Hi there and welcome back to life's next lesson plan. I'm so glad you're here. Today
I'm sharing something extra special, a sneak peek into the very first episode of my live
and learn Patreon podcast. My Patreon is designed for content that deserves to be behind a
paywall, more intimate stories from my life, deeper dives into topics we all wrestle with,
and exclusive offers just for my live and learn Patreon community. Like the episodes you hear
here on the weekly basis, these Patreon episodes include a thoughtful lesson, an engaging activity
to help you connect with the topic, and some optional homework or action steps for you to
take. In this episode I follow up on a topic I mentioned back in episode 3 of life's next
lesson plan, probably the most powerful writing lesson I taught in my 29 years in the classroom,
and the fastest way I built community with my students. This lesson does reveal some deeply
personal details about my childhood, and honestly it is definitely the most engaging writing
experience I ever shared with my students. So if you're interested in joining my live and learn
Patreon, it's very simple. I offer one tier at just $5 a month, which gives you full access
to all episodes and exclusive content. Or if you prefer, you can purchase single episodes
or themed collections such as our January Sunday Scary series where we tackled those
end of weekend anxieties, our February self love series, which was dedicated to nurturing
our mind, body and spirit, and coming up in March we're focusing on heart and hormone
health as a follow up to episode 16 with Tracy Danielson Mitchell, certified Mayo Clinic
health and wellness coach. This series will feature a Q&A session with Tracy, you can
already start entering your questions there, a deep dive on how I balanced my hormones
in my 50s naturally, I'll share all the tests, supplements, and lifestyle swaps that made
a difference for me. To join just visit Patreon patreon.com slash live and learn podcast and
sign up for $5 a month. Or like I said, you can explore individual episodes and collections
tailored to your interests. You can also gift someone in your life a membership, someone
who enjoys the podcast or who might benefit from one of my series. My hope is that by
learning these lessons and hearing them woven in with the real stories from my life, you'll
walk away with a deeper connection to the human experience and what it truly means for
us to live and learn together. So let's dive in. Here's your exclusive listen to my very
first episode of live and learn.
Her earliest memories don't conjure up Disney World, American Girl dolls or the zoo. But
her earliest memories do know the warmth of a grandmother who taught her to read, to tie
her shoes and to iron, dust, vacuum, wash dishes, work hard and to care about people.
Her earliest memories remind her that without these two people, she would most likely be
dead or never have existed.
Wow. Thank you for wanting to spend extra personal time with me. I'm already sweating
in anticipation for this episode. Okay, so ready or not, let's jump in. I'm going to
explain the writing exercise first and I actually think this could be a powerful exercise for
anyone listening. It could be cathartic for you to hear other stories and pour some of
your own feelings and memories onto the page. I learned this when I taught a summer journalism
workshop at the University of South Carolina. I'll never forget it because I love palm
trees and it's the only college campus I've personally been on with palm trees on the
campus. It was there that I discovered the 300 word story form in a workshop. Again,
this is a journalistic form but it could be easily adapted for sharing any kind of personal
stories or memories. As you will see in my example and the student examples I will be
sharing today. The 300 word story format was crafted by a Florida reporter named Brady
Dennis. It packs a lot of storytelling elements and stylistic flair in its short format. I'm
going to read to you his article called After the Sky Fell that was published in January
of 2005. Just a warning, you might need to grab some tissues. After the sky fell. The
loneliness of the overnight shift at a Suncoast Parkway toll booth. Lloyd Blair, 71, sits back
and waits for the next driver to come by his station. The few drivers on this dark lonely
stretch of the Suncoast Parkway in Pasco County pull up to the toll booth, hand their dollars
to Lloyd Blair and then speed away. None of them knows why the old man sits here night
after night working the graveyard shift. Well, here's why. Because years ago on a freezing
winter night at a party in Queens, New York, he met a woman named Millie because he fell
in love with her brown hair and wide eyes and 100 watt smile. Because they got married,
moved to Staten Island, had a son and worked for decades in Manhattan. She as an accountant,
he as a banker. Because it had been their dream to retire to Florida and so they saved
all their lives to make it possible. Because just as they began to talk of leaving New
York and heading south, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and they spent their time
and money traveling to New Jersey, San Diego and Mexico in search of a cure. Because in
the end, they came to Florida anyway. Because they finally bought a house in Spring Hill,
although she was too weak that day to get out of the car. Because she died nine days
later on January 5th, 2002, a day the whole sky fell, he says. Because after she was gone,
he found himself alone and $100,000 in debt. And so he took a job collecting tolls. The
drivers who passed by see a smiling 71 year old man with blue eyes and a gray mustache
who tells each of them, have a great night. They don't know the rest of Lloyd Blair's
story, or that he keeps Millie's picture in his shirt pocket just under his name tag,
just over his heart. I've read that story so many times and it is still as powerful
as ever. So along with the raw emotional details of the story, you probably also noted the
use of repetition, some direct quotations and a lot of vivid imagery, which is something
about it that it's different, right? So for this writing exercise that I did with my students,
which you will be able to access in the show notes, I broke up the story into chunks and
added lines for students to emulate the model story. Because the sentences and paragraphs
are short and simple, it's fairly easy for the students to mimic the original piece.
So once you have the template set up, if you use this with any other piece of writing,
it's time to write. Before I read you my piece that I wrote years ago, I'm going to share
two student models that came out of this assignment. You'll likely notice that the student models
stick a bit closer to the original story format, where I took a bit more creative liberty in
mine. You should be able to notice the use of imagery, repetition, and similar sentence
structure. In the student models, the names were changed since these are real students
sharing personal details of their real lives. Student sample one. The serenity of freshly
brewed latte at a cozy Starbucks coffee shop, Linda Ryan 52, sinks into her chair and sips
her caramel macchiato. The Macwan moms in this overpriced capital of Southeastern Wisconsin
park their black suburban's, rattle off their precise orders, and then drive away. None
of them acknowledges the woman sitting there, easily blending in with the stereotype of
the crowd. Here's the difference. She grew up in a rundown two bedroom house with two
sisters and two brothers. She grew up with a father who cut meat for a living and only
earned minimum wage. She grew up with a mother constantly battling lupus unable to give her
children her all, wishing she could be healthy. She grew up on welfare and so her family never
really had enough to eat. She grew up patching the worn down thrift shop clothing that was
worn out worn out of necessity, not humor. She grew up living by her father's philosophy
that education was the key to success. So she studied hard and did well in school in
search of a better life. She grew up to attend the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. She
grew up and got a job at WeEnergies on September 8, 1976. A day the future for herself and
her children would change, she says. And so she relaxes at Starbucks. The mothers who
struck by see a confident woman with glowing skin and jet black hair who flashes an easy
going smile. They don't understand Linda Brown's difference in upbringing or that she is the
result of a determined father yearning that she would succeed yearning for her better
future. This was a first draft, which is again just unbelievable storytelling from I think
this student was 16 at the time. And just using the original story as a model. The second
example is similar just a couple of stylistic changes. The morning sunlight hits Barbara
Shannon, a 76 year old woman, as she carefully applies her makeup and curls her thin white
hair before embarking on her daily breakfast at George Webbs. To those who see Barbara
out and about town, she is just a familiar face with an easy going smile. They know her,
but they don't know the little details that truly define her. Well, here's what they
don't know. That Barbara raised three children in a little Wisconsin town with little money
to spare. That Barbara loves SpongeBob, Downton Abbey, and Breaking Bad. That when her nine
grandchildren were younger, Barbara would spend hours picking out back to school prizes at
the target dollar section. Also, she could see her grandchildren smile when she put on
a visor and hosted the annual bingo night. That Barbara, with her sarcastic humor, has
the ability to make anyone laugh. That Barbara never misses any of her grandchildren's soccer
games, school concerts, or birthday parties. Barbara is also the first one to call and
congratulate her family when something good happens, no matter how trivial the achievement.
That Barbara, after her first husband died, struggled with being alone until, at age 67,
she found her soulmate, Jean, and they met at the Ace Hardware store. After a few years
of dating, they ran off to Vegas and eloped. That Barbara and Jean complete each other.
They wake up each morning and watch the squirrels come and visit her grandchildren each week
and keep each other laughing every second of the day. They are in the midst of planning
a trip to Disney World. That Barbara had been feeling sick. She assumed it was the flu.
That Barbara found out just last week that she has advanced stage four cancer. The doctors
say it has spread throughout all her organs. And so her family copes with how to spend
their final months with the person who has always been a source of laughter and a confidant.
They all know that life will go on without her, but it seems so bleak to think that soon
enough her name won't be showing up on caller ID. Her floral perfume will no longer linger
in the air and her soothing presence will only be a memory.
Typically, if I try to get kids to use this much imagery, it takes draft after draft after
draft. But because I think they were able to connect with a deep emotion in their lives,
it just poured out of them. So we're going to take a little break here
before I share my own story. 100% of men and women have hormones. And with the increased
presence of processed foods and environmental toxins, it's more important than ever to make
mindful choices in the products we use every day. That's why I trust hue and grace. High-performing,
clean products designed to support hormone health while reducing exposure to harmful chemicals.
Because this topic has been my primary focus since ending birth control in 2024 in an attempt
to regulate my changing midlife hormones, after making healthy swaps in my diet, personal
care products, and exercise routine, I've been able to lower my dose of anxiety medication
I once relied very heavily on and have restored balance to my nervous system and cleared up
the brain fog I was experiencing in perimenopause. Hue and Grace has played a key role in this
transformation, offering safe, effective, non-toxic solutions that support my wellness
journey. If you listened to episode 16 with certified Mayo Clinic health and wellness
coach Tracy Danielson Mitchell, you heard our talk about the importance of hormone health.
Coming in March, I'll be doing a deep dive into heart and hormone health on my Live and
Learn Patreon, where I'll list all the tests, supplements, and product swaps that have helped
me balance my hormones in my 50s. Plus, Tracy will be back to answer all your heart and
hormone health questions at the end of the month. If you're on this journey with me
and are interested in exploring Hue and Grace's trusted, non-toxic products, visit my link
at hueandgrace.com slash lessonplan to receive 10% off and free shipping. You can also reach
out to me at any time with questions at nextlessonplan.com. Live and learn with me as we focus on living
fully and feeling our best. Visit hueandgrace.com slash lessonplan to see how easy it is to start
making some healthy swaps on the way to non-toxic living.
To those of you who have followed me for a while, you know that I value mental and physical
wellness. Personally, I've worked with a few different coaches over the years and even
been one myself. If you are looking for education and support in your own wellness journey,
I would love to invite you to the wellness community I am currently in that keeps me
accountable daily with my nutrition and movement. If you are a Facebook user, you can search
for our free group called TeamMG. This group is led by my coach Megan Grimord, who is a
certified trainer and nutrition coach. She offers lots of education and support for your
wellness journey. If you want to get to know Coach Megan more, you can follow her on Instagram
at all lowercase Megan M-E-G-A-N underscore Grimord G-R-I-M-O-R-D or even listen to her
on episode 10 of the podcast. She has also created a discount code for my listeners.
Just go to her website www.team-mg.com and enter code LESSENPLAN10 to get $10 off any
of her premium coaching packages for the first month. Coach Megan is a busy mom like me who
works full time, so I appreciate her practicality mixed with some tough love to keep me going.
Now we have reached the part of the episode that is slowly becoming my favorite, which
is Ask the Teacher Anything. This week I got some questions from my current seniors, which
is fun. So question number one was if you were back in high school as a senior. I had
to think about this for a little bit because again, I think I've really enjoyed a lot of
parts of my career and I could see going back and teaching again, but maybe not for 29 years.
The other thing that 35 years ago, there were a lot of jobs that don't exist today that
I think I would really enjoy that I'm now kind of discovering through this journey,
like content creation or more aspects of journalism. Now they have the different majors like strategic
communications. I could see doing something maybe with PR. So it's hard because I guess
majors that were available back when I was a senior in high school are different than
today. I still think that I have a lot to teach, but maybe not as long of a career as
I had because you get kind of burned out and run out of patience. Second question, what
was my favorite part and my least favorite part of each grade that I taught since I've
taught freshmen through seniors? This is another great question. So freshmen are basically
middle schoolers when they come in. So I probably don't need to say more than that except for
this is always the one phrase that I had to repeat with my freshmen boys, which is stop
touching each other. So you know, there's that. What I loved about teaching freshmen
is that everything was kind of new when they came to high school. They were still eager
to learn for the most part when I taught freshmen. And so there's that kind of newness and that
eagerness, which I think you still kind of see sophomore year, which is why after years
and years of teaching seniors, I thought it might help me to go back and teach sophomores
again, which I've been doing for the last couple years. And they're still kind of getting
ready for that big junior year push. And so there's some of the eagerness there. And they
haven't gotten to the point where they're totally burnt out. I would say my experience
has been that there's been a big jump between freshmen and sophomore years. As far as they
have said, they think the expectations go way up and they're not prepared for that at
the beginning of sophomore year. So that's been something that our department has been
looking at. Junior year is hard. I feel bad for those kids because they are worried about
the ACT. They're typically taking some hard classes in the junior year. They're still
pretty motivated. So I like that. But I think the stress of kind of watching them get bogged
down. Now they're in their third year, they're starting to worry about college and the ACT
and maybe starting to get pretty exhausted and stressed out. So I think that part of
teaching juniors was hard, but a lot of them are very motivated by the, I'll call it the
college carrot. So if you can help them and add value in the class classroom to help them
through that, I think that's fun. Seniors, which I have taught a lot of in my career,
senior electives are pretty fun because students are typically choosing to be there. Especially
some of the senior electives that I taught, some of the more upper level like AP literature
or AP research, you can have some amazing conversations. I would say conversations that
I haven't even had with adults that just, they taught me so much in those classes. And
so I think that's my favorite part. The least favorite part about teaching seniors is that
they're done. They want to be done. Senioritis is a real thing. It strikes all different
times of senior year. And once they're accepted into college or they know what they're doing
post high school, it's hard. It's very hard for them. And so I found that when I was at
the end of my career that this was actually difficult for me as well, because we both
kind of had the same mindset, which is why I thought maybe going back to teaching some
sophomores might help bring that spark a little bit. But I think I was just too beyond exhausted
by that point. So I love these questions. There is a spot on my website at Life's Next
Lesson Plan.com where you can drop more questions or feel free to reach out on social media
as well.
Okay, I suppose I can't delay this any longer. So I'll just read my sample and then we'll
unpack a bit. I'd also like to remind you of the topics I covered in the Life's Next
Lesson Plan podcast, episode three, with the danger of a single story TED Talk and the
book Blink by Malcolm Gladwell, that served as the catalyst for this assignment. We never
truly know a person until we really get to know them. So here we go.
The facade she presents today masks the reality of her childhood. Miss Rachel Rauch, teacher,
faces students whose lives represent the antithesis of her own when she was their age. The faces
she sees every day in wealthy suburban Mechwan would never guess the road it took for their
teacher to stand before them today. None of them know the true story and if they did,
it wouldn't mesh with the one they had already created in their minds. Well, here's the
real story. Her earliest memories don't involve a loving mom and dad. Her earliest memories
recall yelling, hiding, and crying. Her earliest memories involve white lines on a mirror, razor
blades, and fists. Her earliest memories don't conjure up Disney World, American Girl Dolls,
or the zoo. But her earliest memories do know the warmth of a grandmother who taught her
to read, to tie her shoes, and to iron, dust, vacuum, wash dishes, work hard, and to care
about people. Her earliest memories involve a brown teddy bear for a best friend. Her
earliest memories depict the tree house her grandpa made, her favorite spot at her grandparents'
table, and her grandmother's voice each night. Good night, Rachel Annie Bananny, as she closed
her eyes against the dark. Her earliest memories remind her that without these two people,
she would most likely be dead or never have existed. Her earliest memories serve as a
haunting reminder that all we have in this world is ourselves. And so today, she teaches.
The students, colleagues, and parents see an aspiring teacher with a welcoming exterior,
growing goals, and a confident, we've got it covered. They don't know the rest of Miss
Rauch's story or that it plays throughout her mind like a CD on repeat. All you have
is yourself. But if you believe in yourself, that is enough.
Okay, so there you have it. As I mentioned, it was a bit quiet in the room after I shared
this at school. But I think it drove home the message I was teaching about assumptions.
And it also opened them up to feel safe sharing intimate stories that you heard of their lives.
So that lesson worked. Beyond this lesson are the maybe shocking details of my real
life. I have a lot more episodes to dig into all the details, but some of the things that
are mentioned in this piece go back to basically my origin story. My mom had me right out of
high school. I never met my dad until I was in college. And we had a short relationship
for a couple years during that time. I'm the oldest of four girls. My youngest sister is
13 years younger than me. And we have three different dads. My middle school years involved
changing diapers and heating bottles while my mom worked second shift. That part of my
education was a complete blur. When my mom got married around when I was in kindergarten,
my first sister was born and her father adopted me under his name. But they were pretty deep
into alcoholism, drug addiction and domestic violence. So we'll just say that without my
grandparents, who I mentioned in my piece and some aunts, and eventually my high school
creative writing teacher who I talked about in a previous episode, they helped pave my
path to college. Otherwise, I have no idea where I might be. There were definitely times
I look back and I wonder how I'm alive. I don't share these details for sympathy. I
share them for two reasons. One, things are just not always as they seem. I have a master's
degree, a very successful career. I have a lot of things going for me. It took a lot
of grit working three jobs to put myself through college, but I did it. And secondly, this
is a story of perseverance. You are in control of your life. You are the one in charge of
your destiny. So if this episode teaches nothing else, allow it to inspire you to move beyond
your own single story. And if you don't hear it from anyone else, you are capable than
much more than you think. For today's homework, I'd love for you to try this writing activity
for yourself. Or if you're a teacher and you feel comfortable sharing it in the classroom,
you saw how that can turn out. I'd love for you to share any of your students writing
or if you're comfortable sharing your own. You can email it to me at nextlessonplan.com.
But if nothing else, this is a reminder that we do not know someone unless we have walked
in their shoes or have gotten to know them on a personal level. I would argue that some
people who think they know me well really don't know me very well at all. But now you
do. I look forward to continuing to share these more personal stories with you. We are
all human. We all have stories and we can all use a reminder from time to time that
things are not always as they appear. We'll see you soon to keep living and learning together.
Thank you for joining me in this vulnerable journey on Patreon. My hope is that you see
my human side a little bit more and find connection in the topics and resources available here.
I can't wait to create the next installment for you. For information on future launches,
please join our Instagram or Facebook community at Life's Next Lesson Plan. Don't forget
to access the 300-word story creation template to try this with your own personal story or
in your classroom. Well, there you have it. You've heard a sampling of just one of the
types of episodes that I offer on my Live and Learn Patreon. They do vary based on the
topic a little bit, but they are definitely more personal than I'm comfortable sharing
on Life's Next Lesson Plan. So if you're interested in checking out more content, you can just
go to patreon.com slash live and learn podcast and check out everything that is available
there. We do have a free book discussion for February's self-love topic on March 1st at
10 a.m. Central. I did send a Zoom link and the Zoom link is available on Patreon. You
can access it in there for free. I also sent it out in my email newsletter, which you can
sign up for at life's next lesson plan dot com. Or you can join us in person downtown
Watertown at Literatus Bookstore on March 1st. Next month, remember we're having a Q&A
on Heart and Hormone Health with Tracy Danielson Mitchell from Episode 16. I hope you enjoyed
this peek behind the curtain of my Patreon, and I look forward to seeing you back with
a guest next week.