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>> Hey, everyone. Sarah Brown Wessling here from the Council of Chief State School Officers, National Teacher of the Year Program and I'm excited to introduce Voices from the Classroom, the State Teacher of the Year Podcast. CCSSO's National Teacher of the Year Program provides a platform for exceptional educators to elevate issues that affect teachers and their students, expand their leadership roles and inform policy and practice. I was named National Teacher of the Year in 2010 and since then, I've been committed to sharing the stories and elevating the voices of the State Teachers of the Year. It is my hope that this podcast will give you insight into the incredible work they do. The 2021-2022 School Year has commenced and many educators have used their experiences over the last two years to reflect on how they can better serve students to ensure their overall success. In these new episodes, the 2021 State Teachers of the Year will share how they use the shift in learning environments as an opportunity to refine their approach to teaching so they can better support students and their varying needs. You can join the conversation on social media by using the hashtag, #ntoy21 or by visiting us online at ntoy.org, that's N-T-O-Y dot org. Hello, everyone. This is Sarah Brown Wessling. I am here today with Kami Lunsford who was the 2021 Tennessee State Teacher of the Year. Kami, it is so great to have you here.

>> It is so great to be here.

>> I would love for you to tell all of the listeners just a little bit about yourself, where you teach, what you teach, just a little context for us.

>> Well, I teach in Knoxville, Tennessee which is in the Eastern Division of the very long State of Tennessee. And I teach choir, chorus. And I also teach theater and music, just in general music. And I teach at a middle school which is a big deal because that's a really hard --

>> It is a big deal.

>> -- hard [inaudible] years.

>> It is.

>> But they are a huge middle school actually. I have about, you know, 12 to 1,600 kids and yeah, I've been teaching there for 16 years. And as music teachers and fine arts teachers, especially in performing arts, we tend to go into a school, thinking about growing a program. And so, I've been really fortunate to inherit a program where the fine arts is a big deal to the community.

>> Yeah.

>> And then, you know, growing it and keeping it going strong for 16 years. So, we've been having some good times out there making music with those middle schoolers.

>> I bet. I bet, you know, and what an age. You know, I mean, the arts are important for us, you know, for forever but I also think it's just so important for middle school students to be able to like learn how to express themselves in so many different outlets.

>> Yeah. And that's kind of my bread and butter or I should say my jam. That they trust me and that they will try anything and try many things. I recently got asked by the AVID coordinator to put -- you know, make a quick little minute-long video of things that you wish you could tell yourself back in your middle school years.

>> Yeah.

>> And believe it or not, I was shy and did not try as many things. And I told the kids, I was like, "This is how it is. You know, you have to just jump because look how many years I missed out on doing the things I'm doing now that I love when I was, you know, your age." And that's a big deal to me, that they don't mind trying something new if they feel comfortable because I'd get them to do just about anything, you know, especially crazy stuff that I would have never done on stage in front of, well honestly, thousands of people, some of them. You know what I mean?

>> I do. I do. And what a special gift to be able to bring that out of our young people, that's fantastic. So, you've talked about jumping in, you know, into kind of risk taking for your students. I want to jump into thinking about where you are at right now as a teacher in your third year of teaching in a pandemic, right? I mean, like it's Year 3.

>> [Inaudible] I was like, "Oh my, gosh, has it been?" And I guess so.

>> Yeah. And I'm really curious about where you're at right now and what you want to keep, you know? Of course, you've learned a lot. What are you going to hang on to as you continue teaching?

>> Well, that's a great question and it's one of my favorite questions right now to pose in all kinds of conversations about education right now. Because I really think that we learned a lot during the pandemic that we need to keep because we can't go back. We don't want to go back to -- we don't want to lose the lessons. My fear is that we will lose lessons that we learned and things that were uncovered, you know, during the pandemic. And so that's one of my favorite questions of all time to be talking about especially right now. And my number one thing, I guess my number one answer would be mindfulness. And I don't mean that -- I guess I'm going to answer this question professionally and personally. Because in my classroom and with my colleagues and at home, those are the three things -- like I incorporated a lot of new things -- well, not really new things, I just put more mindfulness during my classroom time. For example, in my classes, music therapy, music therapy practices because we have concerts and we have other things, and they have tests, and we've got these things, and I've got to plan field trips, and all of these things. I would do basic therapy practices with their daily warmups. But, you know, it was hit or miss and it wasn't as intentional. And when the pandemic came, I looked across my classroom and I was like, "Oh, we got to get intentional. We got to do this every day. And we got to start explaining why I did this activity at the beginning of the class period instead of just doing it to come on down and then moving on." And that sort of like [inaudible] into my personal life, you know, and then my personal life, like my colleague-to-colleague life, at the professional level. And so for an example, one of my favorite activities that we do that kind of turns a light bulb on in the classroom especially at the middle school level because they're under a lot of stress.

>> They are.

>> So we'll do a high energy warm-up, like a big one that gets their heart pumping like a physical warm-up before we start, you know, doing our singing. And part of that is to prepare the body for singing. You know, it's got stretches and we stretch out, you know, things and lots of breathing and get their heart pumping really good. And then, sit down and close your eyes. And put your hand over your heart or try to find your pulse and listen to how fast you're breathing. Take a second and notice that your body has physically changed. And then, try to slow it all down. And I'm going to shut up and I'm going to be silent. And we're going to actively listen around the room and then we're going to talk about it, stuff like that.That's part of musical therapy, music therapy exercises. One of my favorite books is called Active Listening and there's a lot of stuff in there that's really cool for all ages. And then when they come out of that and we have that discussion, being able to tell them that you have complete control over your breath and your heart and whether or not you're stressed, like you have complete control about how you can control a situation, how you can change a situation like that. And that you might need that. And that it's OK to tell a teacher that, "Hey, I need to take a minute." Step outside and listen to your heart and listen to your breathing. And be still because if anything characterized the whole last year, it's overwhelming.

>> Absolutely.

>> And the kids are overwhelmed and, you know, just take a minute for yourself. I'm bad at that. I'm a performing arts teacher. We live, work and perform. And we are busy, busy, busy, busy. And so the idea that I could pass on practices that I, too, was working on in my personal life, to them, to help them get through especially at the middle school level, you know.

>> Definitely.

>> Because stressful things are going to happen to them during this time and a pandemic, it's not supposed to be one of them, you know.

>> Right, right. It is not supposed to be. That was not in the plan, was it?

>> Yeah. Some of my sixth grade teachers, they lose their first -- their last tooth. Their parents get divorced. They go through a lot of body changes. There's a lot of things that happen to kids during this time period.

>> Right.

>> That they have no control over. But to be able to give them some tools so they could --

>> To find that control.

>> Yeah, that they [inaudible] in the class that they already have a positive relationship with and that's not something -- again, I do it a lot already but I wasn't doing it daily and making it intentional. And I think that was the key to kind of help them weather it.

>> Yeah. You know, I think that intentionality is so crucial. I mean, it's just finding purpose in what we're doing in the classroom, being able to say it out loud. I love the way you talk about telling your students, "This is why we're going to do this. Do you hear your heart pumping now? Do you feel your pulse? And now, can you feel a change?" I love -- you know, I've been around so many mindfulness exercises that are really powerful but I really love kind of teaching them the difference between like the racing pulse, you know, and that fast breathing, and then helping them learn to see how it changes and how they have that control. And the way that it's just connected right into your curriculum, that's really fantastic.

>> Yeah, yeah.

>> I love it.

>> Yeah. Well, just the other day, like a kid was having a panic attack in the lunchroom. And she's one of mine, so I was like, "Let's go for a walk. And you hear yourself?"

>> Yeah. Yeah.

>> "You got to turn that tempo down."

>> Yeah.

>> That's like relatable. A lot of times, mindfulness exercises that are doled out to you on an app or various things that you don't have any connection to them but all of a sudden, it was like, "Oh, yeah, I totally can do that." You know what I mean? Empower them --

>> Absolutely, absolutely.

>> -- to fix things and sort of self-regulate.

>> Yeah.Well, it's a really beautiful intersection between your content area and this really important, you know, social-emotional skill that your students need. You're not -- like they're not separate from each other. You put them together and I think that's really important. So, if we're thinking kind of about the opposite, not so much what you're going to keep but maybe what you're going to let go of or what you had to let go of that you're fine to just like not bring back.

>> Well, I would say in-person faculty meetings but I guess that's probably not -- I'm just kidding.

>> You're probably not the only person who's thinking that.

>> Totally fine to let go of that.

>> Yeah.

>> Well, it's funny you said kind of on the opposite but honestly, my letting go is intertwined with the stuff that I want to keep professionally and personally. I let go of some things that, you know, aren't important, like things that -- like I was reflecting on strategies that give the kids more bang for their buck in my classroom. Because I do 12 to 15 concerts a year, 12 to 15 field trips a year. One of those field trips is overnight usually out of state. And I spread myself thin pretty good.

>> Right. Yeah.

>> And all throughout that, then all of a sudden, we can do all those things.

>> Right.

>> You know, like the thing that I do, we could sing but at some point, we were given the green light to be able to sing but they had to be six feet apart and it could be for 30 minutes and then you had to leave like to keep everybody safe. Like, what I love to do, what my kids love to do, the reason they love to come in my room was dangerous. And made you go, "Oh." And we can't do all these things. And I was thinking these are the things that my kids love the most. Are they going to love this class and what I'm doing anymore?

>> Yeah, right.

>> Yeah. I get emotional thinking about it. But we couldn't do all those things and I discovered that those are great, but it's the day-to-day culture and the relationships and the safe space that I can provide, that is actually the thing they're after and that is their jam. You know what I mean?

>> Yeah, I do.

>> And then, I say it to teachers now. I say it, shout it from the rooftops now, even though I'm still working on it. You can't pour into these kids with an empty pitcher.

>> Right.

>> And so now like things that are a big deal, like I recently, there's an opportunity that is available to me to be able to do a whole lot of work and work myself, my fingers to the bone over to help like maybe 12 kids in my group because we can only take a certain amount of things. And I literally was like, "I'm not sure that is worth that time and energy."

>> Right.

>> You understand?

>> Absolutely, absolutely.

>> And because I used to -- it was everything. Kami is a yes-woman.

>> Right.

>> And I have a hard time saying no.

>> You're doing 15 concerts and 15 field trips a year. Yes, you are.

>> Yeah. And then, you know, all of the changes that are going on in front of the kids right now, at home, at the dinner table, on the news, there's a lot of noise going on. And I've always said that my approach to teaching was I have to break through that noise. If I'm going to break through the noise, I got to say things that are impactful. I got to -- you know what I'm saying? My phrasing or what it is that I choose to hit or see a teachable moment and make that time. In my planning for the year, the scope for the year like needs to be the same, like what is it that's going to reach these kids the most for various reasons? Because in my class, I guess there's also that -- somebody once told me this, it was, "I'm not using -- you're not using kids to make good music, you're using music to make good kids."

>> Absolutely, love that.

>> And so, if something's not, you know, really paying, you know, paying the rent I guess you could say on your time and their focus especially when they got so much going on during these crazy times then let it go.

>> Absolutely.

>> Even if it is a tradition, you know, it's tradition that we do this thing but it was killing me. And it was like, "OK, you're going to have --

>> Right. And if that happens, you can't do the very thing that you know is most important, right, which is being totally present with your students day to day.

>> Yeah. And it's like that forevery teacher. I mean, I'm not a tested subject but that is -- you know, you probably have heard teachers say, "We just don't have time to do those things. I wish I could do that but I've got to worry about tests and I've got to worry about blah, blah, blah, blah. And we only have them for eight hours a day." But maybe start thinking we have them for eight hours a day.

>> Eight hours a day.

>> Like figure something out. You know what I mean?

>> Yeah.

>> And so, I've gotten really creative and I've started -- like right now, I have a student teacher in my room and she's phenomenal. But for the first time I started off the year with, "Hey, I'm open to new ideas and look at this and what I'm doing and what I normally do and what we would normally do. What do you see?" And, you know, that could be a different outlet for this and a different outlet for that. And it's OK. It's OK to do that. And I think -- I hesitate to say I'm thankful for the pandemic.

>> Right.

>> You know, when it comes to all the changes and things. But I guess I'm thankful for the time to be able to reflect on this and to kind of see because this year is different. But of course, it has a whole separate, you know, set of changes and craziness --

>> Absolutely.

>> -- for us to deal with but some of the things are returning from before and it was like, I have to sit down and think, "Do I want to do all these things?"

>> Right.

>> "What's actually worth it? What do the kids, you know, want to do?" And so, one of the things that I have incorporated more to help that letting go process of some things is ask the kids.

>> I love that.

>> What is it -- especially the ones who come back and see me all the time after school, "Hey, are you leaving right away? Can we stop by and visit you?" because they're in the high school. And listening to them, you know, kind of reminisce about some stuff and then talk about the good old days, and dah, dah, dah. And I'm hearing what they're mentioning. And it's not the things always that I have spent hours and hours planning.

>> Right, right, right.

>>And so, that kind of goes back to the thing I'm keeping, like their relationship with the space I create and me, I might need to hone that a little bit more because that's really where it's at.

>> Absolutely. Well, it sounds like, you know, even when you are asking the students, you know, or you are listening to the students, you know, that's a different kind of letting go, too. I mean, that's letting go of some degree of control.

>> Absolutely.

>> Or opening up your curriculum to your student teacher and it really is I think powerful. And it does feel vulnerable because I think especially as teachers, you know, we're planners. We have these roadmaps in our brains, right? We have these beautifully-designed elaborate plans and it's hard to put the plan aside and do exactly what you're doing. But it sure sounds like it has reaffirmed for you so much of what you love about the classroom and what your students love about what you create for them.

>> Yeah. I think a lot of that came out of when I taught virtual -- you know, a lot of people didn't like virtual and they didn't want to do it. And they were happy to see it go away. And, you know, I'm happy to have kids back in my classroom. But also, I want to say it might have been week two where I realized after -- I just all of a sudden realized they're tired. Oh my, gosh. They've had a class -- you know, if you can imagine how we have, you know, conferences and things online and how much the brain can handle and how much your eyes can handle, and really, you know, with all those distractions at home like how much can they handle? I [inaudible] like ask my kids, "How you doing today and what class did you just have before you logged on to meet?"

>> Right, right.

>> And finding out that they've just spent an hour-and-a-half and that it's been math and it's been --

>> Yeah.

>> Really, I guess just checking up on them in a whole another way. And, you know, there's, "Hey, how are you doing," and listening to the answer. And then there's, "Hey, how are you doing," and like synthesizing what they just said.

>> Absolutely.

>> And combine that with what it is that I could do to maybe help this class period go better because of what they've all just experienced.

>> Yeah.

>> You know, that's one of those -- goes back to those active listening activities that I do in class where they're able to tell me what kind of morning they had before they came to school. They had a fight with their mom. They were late to school. Their first period teacher already yelled at them because they lost this. You know?

>> Right, right.

>> It's the difference -- it's just a mindset change I think that really helps. And, you know, so I don't have time for that. So this kid is having this issue. I need to take care of this now but I've got a meeting I got to go to. Well, I'm just going to be late.

>> Yeah, exactly.

>> And [inaudible] that way. As teachers, you know, we're perfectionists and like you said, planners. And it's OK, it's OK. Everybody is in this situation.

>> Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. Well, what a pleasure to be able to spend this time with you and to hear just about what you've learned over the last, you know, year-and-a-half of the pandemic over now the course of three school years. And we're just all better for it. So thanks so much, Kami.

>> Thank you. Thank you for having me.

>> Thank you for listening to the latest series of Voices from the Classroom, the State Teacher of the Year Podcast. This podcast is brought to you by the Council of Chief State School Officers, National Teacher of the Year Program. It's our honor to elevate the voices of educators across the country and provide them with a national platform to amplify their message and advocate on behalf of their students and colleagues. Please, share these lessons on social media with the hashtag, #ntoy21. That's hashtag N-T-O-Y21. Let's keep the conversation going.