‘The Job I Never Knew I Always Wanted’ with Michele Banks   

Please note, this transcript is generated by AI and may include some errors. 

Spencer Payne: Okay, here we are with front of the class, real stories from real educators today joined by Michelle Banks. Michelle, can you give us a little bit of an introduction of yourself, where you teach, what you teach, how old the folks are that you teach, all that good stuff. Give us a little introduction of your educational experience and what you're working on today.

Michele Banks: I would love to. I'm Michele Banks and I'm an exceptional student educator at a private Catholic school in Orlando and I teach high schoolers. So it's, we do not do grades traditional to normal grades. Our students stay until they're 22 years old and so they essentially do two years of each normal grade of high school. So they come in around 15 or 16 and stay to 22.

Spencer Payne: Okay, awesome. And how did you get yourself involved with teaching in the first place? And then secondly, with that particular group of students, which again are, how would you describe that particular group of students that you are leading and how did you get involved with them specifically?

Michele Banks: Well, it's very providential. I had been working in schools like my whole career. I've done some things in advancement and a whole lot in student life and activities, event planning. And then in 2020, my sister had been working at this school for many years and spoken extremely fondly of all the students. And she's like, hey, we need some teachers. And I was like, you know, that's not going to be for me, but thanks but she was very relentless as we all are in our family. She's like, just come on down and like take a tour. And I was like, okay. So I did. And next thing you know, it's the job I never knew I always wanted. I love where I work so, so much.

Spencer Payne: How do you go from no way to that? How did you make that transition?

Michele Banks: I think it was honestly Providence because like I didn't really feel like I was going to be a good special educator. I didn't like being uncomfortable. And I thought, like, I don't know what to say to them. I can't understand them, especially in 2020, because they were all wearing a mask, which nobody wanted to do. But like, they already have speech differences. So then compounded with a mask was really challenging. But what I found was that, like, I got over my discomfort practically instantly. And I just loved that.

I loved who they were, who they were becoming, and the whole journey to get them there. was beautiful.

Spencer Payne: And you you started teaching then in 2020, COVID masks, a time when many teachers thought this is the hardest this has ever been. That's when you started.

Michele Banks: Yeah, I don't recommend that. It was not a banner year, honestly. So it's always been up since then, you know? It was definitely not the right year to join. Yeah. It definitely had its challenges, but I did s-

Spencer Payne: I suppose so. you start when it's the hardest, it only gets better, right? But even in that...

Michele Banks: Sorry, I interrupted you, go ahead.

Spencer Payne: No, go ahead, continue.

Michele Banks: So I started, I think, in the...

like worst slash best possible role in the school because I was going to teach a middle school class, but then eventually I just pivoted to being the long term substitute that year. And so I got to spend time in every class in the school and get to know like literally every child. And it was such a gift because like for all these years, I still know them and I like claimed dibs on them from elementary school for like being their teacher when they get to high school.

They I just loved that I knew all of them and I loved something about all of them I knew the challenges of all of them and I wasn't scared anymore like I felt like I had tools and I learned so much from watching all the other teachers and I took away all the best practices from them because they just had me spend time because our student population is like you can't just just jumping in as a like unknown substitute is not a good fit for them or you so it was really like perfect situation to like experience it all and then I could like kind of see like I think I would do serve the students best working in high school so that's what I requested and by God's providence it worked out that I teach I started teaching high school right after that and then that's what I've been doing ever since

Spencer Payne: And you mentioned kind of being able to watch and then steal or as some people have described it, R &D, not research and development, rip off and duplicate. I'm just gonna see what works. I'm do it myself. You mentioned being able to use some of those best practices. Any examples of what you saw other teachers do that you thought, ooh, I like that. I'm definitely gonna start doing that. I didn't even think about that. Can you share a couple of those? If any come to mind?

Michele Banks: I'd love to. Yeah. The first one that comes to mind is planned ignoring. When a student's behavior is disruptive or attention seeking in a negative way, teachers just didn't react. And I was like, do they not know what's happening?

Like, why is nobody doing anything? And then I later found out like, that's the plan. Like, they're negative attention seeking and we're just gonna ignore it. And that's like a really actually effective plan of diminishing negative behaviors is not giving it attention. And so that was one of the first things that was really exceptional. Another thing that I learned early on, yeah, yeah.

Spencer Payne: And sorry, real quick on this one, just because some listeners might hear that and think, well, how do I know what's really bad that I need to step in for versus what's maybe something that's actually not that big of a deal that's ignorable? Like, do you have any examples of how did you differentiate those two things? What's an example of an ignorable behavior that actually it's better if you don't give it attention?

Michele Banks: Okay, I mean, I have unlimited amounts of examples, really. One recent one that came up is a student tapping on desks, on other people's desks with their feet on the floor. And it's a little disruptive, but it's negative attention seeking. So I just ignore it. And then sometimes they go and sit on the floor. And I just ignore it.

I mean, if I've already planned ahead to ignore it, then I do. I mean, if they need something, I check in. But also, another thing that is sort of like best friends with that concept is like not over giving attention to things that do need correction. So like if there's a negative attention seeking behavior that requires like some kind of response, it's like, no thank you and move on. And that's it.

That's all it is. So that it isn't like that. Now you shouldn't have done this because of X, Y, and Z and look at what it did to other people. Like that's just not necessary. It was really helpful to learn those things and see it practiced.

Spencer Payne: Mm. Mm, awesome.

Yep, understood. Well, sorry to interrupt. I interrupted your flow of other things. I was hoping for a little more detail. What are some other best practices that you were able to observe and then put into practice that you saw worked that maybe you didn't even realize until you saw them in action?

Michele Banks: The other one that came to mind when you said that was skills for talking with people that are minimally verbal that are not verbal. like communicating, I guess, with people that are minimally verbal. So that can be daunting, especially with kids with devices and things like that. learning to communicate in a way that's like a yes or a no. And then they can tap yes or no. Like, do you need something? Do you need help? Yes or no?

And then I even do this in some of my classes. We have a weekly Chitty Chat every Monday.

And it's where everybody shares something about their weekend. And it's a really good social time because they can practice active listening, speaking. I make everyone begin by like making eye contact with me and greeting me politely. And then I say, would you like to share one thing about your weekend? And they do. And the ones that are minimally verbal without devices, it's like next to impossible to understand them sometimes, especially out of context like that. Like, it's not like I'm asking them to pick something off the board where there's like a certain amount of things but like just an open-ended question like that I'll say something like did you go to did you stay home or did you go out and then they pick and then did you go grocery shopping or to some other kind of store and then I keep going down the road and they can choose just by touching your hand the answer but just more simplified yes or no is a like really powerful tool in communicating with students that I have communication differences.

Spencer Payne: Yeah, another thing you said there that I really like is that concept of making eye contact and the opening acknowledgement to start the day or start the class.

Michele Banks: Mm-hmm.

Spencer Payne: And even if someone's in a class of maybe 25, 30, a larger class, maybe you don't have the luxury of making eye contact with every single person. But every day you can easily do that with three, four, five, six, seven, 10 of your students, which just feels like a very powerful, like, I see you, you see me, like we're here together. I like that as a way of an introduction or an opener to the day or to the class period, as opposed to just this informal kind of, here we go, we're getting started right now without this kind of more intimate acknowledgement

Michele Banks: I do have more to say about that.

Spencer Payne: that we're human beings here in this room together. like that.

Michele Banks: So my classes are smaller so that the most I have 11.

So, and I do this only on Mondays, but I tried eliminating it for a while because like this takes time. have like goals for them, but I found that like the disconnection I had from them because I wasn't connecting with them at any human level, just like as a teacher to a student, it changed the tone of the change, how I cared for them. And it changed the tone of my class so much that I decided like it is worth the time we spend to like say good morning, Spencer and have them return it to me and then say one thing and it was just it's valuable it's maybe not academic but it's priceless.

Spencer Payne: Yeah, I like that a lot. Well, getting back to your now you're teaching that for five years or so, got into it in COVID, one of the hardest years for teachers to experience it, let alone as a new teacher. What has kept you in it for so long? What got you past that first year that so many teachers thought was so difficult that made you say, I'm gonna keep doing this, this is where I should be? Like what's kept you in it for so long?

Michele Banks: I love what I do. I feel I was made to do it. I feel like God gave me gifts and this is where I can grow as a person and make a difference in the world, which is what I kind of, I think all of us kind of want to do. We can leave a different, a mark on the world in our place. When I was younger, I thought I'd be a crossing guard with my big life goal because those people can have a very unique opportunity to change a life by just a chance encounter.

That's way too early in the morning for me, so I never did that. I think finding a place where I know I have gifts and that God gave me love for these students, like crazy love. I love them so much. I take so much care in their development. I believe in them so firmly and I'm so interested in watching them grow and being a safe place for them because I don't know what their home lives are like but I have like this window of opportunity every day for them to be respected, safe and cared for.

and I have like an excellent assistant that helps me that like achieve that day after day and I just I adore it. I want to do it better and better and and I really feel like those these are God's children like they're special people and they've been marginalized for so many like all of time basically and like I can actually, I overcame my discomfort with it and I'm not uncomfortable. I feel like very comfortable and I'm also kind of an extrovert so I'm like happy to bring others in and like prepare them so that they don't have to live with the same kind of fear as I did initially and find out how awesome it is to be part of special education.

Spencer Payne: Yeah, awesome. anything, now you've been doing this for five years, anything in particular you're looking forward to over the next three months, six months, 12 months, you pick your timeline. We're recording here in April, so the school year is kind of coming to a close soon, so maybe something around that. But anything that you're looking forward to here coming up soon that's just got you particularly energized.

Michele Banks: Well, I know most people are excited about summer break and it's like a bittersweet thing. I really loved my class this year and I don't really want it to change. So that's sort of a bittersweet thing. But I am also excited about because by this time next year, I should have completed all the necessary requirements and jumped through all the hoops to have my professional certification finished. So I'm looking forward to that.

Spencer Payne: Very nice, congratulations. Free up some time, free up some time and energy.

Michele Banks: That would be lovely.

Spencer Payne: Well, it will be lovely. And it seems like you're on the right track. You're almost going to get there. Congratulations. That's no small feat. And I'd love to hear a little bit more of some of your stories in the classroom, if you're willing or able to share. that maybe this is every day, because it seems like you found your profession, which is amazing. If only we all could be so lucky. But anything that stands out of just coolest, most enjoyable, proudest moments so far in your teaching career, anything that when you think of still just maybe makes you light up,

Michele Banks: I have stories.

Spencer Payne: makes you smile, cry tears of joy or something that you'll look forward to when you're 80 and still think, I can't believe that happened. That was such a great experience. Any, any proudest moments or anything like that that come to mind that you're able to share.

Michele Banks: Well, I have a long list, so you might have to cut me off at some point. there's a few, there's been many moments. I wanted to tell you some funny stories that my students have said over the years that I just to this day continue to smile. So I'll just call them all Jane and John.

Spencer Payne: We love funny, we'll take funny all day long.

Michele Banks: anonymity. So Jane and John were kind of sweet on each other in my class and Jane was really into like zodiac signs and stuff like that and we're Catholic school so not so much like the thing that most people do and she goes rattling on and on about how her dominant planet is Mars and on and on and on.

And so the boy that likes her, John, he's like, well, Jane, I didn't know you weren't from Earth. And I thought it was so adorable that they actually, that was the conclusion he drew from that whole conversation. It was so adorable. And then another time recently.

We go over national days in the morning and it was national roof over your head day. So we were talking about some historical places that people have used as homes. And one of my students said, we were talking about homes for Native Americans, and he said, TP doesn't stand for toilet paper. That's a common misconception.

is so funny because it was such an intelligent use of misconception and also so funny because I'm pretty sure no one ever thought TP's did for a toilet paper body. was so cute. I loved that one.

Spencer Payne: It sounds like you could go on for days on these and that you are wildly having a great time in the classroom every day that you're there. Anything else stand out maybe on... Oh, go ahead.

Michele Banks: I probably could. You never know what they're going to say. yes.

Okay, so I'll pivot away from acute stories, my students say things, to an experience I had with somebody that came in, the peers as partners in learning program we have. So they come from Bishop Moore to our school, and they spend time in our classroom. And it's a state class, and they get trained on differences, and then they just come and do whatever we're doing. And this really treasure of a person came in, and she spent three years, she's the first one that ever did that, sophomore, junior, and in our school, one period every day, spending time with us. And she wants to be a special educator. And she came by my class one day, she wasn't even my peer anymore, and she said she had just been meeting with her school counselor and she hadn't scored high enough on some standardized test. And basically he kind of dashed all her hopes of having a fulfilling, like fulfilling her career, getting her to college she wanted. And she was so deflated and she was such a joyful person. that it was like really sad to see her like just shrunk down with this the weight of this.

Turns out, like I wrote her a recommendation for college and all sorts of things. And the next thing you know, she applies for a full ride scholarship that she doesn't have the scores for, but she had the passion for being an educator and she got the scholarship. And I just was so proud to be part of that with her. I was the first person she was in the peer with and I got to be part of that journey and to see like people say like, you'll never do what you want to do because you can't score high enough on a test. like to see her like go against all the odds and like because she has like a passion and a purpose and people could see it like that she's overcoming all that like I am just so excited to see how her journey continues and how she didn't like let people put her down. It was it's a beautiful story. I just love her so much.

Spencer Payne: yeah. And, goes to show the power of, what your story seems to embody, which is this power of kind of being in the right place, knowing this is what you're supposed to be doing, having, having a passion for something and showing it and showing that enthusiasm. And that can go a really long way, including in this example, helping this person who had that passion, enthusiasm, desire, et cetera, to go earn this scholarship that on paper doesn't make any sense, but in a human connection standpoint, she rises above all the rest. It's really, really powerful stuff right there. Any particular tough moments in your teaching career or things that were just really hard or days that are just off or you're not feeling great or like how do you bounce back? anything that you might call out to help others of tough moments, down days, down weeks,

Michele Banks: She really does.

Spencer Payne: And how do you kind of rise above? How do you balance back? How have you handled some of those tough situations?

Michele Banks: I think one thing I didn't grow up hearing much about but seems to be pretty prevalent now and is really valuable is taking time for self-care. Letting yourself be a priority to yourself so that you can't, like they say, you can't give what you don't have.

like to be gentle with yourself and just say like, okay, I'm off today or my students are off today and this is just one day out of many. Like don't overblow these moments and let them get you down long term. Just take them in stride. It's the good with the bad and the good usually outweighs the bad.

Spencer Payne: Yep. And what's one of those things for you that refills your cup when you're feeling empty? Like what's, one of those things that is just maybe re-energizing for you? that when you're just, I'm not, I'm, I'm low, I'm low energy. Like I need to refill my own cup first. Like what's, what's something that recharges you that helps you get back to be your normal seem like very positive bubbly self in the classroom as soon as you can.

Michele Banks: Well, I love taking naps, but I also love listening to podcasts. That's one of my really enjoyable things. I can do almost anything listening to a podcast and it doesn't feel like a chore. I also love baking. So those are a few things that I do to like, just have time for myself.

Spencer Payne: Awesome. Everybody's got to have that one or two or three things that just, when the chips are down, you're not feeling great. You know, you can find your energy or your solace in that one thing. Anything else in your teaching career, five years in so far, that you do consistently that just seems to work for you?

And maybe you're surprised other people don't do that thing. Anything come to mind or stand out for you that you do consistently that just works for you. And you kind of want to shout at the rooftops, like, why don't you try this? It works really well, I swear, that you just would love to see more people embrace or do in the classroom.

Michele Banks: Yeah, so for this one, think the thing that I'd like to try to really capitalize on is keeping my students busy. They say, I don't handle the devil's workshop, but behaviors come out a lot when there's boredom and other things like that. So when my students come in, they have morning work and things like that. And it just helps to guide.

you know, the pace of the day. I try to keep it as consistent as possible because almost all student populations, a stuff, especially mine really thrive on like patterns and also letting them know if there's going to be a change and like just watching my own attitude if we have to make a change because like however I take it in and reflect it out is how they will. like, well, we're going to make a change today and that's okay. We'll be fine. So projecting what I like, how I, hope they respond with me and keeping like a chill out vibe I guess going really helps and that might be all for now. I'm gonna look at my notes.

Spencer Payne: Yep. And yeah, the concept of being busy, getting yourself tired, et cetera. share a quick story that just popped into my head as you were describing that. A few years ago, my wife and I bought a house that was a renovation gut job. took everything down to the studs. we, especially I, which was really fun, by the way, did a lot of the demo work myself.

And there were some Saturdays where I might do six hours of, you know, hard demo work, loading things in the dumpster, like tiring, tiring stuff. And then it was time for a delicious double cheeseburger and going to bed at eight 30 or nine o'clock and sleeping like a baby, because you're just, you're, you're just mentally, physically exhausted. And some of those, some of those sleeps were just so rewarding. There was no waking up thinking about stuff. It was just.

You're busy, you're doing stuff, you're exhausting yourself and you just wake up and do it again. And there's some kind of, I don't know, there's some level of ease in that, which I understand what you're saying of like by keeping things busy, you don't allow the mental chatter or the distractions or the foot tower, all these things that could happen when people don't have something to focus their mind on. When you have something to focus on your mind on, it's very calming or it can be very calming and very, you forcing of focus on something productive as opposed to potentially something unproductive. So sorry, had to throw a little demo story in there randomly. A couple.

Michele Banks: Mm.

No, I'm glad you did. It sounds like a real adventure.

Spencer Payne: It certainly was, yes. Never realized how many dumpsters you would need when doing a whole house renovation. I was astonished at how many of those that I needed. To jump then into, yeah, to jump then into some maybe advice or words of wisdom for younger teachers or maybe aspiring teachers, knowing what you know now after five years in the profession, especially with your background of,

Michele Banks: They don't show that on HGTV.

Spencer Payne: I don't ever want to be a teacher to now I found my calling in life, which is a pretty big 180 to have done. What might be the number one piece of advice you'd give to somebody who's maybe in their first year in the classroom or they're thinking about being a teacher or an educator, but they're not sure yet knowing what you know now, what's the number one piece of advice you might give to someone in that kind of, in that mentality or what would you go back and tell yourself?

Michele Banks: love this question and I think I have lots of things to say about this but like the one probably main overarching thing is like begin with the end in mind.

And we have a really powerful mission at our school, which is to help each child achieve their personal best and discover their gifts. And so to always keep the mission in mind and then ask yourself, when there's a dilemma, what's best for the students? And then that's just the answer, which seems like it should be intuitive, but it doesn't always.

It's just helpful to keep it in the front of your mind. Another thing that really benefited me and I would recommend is to learn from other people. Learn from the best in your around you from what they do and what their best practices are. I certainly benefited from being around and taking away best practices from people that I still use them on the daily. The principles and things that they showed me and modeled for me was just really powerful. And another thing I think that was helpful for me, and it took me a while to get my footing under this, but to establish your guiding lights is what I like to call them, guiding lights. Like what are the priorities for your class? And then, so I have three priorities and they're on like a little board in my room and it says, in my classroom you are safe, respected, and cared for.

And so I regularly talk about them. Like if someone's yelling at me, say are you respecting me? Because I'm not yelling at you and I'm respecting you. So that's what I expect you to do for me too. And like to, so to have those was really helpful to like, and then it really helps everything else unfold properly in the light of that. And then there's a few other things that came up out like from that, like I really encourage like politeness in my classroom. And that just comes out of respect and some other things like that.

So, but to have, like your guiding lights that are like non-negotiables. so deciding those early on and keeping them at the forefront. Also, I want to remind people that like, this is a long game, especially in special education. Like you need to build trust with your students and kind of like the way to do that is to just keep showing up and keep being a steady person for them.

And then once you can build like a solid like relationship with them, it really changes how you can teach them, how open they are to you and how you can like ask for and receive the kind of behavior that you need from your students. So.

Also, another thing I just want to mention is like one thing that came up in my early days was like how do I show like appropriate affection to students? And so like for boys, I usually will give them like just a side hug and for girls, I'll give them a hug but we I count to three. One, two, three, we're done. And that way I just because like students need and want affection and but I want to make sure that I'm doing it like in a careful respectful way because that's just the best practice for everyone. So I also call them my dearlings so I use like little affectionate terms for them because I do care for them and I want them to know that. I don't want to disguise that or hide it behind like a very stern face all the time. So and then I think the last thing that I think I would mention is like show up when you can to the extra things that they're involved in. Like if your school is doing something after school and you're able, show up. And then anytime you are there also just be present with them. Like if you're on lunch duty, like don't be on your phone. Like have a chitty chat, get to know them. Like what kind of family do they have? What kind of pets? Like all the things is a really, like don't miss the valuable times that you could spend getting to know them and caring for them better.

Spencer Payne: Yeah, I love the foundational principles that you can come back to and the fact that you only have three in your classroom because you can't have 50. It doesn't work, right? You've got to have maybe a short list of meaningful things that are the foundational guiding principles of your classroom. And so thank you for sharing what those are and even examples of how you kind of point to the board and come back to them when folks in the class maybe aren't living up to them. And it sounds like you even expect that of you, right?

Michele Banks: Oh, 100%, yeah.

Spencer Payne: that those aren't just for the class, but they're for you, they're for everyone in the classroom.

Michele Banks: Yeah, absolutely.

Spencer Payne: You mentioned earlier something you're looking forward to, and that is kind of getting your credentials completed. Out of curiosity, does that also include a master's? What exactly are you pursuing and what will that, why are you pursuing that? What will that unlock or unleash for you once you're done?

Michele Banks: I have several things I'm pursuing simultaneously. And I have five kids and a husband, so I'm a very busy person just now. But I'm achieving all the tests. I've already taken all the tests that are necessary for me to move from temporary certification to professional. And then there's some more classes I have to take, so that'll be done in the next year. And I am in my master's degree. I will someday soon, well in five more semesters in two days be an exceptional educator, a master special educator. So I'm really looking forward to that. And I think the opportunities it unlocks are.

Mostly to do with the fact that I have a whole lot more tools to use to help my students achieve their personal best, which is the mission and I'm fully committed to it and I love that we have it. So since I went to school for Christian education but not specifically like school education, so I have gotten already so many helpful tools and my tool belt so I know that by the time I'm finished I'm just gonna be overflowing with ideas that I can bring to my classroom and help my exceptional students be exceptional in the best way.

Spencer Payne: never-ending pursuit of improving yourself. Love it. What to you is the single number one best thing about this profession? What do love about it?

Michele Banks: I love my students the best. They're such little treasures. They're gifts from God. And I just love my little tiny piece of the world where I'm making a difference in their lives. They are the best part of it. And watching them have goals and achieve them and leveling up, it's just so inspiring and so motivating and I adore them.

Spencer Payne: And on the opposite end of that spectrum, what is the single worst or hardest thing about this profession? Or if there was one thing you could point a magic wand at and change it overnight, where would you point that magic wand?

Michele Banks: Well, I would love to not be still working on my professional certification five years in.

That would be lovely. The fact that I didn't go to school like when I was younger and didn't know that this would be exactly what I should be doing. Jumping through the hoops is kind of exhausting. It's a lot. like teaching full time, going to school full time, and then trying to take additional classes to just check off like what a state department wants is, it's a lot. And then to do the continuing education I get to look forward to of 120 hours every five years while I see that there's value in it they do just have like a very it's a tough job and it's a tough thing to get at all your ducks in a row and keep them so so that's one thing I wish would change and that people with passion and ability would be able to do it

Spencer Payne: And in spite of having to get all those ducks in a row.

Yeah. And in spite of having to get all those ducks in a row and all that extra education, are you still glad you went down this teaching path and recommend it for others?

Michele Banks: yes, I definitely do. I do think that like...

There's a certain type of person that can really thrive, especially in special education. And I think more people could do it than give themselves credit for or a chance to experience. Like I know when I was younger, I just didn't want to like be uncomfortable for a minute. So I just didn't even like open myself up to any of the possibilities. And I really wish I had, but I'm glad that I have now versus never because it's been so life-changing for me. And it's just, the exact place I was always meant to be. so I, yeah, I think that's that.

Spencer Payne: And can you share a little bit more about what were you doing before teaching? And then what skills maybe from some of those things you were doing before teaching have most helped or translated into the classroom?

Michele Banks: So I had been teaching in different classes or different schools throughout my career. But my most recent before the transfer to special education had been in student life things. So I think that that helped me appreciate where students are now because they're certainly in a different place than when I was in high school.

And so that was really valuable. And some of the organizational things that I had to do to do event planning are very valuable on the daily in the classroom. So that was definitely helpful. But I think the most valuable thing was like having a connection to like the modern youth. And because it's a really different world than I grew up in many decades ago. And that's it's good to appreciate that and like have compassion for it.

Spencer Payne: Yeah. Well, Michelle, any, any final words of wisdom that we haven't hit on something that you want to share that we haven't talked about yet, or anything that maybe we already have talked about, but you feel it's so important or so impactful that you want to restate it, re-highlight it, double underline it. Cause it's just that, it's just that important. So any new or repeated words of wisdom.

Michele Banks: One thing I've incorporated into my classroom is prompting my students to ask for what they need. And I probably say like a dozen times a week. Even when I know what they need, I still have them ask for it. And that's a good skill for me in my life because I don't think I really learned it. So I have a cute student that would come over and just like stand right in front of my desk and she wanted a hug every morning. And so, and I knew she did because she did it every day. But I'd say, what do need?

and she would ask me for a hug. helping especially special education population like advocacy, self advocacy is so important. like helping kids of really any neuro typicalness or a typicalness like ask for what you need. Like first you have to identify it. Then you have to articulate it and you have to believe in yourself enough to like let it out of you. And so that's something that I'm definitely going to keep in my wheelhouse and I think it would be for other people to consider.

Spencer Payne: There's a asking for what you want is one of the most basic things in life, but no one really ever teaches you how to do it. There's a entrepreneur I follow, his name is Noah Kagan or Kogan, something along those lines. And he has something he calls the coffee challenge, where the point isn't to actually go get this discount. The point is just to practice asking for things, where he tells people, go to your favorite coffee shop and just ask for a 10 % discount on your coffee. Do it however you want to, but just practice asking. It doesn't matter if you get the discount. That's not the point. The point is to just practice for asking for things in life because no one's ever really taught us that skill. And that could extend even all the way into one thing I want as a teacher is I would like to have more appreciation for what I do from teachers or from administrators or whatever it may be.

Well, one thing that you might practice asking is then can you ask for that appreciation and not fake in the moment? What did I do well today? But you could preface that to your administrators, teachers of like, one thing I thrive on greatly is positive feedback. I want to know when I'm doing a good job or when you see something that, that I've done that you're like, Ooh, I really like that. or the way I handle a situation that really like, so don't give me false praise right now because I'm asking for it. Cause then it's fake and that's not what I'm looking for.

But throughout the next week, throughout the next month, throughout the next semester, whatever it is. I thrive on that. I'm asking for you to, when you see me do something positive that you like, to please tell me and give me that affirmation that I'm on the right track or that you appreciated what I just did. Can you do that for me? Because many people feel underappreciated in their role, job, whatever it may be. And simply asking for what you want is a very...

under practiced, under appreciated skill. So thank you for saying that because I think a lot of people could benefit from that. Even this silly little example that I came up with kind of here off the cuff. Practicing for asking for things that you want is a really, really important skill in life and no one shows you how to do it. And if you don't tell people what you want, how are they ever supposed to know that's what you need? You gotta tell them, you gotta ask. And I think you'd be amazed when you ask people for what you need, what comes back?

Michele Banks: Yeah, the mind reading doesn't work out so well.

Yeah, the mind reading doesn't work so well in my experience.

Spencer Payne: doesn't work so well, doesn't work so well. So practice asking for what it is that you want and what you need. Michelle, thank you so much for sharing your story from no way that I don't want to be a teacher. I don't want to be that uncomfortable to starting in your, in the COVID year teaching special education to finding your life's purpose. And so thank you so much for sharing that journey as you know, special education as a second career and finding the thing that just lights you up every day. So.

Thank you so much for sharing your story and it seems like congratulations to your students and parents. Yeah, and congratulations to your students and parents for having a teacher like you in the classroom.

Michele Banks: Yeah, I invite more people to join me in this awesome career. Well, I'm really, really grateful.

Thank you, I appreciate you saying so. I'm happy to answer any questions anyone may have and you know, like you said, if anyone's considering it as a second career, like later in life, don't let your age or whatever hold you back. You might be in for the best days of your life. You're never too old to dream a new dream and learn a new skill.

Spencer Payne: Thank you so much for sharing your story and hopefully people will come find you if they need some advice or inspiration.

Michele Banks: Yeah, thanks a lot, Spencer.