Graduating at the age of sixteen from a high school in a “failing school district,” lifting lessons from the Sankofa bird, and learning from those who taught her and from those she teaches now, Joy Robinson’s passion for building relationships and community shines through in a wonderful way during this insightful and inspiring interview. If you want to catch a glimpse of what great teachers do every day, you owe it to yourself to listen to this high-energy, optimistic and dedicated teacher-leader as she shares her story and her perspective.
The many accomplishments of Joy Robinson (3:30)
Early thoughts about becoming a teacher (4:30)
My teachers were my role models (5:20)
Why students are the best part of my job (5:55)
I also come to school to learn from my students (6:15)
Peer tutoring as an elementary, middle, and high school student (7:10)
Understanding? “The more you read it…” (8:25)
Kindergarten? No. (10:00)
Finding the right grade level (10:10)
Learning starts with relationships, not with lessons (11:30)
Truly knowing one’s students (11:45)
Stretch students to outside their comfort zone (12:30)
Pull things out of students that they didn’t know they could do (12:50)
When students use their learning in an authentic way (13:15)
Determining teacher effectiveness (14:00)
The most important gauge of student growth (14:40)
Kindness, maturity, participation as indicators of progress (14:55)
Passion, walk the talk, specific examples (15:45)
Visit my classroom (16:15)
Sense of community is huge in the classroom (16:30)
Professional learning must be specific, appropriate and applicable (18:50)
Adult learners must also be met at their point of interest, need, and motivation (19:30)
Teacher-leaders are passionate and vocal about things that matter (21:15)
Connection is a vital component of relationships and teaching (22:00)
Where we are now has a lot to do with where we came from (23:15)
The Sankofa bird’s message about blending the past and the future (23:30)
Growing up in a rough neighborhood in a “failing school district (24:00)
A graduating class of success stories (24:30)
The absolute best teachers, serving in the face of naysayers (25:00)
Collecting experiences and ideas from one’s teachers (26:00)
Great teachers, by grade level and name (26:50)
“Stretching” students, humor, competitive, music while journaling, conversational, authenticity (26:50)
Teaching and learning is give and take (29:45)
Learn from your students – be open-minded (30:00)
Why the passion, joy, and look to the future? Great teachers are born (30:45)
Don’t forget why you teach (31:30)
Teaching more than seventy students every day (33:00)
What next? Immediately, teaching! (34:30)
Board of Director Bio
Joy Robinson, a fourth-grade teacher at Lake Park Elementary School in Lowndes County, represents District 8 on the PAGE (Professional Association of Georgia Educators) board of directors. As a board member, Robinson said she will be a voice on PAGE, representing and communicating the interests of educators and students in her southeastern Georgia district.
The life-long learner and participant in PAGE Professional learning maintains that knowing your students is at the core of effective lesson design. “Knowing one’s students and their families gives an educator great insight, enabling the teacher to truly design instruction that caters to each student’s needs,” she recently told PAGE One magazine. “Having a relationship with student families further reinforces trust that the educator will share helpful information about the student and that the information will be received well. When all the pieces are in place and operating smoothly, authentic learning will occur — and with it, the byproduct of increased student achievement.”
Considered a teacher leader and an influencer amongst her colleagues, Robinson takes an active role and interest in education at all levels. In her community, Robinson has served as a member of the Parent Action Committee and the Community Partners in Education committee, which she has chaired. She has also served on her school’s redesign and improvement teams. On the district level, the Google-certified educator has served on the system technology committee and learning management system committee, as well as on the district’s instructional framework committee and advanced ed strategic planning committee. On the state level, she presented at the Georgia Reading Association forum on standard implementation and served on the Georgia Milestones review team. She was instrumental in developing standards-based social studies units for her school leading to proficiency gains. And in her role as part of PAGE's South Georgia School District Network, she has fond memories of working closely with the late Dr. Allene Magill on Burke County’s district transformation initiative.
Robinson is a career-long member of PAGE, beginning in college. She also serves as her school’s PAGE building representative. “All of my experiences with PAGE have aided in molding me as an effective educator,” she added.
Robinson earned a degree in early childhood education from Valdosta State University, graduating magna sum laude. In 2018, she was named her school’s teacher of the year.
David Reynolds:
What matters most in learning? The challenge, the thrill, the benefits, interacting with other people, or something else entirely? what is the connection between leading and learning? Does change drive learning or does learning drive change? What's more important, teaching or learning? Is everyone a leader, a learner, a teacher? Want answers, listen in as we address these intriguing issues through commentary and with guests who share their thinking and tell us their stories. Lead, Learn, Change.
Joy Robinson:
I have to know who I'm teaching. Who's in my room? What motivates them? What excites them? What are the things they don't like? What are the things I can control? What are the things that I can't control? And so I spend time at the very beginning building those relationships and trying to make those connections with my kids. Then I start to really push on them and pull things out of them that they didn't even know that they could do.
Joy Robinson:
You're passionate about the job of teaching because you have to walk it like you talk it. You have to be passionate and you have to be vocal about the things that matter.
Joy Robinson:
Then it's called a sankofa bird and it's from Ghana and it is a bird facing forward, but his neck is actually twisted back. So as a child, you could imagine this was very bizarre to look at.
Joy Robinson:
We weren't supposed to make it. We grew up in a rough neighborhood plagued with drugs, teenage pregnancy, gang violence. But when I look at the class that I graduated with, I graduated with people who are now lawyers, accountants, sports casters, chefs on television. I'm telling you, just a group of phenomenal people. I had the best teachers. The absolute best teachers. Because they taught in a school district that was said wouldn't make it. So, do you know what kind of passion it takes for teachers, many left, but the ones who stayed, the passion that they came to work with every day. And when I'm contemplating, "What in the world am I doing? Why am I here?" I have to remind myself that I'm there for the children. Remember why you're there.
David Reynolds:
Today's guest on Lead. Learn. Change. is Joy Robinson. Joy. Thanks for taking your valuable time to speak with me today.
Joy Robinson:
Thank you for having me. I'm so excited to talk with you.
David Reynolds:
Well, you and I met about five or six years ago when you participated in a teacher focus group that my colleague Marta Walker and I were facilitating at Lake Park Elementary School in Valdosta, Georgia. Which for our listeners is just a few miles from the Georgia, Florida state line.
Joy Robinson:
I remember that. I remember working on that teacher focus group. And it seems that we've worked a lot together since then.
David Reynolds:
Yes, Marta and I had another opportunity to interview you again not too much later, and both conversations, plus a visit or two your classroom, made it really clear that you are the kind of teacher every parent wants their child to have. In addition to teaching, you serve on the board of directors for the Professional Association of Georgia Educators, have contributed commentary to that organization's magazine, Page One. Have been involved in groups that make connections between the school and parents and community groups. And you are a Google certified educator and just a year or two ago, you were recognized as your school's teacher of the year. So, congratulations on that. A little bit late, I think that was 2018. So, it's obvious to me Joy that you are truly invested in teaching as a career. Tell us why and when you decided to teach and what do you find the most fulfilling about what you do?
Joy Robinson:
Oh, my goodness. First, hearing you do that introduction seems unreal because every day when I go into my classroom, it's about the kids. So, sometimes we forget to step back and realize all that we've done at the school level, the district level, and now at the state level. So my story of becoming a teacher is very similar to, I'm sure, lots of people's stories.
Joy Robinson:
So, one of my earliest memories, my father was stationed in Fort Polk, Louisiana with the military and my sister went to school. She's a year older than me, so she got to go to school and I didn't. And I remember she would come home on the school bus and I would wait by the door and I would just want to go through her book bag. That was the biggest thing I wanted to do, is to see what was in her book bag. I was jealous. I wanted to know where do you go every day and why do you bring things home every day?
Joy Robinson:
And I would get the things out of her book bag and set my stuffed animals up and I would have school. I was probably about four then. And ever since then, it's just been a continued quest to be a teacher. I just remember in every grade level I wanted to be that teacher. When I was in kindergarten, I wanted to be a kindergarten teacher. And when I was in first grade, I wanted to be a first grade teacher. And when I was in ninth grade, I wanted to be a ninth grade teacher. And so it was always interesting because I would not only look at my teachers as being the ones to deliver content to me, I was wanting to be like them. They were my role models then.
Joy Robinson:
When they would tell jokes, I'm like, "Yeah, that's really cool. When I become a teacher, I'm going to do that." So, I was constantly collecting those experiences as I was going through school. Right now, the part that I enjoy most about teaching is the students. It is the best part of the job. Every year they're different, every day they're different, and I just love being a part of their little lives every single day. I tell them all the time, you don't get how much I come to school to learn from you. That is what I love to do. I love to hear their stories and the way that they interpret the world around them, it just keeps me going. So that's the part I enjoy the most is just being around kids, being a part of their world, and for me to be a part of their world as well and then they're a part of my world also.
David Reynolds:
You mentioned your desire at every grade level to be that person working with students of that age. So, what was it that shifted you finally to elementary school or maybe the age range of students you work with in particular, and maybe away from working with high schoolers or extremely young students, or maybe you have done all those things and you can fill us in on the details that you were a high school chemistry teacher and a kindergarten teacher, and now you're in fourth grade.
Joy Robinson:
Okay. So when I was in elementary school, I was part of a program, a peer tutoring program. I remember that we would teach kids in younger grades different skills or we would come into classrooms and read for children. That was some of my earliest teaching experience. And I took it seriously. I may have only been in fifth grade, but I took my job seriously. And then in middle school, I was part of a school program called Teachers of Tomorrow. Same idea. We did some tutoring and of course in high school, I was part of a peer tutoring program as well.
Joy Robinson:
I ended up graduating high school early. So, I ended up starting college early. I was 16 when I graduated high school. And of course at that time I wanted to be a high school teacher. My ninth grade literature teacher was one of the coolest teachers I had ever experienced. He would come in the classroom and he would sit on his desk, criss-cross applesauce, and he never seemed to have a lesson plan, but we'd walk out of his classroom every day like we learned so much from him and it was always conversational and it was just the best.
Joy Robinson:
We read Lord of the Flies, we read Romeo and Juliet. It was in his classroom that I remember having the first breakthrough of really understanding the Shakespearian language. I remember he kept saying, "The more you read it, it'll just click." And one day we were reading it and I'm like, "I understand what they're saying. "So of course, leaving high school at 16, graduating high school, I graduated valedictorian of my graduating class. I wanted to be a high school teacher. And when I started college, I started adding the years left, 16, 17, 18, "Okay, I'm going to graduate at this age."
Joy Robinson:
And just speaking to different advisors before I picked a major, they told me to think about it. "You're going to enter a high school with 18 year olds and you can potentially be 20 years old. Is this really what you want to do? Just maybe major in early childhood education and we'll go from there." And so I thought about it, and so I took it on. I said, "You know what? I'll start with early childhood education. And if not, I'll go back to school and I'll continue to get what I need to get to do the things that I truly want to do." And once I got started with early childhood education in college, it just clicked for me. Of course, through my experiences in college, I've spent time in pre-K and kindergarten and second and fourth and fifth, I realized quickly that older elementary was more of the children I felt like I could better connect with.
Joy Robinson:
I just felt like I could tap into their world a little differently, really make some connections with them and really stretch them in every way that I could possibly think. And so when I finally was able to decide, because I student taught in kindergarten and of course that principal offered me a kindergarten job and I knew in that moment, I said, "No. Kindergarten is not for me." I knew I wanted upper elementary. And so my first teaching job was in third grade. And ever since then, I've kind of bounced around third, fourth, fifth, and I love it. Third, fourth, fifth is my favorite little section. Fourth grade is my absolute favorite. Currently I teach English language arts and it is my favorite thing to teach because it reminds me of my literature teacher from ninth grade that I channel often in teaching literature. So, this is my happy place, this age, this content. It really is my happy place. I really think it's a place where I build some super relationship and make some major connections.
David Reynolds:
I think it's great how you take your work so seriously and always have even at a young age and at the same time, seem to find joy in what you do every single day and have maintained this enthusiasm and sheer enjoyment inside your day-to-day work. So, when you're working with your students now, how do you decide or how do you know what's likely going to resonate with them and help them move to the next level of understanding? Because you've just talked about your high school teacher who did in fact enable you to understand Shakespeare, for example, at some point. So, what do you do when you're designing learning experiences for your younger students to make sure that the lesson does resonate with them and they're going to, "Get it."
Joy Robinson:
So, it doesn't start at the lesson. The most important thing that I do in my classroom is that I build relationships. And that's the word you're going to hear me say several times, because it is the most important thing to me. I have to know who I'm teaching. Who's in my room? What motivates them? What excites them? What are the things they don't like? What are the things I can control? What are the things that I can't control? And so I spend time at the very beginning building those relationships and trying to make those connections with my kids. From there, once you know who's in your room, once you've made connections and you have relationships with your students, once you know your learner, you can get a good handle on what's going to resonate with them and what's not going to resonate with them. And so I try to plan things that I know will spark their attention and their interest, but also plan things that are outside of their comfort zone.
Joy Robinson:
I just believe that I should stretch every single student in my classroom in some kind of way. So, I get them in by what interests them and what engages them and then once I have them, once I have them in my hands, then I start to really push on them and pull things out of them that they didn't even know that they could do. It's just that eye contact, that enthusiasm, you see it on their faces. And to truly know that they have received what you've taught, I think the best gauge for me ... So often we put a lot of emphasis on state testing and assessment. To me, the true measure that they have what I taught is when you see them manipulate it for themselves and use it in an authentic way. My favorite moments are when you, you see kids make those connections. And they'll say, "Ms. Robinson, you remember last week when you said da, da, da, da, da? Well, that makes me think of dah, dah, dah, dah, dah." Those are the best moments because that child has truly learned what you wanted to convey. They got it.
David Reynolds:
Do you think that ensuring that students learn what they need to learn is the most important way to determine a teacher's effectiveness or are there some other issues that you should consider as well?
Joy Robinson:
I think in the teaching learning cycle, there's way more that we can look at to determine a teacher's effectiveness. We're not only there to deliver content. I'm not only there to teach standards. I am there to teach children how to be kind and how to deal with their emotions and how to step outside of their circumstances that they may be dealing with and think of other ways to handle things or plans for their own future.
Joy Robinson:
So to me, it's more about the whole child. While yes, I want you to get everything I'm telling you, I want you to do well and have a great score on every test that ever comes in front of you, the most important thing for me is I want you to walk out of my classroom and I want you to be a better person than you were when you walked in. And for different children that looks different. But if they have grown in any capacity while they were with me, if they become kind, if they become more gentle, if they've learned how to deal with their anger, if they've matured, if they participated and they came in shy, to me that is effectiveness. I can look at that child and say, this year I was effective in that child's life.
David Reynolds:
How do you convey that to others? To parents or to perhaps administrators or even people outside of your school where you work. How do you convey to other people that this student has truly made some significant progress, moved from A to B in all of these areas, it's not just an academic issue when you come to school every day?
Joy Robinson:
I think one of the things that I'm able to do, it comes out of me, is my passion. It is the passion for the job. And in speaking to parents and in speaking to my administrators and speaking to people at the County office, I think they see that. I walk it like I talk it. And so when I tell someone that this child may not have done this on this state test, but let me tell you about all the other things that the child has done. They can feel that. Many people, parents are invited in some of my classroom, colleagues are invited into my classroom, administrators, anyone can come into my classroom. And it doesn't take them long to see that I walk it like I talk it. What I'm telling you is what I'm doing.
Joy Robinson:
Community is huge for me. It is a huge part of my classroom culture. I tell my kids on the first day of school, and I all laugh, I say, "You have just earned yourself a new last name. You are now a Robinson. And when you're a Robinson, we got some things that Robinson's just do." And they feel proud of that. And so as people come in and out of my classroom, they see that sense of community. They see the way that the children encourage one another. So, when I'm out of my classroom and I am promoting what it is that I do, or the importance of growth in its totality, I think people are able to glean that that is authentic and it's genuine.
Joy Robinson:
I've been teaching 13 years and I've never faced criticism yet where someone says, "Well, no, those things don't matter." Or, "No, this is not measurable." I haven't yet to face that. I've been very, very blessed that the students that I have taught have all done well on the state testing measures. So maybe that's why I haven't faced it. And I could go on and on and on about why that's happened and it's going to come back to community and relationship, but I have not faced criticism yet about the things that I determine to be important in teaching.
David Reynolds:
It's great that you can be an ambassador for all of the components of teaching and learning that matter and that you do have opportunities to share what's actually going on with a particular student or a group of students to help plant that seed in others' minds, that there are more things in school that matter to my child if I'm a parent, or to our students if I'm a colleague or an administrator. So, being able to have that platform and being able to share that today, I think is a great thing. Now, when I think about elementary school, and I think when most people do, immediately that stirs up images of younger students in a classroom and they're learning, and lots of people may go back to when I was in elementary school, in their mind or their own children, but there's also another dimension of learning that's always underway in schools, and that's adult learning. So, tell us what you've learned about professional learning since you've been a teacher.
Joy Robinson:
I think the most important thing for me is that I want professional learning that is specific to my needs. And that is something that I constantly tell my administrators. I serve on a lot of different committees for my county. I'm very vocal. And so I try to give people the glimpse of a teacher. These are the things that matter to teachers. These are the things that are important to teachers. And so I think that's the most important part of professional learning, is it needs to be something that is specific to a teacher. I've been teaching 13 years. I probably don't need to sit in a professional learning session about how to organize my classroom for effective learning. That's probably not going to be the best use of my time.
Joy Robinson:
So, I think that that's important because if you really look at it, adult learners are not different than children. So the way that we have to hone in on the needs of our students, the way that we have to figure out who they are, what motivates them, I think that we need to take the same approach with adult learners. And I think sometimes in education, that doesn't happen. I've had the opportunity on several occasions to lead different workshops for my colleagues and my coworkers and that's something that I've tried to do with them is I've tried to think about what it is that they need and how I can convey it in a way that's going to engage them and it's going to matter to them in their real life, because that's the whole plan in my classroom. How can I make this matter to you in your real life?
Joy Robinson:
Adult learners can be hard sometimes to reach because they come in with preconceived notions. So, they can be hard sometimes to reach. But once you figure out what engages them and what motivates them, it's very, very similar to student learners. The process of teaching and learning doesn't change from adult to student, or because your role has changed. It's pretty much the same process.
David Reynolds:
I know that you view teachers as leaders. And I know that you, Joy, are rightfully considered a teacher leader by your peers. When somebody says teacher leader to you, what does that concept or phrase mean to you and how would you talk about that to someone else?
Joy Robinson:
You're passionate about the job of teaching because you have to walk it like you talk it. You have to be passionate and you have to be vocal about the things that matter. And I take that job seriously. So, I try not to tell people things that are not realistic or things that I myself wouldn't do. I try to keep things on a realistic basis with them and come back and tell people when I go out for these different professional learning opportunities or doing a different workshop, I try to come back and say, "This is why this matters. This is why this matters." And I think in that approach I've been very successful. But the number one thing is passion for the job. And number two is building those relationships.
Joy Robinson:
I'd like to think that I have a great relationship with the people that I work with. It's important to me because I know how important connection is, but I take that role as a teacher leader pretty seriously and I never ever want to look at it where I'm not part of it. I think sometimes people get so far removed from it in different roles that they forget what it's like to just be a teacher. You're a teacher. What is it like to be a teacher? And that is something I'm constantly mindful of and that's why I'm so glad that I'm still in the classroom. I love that I'm still in the classroom. I couldn't picture not being around kids, but it keeps me very grounded as well, that I never forget the jobs that teachers are doing, the responsibilities, the roles that they play. And so when I'm bringing new content or having to critique something that a teacher's done, I think I'm able to convey that in a genuine and authentic way because I'm right there with them.
David Reynolds:
You have said so clearly and so emphatically connections, relationships, authenticity, and passion. Would you want to expand on those or add anything to it?
Joy Robinson:
In the very beginning of our time together, I spoke a little bit about being a little girl and wanting to be a teacher and collecting experiences. And so I want to go back to that, to really convey that where we are now has a lot to do with where we came from. So, I remember growing up, my parents collected African art, and I remember we had this bird in our house and it's called the sankofa bird and it's from Ghana and it is a bird facing forward, but his neck is actually twisted back. So, as a child, you could imagine this was very bizarre to look at. His neck was twisted back and he was actually picking an egg off of his back. And I remember not really understanding it, but what it symbolizes of course, now that I'm older, is you don't forget the past.
Joy Robinson:
You go back and get the things that are useful, but you steady move forward, which is why the bird's feet are facing forward. It makes me think of my journey as an educator. So, the town that I grew up in, after my dad got out of the military, we lived in a pretty rough neighborhood. And my hometown is in such rough shape that there's actually a documentary about how bad the school district is. The school district has been on the failing schools list for New York state since the '90s. State take over, you name it, corruption, money disappearing. There's a whole documentary about it.
Joy Robinson:
But the most interesting thing about growing up in that neighborhood and going through that school district is that statistically we weren't supposed to make it. Statistically, we grew up in a rough neighborhood plagued with drugs, teenage pregnancy, gang violence, the kids weren't passing tests and kids weren't graduating and we weren't supposed to make it. But when I look at the class that I graduated with, I graduated with people who are now lawyers, accountants, sports casters, chefs on television, I'm telling you. Just a group of phenomenal people.
Joy Robinson:
And when you think back to why that's happened, I'm not going to say we didn't come out unscathed, of course. But that all goes back to relationships. My experience growing up, I had the best teachers, the absolute best teachers, because they taught in a school district that was said wouldn't make it. So do you know what kind of passion it takes for teachers ... Many left, but the ones who stayed, the passion that they came to work with every day because they were teaching in a failing school system. And we benefited from that. Because they truly were invested in us. They were invested in their work. They built relationships with us.
Joy Robinson:
And I could go from kindergarten to probably 12th grade and give you a teacher every year that meant something to me in a different way. And of course, because I wanted to be a teacher, I was just collecting tools in my toolbox the whole time. "I'm going to do this like him and I'm going to do this like her." But these were teachers who were truly invested in us and the relationships with us. And I think it shows. My high school class is a phenomenal group of people. It just amazes me. I tell them all the time. I post on Facebook, "We are roses that grew from concrete. This is amazing." And so that just always reminds me of how important it is to be passionate, which is what you mentioned, to build relationships, to build a community around your kids and to keep them engaged. I think that entire journey speaks to where I am right now.
David Reynolds:
Would you like to single out by name a few of the most outstanding, memorable teachers that you've had and just talk about them for a minute?
Joy Robinson:
Okay. So, my first grade teacher, her name was Ms. Rhines, and the year that we had her, she actually had breast cancer. And of course we did not know. We knew her hair had fallen out, but of course in first grade you didn't ask questions like that. And the thing that is most memorable about her, she loved us of course. She came to work during chemotherapy. She was committed. But she was the first person to say, "Joy, you already know how to read. Let me get you a second grade book." "Okay, Joy. You know how to read that book. let me get you a third grade book." So, she was one of the first people who completely stretched me and pushed me because it wasn't complacent. I wasn't like, "You're going to be on the blue group today because that's the sky." I was in my own reading group for a good while in her class because she completely stretched me.
Joy Robinson:
My second grade teacher, Ms. Bell, was hilarious. She just had a sense of humor. Although she would be getting on to us, we'd be in trouble for something, she'd kind of smile at the end of it to let us know that we were still okay with her. And I think that's something that I take from her.
Joy Robinson:
My fourth grade teacher, Ms. Banks. Ms. Banks was so strict. She was one of the strictest teachers I ever had, but it's because she had high expectations for us. She wanted us to know that. She was competitive and I love that about her and I take that from her. And that was the year in my hometown that you get to nominate kids for gifted. And Ms. Banks was going to have the most kids in the gifted program, that was just her personality. And so I think three or four of us from her class, she was so proud, but she was very competitive and it kept us going. It really did. It just kept us going.
Joy Robinson:
My sixth grade teacher, Ms. Prince. She was the first language arts teacher that I had that played music, like R&B music in her classroom. We thought she was so cool. It was a writing assignment. And I remember she said, "We're going to listen to this music and we're going to do some journaling." And she ended up turning on Lauryn Hill, which was the popular artist at the time, and I remember the whole class just sat there and kind of stared at her like, "This is amazing." Being able to make those connections.
Joy Robinson:
Mr. Hines in ninth grade was the teacher that I spoke of about sitting on his desk and actually being able to teach me Shakespeare and working through Lord of the Flies on more of a thematic level that I didn't even realize there were so many themes in Lord of the Flies until his class.
Joy Robinson:
I had a college professor in women's studies. She really walked it like she talked it. She was a woman's studies professor and she would bring pictures of protests that she had participated in. And one thing that I remember about her the most is she just did not believe on confines and she dressed that way and you believed everything she said because she lived it. And that to me is so important when you talk about being genuine and authentic with your students. I could keep going on and on but those are just a few I'd like to highlight.
David Reynolds:
Is there anything else you'd like to share.
Joy Robinson:
Just about teaching and learning, it's give and take. Every day that I go into my classroom, I am there to not only teach my students, but I'm there to learn from them. And I tell them that and they enjoy that. They're always wanting to teach me new things as well. So, I think when you go into teaching, you need to be open-minded to that part of it. It's not a stand and deliver model. They're not going to sit there quiet and you're just going to do all the talking. That's not the way it works. It's a give and a take. It's a cycle. They're learning, you're teaching. You're learning, they're teaching. And that to me is one of the biggest parts of teaching that I think has kept me going all this time. It keeps me excited.
David Reynolds:
That makes me want to ask you one more question then, which is why do you think that the teachers you just listed and you yourself have the passion and the joy and the enthusiasm and the forward facing approach to everything that you do. Is there something that teachers who might not find themselves as immersed in the positive aspects of their job now as they used to be, or maybe they've never quite gotten there as they hoped they would, is there something you would say to them as a way to help them view things differently or respond differently? Or do you think it's just innate and you really are doing exactly what you were called to do and maybe some people are not teaching for the right reasons.
Joy Robinson:
I think teachers are born. I really do. I think when I was four and I was holding classes with my stuffed animals, teachers are truly born. It is innate. However, even with that, you do get bogged down sometimes. You do forget why you're doing the job you're doing. There's a lot of negativity surrounding the profession. It's very easy, and we've all been there to forget and to just, "ugh" every day. "Oh, I can't do this."
Joy Robinson:
And as trite as it sounds, you have to stop yourself and remember why you're there. I am not there for a paycheck. We know teachers do not make a King's ransom. We should, but we don't. I'm there for children. And I'm there for children every single day. And when I'm down on myself and when I'm contemplating, "What in the world am I doing? Why am I here?"
Joy Robinson:
I have to remind myself that I'm there for the children and if, when you remind yourself that you are there for the children, that does not straighten you up right away, and it may be time. It may be time to walk away from it. Because if you do not have a passion for children, if you don't have the burning desire to be in front of children and to mold their little worlds, you're wasting their time too. And that's something that I wish would never happen for me. I don't ever want to foresee a day that I'm down in the dumps and I remind myself, "I am here for these kids." And that does nothing for me. I hope that never happens for me because that's the day when I'm going to have a real tough conversation with myself.
Joy Robinson:
But yes, you have to remind yourself of why you're there. And if the kids don't motivate you anymore, then something's wrong with that because I'm telling you what, sometimes I get into my dumps and the workload is large and the red tape is major and tests and teacher observation and it changes every year, but I can stop myself. What am I here for? I'm here because every day I get to make an impression on 76 students, I teach 76 a day. I get to learn from 76 students. I get to see the smiles of 76 students' faces and I get to make a difference. And that still keeps me going. And when it doesn't, I don't know. I don't know what to do then. Maybe I'll join the circus. I'm not sure. But that's still keeps me going. And I would tell any teacher that should still keep you going. That should spark your passion all over again, reminding yourself that you're there for the kids.
David Reynolds:
Sounds like a great call to action, to have a daily or weekly or some sort of regular moment where you stop and reflect and say, "Who am I serving? And what's the purpose of this service?" And the way you just described that should work very, very well for anybody. And not just in a career of education, really any work that you're involved in. If you ask yourself why you're doing it and recalibrate and reset, that sounds just like a great way to make sure that you're where you're supposed to be right now.
David Reynolds:
So, speaking of that, you said you hope the day never came when you didn't feel the excitement and the joy and the passion when you ask yourself those questions. So is there something you can share about what's next for you, whether that's personally or professionally or projects, plans, or ideas? What's next for Joy Robinson?
Joy Robinson:
I don't really know. I thought about that before we spoke this morning, what's next for me? And all of my experiences have just come as I've gone. So, there is no big plan. I'm planning on going back into the classroom next school year in teaching, but a lot of opportunities are presenting themselves. Lots of things to consider. But as of this moment, I'll be teaching. As of this moment, I'll be teaching. But there's a lot of things coming. I just have to make some tough decisions. but right now I'll be in that classroom teaching those babies.
David Reynolds:
I want to thank you, Joy, for giving us this glimpse into your world at Lake Park Elementary School and really your life before and what you see going forward. This has been really an outstanding conversation. Very enlightening, very high energy and focused and I really appreciate it.
Joy Robinson:
Well, thank you so much for your time.
David Reynolds:
Well, you have a great day.
Joy Robinson:
You as well.
David Reynolds:
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