The Extraordinary Educators Podcast
Best practices, tips, and stories to help you be extraordinary in your classroom and beyond, featuring Curriculum Associates' Manager, Voice of the Customer, Hayley Browning.
The Extraordinary Educators Podcast
*Bonus Episode!* Revolutionizing Teaching Using Mindfulness and Self Reflection with Kimberly Robinson
Picture this: A classroom where students and the teacher alike want to be in, a room that feels like a second home, a place that cultivates not just knowledge but well-being. Meet Kimberly Robinson, an Extraordinary Educator who has turned this into a reality. Her journey from survival-mode to mindful living within the educational setting is a testament to the transformative power of self-reflection and intentional actions.
Kimberly takes us on a journey through her high school science classroom, from the calming blue walls to the subtly scented diffuser, each element intentionally chosen to create a conducive and inviting learning environment. She uncovers the power of mindset, the importance of having a 'safe person', and how honest self-reflection has been an essential tool in her emotional regulation. Join us as we uncover the many ways Kimberly has revolutionized her teaching approach, effectively fostering a positive, productive classroom atmosphere while maintaining her mental well-being. It's an episode filled with practical wisdom that every educator will want to revisit throughout the school year.
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Curriculum Associates presents the Extraordinary Educators podcast with hosts Danielle Sullivan and Sarah Leveris. Here tips, best practices and successes to improve your teaching and leadership and drive student growth and learning. We're here for you.
Danielle:Hello and welcome to the Extraordinary Educator podcast. I'm Danielle.
Sari:And I'm Sarah. This week we are joined by Extraordinary Educator Kimberly Robinson in Florida. We have known Kimberly for many years now. She started off teaching early elementary and now is a high school science teacher, and she has so many areas of expertise, but something she's really passionate about that you will hear about in our conversation with her is teacher mental health and well-being and strategies to use to also model for your students.
Danielle:And y'all keep save this episode, because this is a good episode to hear multiple times during the year. It's sort of a master class in acknowledging and feeling emotions, so I can't wait for you to listen to Kimberly.
Sari:Hey, Kimberly, it is so great to see you. Thank you so much for coming back to the podcast.
Kimberly:Thank you for having me. I love my ready very much.
Danielle:Well, we love talking with you. We love learning from you. So, kimberly, thinking about the last time we were together, we're talking a lot about mental health. As an educator, what are some things that you're doing this school year to really double down on making sure that school is a place you want to be?
Kimberly:I stopped treating my job like it was a job, like I have to get through the day, and I changed my mentality from how to get through the day to what do I need to take from the day. Every day presents us with something. Rather than saying if I could just get through this meeting or get through this period or these tough kids, it's what does this day need to give me to make me better tomorrow? And it's all about mindset. I have been working so hard on building my mindset because it is in the mind that we create thoughts that then lead to action potential to then carry out the changes we want to make.
Danielle:Oh, absolutely. So what are the things? Because a lot of times, with mindset too, the environment helps you. So have you done anything in your classroom the walls, the visuals, the lighting that has helped you prime your mindset, or their triggers and cues to help you make sure that you maintain in that positive mind frame?
Kimberly:Yes, so my classroom is a science classroom. I have a laboratory in the back and it's very outdated and I have, like prison, gray walls and rather than treating it as I should clock in, I should clock out. This room is for kids, it's for learning, it's hey, this is my home. I spend almost 60 hours a week here. That's more time here, no rent included, and I do it my own house. And so for this year I was like I'm going to change the walls, I'm going to paint it this beautiful blue, so when kids walk in, they feel like, wow, I could just kind of melt and just be present.
Kimberly:It's sometimes it's the nonverbal things that we do that really lay the foundation for kids and for ourselves. I have a beautiful rug, I have little flowers, I have my inspiration on the wall, I have my coffee station, I have my diffuser and I just want to feel like, when the day gets heavy and it gets hard, that I could just come and melt, Just know, just be, to just soak up a moment and not feel like I have to rush home and lock my doors and close the blinds To have that moment that.
Kimberly:I do it while I'm still being present with my kids.
Sari:That's so helpful to hear and thank you for sharing. I think a lot of times the physical space can someone I don't want to say get neglected, because that's not the case but you don't realize how much power you have over that space and how small tweaks and having it be the classroom that you want to be in then translates into the classroom that your students want to be in and for our listeners. I'm curious about the, the mindset piece, because there are points, of course we're all human, where you are, I'm sure, going to look at the clock and say, okay, only 12 more minutes left of class or you know, what do you? What are some of the things that you've learned to do in those Trying moments where you could kind of go either way, where you then decide to like Then be back in the present. Are there any techniques or or ways that you've learned To kind of help yourself during those tougher times when you're the adult in the classroom?
Kimberly:Yes, there are two crucial things that I abide by. I have a safe person. Each year that changes. It could change for you each semester. Who are you going to reach out to that you can dump all of that dirty like mop water Without them saying, well, I have to pick up her problem now and, like now, I'm gonna judge her. No, you need to find a safe person. So, yes, we have 12 minutes on the clock. When that 12 minutes is over, I'm gonna still practice self-control in those moments Because we're on, we are on broadcast to our kids, but when that moment is over, I'm gonna go see my safe person and for me this year it's my new AP.
Kimberly:She just believes in me. And that's so hard to grasp and I know a lot of teachers are gonna hear this and say, well, I, I'm on an island, I don't have people that believe in me, and it took me five years of teaching and Just this past year and this year coming up where it's like I will not be an island, I will find my safe person To be able to wring out that dirty mop water and then leave it there and let it be constructive. I Don't even need people's feedback, I just need to be able to unpack so I can transition back into my work day or Transition home and be present in my life.
Danielle:I love that and I there's another term for that practice, it's called the BMW practice Bih Moan and wine. So you just need somebody to BMW with who's not gonna take it on and just say and it's setting the right condition say I just need you to listen for a little bit, you don't have to do anything and once you like can blow off that steam, like you just said, you can refocus. That's wonderful. What else do you do you just, you said self regulation. I think you said self regulation or you said self control. How do you do that?
Kimberly:well, Teaching high school right. So when you coming from elementary school it's like, hey, everybody you know you're like this character that's holographic to the kids. But when you transition to high school it has to be self-control and for me that's reflecting on did what I say? Build them up or tear them down. Sometimes we don't need to be coddled as teachers and I know that's hard to hear but sometimes you have to hold yourself accountable and check in and be honest with yourself. You've got to sit with those emotions that feel uncomfortable in your body. Why am I so frustrated with that student? Why am I so upset in this meeting? Why don't I want to participate in this and then allow your brain and your inner self to give that feedback to you, because it will.
Kimberly:Oh well, you were upset, you didn't get a good night's rest, or you're really not dealing with the things at home, or you and your kid had a fight on the way to school. Something triggered you. We get triggered by life. People are mirrors and the way that I see it is students choose me. I don't go out saying I want the perfect roster and all 25 kids in each class are going to be A pluses.
Kimberly:If that were the case, everyone would be lining up out the door for the perfect job. But that's not how life works. The way life works is you get more of what's inside of you. So if you have things inside of you, life will send you those difficult students to trigger you and push you closer to your authentic self, and then the responsibility is yours. And this is hard, but it's truthful. And if we want to show up and make a difference, we also have to be honest with ourself and be accountable and be willing to change when other people hold up a mirror for us to see inside of ourself so we can be better.
Danielle:Yeah, I always say, if you spot it, you got it, like the thing that really frustrates you the most. I let you set it a lot more eloquent just now I haven't got it, you spot it, you got it because that is. And recently there's been a lot happening in my personal life and I just keep reminding myself that the universe is providing me opportunities to grow. But it's also important to feel your feelings, because I love how you said safe person, how else do you find space to feel your feelings especially there's the regulation piece in front of your students? But afterwards, what are some techniques you do? Just take care to know that it's OK to feel, it's OK to be frustrated, it's OK to have all the things.
Kimberly:Sometimes when I get in my car after a long day, I just sob and I give myself the grace Like we had a bad lesson. The kids were off the charts. I had an observation. The observation changed. They came in when I was my bad class and I just give myself the grace to unpack, because I'm just a human. I want to feel the human emotions, because not every emotion is bad. I think we think if we cry, that that's a bad emotion or we're weak, and what it really means is we're resilient, we're willing to sit in those moments.
Sari:It's so true. It's OK to be sad. We don't have to be happy 100% of the time. As a relatively new parent, I'm feeling that so much because I feel like sometimes I'll be with my children and say, oh, is she having a bad day? No, Do you get angry when things don't go your way? Yeah, we don't have to be happy 100% of the time. But I think what you're describing is we name the feeling, we give ourselves time to go through that and then we come out better because of it, which goes into the resilient piece.
Sari:And I love the way that you think about modeling this for your students, because I feel like so many times when adults are working with children and they're not in that happy quote unquote place, you're like, well, what's wrong? It's actually really hard to pinpoint what triggered you. It could have been something so random that happened a few hours ago and then you're taking that with you. So for you to be able to do that and reflect for yourself, I'm sure it carries over to your students. So it's really powerful, Kimberly, and thank you for all of your insights and expertise.
Kimberly:And I'll add one thing as educators, we teach reading to students, but yet we don't know how to put language around, how we feel.
Sari:Yep.
Kimberly:So it's like we need to give ourselves the expansion to surround language beyond a textbook and beyond a reading curriculum, because your students are going to come in and fall apart. If they trust you and you're a good educator, they're going to dump on you all the time.
Danielle:Yes, oh, so true. I mean, if listeners, if you're interested, actually, Kimberly, what's some of your favorite resources on naming emotions?
Kimberly:I have always loved Brene Brown. I found her in one of the hardest seasons of my personal life and the Gifts of Imperfection. I will speak about that book forever, because I remember sobbing in a therapy session and I'm like, but Brene Brown said that I had to cave, I'm a mess. Well, here I am a mess, and that's where I want you to start. Start with that and when you feel a certain way when a student triggers you, or when you get in the car with your child or your lesson plans and the printer's not working, just say I am feeling, not I am, because you are not your emotions, you are not your situation, but put language around saying at this present moment I am feeling frustrated, and listen, let your brain hear how you're feeling and then let that emotion, that is energy, flow in you and flow through you and flow out of you. Don't let it get stuck, because then you become a victim to your own body.
Danielle:It's so true. Thank you so much. I'll also add Brené Brown's Atlas of the Heart. It is a glossary of emotions and language. That's why she wrote it. Mark Brackett's permission to feel. He gives a framework on how to identify emotions. He references mood meters, which I use quite a bit in presentations. So just educators, just thinking about a couple tools from researchers. But unfortunately, kimberly, that is all the time we have for today. I could literally talk to you all day long about this, but we appreciate you so much. Thank you for being the change you want to see in education. Thank you for being a light and thank you for everything that you do for your students. They are super lucky to have you. We appreciate you.
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Danielle:And remember, be you be true, be extraordinary. The Extraordinary Educators podcast is produced by Curriculum Associates. Editing by Whiteboard Geeks, social media by Atstie Hannan, guest booking by Sarri Laveris, production by Hailey Browning. This podcast is copyright, material and intellectual property of Curriculum Associates.