Teachers Make a Difference - Episode 41
00:00:00 Jon Bergmann: Why do you teach? Why did you go into teaching? I think I went into teaching because I wanted to make a difference. And this week I got an email from a student that was it's it's why we teach. My guess is you got into teaching for all the right reasons. You saw maybe you had a gift of helping people. Maybe you saw that you maybe thought you could make an impact in a difference. Well, teachers, we make a difference. As I begin my fortieth year in education. Uh, I have just been reminded about why I teach. So I want to share with you guys a personal letter that I just received from a former student that made an impact in me. It's the kind of letter that rocks your world
00:00:53 Jon Bergmann: So a few days ago, I got an email, an email from a student who graduated last year from our school. I teach high school sophomores, juniors and seniors and this letter moved me to tears. It just it it's the letters that you hope you make an impact. And oftentimes, you know, one of the things we're teaching, you never know if you're going to make a difference. And let me just read parts of this letter to you. That and I and I hope that someday, you know, that this is what you're doing. Teachers, you are making a difference in the lives of your students. So hey, Mr. Bergman. So this is from former student. As the summer wraps up, as I'm about to leave for college on Saturday, I just wanted to send you a thank you note, a reminder to you how much you truly impacted me in my time at Houston. Christian, thank you for always believing in me, whether that had been in my chemistry or physics class. I taught her both chemistry and physics. Thank you for always staying during lunch or before school to help me get a deeper understanding of concepts. Thanks for instilling core values into my life values such as tenacity and honesty. And here's the line that really hit me I didn't know I needed a leader like you in my life. You saw through to my future. You provided me with such a such a time that I would be molded by the lessons you taught, both school related and lifelong principle wise. I truly believe that the lessons you taught me about learning will pour not only into my school life, but also into my social life and the way I encourage others in all they do. Just as you did to me. Guys, these kinds of words, I don't know. They're a sooth to my soul. And I hope that you know that whether you get a letter like this or not, it's a letter like this. This is what you're you're building into the lives of your students. You are not just teaching them stuff. You're teaching them how to live life. She continues that this. My wife read this letter and she said, this gal has a lot of maturity and this is one hundred percent true. This is an amazing young lady. You taught me that learning is a gift. I remember the hours of of struggling that I did and the frustration I had to understand the concepts in physics. But when you started every class off with a prayer thanking God for making a world so complex that we so blessed, get to learn about it. I realized that understanding and mastering the concepts wasn't everything. What mattered was the choice I made during my struggle to continue seeking for that understanding and to have a desire to learn. And. She's picked up the message, right? I want my students to become lifelong learners who know that learning is a struggle, right? That that productive struggle is what makes learning good, but in the context of a loving, relational Null centric. Is that a word? Uh, context? Uh, and then she recalls something. And this is actually the open letter. If you listen back to the podcast, this is the kinds of things I share with my students. I remember in the article you wrote, you said, I wrote an article about how flipped or not, how flipped. I wrote an article about how I will stupefy students unless we're careful. So I had my students read this article. So that's what she's referring to. I remember in an article you wrote, you said how kids these days are losing their desire to learn, thinking of the future. I don't want to be one of those kids, by the way, that's not what I said. But that's interesting that that's what she said. I said, I will stupefy you unless you do these things. And so I need to go back and read my article because I think she misinterpreted it. But she got the gist, right? Uh, and she says, I don't want to be one of those kids. I want to excel in all I do, always asking the deeper questions and always pushing for more understanding. Why? Because you taught me that going the extra mile will only ever help me. You taught me that being curious is such an admirable trait, that it will bless me in all that I do. So as I go off to college, I will not only carry with me all you taught me about teaching and being curious and having tenacity. And then she goes on and talks about, um, we are a faith based school and I'm a person of faith. And so I created a I didn't create this. Honestly, guys, I'm as a believer in God. I felt like it was given to me on an airplane.
00:05:25 Jon Bergmann: Back story. I was at a conference. Ascd conference, in fact, uh, a couple of years ago. Three years ago. And the keynote speaker talked about how a teacher had made an impact in his life. And one thing he said is that teacher had a saying that really stuck with him. That teacher said every day something about believing in themselves. The kids. I forget exactly what the saying was, but as I was on the plane, I thought, could I have one of those? Could I have one of those sayings? And so I felt like, honestly, as a person of faith, that I was given that on the plane, I was just jotting and brainstorming on a piece of paper, and I came up with jiffy j I y. Now again, I come from a Christian based, uh, platform, and I'm a Christian. And the saying is Jesus is for you. And so I say that literally every day to my students. I've said that every day since school started here already. So my students are starting to learn that that is a thing. And anyway, so now I'm going to go back to the letter. Uh, so as I go off to college, I went on to carry with me what you taught me about learning curiosity, tenacity, but also jiffy. It's been written in my Bible for a long time that just amazed me that that little thing has. Yeah, that was cool. And as you said that at the end of the year, J FM Jesus is for. And then the students last name or first name is starts with an m I'll say, Mary, it's not Mary. Jesus is for Mary. It warms my heart to look back at the way you led your classrooms towards God. And then she goes on about that topic, and I just want you to know that you make a difference and don't hear. I'm trying not to be preachy about my faith. Uh, what I'm trying to say is that teachers, you make a difference. And it's all the little things that you do. It's not just what you teach, how you teach, what you think about I. If you teach with flip learning or you don't if you. It's about how we connect with students and it's those intangible lessons. You know, I'm a huge fan of Lord of the rings, and the Lord of the rings is a classic hero story, and in the hero story, there's always a Gandalf, right? And at this stage in my career, as. I'm an old guy, right? Forty years. Right? Four zero. Uh, I think I can classify as the old teacher. And as the old teacher. I guess at some level, I get to play the role of Gandalf and, uh, to my students and hopefully, you know, because every good story has a Gandalf, a a a wise old sage man or woman to lead the way. And we can be that for our students. And maybe, maybe you're a younger teacher and you don't. You get to be like the older brother or sister. I mean, but you can play a role in the lives of your students. That's going to make a huge difference. Making a difference matters. And, uh, and again, I said this in a podcast, the last podcast of last year, as I was reflecting actually on my seniors who were about to graduate, you might want to I'll link it in the show notes. And I talked about just thinking about students. And in fact, in that podcast I talked about missing this particular student, and I want you to know that you make a difference. And so often you don't get the tangible results. You'll never see that this student has impacted. Maybe they're going to go off and they're going to remember that lesson thirty years and you'll be gone. You know, uh, I'm not going to live thirty more years. I doubt, uh, I'm sixty whatever years old. So but we make a difference that lasts forever. And I want to encourage you to remember that as you begin this school year, remember that you make a difference again, whether or not you ever get a letter like the one I just got.
00:09:11 Jon Bergmann: You make a difference. this is in fact, called the reach Every Student podcast. Reach Every student. Com. And I encourage you to share this with your friends and, uh, yeah, like it on your podcast app and all that good stuff. Uh, yeah. John Bergmann out.
