156: Recognizing and Acknowledging Teenagers' Efforts

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Natalie 

Empowering Teenagers, Six Lessons Learned by Me from Being a High School Teacher.

Hi everyone, it's Natalie. Welcome to today's podcast. Thank you so much for tuning in. I have a special episode lined up for you today, inspired by the very valuable lessons I have learned from my time as a mom and my time as a teacher in the high school classroom. So a little bit of background. I spent 28 years in the news industry. If you're just joining, maybe you don't know that. I retired three years ago and what started as a guest teaching opportunity at my daughter's high school,

quickly evolved into teaching a full -time class. And it then turned into two classes. The class was really popular. And now I picked up a third class, an all new class that I'm gonna tell you about. Some of you might've caught glimpses of this journey on my Instagram posts. I'm enjoying the heck out of it. I love, love high schoolers. Of course, I have three kids and two of which are in college. Actually, one just graduated from college. What am I talking about? How soon I forget.

one who's halfway through and then next year I'll have another high schooler. You know, while the news business was my lifelong passion, it's what I always thought I would do. The last few years of that career became draining and if I'm being honest, disheartening. Felt like I was just always drained. My energy was drained. It was toxic. I was frustrated. But stepping into the classroom after I retired and thought that I wasn't going to work anymore,

was invigorating. I like to say it was life -giving. Not everyone might find working with teenagers as fulfilling, but for me, it felt like I was exactly where I was meant to be in that classroom, much like the news business was for many years. But things change. Our lives change. Our goals change. The way we give back to the world also changes. I touched upon this topic. Maybe you're going through a transition in your life, and you

are looking for something new or you think you need to be doing something new. There are a couple of episodes I would encourage you to go back and listen to. The Fear of Change, that was episode 47 of this podcast. And I also talked about the state of the media and when I made the change, why I made the change in episode 58. So again, episodes 47 and 58 might be of interest to you if you're looking for a change in your life and trying to figure out how to make that change.

So today, I'm gonna reflect on the unique needs of teenagers. And I wanna share some of my insights from my role in the classroom and also my role as a mom. But I've learned some really valuable lessons. Things maybe I knew along the way, but they've been solidified by working with a whole lot of teenagers each and every day. So a little bit more, I hold the position of Art Media Department Chair.

at the high school where my kids went to high school and I teach media classes. What does that mean? Well, one of them is a journalism class and we teach short form storytelling instead of a full broadcast. Like I did for many years, kids aren't watching the news as many of us aren't these days. So we're talking short stories, things that go on YouTube, on Instagram, on Facebook, usually.

two to six minutes long. So this can be interviewing. We do all kinds of interviews. I teach interviewing skills. I teach journalism and ethics and journalism and just good storytelling. We also get into video editing and my newest class. So I have three total. I'm so excited about, and the kids are loving it, is podcasting. And I'll talk more about that in future episodes because I think...

A lot of people are interested in podcasting and I'd love to help you get there as I've learned in the last three years of having my own podcast. So before I get started with the lessons I've learned today, I would encourage you to hit subscribe wherever you are listening to this podcast so that I know you're here and so that you get reminders each and every week. Also, I have more to share in my newsletter and I would love for you to join me there so I can give you more inspiring stories and tips and interviews. You'll find a link.

to get the newsletter in the show notes of the podcast, or you can always go to my website, natalie .tisdell .com. No E on the end of tisdell. Everybody tries to do that. Okay, so empowering teenagers today. Let's get right into it. The lessons I've learned being a teacher. Lesson number one, recognition and acknowledgement matter. Teenagers inherently crave recognition. So many of us do, but teenagers especially.

They crave that recognition and acknowledgement for their efforts and their achievements. The validation they get from us as adults is crucial in shaping their self -esteem and their motivation. Get up and go every day. It's not very fun or exciting or even easy to get up and go if you feel like the people around you are always criticizing you. So giving that recognition for what they're doing every single day.

It's easy to go about the day and correct them. I do it as a mom too. We want them to be good. We want to help them. But if all we're ever doing is correcting our kids, then they start tuning us out. And that's the last thing we want for them to do. OK, so I want to give you another little tip here that I use when I'm giving feedback or I have something I need to correct in my classroom. I use the sandwich approach. I call it the sandwich approach. But it's really recognize, give advice,

and then give some positive feedback. So you're sandwiching the hard thing with two good things. So recognize it might look like, I love the story topic you chose. My suggestion would be to have more energy when you're delivering that story and don't be afraid to smile. Great job staying on task. So I gave the story that I liked the little bit of corrective information.

And then I gave another positive thing at the end. You can use this with your kids all day and all night. Anytime you need them to do something, start with something positive or they're just going to tune you out. So the sandwich approach, remember that. Acknowledge them and see the goodness in them. It goes a long way. Lesson number two, exploring ethical approaches to efficiency. Let's delve into the realm of AI, okay, and technology because kids are embracing it.

just as many adults have. I've initiated discussions with my kids in my classroom as promoting ethical journalism and standing for what's right and using AI, but not using it to do work for them. Instead, using it to give them ideas. Maybe it's they need story ideas. Ask AI, what stories are teenagers looking for today? That's getting ideas, not doing the work for them. Also in headlines, if they're writing a headline,

Let's get some ideas on what a headline might look like, and then go back and pick the best of all of those. I think AI doesn't have to be a big, bad thing. It can be something that helps them if we teach them to use it correctly.

Their inclination for speed and effectiveness is very clear. They want to do it as fast as they can. Their generation craves instant gratification. We know that. While this may pose challenges for us as parents and educators, there are strategies to engage with them effectively and to let them know it's okay to slow down. It's good to slow down.

Most importantly, I want them to know that the material they put out into the world, be it a podcast, an interview, a story of any kind, has a lasting impact on them and on the person that they're interviewing. Another common issue I have is the quick and not so great submissions. That's saying it nicely. My response is always do it again. It won't take you that long if you're doing it a second time and you've learned from the first round.

So if you've done a story and yes, you have to edit it all over again, you've already got the format laid out and you're going to like it so much better in the second round. This goes for my son when he's writing an essay. Start over. It's okay to start over. You're never going to regret starting it over. Lesson number three, treating teenagers like adults. You know, teens want to be adults. They want all that goes along with being an adult, but they want that so much.

But they want that earlier than they're ready for it. I think what they really want is respect. When we talk down to them, again, they tune us out. So where is that happy medium? I was walking behind a group of kids at school the other day. They weren't kids that I knew. They're not in my class. But I heard language that I was not happy with. And I had to stop and think, do I say something? Of course I have to say something. What do I say? So I stopped them. And I said, you know what?

Your language is a reflection of your heart. They both, the girls, it was two girls, they both just looked at me. I know I took them off guard and I know that they were probably terribly embarrassed. I wanted them to think about it. I wanted those words of being a reflection of your heart, your tongue, your mouth, your words are a reflection of your heart to resonate. And I wanted them to even think about it later. I wasn't mean about it, but I think that that's where we have to step in.

They have choices, just as we all do. I'm not going to change that, but as adults, we can help them see how making better choices benefits them, not me as the teacher or the mom. It benefits them. Lesson four, setting boundaries. Crucial. It may seem counterintuitive, but boundaries provide a sense of security. By establishing clear expectations, we show our love and our care.

Think of it like guardrails on the road. When you're going on a really steep road, maybe there's a cliff. Those guardrails, they guide us. They make us feel safe. Without those guardrails, without any guidelines, kids tend to wander aimlessly, bombarding us with endless questions. Having clear and reasonable expectations is essential. If not, take that out, if not.

I like to have clear written expectations. My assignments turned in on time. Treat the people in the class with respect. Treat our interviewees with respect. If we're interviewees...

For me, guidelines in my classroom, assignments are turned in on time. We treat the people we interview with respect as if we're interviewing a family member. We come to class prepared with a good attitude. The same is true in our homes. Clear boundaries, they are love. Another lesson I have learned as a teacher, distractions are so real. my, kids are so distracted. Primarily,

By technology, I have talked about it so many times in different episodes of this podcast. So how do we rein this in? I don't have all of the answers here, but I think it is teaching our kids not to let their phones, their devices, their computers, whatever it is, have control over them. It is self -control. Ask your kids how they can be bigger than the device and have power over technology instead of letting it have power over them.

Lastly, as a teacher, I have learned the power of unconditional love. Love without judgment. Everyone makes mistakes. I certainly do. It's a part of our growth. My aim is to guide them in self -reflection and in progress every single day. Each student is unique, created wonderfully by God. We can't fit them all in the same mold and expect identical learning outcomes. Some need one -on -one attention. Others benefit from extra support.

understanding them individually, asking questions, providing the right support is key to their development. So wrapping up today, here are my six lessons learned from being a teacher and mom. Teenagers crave recognition and acknowledgement for their efforts. Guide teens to ethical approaches to everything they do, but especially to efficiency because they want that immediate gratification. Treat your teenagers with respect,

finding the balance between respecting their autonomy and providing guidance. Boundaries are love. Help them deal with distractions. And then lastly, give unconditional love every single day. I hope by applying these lessons, you can effectively empower the teenager in your life to navigate the complexities of life. I know it's not easy, but if we lean on each other, we continue to learn, we will be better parents and better teachers.

That's all for today. Thanks so much for listening. Talk to you next week.