Episode 56: Teaching for a Lasting Impact with Meghan Lawson

This is Episode 56 of FocusED, and it features our guest, Meghan Lawson. It was originally recorded in front of a live audience in Delaware, provided as a professional development experience in collaboration with the Delaware Department of Education, Wilmington University, and The School House 302. Don’t miss what Meghan Lawson says about teaching for a lasting impact, creating a legacy of learning…and much more. _________________________________________ Meghan Lawson Brings a Tons of Experience to FocusED ListenersMeghan Lawson is a thought leader who studies and implements the conditions and systems needed for transformational change. A lover of learning who believes in the goodness of people, Meghan works to cultivate spaces that honor the humanity of all people.She promotes storytelling, the exchange of ideas, and risk-taking. She is passionate about disrupting the status quo and creating kinder, forward-thinking communities of action.Meghan is also intensely curious about how to enhance the customer experience in schools. Meghan began her career in the English Language Arts classroom. So, inevitably, her mantra is “Words matter.” She has worked in all levels of K – 12 education as a teacher, school administrator, district administrator, and educational consultant. She’s the author of Legacy of Learning: Teaching for Lasting Impact, and you can follow her on X: @meghan_lawson. _________________________________________ FocusED Show Notes with Meghan LawsonMeghan wrote her book because she’s finding educators all over the place who say things like, “I wish the work was fun again.”Meghan says that the stories in the book are authentic, real, and feel like “coffee conversations.”Joe asks what it means to “have fun at work.” Meghan talks about positive psychology research.Don’t miss what she says about what it means to talk to ourselves.When we can create environments where dopamine is high, we can be at our best.Meghan calls for teachers to do an inventory about what they can and cannot control and then focus on the controllable aspects of the work.She talks about the typical teacher’s perfectionistic personality and what to do about it.Small moves done consistently over time can leave to big impact. ~ Meghan LawsonIf everyone contributes to growing by their 1% each day, imagine what can happen. ~ Meghan LawsonJoe brings up the pareto principle and the focus we need on the 20% of our work that leads to 80% of the results.Meghan says that one way to use the triangle in her book is to reflect on it in the aftermath of a mistake.She says that all students deserve hope and that hope is a stronger predictor of success than any other measure. Hope, belonging, and engagement work together; when one goes up, the other two do as well.Meghan calls out the fact that kids can go through the whole day at school (maybe weak) without anyone saying their name.She says that she wants to do work she enjoys with people she likes to be around.Meghan hopes that all of the unwritten books will get written. People need the confidence to write their stories.Life is too short to read books that you’re not getting much out of. ~ Meghan LawsonDon’t miss some of the strategies that she uses for reading.Meghan ends by genuinely thanking educators for what they do.