June 18, 2018

331 Become An Empowered Educator With Jen Molitor

33 minutes

Jen Molitor is a teacher who believes we should teach children, not curriculum. She’s on a mission to empower and unite teachers and parents all over the world. Her superpower is getting teachers to smile and enjoy teaching again. She brings a refreshing perspective that lifts you up when you want to walk out, reminding you of the real reason you became an educator.

We are all teachers. Let’s spread the message that powerful teaching is done through the heart. Start there, and as if by magic, the mind also opens to learning.

Contact Info

Website: www.LiftUpLeaders.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LiftupLeaders/

Blog: Lift Up Leaders

Most Influential Person

Louise Hay, Author

Effect on Emotions

I'm more centered. I'm a better mom, a better wife, a better person.

Thoughts on Breathing

It helps to slow me down, helps to connect me and get in touch with my body in a quicker way.

Suggested Resources

Book: The Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman

App: Smiling Minds (A Meditation App for Kids)

Bullying Story

I think there are a lot of stories about people being bullied and picking on them and I have some. However, I don't want to share that. I want to share one from a teacher perspective and what I'm seeing in schools because I think it's really powerful.

I think it's powerful as a parent too, to model these kinds of things. I think that parents and teachers in this authority type of responsibility, we're taking care of kids, we're in charge of them.

We can tend to bully kids ... because I said so and this is how it's done and we have all these other things to get through. So just sit down and this is what you have to do and I don't care if you dropped your pencil, you know, like this kind of thing.

And I think inadvertently we are really sending this message to kids that they're not as important. Right now I work as a gifted intervention specialist and instructional coach and so part of my time I work with kids in my room who are identified as gifted. It's a pullout type of atmosphere.

So I have between eight and 20 kids in my room and when they come to my room I hear some of the grumbling that happens from what teachers told them in the hallway, like their whole class had to go back to the class and sit down because two kids were talking in the hallway or one kid got in trouble and everyone else had to get the brunt of it.

So what I've come to discover is that we need to have more mindful conversations with kids and step out of our ego for a little bit. And if a kid is misbehaving, it's usually because they're discouraged.

They don't wake up one day and say, who can I tick off today? I can't wait. It's more of, I'm feeling uncomfortable if something's going on, I'm discouraged. And, I need attention. I need this. I'm going to throw this or get in trouble there.

I don't eat the teacher's lounge anymore. I stopped that and it's been helpful. So that kind of complaining and venting about kids and other people.

Even as a mom, if there's another mom on the soccer field and all the moms are talking about that person, well that's, that's kind of bullying too.

And I think we have to model for others, you know, like grace. I think we have to model grace. Like, no, she doesn't wear what I would wear and maybe she doesn't do what I would do or drive the car that I would, or treat her kid like I would.

There's got to be a place for some grace for kids, for teachers, for adults.

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By Bruce Langford

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