Anti-Racist Behavior Management with Dr. Deonna Smith, Ep. 127 Instructional Coaching with Ms. B

Anti-Racist Behavior Management with Dr. Deonna Smith, Ep. 127 Instructional Coaching with Ms. B

Chrissy Beltran [00:00:00]:

Are you new to coaching? Starting out as a coach can be incredibly overwhelming, especially when you aren’t given much direction from your administration. That’s why I created the new coaches playbook. It includes a roadmap to help you start building your coaching foundation and a guide to seven podcast episodes in order that will give you the steps and ideas you need to build relationships, define your role, communicate with your admin, and make a plan to start coaching. Coach, what’s your instructional coaching personality type? Have you ever wondered what superpowers make you a really strong coach and what areas you can strengthen with just a little bit of direction? Well, now you can find out. I created the what’s your instructional coaching personality type quiz to help you answer this very question. Just head to buzzing with missb.com/quizwithacapitalq to take the two minute quiz and get your coaching personality type sent right to your inbox. Even better, you’ll get a playlist of podcast episodes handpicked just for you to help you hone your superpowers and strengthen your areas of growth. I’m so excited to share this quiz with you, so don’t wait to take it. Go to buzzywithmissb.com/quizwithacapitalq and learn so much about your coaching style. You’re listening to Buzzing with Miss b, the coaching podcast, where we believe that every teacher deserves a coach, and every coach does too. I’m Krissy Beltran, an instructional coach, resource creator, and coffee enthusiast, and I’m your host. Stay tuned for practical tips and honest coaching talk that will help you coach with confidence. Hey, coaches, and welcome to episode number one twenty seven of Buzzing with Miss b, the coaching podcast. I know this last school year was really hard for everyone involved. Two years of instability and trauma impacted students, parents, teachers, and the school system as a whole. This month, I want to provide you with some support all about behavior management, and that’s because I got so many questions about it through this past year. Instructional coaches are often asked to focus on the instructional side of school, but we all know that if behavior isn’t in place, nothing else is going to happen in that classroom. Classrooms where kids and teachers are unhappy and unmanaged are often in the rooms where the least learning takes place. And the problem with that is we were seeing that in many, many classrooms last year. It was just not a great place for kids or adults to be. When they’re frustrated by so many challenges, teachers often turn to the things that they’ve seen before, and that is often from their own experience as students. The issue with this is that many of these practices and the practices that we now frequently turn to affect different populations of kids in different ways. And that’s why I wanted the first episode of this mini series on behavior management to be about anti racist behavior management. Without a framework for understanding this principle, nothing else is going to work because we’re going to be impacting kids differently and we might not even realize it. I’ve invited Diana Smith here today to talk with me about these ideas and share her knowledge. I have learned so much from following her online, and I’m really looking forward to sharing her with you today.

Dr. Deonna Smith [00:03:19]:

Welcome to the podcast, Deonna. Hi. Thank you so much for having me.

Chrissy Beltran [00:03:24]:

Thank you so much for being here. I’m looking forward to this topic so much, and I think it’s gonna be really helpful to a lot of coaches.

Dr. Deonna Smith [00:03:31]:

Yes. I hope so as well. So I want to give

Chrissy Beltran [00:03:34]:

you an opportunity to introduce yourself. You can talk a little bit about who you are, kind of how you’ve arrived at where you are, like, the path you’ve taken, and what kind of work you focus on right now.

Dr. Deonna Smith [00:03:45]:

Absolutely. Thank you. So my name is, doctor Deonna Smith, and right now, I am a school administrator. I started off as a teacher. I’ve taught lots of different things. I taught fifth grade for a while. I taught intervention. So I was an interventionist. And at the school, I was at it was k through eight, so I was doing math push in for the entire school, essentially. After that, I started teaching middle school math and science and social emotional learning, did a little bit of teaching high school as well. And after that, I really transitioned more into teacher coaching. So I started working with teachers, doing what I would call anti racist teacher coaching. It was not it wasn’t my official title. We weren’t really saying the words anti racist yet heavily in education, but I started off as a coach and working with new teachers and teachers who just felt like they needed extra support and kind of worked my way through that and eventually became, an administrator, which I do right now. And then I also work with teachers across the country. Primarily, I find them through my social media platforms and support them for folks who want to start, sustain, and scale equity work wherever they’re at along that process in their classrooms and in their schools. That’s amazing.

Chrissy Beltran [00:05:04]:

I’m I’m sure that you have seen I kinda mentioned a few minutes ago that instructional coaches, see a lot of stuff. You know, they see all the and they see all the practices. They see the good, bad, and the ugly, everything in between. And, and so sometimes looking at all that can be overwhelming. And so I’m sure that I mean, you’re a great guest for us, I think, because you have had that experience in being a push in teacher and being a teaching teacher coach. You’ve seen all of it. So so I think that you probably have a great perspective for us.

Dr. Deonna Smith [00:05:33]:

Yeah. Yeah. I’m excited to, share and learn from you as well. And, you know, we’re all we’re all still very much in this together, so I’m excited.

Chrissy Beltran [00:05:46]:

So could you talk about, to get us started, a little bit of the historical problems that we’re seeing with behavior management, specifically about how the the way that we’ve done behavior management for years or decades longer, how it affects children of color?

Dr. Deonna Smith [00:05:56]:

Yeah. Absolutely. So, I mean, this is an issue that has so much resonance on, like, the daily individual level, but yet its roots are so deep systemically. And I think understanding those systemic roots will really help folks to understand how we can break down some of those harmful practices. So just to start, I mean, most teachers, definitely myself included, while you might have, like, some sort of behavior management training, right, like, in your credentialing program, most teachers do not leave their programs feeling equipped to handle what their students are bringing to the table, often on day one. So there’s a fundamental, like, kind of lack of of awareness. And I think there’s also a deeper lack of awareness of understanding that really the way that we do school, like, the structures that we have in place are actually not conducive to supporting, like, positive behavior outcomes for students. So the purpose of schooling, has really, historically, in The United States, really been about socializing kind of like a working class. Right? Our schools were, kind of created, public schools at least, were kind of creative as a melting pot, like, a place to have kids during the day, right? And the idea is kids kind of go and regardless of what they’re bringing to the table, they go in this very standardized experience of school. And the reason why we’re seeing, I think we’re seeing so much problems with behavior is because that standardized experience of school does not accommodate for our students and where they’re coming from culturally, linguistically. I mean, even when you talk about neurodivergent students and the ableism that we see our students experiencing at schools. So schools just were not designed, to work for students in that way. And understanding and accepting, like, that is fundamental, I think, is almost liberating because we can get so stressed out. Like, why isn’t this working? And it’s like, okay. No. It wasn’t designed to work that way. Like, it wasn’t it wasn’t designed for our students, so it’s not gonna work for our students as as we as we see them now. A lot of what we see now in schools, especially because of the demographic mix mismatch between teachers who are overwhelmingly white women, statistically speaking, and our student body, which if you know anything about The US demographics, our students are becoming more and more students of color coming from different places, and they’re just experiencing different things culturally. So, there isn’t a shared alignment of cultural expectations and understandings that teachers are coming to the classroom with. I mean, most teachers probably get at least two or three students if you’re in the lower grades that don’t speak English, you know, let alone have a cultural value that you share. So there’s just so much difference. There’s such a wide gap between, what people are bringing to the table when they come into the classroom, and we don’t have

Dr. Deonna Smith [00:08:49]:

a lot of good systems to to mitigate that gap. And so what we’ve seen is black and brown students being vilified for for not being able to conform to a set of standards and practices that were not designed for them in the first place. What that vilification looks like is over suspension, over expulsion, of black and brown kids going all the way down to preschool. So before they’re even in kindergarten, like, the idea that you can even expel a preschooler is wild to me, but, black and brown kids are six times more likely to be suspended at the preschool level alone. So it starts early, and then it continues and perpetuates, and you have some schools that have even, you know, school resource officers or school police, which adds another layer of escalation. So then you are further criminalizing students. So all of this happens at a very, very systemic level, but I think we can see it play out in our individual classrooms, but it’s important to recognize that context. Mhmm. Yeah. What what does that look like in individual classrooms?

Chrissy Beltran [00:09:49]:

When we’re talking about the way that teachers interact with students, and you’re saying that there’s, like, a, you know, disparity between the way that you know, what the teacher’s bringing and what the kids come with. Like, they’re look they’re coming from different worlds. So what does it look like whenever teachers are interacting with kids and they’re not prepared? What kinds of practices do we see?

Dr. Deonna Smith [00:10:06]:

Yeah. So a perfect example that I I’ll always like to reference is when you look at why black and brown kids are suspended or expelled or sent even sent to the principal’s office, kicked out of class, etcetera. And it it starts really with being kicked out of class and then gradually escalates. But when you look at something like that, the data shows us that it’s usually for, subjective offenses. So things like disrespect. Right? Like, just just think of think of the idea of disrespect. You and I could write a write a definition of disrespect in the classroom, and it would be different for each person. And that’s why the culture matters because there is a cultural understanding of what it means to act and look respectful that might not be shared between the teacher and the student. So it’s those kinds of things that we that we often overlook as this is just common sense. This is just everybody knows this. Right? We’re all on the same page, but you’re really not on the same page because our teachers are coming from a different cultural experience. And it even if you, you know, you can be a black teacher and this can be your experience. You can have a different cultural experience than the students that you’re working with. And so because that there’s not that deep pool of shared meaning along what it means to be respectful, what it means to show you’re listening. Right? How do you know a kid is listening? Mhmm. Sitting you know, what some you know, there’s all those, those acronyms like STAR. Right? You’re sitting up, you’re listening, whatever. That’s not the same for all of students. They show it in different ways. So those are just two small examples of areas where we think that there’s an objective understanding of this is disrespect and this is listening. But depending on your funds of knowledge and your culture and your experiences, you could have two different ideas about that. And that clash, that is where we see a lot of the disparities between black and brown students and white students when it comes to behavior response. Mhmm. Yeah.

Chrissy Beltran [00:12:02]:

That makes so much sense. That it’s subjective, reasons that people are are sending kids out of the classroom. That’s a really good point. And I’m wondering, you know, what does that look like to to address those kinds of things? You know? I mean, you you work a lot with anti racist behavior management, I’m assuming, with lots of different kinds of teachers. And so how do you kinda bridge that gap to where they even see the need for it? Or, like, how do you get them to say, yeah. Maybe I should make some changes?

Dr. Deonna Smith [00:12:32]:

Yeah. It really comes down to awareness. And so that that is, making culture visible is really the first thing that I have to do. I have to get folks to understand that they have a culture because for so long, so many white folks have been incorrectly told that they don’t have a culture, That it’s like, no. This is just I what do you like, I they don’t even think even white itself is kind of a catchall. Right? You if you’re white, you’re saying not Italian, not Irish, not German. You could point to a culture with that. Right? But to say white is almost perceived as this lack of culture, but that’s not true. It’s the dominant culture. But because white folks are so immersed in it, they don’t recognize the water that they’re swimming in. But me as a black person, I can clearly see, you know, what is white culture, what is black culture. It’s obvious to me, because I have to know how to do both. But because white people don’t have to see their culture, they don’t even know that they’re holding their students to these un kind of unspoken unfair things because they’re thinking, oh, we’re all on the same page. So just making that visible is the first thing. Getting folks to understand things like implicit bias, understand things like you can, like it doesn’t mean that being racist doesn’t look like what people think it looks like. And I say that to say, like, a lot of folks mean, what do you mean I’m racist? Like, I I voted for Obama. I have a black best friend. Right? But what I’m trying to help people understand is we are all systemically impacted by racism. And so you, as a product of this culture, have been fed a narrative, have been fed stories that impact your biases and how you think about people of color. And it might not be on the top of your mind, but it’s implicit and it is there. So another study that’s really powerful that came out of Georgetown was a study about the adultification of young black girls. Alright. And teachers did yeah. That one was so good, and it it talked about how teachers literally perceive black girls as less innocent. And these are not teachers that would call themselves racist. Of course not. But it’s just about understanding that, no, there is something going on. Subconsciously, there is a cultural and a belief that’s happening behind what your actions are showing that is informed by our racist society. So making that visible, excavating that, pulling that up, and giving folks kind of a mirror is the absolute first step because I can’t come in and say, you know, you need to think about why you keep kicking this kid out of the classroom unless we’ve we’ve talked about that because then teachers just get frustrated, and they’re like, well, I’m trying to

Dr. Deonna Smith [00:15:07]:

teach my lesson, and he’s gotta go. He’s not following the directions. Right? So you you have to do that internal work first. Yeah. I think that’s probably the biggest hurdle for a lot of people. And I’ve read several books, and it talks about how how do you address this topic with with individuals who are maybe not on board with it yet. And it is it’s a real challenge sometimes, because our because it is our pivot is, no. I’m not racist because we’re trying to defend. Mhmm. You know, what the well, I mean, because we painted that at, oh my gosh. This is, like, the worst thing you can be. And it is a terrible, terrible Mhmm. But we’re all a little bit back. So we don’t acknowledge that before we can make any changes in it. And we have to acknowledge the media we consume and and, I mean, just and and the the voices that were, you know, in our childhood, you know, that all these things were just feeding us these certain stereotypes or certain, expectations of people, and then it’s just swimming in your little brain. Like, it’s just in there, and you don’t even know it’s in there until it comes out. And it doesn’t feel like people think it’s all, I know I I know many people who feel like like racism is all, like, it’s saying racial slurs. You know? Right. And if you’re not saying racial slur, then you’re okay. But it’s it’s much more subversive than that, and that’s why it’s so dangerous. Right. Exactly. Exactly. And we have to make that we have to, make it more plain for people because it’s so easy for folks to to point to racism. And you think about these flagrant things, but the reality is it’s not a precursor to getting a teaching credential to not have prejudice. Right? There’s no test. They don’t they don’t screen. And this is what I always say. Teachers are just people. Like, your teacher is just a person who is a product of their upbringing, their culture, what they read, what they consume, what they think, all of that, you know, it it it informs how you teach. And so I think we want to, people falsely think things like, well, we keep politics out of the classroom. Just if you’re just because your students don’t know your political affiliation doesn’t mean that it isn’t coming across in your actions. Right? There are things about who you are as a person that are transmitted to your students and especially in these high moments of stress. And that’s why I think behavior is such a critical thing to discuss because when we’re responding to behavior behavior nine times out of 10, we’re having some sort of emotional response. Our heart is racing. We’re stressed out. It’s timely. We’re frustration. That is when you the most prejudice comes out. Right? You’re not thinking clearly.

Dr. Deonna Smith [00:17:36]:

You’re you’re you’re escalated. And so in those moments of escalation, I find teachers to be the most biased. And so it’s really, really critical that we understand that it’s not it it is in you, these biases. And whether you realize it or not, your kids are picking up on it. And it does matter, and it does inform your practice. Mhmm. Yeah. This is such all such good points. So how does anti racist behavior management differ from the way that people often approach management in the classroom? Well, I think even the term behavior management is kind of a misalmer. I call it behavior management because I think that’s how people understand it. But I think just the idea that you’re managing the behavior, puts a lot of emphasis on the response as opposed to the proactive measures. So, really, like, people when I really work with people, they’re kind of surprised because the absolute last thing that I do is give you a checklist of things to do when things go wrong. Right? That’s, like, at the end. Yeah. Because I think that that’s there’s so much that you can do in the beginning. You have to contextualize the behavior. So I get so a teacher, is like, okay. You know, what do I do when my students are, like, I’m trying to teach and they’re, you know, being quote, unquote disrespectful? Mhmm. My first question isn’t what’s the behavior. I’m like, okay. What are you teaching? And let me see your seating chart. And what did you what did you do for the rest of the day? What is your schedule? What is your relationship with them? How often do you talk to the parents? All of these things are proactive measures that you do to create a community of care and accountability. Mhmm. Because when you have a classroom community where care and accountability are fundamental building blocks of what you do, you are going to spend a lot less time managing behavior. Like, the last thing you wanna do is just be like, you’re playing whack a mole. Right? And so there will definitely right. There there will definitely be those times. So I always tell teachers, like, this is not to say that, you know, a student will never step one toe out of line. What it is to say is that before the behaviors even happen, you created a community, right, where you kind of take off the first, like, top 80% of that, and then you bring yourself down to kind of outlier cases, right, like these extreme cases or these unusual cases, but you’ve already built up this capacity and the schema to respond to it. So you’re not responding out of this angry, flustered, frustrated, I’m at my wit’s end place. You know? And we’ve all been at that place. We’ve been at that place where we’re, like, I’m never teaching this grade again. They told me about

Dr. Deonna Smith [00:20:18]:

this group. I can’t wait till summer. I can’t wait till happy hour. We’ve all been there. And so it’s really just my goal to bring people out of that place as often as possible by creating a classroom an intentional classroom community. I love that. It’s so it’s so preventative. And so and it’s also just what everybody wants for their kid. So it’s Right. Perfect sense. I mean, of course, yeah, if we’re if we’re trying to respond to the behaviors after the fact, it’s too late. And so the other benefit of having that classroom community set up is that whenever you do get one of those behaviors, that child knows what to expect from you. Right. Because you’ve created that relationship with them. They know what your what your style is. They know what your room is like, so they know they’re still gonna be treated like a person whenever you are regardless of what you’re wanting to do, you know, to work through that behavior. So I love that. But teachers struggled so much this past year to manage student behavior. And, you know, and it seems like I mean, logically, it would tell me that you know, logic would tell me that it was a result of how unstable this past couple years have been and how much trauma has gone on in the past two years. I know myself, I was not even in the classroom. I work you know, I I’m a, I’ve I do most of my work virtually. And there was a time whenever I had I I get blind spots before I have migraine, and I had a blind spot for, I’m not kidding, like, seven months. It just didn’t go. You know? And it I was like, well, I guess I just have this now forever. Yeah. But this is me now. Yeah. This is my new normal. So and it and then I don’t know when it went away. I couldn’t tell you, and it’s just gone. But it it was like this constant stress of, you know, fear for your literally for your lives and for your children’s lives and for your your, well-being, and our mental health was suffering. And everything was just so hard, and still things are going on still that are are are hard. So what can the school do to support students and teachers with this? Because I feel like after virtual learning ended for many schools, they just went back, and they’re like, great. Now we’re in person. We can, you know, come with that. Mhmm. And that thing was really put into place. And so many teachers felt like we’re not being real here. And so many students were like, I’m gonna do what I’m gonna do because, you know, you didn’t help me with this transition at all. So Right. Please do, like, at a as a whole. Yeah. I think and it’s so critical to recognize that,

Dr. Deonna Smith [00:22:42]:

you know, our students are so, like, the the emotional state that our kids are in. You cannot over you can’t I cannot overemphasize how critical it is to humanize students in this moment. Because what I’ve also seen from a lot of teachers, and understandably so because they’re frustrated, is just these kids don’t want to they just you know, the kids are out of control. It’s the parents. All this finger pointing back and forth between the kids being just terrible for no reason and the parents being terrible for no reason. And what I think that that does is it it takes a focus off of the actual problem, which is the systemic problem. Like, we can point fingers at parents all day and say parents aren’t doing what they’re supposed to be doing, and kids aren’t doing what they’re supposed to be doing. But, personally, I don’t think anybody should be asked to do what they’re doing. So they’re responding to a toxic system that does not work. And so, like, we can’t lose sight of that because I think that we lose a lot of our, our our options, right, to just be better in the future when we’re so caught up with what the parents and kids aren’t doing. It’s like, okay. Is the but is it is it kind of ridiculous, though, to be asking kids to do this? Because I have teachers that are like, oh, you know, they just don’t wanna be here. They don’t wanna learn. I’m like, well, I mean, to be honest with you, I wouldn’t wanna learn either. Like, it’s not a good time. I I you you if your emotional needs goes back to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Right? If your emotional and physical needs aren’t being met, if you don’t feel safe, you’re not going to learn from that teacher. And so I think what schools can do and teachers can do is to recognize you are either going to spend the time later or you can front end it now Mhmm. And be intentional about how you’re going to I’m assuming people are on spring break. How you’re gonna start in the fall. Because I think a lot of schools and teachers are like, I don’t have time right now, but I encourage you. Honey, you will not have time later. It will it hurts you more in the long run to not invest and build that up and start strong in the fall, with things like prioritizing relationships, prioritizing social emotional care. If there’s anybody that’s in charge of a school that’s listening. I I’m talking about your budget. You need to write a check. You need to go ahead and get the funds, and there are a lot of funds out there, teachers that are listening, folks that work in schools. The government act there’s there’s millions of dollars that there’s so much money that schools don’t even know what to spend

Dr. Deonna Smith [00:25:08]:

it on, and that’s a fact. There was a whole, you know, kind of article about it talking about how we got a lot of COVID funds and schools haven’t spent it yet. So there is money to invest in, whether that looks like changing the schedules, more support staff, bringing in social emotional health experts, hiring another counselor, hiring more teachers to get those class sizes down. There’s so many things that you can do in the beginning to start strong. Or, you know, if your district has school resource officers, how like, is there funds from the school resource officers that could be re, redistributed to other things in your school? Where I’m at in LA, they just took the the LA school police has, like, a billion dollars. They’re not gonna miss 300,000,000 of that. They got a billion dollars. They took a good chunk of that and reappropriated to hire social workers, more teachers, instructional aids, you know, restorative justice coordinators. All of these things really go far to help the adults in the building. And as far as the kids go, you need to recognize the context of of what’s happening and that a a student is not a well a a student is not going to be well adjusted in your school if they don’t have time to process, and to reregulate themselves after just the continuous, tumultuous chaos that we’ve all been experiencing. You know, numbers I was just reading an article a couple days ago from, like, Better Health. I don’t know if y’all have heard of Better Health. It’s like this mental health app. Yeah. They like, they’re meant Better Health, calm mind space. All of these mindfulness apps are saying that they’ve never seen this many adults traumatized. Right? That their, like, numbers are just off the charts because so many adults are needing help. So if we’re going through that as adults, imagine what our kids are going through, and they don’t they can’t they can’t pull up better health. So it’s really important to just start with that social emotional health, aspect and then work from there. I have to ask you because you mentioned, a toxic system that doesn’t work. And I’m wondering, how do you motivate yourself or what how do you keep coming back, you know, with good energy to do the work? What do you what do you tell yourself? Because I know that a lot of coaches have seen so much that they are, sometimes they feel like, what what am I doing? What is the point? You know? Like, it’s not every year, it’s the same problem. Things are not getting better. Things are getting worse. So what is what do you say, or what do you do? What does that look like? A couple of things that I think about. The first thing I think about is that I am sowing seeds for seeds for a future that is not my

Dr. Deonna Smith [00:27:47]:

own. I keep telling myself that I’m planting seeds. I will probably not live to see the day when schools are really dismantled and rebuilt in the way that they need to, but I know that I’m I’m planting those seeds. And a couple of things that’s happened that encouraged me. So for example, my first teaching job, I actually taught in South America. I taught, in Chile and in Mexico, and I taught for a program that I was doing with the UN, helping, like, find early finance skills for, like, single moms. So I I’m teaching this class. And I met someone there. This was probably, like, almost ten years ago. I met someone there, and I had, like, a really heated discussion with them about, not like, it wasn’t quite black lives matter because black lives matter didn’t really exist the way that it did back then. But I had this discussion with them kind of about just talking about how, you know, we don’t live in a post racial society. Heated discussion. I mean, this person was just like, you’re wrong. You know? Just very, very, very heated discussion. Right? Fast forward to 2020, the wake of George Floyd, this is, like, nine years later. Out of nowhere, I get a DM from this person that’s like, you know what? I don’t know if you remember this, but we got into an argument one time at a bar in Valparaiso, Chile. And what you said, like, really impacted me. And I couldn’t hear it then, but I’ve been thinking about it. And now I’m organizing with my local BLM chapter and dah dah dah dah dah. So at that moment, it definitely felt like a lost cause because that person was, in that moment, being really racist. Right? Like, really shutting me down. Mhmm. But I and I didn’t know if it would ever happen. Right? I so you have to let go of the hope or or marrying yourself to the outcome that it’s gonna get better right away because it might not. But you have to be okay with sowing seeds and knowing that, like, you’re investing in something that’s coming in the future. The other thing that I do from a really pragmatic stance is I don’t go at it alone. I have my squad if it’s not at my school because I have worked in schools where, like, there’s a lot of teachers that support it, and I’ve worked in schools where it’s like, I’m the only one. And I’m like that teacher that everyone’s like, oh, lord. You know, don’t have her talking. And you know what I mean? Like, we’ve all been in that position. So you need to find your squad of people, and you need to just, like, really outline some goals and work at the small things. Don’t get discouraged if you know, obviously, we all wanna end standardized testing. But how do we chip away at

Dr. Deonna Smith [00:30:19]:

that? K? How do we how do we chip away? Maybe it’s not standardized testing ends next year, but maybe instead of a beginning of year, middle of year, and end of year, we just do a beginning and an ending of year. Maybe we don’t end standardized testings next year, but we advocate and get a parent group together and all the parents and families opt, you know, a critical mass of their kids out, so we’re divesting from standardized testing. Right? So just finding those small goals and finding your team, that will help you stay encouraged and engaged because you you have to feel like you’re doing something. Right? But you might not get the big you might not take the big win every time. You might not see that. So you have to be okay with, one, just knowing that you’re sowing seeds, and two, figuring out how do you chip away at it. Yeah. I love that. Thank you so much for sharing that because it’s it’s been so disheartening for so many people, and I totally, with those with the way that you’re approaching that. And the other thing that helps me is that as I think, well, it might make like, it’s kinda like the conversation that you had that years later, you know, had a positive outcome. It you don’t you it might make an impact on somebody. I mean, there’s a child that’s positively impacted, and you don’t know. Like, you I mean, it could happen tomorrow. It can happen the next but it can happen soon, and you just they’re everywhere. They’re everywhere kids need help. And if you are doing something, if you can impact the teacher, that every kid that teacher would ever teach that you’re going to make a difference for. And that’s hundreds and hundreds of kids, you know, down the road. So so it that’s all if it’s just one kid. I mean, I think we get so caught up in, like, a class. You you have you might have, twenty years of third grade. You know, you might have hundreds and hundreds of students. But to that one kid, you’re their third grade teacher. You’re their third grade, you know, the the person that does the instructional coaching. They only have one experience of you, so you could fundamentally change something and you don’t even know. It could just be that one kid. You know, if you can reach every kid one year, you know, let’s say you push into six classrooms, one kid per class every year, you teach for ten years. I mean, that’s that counts for some sake. Mhmm. Yeah. That’s great. So you mentioned parents and, you know, making sure that parents are part of the system and that the system is working for parents. How can schools build bridges and really include parents in the school community? Yeah. I think I think that’s a tricky one. I think one

Dr. Deonna Smith [00:32:39]:

thing that I always encourage families and and schools to understand is that not every culture has a positive, contextual relationship with schooling. So when you think about native students or or indigenous folks, what what have schools done for indigenous folks? You know? The like, they were a, site of cultural warfare. When you think about black and brown kids, they experienced trauma at school. Right? And and at least in the black community, we’re not a monolith, but one thing I I feel in the black community is we don’t have the same, relationship with authority as other cultures do. So what I mean by that is it’s not assumed that the teacher knows best. Right? And for a good reason. Because historically, the teacher has not known best when it’s come to black and brown kids. So you have to understand that not every family and not every culture is going to just automatically, like, want to be involving themselves in the way that you want them to involve. You know, they they might not answer the calls when you want them to answer, and you have to have, like, some understanding of that. Like, their parents are just people. You know? They have their own things going on, and I think, a lot of schools and and teachers can almost get, like, offended if the families don’t participate in the way that they, like, want them to participate. But you gotta understand, like, there’s so many other factors going in, and you have to learn to appreciate different ways of participation without assigning a value to it. If I don’t if I don’t answer or if I don’t show up to parent teacher conferences, that doesn’t make me a bad parent. Like, you you have no idea of the situation. So I think a lot of teachers just really need to let that go. So I think it’s kind of reframing what participation looks like. The school doesn’t get to define participation because I might be a parent, and maybe I don’t come to the PTA or I miss my parent teacher conference. But the way that I’m participating is advocating for my student, is making sure that you’re on your p’s and q’s, and I wanna know why my kid was kicked out of class. Or, you know, I’m that parent at the IEP meeting that always want that wants to have an advocate at the IEP meeting. Right? Like, there it looks different. So I think we have to, like, kind of reshape how we think about participation, understand that different cultures have different relationships with schools, and then also just open your doors. I think some schools are so, almost, like, protective and afraid. They really wanna control how parents participate. For me, I I open I say open up the doors, get the families in there now, especially that people are more open with COVID. Let them see and experience your school,

Dr. Deonna Smith [00:35:13]:

and let them be equal stakeholders and partners, like surveys, asking them what do they wanna see, what could it look like, and inviting them in. One of the things that I always do when I’m dealing with behavior in my back pocket, I will always pull this out. I have a student that’s perpetually giving me struggles or a group of students. Their parents need to come in and supervise them. You will do a parent shadow or a family shadow for the day. Or I don’t know if folks saw in Louisiana, there was kids that were getting into fights along the hallway, so they had, like, the dad brigade. It’s a heartwarming story, and everybody was like, oh, that’s so cute. But I’m like, but, really, that’s a strong pedagogical move because that’s bringing the families and the community into the school. It’s not just saying come in and back to school night when we want you. It’s like, no. You need to be here, and then it becomes our responsibility, and we have this community responsibility. So how can you partner with the community, bring the families in, to be a part of it, like, even for, like, cultural celebrations. Right? When I one of my core memories is when I was in the third grade. I was the only student of color at my school, but my mom made, like, soul food and, like, did a presentation on black culture for my all of the kids in my class. And that was a really huge moment for me because it was like I get to share my culture with people, and it was a big moment for my mom because the teachers thought of her as, like, this absentee parent. Right? Because she wasn’t because I was late all the time, and I missed a lot of class, and she, like, missed the one thing or the other. So I think they definitely judged her. But then when it was time, right, she was there, and she, you know, made food for everybody. So I think it’s just, like, being creative and finding those ways and really, recognizing that, like, it’s not it’s not just common sense or it’s not there’s not a right or wrong way to do it, to do family participation, and to just be inclusive of that. That is so true. My husband’s parents immigrated here whenever they were in their thirties. And, and he was born here. They’re they’re from Mexico. And, he was born here in El Paso. We’re right across the border from Mexico, El Paso El Paso Tech. And so his parents had very little experience with schooling of any kind. They, you know, they his father doesn’t read or write. He went to school for a few years. His mom went to school, and whenever she was with the nuns, like, it’s a whole yeah. I mean, it was a whole it was a whole completely

Dr. Deonna Smith [00:37:28]:

different way of going. You know? They didn’t have stability. They didn’t have family life that that, you know, maybe we think is ideal, or they really didn’t have any family lives at all, for a long time. And so their home like, their their their home was not really set up in such a way to support my husband at school because they had no clue what that would even be. They didn’t even have Right. Background there. And they didn’t speak the language because at the time now people in the city, teachers largely reflect the population of students. So we’re over 80% Hispanic here, and over 80% of the teachers are Hispanic as well. It’s it’s that I mean, everybody just stays here. Nobody leaves. So it’s it’s just one of those cities, the boomerang cities, what they call them. Everybody comes back. So, they but at the time, that was not really the case. And so he had many white teachers, and he kind of in retrospect, he said that he has felt like like how many of those teachers, looking back to some of the things that the teachers would tell him, he said, I really don’t think they thought I was gonna do much. And I could I now I can see that as an adult. At the time, I didn’t I didn’t really get it as a kid, but they and then the parents didn’t speak English, so they didn’t go to the school much because there was not translation available. Now there is here everywhere, but, you know, I don’t know about other places. So it’s it’s so much more accessible for families now. Even the language alone was a huge barrier for them. Yeah. But that school culture was just completely foreign to them. They just they were like, oh, we don’t know what that is. And so go to school, do what your teacher says. And then he’d tell them he wouldn’t have done very well in something, and they’d say, why didn’t you do what your just do what your teacher tells me. Just do it. And he’s like, well, I didn’t I didn’t understand it. Well, just do what they say. You know? So they didn’t have they did not. And he was like, I thought I was. Like, he you know? And he’s such a powerful person, but he struggled when he was younger because he didn’t have that that bridge. You know? There was no bridge to the school for him. Right. Exactly. And we just don’t we because, like and that’s why I always ask teachers. What was your experience of your family being involved? Because that gives me a sense of what their frame of reference is. Yeah. Because if they’re like, oh, yeah. My mom did this, and she was, the the room mother and all that. I’m like, okay. Well, honey, that’s not the reality for everybody. Yeah. And and it’s letting

Dr. Deonna Smith [00:39:47]:

go of the value. Because you know what? Some people would hear the story that you just told and be like, oh, well, her husband’s parents, you know, are not the best parents, or they should have been more involved. Remove the value statement. No. It doesn’t. You don’t know. That’s my thing. It’s like, we have no idea. They they could have been amazing parents. That’s just not how they knew how to engage. So I think just letting go of that good and bad hierarchy of parent involvement is critical. That’s a really good point too. My my experience with whenever I started teaching, I was surprised at at the amount of parent involvement because I came from a home where my mom you know, we we were all, you know, taken to school, and it was but she was just like, I don’t know. I just wasn’t that worried about it, I guess. I’m not pretty well in school, and I was fine, but it wasn’t it wasn’t like a huge, like, I remember I can distinctly remember, and people are gonna be shocked about this, but I was in high school, and I was like, I have homework to do. And she was like, you find out how to do homework on your own time. We have to do work in the yard. Right. Yeah. Yes. Yes. Like, I’m gonna teach you time management in the only way I know how, which is Right. Pay most of your time. Right. Manage what little time you have. Good luck. Yes. That’s right. Now you have to choose what you’re gonna work on. And, and my my dad never went to the school. I don’t remember him at any school functions. And whenever I saw dads coming to school, I was like, wow. I was so late. I didn’t expect that. You know, my mom was like, oh, we have to go to another concert. Oh my gosh. This is ever gonna end. I see you in the back, and whenever they walk you off the stage, just keep walking out. Like, that’s chance to get when they give you your award, just keep walking. That’s what she used to tell us. So I think it’s hilarious, but I think that people might feel horrified by that. I and you know what? It’s like every every family has a different dynamic and understanding of what that looks like, but she still did what she needed to do. Obviously, look at you now. You know what I mean? So And and you think you grow up thinking everybody is that way, and then you start teaching, thinking everybody is that way. I mean, families that are so different than yours, and you’re like, oh my god. We can do it. So just that understanding of culture, it’s such a good like, it it permeates at every level. It’s so important. So how can teachers create in their classroom an

Dr. Deonna Smith [00:42:01]:

environment designed to support behavior in positive ways? Yeah. So so so much to do. I think, firstly, like, I always do the physical space, making sure your physical space is reflective of the students that you have, but making sure that it’s, like, soft and comfortable. I think, like, we and I’m not saying go out and spend a bunch of money and, like, be one of those Instagram teachers because I definitely was not. In fact, there’s a lot of compelling research that says some of our especially lower elementary classrooms have too much simulation. Mhmm. But just like a well designed space, like, does it does it, does it accommodate communal learning? Are there spaces for people to be together? Are there, you know, is there processing space where I can get away? I’m big on comm corners, having, you know, having your students represented, whether that’s putting work on the walls, having visuals that, you know, encourage what you wanna encourage. But so the pretty stuff. Right? Like, in my classroom, for example, I have all or my old classroom. I I always think of myself as a teacher first. I had all of the flags of the different countries that my students were from. I had, like, a Black Panther poster because obviously. And then I just had, like, a women in STEM type of thing because I was teaching, I was teaching math and science at the time. So I had those things that were just, like, fun visuals, but then I also had my kids’ work. I had, places where I had our anchor charts. I’m big on anchor charts for all grade levels that were reinforcing the learning. That way, you have something to reference and go back to. And then I had something a little fun. Like, I had personal touches so that they feel like they’re close to me. So that’s thinking about your physical space. And then you wanna think about your transitions and, like, your end caps. And I know for people that are multiple subject teachers or instructional coaches who are kinda going here and there and everywhere, it can be difficult because you’re like, oh, I only have, like, forty minutes in this block or however much time. But it really is worth the time just to plan out how will students come in and out of the room. And I don’t just mean, like, the line up. I mean, are you gonna play music? Is there, I’m big on scents. Like, my classroom had, like, a little scent diffuser. They always came into music, and they always knew what was up because on Friday, it was, like, height music. Every other other day was, like, gentle mindfulness music. And every every class period, I always started with some sort of transition activity, whether it’s a bell ringer, a mindfulness activity, a video, something to kind of, like, level set and let folks know, like, okay.

Dr. Deonna Smith [00:44:30]:

Now we’re in the classroom. Because you have to remember, kids are like, their emotions and their bodies are, like, in a place all day in school. You don’t know what just happened at recess out at lunch. So when you come in and you’re on ten and the teacher does nothing to, like, help you reregulate, and it’s just like, Pam, we’re, like, getting into long division, and you were gone half of the because your mom had COVID, so you missed the long division. So now you’re feeling some type of way. You’re, you know, embarrassed. You don’t wanna get called on. And so then what do you do? You act out because you don’t know what’s going on. So you’re like, I’m not about to sit here and listen to this because you’re already hyped up. You’re already on 10 emotionally. So your classroom should always be helping students regulate their emotions and feel safe. Like, that’s the number one thing. And then you also wanna think just about, like, your structure. We at this point, I know that a lot of teachers complain about it. The kids have short attention spans. I hate to say it, but we have to kind of meet them where they’re at. Like, I know nobody wants to. You know? We don’t we don’t want to have to feel like we have to be super entertaining content is important, but the reality is we’re gonna have to bend a little. We need to design our instructional block in a way so that our students are having ample time to move, to participate, to do collective learning, to use their hands, to use gestures, to to stay engaged. And I wish it wasn’t that way because I know a lot of teachers are like, why is it my job to put on a three ring circus for this child? Right? But the reality is, like, if we wanna get to the point where we can help them build that stamina, we have to meet them where they’re at. So I’m not saying that you always have to have these cartoonish TPT over the top lessons, but you do need to recognize that COVID did change everything. It did. And social media is changing everything. Nowadays, if you I just read the statistic that TikTok put out. You have to, like, have a hook within the first three seconds of a TikTok video for people to be interested in it. So if they’re getting every three seconds stimulation you know what I mean? Like, look at things like cocomelon, which is, like, super stimulating. That’s what they grew up on. We have we don’t have a shot unless we’re willing to meet them a little bit halfway with having that engaging, engaging kind of sequence. So broadly speaking, those are some things that I like to think about when I’m trying to figure out how can I set up my classroom for success

Dr. Deonna Smith [00:46:55]:

so that I’m not constantly playing whack a mole responding, responding, responding? Yeah. So important. What are some of your favorite ways to build a classroom community where all students are included and and feel valued in that community? Mhmm. Yeah. So I think a lot of it, is just a mixture of, like, creating the container where folks feel safe. Because I think, like, it’s one thing to be like, we’re gonna do an icebreaker and plan something, but the reality is it it well, I guess it depends on the age. I’m thinking more of middle school. If kids don’t feel safe and comfortable, they’re not gonna, like, be vulnerable and wanna share. So I think when I think of community building activities, what brings people together? Laughing together, incorporating humor. I make sure I laugh with my kids every day. I always do a circle, like an opening circle. When I was self contained, I did a daily circle. When I was, you know, single subject. I did a weekly circle at the beginning or at the, end of the week so that students felt a sense of closure. So that really helped build the community. I did a lot of, like, surveys and getting their feedback and their input, and that and people are always like, all they’re gonna say is they want more recess. Yeah. They like, to be honest with you, like, do I always use their ideas? No. But there’s something to be said for a kid feeling like you care about what they think. Even if you don’t implement anything, even if it’s like, we wanna do GoNoodle for an hour a day. Like, of course like, nobody said they’re gonna say anything, like, that you actually have to use, but make them feel important. Right? Like, make them feel like they are a part and they have a say in the community. If they feel like some accountability, agency, ownership of the classroom, when you start getting kids being like, this is my classroom, this is my space, this is our space, this is our class, this is our class identity, Maybe we have a song, a cheer, a chant, whatever it is. That’s when you’ll start to see the behaviors go down. Because if I don’t feel like I belong and this isn’t my space, I don’t care. I’ll turn up. I’ll tear things off the wall. What do I care? But if I’m like, oh, wait. That’s Susie’s, like, artwork that she put on the wall, and she really worked hard for that. And I love my teacher. My teacher loves me. Like, I don’t wanna do that anymore. So I think it’s really about helping them feel like they belong and that they have ownership of the community via listening feedback, finding moments of joy, time to laugh together, and being really consistent with those routines. Like, make it a routine to build a relationship because it might

Dr. Deonna Smith [00:49:15]:

not happen naturally. You’re gonna have to think about it, and you’re gonna have to plan it. Yeah. Yeah. I love the surveys. I used to do that with my fourth and third graders, and, actually, I was surprised with some of the things that they would say, things that they noticed or things that they really enjoyed that we maybe could do more of. Like, hey. I remember kids saying, I really love doing these projects we’ve been doing, and it’s just, I mean, you never know what they’re gonna come up with. Right. Yes. Yes. Would you talk a little bit more about your circle? Your your you said you had a circle that you did daily, whenever you were self contained and weekly whenever you were Mhmm. One. So, I mean, there’s there’s different types of circles, and and there was sort of justice they kinda talk about. There’s, like, different, like, ways. You can you can I think when people think about circles, usually, they’re thinking about a circle after something happens, but you can do a community building circle? It can be as as silly as, what color are you feeling today? And then we go around. It can be a show and tell circle, or it can be something instructional. Like, what’s your favorite thing that we learned this week? Or it can be something, related to, like, if there’s a current event going on. Maybe you wanna give kids time to process COVID. Maybe, you know, you’re having a student highlight, like, what they like to do and all about me circle and one person shares a week. Whatever it is, just making sure that that’s, like, a really clear routine time, and you wanna set expectations for that. Like, that is that’s the legwork. That’s all of September is dedicated to setting this up. Well, I say September because that’s when we go back. All of your first month is is dedicated to setting that up. So, you know, part of it is too, depending on what grade level you teach, you might have to teach how to sit crisscross applesauce, how to like, where do you keep your hands? You might have to actually physically go in and teach all of this stuff one by one. And so I think that’s where people get discouraged because they don’t think about all of the little things that could go wrong when you put, like, six, like, six year olds together, and then they get discouraged because it’s like, you weren’t even listening to the circle. Like, you were picking your nose, and you’re over here touching something. Right? So don’t get discouraged, you know, when it doesn’t it doesn’t work out. You really do have to really coach that behavior, and then get really small with it and then build up your building the scale. So your first circle that you do, let let’s say you do a Monday morning circle and

Dr. Deonna Smith [00:51:29]:

it’s really simple. What did you do over the weekend? It’s really easy. Maybe that first circle, not everybody is going. Right? Maybe that first circle is just about how do we sit together. Like, is there a circle song? When you hear the circle song, you come in, you sit down, all of these things just to kinda build the routine. And then you’re gradually, gradually building up to where maybe in November, you’re having a more meaningful circle. And then maybe when something does go wrong in December, that circle, because we’ve trained these routines, is a place where we can unpack how did it make you feel, how did this impact our community, that kind of thing. I love it. Thank you for the for the detail on that. So instructional coaches who are largely the people listening to this, they do support teachers in lots of different areas, but, usually, the focus is supposed to be obviously instruction, but instruction can happen when behavior doesn’t happen. Right? So how can a coach help a teacher start reflecting on their practice, and how can they help them start integrating some of these practices? Right. I mean, from a practical standpoint, I am a big believer of, like, the power of video, of scripting. If you especially if you have a teacher that’s struggling, I think it’s really important because a lot of teachers don’t really see how they are. Like, they don’t really the it’s hard for teachers to, like, get out and be reflective. Even just, like, a timer, like, timing how often the teacher is talking, just really getting down to basics and looking at some data with that teacher, I find to be very helpful. Another piece is to get to the bottom of those beliefs. Like, what is the belief about kids that’s preventing you from implementing x, y, and z? What what do you believe about the capacity of the student that makes it hard for you to accept my my feedback on on whatever I’m giving you feedback on? Right? All of those things really help, to kind of get to these breakthrough moments with teachers when when you’re working on coaching them. And I think being really honest about the role that behavior plays. I think, of course, in an idealized version, I would love to not have to talk about behavior. I actually started off as an instructional coach, and I thought I was gonna be doing instruction. Mhmm. The the the kids had other plans for me. It was not instruction. It became, you know, behavior. So I think being really honest and saying, like, the we don’t even know if your instructional practices are working because the behavior is preventing us from getting there. So what can we do? Like, what are some quick fixes, and then what are some long term projects? When I do coaching meetings, I like to think about today, this week, this

Dr. Deonna Smith [00:54:01]:

month, and this year, and really break it down. Like, so here’s something that will be really dope for next year for you to do and noting that. But you’re not going to launch something this week, so you have to balance it out. Right? Because people want actionable things that they can do tomorrow. Like, maybe your your small bite sized thing is I think your lesson will go more smoothly if you have a launch activity that helps students, like, emotionally regulate before they get into this really demanding this really academically demanding topic. Or I saw your lesson on decimals, and I think, like, a lot of your instructional practices are sound. But the reason why we didn’t get to instruction is because you talked straight for four minutes, and I timed you and you might not notice it. But I noticed that there’s seven kids in the back at the two minute mark, they were checking out. So how can we incorporate gestures, movement, whatever it is to help to help spice set up? Just little things like that. Yeah. Thank you. So I wanna know where I can go to learn a little bit more about this topic, where others can go to learn more about it. So what are some of your favorite resources for learning about anti racist behavior, approach, or any of the things that we’ve talked about today? Yeah. I would say, like I said, the I always I love to give practices, and it’s important to give practices, but the practices aren’t more important than the internal work that you have to do to unpack your biases. So I would say, like, as far as any any teacher, I think the the book that you have to read the most important book you have to read is we want to do more than survive by doctor Bettina Love. That’s the most important book. I would say start there. Other books that are really great is this book is anti racist by Tiffany Jewell, Unpack Your Impact by Naomi O’Brien and Lanisha Tabb, Culture Responsive Teaching in the Brain by Zaretta Hammond. Any of those books would be really, really great, to to start to read, to start to kinda figure out who you are in the space. Mhmm. As far as, like, resources, I think, you know, also, anti racist teaching is also a lot of it is just good instructional practices. Right? So if you’re getting investment and you’re, like, learning more about good instructional instructional practices, whether it’s from the curriculum provider or, you know, you’re tapped into another resource like Edutopia or, t learning for justice, formally teaching tolerance, all of those are really great spots where you can just learn more about teaching. And I really recommend that, especially instructional coaches, find that love and that passion again for the craft. You gotta just fall back in love with the craft of teaching, the art of

Dr. Deonna Smith [00:56:30]:

teaching, scaffolding, differentiation, feedback. You just gotta, like, reconnect to your love of that, and that will help you through the rough patches because there will be so many rough patches. So I would say, things like that help me stay connected. I think that there’s a lot of great folks on social media. I think people are getting more comfortable with learning from social media than we maybe we were before, but there’s a lot of, folks there. I, I do this work with, you know, schools and individuals. So if you wanna learn more about what I do, you can go to dianasmithconsulting.com. And my Instagram is just my name, diana smith. And I’m, like, recently on TikTok trying to hold TikTok thing, trying to stay current. So I’d love to connect with you, on any social medias there. But I would say, yeah, those are the main the main books and websites I would use when when it comes down to, like, figuring out how to do this work well. Oh, another book too, I guess, is, cultivating genius by Goldie Mohammed, which I’m sure everyone has heard of, but I cannot stress enough that that one is another solid one. That’s awesome. Thank you so much, and thank you for the tips. Yes. Yes. Focused in the work and to to hopefully find joy in teaching again. Yes. Yeah. And that that is really my hope is that folks reconnect to to that joy. And if it as an instructional coach, that means that you need to model a lesson. Like, I used to love modeling lessons, and it was it was as much for me as it was for the teacher. Because, yes, they needed to see me do it, but it was also for me to be like, why do I why do I do this again? Like, do I even like this job? Right? So modeling, if you can, is another great way to just, like, stay fresh and stay connected. You’re so right. Whenever so I left a campus four years ago whenever my first daughter was born. And I do work with schools, but I don’t I don’t live at a school. You know? Mhmm. And when I think about what I miss the most from my career of living at a school, I don’t miss the coaching. I miss the teaching. Yes. Those are the parts that I miss so much. So, yeah, that’s you have to get your hand back in there, and it’s a it’s a great way to do it in small doses. It’s kind of like babysitting. You can take some more Yes. Come back to the parents. Yeah. Well, thank you so much for being here today, Diana. I appreciate all of your all the information that you shared and, everything that you brought with you this day. It was great. Oh, well, thank you so much for having me again. It’s always a pleasure.

Dr. Deonna Smith [00:58:54]:

And, yeah, I hope someone out there got a little nugget from from what I was talking about, and, thank you for disallowing me to talk about this. It’s my passion, so I can talk about it all day. Absolutely. And, yes, if you are interested in learning more, you definitely should check out, Diana’s Instagram because it’s great. You have so much there. I love that you have oh, you have, like, the little reels that everybody does, but you also have, really great videos of you explaining things. And so I think it’s a really great source of information. Oh, yes. Thank you. Thank you. I know that was a lot of information from Diana, and I think it was great. I loved how much wisdom and knowledge she brought. And, also, I’m hoping that she gave you some tools that you can use and, also, maybe a a mentality or an outlook on your work because I know that that’s one of the biggest problems we’re having right now is finding joy in our work, finding purpose in the work whenever it’s been so unstable and hasn’t really reflected the roles that we had wanted to serve for so long. So I hope that you found something in this podcast that you will put in your back pocket and keep with you to bring you a little bit of joy and purpose over the next few months. If you are ready to find some more resources, I have some other episodes about related topics that might be a great place to start. Episode 28 is all about coaching for equity, and that is with Elena Aguilar, which is she’s the author of Coaching for Equity. Laurie Camp did an interview with me, in episode 79, and it was about video coaching. So today, Gianna mentioned that video coaching is a great way to help teachers kind of see the need for certain things or kind of examine their practice. So check out episode 79. Corey can’t do the deep dive into what video coaching could look like, and I’m still surprised at how much information she shared with us. So you can check out episode 79. Episode one twenty one is advocating for equity with doctor Lindsey Wilson. We talked about some of these topics, but we’re focused more about on equity and what equitable practices look like at a school level, what schools can do. And episode one twenty three is about behavior data. So, again, that’s another tool that you can use whenever you’re trying to work with teachers in those coaching cycles and you, you know, you see that maybe there needs to be a change, but you’re not sure how to approach the conversation. Check out episode 23 one twenty three for that. I also have a free download for you about coaching classroom management. So you can grab that download. It’s got a list of procedures that need to be explicitly taught, which is something that Gianna mentioned today, setting our kids up for success by preparing them with this is what it looks like to do this. This is what this looks like. Really making sure everybody knows all the ins and outs of the classroom before we expect them to do it independently. And you can get that at buzzingwithmissb.com/episode120seven. Just scroll down to the bottom of that post. That’s the show notes. It’ll give you a little summary of this episode, and you can listen to it again there for whatever reason you should choose to do so. And you can grab that free download towards the bottom, coaching classroom management. Next week in episode one twenty eight, we’re going to continue our focus on behavior and how you can support teachers in tough times. According to teachers and planning for engagement, which is something Diana talked about a little bit today, can minimize behavior issues if we’re really purposeful about it. So join me next week to learn how you can make that happen. And until then, have happy coaching.

Chrissy Beltran [01:02:13]:

Thank you for listening to Buzzing with Miss b, the coaching podcast. Want more coaching ideas? Check me out at buzzingwithmissb.com and on Instagram at buzzing with miss b. If you love the show, share it with a coach who would love it too, or leave me a review on iTunes. It’s free, and it helps others find this show. Happy coaching.