Episode 173: If You Want to Make a Positive Impact, Love the People You Want to Influence
"I love you, now get out of here!"
That's how Tammie Schrader sent her 7th grade science students to their next class after the bell rang on the first day of school. And every day after that was the same.
After about 3 weeks, she missed the first part: "Okay, kids, get out of here!" She was gently nudged by her students who didn't stand up from their seats. "Mrs. Schrader, you forgot to start with 'I love you.'"
Stories of a Truly Exceptional Teacher, and What Makes Her That Way
Tammie Schrader podcast episode cover art with image of Tammie.
"I love you, now get out of here!"
That's how Tammie Schrader sent her 7th grade science students to their next class after the bell rang on the first day of school. And every day after that was the same.
After about 3 weeks, she missed the first part: "Okay, kids, get out of here!" She was gently nudged by her students who didn't stand up from their seats. "Mrs. Schrader, you forgot to start with 'I love you.'"
Tammie's students were treated to hands on learning in that classroom, and to an incredibly nurturing, encouraging environment. That's because she knows that the only way people learn is by doing, and the most effective way to teach is to care for - to love - the people you're trying to influence.
My favorite story Tammie shared was about students nearing their final days of middle school before the big graduation ceremony. They were reminded to be on their best behavior because any infraction would result in their not being allowed to participate in graduation festivities. Later that day, students were caught tossing one of their peers high into the air and catching him. When asked what they were thinking, they answered: “I don’t know, it didn’t seem like a big deal. We didn’t hurt anyone, everyone was having fun.”
Tammie asked: “When you were just about to toss your friend high into the air, did you take just a moment to look around the yard to make sure no adults were watching?” They nodded. “Then you knew, guys, you knew this might not be a good idea.”
Her TEDxSpokane talk is what caught my attention a few months ago. The dynamic way she presented her "idea worth sharing" had me compelled to watch and learn. I had to reach out to hear more of this extraordinary teacher's story.
We ran out of time before I could get an important question answered, "why did you leave the classroom?" It seemed like such a huge transition away from her purpose in terms of working with students.
With grace and generosity, Tammie emailed me the answer:
While working as a teacher, I was fortunate enough to have a superintendent, Dr. Michael Dunn, who possessed leadership qualities I had never experienced before. I remember sitting in on the superintendent interviews and recognizing that he was the only one that talked about serving students. This spoke to my heart. The great news is that the Cheney School Board had the thoughtfulness to recognize his incredibleness and hired him. Things in our district shifted immediately.
Dr. Dunn is the kind of man who shares his vision just by being himself. He was in buildings and classrooms all the time. He wrote personal emails wishing teachers well and genuinely cared about each of us. I was once stuck on Snoqualmie Pass on a Friday heading to a conference over the weekend. Monday morning I had an email from Dr. Dunn expressing how grateful he was that I was safe. To this day I have no idea how he knew I had been stuck during snowstorm.
Mike left Cheney to become the superintendent of an organization called an Education Service District (ESD) that serves 59 public school districts and upwards of 40 private schools. 7 years ago he asked me if I would apply to be the science coordinator for his organization. The conversation went something like this:
Me: Mike, I just love my classroom and I love my kids
Mike: Well I’m not asking you to come serve 59 school districts because you don’t love kids!
And I was sold. I will say I cried the whole time I packed my classroom and at least for the year after that. I did go to Mike after a year and told him I missed kids way too much, and his reply was simply: I totally understand and I get it, and I’ll remind you that you have access to 59 school districts full of kids. After that I made it a point to be in classrooms with kids at least weekly. Mike always seems to say the right thing at the right time.
Thanks for asking because you are so correct in knowing that leaving a classroom was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made. If it weren’t for Dr. Dunn’s leadership, I wouldn’t have done it. Ever.
You'll want to connect with Tammie on LinkedIn after listening to this episode and watching her TEDx talk!
Podcast cover art with Tammie Schrader quote and image from her TEDxSpokane talk in 2020.
Tammie is the Regional Science and Computer Science Coordinator for Northeast Washington Education Service District 101 in Washington State. She taught science at Cheney Middle School, in Cheney, Washington for 15 years. She's also an adjunct science methods instructor at Whitworth University.
When she taught middle school, her subjects were Life Science, Computer Programming, Gaming Programming, Robotics, as well as coaching the Science Olympiad Team, Robotics Club, SeaPerch Team and Future Business Leaders of America.
She is currently enrolled as a Ph.D. candidate and am writing my dissertation on Leadership and Game Based Education in the Classroom.
In 2013, she was selected as a Hope Street Fellow, working on Education Policy around coding in the classroom, was also awarded a National Science Foundation grant working with Filament Games on Educational Video Games in the classroom, was selected as a 2008-2009 Teacher Fellow for the Department of Education, and was named Pacific Northwest Earth Science Teacher of the Year, among other accomplishments in her career.
ABOUT SARAH:
"Uncovering the right stories for the right audiences so executives, leaders, public speakers, and job seekers can clearly and actively demonstrate their character, values, and vision."
In my work with coaching clients, I guide people to improve their communication using storytelling as the foundation of our work together. What I’ve realized over years of coaching and podcasting is that the majority of people don’t realize the impact of the stories they share - on their internal messages, and on the people they’re sharing them with.
My work with leaders and people who aspire to be leaders follows a similar path to the interviews on my podcast, uncovering pivotal moments in their lives and learning how to share them to connect more authentically with others, to make their presentations and speaking more engaging, to reveal patterns that have kept them stuck or moved them forward, and to improve their relationships at work and at home.
The audiobook, Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will is now available!
Included with your purchase are two bonus tracks, songsrecorded by Sarah's band, Spare Change, in her living room in Montana.
Episode 172: When You Engage All of Your Talents, You Can Change the World
The moment I saw Bejanae's face on my Zoom screen, I was filled with relief, comfort, and absolute certainty that she would entertain, add insight, and bring much needed light to my day.
The conversation began with an explanation of her unusual, melodic name, shifted to a discussion about the program her agency sponsored for students in the Atlanta, Georgia region, made its way to the difference between STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math), and STEAM (add Art in there), and back to Bejanae's pivotal moments in her career, which includes the story about the program we discussed earlier in the show.
Bejanae Kareem: Stories of Joy Found in Combining Her Talents to Change the Lives of Teachers & Students
The day of this recording didn't start out great. As a matter of fact, I was feeling seriously low energy - I almost asked my guest to postpone.
Bejanae Kareem podcast cover art
Instead, I got myself an espresso and rallied because I knew I'd spend the rest of the day wondering why I didn't just do what I knew I needed to do.
The moment I saw Bejanae's face on my Zoom screen, I was filled with relief, comfort, and absolute certainty that she would entertain, add insight, and bring much needed light to my day.
The conversation began with an explanation of her unusual, melodic name, shifted to a discussion about the program her agency sponsored for students in the Atlanta, Georgia region, made its way to the difference between STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math), and STEAM (add Art in there), and back to Bejanae's pivotal moments in her career, which includes the story about the program we discussed earlier in the show.
Bejanae Kareem holds up her notes as we discuss “to do” lists.
Bejanae shared a story of an "ah ha" moment as a young girl, when her teacher talked about "to do" lists. The idea of writing down tasks and crossing them off her list was enlightening to her. She continues to find great value (and entertainment) in writing down and crossing things off her lists. (See accompanying image.)
Bejanae Kareem in the antigravity chamber
During the conversation, Bejanae spoke about her free ebook: 12 Quick Steps to Writing Winning Classroom Grant, and her free Grant Checklist.
This woman exudes intelligence, compassion, wisdom and warmth. You are going to want to connect with her to learn more about her company by clicking on this website link, connecting with her on LinkedIn, and following her on Instagram.
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ABOUT SARAH:
"Uncovering the right stories for the right audiences so executives, leaders, public speakers, and job seekers can clearly and actively demonstrate their character, values, and vision."
Sarah Elkins and her dog, Toblerone on Mt. Helena in Helena, Montana
In my work with coaching clients, I guide people to improve their communication using storytelling as the foundation of our work together. What I’ve realized over years of coaching and podcasting is that the majority of people don’t realize the impact of the stories they share - on their internal messages, and on the people they’re sharing them with.
My work with leaders and people who aspire to be leaders follows a similar path to the interviews on my podcast, uncovering pivotal moments in their lives and learning how to share them to connect more authentically with others, to make their presentations and speaking more engaging, to reveal patterns that have kept them stuck or moved them forward, and to improve their relationships at work and at home.
The audiobook, Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will is now available!
Included with your purchase are two bonus tracks, songs recorded by Sarah's band, Spare Change, in her living room in Montana.