Teacher's Ed with Edward DeShazer

Creating a Culture of Growth and Optimism

• Edward DeShazer

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Ever wondered how a simple shift in mindset could transform your classroom into a hub of resilience and enthusiasm for learning? Join us on the Teachers Ed podcast as we uncover the secret sauce to cultivating a growth mindset in education. We explore how facing challenges head-on can unlock potential in students, teachers, and school leaders alike. By sharing personal stories, like boosting a hesitant reader's confidence through small victories, we provide actionable strategies to foster an environment of optimism and growth. Discover how educators can set the cultural tone in schools, acting as proactive thermostats rather than reactive thermometers, to reframe challenges as opportunities.

In the second half of our conversation, we shine a spotlight on the power of a connected school community. We delve into the vital role of self-care and mutual support in nurturing resilience and connection. Find out how prioritizing personal well-being can ripple out to strengthen the educational community as a whole. We encourage you to keep believing in the potential of your students, colleagues, and yourself, building a foundation for growth and inspiration. Stay inspired and committed to continuous development as we thank you for being part of this transformative journey.

www.EdwardDeShazer.org

Speaker 1:

Welcome back to the Teachers Ed podcast, a place where the best and brightest in education come to be inspired, to connect, to learn and to grow. I'm your host, edward Shazer, and today we are tackling the concept of a growth mindset, not only as a teacher, as a school leader, but really, how do we get our students to also grow and have that growth mindset? And for those that are not really familiar with the growth mindset, what it is is it is about believing that any abilities can really be developed through dedication, through hard work. For a lot of people, a growth mindset is really the foundation for resilience and just for a love of learning, for both students and educators. And in today's episode we're going to explore ways that we can foster growth mindset in your school, in your classroom, and then again, as always in the middle, we will share our self-care tip that can really help you maintain your growth mindset along the way. So, number one, one of the most important aspects of a growth mindset is seeing challenges not as roadblocks but as opportunities for growth. And, as teachers, how we frame challenges can greatly influence how our students perceive them. So imagine I always like to use math analogies because math was my one of my stronger subjects. But imagine you're going through a difficult concept in math and you notice that students are frustrated with what's going on, and one of the things that teachers may do at times is be like you know, I know this is really hard and now we're just telling students for us to build new skills so that subtle shift in language can set a tone of optimism and resilience for our students in our classrooms. Really encouraging our students to reframe challenges by asking reflective questions like how can we learn from this mistake? Or how will you approach this problem differently next time, because what ends up happening is over time. Then students begin to see mistakes as a normal and valuable part of learning, and this isn't just for our students, this is for school leaders. You know, reframing the challenges that we discuss in our staff meetings and professional development sessions. You know, if there's a new policy that you're rolling out and it's causing frustration, you know we can acknowledge the difficulty of it. But focus and encourage our staff to focus on the opportunities that these policy changes may present for innovation and for collaboration. And really modeling this mindset as a school leader will help empower our team to approach challenges with more confidence.

Speaker 1:

And I always think back to a time when I was teaching seventh grade and a student who really struggled to read aloud in class and instead of focusing on that student's anxiety with reading aloud, we set small and achievable goals, like, hey, if you can just do one sentence this day and then I'll move on to the next person. What ended up happening was that student's confidence grew and eventually increased closer towards the end of the year, but that student really pushed to want to finish the whole paragraph. So instead of just lowering the bar, we set small and achievable goals and we reframed and really looked at and I didn't even realize I was doing this at the time. We really reframed it as it's a struggle to read, but this is an opportunity for us to grow rather than reading aloud as something that we would have to be fearful of, and the next thing you know, they were acting out in class because they didn't want to be embarrassed in front of their peers. So that's one of the things that we can do, and I just want to take a second. As we drop these tips, I always like to give you a chance to pause for reflection and I want you just to take a second, to think about a recent challenge that may have happened in your classroom, may have happened in your school, and I want you to think about how you responded to it. You know what is one way. The next time a challenge like this happens, what's something that you could say, or how can you next time frame it as an opportunity for growth in your classroom, in your school, wherever you are in your building? Because I want us to really, really remember that how you frame the challenges that are going on can really dictate and determine how everyone else is around you.

Speaker 1:

And as school leaders, as classroom teachers, we are the ones that are going to set the tone. We don't want to be reactive to everything. We want to be pro-activized. We are the ones that are going to set the tone. We don't want to be reactive to everything. We want to be proactive. I always talk about the thermometer versus a thermostat and, as an educator, you don't want to be a thermometer. Thermometers can only tell the temperature of the classroom where the thermostat sets the temperature of the classroom. So I want us to really think about that as we look for opportunities for growth in our school. How can we set the tone for those around us.

Speaker 1:

And now, before we move into our self-care tip, I want to remind all of the viewers out there about the Be Well Teacher Academy. The Be Well Teacher Academy is a space that is created just for educators like you that are balancing the demands of a classroom, that are balancing the demands of their students, balancing their demands of being a mother, a father, whatever all the other titles is that you are, and you have the need to be, intentional with your self-care and growth. In the Be Well Teacher Academy, we have monthly workshops that are going to help you stay energized and surround you with like-minded individuals, with a supportive community. We're really trying to build out a community of intentionality where educators can be the best themselves, because, ultimately, when you are the best yourself, you are the best educator. And don't forget the first 250 members who join and register now get lifetime free access. This will not be free forever, I promise you. So head over to wwwbewellteachercom to secure your spot today and remember that taking care of yourself is the first step in helping you take care of others.

Speaker 1:

So our self-care tip today is practicing self-compassion. As educators, we oftentimes hold ourselves to impossibly high standards. We are striving to be everything for everyone. But here's the truth you don't have to be perfect to be impactful. Self-compassion is really about treating yourself with the same kindness and understanding that you offer to your students when things don't go as planned. Instead of beating yourself up, I want you to say to yourself it's okay, I'm doing the best that I can and that's enough in this moment. I'm doing the best that I can and that's enough in this moment.

Speaker 1:

Some ways that you can practice self-compassion is number one acknowledging your feelings. If you are feeling overwhelmed, if you're feeling frustrated and adequate, I want you to recognize that's a normal part of being a human being. Number two I want you to recognize that's a normal part of being a human being. I want number two I want you to talk kindly to yourself. I want you to start replacing that self-criticism with encouragement, instead of being like I can't believe I messed that up again. I want you to say you know what I learned something new and the next time I'm going to improve. I want you to say you know what I learned something new and the next time I'm going to improve.

Speaker 1:

So it's the way we're talking about reframing things for our students. We got to start reframing some things for ourselves, and the last is taking a break without guilt. Teacher. Guilt is something that people don't talk about often, and I'm giving you permission today to rest. It's not lazy to rest Sometimes. It's necessary for us to be sustainable in education. Self-compassion is treating yourself the way you would treat a friend. It's saying I'm doing the best I can and that's enough. You don't have to be perfect to be impactful, and I want us to remember that self-compassion isn't about making excuses. It's about recognizing your humanity and allowing yourself the grace to grow. I hope that tip allows you to feel a little lighter.

Speaker 1:

We've talked about self-compassion and now I want us to explore another powerful way to foster a growth mindset in your classroom and in your school. Excuse me the second tip I have for us today? I want us to, I want to encourage reflection and talk about goal setting. Reflection and goal setting are key components to a growth mindset. They help students and staff recognize progress and they help us stay motivated to keep growing.

Speaker 1:

And in your classroom, there's a couple ways, after ending a unit, that you can encourage your students to set these goals and to reflect, and one is ask them these three questions and ask them to write down the answers what is one thing that you learned that surprised you? The second, what is a mistake that they made and how they learned from it. And the third is a goal that they want to work on. Next, for staff yes, as school leaders, we can model this practice by setting aside time for reflection during meetings and professional development, asking our team what's working, what challenges they face, what goals they want to set for the next quarter. This creates a really a culture from top to bottom of continuous improvement and mutual support, which I think is critical. Yeah, it really is about modeling, as a school leader, what we would like to see our staff do, because then they can model what the same energy for our students.

Speaker 1:

And our reflective question that I would ask you on this is how can you incorporate reflection and goal setting into your routine this week? And I want us to think of like a moment where we can do this, and I want us to think of like a moment where we can do this, and I want us to put action to that, because growth starts with awareness and growth starts with intention. And, as I wrap up, what I want to just take a second A is to just thank you for tuning into this episode. I try to keep them short and palatable. You know 15 minutes at the most. You can listen to it on your ride.

Speaker 1:

I don't want to overwhelm people when they tune in and give you all these different things. My biggest thing is giving you things that you can take and you can apply every single week. So I want to just thank you again for tuning in and I want you to remember that when you take care of yourself and those around you, you are building a stronger and more connected school community. I want to encourage you to keep believing in your students, keep believing in your colleagues and, most importantly, I want you to keep believing in yourself. Until next time, stay inspired, stay connected and keep growing. Thank you, bye.