WEBVTT
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Welcome to the Why Edify podcast, coming to you
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from the Northwoods of Wisconsin. I'm your host,
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Jeremy Jorgensen, and this is your destination
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for becoming a happier, healthier, and stronger
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educator. Whether you're joining us during your
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morning commute, afternoon planning period, or
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even winding down, you're in the right place.
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Get ready to explore practical strategies, inspiring
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stories, and evidence -based approaches to enhance
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your teaching journey. Let's grow together. It's
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early in the morning and you're standing at the
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copier. Lunch today, it'll be at your desk again.
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One hand on a granola bar and the other on a
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stack of exit tickets. And somewhere around the
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third week of September, you stopped noticing
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something. You haven't really talked to anyone
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in a while. Not good morning in the hallway.
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Not, did you see the email about the fire drill?
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I mean, like, talked. The kind of conversation
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where somebody asks how you're doing and actually
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waits for the answer. That's not a character
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flaw. It's what teaching does to us. But there's
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an 85 -year -old study that says it costs more
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than you think. Welcome back to Whyitify. I'm
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Jeremy Jorgensen, 28 years in the classroom,
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coach and founder of The Strong Framework. Today
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we're talking about what happens to your people
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when you go head down and get it done. Kind of
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call that the head down and get it done mode.
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Here's what you walk away with. One simple idea
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borrowed from cyclists that makes the hard weeks
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lighter and a text you can send before the end
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of the day. So this all started as a recent strong
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teacher newsletter. And if you read it, this
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episode goes a little bit deeper. And if you
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didn't, it's no problem at all. Just pull up
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a chair. First, let me describe what it means
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to be in the head down, get it done mode. And
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then tell me if it sounds familiar. All right.
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So back to, we got copies at 645, lunch at your
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desk, a to -do list that refills itself overnight,
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like some kind of cursed water pitcher. And you
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walk past the teacher across the hall four times
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a day. And the whole relationship is just a simple
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nod. Yeah. Those of you who are listening to
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this, you should know I just nodded a couple
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times. Now when you're busy teaching, it narrows
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your world down to the next thing on the list.
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And honestly, it all feels responsible. It feels
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like a professional move. You're not wasting
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time in the staff room. You're just getting it
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all done. I actually found myself recently sneaking
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in work during lunch when I should have just
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been slowing down, enjoying my food, and taking
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a few deep... breaths. And teaching, teaching
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is already one of the most isolating jobs in
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the entire building. Back in the 1970s, a sociologist
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named Dan Lordy described schools as egg crates.
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Little rows, little compartments, each adult
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alone with their own kids separated by walls.
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That was 50 years ago. Now walk down your hallway
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tomorrow. Most of you still egg crates. So when
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you go into head down mode, you're not stepping
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away from a connected job. You're taking an already
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isolated job and then you're sealing the lid
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on it, making it even more isolated. And most
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of the advice out there doesn't help. Teach yourself
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care advice is almost all solitary. Take a bath.
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Go for a walk. Protect your time. Say no. And
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some of that is good. And I've done whole episodes
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on saying no. But notice the pattern. It's all
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about pulling away, recharging alone. It treats
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people like one more demand on your energy. But
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what if they're not the demand? What if they're
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where the energy comes from? So let me take you
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out of the school for a minute and we'll put
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you on a bike, which if you've listened or watched
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this show many times, you know that I love to
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ride a bike. So recently, I did ride... A 70
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mile ride. And it was windy. The wind was brutal.
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And I can definitely apply what this episode
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is all about. Of course to that experience. And
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it fits teaching. It fits it exactly. So cyclists
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have a name for one kind of riding. Solo into
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the wind. It's where every pedal stroke is yours.
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And the wind takes a cut of every single one.
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You work harder. You go slower, and there's nobody
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to blame but the air. Now, if you tuck in behind
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another rider, right behind their back wheel,
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that's drafting. And when a group of riders does
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it together, it's called a pace line. The rider
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in front breaks the wind, and you ride in the
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pocket of calmer air behind them. And depending
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upon the speed and the setup, you can save somewhere
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between a quarter and a third of your effort.
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And I can tell you sometimes when you're in the
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back of a pace line, you actually have to just
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put on the brakes so that you slow down a bit
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and don't hit the person in front of you. You're
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all riding the same road, same wind, but less
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of it lands on you. So hold on to that picture
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because there's a study that says the same thing
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about your life. It's called the Harvard Study
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of Adult Development and has been running for
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more than 85 years. It started in 1938 with two
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groups, Harvard students and teenage boys from
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some of Boston's poorest neighborhoods. Researchers
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have followed them through their careers, marriages,
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divorces, wars, illnesses, all of it, and now
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they're following their kids. The study is directed
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by Robert Waldinger and Mark Schultz, and when
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they looked at who was the healthiest at age
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80, the answer surprised even them. The best
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predictor... was not their cholesterol at 50.
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It was how satisfied people were with their relationships
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at 50. I'm going to say that one more time because
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it's worth really thinking about. How you feel
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about your relationships at 50 predicted your
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health at 80 better than your cholesterol did.
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Waldinger puts it bluntly, good relationships
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keep us happier and healthier, period. And they
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have a name for this, and I love this name. It's
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called social fitness, and they mean it exactly
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the way it sounds. It works just like the physical
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kind. You don't get fit once and stay fit forever.
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You have to maintain it, and if you don't, it
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just slowly slips away. Nobody notices just one
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skipped workout, and nobody notices one skipped
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lunch with a colleague, but string together a
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whole September of them, and you can see where
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this is going. Where does all of this live in
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the STRONG framework? So in the acronym for STRONG,
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it's the O. And most of the time when I talk
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about the O, I'm talking about optimizing, like
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optimizing your systems, your grading workflow,
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your copy routine, the stuff that makes Tuesday
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easier. But the O has a second half and it stands
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for outreach. Optimize is about your systems
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and outreach is about your people. and outreach
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is the half that slides first when the calendar
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fills up. People will let you know if you're
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missing grades, etc., but nobody's going to email
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you about missing a friendship. It just kind
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of gets put off to the side. Now back to the
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pace line, because there's one more piece, and
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this piece is really important. In a pace line,
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nobody stays in front forever. The rider at the
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front takes the win for a while, and cyclists,
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they call it pulling. and then peels off to the
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side and drifts to the back of the line so that
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they can rest in the draft. Then the next rider
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takes the turn, and then the next. So that means
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everybody pulls and everybody rests. Nobody pulls
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forever and nobody only follows. Now, teachers,
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we're terrible at the second half of that. We
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are all professional front -of -the -line riders,
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and I will own this one as well after 28 years.
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I'm way more comfortable being the person who
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checks on somebody than being the person who
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gets checked on. Taking the win just starts to
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feel like it's your job. And tucking in behind
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someone sometimes can feel like a weakness, like
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you're not really pulling your weight. But that's
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not how pace lines work. The rider resting at
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the back isn't slacking. They're recovering so
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they can pull again. And that's the whole system.
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And it's also why the R in strong Recovery and
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renewal isn't a reward. It's just part of the
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ride. And so outreach, it goes in both directions.
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Some weeks you're the one sending the text that
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says, how's your fall going? Really? And some
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weeks you're the one who needs that text. Both
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count and both keep the line moving. And if you're
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the one who needs it this week, that's allowed.
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You don't have to earn the draft. Marcus Aurelius,
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Roman Emperor, Stoic, and a guy who had a lot
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of bad Septembers. He wrote in his journal that
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we're made to work together, like feet and hands,
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like the upper and lower rolls of teeth. And
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he wasn't writing a self -help book. He was reminding
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himself that going alone isn't toughness. It's
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working against how we're built. And I'm going
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to be straight with you for a second. Connection,
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it does not fix a busy class with challenges
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everywhere. It doesn't fix a sub -shortage or
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the meeting that could have been an email. That's
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all stuff that's real. That wind is real, and
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next month it's not going to be any less windy.
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But what I'm saying is this. The wind is a lot
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more survivable when you're not taking every
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gust yourself. So what do you actually do with
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this? Today I'm going to talk about three things
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that you can do. Do one, do all three if you
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feel like it. And first, you've got to name your
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pace line. Grab a sticky note. Got a prop right
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here. Grab a sticky note, then write down two
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names. One wheel you can tuck behind, someone
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you can be honest with when the week's going
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sideways, and one person who might need a tuck
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behind yours. Maybe it's a teacher across the
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hall, maybe the new teacher who's been eating
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lunch alone in their room since August, or maybe
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a friend you haven't talked to since summer.
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That's number one. Number two, send a text. Send
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it today. Not a meme. Not, we should get together
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sometime. We all know what that means. Five words,
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how's your fall going, really? And that really
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does a lot of work. It tells them that you actually
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want the answer. That's number two. And number
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three, unmute one thing. You know the group chat
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you've had on mute since school started? College
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friends, your old team, the cousins. Unmute it
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this week and just say something. Anything. Those
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are three things you can try. And that's it.
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This isn't a 30 -day challenge. It's one sticky
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note, one text, one unmute. Some weeks you pull.
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Some weeks you draft. Both are equally important.
00:12:15.809 --> 00:12:19.350
So as I said, this episode started as a recent
00:12:19.350 --> 00:12:22.610
Strong Teacher newsletter. And the written version
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has a few things that the episode doesn't, including
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a book pick. which is this one was The Good Life
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by Robert Waldinger and Mark Schultz. And you'll
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follow the Real Study participants through marriages,
00:12:35.940 --> 00:12:39.340
careers, losses, second chances, and you'll see
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what actually held them up. And it's the long
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version of everything we just talked about. And
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this newsletter comes out every Wednesday. It's
00:12:46.460 --> 00:12:49.440
got a quote, a resource, often a book, always
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an affirmation to help get you through the rest
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of the week. And think of it as just one more
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wheel to tuck behind. And it's always available
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for free at jeremyajorgensen .com. That's my
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site. Or you can type in Y Edify. I'll link that
00:13:03.570 --> 00:13:05.950
in the show notes. And now I've been sending
00:13:05.950 --> 00:13:09.649
that out every week. We're moving close to four
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years now, which is pretty amazing. And every
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time I send one out, it helps me out tremendously.
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And I hope it does the same for you. In addition,
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I also have a few new things that I've put together.
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One. is if you're thinking about who's in your
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pace line and you're looking for a way to record
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things like this, I recently created the Strong
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Teacher 4 -H Reflection Journal. It's just got
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30 days of four short prompts. And the 4 -H's
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are a highlight, something on the horizon, a
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hiccup, and a harvest. And you can also find
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that in the episode notes. And often, if you've
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come across this or you've seen one of my mostly
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awkward live streams, Something I do after school,
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I just put my phone up and I start reflecting
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on the 4 -H's or I record them throughout the
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day, write them down and then share them. So
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you made it to the end. And I want to say first,
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thanks for riding with me for this episode. And
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I know that this is a busy time of year. And
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my sincerest hope is that something here that
00:14:22.320 --> 00:14:26.620
I've shared will be helpful. And maybe... be
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helpful to someone else that you share it with.
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So I hope you'll do that. I hope you'll connect
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with this YFY community. It's a goal of mine
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to start to build a community of educators where
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we're just being honest. We're sharing our wins.
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We are sharing what works. We're trying to actually
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make the load easier, kind of like the whole
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PaceLine idea. And then I would like to leave
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you with the affirmation that goes along. With
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this, and if you're in your car listening or
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you're on your own, say it out loud, connect
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it to the PaceLine, and it's simply this. I can
00:15:06.710 --> 00:15:10.700
take my turn at the front, and I can rest in
00:15:10.700 --> 00:15:14.629
someone else's draft. One more time. I can take
00:15:14.629 --> 00:15:18.070
my turn at the front, and I can rest in someone
00:15:18.070 --> 00:15:23.690
else's draft. Now, go send that text, take care,
00:15:23.870 --> 00:15:25.570
and stay strong.
00:00:11.699 --> 00:00:14.980
Welcome to the Why Edify podcast, coming to you
00:00:14.980 --> 00:00:17.820
from the Northwoods of Wisconsin. I'm your host,
00:00:17.899 --> 00:00:20.359
Jeremy Jorgensen, and this is your destination
00:00:20.359 --> 00:00:24.140
for becoming a happier, healthier, and stronger
00:00:24.140 --> 00:00:27.379
educator. Whether you're joining us during your
00:00:27.379 --> 00:00:30.480
morning commute, afternoon planning period, or
00:00:30.480 --> 00:00:33.140
even winding down, you're in the right place.
00:00:33.479 --> 00:00:37.060
Get ready to explore practical strategies, inspiring
00:00:37.060 --> 00:00:40.939
stories, and evidence -based approaches to enhance
00:00:40.939 --> 00:00:46.789
your teaching journey. Let's grow together. It's
00:00:46.789 --> 00:00:49.490
early in the morning and you're standing at the
00:00:49.490 --> 00:00:53.899
copier. Lunch today, it'll be at your desk again.
00:00:54.829 --> 00:00:57.670
One hand on a granola bar and the other on a
00:00:57.670 --> 00:01:00.750
stack of exit tickets. And somewhere around the
00:01:00.750 --> 00:01:04.150
third week of September, you stopped noticing
00:01:04.150 --> 00:01:08.329
something. You haven't really talked to anyone
00:01:08.329 --> 00:01:10.930
in a while. Not good morning in the hallway.
00:01:11.530 --> 00:01:14.409
Not, did you see the email about the fire drill?
00:01:14.790 --> 00:01:17.689
I mean, like, talked. The kind of conversation
00:01:17.689 --> 00:01:21.109
where somebody asks how you're doing and actually
00:01:21.109 --> 00:01:24.349
waits for the answer. That's not a character
00:01:24.349 --> 00:01:29.109
flaw. It's what teaching does to us. But there's
00:01:29.109 --> 00:01:31.750
an 85 -year -old study that says it costs more
00:01:31.750 --> 00:01:34.689
than you think. Welcome back to Whyitify. I'm
00:01:34.689 --> 00:01:37.590
Jeremy Jorgensen, 28 years in the classroom,
00:01:37.810 --> 00:01:41.590
coach and founder of The Strong Framework. Today
00:01:41.590 --> 00:01:44.010
we're talking about what happens to your people
00:01:44.010 --> 00:01:48.909
when you go head down and get it done. Kind of
00:01:48.909 --> 00:01:51.030
call that the head down and get it done mode.
00:01:51.650 --> 00:01:54.810
Here's what you walk away with. One simple idea
00:01:54.810 --> 00:01:58.109
borrowed from cyclists that makes the hard weeks
00:01:58.109 --> 00:02:01.170
lighter and a text you can send before the end
00:02:01.170 --> 00:02:05.060
of the day. So this all started as a recent strong
00:02:05.060 --> 00:02:07.560
teacher newsletter. And if you read it, this
00:02:07.560 --> 00:02:10.419
episode goes a little bit deeper. And if you
00:02:10.419 --> 00:02:12.740
didn't, it's no problem at all. Just pull up
00:02:12.740 --> 00:02:14.879
a chair. First, let me describe what it means
00:02:14.879 --> 00:02:18.139
to be in the head down, get it done mode. And
00:02:18.139 --> 00:02:20.759
then tell me if it sounds familiar. All right.
00:02:20.759 --> 00:02:25.000
So back to, we got copies at 645, lunch at your
00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:28.500
desk, a to -do list that refills itself overnight,
00:02:28.740 --> 00:02:31.939
like some kind of cursed water pitcher. And you
00:02:31.939 --> 00:02:34.419
walk past the teacher across the hall four times
00:02:34.419 --> 00:02:37.560
a day. And the whole relationship is just a simple
00:02:37.560 --> 00:02:43.129
nod. Yeah. Those of you who are listening to
00:02:43.129 --> 00:02:45.469
this, you should know I just nodded a couple
00:02:45.469 --> 00:02:48.669
times. Now when you're busy teaching, it narrows
00:02:48.669 --> 00:02:50.650
your world down to the next thing on the list.
00:02:51.259 --> 00:02:54.639
And honestly, it all feels responsible. It feels
00:02:54.639 --> 00:02:57.219
like a professional move. You're not wasting
00:02:57.219 --> 00:03:00.180
time in the staff room. You're just getting it
00:03:00.180 --> 00:03:03.889
all done. I actually found myself recently sneaking
00:03:03.889 --> 00:03:05.889
in work during lunch when I should have just
00:03:05.889 --> 00:03:09.389
been slowing down, enjoying my food, and taking
00:03:09.389 --> 00:03:14.099
a few deep... breaths. And teaching, teaching
00:03:14.099 --> 00:03:16.860
is already one of the most isolating jobs in
00:03:16.860 --> 00:03:20.960
the entire building. Back in the 1970s, a sociologist
00:03:20.960 --> 00:03:24.520
named Dan Lordy described schools as egg crates.
00:03:24.800 --> 00:03:28.439
Little rows, little compartments, each adult
00:03:28.439 --> 00:03:32.020
alone with their own kids separated by walls.
00:03:32.500 --> 00:03:36.319
That was 50 years ago. Now walk down your hallway
00:03:36.319 --> 00:03:41.500
tomorrow. Most of you still egg crates. So when
00:03:41.500 --> 00:03:43.620
you go into head down mode, you're not stepping
00:03:43.620 --> 00:03:47.419
away from a connected job. You're taking an already
00:03:47.419 --> 00:03:50.319
isolated job and then you're sealing the lid
00:03:50.319 --> 00:03:53.680
on it, making it even more isolated. And most
00:03:53.680 --> 00:03:56.550
of the advice out there doesn't help. Teach yourself
00:03:56.550 --> 00:04:00.469
care advice is almost all solitary. Take a bath.
00:04:00.770 --> 00:04:05.650
Go for a walk. Protect your time. Say no. And
00:04:05.650 --> 00:04:08.469
some of that is good. And I've done whole episodes
00:04:08.469 --> 00:04:11.650
on saying no. But notice the pattern. It's all
00:04:11.650 --> 00:04:15.509
about pulling away, recharging alone. It treats
00:04:15.509 --> 00:04:20.720
people like one more demand on your energy. But
00:04:20.720 --> 00:04:24.180
what if they're not the demand? What if they're
00:04:24.180 --> 00:04:27.100
where the energy comes from? So let me take you
00:04:27.100 --> 00:04:29.139
out of the school for a minute and we'll put
00:04:29.139 --> 00:04:32.220
you on a bike, which if you've listened or watched
00:04:32.220 --> 00:04:36.000
this show many times, you know that I love to
00:04:36.000 --> 00:04:41.500
ride a bike. So recently, I did ride... A 70
00:04:41.500 --> 00:04:45.300
mile ride. And it was windy. The wind was brutal.
00:04:45.579 --> 00:04:49.279
And I can definitely apply what this episode
00:04:49.279 --> 00:04:52.699
is all about. Of course to that experience. And
00:04:52.699 --> 00:04:57.259
it fits teaching. It fits it exactly. So cyclists
00:04:57.259 --> 00:05:00.660
have a name for one kind of riding. Solo into
00:05:00.660 --> 00:05:03.779
the wind. It's where every pedal stroke is yours.
00:05:03.959 --> 00:05:08.579
And the wind takes a cut of every single one.
00:05:08.920 --> 00:05:12.230
You work harder. You go slower, and there's nobody
00:05:12.230 --> 00:05:15.769
to blame but the air. Now, if you tuck in behind
00:05:15.769 --> 00:05:19.050
another rider, right behind their back wheel,
00:05:19.310 --> 00:05:23.089
that's drafting. And when a group of riders does
00:05:23.089 --> 00:05:26.129
it together, it's called a pace line. The rider
00:05:26.129 --> 00:05:28.550
in front breaks the wind, and you ride in the
00:05:28.550 --> 00:05:31.569
pocket of calmer air behind them. And depending
00:05:31.569 --> 00:05:34.550
upon the speed and the setup, you can save somewhere
00:05:34.550 --> 00:05:38.149
between a quarter and a third of your effort.
00:05:38.860 --> 00:05:41.100
And I can tell you sometimes when you're in the
00:05:41.100 --> 00:05:43.579
back of a pace line, you actually have to just
00:05:43.579 --> 00:05:47.100
put on the brakes so that you slow down a bit
00:05:47.100 --> 00:05:50.850
and don't hit the person in front of you. You're
00:05:50.850 --> 00:05:54.709
all riding the same road, same wind, but less
00:05:54.709 --> 00:05:59.029
of it lands on you. So hold on to that picture
00:05:59.029 --> 00:06:01.649
because there's a study that says the same thing
00:06:01.649 --> 00:06:04.389
about your life. It's called the Harvard Study
00:06:04.389 --> 00:06:07.050
of Adult Development and has been running for
00:06:07.050 --> 00:06:11.339
more than 85 years. It started in 1938 with two
00:06:11.339 --> 00:06:14.939
groups, Harvard students and teenage boys from
00:06:14.939 --> 00:06:18.160
some of Boston's poorest neighborhoods. Researchers
00:06:18.160 --> 00:06:20.439
have followed them through their careers, marriages,
00:06:20.740 --> 00:06:24.540
divorces, wars, illnesses, all of it, and now
00:06:24.540 --> 00:06:27.410
they're following their kids. The study is directed
00:06:27.410 --> 00:06:30.670
by Robert Waldinger and Mark Schultz, and when
00:06:30.670 --> 00:06:32.629
they looked at who was the healthiest at age
00:06:32.629 --> 00:06:36.949
80, the answer surprised even them. The best
00:06:36.949 --> 00:06:40.129
predictor... was not their cholesterol at 50.
00:06:40.550 --> 00:06:44.250
It was how satisfied people were with their relationships
00:06:44.250 --> 00:06:47.230
at 50. I'm going to say that one more time because
00:06:47.230 --> 00:06:50.750
it's worth really thinking about. How you feel
00:06:50.750 --> 00:06:53.889
about your relationships at 50 predicted your
00:06:53.889 --> 00:06:57.550
health at 80 better than your cholesterol did.
00:06:58.069 --> 00:07:00.910
Waldinger puts it bluntly, good relationships
00:07:00.910 --> 00:07:04.790
keep us happier and healthier, period. And they
00:07:04.790 --> 00:07:07.800
have a name for this, and I love this name. It's
00:07:07.800 --> 00:07:11.240
called social fitness, and they mean it exactly
00:07:11.240 --> 00:07:14.300
the way it sounds. It works just like the physical
00:07:14.300 --> 00:07:17.759
kind. You don't get fit once and stay fit forever.
00:07:17.899 --> 00:07:21.060
You have to maintain it, and if you don't, it
00:07:21.060 --> 00:07:25.000
just slowly slips away. Nobody notices just one
00:07:25.000 --> 00:07:28.120
skipped workout, and nobody notices one skipped
00:07:28.120 --> 00:07:30.879
lunch with a colleague, but string together a
00:07:30.879 --> 00:07:34.680
whole September of them, and you can see where
00:07:34.680 --> 00:07:38.370
this is going. Where does all of this live in
00:07:38.370 --> 00:07:42.009
the STRONG framework? So in the acronym for STRONG,
00:07:42.009 --> 00:07:44.769
it's the O. And most of the time when I talk
00:07:44.769 --> 00:07:47.769
about the O, I'm talking about optimizing, like
00:07:47.769 --> 00:07:50.589
optimizing your systems, your grading workflow,
00:07:50.949 --> 00:07:53.810
your copy routine, the stuff that makes Tuesday
00:07:53.810 --> 00:07:57.670
easier. But the O has a second half and it stands
00:07:57.670 --> 00:08:02.199
for outreach. Optimize is about your systems
00:08:02.199 --> 00:08:05.959
and outreach is about your people. and outreach
00:08:05.959 --> 00:08:08.620
is the half that slides first when the calendar
00:08:08.620 --> 00:08:11.410
fills up. People will let you know if you're
00:08:11.410 --> 00:08:14.689
missing grades, etc., but nobody's going to email
00:08:14.689 --> 00:08:17.230
you about missing a friendship. It just kind
00:08:17.230 --> 00:08:20.069
of gets put off to the side. Now back to the
00:08:20.069 --> 00:08:23.009
pace line, because there's one more piece, and
00:08:23.009 --> 00:08:25.769
this piece is really important. In a pace line,
00:08:25.870 --> 00:08:28.829
nobody stays in front forever. The rider at the
00:08:28.829 --> 00:08:31.970
front takes the win for a while, and cyclists,
00:08:31.970 --> 00:08:34.700
they call it pulling. and then peels off to the
00:08:34.700 --> 00:08:37.460
side and drifts to the back of the line so that
00:08:37.460 --> 00:08:39.840
they can rest in the draft. Then the next rider
00:08:39.840 --> 00:08:43.220
takes the turn, and then the next. So that means
00:08:43.220 --> 00:08:47.100
everybody pulls and everybody rests. Nobody pulls
00:08:47.100 --> 00:08:50.919
forever and nobody only follows. Now, teachers,
00:08:51.139 --> 00:08:54.919
we're terrible at the second half of that. We
00:08:54.919 --> 00:08:57.740
are all professional front -of -the -line riders,
00:08:57.899 --> 00:09:00.960
and I will own this one as well after 28 years.
00:09:01.419 --> 00:09:03.799
I'm way more comfortable being the person who
00:09:03.799 --> 00:09:06.320
checks on somebody than being the person who
00:09:06.320 --> 00:09:09.379
gets checked on. Taking the win just starts to
00:09:09.379 --> 00:09:12.159
feel like it's your job. And tucking in behind
00:09:12.159 --> 00:09:15.120
someone sometimes can feel like a weakness, like
00:09:15.120 --> 00:09:18.460
you're not really pulling your weight. But that's
00:09:18.460 --> 00:09:21.340
not how pace lines work. The rider resting at
00:09:21.340 --> 00:09:24.200
the back isn't slacking. They're recovering so
00:09:24.200 --> 00:09:27.120
they can pull again. And that's the whole system.
00:09:27.360 --> 00:09:30.850
And it's also why the R in strong Recovery and
00:09:30.850 --> 00:09:33.750
renewal isn't a reward. It's just part of the
00:09:33.750 --> 00:09:36.970
ride. And so outreach, it goes in both directions.
00:09:37.450 --> 00:09:39.649
Some weeks you're the one sending the text that
00:09:39.649 --> 00:09:43.509
says, how's your fall going? Really? And some
00:09:43.509 --> 00:09:46.129
weeks you're the one who needs that text. Both
00:09:46.129 --> 00:09:49.549
count and both keep the line moving. And if you're
00:09:49.549 --> 00:09:51.750
the one who needs it this week, that's allowed.
00:09:51.929 --> 00:09:55.860
You don't have to earn the draft. Marcus Aurelius,
00:09:55.919 --> 00:09:58.220
Roman Emperor, Stoic, and a guy who had a lot
00:09:58.220 --> 00:10:01.259
of bad Septembers. He wrote in his journal that
00:10:01.259 --> 00:10:03.980
we're made to work together, like feet and hands,
00:10:04.080 --> 00:10:06.679
like the upper and lower rolls of teeth. And
00:10:06.679 --> 00:10:09.419
he wasn't writing a self -help book. He was reminding
00:10:09.419 --> 00:10:13.460
himself that going alone isn't toughness. It's
00:10:13.460 --> 00:10:16.350
working against how we're built. And I'm going
00:10:16.350 --> 00:10:19.370
to be straight with you for a second. Connection,
00:10:19.370 --> 00:10:22.570
it does not fix a busy class with challenges
00:10:22.570 --> 00:10:26.070
everywhere. It doesn't fix a sub -shortage or
00:10:26.070 --> 00:10:28.629
the meeting that could have been an email. That's
00:10:28.629 --> 00:10:32.090
all stuff that's real. That wind is real, and
00:10:32.090 --> 00:10:34.490
next month it's not going to be any less windy.
00:10:34.690 --> 00:10:38.070
But what I'm saying is this. The wind is a lot
00:10:38.070 --> 00:10:41.169
more survivable when you're not taking every
00:10:41.169 --> 00:10:45.580
gust yourself. So what do you actually do with
00:10:45.580 --> 00:10:48.679
this? Today I'm going to talk about three things
00:10:48.679 --> 00:10:52.480
that you can do. Do one, do all three if you
00:10:52.480 --> 00:10:55.440
feel like it. And first, you've got to name your
00:10:55.440 --> 00:10:59.480
pace line. Grab a sticky note. Got a prop right
00:10:59.480 --> 00:11:02.080
here. Grab a sticky note, then write down two
00:11:02.080 --> 00:11:05.039
names. One wheel you can tuck behind, someone
00:11:05.039 --> 00:11:07.639
you can be honest with when the week's going
00:11:07.639 --> 00:11:10.600
sideways, and one person who might need a tuck
00:11:10.600 --> 00:11:13.519
behind yours. Maybe it's a teacher across the
00:11:13.519 --> 00:11:15.500
hall, maybe the new teacher who's been eating
00:11:15.500 --> 00:11:18.419
lunch alone in their room since August, or maybe
00:11:18.419 --> 00:11:20.360
a friend you haven't talked to since summer.
00:11:20.840 --> 00:11:25.080
That's number one. Number two, send a text. Send
00:11:25.080 --> 00:11:28.870
it today. Not a meme. Not, we should get together
00:11:28.870 --> 00:11:32.169
sometime. We all know what that means. Five words,
00:11:32.389 --> 00:11:36.450
how's your fall going, really? And that really
00:11:36.450 --> 00:11:38.889
does a lot of work. It tells them that you actually
00:11:38.889 --> 00:11:42.809
want the answer. That's number two. And number
00:11:42.809 --> 00:11:47.309
three, unmute one thing. You know the group chat
00:11:47.309 --> 00:11:49.850
you've had on mute since school started? College
00:11:49.850 --> 00:11:53.610
friends, your old team, the cousins. Unmute it
00:11:53.610 --> 00:11:58.059
this week and just say something. Anything. Those
00:11:58.059 --> 00:12:00.340
are three things you can try. And that's it.
00:12:00.399 --> 00:12:03.860
This isn't a 30 -day challenge. It's one sticky
00:12:03.860 --> 00:12:09.620
note, one text, one unmute. Some weeks you pull.
00:12:10.120 --> 00:12:14.460
Some weeks you draft. Both are equally important.
00:12:15.809 --> 00:12:19.350
So as I said, this episode started as a recent
00:12:19.350 --> 00:12:22.610
Strong Teacher newsletter. And the written version
00:12:22.610 --> 00:12:25.549
has a few things that the episode doesn't, including
00:12:25.549 --> 00:12:29.679
a book pick. which is this one was The Good Life
00:12:29.679 --> 00:12:33.139
by Robert Waldinger and Mark Schultz. And you'll
00:12:33.139 --> 00:12:35.659
follow the Real Study participants through marriages,
00:12:35.940 --> 00:12:39.340
careers, losses, second chances, and you'll see
00:12:39.340 --> 00:12:41.600
what actually held them up. And it's the long
00:12:41.600 --> 00:12:44.299
version of everything we just talked about. And
00:12:44.299 --> 00:12:46.460
this newsletter comes out every Wednesday. It's
00:12:46.460 --> 00:12:49.440
got a quote, a resource, often a book, always
00:12:49.440 --> 00:12:52.120
an affirmation to help get you through the rest
00:12:52.120 --> 00:12:54.519
of the week. And think of it as just one more
00:12:54.519 --> 00:12:57.690
wheel to tuck behind. And it's always available
00:12:57.690 --> 00:13:00.950
for free at jeremyajorgensen .com. That's my
00:13:00.950 --> 00:13:03.570
site. Or you can type in Y Edify. I'll link that
00:13:03.570 --> 00:13:05.950
in the show notes. And now I've been sending
00:13:05.950 --> 00:13:09.649
that out every week. We're moving close to four
00:13:09.649 --> 00:13:13.250
years now, which is pretty amazing. And every
00:13:13.250 --> 00:13:16.149
time I send one out, it helps me out tremendously.
00:13:16.610 --> 00:13:20.740
And I hope it does the same for you. In addition,
00:13:20.940 --> 00:13:24.480
I also have a few new things that I've put together.
00:13:24.840 --> 00:13:28.019
One. is if you're thinking about who's in your
00:13:28.019 --> 00:13:30.620
pace line and you're looking for a way to record
00:13:30.620 --> 00:13:34.139
things like this, I recently created the Strong
00:13:34.139 --> 00:13:37.559
Teacher 4 -H Reflection Journal. It's just got
00:13:37.559 --> 00:13:41.740
30 days of four short prompts. And the 4 -H's
00:13:41.740 --> 00:13:45.059
are a highlight, something on the horizon, a
00:13:45.059 --> 00:13:48.360
hiccup, and a harvest. And you can also find
00:13:48.360 --> 00:13:51.539
that in the episode notes. And often, if you've
00:13:51.539 --> 00:13:54.360
come across this or you've seen one of my mostly
00:13:54.360 --> 00:13:57.860
awkward live streams, Something I do after school,
00:13:58.120 --> 00:14:01.960
I just put my phone up and I start reflecting
00:14:01.960 --> 00:14:04.340
on the 4 -H's or I record them throughout the
00:14:04.340 --> 00:14:08.409
day, write them down and then share them. So
00:14:08.409 --> 00:14:12.059
you made it to the end. And I want to say first,
00:14:12.139 --> 00:14:15.720
thanks for riding with me for this episode. And
00:14:15.720 --> 00:14:18.879
I know that this is a busy time of year. And
00:14:18.879 --> 00:14:22.320
my sincerest hope is that something here that
00:14:22.320 --> 00:14:26.620
I've shared will be helpful. And maybe... be
00:14:26.620 --> 00:14:28.779
helpful to someone else that you share it with.
00:14:29.139 --> 00:14:31.820
So I hope you'll do that. I hope you'll connect
00:14:31.820 --> 00:14:35.940
with this YFY community. It's a goal of mine
00:14:35.940 --> 00:14:40.279
to start to build a community of educators where
00:14:40.279 --> 00:14:43.080
we're just being honest. We're sharing our wins.
00:14:43.379 --> 00:14:47.120
We are sharing what works. We're trying to actually
00:14:47.120 --> 00:14:49.200
make the load easier, kind of like the whole
00:14:49.200 --> 00:14:53.759
PaceLine idea. And then I would like to leave
00:14:53.759 --> 00:14:56.940
you with the affirmation that goes along. With
00:14:56.940 --> 00:14:59.899
this, and if you're in your car listening or
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you're on your own, say it out loud, connect
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it to the PaceLine, and it's simply this. I can
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take my turn at the front, and I can rest in
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someone else's draft. One more time. I can take
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my turn at the front, and I can rest in someone
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else's draft. Now, go send that text, take care,
00:15:23.870 --> 00:15:25.570
and stay strong.
