This is Mr. Funky Teacher with BeAFunkyTeacher.com. I'm coming to you with another Be a Funky Teacher podcast and today is a big one. This is episode 100. 100 lessons that changed my teaching journey and made me Mr. Funky Teacher. I really cannot believe that we're here. When I first soft launched this podcast back in Orlando at the National Teacher Leadership Conference, I really had no idea we'd ever reach something like episode 100. But here we are a hundred episodes later and I wanted to celebrate in a way that feels meaningful, honest, and true to this journey. So today I'm sharing something special. 100 lessons I've learned across 20 plus years in education from the kids, the classrooms, the colleagues, the mistakes, the failures, the breakthroughs, the late nights, the early mornings, and the heart work that shapes us as educators, y'. All. So these lessons are my heart on paper. Well, actually an audio, but they're really things that have built me into the teaching, into the teacher that I am today. So let's get into it. First things first, I want to talk about three things that I'm thankful for. And as you know, I always start my episodes with three things I'm thankful for. I've done that from very early episodes. I started to do three things that I'm thankful for. That's kind of a nod to my mom who really believed in gratitude. That having a practice of gratitude where you reflect daily on things that you're thankful for in the mornings as you get your day started to help shape and guide your day through a habit of gratitude. So I've incorporated that into this podcast. So three things that I'm thankful for. First thing that I'm thankful for here today is I'm thankful for my listeners, my fellow funky teachers out there. Because every episode is a conversation between us and your presence makes this community real. Second thing that I'm thankful for, I'm thankful for my voice. The ability to speak up, to advocate and share the heart of work, of teaching. It truly is a privilege to use my voice for students and for educators. And I never take that for granted. Third thing that I'm thankful for, I'm thankful I started this journey because hitting record the first time has brought growth, reflection, healing, purpose and community into my life in a way that I didn't expect. Well, a hundred things I've learned, so I'm going to be sharing those now. That's what I'm going to be getting into. The main topic is 100 lessons that changed my teaching journey and made me Mr. Funky Teacher. That's our focus here today. I'm going to break those into different sections. The first section that I'm going to be talking about is relationships and connection. If I've learned anything in teaching and anything at all, it's this: that relationships are the oxygen of our classrooms. Kids don't learn from people they fear and they don't thrive in places where they feel invisible. Everything begins with connection. Everything. So here are the lessons that shaped how I build relationships with young people. Lesson 1: Every child needs to feel seen. When a student feels invisible, learning becomes secondary to survival. It all becomes about the survival. Lesson 2: Your greeting @ the door sets the tone for the day. That moment where you greet students, you tell them, hey, I'm glad you're here. Welcome to class. It matters. It matters to young people. Lesson 3: Listening is more powerful than lecturing. See, kids open up when they feel heard, not constantly corrected. It's so important to take time to hear students. Lesson 4: A soft voice calms more storms than a loud one. Tone—the tone of a voice—it regulates the room before instruction can ever begin. Lesson 5: Curiosity reduces conflict. So asking a question like, hey, what's going on? It can unlock doors working with students a lot faster than any punishment can. Where punishment actually can slam doors closed when trying to connect with students if we're just throwing out a punishment and not trying to act curious about what's going on. Lesson 6: Kids remember how you made them feel long after they forgot your lessons. Your emotional climate becomes their internal narrative. So how you make students feel, it matters every single day. Lesson 7: A child who trusts you will work harder for you. Relationship increases intrinsic motivation, y'. All. It does. And so we have to work on building student trust. And they're gonna work harder for us. Lesson 8: Celebrate small wins loudly. Kids grow when their efforts are noticed and we are celebrating them. Lesson 9: Correct privately, praise publicly. This one is important. Anytime you can have an opportunity to correct a student in a private way—like pull them out in the hallway and talk to them or not in front of them—I mean, who wants to be sitting in front of a classroom and being corrected over and over and over again? So anytime you can, if you're more likely, try to correct privately and then praise publicly. It protects a child's dignity while also building confidence, y'. All. Lesson 10: Believe the best first. See, when we are assuming positive intent, it can rewrite a child's story versus assuming the worst or looking for the bad in a child. We have to believe the best first. Lesson 11: Connection before correction. A regulated adult is the best intervention for working with a child here. So focusing on connection way before just correcting a child. Lesson 12: Meet kids where they are, not where you wish they were. It would sure be nice to have students at certain levels, right? But that's not always an option, and developmental appropriateness isn't optional. We have to meet kids where they're at. We can get so frustrated about, hey, students are all over the place, but we got to meet them where they're at and try to help them grow and succeed at that level. Lesson 13: Kids act out when they feel unseen. Behavior is almost always communication. So trying to figure out, trying to navigate that and not just look at kids as troublemakers. Do they feel safe? Do they not feel safe? Now, it's a consideration here, y'. All, that kids act out when they feel unsafe. So it's so important that we try to make a room environment a safe environment where kids are more likely to feel safe. It still doesn't guarantee anything, but work hard to make the environment feel safe, and that will help y' all. I think it'll actually minimize behaviors because, see, behavior is almost always communication. Once again, it tells us something that's going on with a child. It can teach us a lesson. It can give us insight. And it's so important for us to try to kind of figure out that puzzle. Lesson 14: Consistency is love in structure. Routines, they reduce chaos by reducing uncertainty. And so having routines, systems, procedures in the classroom that provides consistency—which is love and structure. Lesson 15: Never underestimate the power of a fresh start. Some kids, y'. All, they need 10 fresh starts a day, right? Sometimes we need a fresh start. Right? But a fresh start can be very impactful. So never underestimate the power of a fresh start. Lesson 16: Your smile is your badge. Simply by smiling, it can warm up a space and lower student defenses. Lesson 17: Kids give back what they experience. So emotional contagion is real. So if we're jerking kids around, what do you think we're going to see from them? They're going to jerk us back around. Kids are going to give back what they experience. And so I always tell students, like, I will model for you how I want to be treated. So I work really hard to model showing them respect and dignity and kindness and courtesy. And it makes it very clear what I expect back. Because if I'm jerking kids around or being obnoxious to a kid, how can I expect anything given back to me in return different than that? Lesson 18: Be the adult who stays steady. A student's storm doesn't require your storm. You don't have to fall apart just because a student falls apart. Be that adult who can stay steady in that student storm. Lesson 19: Avoid sarcasm. It can leave scars. Kids often take it literally. There's a lot of kids who think that, hey, when you use sarcasm, you're making fun of them. And we don't want that. We don't want to give that type of message to students. So try to avoid sarcasm, y'. All. Lesson 20: Grace teaches more than punishment ever will. A child who feels safe enough to fail will grow twice as fast, y'. All. So giving students grace, it teaches more than punishment ever will in a classroom space. Classroom Culture And Community (Lessons 21–40) So the next thing I want to talk about is classroom culture and community. A classroom, it isn’t four walls. It’s a living ecosystem, y’. All. The way we design, speak, arrange, and celebrate, it creates a culture that either lifts kids or crushes them. Culture is built whether we’re intentional or not, so we have to be intentional. So, number 21. Lesson 21: Classroom culture is more important than classroom control. See, control, it creates compliance. But culture, it creates commitment. In a classroom. Write that down. It’s going to be in a test that control creates compliance. Culture creates commitment. Lesson 22: Psychological safety fuels academic risk taking. Kids will try more when they feel—or when—they fear failure less. They’re gonna try more. They’re gonna take more academic risks. Lesson 23: Joy is a serious teaching strategy. Laughter, it accelerates learning. Lesson 24: Your room should reflect your students, not Pinterest. You know, relevance in the classroom, it beats aesthetics. I love having stuff up in the classroom. Everything I have hanging up in my classroom, it has a purpose and it’s relevant in some way. It’s not that I’m just going for a cutesy room or just a Pinterest-worthy room. When I think about aesthetics, everything I put up has to be relevant in the classroom. And that doesn’t always make it Pinterest-worthy, and that’s okay. Lesson 25: Let kids move. Movement unlocks the brain. Movement is so important. Kids shouldn’t be sitting there all day in one spot not moving. Lesson 26: Routines free up cognitive load. Kids think more when they have to guess less about routines or what they’re supposed to be doing. Lesson 27: Anchor charts are promises, not decorations. Anytime you can use anchor charts, they can guide thinking—only if you use them, though. So I have some anchor charts that I’ve used for various subject times. Then I’ll pull them out when I need them, and those can be really, really powerful. Sometimes I’ll hang them up for a while and we’ll connect back to them and use them as a teaching tool. Then I’ll put them away. There are some teachers who leave them out all the time, and that’s okay too. Lesson 28: Normalize mistakes. Failure, y’. All—it’s data, not identity. So we have to normalize that you can make mistakes and it doesn’t make you a throwaway human being. Having conversations about making mistakes is important for us to do. Lesson 29: Every student should contribute to the space. Ownership increases engagement. So having stuff hanging up that students have made in some way or another is important. There are different degrees of that, but having something that a student created is so important in the classroom. Lesson 30: Diverse stories build belonging. Representation helps kids see possibility. So sharing diverse stories, having students share stories, it can build belonging in a classroom and open up conversation. And I don’t care if you’re in a classroom where—like in my classroom—I have students who are Native, but not all of my students are Ho-Chunk. Some are part Omaha Nation or part Lakota, or part White, part Native, or part Black, part Native. And that’s okay. That diversity brings in cultural diversity too. And getting students sharing about that is so important, y’. All. Lesson 31: Celebrate effort, not just outcomes. It can’t just be about the outcome. Students internalize the process. So internalize and celebrate the effort. Lesson 32: Music changes mood. I’ve had times where I use a transition playlist, and that can shift energy instantly, y’. All. There are other times where I use music not just during transitions, and that can be powerful too. Lesson 33: Flexibility beats rigidity. Rigid adults, they break before kids do. So as adults, we have to be flexible. Lesson 34: Protect the classroom from adult negativity. Kids should not absorb staff drama. This is one I’m very big on. If there are adults coming into the space, I try to keep negativity out of it or deflect it from the classroom. Negativity, staff drama, and adults bringing that into the classroom space—it’s like poison for the classroom. So I work really hard to keep adult negativity out of the room. Lesson 35: Let students lead, y’. All. Leadership builds identity. Giving students opportunities to lead is so important. Lesson 36: Create rituals students can depend on. It increases emotional predictability. I think of my classroom. Every morning my students have a gratitude ritual where they put one thing they’re thankful for on our Winnebago Wall of Gratitude. That’s something they can depend on every single morning. We also do a mental health check-in in the morning. That’s part of our classroom ritual. Lesson 37: Teach procedures like content. Clarity reduces conflict. If I have certain procedures I want followed, I teach them just like content. We practice them. We talk about what procedures don’t look like and what they do look like. I offer clarification and practice. I teach it just like content. Lesson 38: Never weaponize your authority, y’. All. Respect must be mutual. We can expect kids to respect us, but we also have to respect kids. Sadly, I’ve seen adults weaponize their authority, and it makes me sick to my stomach. It’s so detrimental to kids. We must never weaponize our authority. Lesson 39: Give kids chances to shine in non-academic ways. You discover their humanity that way, y’. All. Look for those opportunities. Lesson 40: Your presence is the most important classroom feature. You are the environment. You make your classroom work. When you’re there, it matters. Teacher Leadership And Professional Growth (Lessons 41–60) So the next section that I want to talk about is teacher leadership and professional growth. See, leadership isn’t a title. It’s influence. I’ve learned leadership from mentors, yes, but also from fifth graders who showed me courage in tiny, ordinary moments. Being a teacher leader means serving people, lifting people, and making decisions rooted in what’s best for kids. So let’s get into it. Lesson 41: Leaders listen first. Listening reveals what leadership must respond to. We as successful teachers must listen. And if we’re teacher leaders, we’ve got to listen, y’. All. Lesson 42: You don’t need a title to change a school. Influence comes from trust. I was actually just talking about this with my principal today, talking about how teachers can be so influential on the culture of a school—in a good way and a not-so-good way. It can’t just be a principal. A principal can do as much as he or she can from that position, but the real influence has to come from teachers with the support of administration. My principal and I just had that conversation today, and boy, it makes sense. I buy into it. I know how influential teachers are over the culture of a school. Lesson 43: Say yes to opportunities that stretch you. Great growth requires discomfort. Being in a new school district this year, I’ve said yes to a lot of opportunities that are stretching me right away, challenging me, and giving me opportunities. Before I moved districts, I said yes to a lot of opportunities too. I didn’t just say yes to things that were easy. I said yes to things that would stretch me and challenge me as a professional educator. Lesson 44: Advocacy is part of the job, y’. All. Kids need adults who speak when it’s hard. Teachers—we have to advocate. It is part of the job. Lesson 45: Share your gifts without apology. Playing small helps no one. Don’t dim your light just because others are uncomfortable. Lesson 46: Stop shrinking to make others feel comfortable. Don’t dial it back because others are uncomfortable with the impact you’re making. Your light can give others permission to grow and thrive. If you shrink so others aren’t uncomfortable, how is that helping in classrooms, hallways, or meetings? Lesson 47: Collaboration beats competition. Great schools rise together. I think about my fifth-grade team. I love working with them. We are doing some really cool things around collaboration. My team is not my team—it’s our team. We’re not in competition with each other or with other grade levels. We’re doing the best we can for students, and we’re in this together. It’s like boats in a harbor. When the water rises, all the boats rise. That’s how great schools work. Lesson 48: You can’t pour from an empty identity. Teacher identity must be nourished. I talked about this when I spoke to state senators in Nebraska about teacher burnout. You can’t pour from an empty identity. If you don’t nourish your teacher identity, you become a shell of yourself, and you won’t be impactful. Lesson 49: The best leaders lift new leaders. It can’t be about one teacher leader doing everything. That leads to burnout. Great leaders empower others and create opportunities for new leaders. That’s how transformation happens. Lesson 50: Fixing systems requires teacher voice. This is something I feel very strongly about. Without teachers, reforms fail. When decisions are made at school, district, state, or national levels without teacher voice, systems can be harmed. Teachers must use their voice, or others will make decisions for us. So fixing systems requires teacher voice, y’. All. Now we’re halfway through, and we’re going to keep pushing forward. Lesson 51: Take feedback as fuel, not insult. Feedback sharpens your craft. I’ll be honest—there have been times I’ve taken feedback personally. It depends how it’s delivered. College students especially don’t hold back with feedback. Some are venting. Some are abrasive. But I try to look through that and take what I can to improve. I don’t want to stay crusty and dry like last night’s cornbread. I want to grow. Sometimes feedback is rocket fuel if you’re willing to learn from it. Lesson 52: Be honest about burnout. It’s not weakness—it’s warning. Burnout is real. It’s like a check-engine light. If we ignore it, we won’t last another month, year, or decade. We have to take burnout seriously. Lesson 53: Strong teams make strong teaching communities. It multiplies impact. When we work as a community, the impact compounds. I believe that 100%. Lesson 54: Your tone is a leadership tool. Tone builds culture faster than policy. What you say matters, but how you say it matters even more. Tone shapes culture faster than rules or policies. Lesson 55: Teachers leave bad administration, not kids. Teachers don’t leave kids. They leave lack of support. Leadership determines longevity. When administration says, “Figure it out,” teachers burn out. Lesson 56: Celebrate others publicly. Recognition builds morale. I try to celebrate my colleagues. I once started a collaborative meeting by naming what each team member brought to the team. I was specific. It built morale. Lesson 57: Do the work when no one is watching. Integrity creates influence. We don’t need babysitters. We need space to do our work with integrity—whether someone is watching or not. Lesson 58: You become what you repeatedly do. Your craft grows through discipline. Daily habits—learning targets, student response, routines—shape your teaching. How you respond to behavior shapes who you become as an educator. Lesson 59: Find mentors who tell you the truth. Honesty accelerates improvement. One of my most influential mentors hired me over 20 years ago. She’s retired now, but I still call her. I want truth, not comfort. Lesson 60: Leadership is service, not spotlight. Impact is greater than attention. Leadership is about service to kids, educators, and the profession—not recognition. Resilience, Identity, And Purpose (Lessons 61–80) So the next section that I want to talk about is resilience, identity, and purpose, y’. All. Teaching, it breaks you open—not to weaken you, but to rebuild you stronger. Every hardship has reshaped my identity, my resilience, and my commitment to this calling. These lessons come from moments that weren’t easy, but they were necessary. So let’s talk about it. Lesson 61: Nothing good is easy. Meaningful work requires meaningful effort. If we want students to succeed and we want it to feel easy, it’s not going to happen. I’ve worked extremely hard, and a lot of that work has been meaningful, but it hasn’t come easy. Let’s just call it as it is. Lesson 62: Your purpose will outlast your exhaustion. Purpose fuels perseverance. Sometimes we are exhausted. We’re tired. But purpose carries us through seasons when energy runs low. Lesson 63: You can’t save kids you don’t believe in. Belief is the backbone of resilience. Students know if we believe in them or not. They can feel it. If we don’t believe in them, we’re spinning our wheels. Belief matters. Lesson 64: Your identity cannot depend on test scores. You are more than numbers. Do test scores matter? Yes. Are they everything? Absolutely not. Teachers and students are more than a number, and tying identity to scores is dangerous. Lesson 65: Rest is part of resilience. Exhausted teachers can’t lead. If you want to be impactful, you have to rest. Rest is not optional. Lesson 66: Secondhand trauma is real. Teachers need recovery just as students do. Some of the things students carry are intense and real. Sometimes that trauma keeps you up at night. We have to acknowledge it and process it. Lesson 67: You are not failing. You are evolving. Growth feels like struggle. There’s a difference between struggling because things are falling apart and struggling because you’re pushing yourself to grow. Growth often feels uncomfortable. Lesson 68: Silence the critics. Listen to your calling. You will have critics. Sometimes they’re external. Sometimes they’re internal. Purpose whispers louder than doubt if you listen to it. Lesson 69: Your story matters. Sharing your truth shapes community. I share my story—my years teaching, changing districts, burnout, loss, grief—because it’s part of who I am. Sharing truth builds connection and community. Lesson 70: When the work gets heavy, walk with others. Community lightens the load. We shouldn’t teach in silos. Lean into collaborative teams and trusted people when the weight feels heavy. Lesson 71: Progress takes time. When you hurry, you destroy depth. You can rush through content, but depth requires patience. Whether it’s standards or projects, progress takes time. Lesson 72: Protect your peace. Some battles are not yours to fight. Not every issue deserves your energy. Drama and gossip rent space in your brain for free. Protect your peace. Lesson 73: Let go of perfection. Perfectionism suffocates creativity. This podcast would never exist if I waited for perfection. Growth requires release, not control. Lesson 74: Ask for help without shame. Strong teachers rely on others. Asking for help is not weakness. It’s wisdom. Lesson 75: Boundaries are love in action. Boundaries protect your best self. We can’t say yes to everything. Boundaries keep us healthy and sustainable. Lesson 76: You cannot be all things to all people. Prioritize your humanity alongside your teacher identity. That balance matters. Lesson 77: Celebrate your wins loudly. Reflection energizes purpose. Wins matter. Name them. Celebrate them. Don’t whisper success. Lesson 78: Healing is part of teaching. Both you and your students heal slowly. We all carry wounds. Healing isn’t linear. Sharing that truth helps students and teachers alike. Lesson 79: Courage is doing the work anyway. Courage isn’t a feeling. It’s a decision to show up and do the work. Lesson 80: Never forget why you started. Purpose anchors identity. Remembering your “why” in a genuine way can be grounding and healing, especially when burnout is near. Teaching Practice, Creativity, And Daily Wisdom (Lessons 81–100 + Closing) So the next section that I want to talk about here is teaching practice, creativity, and daily wisdom, y’. All. These final lessons are the small things, the practical truths, the quirky realizations, and the everyday wisdom you only learn after thousands of hours with kids. These aren’t fancy, but they are real. And real is what teachers need. So let’s get into it. Lesson 81: Kids learn more from your calm than your content. Regulation precedes instruction. We as adults in the room have to conduct ourselves in a regulated way in order to teach any content. This is different than high energy. High energy is great. But dysregulated adults don’t create learning spaces. Calm comes first. Lesson 82: Your tone teaches emotional maturity. Kids copy how you speak. I try to be very mindful of how I talk to kids. Yelling and screaming every day is not effective teaching. Tone matters. Kids learn emotional regulation by watching us. Lesson 83: Don’t take advice from people who aren’t where you’re going. There are toxic educators out there who destroy new teachers with negativity. Seek voices that inspire you, not restrict you. Lesson 84: Say yes more. Opportunity is oxygen. Say yes to learning experiences. Say yes to hands-on projects. Say yes to field trips and ideas that might take more work. Kids grow when trusted. Lesson 85: Let kids try hard things. Productive struggle builds confidence. Learning should not be easy. Growth comes from struggle, supported struggle—not learned helplessness. Lesson 86: Start where students actually are, not where benchmarks say they should be. Have high expectations, yes—but meet kids where they are right now so growth can actually happen. Lesson 87: Every kid deserves a chance to shine. Give quiet kids chances. Give struggling kids chances. Brilliance is often hidden until invited. Lesson 88: Teachers need grace too. Your humanity is not a flaw. Needing grace doesn’t make you weak. It makes you human. Lesson 89: Kids are not mini adults. Their brains, emotions, and needs are different. We have to remember that. Lesson 90: Safety unlocks learning. The brain cannot learn while afraid. Safety comes first. Lesson 91: The myth of the bad kid hurts everybody. Behavior is communication. There is no such thing as a bad kid. Lesson 92: Your classroom is a community, not a compliance center. Rules matter, but relationships matter more. Lesson 93: Teacher tone shapes student identity. Your voice becomes their inner voice. Use it wisely. Lesson 94: Trust over testing. Assessments mean little without connection. Lesson 95: Apathy is a warning sign, not a personality. Care fades when support fades. Apathy needs attention and support. Lesson 96: Kids carry heavy things you may never see. Compassion should be your default. Lesson 97: Opportunity creates transformation for teachers too. We grow when we are trusted, just like students. Lesson 98: Advocacy is your responsibility. Silence protects systems, not students. Lesson 99: Your legacy is built in moments, not milestones. The little daily moments matter most. Lesson 100: Teaching is sacred work. You are shaping the world one child at a time. Wow. One hundred episodes. Episode 100. As I do a reflective closing here—100 lessons, 100 truths, 100 pieces of my heart laid out for you. Teaching is not easy work, but it is necessary work. It is holy work. And if nobody has told you lately, you matter. Your work matters. Kids are better because you show up. Thank you for being here. Thank you for sticking with me. Thank you for letting me walk this teaching journey with you. Here’s to the next hundred episodes. If you found value in this episode or the past ninety-nine episodes, jump on over to Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcast and leave a five-star review and let me know what you think. And remember to inspire greatness in young people. And don’t forget to be a funky teacher. Bye now.