Welcome to the PBL Simplified podcast for teachers, brought to you by Magnified Learning, your customized PBL partner. From over a decade of experience with you in the trenches, we are bringing you the top-rated educational podcast designed for inspired classroom teachers seeking to transform their classrooms with project-based learning. Live your why, transform your classroom, teach inspired. Here's your host, Ryan Steuer.
Welcome to PBL Simplified for Teachers, where we bring you all things PBL for you, the classroom teacher. Today's episode is called How to Love Teaching Again.
You got into teaching for a reason. It's because you had a passionate purpose. You want to make a difference in the world. You want your learners to have these light bulb moments. Maybe you had that awesome teacher somewhere in your past, fifth grade, 11th grade, whatever it was. You wanted to be like that teacher. Or sometimes I meet teachers at conferences when I'm speaking or we're doing workshops over the summer. There's always one or two teachers that are like, "I had a teacher that was really just awful and I didn't want anybody to have to feel like that, so I want to be an advocate for my learners."
Whatever your why is, there's a reason that you got into teaching and it wasn't just because you needed a gig or you needed something to do. Like, it's a passionate and personal mission.
But sometimes it's tough, right? Sometimes it's tough. A lot of times it's tough, but you love teaching. And if you've waned just a bit, we want to give you some tips and some pointers to get you back on track to loving teaching again. We got some very practical tips in this episode that I think you're going to love.
Uh the first one, this is not the official one actually, this is: do you get our newsletter? Are you getting a weekly email from us? It's specifically for teachers. It gives you resources and inspiration. You get a blog, a podcast, and a YouTube video in every single email that we send. So, it's always packed filled with resources for you, the classroom teacher, right? So, it's not for your administrators.
There's a different newsletter for that, but if you look in the show notes, there's one that you can sign up for so that you get all the resources that you need for your classroom to stay inspired. So, let's jump in. Where do we start?
One place we start is why do you fall out of love with teaching, right? What what happens? And some of the common causes are like burnout is a real thing, like there's stress from testing, there's a lot of administrative tasks, curriculum demands, and sometimes we feel underappreciated or undervalued, right? And there's sometimes it's a lack of autonomy. Sometimes you can't be as creative as you'd like to be. Ideally, you're at a great PBL model school where, you know, amazing things are happening, and even in that environment, like, don't get me wrong, even in that environment, it's tough, right? And you're doing this work for your learners and it's not always appreciated and you can get angry, you can get upset about that, but I don't want to dwell on this.
I just want to acknowledge and validate that those are real feelings and you can really feel feel like a disconnection from students, parents, really from a lot of people, even in your family and your extended family, because most people don't really understand what's happening in a classroom, right? You know, if if you have family and you're at Thanksgiving and and they're an accountant, they work at a bank, or, you know, they work in real estate. "Oh, tough week. Like, what was your week like before Thanksgiving?" And like in some professions, you're kind of skating through and it's a light week. Thanksgiving week can be a tough week in schools. So there's also a little bit of loneliness of like most people don't understand the profession and all that goes into it.
But every one of those people has been to school. They've been inspired by a teacher. So all these greats that we see, all the normal people doing their jobs, everybody leading their families has had somebody just like you in their life and it's a big deal. It only takes one teacher in somebody's life to completely switch things around. We hear that story over and over again. But even with this noble calling, we can feel like we've fallen out of love with teaching.
But again, that's not the episode. That's just teeing it up that and kind of acknowledging the idea that this is a normal thing that can happen, but there are ways to to fight it, if you will, right? There are things that we can do to stay inspired, to keep our energy up, and to stay encouraged to encourage each other.
So the first one, the first tip that we have is to reflect on your why. And if you've been listening to the podcast, or if you've read any of my books, like, that's not surprising for you, right? Like I sign every book that, you know, if somebody asked me to sign a book, I sign it, "Live your why." And I just think it's such a big deal. It's it's been a guiding light for me of like, what is your why? And that why to inspire our learners to be that change agent in the world, like, that's exciting. So I just want to encourage you to remember why you chose this profession. Like, what was that report that you wrote in college of "Why I Want to Teach?" Like, those things are still valid reasons. They're still in your heart, and it's an important piece.
And one thing you might want to do here, one real practical thing around your why is to answer this question: What are the moments in teaching that have made you feel most alive? Where did you get most excited? Like, what are those stories that get you excited? You know, I tell Skyler's story all the time, which is one of the reasons I love to go out and speak and train, because I get to tell his story, right? Skyler was that kid that did really well kindergarten through third grade, super capable kid. And then he realized that he didn't have to do any work and he still got to skate with his buddies and got free meals, which is kind of what, where he saw the most value from school. Like, Scal Sk, in Skyler's family, school was not valued, right? It was put up with or tolerated. And he got into a project-based learning environment and it completely changed his life, right? Like completely, he saw the why behind his learning.
He saw that he can make a difference in the world and he started to just kind of have this, this different mindset of looking around the world differently, like, where can I make a difference? And he found it in photography, right? So he got followed by his Instagram account, got followed by Time magazine, and he kind of blew up on that and suddenly he's got 48,000 followers, the little blue checkmark, and he's an influencer. He's got uh, these sponsors like Coleman Camping Gear and Valvoline Motor Oil were some of his first ones, and now it's like Nike and Monster Energy Drink, and he's doing photography for, for rappers out in Los Angeles. Like, it, it is his dream job, but it all started like literally in our classrooms, right? Like, he was in my classroom like thinking through like, "What is he going to do with his life?" And I got to see the spark, right? And I see the work that he does on Instagram now. You can follow him at Skyler Wagner. We'll try to get it in the show notes. And you can just see the joy that's in his life.
And when things get tough, those are the things we need to bring up. Like, those are the stories we need to talk about. You need to go just tell somebody like, "Hey, did I ever tell you about this story about, you know," and give Skyler's story a little bit and maybe have them share like, "What's a Skyler story for you?" And you start to reflect on those moments. So a journaling prompt, if you're a writer: like, what moments in teaching have made you feel most alive?
You know, I had another moment where uh, one of my former students was walking by our classroom and we had 125 kids in this one big giant room. We knocked on a wall and uh, they actually were not doing a great job. You know, we had a community partner that came in and they were not awesome. I mean, they were eighth graders, right? So they were talking and you know, they were just a little riled up and we had just kind of given them kind of this kind of scolding talk a little bit of, "Hey, this is not why we bring people in. Like, you've got to be professional." And then I see Carlos walking by and I hadn't seen Carlos in like four years and he was one of those kids where it's like, "Ah, like Carlos is still on school grounds, like that's a good thing."
He's still going to make it through school and I knew that if I went all the way around the, the door through the hallway to get to him, that I was going to miss him and I just couldn't do it. So I looked at my teaching partner and said, "Hey, you know, uh, this is going to be a little awkward, but I think I have to jump out the window to go talk to Carlos." And he's like, "Okay." Cause I mean, it wasn't our first day. Like, we knew, we knew how we taught, right? So I just, I turned around, I looked at 125 kids and I said, "Hey, you know what? You need teachers that believe in you, and someday you're going to appreciate the teachers that are in front of you right now, because they will jump out a window for you." And boom! I jumped out the window.
It wasn't like three stories. Don't worry, it wasn't that heroic. I didn't have to like, tumble or anything, but I ran out and got to talk to Carlos and get an update on his life and he was doing awesome. He was actually coming to our school to meet with, uh, a coordinator to get him a job when he got out of high school. Like, he was actually like, seeking things. And it was so awesome.
And so I get to tell this story about the time I jumped out of a window to go chase a kid, in a positive way, and when, when every time I tell that, like right now if you're watching the video on YouTube, like I am smiling like crazy because these are just the fun stories to tell, right? So, get out and tell your story about why you're in teaching. Those moments that make you feel alive. And if journaling is not your thing, just go talk to somebody, right? Like, during lunch, during your prep, whatever it is. Change the subject, right? Change the subject. Don't let it be about the negativity that's around. Just say, "Hey, every why doesn't everybody tell a student story that's just awesome today?" Like, let's lift our spirits. People will do it.
So, you also want to, find another tip, find joy in the small wins, celebrate the daily victories, whether it's student progress or maybe a positive interaction with a colleague, in some way that there's these small wins that we can pull out. And I like to use a gratitude journal. I use a gratitude journal every single day.
I found some research that says, if you write down five bullet points that you are thankful for every day, you are 25% happier. 25% happier by just writing out five bullet points. You don't have to do five paragraphs. It doesn't have to be a Shakespearean sonnet, but just five things in your day that you can be thankful for. These small wins add up to a big deal. And it's like, "Well, what's 25% happier?" Like, I don't know, but it's more happy, right? I didn't get in the research that far, I'll be honest. But it was five bullet points, 25% happier. And they did, it was a for real study. And it's like, I would like to be 25% happier. If you said, "Hey, Ryan, do you want to be 25% happier?" I would say, "Yes." And all it takes is about 2 and 1/2 minutes to write down five bullet points every day.
You could keep it on your desk if you'd like and, before you leave for the day. Uh, I do mine, you know, as part of my closing moves for my whole day, um, but getting those gratitude points in is a big deal.
You might need to reconnect with some of your students, right? That's why we're there. If you remember, at the very very beginning, like, what are the things that kind of cause burnout? It sure, it can definitely be students, like there's, there is some drag when it's like student after student having a tough, tough time, but a lot of it's the administrative stuff, right? A lot of it is things that are outside of the classroom maybe, or things that are not student related.
So just connecting with students, it might just be once a month, get a student voice team, and or just rotate through five, six kids, have them come in during lunch, have a couple prompts where they talk about things that they really like that they're doing and just let that be kind of a lift for you, right? Look forward to that. And that's good time. That is time well spent when you're doing that.
The last one would just be to reignite creativity. Like, when we're creative, we're curious and we're curious, it's hard to be angry or bitter. So find that creativity. Like, try something new. Like maybe you've got a, a PBL move you've never tried before or a workshop you've wanted to try. Maybe a new tactic that you want to bring into a workshop. Uh, I say, go for it. Right.
One of my favorite workshops is the handshake workshop. I just taught kids how to, how to do a handshake, like, look someone in the eye and give a real handshake. We had a ton of fun with it. It was, it was quick, it was 15 minutes, but it was like, "Okay, everybody do the dead fish handshake." Okay, you see how that's weird. All right, now do a handshake where you hold on too long. Oh, right. Super awkward, isn't it? Right.
We had a great time, but we also taught a really valuable skill, right, that needed to be done. So I just felt like a win on all sides. And it was just, it was almost on a whim, like we did. Somebody shook my hand and it was an awful handshake. I was like, "That's it. We're doing a handshake workshop. Let's go." And it ended up being a great time that energized me and it also taught the kids, you know, a really valuable lesson.
So, again, just trying to throw some stuff out there to see what sticks with you. Like, find a couple of ideas that stick with you. Like, if you're listening to the PBL Simplified podcast for teachers, like you are right now, I mean, you get PBL. You know that it has transformative power. You know that it shifts and transforms classrooms. You know, it's meaningful, it's student centered. Like, so I really like this idea of finding your student stories. You already know that you're on the right track, but it doesn't mean it's the easiest track. Like, it's still going to be hard, but think through some of these PBL examples and see like, where is it that you can be inspired? And this podcast, I would hope, would be a great inspiration to you. Like, so if you go back to episode 155, if you go back into the archives, I interview Hope Alexander. And Hope was a PBL student at our model school in Columbus, Indiana, and now she's a facilitator at the same school. Like, how cool is that? Like, PBL changed her life so much that she devoted her life now to being a PBL teacher so that she could, you know, influence the next generation. Like, those are inspiring stories. That's neat. Like, go back and listen to Hope's episode. It's episode 155. And just get fired up about it.
So, you've got like, gratitude. You can start with gratitude. You can start your day.
Um, I've actually got a gratitude journal. We'll actually give one of these away, if you go to pblshared.com and share a win with us. We'll, we'll, we'll actually send you uh, the gratitude journal that, that I use. It's just, it's one of my favorites because you actually, it's got a section where you start your day with gratitude and you end your day with gratitude. So you, you get it on both ends. You get this kind of sandwich in between. And I know when I don't do it, like, if I miss it, I was like, "Ah, something feels weird." And I'll actually go back and do my gratitude journal, just because it kicks in and it makes sense for me.
So, go to PBL, uh, pblshared.com, share a win, and then we're going to give out some of these gratitude journals. We'll put a link in the, in the description. So if you don't, if you don't get one of the freebies, then, you know, you can go grab it, but it's one that you'll definitely want to grab. Uh, the other one I kind of mentioned maybe with Hope's story is, you want to collaborate with your peers. Like, have a teacher support network, have a coffee time. You know, maybe on Tuesdays you just have a time in lunch or your prep where you guys just get tea or coffee, or somebody goes out to get it, and you just kind of hang out for a second and just talk. And you're like, "Well, I don't know if I have time for that." I agree with you. I'm not sure that you have time for that, but you might have to make the time for that, right? That might be a piece that reenergizes you or that fills your bucket.
That's something we talk about a lot at Magnify Learning. Like, what is it that fills your bucket? Like for us, it's literally just talking about the work, which is like, "Well, you're talking about work," but we're talking about the innovative pieces of work. Like, how do we intertwine PBL and SEL? Like, that gets us fired up and fills our bucket. So, finding those things that that fill your bucket. I, I usually push back on the idea that you just need time to veg out and watch Netflix. I think doing nothing is not the same as recovering. Doing nothing is not the same as resting. I want you to think about things that fill your bucket, because you're going to be pouring that bucket out into your learners again.
So, you've got to refill that bucket. You can't pour from an empty vessel.
The other piece I think is really neat is just seeking out professional growth. Like, sometimes PD, or a conference, sometimes that's what you need, right? So we've got the PMOC, we've got that PBL Movement Online Community. We do three conferences a year, so with your membership each year, you get three conferences. Two virtual, one in person. And sometimes it's like, "Well, that's not a full PBL jump start." Like, that's true, but sometimes you just need to be inspired. Sometimes you need some new ideas. Maybe it's a, a new book, or a new podcast again. Like, maybe it's a conference going just to get you fired up again, right? You might need that and that's okay, right? That's okay.
So, those are some of the tips I've got. Like, I didn't number them. I didn't, I didn't, I don't know if there was enough structure that whole episode, but hopefully something stuck with you. Maybe it's a gratitude journal, maybe it's sharing your why, sharing student stories, uh, maybe it's getting some PD out there just so you can interact with some other educators that are like you, like, get that PLN going and get excited, right? Share some stories with people. I think you're going to see that fills your bucket.
All right, so let's wrap. Uh, so key takeaways from this particular episode. You know, we want you to reflect. We want you to celebrate those small wins. I want you to re-engage with what is it that got you excited about being a teacher. There's a study out there that says that mostly like, most adults, uh, most professionals could do about 150 different jobs, right? So, you'd be a great accountant. You could be a good salesperson. There's a lot of different things you could do, but you chose teaching, and you chose to do this for a reason and you need to stir up that reason, right? So, I want you to do that. I want you to rediscover that passion. I want you to love teaching because when you love teaching, everybody wins.
So, remember to go to pblshare.com, share a win on there, and we'll see if we can't get you a gratitude journal out there. We'll also put a link in the show notes.
Next week's episode will be one of those, it's actually two weeks from now, but the next episode will fill your bucket. We're talking to Kyle Anderson. He's a teacher up in Michigan and he's got a super complicated schedule. They just launched a school and he, the dude loves teaching. He is encouraged, he is a light. Like, you want to be a part of this conversation. So make sure that you subscribe so that you can get that episode when it kicks in. And I hope all of this, all of this, adds up to you teaching inspired.
That's just what I needed to bring PBL to my classroom. If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing the show. It only takes two minutes to scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select write a review. Then be sure to let us know what was most helpful about that episode. Your review helps the next inspired teacher just like you, find their why and teach inspired.
