096 - Listening to Learn: An Educator’s Template for Building Teacher & Student Trust

Some would say that working in the education field takes a lot of smarts. To teach someone anything, you need first to understand it yourself, and then you have to break it down and go step by step to help build up their understanding of the subject. But what happens if your student doesn’t want to listen? Do you just keep repeating the information, hoping it will sink in? What if you stopped the lesson and chose to listen to the student about why they are struggling to hear you? Who is emotionally supporting the teachers?Our guest in today’s episode has been in the education field for over 20 years; he’s seen the statistics and believes in the significance of building a supportive culture for those he leads to begin improving those numbers and lives.His name is Jamie Bandstra. He is currently the Principal/Director of CTE & ASM Tech at the West Shore ESD based in Ludington, MI. Mr. Bandstra has over 21 years of education experience. He has been a classroom teacher, a principal, and the first Superintendent of a project-based learning charter school.His experience has taught him much about leadership, culture, and teamwork. Over the years, he has continued to sharpen those skills by engaging with the Chapman Foundation.Mr. Bandstra has a passion for building a healthy team culture to get the work done; in his case, that means connecting with students to help them excel in academics and grow as young adults.Listen as he describes his takeaways from all three of the Chapman Foundation foundational courses in our conversation. Notice how he uses the skills with students while on a canoe trip, leading some of them to share anecdotes about themselves that they “wouldn’t tell their therapist.” He defines how the essential Listens skills are aiding his team in building authentic trust and a common language to create a learning culture. And lastly, take heed of his deep connection with his family. Mr. Bandstra recalls a story of shopping for a Christmas gift for his wife that could have ended differently without his self-reflection skills kicking in.https://www.chapmancommunities.org/