Teach
I See You My Educator Colleagues and Friends
As we enter the year 2025, I just wanted to take a moment to let all of my educator friends know that I see you.
I see the Superintendents who have tirelessly worked to maintain their integrity in one of the grittiest times in educating the almost 6 million public education students in California, and the untold millions across our nation and world. I see the dedication you have displayed, the determination you have used and the sheer desire you have focused on to keep education moving forward. I see the challenges you have accepted the criticism you have endured, and the politics you have fought through, all for the benefit of the children who fall under your daily care. I see the strategic planning, the work you have accomplished with colleagues to keep your District on the positive side of the ledger, while working to provide the best quality of services you can provide to ensure a well-educated citizenry will continue.
I see the Principals, who start each day by welcoming the staff and students of your schools onto campus with joy and hope for their daily success. I see you working with your staffs and support personnel to ensure that each moment spent with children under your watch is a positive one of growth and respect which can lead to future successes. I see the work that you do to keep everyone on your campuses moving forward together in peace and harmony so that the students are able to grow in peace and excitement for each day of learning.
I see the teachers, who spend their days working to advance their children’s skills, achievements, and overall positive mental health. I see the hard work, the dedication to your craft, the countless hours you spend worrying and planning your daily activities to make that positive difference for your students. I see the worry that is in your faces when you wonder if the children you work with every day are going to have a safe, warm place to perform a little bit of follow-up in the evening with a carrying individual. I see the professionalism that you perform throughout the day to keep it all together, though it is exhausting on some days.
I see the Support Staff, who have hearts as big as stars, who work to connect, engage, and support the entire system of education. Whether they are the first ones to see children in the morning as they climb aboard the bus, of meeting them as they arrive to school, or spend time with them during the day in or around campus. Whether they are the ones who are preparing the meals, cleaning up after the children, or planning the extended day activities for those that must stay at school a bit longer. I see each of you as you interact with children, provide guidance, care, and thoughtfulness in your actions.
Yes, I see it all, and yet, as most busy educators, sometimes I forget to tell those that are doing the amazing work that they are truly appreciated, that what they are doing on the daily matters, and that we all are important in the lives of the collective children who we are attempting to guide into the future. It takes each part of the system following their best selves when at work, in our communities, and engaging with each other as we continue this work.
If you read this, know that I see you!
Dr. Robert A. Martinez, is currently the Acting Superintendent of the Antioch Unified School District and has been in this role for eight months. He is also the Chief Human Resources Officer for the District. His latest book, “Recipes for Resilience, Nurturing Perseverance in Students and Educators” is available on Amazon, and was published by the Dave Burgess Consulting Inc.
The Power of 12: Nurturing Positivity and Resilience in Students and Educators
From his recently published book, “Recipes for Resilience, Nurturing Perseverance in Students and Educators”, Dr. Rob Martinez shares the concept of “The Power of 12”.
How do we make sure that we capture the essence of each positive thought, action, and feeling so that they trigger more positive results, creating a snowball of success? Well, we take action to initiate positivity; we watch for it, we share it, we promote it, we use it to build ideas in the community we live in, and we spread it on everything!
Each and every positive experience we encounter is part of our story, but far too often we allow those who languish in negativity to influence us. Negativity can be found on the local news, in our offices, and even in our personal thoughts, so we must consciously work to listen and be prepared to contradict inaccuracies when we meet them. We must seek and share the positive comments, acknowledgments, successes, and steps taken toward healthy growth, and use this information in our own stories. We must share this information with our neighbors and colleagues, and even, for that matter, on the local news!
If we want the world to know about the great things that are happening in our environments, we must shout it from the mountain, whisper it to each other, share it on every screen, and print it on every piece of paper that exists! Here are a few ways:
• Build a class story. Each day, or at least once a week, give your class some time to acknowledge and show their successes, growth, and development. Write it down, capture it in pictures, or heck, even go live on social media. Create a library of experiences that tell the story of this group of amazing people.
• Use a class, school, or district website to tell the incredible stories of advancement, success, and good things that are happening in your environment. You don’t have to do it alone. Let your students take charge! Include them and put their ingenuity to work.
• Get out there and talk yourself up. Whether you speak up in staff meetings, parent-teacher organizations, local community groups, or even at board meetings for your organization, tell the story of success that you see.
The Power of 12!
I’ve said it a few times in this book, and it bears repeating: we must consider the hearts, minds, souls, and actions of all individuals as we strive to build and enhance our own resilience and that of our community. We can do this through a purposeful approach that seeks to acknowledge positivity when it presents itself to us. The Power of 12 is one such way. You must take on this challenge yourself, and to truly create an upswell of positivity, you should also enlist every adult in your organization to take part in these simple steps:
Step 1. Each week, tell at least one student and one colleague that you saw their heart. What does it mean to say that you saw someone’s heart? You will know it when you see it. You will see it in the way people care for each other, the way they take a second to think of someone else, the way they make life just a little easier for others or lighten the load for another person.
Step 2. Each week, tell at least two students and two colleagues that you appreciate their mind and the way they share their perspective with you or others. In our world, we are often connected by being disconnected. Many people would rather get a text message than a phone call, would rather read a Facebook post than have a conversation. Self-expression is becoming a lost art. Even at our dinner tables, we far too often look up and see those in the room watching their phones rather than really engaging. We communicate verbally and in person less than ever before. We must remember that we shine our brightest when we are actually locked in true discourse and connected by being with each other.
When someone actually takes time to share their thoughts and perspective, we should stop, focus, and listen. We should strive to really understand their intent and then seek clarification so that we understand them. In many circumstances, when we misunderstand someone’s words and ideas, it isn’t because they didn’t communicate clearly; it’s because we didn’t listen appropriately. Telling someone you appreciate their mind lets them know that they are meaningful to you, that they hold innate value as a person, and that you’re interested in what they have to share. So many of us feel devalued in our society, and I often wonder if some of those feelings come from not being listened to and appreciated for our thoughts and words.
Step 3. Each week, tell at least three students and three colleagues that you saw them help someone’s spirit soar. Did they offer a kind word, give encouragement to a friend, offer compassion and caring to another? Did they give a blessing to someone in need or support someone having a tough day? Did they give an unsolicited cup of coffee, snacks, or written words of love to someone? The examples can fill a book. Our acts help others’ spirits soar just a little higher all the time, but we are often not looking for these moments.
Okay, did you add them up? Step 1 calls for you to tell two people that you saw their heart. Step 2 calls for you to tell four people that you appreciate their minds. And Step 3 calls for you to tell six people that you saw them help someone’s spirit soar. So, each week, you would personally be connecting with twelve people, hence, the Power of 12.
If you want to start out in your classroom and keep it simple, start by saying to your students: “We are going to have a challenge over the next week. We’re going to focus on being kind, smart, and helping others, and we’re going to try and catch everyone doing it. So, during this next week I challenge each of you to tell at least four different classmates that you saw them do something kind, do something smart, or help someone. Then, at the end of the week, during our reflection time, we’ll hear about the amazing things our class has accomplished to make life better for everyone here.”
If you happen to have a teaching staff of twenty people and you enlisted each of these teachers into this simple activity, you all can connect with 252 students each week with a personal communication that is meaningful and provides feedback about their heart, mind, or ability to help someone’s spirit soar. Think about it: in just two and a half weeks, each child at this school would have been personally acknowledged by a member of the teaching staff!
What if you added your classified staff—everyone at the school site who doesn’t have a teaching credential yet cares about these children? Let’s add another twenty, even though some of them work part-time. That’s right, include your yard supervisors, custodians, parent volunteers, and anyone who is on your campus. With 41 adults participating in your school environment, collectively you can connect with 492 students each week!
Okay, now, just for kicks, imagine what happens if all 650 students were supported and empowered to exercise the Power of 12 each week of the school year. So, now there is you, the teaching staff, your classified staff, all adults on campus, and all the children participating. What you have is an explosion of positivity! If all 691 people participated in the simple practice of the Power of 12, each week there would be at least 8,292 positive affirmations occurring.
Over the course of a thirty-six-week school year, this would bring 298,512 positive interactions into existence that would lift up the entire school population. Talk about the Power of 12! This would garner some positive attention across your school community for sure!
This idea can be implemented in any environment, with any number of people. It’s another way to take back control of the narrative and the environment for everyone in the community. Will it stop all negativity from occurring? Perhaps not. But when each of us is engaged in planting the seeds of a positive environment, we’re taking fertile ground away from negativity, and we’re choosing what will be cultivated in our island paradise.
Our children are kind and good natured, and when we give opportunities for them to show these traits, they’ll be eager to please. In several schools where I presented this idea, the idea grew into an explosion of kindness. We had teachers creating social media posts with positive actions from their students. We received reports of kindness and care being extended to siblings and parents at home.
In parent-teacher-organization meetings, adults took it on and were really seeing each other differently—to the benefit of the children. I have even seen several of my more experienced teachers who have discounted many positive-behavior intervention strategies use this approach, and when they do, they get a renewed perspective on the power of children to make the world a better place.
If you would like to read more about my thoughts about nurturing perseverance in students and educators please go get a copy of my new book, “Recipes for Resilience, Nurturing Perseverance in Students and Educators.” http://amazon.com/dp/1956306439 And, better yet, get your entire staff a copy as well.
Dr. Rob Martinez, “Resiliency Guy” is a lifelong educator and now serves as the Chief Human Resource Officer in the Antioch Unified School District. You can find him on all the social medias as @ResiliencyGuy
Recipes For Resilience 