Taking Back Teaching: Confronting Ageism and Celebrating Experience with Tim Part 2

Viewer Discretion is advised for this episode. This episode discusses sensitive topics including child abuse and molestation. If you have experienced trauma or find these subjects upsetting, please exercise caution when listening.

This week, Tim and I challenge traditional perspectives and highlight the transformative power of effective communication and soft skills, not just in classrooms but in the corporate world, too. Our conversation also shines a light on the emotional challenges educators face, revealing a heart-wrenching, challenging-to-listen-to story. On a lighter note, relish Tim's story of an unforgettable moment involving a student with Down syndrome outshooting a pro basketball player. This episode promises to leave you inspired and moved by the powerful tales of resilience and joy within the world of education.

Chapters

• 0:11 Balancing Negativity and Positivity in Education
• 21:27 Supporting Educators Through Trauma
• 36:01 Inspiration for Educators

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:11

I really think that when we're looking at school systems, when we're doing and what we're facing, I think it's so important that school systems balance the negativity with the positive, and not only the school systems but our news broadcasts and those kinds of things.

Speaker 2: 0:56

How much I miss not knowing that we're all screwed. A few years ago, I started writing a fictitious story based on my time as an educator. It is called Taught, and the story was partially inspired out of anger and frustration fueled by burnout Okay, actually, it was more than partially inspired by anger and frustration fueled by burnout Okay, actually, it was more than partially inspired by anger and frustration. But taught has also become a vehicle for me to tell what I thought at the time and in some ways continue to think was and is the real story of teaching. I now realize that my perspective is not everyone's perspective, but there are some pieces of taught that resonated with many educators perspective. But there are some pieces of taught that resonated with many educators.

Speaker 2: 1:51

This podcast is an extension of that story and I, a former teacher, will interview other educators, asking them to share how they really feel about the current state of education. Why are so many teachers burnout? Why are so many like me, leaving the field? We likely won't solve any problems or come up with any solutions, but we can create a community of voices that maybe begin the conversation around how educators can take back teaching. I'm Melissa LaFleur. Welcome to Taught the podcast I like to be educated, but I'm so frustrated.

Speaker 2: 2:29

Viewer warning. This episode discusses sensitive topics, including child abuse and molestation. Listener, discretion is advised. If you or someone you know needs support, please use the Health Central link in the show notes. There are resources for most countries. For my US listeners, please-O-P-E. Again, that number is 1-800-656-HOPE, H-O-P-E. Please exercise caution when listening today. Don't forget this is part two of a two-part episode. If you missed part one, go to totbuzzsproutcom. What is your hope for your own future? Or maybe you've gotten something since the last time we talked?

Speaker 1: 3:36

I don't know. I have a job that I took because I need a job. Is it ideal? No, but could it. It ideal? No, but could it be, maybe. Yeah, like you know, it's promised I'm an inventory control analyst in a warehouse. I'm the very first one they've ever had and I've been there for two weeks and so I'm learning the ropes and this, that and the other thing.

Speaker 1: 4:11

I think that there is potential, but it's kind of small and those kinds of things. But ultimately, for me, when I think of my future, I get really excited because I look at the possibilities, right. Right, you know, if you achieve only a fraction of that change, we're still miles ahead of those organizations that are just making the calculated incremental change. Right, and that's where I want to be. I want to be in it. I want to be in the thick of it.

Speaker 1: 4:40

I want to be thinking about things that people say we can't be done.

Speaker 1: 4:43

I want to be doing things that people say won't happen and I want to implement positive changes for people and organizations that they belong to, because my goal is to set ourselves apart by doing the little things just a little better, with a little more clarity and with a little more conviction and it's about driving not only you further, but it's about driving your organization and driving the industry forward bit by bit, year after year.

Speaker 1: 5:22

And I think if you do that, you're going to be really I think you're going to be terribly successful. And I have to say, some of the changes that organizations need to make in my conversations with CEOs and I did a small consulting gig are actually really simple gig are actually really simple soft skills, kinds of things that you know once they're implemented and once they're really starting to be done with fidelity, make monumental changes in your organization and your productivity and your P&L continue to go in the positive direction. So for me, I get excited about what's coming up and I'm still looking for that place, but I think that I'm going to land somewhere that I'm going to be able to make a positive impact across the entire organization and, hopefully, an industry. And yeah, I'm 59, but I still got a lot of fight and drive in me to make that happen.

Speaker 2: 6:40

And a lot of experience to make it happen.

Speaker 1: 6:43

Yes, indeed indeed.

Speaker 2: 6:46

So I think you're probably going to take the corporate world by storm soon, and I'll tell you why. So I have a few friends in those areas too, and I know that there is a current model that I am hearing over and over again that's coming out in the business world. Actually, it's been there for a while, but it's one where we talk out of both sides of our mouth. On one side, we're saying we are wanting this connected relationship with everybody at every level, and on the other side of our mouth, we're saying here's the top, do as you're told down here. And even when down here gives feedback, it's no, we're making the decision, even though they're saying oh, thank you for your feedback, We'll look into that. So I think that there's a lot of this is adding to the, this kind of global thing where people are like maybe I just won't work or maybe I'll show up and I'll sit in that chair and you can pay me and I will do the minimum required.

Speaker 1: 7:55

Absolutely.

Speaker 2: 7:56

This is creating some pretty big issues, I think so. So your time is here, friend. You got to get in there and start getting them going. Okay, so this is your magic wand moment. You don't you don't get to use it for just anything either, so you only get to choose one thing.

Speaker 1: 8:17

I know you're going to kill me with this.

Speaker 2: 8:19

You would choose that you think would improve education, would choose that you think would improve education.

Speaker 1: 8:26

You're killing me with that one.

Speaker 2: 8:32

And everybody wants like three to five it seems like Absolutely absolutely.

Speaker 1: 8:38

So mine has to be the negativity right, the negativity right, and I really think that when we're looking at school systems, when we're looking at what we're doing and what we're facing, I think it's so important that school systems balance the negativity with the positive, and not only the school systems, but our news broadcasts and those kinds of things. Now, you know I do not want to and I want to be very clear with this. There are many things that are negatives and challenges that we must address. Student safety absolutely needs to be addressed. School shootings must be addressed, you know, just providing safe environments for our kids, and that means all kids. So they must be, you know, really talked about, debated and discussed.

Speaker 1: 9:59

But at the same time, there's a lot of wonderful and fantastic things that are happening in our education. You know buildings and those kinds of things, and I look at it this way In the international and private school spaces, you dollars on marketing themselves and communicating what is in their best interest. Schools do not do that, and I'm talking about your everyday building, I'm talking about your district and I'm talking about the departments of education at the state level. How many times do we hear from the Department of Education. At the state level, we hear about it. When there's a shooting in a school, we hear from somebody giving thoughts and prayers to the families.

Speaker 2: 11:16

Or budgets.

Speaker 1: 11:18

Or budgets.

Speaker 2: 11:18

State Department for budget. Yeah, Absolutely.

Speaker 1: 11:22

But what about students that are doing just absolutely phenomenal things right? What about the students that have achieved beyond what we would expect? There is not five that go above and beyond. What about those administrators that go above and beyond? And there's all these stories that never get shared. Now I think the private schools do a little better job with that. They really communicate better within their community.

Speaker 1: 12:04

International schools in our marketing we, because we're international schools, we did a little broader than that we did outside our community. So it wasn't just sending things out to our parents and then having the parents invite friends or you know that kind of thing. We actually reached out to the community as a whole and more broadly and shared some of the good things that we were doing. And you know, I just think of, like in Birmingham, the school I worked at, pembroke. We would go every fall. We would have a day called the Great Rake. The whole entire elementary school would go out and we would and the school I think it was the community service or liaison they knew in the neighborhood of elderly people that were not going to probably get their lawns raked or whatever, and then they would go with them with the Council of Aging ahead of time and say our great rake is on this day. Would you be interested in having kids come and rake your lawn for you and pick up twigs and all those kinds of things?

Speaker 1: 13:27

Well, you know, obviously this happened several years in a row, and so you know we got a following right. And next thing, you know there was a waiting list. We had a waiting list of people in the neighborhood that wanted the kids to come and rake their lawns for them. And so it was this fantastic program. Who knew about it? Nobody. Nobody ever heard about it. Our parents were ecstatic, the neighborhood around our school was ecstatic, but nobody outside the community, nobody outside that community knew about it. Birmingham City, other elementary schools never even heard of it, didn't know about it.

Speaker 1: 14:13

And this is what I'm saying is we have plenty of stories to share like that. And if we had budgets, if we had the resources to have a true marketing team, to have a true communications team, like us industry does, I think that we really could push back on the misinformation of the TIMS and PISA reports, misinformation of you know we're not doing well. You know and again, you know, part of that is what's happening. Now, going back to my original mandate of what the schools really are there for, it's free education for the masses, to provide basic academic skills, a healthy lifestyle and to prepare kids to be productive and positive citizens to be productive and positive citizens. And when we look at what's happening now with the trades, you know trades are now starting to come back in the schools because we had that era of, you know, college bound right.

Speaker 1: 15:26

Everybody had to go to college. And now you know we're seeing the error of that and we're saying you know, trades are really important and so you know. Again, it is this idea that some of these schools are doing fantastic internships. Alpena high school has, uh, an agreement with the um power company up there, alpena Power, that they will teach kids how to be linemen and starting in high school and they start working with them and they start building apprenticeships and things like that. Do you know how much a lineman makes? I have no idea. A lineman is almost it's pretty close to six figures. I mean, they're like 80, 90, $100,000. And that's a well-paying job, that's a very respectable job and you don't need a college degree.

Speaker 1: 16:33

But nobody hears about that. And there are schools across this country that are doing those kinds of things. And what we hear in the news and what we hear from schools and departments of education are about the shootings, about some of the social strife that's happening and all those kinds of things. And so I think if I could change one thing, if I had the magic wand, I would give our public schools more resources for marketing and communications so that we could really actively combat the negative news that we hear and some of the misinformation that is out there.

Speaker 2: 17:21

Because right now, that job is falling on our administrators and our PTOs, none of whom are equipped to. Nobody has time to sit down and put out all the good things right. I mean because we're working. We're doing the work, so I think that's a great one. I've not heard that one yet. I like it, tim.

Speaker 1: 17:46

Well, good, yeah, I thought you know that would be a little weird and I thought that might be a little out there and, and you know, because I think you know people are assuming if you could change one thing you'd change.

Speaker 1: 17:57

You know school safety and and God knows I wish I could. But I really think that you know part of the school safety could be answered by having people feel better about their schools. Think about it If you have pride in your school and you're a student, and even if you're a struggling student but there's a lot of good things happening and you're hearing a lot of good things about your school, you're going to have some pride in that school right every day. And you know you go home and you say it sucks, and then your parents say, yes, you're right, it does suck, you know. And then you, you know reading the paper, how much you know your grades are down and how much you know. Well, you kind of fall into that trap and it's a bit shameful it's a bit shameful to be associated with all of that, right?

Speaker 2: 18:55

So I think this goes back to that community collective thing again. If your neighborhood school is being recognized for raking leaves and you're part of that community, you instantly feel pride and you want to share that with others. Feel pride and you want to share that with others. If your neighborhood school has had an attempted school shooting, you feel the shame and the fear. So I really think you should take this act on the road right here, sir, this is a game changer and it's something to you know. I sit and ponder this stuff all the time because I have nothing better to do and think about my podcast, but this is something I've never even considered. Or social media, with positive things that are going on within the education system, would change the collective mindset that people have about education.

Speaker 1: 20:01

I believe that Right, right, you know, and like again, I want to be very clear on this Because I also think this is so important, Because I also think this is so important, and this is what sets America apart from other countries in many, many ways we not only allow, but we encourage debate, discussion, we encourage disagreement, and I'm all for that as long as it's done civilly, but I'm all for that and I think that's important. And so we do need to address these challenges that we have, and those challenges are many times negative challenges that we have, you know, and we've talked about it. But I'm looking for balance and right now, in my personal opinion, we're out of balance, where negative is being really showcased at the detriment of our kids, our schools, our communities and our country. Frankly, and I think if we had more balanced you know, positive to negative I think we would all be better off.

Speaker 2: 21:27

You know I wrote about well, you probably don't know, but I wrote about this in my book. Oh, but I wrote about this in my book. Oh, and I'm a former debate teacher right here, so you're speaking my language, but I'm going to move on to my next topic for you, which is All right.

Speaker 2: 21:45

So we've done quite a few episodes around trauma Just the trauma that's happening within the system that we're seeing with students, families, the lingering trauma of the pandemic um, secondary trauma, how teachers are affected by that, and firsthand trauma. And so I've started asking since the beginning I've asked guests um to share an experience where they had either firsthand or secondhand trauma directly from being an educator, because I do think that this is a piece sometimes that's lost on the public is just the sheer amount of really tough situations that educators are forced to be a part of, really tough situations that educators are forced to be a part of.

Speaker 1: 22:40

So can you share one of these moments from your career with us to your comfort level? Yeah, this is difficult for me because it has been more than 15 years and this one still haunts me. I think it still needs to be shared because it gives I think I think it gives some insight into you know what, what are some of the challenges that educators are, educators are facing every day, every single day, and there's so much unknown, right. So this idea of secondary trauma, I think, is really important and they do experience it and it has a very, very profound effect on their wellbeing and their career. And I have to say that part of burnout is the toll that the secondary trauma takes on teachers. Like I said, this has been more than 15 years and this story, like I said, still haunts me today and this is something I honestly don't share with a lot of people because it's just not pleasant to talk about, and I will make it as PG as possible Um, and and so you know, uh, school shootings and and safety.

Speaker 1: 24:27

You know they traumatize the whole community, right, everybody, everybody's just devastated. You know, um, and teachers deal with the day day traumas that they witness and these can be varying, right, like you have students that are upset and crying due to poor family situations at home, right and and and you know, depending on your background, it could be triggering for you, right, you know? And so you know there's those situations, abuse at home, whether you're a witness or a victim. Right, like so, if there's abuse at home and you're coming in to try to study and you know something happened or there was a police action at your house, that could be very traumatizing and many times teachers, educators, administrators, support staff, you know, if it's a police issue, this is probably not the first time that this has happened and it can wear on you and for kids there's the devastating effect of divorce. So you know, I hate to use the word simple, but a simple divorce can be devastating for kids.

Speaker 1: 25:53

And when educators see kids that normally were not struggling who suddenly struggling for some reason, you know your heart, you know just kind of was like, oh, what's going on? And then when you hear why your heart just goes out to them going on, and then when you hear why your heart just goes out to them, but for me and I have to believe that I speak for many educators the one that just hurts the most is when kids are victims in their own houses, and this is a story that illustrates just some of the terrible burdens that some of the kids bring to school with them, and you don't know it. You just don't know it and maybe over time it, you know, comes out, but then you start to think back. Well, this is why it's impossible for them to sit down, be quiet and concentrate on your work, because they are just being devastated at home. So I had a third grader who was exhibiting some problematic behavior, and in the early grades it started with swearing.

Speaker 1: 27:14

You know, kind of normal, you know things. And it progressed a little bit with physical aggression when he got upset and those kinds of things, and by second grade there were some incidents of him getting upset and swearing and then becoming physically aggressive. There were still those. Those were happening. And then there was the inappropriate kicking and hitting boys in their private parts. Hitting boys in their private parts.

Speaker 1: 27:58

We start going back through kindergarten, our notes through kindergarten, through third grade now, and I'm just I kind of throw my hands up and I'm like, before this gets any worse, I said we're going to the police and I actually knew one of the police officers, detective and I said you know, I'm going to call him. So I called him for advice and went to CPS and CPS was like you know, we're going to, we'll look into it, right. So they start looking into it and it evolves pretty quickly. I will just say that it was finally discovered that this child was suffering horrific sexual abuse, physical abuse, mental abuse and when protective services came to finally remove the child, they had to do it after school, for whatever they were supposed to do it on a Saturday and there was this whole schedule. It was just a big mess and they had to come to school to do it. Lo and behold, as it happened, the parents came that day to pick them up, like one of two times ever. They came to pick him up that day, don't know if they knew something was going on or what, but they came to pick him up that day. Don't know if they knew something was going on or what, but they came to pick him up and just as the CPS workers were walking him out the door, thankfully we had our liaison officer there who was teaching a DARE class. He quickly called for backup and for backup and we immediately turned the kid around and brought him in the school. But then the parents came up to the school saying who are those two people with them, and all these kinds of things. And then it started to dawn on him when the CPS officers told him that he was going to live with another family, that he was going to be taken like he wasn't going to see his parents, like it always. You know this started all and the, the screams, just the, the screams. That the screams are.

Speaker 1: 30:37

I just can't shake that, you know, like being ripped from your family and yet on the other side, watching these parents who have abused this kid in more ways than I thought humanly possible, watching them just collapse, watching them on their knees sobbing, and I was not prepared for that scene and that haunts me today, to know that I was part of that, I was a participant in that and ultimately I caused that of that. I was a participant in that and ultimately I caused that to happen. Now, you know, I justify it with the idea that you know this is the best thing for this kid. There's no doubt about that. This is the best thing for this kid, this kid. But to watch that scene and to realize the bond that happens between children and parents and parents and children, and how strong that bond is even in the midst of terrific trauma and tragedy, is just simply amazing.

Speaker 1: 32:08

And I know that I was not the only one that was affected deeply by this. You know, talking to others and what we didn't do a good job of, what we really did not do a good job of and I think we do a better job today but we just missed the boat completely on it was self-care. We did nothing for me, we did nothing for the teachers involved, we did nothing for our support staff that was involved and we just went on about our day the next day and that was hard and I feel bad and I share this story because that's just one. That's just one of the stories. Now that's the one that really, really got to me. You know there's always that one and that's my one and, like I said, it's been more than 15 years and it still gets to me. It very much gets to me. I think about it a fair amount.

Speaker 2: 33:29

I think most of us have one, and I think you also hit on a really important piece of that, which is because for so long, there were no systems in place to help with the processing of the kinds of horrific things I mean. Is it every year? No, is it you know? Hundreds of students that go through your classroom? Maybe, but maybe not. You know these incidences, while not happening every day of our careers. Once is enough to necessitate us needing some help processing what we've had to cope with, and I do believe, in terms of things that I advocate for in this platform, that's one of them. I mean, yes, we've talked about trauma and stress and burnout and self-care, but this piece is crucial for educators to have help processing some of the things that come their way, things that most of us would run 100 miles away to not have to experience. So I'm sorry that you had to experience that. You had to experience that, and I appreciate, for those other people out there who have experienced these things, that you shared your story.

Speaker 2: 35:11

I am going to go ahead and switch tracks on us, though, which I say it's a little bit of emotional whiplash because, like I said, you know, the blessing is that I think there are more of these kinds of incidents than there are the horrific ones, and that is, some of them are at our expense even. And that is that kids are hilarious. They really. I know. On my darkest days, when I went through my divorce, I 100% feel like my class that year saved me. They could make me laugh when no one else could, and so let's go in that direction. Now. What's one of your funniest moments as an educator?

Speaker 1: 36:06

Oh my God, one funny moment.

Speaker 2: 36:08

Yeah, you got to pick a good one.

Speaker 1: 36:11

Oh, pick a good one. Oh, so you know, I was very much, I was very active in my schools. You know, I really tried to get in the classrooms a lot. I like to have a lot of fun with the kids and do a lot of different things, so they always made me laugh and, honestly, that was my therapy or policies or whatever budget. You know state mandated reporting or you know state assessments. I would just get up and I'd walk, I'd go into classrooms and I would just disrupt everything in the classroom and you know as long as you know, it was a disruption.

Speaker 2: 36:57

Every educator out there is appreciating you. You owning that.

Speaker 1: 37:01

Absolutely it was. Indeed. There's appreciating you, owning that. Absolutely it was indeed. And you know, everybody knew that. Oh, tim, this is a little therapy for Tim. So, you know, they all let me have it and I very much appreciated them.

Speaker 1: 37:18

And so one funny story we had a pro basketball player that came to an assembly and he was talking about, you know, determination. And he was telling a story about, you know, michael Jordan. You know, not making the eighth grade basketball team or high school basketball team or whatever it was. And you know how you need to, you know, really persevere and go through these things. And while he was talking, he was shooting free throws. And I'll be if he didn't make like 99% of those free throws while he's talking and he's walking around the court and then he just walks over to the free throw line and he shoots a free throw and he'll go to the other end of the court, you know. And he's walking and talking to the kids, he's going up in the stands and he's coming around. Then he stands at the free throw line and shoots another one in and and so, you know, he's like he's wrapping up and he's like, does anybody here know how to shoot a free throw and you know, all the kids raise their hand right.

Speaker 1: 38:36

And there is this child who has Down syndrome and he is just a basketball, you know he loves basketball, he just, you know, and he was, he was standing up, he was cheering and he, you know, like and and so the, the basketball player you know, knew that he was really excited and this, that and the other thing, and um, so he said, you know how about you and I? He pulled him out out of all the kids. He pulled this kid out. He goes how about you and I have a free throw contest right. So you know, the kids all excited and everything. And what the basketball player didn't know was the only thing that this child took away from basketball, the one thing that he, he, he did. It was almost like a stimming you know, like he was the basketball.

Speaker 1: 39:50

He he always had a basketball in his hand Couldn't pass. He really couldn't dribble. He dribbled off his foot more than than he did anything else. Right, but the one thing he could do, shoot a free throw. This kid probably shot thousands of free throws in a week because he would come before school. His parents would drop him off before school. Our rule was if there's an adult with you, you may shoot free throws. So he would stay after school and at lunch we had our cafeteria in the gym. But after lunch was over we'd clear up and we always had five minutes. Maybe he would come in and shoot free throws.

Speaker 1: 40:47

He shot free throws and the best part about this is because he shot free throws. Like I said, he couldn't pass. He could not dribble like literally, could not dribble anything. Dribble like literally, could not dribble anything, for whatever reason. He made almost 100% of his free throws. So you've got this NBA guy. You know you got this NBA star and he's like he throws a first one up and it's a brick right, because he knows the kid's going to miss right. And so you know, the child is all excited and everybody in the school knows what's going on, except for this basketball player. And this guy has no, because they're all starting to chant. They're all starting because they know what's going to happen. So, the poor child, he picks up the ball. The poor child, he picks up the ball, first thing he does is he goes to dribble the ball and he gets about two to three dribbles in and it goes off his foot right, like normal, you know so he goes and gets another ball.

Speaker 1: 41:58

So he goes up to the line now and he does, he does his three bounce routine, sets all net, all net. And the basketball player is like, wow, okay, great, you know. And so, um, so the basketball player gets up there and he, he bricks one again again. And you know, like it's off the backboard. And you know, and and cause, you know, he's thinking I, this kid, can't even dribble the lung and he may got a lucky shot. So so, as we're going along, you can see that the basketball player is like now he makes one, and you know, our student makes one, and and our student makes one, and then he makes another. And they're now going back and you can start to see that the basketball player is trying to figure out what and our student body is going nuts. They're just jumping up and down and everything.

Speaker 1: 42:59

And so the basketball player to his credit I give this guy all the credit in the world he's like well, this was going to be to 10, you know, but do you want to keep going? And they're like yeah, and the student was like yeah, you know, of course he's so excited. They just kept going and, believe it or not, the student beat the NBA player by one basket and I asked the NBA player later. I said you know this was getting long. I said did you throw that one? He goes. No, I missed it, he goes, he goes. Your kid beat me, he goes. Now your, your kid is the only kid that ever has beat me in free throws because I own the free throw line here. This kid is down syndrome and all those kinds of things and he beat an NBA basketball player in a free throw contest and so, yeah, so I don't know if that's funny, charming, heartwarming or what.

Speaker 1: 44:11

All of the above, the look on the basketball player's face and our student body and teachers and everybody. And then they got their picture in the paper and everybody. And then they got their picture in the paper. They, you know we talked about, you know how he beat him and you know all this kind of stuff. And, and again to the basketball player's credit, in the paper he did say he legitimately beat me. So, yeah, so you know, that's my, that's my funnier heartwarming story. So, yeah, so you know that's my, that's my funnier heartwarming story.

Speaker 2: 44:43

I love it.

Speaker 1: 44:48

I love it Is there anything else that you would like to share before we end this. You know, yeah, there is actually. I want a message to the teachers, a message to the educators, the message to those administrators that are feeling caught in the middle. My message to them is if you're staying in the fight, kudos to you. You have all of my respect and I think that's an admirable thing to do. And I think that's an admirable thing to do and I wish you the best of luck. And I just cannot say enough about what you're doing for kids and, despite all the distractions outside of your classroom, your office, in the community, keep doing the great work that you're doing and it's so, so valuable and appreciated.

Speaker 1: 45:51

To the educators that are leaving, to the educators that are burned out, that are transitioning know that there is life after education. You're not just a teacher. You're not just an administrator or support staff or central office or you're not just a superintendent. You have skills that you don't even realize you have because nobody has said to you you have these skills. Nobody has laid out the kinds of skills that teachers have and routinely do on a daily basis. You are masters of crowd control, you are masters of preparation, you are masters of taking the complex and making it simple. So for those of you that are leaving, please understand. You're not quitting, you're moving on, you're going on to something different and you will find your fire again. You will find your passion again and you may feel burnt out, you may feel beat up, you may feel just really disheartened. Okay, those are legitimate emotions to feel and that's okay Because you have a ton to offer. Like I said, industry should be.

Speaker 1: 47:32

Now we get into the idea of whether or not they're going to hire you, but they should be looking at people with your skill set. Someone who is so adaptable Teachers be looking at people with your skill set, someone who is so adaptable Teachers I can't think of you know a more adaptable group than teachers or oh my gosh principals. Like one minute you're getting, you know something from central office that says this. Next minute you have the state mandate that says this, and like you're turning around and your teachers are looking at you, like do you not know what's going on? And you have to look them right square in the face and say, no, I don't, I got this.

Speaker 1: 48:08

And then I got this and I know they're opposites and we're going to go with it. And so you know, you put a good spin on it, you put a smile on it and you go on with your day. And so those people that are transitioning again, you're not quitting. You have all of our respect and you did a great job. You gave it all you had, and that's all anyone can ask. So now move on, and you know I know this is kind of cliche, but walk out the door with your head held high. You did everything you could, and now it's time to transition into your next adventure, where you're going to be a star, just like you were in school.

Speaker 2: 48:54

And you can come on my podcast.

Speaker 1: 48:56

There you go, absolutely.

Speaker 2: 49:00

Well, tim. Thank you so much for agreeing to come on my podcast. It has been my pleasure to have you. Today's episode was produced and edited by me. The theme music is by otis mcdonald featuring joni inez.

Speaker 2: 49:22

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Speaker 2: 49:56

Coach speaker and author Rashid Ogunlaro said it may take many voices for people to hear the same message. Join me in being one of the many voices rising up to get the message out around educator burnout. This is Melissa LaFleur. Thank you for listening to taught the podcast. I wish I knew I have an important reminder. Slash disclaimer to share. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed by the hosts and guests on this podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer or company. Content provided on this podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be taken as professional advice. We encourage you to do your own research and consult with qualified professionals before making any decisions based on the information discussed in this or any other episode. Additionally, any opinions or statements made during the podcast are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company or individual Listener. Discretion is advised. Thank you for tuning in.