Teaching by Day, Real Estate by Night with Leigh Harris  

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

Spencer Payne (00:00): Okay, here we are with front of the class, real stories from real educators. And here today with Lee Harris. Lee, can you share some of those teaching details that every teacher wants to know? Where do you teach? What grades? What subjects? Private or public? Is it a big school, small school? All that kind of cool stuff. How do you describe to other teachers in the know all those details about your current year of teaching?

Leigh Harris (00:25): So I teach third grade at Mallard Creek STEM Academy, which is a public charter school kind of on the north side of Charlotte, go Titans. I teach all subjects, so math, reading, science, and social studies. My school is pretty big. It's a kindergarten through eighth grade school. I mean, there's about 25 kids a class, two separate campuses. You know, it's pretty large, but I enjoy it.

Spencer Payne (00:57): Okay, awesome. what, did you get into teaching in the first place? What, what, what drew you to it? And maybe also how long have you been teaching so far?

Leigh Harris (01:05): So this is my eighth year teaching. I actually, when I went to school, I told myself I wasn't going to be a teacher. In high school, I was like a swim coach and I worked at summer camp. So I always kind of worked with kids, but I let people kind of influence me. And I was like, no, I'm not going to be a teacher. Like they're so disrespected or they're not paid well. Like I'm not going to do it.

So I went to college actually as a nursing, as a nursing major, and I got into East Carolina, go Pirates, but quickly realized that that was not for me. And then I dabbled in about five or six other majors. I was undecided. I was like criminal justice. I was like sports science, like all these different things. And finally I was having a talk with my mom and she was like, just do it, like you find a way to make the best out of things, you'll find a way to make the best out of this, just do it, it's what you should be doing, you've always worked with kids. And so I changed and I did do it and graduated still within about four years and here I am.

Spencer Payne (02:21): Awesome and been doing it after after no, I'm not doing that to I'm try these other five things. No, I'm not gonna do those either. Okay, now I'm gonna go back to this thing that I said I wasn't gonna do. You've now been in that world for eight years. What what's kept you in it for that long? What keeps you coming back?

Leigh Harris (02:24): Yeah. The biggest thing for me is the relationships. The relationships with kids, the relationships with their parents, the relationships with my coworkers, with my admin. That truly is the thing that keeps me coming back. I still talk to kids and their parents that I taught, I mean, five and six years ago. I still support them at their sporting events or, you know, going to recitals or about to watch a whole group of them get their license and their relationships truly are the biggest thing for me.

Spencer Payne (03:11): Awesome, and you mentioned you're at this kind of STEM, public school, charter schools, different situation. It's not a private school, it's not a straight public school. Can you help us understand a little bit more of what that means? I mean, what's special about that school and how did you end up there?

Leigh Harris (03:18): Mm-hmm. So a public charter school kind of has aspects of you take a little bit of private and a little bit of public and you mix them together and you have this public charter school like we still wear uniforms but like a public school every kid gets free breakfast and lunch so you kind of take different things there. How I ended up there public school, True public school, honestly, was a horrible time, to put it plainly. It was a horrible time. A lot of things happened. And I was like, my God, I don't know if I can do this. It was like year two, and I was like, I gotta go. I gotta get out of here.

And I got the opportunity from a friend who was like, hey, I'm at this school. It's way better than the last school we were at. So the public school we were at. And she was like, I'll put in a good word for you. And surely enough, I got a call to come and do an interview and I got it. And I've been there ever since. This is my sixth year at Mallard Creek STEM Academy.

Spencer Payne (04:40): Awesome, awesome. So again, for all of those out there who might not necessarily like the exact school, role, district, wherever you are, it sounds like you went from, don't know if I can do this anymore. Maybe I need to stop teaching to you've been doing it for six more years and you really enjoy the school. Sometimes it can take just one little tweak and it goes from bad to great. Yeah. And obviously it could go the other way too, from great to bad, right? But sometimes it's just one little tweak and just, and just find the right tweak and
sounds like you had a great relationship with the person who went from the school you were both at to this new school who pulled you along. So thank you for that friend.

Leigh Harris (05:16): No, yeah, sometimes it takes one person to truly change things around, so I'm grateful.

Spencer Payne (05:21): Yep. Awesome. And is there anything in particular over say the next three, six, 12 months, maybe you pick your timeframe of what's particularly energizing you looking forward? Maybe it to, you know, we're recording this in February. Maybe it's finishing up this, this particular school year, starting the next, maybe it's summer. What, what, energizes you looking forward after you've been doing this for eight years, what do look forward to and still think, yeah, I'm excited about this.

Leigh Harris (05:46): I mean, I guess any teacher would tell you it's about to be March. So the thing I'm looking forward to is spring break and then summer break. We are at that point in the school year where some days you're like, gosh, is this a Twilight Zone? Like, kids have kind of just like, we're getting to the point where kids are like, been in school so long when they're getting over it and they're doing things and you're like, what?

And then it starts to get you like, my goodness, we just gotta, we're just trying to make it. We're just trying to make it. Like we only have, you know, 55 more instructional days till the end of grade testing. We can do this. So in that shorter timeframe, I'm truly just looking forward to summer. I usually take lots of time off in the summer. I go to the beach, I travel, I do other things and I truly just relax.

Spencer Payne (06:37): Take advantage of that those days off and that schedule that is unique to the teaching profession and further You have an interesting story in the sense that you are not just teaching you're also a licensed real estate agent Can you tell us a little bit more about how you got into that how you balance the two? When you make time for both of these different careers Can you share a little bit more about your story of deciding to get into real estate and how you're managing doing both of these things that could both be full-time jobs.

Leigh Harris (07:12): Yeah, so I actually have a couple friends that are realtors and they would always tell me like they would tell me stories and just about their jobs and like what they do. And they would always tell me like you have such a great personality to be a realtor like you're so outgoing like you could talk to anyone like this would be so good. This would be so good. And they told me that for probably like a year and a half to two years. And finally, I didn't really know what it took to be a realtor. I knew you had to like get a license for it, but I thought, you go to school a couple of months, you take a test, like it'll be fine.

And so finally, they convinced me and I was like, well, I'll just sign up for the class and like, I'll just do it. Well, I got in the class and joke was on me because I was like, this is hard. This is really hard. But you know, I stuck it out, which meant three days a week. For a few months, I was in real estate school from six to nine. So I went to work all day, had a couple hours off, and then in school again from six to nine. And I had to take three separate tests at the end of it. And then finally I was licensed. And at first, a lot of people did tell me, like, you can't be a part-time real estate agent. You can't be part-time. Like, it just takes a lot of work. You have to be full-time.

And it kind of started out as like, just like friends or people I worked with at school, like, hey, I'm interested in buying a house or hey, I'm interested in buying a house. and so I'd be like, okay, well, yeah, if you're looking for someone, sure. And then that kind of just like spiraled into referrals and then finding a great firm. and I'm with Wilson Realty right now. And then, you know, I did get to the point where I was like, well, maybe I do want to do this full time instead of teaching.

And that just came with a conversation with my executive director. And I was like, Hey, yeah, I think I'm going to think I'm going to head out and do this. And she just really worked with me and we talked about a way that it could work that I could do both. Essentially, I didn't have to leave teaching and I didn't have to give up real estate at all. And it just kind of worked because teachers being underpaid is a real thing.

And being able to have something that pays well on the side is obviously a bonus. So I'm very grateful for the opportunity to have the chance to do both.

Spencer Payne (09:48): Yeah, awesome. And congratulations, kudos to you for sticking with three nights a week, nights after already being in the classroom all day to then as a teacher to then go in the classroom all night to go be a student. So kudos to you. And I'm curious if you wouldn't mind sharing a little bit more on that conversation of, did you go into that conversation of I'm ready to quit? Did you go into that conversation with, hey, I'd like to figure out how both work?

Leigh Harris (09:52): Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Spencer Payne (10:14): How did you initiate and then it sounded like you were ready to quit and then the person kind of like reeled you back in and like, no, no, no, we'll figure this out. There's a way you can do both. Do you recall how that conversation went and did his or her reaction who you spoke to surprise you?

Leigh Harris (10:31): So yes, I went into that conversation. Like I'm not going to do this anymore. yeah, I was, I was ready to be done. and I felt like I was just making so much more money. It was a lot less time, a lot less, you know, just more flexibility. and it was my executive director. and she, yeah, she was like very open to like, Okay, well, what can I do to make this work? Like if I give you this, is that okay? And it took a couple no's. I was like, no, I don't think that's worth it. Like, and then she finally kept on like adding a little more and then adding a little more. And finally, and finally I was like, okay, like, I don't think it would be silly of me at this point. and it didn't really surprise me.

When I talked about relationship building, she is a person that I have always been super close with. I used to walk into her office and she used to have this couch and I quite literally, during my planning, used to lay on her couch and just be like, I just need to vent. And she would just sit there and listen to me. And I've told her as recently as a month ago, I still work here because of you. You are my why.

So she's always been very kind to me and really given me just a lot of grace and really supported me in everything I've done in my life. To stray away a little bit, I created like a handwriting book in print and in cursive. In my first year, she bought it for the whole school. So like she's just always really supported me and she's a big reason why I'm still at her school.

Spencer Payne (12:14): Hmm. Yeah, that's a fantastic story. And I love that you have told her that she's your why. And I do think that's sometimes something we don't always necessarily do when we see someone do a great job or when we really like somebody or how we work with them. We don't always tell them. Like we might tell our spouse at home or somebody else, like just go tell the person you appreciate them. So that's a really powerful thing to do is when you see something you like, show that appreciation and tell someone you appreciate working with them and you're the reason why you're still there. That's awesome that you did that.

A couple more like, I don't know, memorable experiences maybe in the classroom I'd love to delve into. Do you happen to have a coolest or most enjoyable or proudest moment in the classroom or in your teaching career? Maybe something that you look back on and it still makes you smile that you did that or that student did that. Does anything come to mind on kind of proudest moments in the classroom?

Leigh Harris (12:57): Yeah. I think my proudest moments are made up of like a lot of little moments Especially ones where like You think a Student has just like really worked your nerves. I mean it could be all Year and you're like, my goodness. my goodness. my goodness and this actually happened last year and This little girl, I mean Oh my goodness, smart as a whip, smart as a whip. But she worked my nerves to the very last day of school. But on the last day of school, she was like, I have something for you. And I thought, oh goodness, like what could it possibly be? Something that tells me she hates my guts.

But she gave me this letter and in the letter she was like, You're the best teacher I've ever had and who pays attention to me. And she was like, and I love you so much and I can't imagine my life without you. And I was like, my goodness. We went back and forth all year long. mean about small things, as little as a pencil to big things like because she didn't want to do work or she would throw herself on the floor. Like she, she, she would just do a lot.

So to get this note, I thought for sure she was going to be like, I hate your guts. can't wait to get out of here. But surely enough, she was like, I can't imagine being anywhere but here. And so that it's stuff like that, that I'm like, okay. So even though it didn't feel like it, like she was listening to me this whole time. Like she was actually taking in the things that I was saying, even as young as third grade. Those are my like coolest moments.

Spencer Payne (15:20): Yeah, that's awesome. That goes back to the exact same point we just had in the last one of, you know, showing appreciation when you genuinely like someone's approach or how they do something or you like them as a teacher or executive director or principal, whatever, like show that appreciation. Cause it goes so, it goes such a long way because like you shared you, if she didn't write that, you would have assumed that she would have walked out of your classroom thinking, don't like her as my teacher. I hope I never have her again. But that's not actually how she felt. And you would have never known that if she didn't write that note. So again, show that appreciation, people, for when you see something that you like or people that you like to be around.

How about anything that strikes you for just wildest, craziest, kids say the darndest things, I still can't believe that actually happened type moment. Anything strike you in your eight years teaching that you're

Leigh Harris (15:51): Thank you.

Spencer Payne (16:13): maybe able or willing to share. Maybe there's no names of all of anything wild, crazy, or I can't believe they said that type of moments in your teaching career that stand out.

Leigh Harris (16:20): Yeah. And for this purpose, I won't use any names or anything, but I'm going to take it back. I told you I started in public school before I got to charter. And those are some wild times.

Let me tell you, my very first year of teaching, I had another student who, I mean, to give an example, would literally take a Sharpie, like hide a Sharpie in his sleeve. And while we were walking down the hall, would draw down the hall, run the Sharpie down the wall of the hallway. Like that's what, and I would be like, what are you doing? Like, why, what are you doing? What are you doing? Or would throw his homework away in the hallway trash on the way out to the bus. So he never had his homework. Just stuff like that. So to give you a little background.

And one day I like pulled him to the side and I was like, why? Like, just let me know. I said, we're gonna have a real conversation here. This was fourth grade. And I was like, why? Like for what? What are we doing this stuff for? And I was like, you can, I said, I'm speaking to you as a real person. I said, forget Ms. Harris. I said, I'm speaking to you as a real person. Like what is going on here? Well, long, long story short.

He's like, yeah, the people I hang out with my neighborhood, like they're older and they always have me doing stuff and they're always picking on me. And I'm like, what do mean they have you doing stuff? Like doing stuff like what? And he was like, kind of hesitant. And I was like, you need to tell me like what's going on. Come to find out. He's like, yeah, you know, they gave me this white stuff. The white stuff turned out to be cocaine in the fourth grade.

Spencer Payne (18:10): Jeez.

Leigh Harris (18:11): In the fourth grade, like some high school kids who lived in the neighborhood were like giving him like cigarettes and like weed and cocaine. They were like giving him drugs and like thinking it was funny to see what happened to him.

So, yeah, so that obviously came with a bunch of extra steps afterward that I'll save the details of, but yeah, it was like the craziest thing. I mean, I had literally just graduated, like, and I was like, oh yeah, I'm ready. And I was like, oh, I'm not ready. Ooh, this is too much for me. Yeah.

Spencer Payne (18:28): That's awful. Yeah. That is indeed a wild story in teaching. Sorry that you went through that. Obviously, I hope everything worked out okay. Any particularly tough time, maybe that was one, but any particularly tough times or tough moments in your career and how did you handle them or bounce back?

Leigh Harris (18:53): Yeah. Um, yeah, so that was, you know, a long time ago now. I'll kind of bring it back to the present. Um, what's kind of tough these days is just, um, teachers, like teacher friends of mine and my coworkers and colleagues. We talk about a lot, like how kids are a lot different than we were as kids. And I'm not old by any means, like I'm 29, like, so I wasn't in school like that long ago.

Um, but they are a different breed of kids. And what's really tough now is like getting them, honestly getting their parents to take some accountability for their learning. Like it's much harder to teach kids these days when there is a lack of accountability for their learning.

So like to give an example, honestly that happened today, happened yesterday, we've had snow days and I'm getting so their remote learning days. I post work on platforms that we use every single day at school and it's about to be March. And I'm getting parent message after parent message, like, I don't know how to log on to, I don't know how to get on. And finally I was like, well, if you ask your child how to do so, they do it every single day. I promise you they know how to get on and they know their login information.

So just that accountability and holding kids accountable, having their parents hold them accountable, and then having to hold other adults accountable is really tough because it seems like whether it's the truth or not is a different story, but it really seems like I care the most. And that's really hard when it seems like I care the most out of everyone else involved.

Spencer Payne (20:57): And in a situation like that, how do you handle that? Like when you feel like you care the most, like, cause one could argue, well, if I just keep carrying the most, then eventually they'll care as much as me. Or one could argue, I'm just gonna, I'm gonna burn out. Like I can't possibly do this and put more energy into this if I, if I'm not going to have that reciprocal feeling. So when you, when you have that, like how, how, like after eight years of doing this, like how have you kind of learned how to handle that balance of do you, do you keep pushing? And do you keep trying to care more or do you kind of just, I'm going to save my energy on these two and focus on these two because they might be potentially maybe able or willing to meet me where I am and they're going to be uplifted by me caring. So how do you handle something like that?

Leigh Harris (21:44): A little bit of a couple things. So kind of like what you said, you kind of like redirect some of that energy to kids and parents who do care. and that doesn't mean you don't support the ones who don't. It just means you support the other ones a little more. that's one way. And then I'm, I'm always going to revert back to great relationships. Like I lean on my team a lot.

And because we're all in the same boat, so they just get it. And having people that get it and kind of let you vent without judgment or without anything else, I mean, is really a blessing. Because people who don't get it maybe think it's not that bad. Or like, they're eight, like why do you let an eight year old get you this route up? Like, let me tell you, some kids are eight going on 18.

I'm really grateful for my team and being able to lean on them when things get a little hard because like I said, they're going through it as well. And someone else on my team might be like, yeah, I know that parent here's a great way to deal with them or yeah, I had that that kid's brother three years ago. This is a great way to deal with that. So just really bouncing ideas off of each other is really helpful as well.

Or when you just really can't deal with it anymore, I might go to my teammate next door and be like, can you draft a message for me for this? Because I know what I'm gonna say, it's not gonna be as kind as what it needs to be. So just having someone who isn't dealing with them every single day, all day, they just have a fresh pair of eyes and are able to really say something or handle something much better than I would be able to in that moment.

Spencer Payne (23:33): Yeah, awesome. And I'm curious to delve into one more aspect of this, just because with the background with your mom, who you referenced, who you kind of had some hard conversations with about what you wanted to do professionally. And she kind of pointed you in this direction of teaching. It seems like, and correct me if I'm wrong, like she was a great mentor for you. She had that accountability. You learned that accountability from her in some way.

And where I go with that is what, what if anything, how did she show that or what if anything did she do for you that you wish you, could convey to some of these other parents of like, Hey, I'm not trying to tell you how to raise your kids. I'm not, but here's what my mom did for me that I really appreciated. Feel free to use this with your kid or not, but like some way to kind of showcase to them, here's what worked for you or what you saw without it being, you know, you better do this because no one ever does that. Right. But some sense of this, I really appreciated this when I was that my mom did for me.

Does anything strike you that stands out that something that your mom did for me that you'd love to convey to maybe some of those other parents of how to help take the reins on that accountability?

Leigh Harris (24:32): Yeah. I mean, I don't ever remember a time where like, I wasn't sitting at a table doing my homework and either my mom or my dad wasn't right there. And if I didn't get something, then he went and got a sheet of paper and I had to do three more examples just like it. He would just switch up the numbers. Like I had to understand during the summertime, it wasn't time off before I could go do anything. My mom had gotten me workbooks and like things I had to do a reading page and a math page and they were for like, if I was going into the fourth grade, they were fourth grade workbooks, so that I kind of already had a little introduction to what was coming. And she would just help me on it.

But I also like I remember in kindergarten, I had to know my mom's first and last name. I had to know our home phone number and I had to know where we are address just in case anything ever happened to me. There are kids sitting in my class and I'm like, what's your mom's name? Why just call her mom? And I'm like, you don't know your mom's name. So it's kind of like, well, wait a second. So I think there's a lot of like I don't want to say babying because they are babies in a sense like they are eight, but they are capable of so much more than some parents think they are.

And I have even had a parent say like, because I always allow parents like come into my class, you are welcome to sit in the back, watch me teach, watch your kid watch, watch what's going on. And I even had a parent tell me like, Hey, I think I am coddling my kid a little bit because these kids can do so much and I'm like, yeah, they can like please allow them to but it's really funny because in my class when I realize a bunch of kids don't know how to do something, I'll call my mom in class and I'll put her on speakerphone and I'm like, hey mom, when I was six, seven, eight, did I know how to do A, B, or D and she's like, yeah, you knew how to do that.

Spencer Payne (26:33): Mm.And all the students can hear your mom say this in front of them. That's awesome.

Leigh Harris (26:53): Like mom you're on with the class I've done that several times because I think they think I'm just trying to like tell them what to do and I'm like no I had to do this like I lived through it I'm not just telling you something that I didn't do or can't do so yeah I'll call my mom often and I'm like mom we're on with the class like did I have to do A B C or D and she was like well yeah when you were a kid you had to do blah, blah, blah, blah, and you didn't have a phone and you didn't have a tablet because, you know, all the kids have all this tech these days and she'll tell them herself. I'll call my mom quick.

Spencer Payne (27:29): That is, I have never heard that before, but I love that. And maybe this is something that you do consistently that others don't do, but I am curious, what have you done in your teaching career consistently that seems to work for you that you're surprised others don't do or don't do more of? And maybe it's call your mom and ask if, was I able to do this at this age? But yeah, is anything striking for that? What do you do consistently that seems to just really work?

Leigh Harris (27:32): Yeah.

Spencer Payne (27:58): Well, for you and your surprise, more teachers don't do that.

Leigh Harris (28:01): I mean, anything that I can think of all falls under one umbrella, and that umbrella is holding kids to the highest of expectations. And I can honestly answer why they don't do it. It is really hard to keep that momentum going all of the time. It's really hard to do that. It's really easy to be like, okay, you just take this day off because I'm tired, you're tired. You gotta keep going even when you're tired.

But holding them to the highest of expectations like, no, they can do this. And I know they can and they will. And I don't want to use the word force, but essentially like forcing them to do things that they didn't think they could. Which I mean, to some parents sounds really mean, especially at the beginning of the year. But by the end of it, I have very few that are like, wow, yeah, you really pushed them. Like you really had them growing. Like, because that's the goal is even if you're not the smartest in the class, you can grow so much. But whether you are the smartest or you're not the smartest and you're just working on growth, all of you can be held to the highest of expectations. And that's as a person, as a student in your learning, in your character and all of it.

I expect the best that they can do individually all the time.

Spencer Payne (29:32): Yeah. Um, sometimes that can be hard message to deliver, but you can do it in a fun way. And also there's a, there's a phrase I've heard out there, like the tyranny of low expectations. Like if you keep your expectations low, then most people are, I don't know, they're, they might even not even hit that bar and they could, and they probably know they could, and they know they can get away with stuff because the expectations are so low and it kind of creates a, can create a vicious cycle.

And there's that sweet spot of like, how do you create high expectations that aren't impossible because then everyone's going to give up, right? But that are achievable enough, but you got to do some work to get there and then reiterate. And maybe you do this with your students of when they, they blow past something that they weren't able to do and now they can do it like celebrating that I'll give a really dumb example. Like this is a super dumb example. It's not school teaching, but I have like a little two and a half year old and he always tries to climb up on my desk. And, yesterday he's saying, I can't, I can't, I can't. And I just looked like, well, can you figure out another way? And there's this little plastic bin under my desk and he just pulled it and they stepped up on it.

Leigh Harris (30:23): Thank you. Mm-hmm.

Spencer Payne (30:47): And then he was able to climb up onto my desk using that. And he didn't think about it. He didn't celebrate it, but I told him, I'm like, Hey, I have no idea. He's two and a half. have no idea if this really like resonates or not, but like I'm telling him like, Hey, do you remember like just a little bit ago, you said you couldn't do that. And now look what you did. You move the bin. You're now on my desk. You, you could do it. You did do it. You S do you see how you can go from I can't to I did. And we do a little high five.

And I have no idea if that's going to resonate or not, but it just like, want to celebrate those little moments to showcase like you can push past that barrier and maybe my expectations will be higher next time. But isn't it fun to push past the barrier and show you can do something that you didn't think you could do.

Leigh Harris (31:31): No, yeah, no, that's actually a great example. And I'll like twist it maybe just a little bit because they're a little bit older. But instead of so at my school, like what it means to be a Titan means you're kind, you're safe, you're respectful, you're responsible and you're resourceful. So when they are saying I can't do something.

I'm like, well, how can you be resourceful? So in your example, I would have had them be like, well, I can get a bin to get me on top of there and have them come up with that themselves. Great idea. Get the bin. Now you're at the bin. Now what can you do to get on top? Well, now I can climb on top because I have the bin. Great. So, using that example, just like kind of guiding them instead of like, Hey, go get the bin. What can you get in our classroom or in our room to help you get there?

Spencer Payne (32:27): Yeah, I love that. That's awesome. I love that you've got some core values and you just rattled them off. You know what they are. And you can reinforce them to your students as a way of driving home some of those behaviors to help build them. I love that. A couple more just rapid fire type questions, mostly more advice for younger teachers or maybe those thinking about joining the profession. What's the number one piece of advice you'd give to someone who's about to start their first year teaching or is maybe in their first year teaching? Or what advice might you go back and give yourself at that same time?

Leigh Harris (33:01): You don't have to be perfect right away and you can adapt your own way of doing things.

Spencer Payne (33:11): Yep. Yeah. A hundred percent, a hundred percent. And you obviously adapted by even just that last example of how, Hey, how can we be resourceful and how can you go do this? You're obviously, you're obviously adapting like that. No one, I'm guaranteeing no one taught you how to do that. Like that's adapting to your own style. Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. did you get, your master's degree? And if so, what, what did that unlock for you? What did that allow you to do that you wouldn't have otherwise? And if, you didn't get it, why not?

Leigh Harris (33:13): Yes. Yeah. I do have my master's degree. I have a master's in elementary education with a concentration in leadership. I got it right after undergrad. I did it with the intention that eventually I was going to grow. Just having that growth mindset. So right now, it hasn't truly unlocked anything other than a little bit of a higher pay, which is still good, which is still great.

Spencer Payne (34:01): Yeah, that's still good. Yep.

Leigh Harris (34:06): But yeah, mean, if possible, if feasible, would recommend anyone just go and get it.

Spencer Payne (34:12): Yeah. And I don't know if you've ever had this conversation with your STEM school, but since you already had your masters for all we know, right? Maybe that's a reason why they were like, yes, yes, we want Lee Harris to join our team. She's already got her mat perfect. We like her. Like you never know when, when you already have gotten the credential where that helps you get something that you maybe wouldn't have otherwise gotten if you didn't have that. Again, I have no idea if that's true, but it's very, it's possible that helps you get that job. And again, higher pay. So it works out.

Leigh Harris (34:32): Thank you. Yeah.

Spencer Payne (34:41): What to you is the single number one best thing about this profession?

Leigh Harris (34:47): I kind of touched on it before, but truly the relationships like you just build so many great relationships with kids and families and like coworkers and everyone in a school and everyone enjoying each other truly is a foundation of a great school because when you enjoy coming to work, well, then everyone can do what they need to do to be great. So the relationships are truly the best for me personally.

Spencer Payne (35:18): Yeah. And a fascinating connection then into your real estate career where, you know, that is a relationship business. And I would imagine again, as you continue to do a great job as a teacher, build trust, build relationships over time. And people know that you're a real estate agent. Like I would imagine those two things can kind of build, build a little bit on each other. Cause those are both very relationship driven professions.

Leigh Harris (35:24): Mm-hmm. Yeah, they definitely do. And being in a school has helped my real estate business. And I even, talking about my executive director, she, I inspired her to get her real estate license. And she did it as well after I did it. But yeah, it has worked out and relationship building is so big for me and has truly gotten me in more places than I feel like other things have.

Spencer Payne (35:54): Yep. Awesome. And on the other end of the, that spectrum, what to you is the single worst or toughest thing about this profession? Or if you had a magic wand and can point that one at one thing and say, I don't have to deal with this anymore or whatever it may be, where would you point that magic wand?

Leigh Harris (36:28): I don't...It's really tough to see kids who have like when you hear about things that they have to do and things they go through some kids I look at them and I'm like you're almost more of an adult than I am Just by the things you have to do so it's really tough to have to like Look at them every day and know that like when they go home. It's not gonna be the most ideal of situations at all.

You just want to like take them home with you.

Spencer Payne (37:03): Quick, quick question on the note of parents. Um, any strategies do you have, uh, that you've learned through the years of kind of how to, I don't know how to deal with bad parents or how to have an upfront conversation at the beginning of the year. Like you mentioned about, Hey, here's the expectations I have. Can I count on your support? Like what are some of the things that you've done? Maybe you can never get rid of that as a, as a magic wand wish, but how do you, how do you re how do you reduce that or try to get out in front of it? Or what are some strategies that you or some of your, your teacher friends have used to try to make that maybe be not as painful as it could be.

Leigh Harris (37:40): Having the conversation day one. When open house in August, the week before school starts, I sit all the parents down, I have a whole presentation on it. These are my expectations because this is my classroom. And that's just it. So they know from the first day, it's much harder to like wait until November, December, January and be like, well, no, actually, this is what I...this is what I wanted to do. And they're like, why didn't you say that way back when? having setting that standard from the very beginning.

And then when it comes to bad parents who, cause there's always gonna be some that they don't care what you say either way. They're like, this is my child and that's it. Take the 24 hours or 48 hours, whatever your school's rule is, take that whole time to respond to them. Read the message, put the phone down, close the computer, and just take your 24 to 48 hours to truly respond. So that way, the response is a lot less emotional and more just, okay, here's what it is and here's what it isn't, and that's just it.

Spencer Payne (38:52): Yes, or do two of the things you mentioned earlier, like go lay on the couch of your executive director and vent, or go find somebody else in your teacher network who you can have translate for you. So when you say, they can say, I'm sorry that we've come to this misunderstanding, whatever, and have somebody help translate for you into the better version of what you hoped you'd said.

Leigh Harris (38:56): Yeah. Yay. Thanks for watching!

No, yeah, the funny part is I have one of my teaching teammates, she actually will like bring them before she she'll look and see like who the parent is. And if it's like one of the ones she'll actually come have someone else read it. She's like, can you read this before I do? Because I feel like this might make me upset. And then we read it and I'm like, no, it's not going to make you upset. You're good. Or I have to be like, yeah, just take your time reading that one. So.

Spencer Payne (39:31): Yeah. Yeah, yeah, rely on that network of folks around you. Knowing what you know now, would you still go down this teaching path and recommend it for others?

Leigh Harris (39:44): I would, I would just do it a little differently because you don't, not everywhere, I don't wanna speak for everywhere, you don't have to have a teaching license or a teaching degree, I'm so sorry, a teaching degree to teach. But if you ever want to do something else, well now you have a very specific degree, whereas if I had gotten a more broad degree, it would be a lot easier to maybe transition into other things. But yeah, I would I would have taken a different path to it. But yeah, I still would have done it.

Spencer Payne (40:17): Yeah, awesome. And one last question, anything else that you think is valuable, fun, or worth sharing? Any last words of wisdom for the audience out there? Or anything that you already shared that you think is so valuable that you're like, wanna re-highlight this because this is actually, I don't want you to lose that at 7-11, I wanna re-highlight this thing. So anything new or anything worth re-sharing as last words of wisdom for the audience?

Leigh Harris (40:47): I'm sorry. If you're already a teacher, you're in the very beginning or wanting to be a teacher, don't count out your very first school. It might take two or three schools to find a great place to be at. And then when you're there, build the best relationships you can.

Spencer Payne (41:11): Yep. Awesome. Thank you so much. Real stories with real educators, Leigh Harris, great anecdotes, great strategies for how to deal with common problems, and just a great energy. So thank you so much for joining us here today, Leigh.

Leigh Harris (41:26): Thank you so much for having me.