Welcome to the Classroom Narratives Healing in Education Podcast. The space where education meets resilience. I'm Dr. Joey Weisler, and in each episode we dive deep into the personal stories of educators, students, leaders, and frontline advocates who are navigating the complexities within modern education.
Whether you're just starting your teaching journey or are a seasoned professional looking for inspiration, we'll explore how to foster meaningful change, prevent burnout, and build trauma-informed communities within our schools. Now, let's take a seat at the front of the classroom as we get started.
Joey: Welcome listeners, to a very special and unique two part episode with Dr. Matthew Arau, who is the founder and thought leader behind Upbeat Global. And this two part conversation with Dr. Arau will begin by exploring what it really means for educators to find joy and purpose even in the midst of burnout.
And Matthew was going to spend these [00:01:00] next two segments sharing with us about how we are able to find our own, what we call to be our upbeat, which begins with joy and trust within ourselves, the inner work, and then bridging out into the outer work, which we'll be talking about in our next segment.
Let's stick around for today and talk about the inner work within ourselves as we find our own upbeat. Thanks for joining today.
 
Joey: Welcome back to the Classroom Narratives Healing in Education podcast.
Where today's guest, Dr. Matthew Arau, believes that just like a conductor's upbeat gesture sets the tone for an ensemble, we each set the tone for how we lead, teach, and show up every day. Matthew is the author of Upbeat Mindset, mindfulness and Leadership in Music Education and Beyond, as well as the Chair of Music Education at Lawrence University.
His work blends emotional wellness [00:02:00] positive culture. Leadership grounded in clarity, purpose, and joy. And whether in the classroom or a rehearsal hall, Matthew helps educators reframe teaching as a chance to lead with intention and to build space where people can feel seen, safe and inspired. So Matthew, thank you for joining us and welcome to the show today.
Matthew: It's a pleasure, Joey. Thanks for having me. 
Joey: So I wanted to go ahead and start with your work upbeat global. And in learning about your text, you really try and make this analogy of the upbeat of a conductor. Before they start, they raise their baton and they take a breath.
And in a way it regulates everybody in the room as they anticipate that first note. And I know this as a percussionist in middle and in high school, and it really makes me think about, like you said, the thoughts that we have as educators when we get up for the day. One of my favorite quotes comes from Erin Gruwell and Erin Gruwell is the author of the Freedom Writers Diary.
And the Freedom Writers is also a 2007 film [00:03:00] starring Hillary Swank as Erin Gruwell herself. And a quote that she says is, if I can change myself, then I can change my students. And if I can change my students, then I can change my classroom. And if I can change my classroom, then I can change the world.
And the reason why I bring that up to begin with is that Matthew, a lot of your work focuses on not just that upbeat moment in our lives, such as the first thoughts when one gets up in the morning.
It's not just about the thoughts that we have, but it's also about what do we do with those thoughts as well? And as teachers, Matthew and I were talking in the pre-chat where in my first year of teaching, I was in a very jaded community where a lot of teachers were walking around, they were questioning themselves, they were questioning their impact, they were questioning their choices.
And that energy radiated. And I had the same thing happen to me. And , I actually had a parent reach out to me earlier this week to say, Hey, you had my daughter six years ago and thank you. She's in college now. , You really made a mark on her life. And she was saying that because she was [00:04:00] watching another segment that I just had with two of that student's classmates on my podcast.
Wow. That came out earlier this week. But my answer to her was, well, did I really? Like, I, I just don't know. 'cause I don't really hear that, like my imposter syndrome says to me, maybe you didn't. So I said, thank you, but I don't know, did I? And that's the mindset I feel like here in 2025 that teachers are walking around with quite a bit because our thoughts tell us what are we really here to do and what's really going on with that?
So let's start with that. When you talk about that upbeat, we're talking about mindset and joy working as these leadership tools, but joy isn't always what's at the forefront of a burnt out teacher. So what would you say we can use to help us just reconcile our tension? What is real true joy look at as an educator, especially when they're working to change themselves and change their classrooms?
Matthew: Yeah. Thanks for, sharing the thoughts , that you've had, , growing up , as a teacher, as [00:05:00] a young teacher. And that's beautiful that the mom shared with you the impact you made. Because sometimes we don't know, right? We don't know until it can be years later. It could be even a Facebook message where a student reaches out and says, I remember you taught me so many years ago, and I've been, I just finished teaching , 28 years Wow.
Myself. So 15 years as a band director in Colorado. And then, just finished 13 years teaching at the university level. And every day I just go in and actually I wake up with the intention to add value, to make a difference, to make a difference in someone's life. And it doesn't necessarily even have to be through the content that I teach, which I think is valuable, but it can be to show kindness, to show appreciation, to let somebody know I'm grateful.
And I think it's true that we never know what somebody else is going through, don't you? Right. And I think, sometimes a smile [00:06:00] can be , that mask that we wear. But, I think whenever, I'm speaking to a, a group of folks, whether it's students or adults, I think it's fair to say that every person in that room, if I were to ask them, do you have a weight on your shoulders or something that you're concerned about, every hand would go up.
Joey: Mm-hmm. 
Matthew: And I think that's part of the nature of life, is that it's a balance between , the joys and the things that we look forward to. And then those challenges, whether it's relationship, family , our work related challenges, health. And so there's always gonna be those challenges in life, but it's how we choose to respond to them that makes a difference.
And I know there's a lot of literature about, being happy. Like, yes, the goal of life is to be happy and that's wonderful. If we can feel happy, that's great. And that's wonderful. But the thing about joy is it's much deeper than happiness, and, it's important to differentiate and distinguish between joy [00:07:00] and happiness and joy is self created.
Joy is a choice , but I do think that there are important things that we can do to help generate joy in other people's lives. What I found is that when we focus on giving, and, lifting others, we actually can lift ourselves when that's our intention. 
Joey: Absolutely. 
Matthew: Yeah. There's six things that every human being needs to feel in life. And I believe that if we can create classrooms and work environments and home environments where the people we're around feel these six things, we can create spaces for joy. I think that one of the reasons I teachers , may not be experiencing joy and they may be approaching burnout , or feeling like the candle's burning on both sides.
And I've certainly been there and empathize. I think it may be. 'cause sometimes we don't feel some of these six [00:08:00] things. I believe that every human being wants to feel valued. I believe that every human being wants to feel they matter. I. I believe that every human being wants to feel they make a difference.
I believe that every human being wants to feel loved. I believe that every human being wants to feel connected. And I believe that every human being wants to feel they belong.
Joey: I had a conversation with a principal actually Yes, it was on Mike Earnshaw's podcast in 2024, and we talked about the value of having a fire department, as we called it, where if you have even just a kitchen fire or even a house fire that has happened in your classroom, you want to know that you all have the fire departments to back you up Yes.
And help you distinguish those flames. When I think about being valued and mattering as a school community, it really starts with the leadership having a chance to [00:09:00] listen to us. And acknowledging the concerns that we need and letting us feel like we fit into our own communities as well.
Matthew: It's so important to have leaders , who listen to us. And I think that's also about trust, having trusting relationships, and we need administrators , and leaders who come from a place of trust rather than starting from a place of distrust., I love , the principle seek first to understand 
Joey: mm-hmm. 
Sean Covey. 
Yep. 
Matthew: Yep. Yeah. And Stephen Covey, uh, Sean's dad, who, who wrote The Seven Habits, and I mean, it was Sean Covey wrote The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens.
I always 
Joey: get them confused. Yeah, 
Matthew: yeah. But there was a, you know, brilliant family, clearly. Uh, but, but Stephen Covey, it's an adaptation actually, St. Francis of Assisi, who actually said at first, uh, seek first to understand, which, , once I learned that principle from the seven Habits, it really made a big difference in my own life.
And so as a leader myself and as a leadership teacher, , we share the importance of, listening and coming from a place of good intention. I think we need [00:10:00] to start with , this premise that the people we're talking with. Have good intentions. I think if we start the other way, , it, it leads to, this conflict.
We can never come to a collaborative solution. And so I like to begin with from a place of trust and like help me to understand, 'cause , I'm gonna assume best intentions. And now let's move forward from here. , I know you had originally asked me about like, how can we find joy in the challenges of the life Yeah.
That we often encounter , and teaching can be, , so demanding and I think we enter the profession 'cause we wanna make that difference, right? We wanna positively impact, , and make a difference one child at a time. Right. I always think of being a teacher as being on the frontline. Yes. Frontline for society.
When I was , a university undergrad student, I actually did a double degree in government, which is political science , and music and music education and music performance. And, I thought about what do I wanna do with my life, right? [00:11:00] And I thought about, hmm, do I want to , impact change with policy, like become, a senator?
And then I discovered for me that education was the most important thing in any society. A society that valued education, that put education at the forefront would be a successful society. So then I thought, well, maybe I'd like to be the secretary of education at the federal level.
Yeah. Right. And then I started learning about like implementation of policy and recognizing that the original bills and the policies we create are often not what's actually implemented at the grassroots level. It changes along the way and it looks, could look like nothing of what you wanted. So then I thought, well, if I really wanna make a difference with my one life here, I'm wanna be a teacher.
'cause I wanna be on the frontline. And that's who teachers are. Teachers are on their frontline every day doing their absolute best, through thicken them, slugging it out, right? Yeah. There are challenges, but there's also glorious moments. The aha moments, the students that, [00:12:00] that where it clicks , and, that enthusiasm for what you are teaching , and the looking forward to the class.
And, we have a choice of where we focus, don't we? We can focus on the problems and maybe the student who seems , to not be into what we're sharing at all, or the students who are really excited and it could really impact our mindset. And sometimes we have it wrong. Sometimes the students we think that are not getting it at all.
I have a, a interesting story. I was speaking at a school in California and I was teaching the principles of Upbeat, and , it was session, I titled Unlocking Potential, the Impact of Mindset on Success. And they would bring out every 90 minutes, a new group of students. And I like five minute breaks in between school assemblies.
And there was , this one time I was talking to students , and I'm doing my best to talk . And there was a student who like would not stop talking , and she was talking to this other student.
The other student would talk back. And it was really testing my mindful practices, right? It was testing. I was [00:13:00] like , do I snap on them and be like, stop talking, you know? And part of me wanted to right , that teacher that wanted to be like, Hey, this is inappropriate. But I held back and I just continued and I just tried to keep my cool, did the presentation.
Well, lo and behold, who do you think came up to me after the presentation? 
Joey: Probably those two. 
Matthew: It was those two students. Now check this out. It was a complete misunderstanding on my part. It turned out that one of the students was translating everything I was saying in Russian. To the student who, , was a Russian immigrant.
It turned out , there were a lot of Russian immigrants in this community, and she was newly moved here. And so that's what they were doing. And she came to tell me like how much they enjoyed and how much they got out of it. And those are the two people that I thought were distracted and not getting anything out of it.
So sometimes , we miss it, but I'd like to share about joy , that the Dalai Lama shares in a book called, the Art of Happiness. And he also talks about it in [00:14:00] a conversation in a book called The Book of Joy. , And he shares that we can find joy even in suffering. And , that's powerful.
And, I compare joy to gratitude because I think also in the darkest moments the challenges, we can find something to be grateful for.
And it is a conscious choice. Something I like to begin my morning with when I wake up , is a gratitude for this day,? Thank you. Thank you for this breath. When it comes down to it, like grateful to be alive, and , those are choices that we get to be in front of these students who really need us.
And I think our students need us now more than ever as teachers. They do. 
Joey: Absolutely. And going back to the point that you made about trying to follow the habits of Covey, where we seek first to understand, I've noticed that when I find a student who might have dysregulation instead of the, what's wrong with you, the how can I help you piece is a lot more effective.
And what I would do is that I would just [00:15:00] approach that student in private and just say to them, Hey, I'm listening. If there's anything that you wanna share, anything at all. And normally all they need is an invitation to tell me what's on their mind. 
But I'm sure you know this, Matthew. Covey has an eighth habit. He goes beyond that. 
Yep. 
And his eighth habit, which reminds me so much of your work, says, find your voice and use your voice to inspire others. And that's pretty much what upbeat Global is working to do. You say, then your own work, it starts with the thoughts that you have, then it branches out to your classroom and your community, and then it branches out to the leaders.
And once the leaders capture those thoughts that you're carrying through your voice, it transforms communities as well. So tell us what that process looks like. And especially again, when we go through the society where we're really trying to shift education towards mindfulness and emotional intelligence, when it can still be so hard for teachers to find out how to do that [00:16:00] and to do it right, and to do it effective.
And I've actually reflected on myself a couple times over the past couple months where it's like. When I thought I was being a trauma informed teacher, what if I was really a trauma triggering teacher? And when it comes to teachers trying to balance those lines, how can they find their voice and inspire others with what they have and vice versa.
IE being receptive to the energy of others that can help them elevate further. 
Matthew: Well, I imagine because you're such a caring, empathic person, Joey, that I can't imagine you triggered trauma. No. 'cause you're so sensitive. And, uh, thank you. If you ever have, I hope that somebody would understand that , your intentions are not the same.
 I think as a teacher, maybe when we're a younger teacher, we think about, maybe a lot about what we have to offer and sharing our voice and sharing our knowledge.
And I think the longer we teach, it actually gets [00:17:00] spun around. And we think of our role more about, providing a space that elevates the voice of our students. And I think maybe that's some of the evolution that I've gone through is, even in, when I teach leadership to students around the country and around the world I think even my methodology of teaching has evolved , where there's much more, interplay with the students and much more opportunities for them to have conversations with each other and to share out, and , to recognize that they have a voice to share.
And that, they have , a light within to shine brightly. Because I think so much of society, suppresses our inner lights. And so my hope as a teacher is to inspire students to discover that they do have a light within, and that's the point. That's our purpose. And, it's a special light that's special to them, that each one of them has a unique light. And I think there's so much pressure to fit in as a student, to be like somebody [00:18:00] else , or to even be like, the teacher or to be like someone in their family. But I think the real point is to discover who you are and who you're meant to be. And to then share that brightly. And the same thing goes for us as educators.
We might think like we're supposed to conform to be like maybe even a teacher that we admired, but eventually we discover that we have a special voice, that can shine through. And our voice is really meant to lift and elevate those around us. While sharing, of course, the content is important, but I think the context is even more important.
And , the cultures that we create, the spaces of love and belonging and creativity and safety and sharing, and in order to get there, it begins with finding our own inner peace because we end up being [00:19:00] reflected by our students. It's almost like a mirror, isn't it? Absolutely. And that can always be scary, but I think the same thing happens in the relationship, right?
Like a lot, like we get ourselves reflected back to us and we learn about ourselves through being in a relationship with somebody else. And that's why the work of upbeat begins with our inner world and, with emotional regulation, nervous system regulation, and work, and mindful practices, and also in the areas of mindset ourselves, because we can't create a classroom that has an upbeat mindset or a growth mindset if we don't have one ourselves.
Joey: Definitely I think about that because in my classes, whenever I ask for feedback constantly throughout the semester, usually, especially at midterm final time, the number one piece of feedback that I'm consistently receiving is that students say, we're so excited to be here because we see that you are so excited to be there as well, to be with us.
And I said at my classroom the same way as you would suggest, Matthew, that I [00:20:00] always have students speak with each other, and that said this in a couple segments as well, that in order for the classroom to truly flourish.
That's where we'll pause with part one with Dr. Matthew Arau. We've unpacked the foundation mindset, joy, and the importance of being seen and valued as educators. Next time in part two, we'll turn from mindset to method, which is looking at the concrete ways that teachers can build circles of connection, reframe their classrooms, and lead from a place of both clarity and gratitude. Stay tuned for the second half.
Thank you for joining us on the Classroom Narratives Healing and Education podcast. If today's episode inspired you or made you think differently, I'd love to hear from you. Drop a comment or review wherever you listen to podcasts and stay connected with us on the at Classroom Narratives podcast over Instagram and Facebook.
Remember, together we can transform our scars into stars and education, one conversation at a time