I want to learn them myself because you know the previous teacher might have had a horrible relationship with that child. And now that's going to be planted in my head that, oh, I'm going to have a horrible year with this kid and that's not fair, it's not fair to the student, it's not fair to me. So after probably my second year of listening to the previous year's teachers who were again no ill intent, they were trying to be helpful I stopped doing that and I changed the practice and I just would kind of go into the year fresh and in terms of discipline or whatever, I like to start each day fresh, each moment fresh with the kids and they deserve that.
Speaker 2:Correct, Because then you have that prejudice and you have that in your mind. And I actually specifically remember because when we did teach together you were in seventh and I was in eighth and I remember getting specific kids and being a new teacher and I remember coming to you and going, hey, like tell me about X, y and Z. And you specifically told me and I'll never forget this because you're one of the people who has helped mold me into who I am today you said I'm not going to tell you anything about them. I want you to decide and I want you to see you know how your first first weeks go, because you said P a they mature, they change over time.
Speaker 2:B we should start each each year fresh. And you specifically said I don't want to tell you anything that's going to change your opinion of them. It should be how you grow that relationship with them. And that was very impactful for me because until, like I said earlier, you don't know, until you know and one of my things was is I was super curious to know where those kids that were coming to me so that I could prepare. But when you put it into that mindset of no, I don't want you to know anything about them. I want you to start fresh. That was very impactful, because they all deserve that fresh start.
Speaker 3:And so it's what it's about. It's just giving them they come with enough labels.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, and they don't need an extra one on them. They have their test scores, they have their, you know, esc 504, whatever that is. It's really important that we look at every single kid as this is a kid who was put in front of me for a reason, and it's my job to help them grow academically and as human beings, because they're looking for role models. So it's so important for them to see people who are rooting for them, people who care about them and people who are going to give them that fresh start, because we don't know every kid's story from top to bottom. Even the kids you have the best relationship with has things going on in their lives that we'll never know anything about, and to give them grace and compassion every day and coming in with that fresh perspective can change their outlook.
Speaker 3:Right. This is why I think middle school matters the most, to be honest, because it is their defining moment. I really think that you know, and if you don't create that environment for them, you give them no, no hope, nothing to go into high school for. You know, if you ask some of our students, especially in title one world, what do they want? They don't even, they can't even imagine themselves graduating high school. So we have to be those people that give them that reason to continue on to high school and graduate.
Speaker 2:That is so true and I feel like you just you articulated it so well of we are part of that process, Like we're giving them that hope. They might not find hope elsewhere, but we have the opportunity to make that impact. Give them that hope, be that new perspective, give them every day as a new start, and that's how you can truly make a difference.
Speaker 3:Absolutely Best way to end it.
Speaker 2:Number one's done. Thank you so much for joining us, mom. We really appreciate you, and, to all of our other listeners, we are so grateful for you. We look so forward to having you join us and make sure you join us next week for communication and respectful discourse. That's going to be a good one.
Speaker 3:So this is just kind of a launching point. Next week is is a little bit more involved with our communication between teachers and administrators, and the best way to do that respectfully, because not every teacher has those relationships with their administrators. So I think that's why this discussion will be important. But you can always email us at info at middleschoollifecom for any show suggestions you have. We would appreciate any positive comments.
Speaker 2:We are so excited. Please share with your friends, let them know about our podcast. We will be found wherever podcasts are found under your couch, under your seat cushions, just like your spare change. So please join in. I hope all of you guys have had a good start to your new school year, or the school year you're about to begin. Stay curious, stay compassionate and keep making a positive impact In the lives of our middle schoolers.
