April 16, 2024 • 27 mins
Ever found yourself guarding that last pack of sticky notes like a dragon with its gold? Join us, Tammy Musiowsky-Borniman and Christine Arnold, as we tackle the all-too-common scarcity mindset in education. We're diving headfirst into the reality of teachers reaching into their own wallets for classroom supplies and the silent message it sends to both educators and students about resource limitations. It's a candid look at the consequences of a scarcity mindset, including hoarding tendencies and the strain it places on teaching practices.
But it's not all doom and gloom! We’re flipping the script and exploring the transformative power of an abundance mindset. Imagine a classroom where everyday items become versatile teaching tools and collaboration outshines competition for resources. We're sharing actionable strategies that can turn the tide, from judiciously prioritizing what's necessary to fostering a climate of positivity and support among colleagues. Tune in and be inspired to make every lesson count, no matter the budget constraints. You're not just listening to another conversation; you're stepping into a space where thriving trumps surviving in the world of education.
Today's episode was brought to you by Plan Z Professional Learning Services, Forward Thinking Educator Support. Find out more at www.PlanZPLServices.com. Follow us @PlanZPLS on Twitter and Instagram.
Buy The Minimalist Teacher book from ASCD+ISTE.
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The Minimalist Educator Podcast is a Plan Z Education Services adventure.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Welcome to the Minimalist Educator Podcast, a
podcast about pairing down torefocus on the purpose and
priorities in our roles withco-hosts and co-authors of the
Minimalist Teacher Book, TammyMusiowsky-Borniman and Christine
Arnold.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
In today's episode, tammy and I discuss scarcity
mindset.
We define what it is and alsogive you some tips and ideas for
how to tackle it.
Hello and welcome to today'sepisode of the Minimalist
Educator Podcast.
Today, it is Tammy and I.
How are you today, tammy?
Speaker 3 (00:55):
I'm really good today .
Thank you, Christine.
How about you A?
Speaker 2 (00:58):
little bit chilly, but I'm doing okay, doing okay.
So today we are talking aboutscarcity mindset in our schools
and what are some possible wayswe can tackle this.
So maybe, tammy, you can startus off by telling us what
scarcity mindset is.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Sure.
So scarcity mindset is when wehave this kind of fear that we
will potentially not have enoughof something.
So in general, it could be like,when we think about just
societies in general, where wehave people having a fear of
(01:42):
like not having enough food or aplace to live or the resources
that they need to find successin their life and whatever that
may look like.
And when we think about that inschools we do and I say
generally we, because I thinkwe've all experienced this in
some way in whatever roles we'vebeen in in schools as that we
(02:04):
don't have enough time, we don'thave enough people, resources,
we don't have enough physicalresources, like the things we
need to teach, and so we runinto this mindset of like I
don't have all the things that Ineed to do my job well.
And that can stem from, youknow, life experience, something
(02:29):
that's happened in childhood,the experience you've had in a
school, depending on types ofschools that you've worked in,
but I think it's a really commonexperience that teachers have.
What have you experienced orheard about from teachers or in
your schools?
Speaker 2 (02:48):
I definitely have experienced the feeling like we
don't have a very large budgetto buy supplies.
So then you start thinkingabout I need to save every
possible item from home as wellas school.
Or you know you see otherteachers throwing things out and
you think, oh no, don't throwthat out, we could use that for
(03:11):
this, use that for that.
So definitely have felt thatlack of resources due to budget
over the years.
And, of course, the time thingthere's never going to be enough
time with school.
There's always so much more wecan be doing for sure.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
Yeah, it's funny how I think about.
If we talk first about like thephysical resources, maybe the
every school has rooms rightwhere there's like teacher
resources and supply closet, andusually the supply closet room
is like that locked sacred placewhere you have to get the
(03:52):
secretary or like office adminto like go open it up because
you need staples or post-its orwhatever.
And I understand the need tolike protect resources for sure,
but it seems like such achallenge to be able to get
those items that you need,especially when you have like
(04:14):
you want to have an engaginglearning environment, so there's
things that you just use, oftenlike index cards or post-its or
chart papers and markers andthings like that, and it can
turn into a hoarding situationon the teacher end, right,
because you're like, ooh, I canget these things while the
(04:34):
closet's open and then, like youoverstuff not you but we
generally, you know.
Then you overstuff your ownsupply closet and you know you
start collecting all of theseitems, thinking that well, I've
been, you know I don't have tolike get down to my last post-it
, but do we ever really get tothat place?
Like honestly, do we get downto the last stack of post-its?
(04:57):
Like probably not.
We have like a reserve stack of10.
I don't know, it's such a funnything where we feel so afraid
that like what if I run out ofpost-its today?
And I keep bringing up post-itsbecause, like, I use them a lot
, right, or like index cards orwhatever.
But like what if I run out ofthat?
Well, there's always a backupplan.
Like you don't have to use anindex card or a post-it, like
(05:21):
you can.
There are notebooks and thereare other papers, and so I think
we get caught in like thethings that we use, right, we
get attached to them and feelcomfortable with certain things
and we collect them and we relyon them too much, sometimes
without thinking about ooh, Ican do this in another way.
(05:43):
I don't need this giant stackor basket of these supplies
because we could also usenotebooks.
That's fine too.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
I do remember one situation, though, where I was
at a school where we were givena certain amount of photocopying
paper for the year, yes, andgot to the end of that stack of
photocopying paper and then Ithought about whiteboards and
markers, but then the whiteboardmarkers were running dry and it
was literally like do I spendmy own money or do we just go
(06:17):
without?
It really did get down to asituation like that,
unfortunately, and we definitelydon't want teachers to feel
like the alternative is to usetheir own money, because that's
not a sustainable practice, isit?
Speaker 3 (06:32):
No, but it's pretty common right.
Like how often have we stoppedat Target or Walmart or the
dollar store or whatever on yourway home from school because
you're like, I'll just pick upthese bits of things?
Or, unintentionally, you buythem when you're at the store to
get your own things and you'relike, ooh, I could just pick up
these things Because, just incase you know.
(06:55):
But I think when we use ourresources in creative ways or
think of alternative things thatwe can do in our classroom, I
think it's a good way to teachkids about resource use, because
we want to model the thingsthat we're doing in positive
(07:17):
ways.
And so if we have a classroomthat's stocked full of all the
things that we always need, thatcan be great, because then the
things that we often use arethere.
But reality is that that's notalways going to be the
experience or the case.
And so if we're mindful aboutresource use, or like a lack of
(07:41):
resource or we ran out ofsomething, teaching our students
ways to navigate that, I thinkis really important, because
then they will have the skillsalso to think about oh, I ran
out of this, I'll use thisinstead, or I'll check with
someone else and see if theyhave this thing or whatever it
(08:02):
makes me think of, just a coupleof weeks ago, our friend Krista
.
She was talking to her son onthe phone and he was talking
about his use of a whiteboardthat he uses for his math
problems.
He's in college and he wastalking about how he was using
the whiteboard but he didn'thave an eraser.
So like that it was funnybecause we were both chuckling
(08:26):
about it after.
I know she wouldn't mindsharing this story because we
were talking about it after, butshe's like that didn't seem
like a real problem becausewe're like well, you can use a
paper towel or a tissue orsomething to wipe it off.
So when we want to make surethat the think aloud process too
, if something happens in theclassroom, I think about how
(08:47):
often I talk to myself throughthings like that outward
processing, and when I do thatin the classroom with my
students hear my thinkingprocess through something, I
think that's really helpful tobe able to say, oh, we're out of
this, so let's do this instead.
We're just going to shift gearsa little bit, and it's not a big
deal.
It's fine, we'll just.
(09:09):
It's a simple change that we'regoing to make and it's not a
big deal.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Yeah, definitely modeling both how to solve that
problem but then also how tohandle it Absolutely.
I think that's helpful for sure.
So I was thinking about some ofthe resulting feelings that can
come up when we're dealing withthis scarcity mindset, because
(09:34):
I think you can really getoverly focused on how bad things
are or the obstacles that youhave in front of you and end up
just really focused on thatrather than focusing on other
things that we've got going on,or what is good or what the goal
is for the day, and things likethat.
(09:55):
Do you think that's a livedexperience for people getting
stuck in that negative thinking?
Speaker 3 (10:03):
I think so Experienced that kind of
negative spiral maybe of or thatnot negative spiral, a spiral
of like negative mindset,negative not really action or
behavior, but where you feellike you're just always
(10:25):
complaining about something.
Maybe it's like, oh, we justlike, oh, we have to do this now
.
We don't have enough time to doit, or like how are we supposed
to do that if we don't havethis?
And that ends up being like youget very emotionally charged
right, like you get feelings ofresentment and anger and
frustration, and then you justlike it steals your passion for
(10:48):
what you're doing because allyou feel is the negative emotion
and see the negative things,and it can be easy to just get
stuck in that.
It's hard to get out of it.
But I think what we have to dois like we do have to think
about the positive things thatare going on, because there are
so many positive things thathappen in school, but it our
(11:09):
brain goes to the negative, likeit just goes to that place, and
so that's what we can getfocused on.
But, we have to train ourselvesto get out of that, because
lately who, who wants to be inthat negative place all the time
, like it's really not healthy.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
No, and it's definitely true that what you
put your time and attentiontowards is going to loom larger
for you.
So if you are constantlythinking about why don't I have
this, I don't have enough ofthat, I don't have enough time,
I don't have enough budget, Idon't have enough resources,
it's going to feel like thishuge challenge in your
(11:48):
environment and maybe you becomeslightly out of proportion to
what the actual reality is.
I'm not saying it's notdifficult to be in these
situations.
It absolutely.
It really is challenging.
But I think there's enoughinformation out there that
reminds us that putting timeinto being grateful for what you
(12:11):
do have and, like Sheila wastelling us, joy spotting, find
those joyful moments, you knowyou really, you really can
change your mindset and yourattitude about things.
For sure.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
Yeah.
So besides like the joyspotting, which is such a fun
thing to do, and when you makeit a practice like just just
like small things, like lookaround where you are and just
find something that makes yousmile, that's such a great
practice to like help you getout of that, that kind of
mindset.
What is something else or whatare something, some other things
(12:46):
that people you think peoplecould do to to kind of shift the
mindset around that negative orlack, that lack of mindset, the
lacking mindset.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
Well, I mean definitely what we were talking
about before, about reframingwhat we think we need.
Yeah, I mean, in an ideal wewould have all of these
different resources for ourteaching and learning, but
really thinking about what it iswe absolutely need to have.
I think I've shared the storybefore about going into a school
and realizing I didn't have anycounters, any math
(13:22):
manipulatives to do counting andthings like that, and kind of
being quite shocked how am Igoing to move forward?
And then I found in a craftingarea a whole bag of buttons, and
that bag of buttons was waseverything?
It was counters.
It was, you know, for math, itwas for bingo games, it was for
(13:44):
every board game we had in theroom.
Like it became an integral partof what we used in our
classroom day to day.
And so, yeah, we obviously itwould be lovely to have lots of
beautiful counters for differentpurposes, but in the end, if
you've got a bag of buttons, youcan do pretty much the same
things.
Yeah, I think that reframingwhat it is that we need is a big
(14:07):
one.
But then, of course, I think italways comes back as you and I
know is to thinking about yourpriorities.
I think that's a really big onetoo.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
Yeah, yeah, I agree.
I think when we sit down andwhatever kind of like
prioritization tool or processworks for you, you really have
to sit down and say is mypriority to be a negative, yes,
lacking, like stay in this lackmindset?
(14:37):
I don't think anybody wants tobe there, but it's just easy to
get stuck in it Because we dofeel defeated a lot of the times
when we're trying to do things,and so, even like we have the
Eisenhower matrix in our bookand there's lots of different
(14:58):
models, even those digital onesthat we've seen now, it's cool
to just be able to like, okay,what are my priorities?
And like that negative mindsetisn't even going to be on there.
So let's just sort out, like,what do I really need to focus
on?
They will be the things thatyou know are most important and
the things that are going tohopefully create success for you
(15:20):
as a teacher, for our studentsin the classroom or whatever
your role is.
So, yeah, it's just likesometimes, like, just like
totally putting that to the side, because we know that
negativity isn't a top ofanyone's life.
No, I don't.
I mean, I imagine it's.
No, it's not.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
I would hope not, but I think as well.
You know, if you do have like alittle bit of a budget and
you're feeling like it's notgoing to stretch very far, again
, thinking about priorities whenyou are ordering things like
what is going to give you themost bang for your buck, what
are you going to be able to userepeatedly, over and over again?
(16:00):
Yeah, and use your limitedbudget for that, rather than you
know something that might havethe bells and whistles but have
less utility to them.
Speaker 3 (16:13):
Yeah, and like even things that we can share and
rotate right so if you have, youknow, common things, especially
in a primary or elementaryclassrooms.
You know there's like certainsets of things that every
classroom has, but you don't alluse them at the same time.
So like, look at your scheduleand if you need to rotate things
, that also just eliminates,like how much stuff you have in
(16:36):
your space, right, and so youdon't have to house all of the
things all the time.
Because, again, like it doesbring this strange sense of
comfort to us to know that, likeall of the math manipulatives
are right there on that shelf.
That's great.
Like you don't use them all thetime.
So, like, share them, you know,like rotate them, and but again
(17:01):
it's like, but what if I needit?
You know, at this moment andsometimes we do, but really when
we think realistically, likewe'd be fine without it for a
day or a week even, so sure.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
Yeah absolutely.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
I think another one that I've read about the place
is trying to switch the scarcitymindset to an abundant
abundance mindset.
So really thinking about theseopportunities where we feel like
we don't have enough time,resources, budget as really
opportunities to be innovativeand to try new things and learn
(17:40):
new things, and look at it as,look, I have all these
opportunities here to trysomething new, rather than you
know again that negative, Ican't do it, I'm stuck, I can't
overcome this Because I don'thave the things that I need.
So can you think of an examplemaybe, where we could try that
(18:03):
abundance mindset instead of thescarcity mindset?
Speaker 3 (18:07):
Probably something that would be helpful would be
to build that kind of thinkinginto a schedule, right?
So maybe it's like people have,you know, self care time in
their calendars or like whateveryou call it meditation or your
nature walk or whatever.
(18:27):
But even like using your owntime to like when you're sitting
and reading your book, like wow, I really am enjoying just
being in this moment, likestarting with something like
that.
But then when at school, it canbe harder, right, because
you've got people around you anddiscussions and conversations
about things.
And so I think, if you build ina similar practice at school
(18:53):
whether it's like the beginningof your faculty meeting or your
PLC time or your planningmeeting, where you just talk
about something that, somethingthat was positive or filled you
up or something great thathappened, like just starting
with something positive andreally focusing on like wow, we
(19:17):
were able to do this, eventhough this other thing happened
like it really does have to besomething that you intentionally
plan to do and talk about byyourself or with a group.
But if you want to get out oflike, if you're in a culture at
school where it's feelingnegative or morale is low, you
(19:43):
want to bring other people withyou right into this kind of
shifting of mindsets, becauseyou can't you can't really do it
yourself, especially in aschool community, because you're
not the only one there.
So I think it's helpful, like Ithink sometimes you know, I've
worked with teachers whereeverything kind of just feels
negative and I'm the personwho's I'm the abundance thinker
(20:05):
or like.
But let's think of it this way,like and I don't think about it
as in terms of like it's nottoxic positivity where I'm like
everything is fine, like we'refine, we're totally fine, like I
definitely acknowledge that, oh, this is really hard or that's
really challenging, but or andright, however you frame, we can
(20:28):
think about it in this way, orlet's try it this way instead,
so that it's not.
I do try to flip it, so thatwe're not always in that like
scarcity, like we're notthinking, oh, I can't do it
because I don't have this, or wedon't have time for this, or we
don't, we don't, we don't, butwe could if we did this or if we
(20:52):
shifted our thoughts and orlike the space that we need or
the time usage or whatever it is.
So we do have to thinkinnovatively and like out of the
box kind of like.
You know, we get used tothinking, doing the same,
similar things, often because wejust get in routines and we
have our habits.
(21:12):
But we do have to spend timelike breaking that down
sometimes so that we can see,ooh, actually, if I think about
it this way, this is possible,we can do this, but you just you
need to train yourself to thinkthat way.
Yeah for sure.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
Yeah, I wish I was the abundance mindset person all
the time to me, but I thinksometimes I can get a little
stuck in it.
Sometimes need you around me,need you more.
Speaker 3 (21:47):
Well and I'm not saying that I don't my mind, you
know, automatic when I amconfronted with something
challenging, I definitely go tothe negative first, like, oh, I
can't do this, I don't know howI'm going to do it, but I do
like pause and just like letmyself process a little bit, and
it's easier with other people.
I find to like we're very hardon ourselves, right.
(22:11):
And we want like you know, so we.
It's a hard process to likebecause you just want things to
go right, because yourexpectations are high and you
know all of these things.
But, yeah, I definitely do go toa negative place sometimes,
like this is not doable, I can'tdo it and this is not possible,
just wallowing that for alittle while before you move on,
(22:34):
right, yes, but then it's likeoh, actually, I okay.
Yeah, I can see all the piecesnow because, like you know, you
can get hyper focused on onething.
That's the obstacle.
But, like you said, if we thinkabout like opportunities
mindset rather than obstaclemindset, we can work through a
lot of things in creative waysand it can be surprising and
(22:58):
like, really like it's anopportunity to like feel proud
of yourself for thinking in adifferent way and doing
something differently thanreverting back to oh, I can't,
because, whatever, and justchoosing to go like this is too
hard or I don't have enough ofthis, or whatever.
(23:18):
The case is For sure, for sure.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
I think it's also been a nice offshoot of moving
around different countries anddifferent schools, because I do
have a point of reference forthings.
You know, I've had thatexperience of the school where I
had no more photocopying paper,but then I've also been in
schools where I have anunlimited photocopying budget.
(23:44):
So even though you might, eventhough you might like, feel
stuck with something else,something else feels like an
obstacle, you still have thatopportunity to look back and go.
Well, I might not have that,but I do have this.
So I think, in a way, beingable to see lots of different
(24:04):
school contexts has been helpfulin that way to to realise
there's always ups and downs,there's always problems and
opportunities as well andthere's other ways to do things.
Speaker 3 (24:18):
Yeah, absolutely Right.
Yeah, so that's.
It is helpful to to be able tosee that and even just talk to
each other.
You know, if you havecolleagues and friends in
different schools, like talkabout those things, even though
you don't always want to talkabout school out of school, but
sometimes you need to becauseyou need some other frames of
(24:38):
references.
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
Yeah, Do we have any pay down pointers today?
Speaker 3 (24:43):
do you think yes and no, Like it's hard to pinpoint
one, I think, but I think thatand something that I mentioned a
little bit before I think myparadigm pointer might be to
find the people that are goingto help you shift your mindset,
(25:04):
Because it's easy to stay in anegative complaining mode, like
you know, and complain that wedon't have, we don't have, and
that can be your reality, butalso you have a lot, and so
shifting the mindset to likemore of thinking about the
abundance will be really helpfuland it'll it will make you feel
(25:29):
better, Like it will reducesome stress.
It will make you enjoy or helpyou enjoy your role again and
you can make that shift.
So I think that's my pointer.
How about you?
Speaker 2 (25:42):
Can I go back to gratitude again.
Is that or is that repeatingsomething?
I think, yeah, you know,whatever gratitude practice
works for you, whether it'swriting it down or taking a
photo like Sheila, or or justhaving a think about it in your
head, I think it can be reallyhelpful because if we stop and
think about, well, I don't haveX, y and Z, but I do have
(26:08):
beautiful kiddos in my class, orI do have a wonderful
supportive community or greatcolleagues, or you know, there's
always going to be somethingthat you can, that you can find
that is a really upliftingexperience of your workplace,
and maybe it's nice to thinkabout it beyond just the
materials as well, if we can.
Speaker 3 (26:27):
So yeah, yeah, for sure, awesome, I like that.
Thank you, christine.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
Thank you, Tammy.
Speaker 3 (26:34):
Yes till next time.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
Today's episode was brought to you by Plan Z
Professional Learning ServicesForward Thinking Educator
Support.
Find out more atPlanZPLServicescom.
Speaker 1 (26:52):
Be sure to join Tammy and Christine and guests for
more episodes of the MinimalistEducator Podcast.
I would love to hear about yourjourney with minimalism.
Connect with them at PlanZPLSon Twitter or Instagram.
The music for the podcast hasbeen written and performed by
Gaia Moretti.
Welcome to the Minimalist Educator Podcast, a
podcast about pairing down torefocus on the purpose and
priorities in our roles withco-hosts and co-authors of the
Minimalist Teacher Book, TammyMusiowsky-Borniman and Christine
Arnold.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
In today's episode, tammy and I discuss scarcity
mindset.
We define what it is and alsogive you some tips and ideas for
how to tackle it.
Hello and welcome to today'sepisode of the Minimalist
Educator Podcast.
Today, it is Tammy and I.
How are you today, tammy?
Speaker 3 (00:55):
I'm really good today .
Thank you, Christine.
How about you A?
Speaker 2 (00:58):
little bit chilly, but I'm doing okay, doing okay.
So today we are talking aboutscarcity mindset in our schools
and what are some possible wayswe can tackle this.
So maybe, tammy, you can startus off by telling us what
scarcity mindset is.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Sure.
So scarcity mindset is when wehave this kind of fear that we
will potentially not have enoughof something.
So in general, it could be like,when we think about just
societies in general, where wehave people having a fear of
(01:42):
like not having enough food or aplace to live or the resources
that they need to find successin their life and whatever that
may look like.
And when we think about that inschools we do and I say
generally we, because I thinkwe've all experienced this in
some way in whatever roles we'vebeen in in schools as that we
(02:04):
don't have enough time, we don'thave enough people, resources,
we don't have enough physicalresources, like the things we
need to teach, and so we runinto this mindset of like I
don't have all the things that Ineed to do my job well.
And that can stem from, youknow, life experience, something
(02:29):
that's happened in childhood,the experience you've had in a
school, depending on types ofschools that you've worked in,
but I think it's a really commonexperience that teachers have.
What have you experienced orheard about from teachers or in
your schools?
Speaker 2 (02:48):
I definitely have experienced the feeling like we
don't have a very large budgetto buy supplies.
So then you start thinkingabout I need to save every
possible item from home as wellas school.
Or you know you see otherteachers throwing things out and
you think, oh no, don't throwthat out, we could use that for
(03:11):
this, use that for that.
So definitely have felt thatlack of resources due to budget
over the years.
And, of course, the time thingthere's never going to be enough
time with school.
There's always so much more wecan be doing for sure.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
Yeah, it's funny how I think about.
If we talk first about like thephysical resources, maybe the
every school has rooms rightwhere there's like teacher
resources and supply closet, andusually the supply closet room
is like that locked sacred placewhere you have to get the
(03:52):
secretary or like office adminto like go open it up because
you need staples or post-its orwhatever.
And I understand the need tolike protect resources for sure,
but it seems like such achallenge to be able to get
those items that you need,especially when you have like
(04:14):
you want to have an engaginglearning environment, so there's
things that you just use, oftenlike index cards or post-its or
chart papers and markers andthings like that, and it can
turn into a hoarding situationon the teacher end, right,
because you're like, ooh, I canget these things while the
(04:34):
closet's open and then, like youoverstuff not you but we
generally, you know.
Then you overstuff your ownsupply closet and you know you
start collecting all of theseitems, thinking that well, I've
been, you know I don't have tolike get down to my last post-it
, but do we ever really get tothat place?
Like honestly, do we get downto the last stack of post-its?
(04:57):
Like probably not.
We have like a reserve stack of10.
I don't know, it's such a funnything where we feel so afraid
that like what if I run out ofpost-its today?
And I keep bringing up post-itsbecause, like, I use them a lot
, right, or like index cards orwhatever.
But like what if I run out ofthat?
Well, there's always a backupplan.
Like you don't have to use anindex card or a post-it, like
(05:21):
you can.
There are notebooks and thereare other papers, and so I think
we get caught in like thethings that we use, right, we
get attached to them and feelcomfortable with certain things
and we collect them and we relyon them too much, sometimes
without thinking about ooh, Ican do this in another way.
(05:43):
I don't need this giant stackor basket of these supplies
because we could also usenotebooks.
That's fine too.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
I do remember one situation, though, where I was
at a school where we were givena certain amount of photocopying
paper for the year, yes, andgot to the end of that stack of
photocopying paper and then Ithought about whiteboards and
markers, but then the whiteboardmarkers were running dry and it
was literally like do I spendmy own money or do we just go
(06:17):
without?
It really did get down to asituation like that,
unfortunately, and we definitelydon't want teachers to feel
like the alternative is to usetheir own money, because that's
not a sustainable practice, isit?
Speaker 3 (06:32):
No, but it's pretty common right.
Like how often have we stoppedat Target or Walmart or the
dollar store or whatever on yourway home from school because
you're like, I'll just pick upthese bits of things?
Or, unintentionally, you buythem when you're at the store to
get your own things and you'relike, ooh, I could just pick up
these things Because, just incase you know.
(06:55):
But I think when we use ourresources in creative ways or
think of alternative things thatwe can do in our classroom, I
think it's a good way to teachkids about resource use, because
we want to model the thingsthat we're doing in positive
(07:17):
ways.
And so if we have a classroomthat's stocked full of all the
things that we always need, thatcan be great, because then the
things that we often use arethere.
But reality is that that's notalways going to be the
experience or the case.
And so if we're mindful aboutresource use, or like a lack of
(07:41):
resource or we ran out ofsomething, teaching our students
ways to navigate that, I thinkis really important, because
then they will have the skillsalso to think about oh, I ran
out of this, I'll use thisinstead, or I'll check with
someone else and see if theyhave this thing or whatever it
(08:02):
makes me think of, just a coupleof weeks ago, our friend Krista
.
She was talking to her son onthe phone and he was talking
about his use of a whiteboardthat he uses for his math
problems.
He's in college and he wastalking about how he was using
the whiteboard but he didn'thave an eraser.
So like that it was funnybecause we were both chuckling
(08:26):
about it after.
I know she wouldn't mindsharing this story because we
were talking about it after, butshe's like that didn't seem
like a real problem becausewe're like well, you can use a
paper towel or a tissue orsomething to wipe it off.
So when we want to make surethat the think aloud process too
, if something happens in theclassroom, I think about how
(08:47):
often I talk to myself throughthings like that outward
processing, and when I do thatin the classroom with my
students hear my thinkingprocess through something, I
think that's really helpful tobe able to say, oh, we're out of
this, so let's do this instead.
We're just going to shift gearsa little bit, and it's not a big
deal.
It's fine, we'll just.
(09:09):
It's a simple change that we'regoing to make and it's not a
big deal.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Yeah, definitely modeling both how to solve that
problem but then also how tohandle it Absolutely.
I think that's helpful for sure.
So I was thinking about some ofthe resulting feelings that can
come up when we're dealing withthis scarcity mindset, because
(09:34):
I think you can really getoverly focused on how bad things
are or the obstacles that youhave in front of you and end up
just really focused on thatrather than focusing on other
things that we've got going on,or what is good or what the goal
is for the day, and things likethat.
(09:55):
Do you think that's a livedexperience for people getting
stuck in that negative thinking?
Speaker 3 (10:03):
I think so Experienced that kind of
negative spiral maybe of or thatnot negative spiral, a spiral
of like negative mindset,negative not really action or
behavior, but where you feellike you're just always
(10:25):
complaining about something.
Maybe it's like, oh, we justlike, oh, we have to do this now
.
We don't have enough time to doit, or like how are we supposed
to do that if we don't havethis?
And that ends up being like youget very emotionally charged
right, like you get feelings ofresentment and anger and
frustration, and then you justlike it steals your passion for
(10:48):
what you're doing because allyou feel is the negative emotion
and see the negative things,and it can be easy to just get
stuck in that.
It's hard to get out of it.
But I think what we have to dois like we do have to think
about the positive things thatare going on, because there are
so many positive things thathappen in school, but it our
(11:09):
brain goes to the negative, likeit just goes to that place, and
so that's what we can getfocused on.
But, we have to train ourselvesto get out of that, because
lately who, who wants to be inthat negative place all the time
, like it's really not healthy.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
No, and it's definitely true that what you
put your time and attentiontowards is going to loom larger
for you.
So if you are constantlythinking about why don't I have
this, I don't have enough ofthat, I don't have enough time,
I don't have enough budget, Idon't have enough resources,
it's going to feel like thishuge challenge in your
(11:48):
environment and maybe you becomeslightly out of proportion to
what the actual reality is.
I'm not saying it's notdifficult to be in these
situations.
It absolutely.
It really is challenging.
But I think there's enoughinformation out there that
reminds us that putting timeinto being grateful for what you
(12:11):
do have and, like Sheila wastelling us, joy spotting, find
those joyful moments, you knowyou really, you really can
change your mindset and yourattitude about things.
For sure.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
Yeah.
So besides like the joyspotting, which is such a fun
thing to do, and when you makeit a practice like just just
like small things, like lookaround where you are and just
find something that makes yousmile, that's such a great
practice to like help you getout of that, that kind of
mindset.
What is something else or whatare something, some other things
(12:46):
that people you think peoplecould do to to kind of shift the
mindset around that negative orlack, that lack of mindset, the
lacking mindset.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
Well, I mean definitely what we were talking
about before, about reframingwhat we think we need.
Yeah, I mean, in an ideal wewould have all of these
different resources for ourteaching and learning, but
really thinking about what it iswe absolutely need to have.
I think I've shared the storybefore about going into a school
and realizing I didn't have anycounters, any math
(13:22):
manipulatives to do counting andthings like that, and kind of
being quite shocked how am Igoing to move forward?
And then I found in a craftingarea a whole bag of buttons, and
that bag of buttons was waseverything?
It was counters.
It was, you know, for math, itwas for bingo games, it was for
(13:44):
every board game we had in theroom.
Like it became an integral partof what we used in our
classroom day to day.
And so, yeah, we obviously itwould be lovely to have lots of
beautiful counters for differentpurposes, but in the end, if
you've got a bag of buttons, youcan do pretty much the same
things.
Yeah, I think that reframingwhat it is that we need is a big
(14:07):
one.
But then, of course, I think italways comes back as you and I
know is to thinking about yourpriorities.
I think that's a really big onetoo.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
Yeah, yeah, I agree.
I think when we sit down andwhatever kind of like
prioritization tool or processworks for you, you really have
to sit down and say is mypriority to be a negative, yes,
lacking, like stay in this lackmindset?
(14:37):
I don't think anybody wants tobe there, but it's just easy to
get stuck in it Because we dofeel defeated a lot of the times
when we're trying to do things,and so, even like we have the
Eisenhower matrix in our bookand there's lots of different
(14:58):
models, even those digital onesthat we've seen now, it's cool
to just be able to like, okay,what are my priorities?
And like that negative mindsetisn't even going to be on there.
So let's just sort out, like,what do I really need to focus
on?
They will be the things thatyou know are most important and
the things that are going tohopefully create success for you
(15:20):
as a teacher, for our studentsin the classroom or whatever
your role is.
So, yeah, it's just likesometimes, like, just like
totally putting that to the side, because we know that
negativity isn't a top ofanyone's life.
No, I don't.
I mean, I imagine it's.
No, it's not.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
I would hope not, but I think as well.
You know, if you do have like alittle bit of a budget and
you're feeling like it's notgoing to stretch very far, again
, thinking about priorities whenyou are ordering things like
what is going to give you themost bang for your buck, what
are you going to be able to userepeatedly, over and over again?
(16:00):
Yeah, and use your limitedbudget for that, rather than you
know something that might havethe bells and whistles but have
less utility to them.
Speaker 3 (16:13):
Yeah, and like even things that we can share and
rotate right so if you have, youknow, common things, especially
in a primary or elementaryclassrooms.
You know there's like certainsets of things that every
classroom has, but you don't alluse them at the same time.
So like, look at your scheduleand if you need to rotate things
, that also just eliminates,like how much stuff you have in
(16:36):
your space, right, and so youdon't have to house all of the
things all the time.
Because, again, like it doesbring this strange sense of
comfort to us to know that, likeall of the math manipulatives
are right there on that shelf.
That's great.
Like you don't use them all thetime.
So, like, share them, you know,like rotate them, and but again
(17:01):
it's like, but what if I needit?
You know, at this moment andsometimes we do, but really when
we think realistically, likewe'd be fine without it for a
day or a week even, so sure.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
Yeah absolutely.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
I think another one that I've read about the place
is trying to switch the scarcitymindset to an abundant
abundance mindset.
So really thinking about theseopportunities where we feel like
we don't have enough time,resources, budget as really
opportunities to be innovativeand to try new things and learn
(17:40):
new things, and look at it as,look, I have all these
opportunities here to trysomething new, rather than you
know again that negative, Ican't do it, I'm stuck, I can't
overcome this Because I don'thave the things that I need.
So can you think of an examplemaybe, where we could try that
(18:03):
abundance mindset instead of thescarcity mindset?
Speaker 3 (18:07):
Probably something that would be helpful would be
to build that kind of thinkinginto a schedule, right?
So maybe it's like people have,you know, self care time in
their calendars or like whateveryou call it meditation or your
nature walk or whatever.
(18:27):
But even like using your owntime to like when you're sitting
and reading your book, like wow, I really am enjoying just
being in this moment, likestarting with something like
that.
But then when at school, it canbe harder, right, because
you've got people around you anddiscussions and conversations
about things.
And so I think, if you build ina similar practice at school
(18:53):
whether it's like the beginningof your faculty meeting or your
PLC time or your planningmeeting, where you just talk
about something that, somethingthat was positive or filled you
up or something great thathappened, like just starting
with something positive andreally focusing on like wow, we
(19:17):
were able to do this, eventhough this other thing happened
like it really does have to besomething that you intentionally
plan to do and talk about byyourself or with a group.
But if you want to get out oflike, if you're in a culture at
school where it's feelingnegative or morale is low, you
(19:43):
want to bring other people withyou right into this kind of
shifting of mindsets, becauseyou can't you can't really do it
yourself, especially in aschool community, because you're
not the only one there.
So I think it's helpful, like Ithink sometimes you know, I've
worked with teachers whereeverything kind of just feels
negative and I'm the personwho's I'm the abundance thinker
(20:05):
or like.
But let's think of it this way,like and I don't think about it
as in terms of like it's nottoxic positivity where I'm like
everything is fine, like we'refine, we're totally fine, like I
definitely acknowledge that, oh, this is really hard or that's
really challenging, but or andright, however you frame, we can
(20:28):
think about it in this way, orlet's try it this way instead,
so that it's not.
I do try to flip it, so thatwe're not always in that like
scarcity, like we're notthinking, oh, I can't do it
because I don't have this, or wedon't have time for this, or we
don't, we don't, we don't, butwe could if we did this or if we
(20:52):
shifted our thoughts and orlike the space that we need or
the time usage or whatever it is.
So we do have to thinkinnovatively and like out of the
box kind of like.
You know, we get used tothinking, doing the same,
similar things, often because wejust get in routines and we
have our habits.
(21:12):
But we do have to spend timelike breaking that down
sometimes so that we can see,ooh, actually, if I think about
it this way, this is possible,we can do this, but you just you
need to train yourself to thinkthat way.
Yeah for sure.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
Yeah, I wish I was the abundance mindset person all
the time to me, but I thinksometimes I can get a little
stuck in it.
Sometimes need you around me,need you more.
Speaker 3 (21:47):
Well and I'm not saying that I don't my mind, you
know, automatic when I amconfronted with something
challenging, I definitely go tothe negative first, like, oh, I
can't do this, I don't know howI'm going to do it, but I do
like pause and just like letmyself process a little bit, and
it's easier with other people.
I find to like we're very hardon ourselves, right.
(22:11):
And we want like you know, so we.
It's a hard process to likebecause you just want things to
go right, because yourexpectations are high and you
know all of these things.
But, yeah, I definitely do go toa negative place sometimes,
like this is not doable, I can'tdo it and this is not possible,
just wallowing that for alittle while before you move on,
(22:34):
right, yes, but then it's likeoh, actually, I okay.
Yeah, I can see all the piecesnow because, like you know, you
can get hyper focused on onething.
That's the obstacle.
But, like you said, if we thinkabout like opportunities
mindset rather than obstaclemindset, we can work through a
lot of things in creative waysand it can be surprising and
(22:58):
like, really like it's anopportunity to like feel proud
of yourself for thinking in adifferent way and doing
something differently thanreverting back to oh, I can't,
because, whatever, and justchoosing to go like this is too
hard or I don't have enough ofthis, or whatever.
(23:18):
The case is For sure, for sure.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
I think it's also been a nice offshoot of moving
around different countries anddifferent schools, because I do
have a point of reference forthings.
You know, I've had thatexperience of the school where I
had no more photocopying paper,but then I've also been in
schools where I have anunlimited photocopying budget.
(23:44):
So even though you might, eventhough you might like, feel
stuck with something else,something else feels like an
obstacle, you still have thatopportunity to look back and go.
Well, I might not have that,but I do have this.
So I think, in a way, beingable to see lots of different
(24:04):
school contexts has been helpfulin that way to to realise
there's always ups and downs,there's always problems and
opportunities as well andthere's other ways to do things.
Speaker 3 (24:18):
Yeah, absolutely Right.
Yeah, so that's.
It is helpful to to be able tosee that and even just talk to
each other.
You know, if you havecolleagues and friends in
different schools, like talkabout those things, even though
you don't always want to talkabout school out of school, but
sometimes you need to becauseyou need some other frames of
(24:38):
references.
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
Yeah, Do we have any pay down pointers today?
Speaker 3 (24:43):
do you think yes and no, Like it's hard to pinpoint
one, I think, but I think thatand something that I mentioned a
little bit before I think myparadigm pointer might be to
find the people that are goingto help you shift your mindset,
(25:04):
Because it's easy to stay in anegative complaining mode, like
you know, and complain that wedon't have, we don't have, and
that can be your reality, butalso you have a lot, and so
shifting the mindset to likemore of thinking about the
abundance will be really helpfuland it'll it will make you feel
(25:29):
better, Like it will reducesome stress.
It will make you enjoy or helpyou enjoy your role again and
you can make that shift.
So I think that's my pointer.
How about you?
Speaker 2 (25:42):
Can I go back to gratitude again.
Is that or is that repeatingsomething?
I think, yeah, you know,whatever gratitude practice
works for you, whether it'swriting it down or taking a
photo like Sheila, or or justhaving a think about it in your
head, I think it can be reallyhelpful because if we stop and
think about, well, I don't haveX, y and Z, but I do have
(26:08):
beautiful kiddos in my class, orI do have a wonderful
supportive community or greatcolleagues, or you know, there's
always going to be somethingthat you can, that you can find
that is a really upliftingexperience of your workplace,
and maybe it's nice to thinkabout it beyond just the
materials as well, if we can.
Speaker 3 (26:27):
So yeah, yeah, for sure, awesome, I like that.
Thank you, christine.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
Thank you, Tammy.
Speaker 3 (26:34):
Yes till next time.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
Today's episode was brought to you by Plan Z
Professional Learning ServicesForward Thinking Educator
Support.
Find out more atPlanZPLServicescom.
Speaker 1 (26:52):
Be sure to join Tammy and Christine and guests for
more episodes of the MinimalistEducator Podcast.
I would love to hear about yourjourney with minimalism.
Connect with them at PlanZPLSon Twitter or Instagram.
The music for the podcast hasbeen written and performed by
Gaia Moretti.
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