Leading a Sustainably Epic Classroom with Trevor Muir

Hey there teacher-friend and welcome back to the Sustainable Teacher Podcast, I’m so glad you’ve chosen to join us today, and man have you picked a good episode to land on.  I am so excited to have Trevor Muir on the podcast today.

Trevor’s roots are as a high school English teacher, and is now teacher, author, and speaker. He is the author of the books The Epic Classroom and The Collaborative Classroom. Trevor is a teacher at Grand Valley State University, was a national faculty member for the Buck Institute for Education, and is one of the Andrew Gomez Dream Foundation speakers. His work has been featured in the Huffington Post, Edutopia, EdWeek, and WeAreTeachers. He gave a TED Talk titled, "School Should Take Place in the Real World," at TEDxSanAntonio. Trevor’s Facebook page, The Epic Classroom, has inspiring videos that have been viewed over 30 million times. At the heart of Trevor’s work is the conviction that every student has the potential for greatness, and every teacher can be equipped to unlock that potential.

This episode is sure to light you up as a teacher, giving you inspiration and fuel for your own sustainability, but it also offers practical take-action pieces you’re sure to find valuable.

Before we get started, take a moment to click on the three dots or share icon to share this episode with a friend.  If you’ve listened to an episode with us before or this is your first time, we would so appreciate you taking a moment to help us get in the ears of other teachers with this never more important message that teachers matter, and their sustainability matters.  We so appreciate you.

Ok. Without further ado, here’s Trevor Muir.

Interview with Trevor Muir

Mandy: Hi Trevor and welcome to the sustainable teacher. Thanks so much for being here and taking some time out of your day to be with our listeners. Yeah I'm so pumped that we get to talk about lots of different things the work that you've been doing in the education space.

Trevor Muir:  Oh I'm excited to talk to you Mandy.

Mandy:  So, both of your books as well as your new podcast which is super exciting and such an accessible way for teachers to refresh and get a moment to kind of think about the bigger picture and kind of be reassured in themselves and the job that they're doing so. Before we get into all of those details. So Would you mind introducing yourself.

Trevor Muir: Yeah, absolutely so I live in Grand Rapids Michigan and I have been a middle and high school teacher and now I spend a lot of my time working with teachers and and and telling stories and sharing ideas.

About how to really just find different ways to thrive in the classroom and also help your students do that and I also teach at a university as well And so I work with future teachers which is a whole lot of fun.

Mandy: Awesome! Yeah, awesome and we were talking about that before recording and I forgot to ask you what class you teach just out of total curiosity.

Trevor Muir:  Yeah, so we really explore what impact does school have on your identity as well as the society we live in which is really to me what teaching at its core is about right? like and I think that anybody that's going into being a teacher should realize the impact.

Mandy: Oh oh Wow! wow.

Trevor Muir: That your work is going to have on students on who they develop to be and their identity and but then also their communities and society they live in um and and this is something and I talk a lot about on social media and with teachers but then also helping young future teachers just understand the impact.

Teachers have it. It's really hard to quantify how important teachers are and I think we should all know it if we're doing this work.

Mandy: Oh man, that's so good. Um, and so that that contributes so much to really what you contribute to the education space. So what? a great fit for you that probably is kind of reciprocal right? feeding off of what you kind of teach to teachers as well as pre-service teachers. That's really that's really cool.

Trevor Muir: Oh totally. Well, you know I  remember I went through my bachelor's program, I went to Florida state university, and then I moved to Michigan the midwest on purpose I know we made a strange choice.

But I remember I went through my bachelor's program having no idea what I wanted to do with my life like I I was never a good student I was always doing just enough to get by and and that was my story all through elementary and middle and high school and then most of college was just scraping by because that was the expectation.

Trevor Muir:  And then you know through a chain of events I was inspired to become a teacher um and and it was really because I had this opportunity to tutor somebody just to make money but ah to tutor a high school student and and I was making like a whopping 7 twenty five an hour so I was like making big bucks doing this.

But I I tutored her and I watched her get so much better at reading and writing specifically because we met each week and we practiced and I got to share what I was doing and then I watched her confidence grow at the same time and I remember at the end of this I was like whoa I didn't know I could do this I didn't know I was capable.

This kind of thing and I remember a mentor telling me like well you should become a teacher and I was like well that's a ridiculous idea because I hate school and I'm not a big fan of teachers. He's like well surely you had some good teachers in your life I'm like well I mean I guess I did have Mrs Schwani who taught me to write and and share my writing out loud and I guess Mrs Reams taught me to to get really creative and I remember Mrs Perry got me really into learning how to write well and and use proper punctuation and and learn the the importance of detail and I started thinking about man these teachers really did shape my identity and it's like there's so much power in that. But then I can also think about the negative experiences I've had in school and how those really shaped me and like and it just absolutely put me on this path to becoming an educator. Um and it and it just really makes me think about how important teachers still are.

Especially in this pandemic where it feels like the world is falling apart sometimes right like that. There's just so much hardship and yet teachers are this constant in their students' lives and if that's not celebrated and if that's not invested in and poured into and supported then I think we're making a really big mistake. 

 Mandy: Absolutely and I hope that you saying all of that amen by the way, is helping the teachers who are listening right now to take a moment and celebrate that um I forget what podcast episode I have coming out or I'm kind of like.

Trevor Muir: Hey it's 2022 you're allowed to be. It's a rule. So.

Mandy: Lost in the clouds at this moment of podcast episodes. Absolutely um, hey it comes out every Tuesday that's a win. But it was about measuring the small moments of impact that we're measuring teachers impact in the wrong way. Um.

For a teacher-sustainability. Sure the big picture data and even individual student data soon comes. That's all important but we can't tie our value to that and our identity to that as educators it's got to be the small like micro level moments of success and we've got to make that.

Somehow visual somehow tangible for us. Yeah, so hopefully that resonates with our listeners as well. But yes, that's so good. Take a moment as you're listening right now and just think like yes I have impact with these kids and that should be celebrated. Absolutely.

Trevor Muir: Yeah, and I think sometimes we need physical reminders of those micro impacts which are actually macro impacts like to this day I keep this red folder at my desk and it's called my rainy day folder and it's just got.

And, I'm not making this up. Lots of people do this but I adopted this practice of just keeping all of those positive emails and letters and you know those Facebook messages from kids years later who track you down like last night my family and I we went to we went and got Chinese food in this little village by where we live.

And we're just getting done. This was last night and we're just getting done with our meal and we're about to step out into the snow because I live in the epicenter of the polar vortex. Um, and we're just about to step out and I hear Trevor Muir and I turn around and I'm like hi nice to meet you. It was like this older woman.

And I had no idea who she was, she goes oh I'm so-and-so's mom and I was like oh yes I yeah I had your son like ten years ago in my class and she just and this is last night I saw I'm still feeling the hum from it. Yeah and I was just like oh my gosh. What is he doing now and she's telling me about what he's doing in life now and and how things are going and she's just like pouring out and she's like I just got to tell you that when he was in your freshman English class it changed his life and I'm just like I had no idea you know I mean like.

You have these kids and you feel like oh I'm having this impact in the temporary with them because you get them for one hundred and eighty days and you have these interactions with them for at max 60 minutes a day and then and then they move on and you know I remember after the year I had this student I moved to a different school for a whole host of reasons and.

Never seen that kid again and he hasn't tracked me down on Facebook and I haven't seen him on Twitter and for all I know I have no idea what he's doing with his life and then I run into his mom and she's telling me the impact that me and the other teachers got to have on him in that year and you're just like yeah that's why it was worth putting in the energy and.

Hours and the strain and and the passion that you're with them because it pays off and sometimes you get these beautiful little gifts from God that tell you like oh this was worth it. But sometimes you don't, and I think a lot of being a teacher is just reminding yourself over and over that you don't put in this type of work without there being some type of payoff. It's a natural cause and effect.

Mandy: Yes, and you're so correct that for most of it we will have no idea, we will have no inkling of a clue of the impact that we have and so when you do when you do have those moments. You've got to store them up and this is so funny I just experienced this the other day.

Trevor Muir: That's right.

Mandy: Not in the education space but in the space that I'm in now and kind of having an impact with teachers and I very much and this is kind of along the lines of imposter syndrome right to a certain degree teachers everybody we we experience this but I.

Trevor Muir: With me. Um, yeah.

Mandy: Kind of get in my head about oh did teachers really want to hear this, am I truly adding value to their lives or am I just talking out of context here. Nobody cares and I'm hearing from teachers - I have a page where I kind of share the teachers stories that I've worked with and and consultant and coached and. It did that for me as well, right? It kind of reminded me. Okay, yes, I'm having impact, this is a message that resonates with these people and the same is true in teaching. It's true in parenting. It's true in so many things. So what a great lesson for everybody listening. Store up those positive emails, those notes, those handwritten notes you get from kids. Um I hope you wrote down the story somewhere from last night

Trevor Muir: Yes.

That's another thing I'll do is just write down a reflection of something good and affirming and then I slide that into that folder as well.

These things are so easy to forget right? I saw this research that says that it takes a positive interaction, so something good that happens it takes 15 seconds of dedicated reflection for that to actually have an effect on your well-being so it takes 15 seconds to actually let a good moment like that to sit in before it can actually affect how you feel in the rest of your day and even week and year in life and wellbeing whereas a negative event has an impact on you instantly. 

And that's why you can have a really awesome day where things go good and you feel great about yourself and then you get that email because you don't have your email set to auto respond at 5Pm and you get that angry email from a parent or you get that that email from ah your administrator or whatever it is.

You get that negative thing and it can ruin your whole day instantly and there's actually a science behind that there's this neurological impact that it has and that's why it's so important to have these good moments and not just go right to our phone like or not just move on but to actually sit with it and allow it to work on you.

That's a discipline and a practice but man it's been a good one for me, especially after moments like that where you know, I don't teach high school regularly anymore. I still get to guest teach sometimes, but it's not a regular occurrence and you know afterwards my wife was like well who's that you were talking to and I was like oh let me tell you about what I just got to have and and I'm just like man, the longer I'm not regularly in the classroom with kids the less and less I get to have those type of interactions.

I get to have them with teachers which is great and that fills my cup like you just said, I still get to feel like I'm working individually with teachers and getting to connect with them on social media. But then also in person when I speak or when I'm coaching but with students it's becoming less and less and that's why it's like man I've got to make this discipline to allow these good moments to work on me and remind and affirm and continue to push me and move me forward and be that fuel that gets me through the difficult seasons.

Mandy: Absolutely, what a great lesson, applicable, tangible thing that listeners can take and make happen even right now, right now. Think back on a good moment and don't don't let go of it. That's awesome.

Okay, so here on the Sustainable Teacher we talk about just that, things that teachers can be doing to kind of take control of their unsustainability and unbalanced work and life. It's really easy to focus on what we can't control as teachers right? It's really easy to go down that line not that we shouldn't not - there is a space for that or that there shouldn't be a community and a lot of people dedicated to the systematic unsustainability. Um, but mostly we try on this podcast to talk about what we can control and things that we can do in our daily lives for more sustainability and you've already shared one and that's absolutely amazing. But I'd love for you to talk a bit more about your work and what you're doing for teachers. But also how does your work impact teacher sustainability in helping them maintain some semblance of work life balance.

Trevor Muir: Yeah, you know the thing I talk more than anything else about with teachers, but then also with my own students is this idea of purpose. I try to help teachers figure out “how can I make work for students more purposefully.” But then also with teachers is to help remind them “what is my underlying purpose.” What's the foundation for why I do all of this work and because what you find in life and I'm sure you know this and listeners know this is that when you know what you're actually chasing after when you have a strong why can allow you to overcome all of those how’s and I know that sounds like a cliche but it's true and we know what we're actually aiming for and it actually matters to us. We're going to be willing to overcome everything that gets in our way or we're going to be willing to develop the skills or gain the knowledge.  To persevere and have the grittiness to overcome things and that's what it is for students. There's research that shows that when students are engaged in work that actually matters to them, so it's purposeful, we're not just learning photosynthesis because it's in the common core the state standards we're learning photosynthesis so that we can eliminate invasive species in our local park. There's an actual reason for it or hey we're not just gonna learn about World War two because that's what you're supposed to do in the curriculum. We're gonna learn about it so that we can go capture the stories of veterans in our community. Whatever it is when there's real purpose. There's research that shows that there's dynamic growth and their social development and their emotional development and their cognitive development. They actually learn more and so purpose has this huge effect on students. But then it's also true for us when we know hey what I'm doing isn't just for a paycheck. Sure it's great and we need to advocate for higher pay and we've got to make sure we have stability and we're being taken care of of course. But when we're also working for things that are bigger than that, when we know that what we're doing is serving our students which as an effect serves our community, which as an effect serves our society when we're doing that and we know that the work we're doing is having a purpose and a change in the world. That motivates us to develop the skills and obtain the knowledge and put in the work to do our very best and so that's what I spent Ah, that's my long answer.  

That's what I spent a lot of time talking about and so when we talk about sustainability. Um, we can get into concrete stuff like having a rainy day folder or some other things we can talk about but I think the baseline has to be knowing why we're doing this work. And then having rituals and reminders regularly to just be reminded of why we're doing this and just how every day knowing “hey I've got a big day ahead of me and it might be. There might be a lot of my plate and I might not feel passionate about all of it but I can still be passionate.” You know I mean like I don't have to be passionate about grading but I can be a passionate person. I might not be passionate about being on this school improvement team right now because I've got a lot of other things I need to do but I can be passionate. It’s that passion being fueled by purpose.

Mandy: That links back to my why, right? Or that you can kind of act from that even in the school improvement committee or you know whatever committee you're serving on outside of your classes. But ah, that's so good.

Trevor Muir: I'm curious from you what do you do to find your why or how do you find those little slivers in the maybe more mundane moments of your life or work?

Mandy: Yes, yes, I love the idea of a rainy day folder.  I had a little box so that I could kind of keep the pile up of cards that I had from students. That's really good and I still have mine.

I also save a lot of emails. I have a specific folder where I put like points of positivity. Whether it's from parents, students, teachers, anybody. That's really good, and that's something that I'm hoping that the listeners are like “yes, we’ve totally talked about this before and that is finding your why as a teacher. Oftentimes we think we know it or at least you know whenever you decided to become a teacher whether it was when you were six years old or you know 22 in your last college class, right?

Whenever it was you had something that made you think yes this is why I should this is what I should be doing and here's why but you want to lean into it even more and dedicate some time to really discovering it. It's discovering your story. I am a person of faith and a follower of Jesus and that spiritual path is very much like that as well; it's happened your whole life. You just have to lean into finding why and what happened and who contributed to it.

Trevor Muir: That's right.

Yeah, well I look back at some of the hardest days in the classroom like the days where it just was a slog and it wasn't working or you know I had this I remember this one student in the last school I taught at he was just always trying to get under my skin like it was like his like daily goal was just to ruin my day and there was nothing really endearing about it either.  I can't say there was like this happy ending with that student.

And I remember some of those days I just went home beat up. You know I mean like mentally and emotionally like just feeling down and yet man there was like these little slivers every now and then where you know I'd be at my lunch break and I and I always and I talk about this is my next tip for sustainability. But you know you don't have to be a superhero all the time.

And I would like to say I had this ritual like you know what lunch a lot of the teachers meet in the staff lounge where they kind of sit around and have some community. Instead, I needed time alone and I would close my blinds and I would sit at my desk and I would just have some peace and quiet.

And not always but most of the time that was something that I tried to do and it was good for me. But I remember one time that kid who was always and you can hear the venom like it just always trying to get under my skin. But I remember deciding that he could come have lunch with me.  It wasn’t forever, but just for a season. 

This kid is looking for approval and you know when I learned that he didn't have a dad at home. It's like oh he's looking for So he's looking for that person in his life that has unconditional love for him that has patience for him that wants to give him attention.

And he was looking for that in me and he was doing it in a negative way most of the time but I started seeing that like oh but like behind all of that there was a thing behind the thing there was something beneath the surface with him and I got to be honest I never fully uncovered it I wish I could say now that kid is a Harvard graduate and I don't know where he is now.

But I do know that we built a relationship and that relationship was started in a tumultuous place. But it moved on to something else in it and as somebody else of faith I Just know that there's this story that we all are living and it's all based in redemption and grace and growth I really believe that the whole universe is bent towards growth. Everything has this opportunity to grow us and I think sometimes we just have to pull back even at the end of those really hard days pull back and identify what is that story Where is this where is this whole thing moving um and trusting that we're gonna find the ending at some point I don't know if it'll be in this life or the next. But I trust that that kid was impacted by our lunches together. You know what?

Mandy: You know, I can't say that he's a Harvard grad but that doesn't mean that it wasn't successful. It could mean that he decided to have patience ah in another relationship even that day or in his marriage later on or maybe he decided that I'm going to have kids and I'm going to be present and that you could have contributed to that and lots of other people but those small decisions aren't necessarily ones that we will ever get to know about so there's an element of just trust trust that you have impact and a lot of times you won't be able to know about it or measure it. But it's there. It's absolutely there. Yeah.

That's so good. That's so good and that kind of relates back to the whole micro macro level of like the um moments of impact that you have and how tangible they are. That's that's really good.

Trevor Muir: You know I spoke at a school last August actually it was my high school so I live up in Michigan now but I got it was so funny I got invite I got an email saying hi Trevor we'd love for you to do our back to-school kickoff in August blah blah blah and the principal who emailed me didn't realize that I went to that school. It was like you know and so like I emailed her back and I was like hey I don't know if you know this but like we had young life club in your basement like we like I was I came to your house before and she's like what so um I got to go back there and do the back to school Keynote and it was the most intimidating scary moment of my life. These Are the teachers I terrorized back in the early two thousand s late 90 s right like these are the people that like saw my senior prank like they were. They were the ones so I was scared to death and I got to tell you Mandy it was like the best day of my life. It was one of the most beautiful and wonderful day.

Cause I got to spend the whole day just affirming these people who had an impact on me and I remember ah one of the teachers. His name is Mr. Ayrafida and afterwards I went up to him and I was like hey ah 1 of the things I talk about more than anything else now as a professional is project-based learning and the idea of putting purpose in student work and. 

And I want you to know that all started in tenth grade during our science project like you gave that to me and and he's just oh and he just starts like crying in front of me this old man growing there crying and he was like I was like a young guy then.

So he's sitting and he's crying and he's literally like tearing up and he's like I was like a young teacher then and he says to me he goes I had no idea what the hell I was doing I was like.

You might think that but you were doing something and it and it just like hit me like this is twenty years later and this guy he's not on social media. He he doesn't he's not buying teacher books or what he got. He doesn't know what I'm doing in my life.

And it's like this just this beautiful chance encounter that felt very serendipitous like he learned like oh that that micro moment in 2001 like has you know is like that you know I mean like I planned a science project.

And this kid had this idea to invent an electric engine with his friends which was me and like and and I like moved him on to the state championship. He didn't he didn't know that those little things he did that day that he probably didn't think about when he went home that night. He probably went home and had dinner with his family and had no idea that the work he did at 2 p m.

That day had an absolutely profound impact on the rest of my whole life. Yeah, and and so it just it just raises all these questions about the 3000000 teachers in America and the millions more teachers around the world. How those little micro moments I love how you call it micro I love I'm gonna - I might have to steal that like those little micro moments zoom back into such a bigger thing and something I always ask my own students, these future teachers, is we do this whole month-long assignment where we investigate our own stories and it's called exegizing we exegize from our own past and we try to figure out. Like name an impact that school had on you that you can identify how it's influenced the way you are today. Whatever you are going into in your life or how you are or how you act or what you do or what you're good at can you identify a moment in school that actually influenced that and there's never been a single student in any of my classes of teaching who have not been able to identify something in their life that a teacher did for them and and it's like what a powerful thing. What a gift that we get to be in a profession that does this feel like preaching right now.

Mandy: Gets me amped up but also pulls on the heart strings. Yeah, Absolutely this is this is so awesome. Okay, so I'm kind of looking at our notes and I'm seeing that there's 3 major tips or suggestions. Whatever you want to call it for our listeners about the sustainability of daily teaching life being more balanced right? and we've. You've totally hit on all 3 of Them. You've already done that um, but let's do kind of like a quick recap if you don't mind on kind of like big takeaways that teachers can get from this episode.

Trevor Muir: Yeah, so let's I think we have to have rituals to remind us of our purpose. That's that rainy day folder or the positive inbox or whatever it is. We've got to stay. We've just got to remind ourselves especially when times are hard so we've got to have rituals. 

I really believe this there. There's this great quote from Mike Row of the show dirty jobs. He says don't follow your passion but always bring it with you and to me that's a pressure release valve. We don't have to be passionate about everything we do but we can still be passionate. You know what? I mean like in my own life like.

You know I get to do a lot of traveling and it's great and I get to be with teachers all over the world. It's just like this crazy thing where I pinch myself sometimes and yet I can tell you lots of it is not sexy right? like having a delayed flight where you're sitting at the airport and your kids like I gotta say this quietly because my son's upstairs.

Missed part of his birthday last year because like these there's certain parts of life that aren't fun. There's certain parts of teaching that aren't fun and I'm not passionate about and yet I can still be passionate because I know that what I'm doing is important and so I just think it's important to relieve ourselves of that pressure to always be passionate.

And then as far as relieving ourselves of pressure. The number 3 is you don't always have to be a super hero right - I got an I got a message on Instagram recently from a teacher saying hey I used to love teaching.

But like I'm working all weekend long and I'm grading till seven o'clock at night and I just can't keep up with it all and I'm thinking about quitting and I need somebody to either talk me out of it or tell me it's okay that it's that it's okay to quit my profession. Can you do that for me and I'm like who.

Sure, Um, but and I bet you do and so I said hey if you need to take a break or if you need to quit. There's no shame in that right - there's no shame attached that you have got to protect yourself.

Because if you are not filled up yourself. There's no way you're gonna overflow to your students and so if you're on empty. You've got to do something about it. But I also note noted in there. You don't have to grade everything right? like if grading is what's kicking your butt stop grading so much wait.

If you're planning engaging dynamic lessons every weekend can I just give you the permission to not have everything be the most bombastic and engaging experience in the world. Sometimes it's okay to say hey guys let's pull out a book. We're going to read today because I got to catch up and I'm not going to grade tonight.

I'm gonna grade right now I you know I mean like you don't have to have a simulation or or this big crazy thing. You don't have to go to staples and spend five hundred bucks for every unit like it's okay, to not do all of that and still be a great teacher period.

Right? I'm glad you agree like it took me a long time to learn that. But it's true in my own life and it's true for every teacher that takes that advice and does something with it. You don't have to be a superhero all the time it's It's not necessary.

Mandy:  Huh. Yes, yeah, within the first five years that I became a teacher probably sooner than that Pinterest became a thing and it was probably the most unhealthy thing I've ever experienced in my teaching career and probably.

In my like homeownership life because I've got a new idea of how I want to spend money and change something in my home and the same is true in my classroom and that's just it's not necessary to have those small but so huge impact with students like think about  classrooms that you were in as a kid. Do you remember what they looked like - maybe there was one that was super cute or you know like had a good like ambiance or presence to it but probably not. It was the teacher. It was a conversation. It was an experience and it didn't have to.

Trevor Muir: Um, yes, it was the environment, the safety, yes.

Mandy: Yeah, it was yes the culture of the classroom. Um the connection with all of the humans in the room or a particular few. That's where you're going to get the bang for your time book right? We talk about getting a return on our time investment as teachers and that's where it is. That's where it is.

Trevor Muir: And listen like sometimes I like to be big and and epic in that way, you know I mean like my my first book is called the epic classroom and you know somebody might say like oh epic as in like everything's got to be this big. Awesome bright lot mind blowing experience like listen sometimes.

I Need that like I like to be big and epic in that way. But epic to me is actually just story right? Like we read an epic and Epic is a story and and that's at the heart of all of this to me like an epic classroom is one that recognizes that every single one of our students is living out a story and as Teachers or educators were being invited into those stories as guides and and how we interact with them and the and the curriculum the the lessons and units that we design for them should take the shape of a story because nobody forgets a good story right? Like that's what we remember more than anything else If you said to me.

What do you remember most from sixth grade. It's not going to be like oh my teacher had the most amazing decorations in her room or oh we had this incredible way of learning how to write essays. That's not what I remember even those things are great sometimes what I remember is that my parents were going through a divorce.

And I had this teacher Mr. Peters who just went through a divorce himself and he found time every single day after class I don't know how he did it but he found time every day to sit down with me and ask me how I'm doing and it's like man that's oh I mean too. It always does and it's like that's.

Mandy: That like kind of makes me tear up a little bit.

Trevor Muir: That's entering my story and there's a guy who's not on social media I've tried for years to find that guy and ah he's some kind of weirdo that doesn't use Facebook or some kind of genius who doesn't use faith park. Yeah. But he has no idea the impact he had on me as a teacher, as an english teacher, as a dad, as a husband, he has no idea that those interactions that he had with me back in 9095 have absolutely had an impact on who I am the rest of my life.

And, well does he need to know? Yeah, it probably like feel good and it might fuel him up a little bit but the truth is whether he ever finds out or not is irrelevant because I am who I am partly because of the way he interacted in my story. So if I can leave anybody with anything. It's just reaffirming what you talk about all the time which is that Teachers are important and we can't lose sight of that. Yep.

Mandy:  Right? This has been absolutely amazing and I hope it has been for the listeners too that you get to take a few minutes on your commute do or from work and just kind of pop your your earbuds in and give it a listen but I want before we leave for you to share where teachers can find you and yeah.

Trevor Muir: Yeah, what you can find the the base camp for all my stuff would be at my website which is trevormuir.com and that's where you can find my videos or ways we can get in touch. But I Also as you mentioned earlier I just started my own podcast because, come on who doesn't want to have their own podcast?!? Yep, so I finally did it. I've been wanting to for years and I finally push play and so I'm releasing new episodes every Monday and episode 5 comes out on Monday so if you want to check out my podcast as well. It's the Epic Classroom with Trevor Muir. 

Mandy: Awesome! Yeah, and we'll be sure to link down in the description where you're listening to find all of those links will be ready and available for you to find Trevor in the epic classroom. So awesome. Well thank you again. Trevor I really appreciate it and um.

Trevor Muir: You can find it anywhere but then also on social media just search my name you'll find it.

Mandy: Cheers! Cheers to teachers just taken a moment to recognize you're a boss. You're a freaking boss and you've got impact in ways that you'll never know but hopefully in ways that you can measure to and that's fuel enough for you to realize how amazing you really are so thanks So much Trevor already hmbo way.

Trevor Muir: Awesome! Love it, thanks Mandy appreciate it, bye.

Holy cow, I’m still kind of on a little bit of a kick from that episode, as in a kick in the butt and a kick of inspiration!  It’s hard to remind ourselves of the impact of what we do when we’re surrounded by and can’t help but focus on the negative aspects - the less than sexy, and the hard stuff.  And right now is a hard time to be in education.

And some may even scoff at taking time to remind themselves of their purpose of an educator, and that’s ok because they just aren’t ready for that message yet, and I pray that they get there eventually.  But I’m betting you were ready for this message.  That you know your impact, you just need to be reminded of it.  And I pray that you have moments like the ones shared in this episode - where you get to see and feel how those micro-level moments of impact can set a trajectory for a student, they can spark an idea or an interest, and it will fuel a certain path in their lives that gives them joy and contentment in their purpose. 

That is the impact you can have my teacher-friend, and don’t you ever forget it.

To follow Trevor Muir, find him on social media, and listen to his brand new podcast, be sure to see the links below.

Trevor's Website: https://www.trevormuir.com/
Trevor's New Podcast The Epic Classroom: https://www.trevormuir.com/podcasts/the-epic-classroom-with-trevor-muir 

And we’ll see you right here on the Sustainable Teacher, same time, next week.  Bye for now.

P.S. If this message of finding more work-life balance and a sustainable teacher-life is resonating with you, please come check out our completely free 7-Day Sustainable Teacher Challenge.  I'll come to inbox each of the 7 days with a brief training and challenge to consider in helping you reach the more sustainable teacher-life you desire.  Get signed up now.