← Making Space with Hoda Kotb
Making Space with Hoda Kotb
Linda Cliatt-Wayman on Leading With Love to Transform a School
00:41:08
Linda Cliatt-Wayman spent 20 years teaching special education before rising to oversee all 61 high schools in the School District of Philadelphia, but her defining moment came when she stepped up to lead Strawberry Mansion High School: a school that no one wanted to run. With fierce love, high expectations, and unshakable hope, Wayman and her team turned despair into possibility. In this conversation from a Joy 101 event earlier this year, Wayman sits down with Hoda to share how she inspired real change in her students and how she’s continuing that work in her latest chapter.
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Have you ever faced a challenge so large that you didn't know how to solve it? My guest today knows that feeling quite well, and as it turns out, she found the solution in herself. Linda Cliat Wayman is a force in education who's impacted the lives of thousands and thousands of children. In fact, her former students still come up to her on the street to thank her for what she did for them. After growing up in poverty in northern Philadelphia, Linda spent 20 years teaching special education, then became a principal, eventually overseeing all high schools in the School district of Philadelphia. When she struggled to find a principal for the most challenged school in the district, Linda realized that she was actually the right person for the job, starting one of the greatest chapters of her life. In our conversation, Linda opens up about how she turned challenges into change at Strawberry Mansion High School and the difference she saw in her students after showing how much she loved them. Plus, Linda shares her takeaways from visiting schools across the country and how we can all offer kids hope. She is amazing. As the school year begins, our conversation is a beautiful reminder of the impact educators have on children and how childhood experiences can guide the rest of our lives. I'm Hoda Kotb. Welcome to my podcast, Making Space. One of the things that lift me up whenever I'm in a funk is either a commencement address or a TED Talk. I literally go, I feel crummy. Let's go. What's the best somebody has to offer? I ran into a TED Talk by a woman named Principal Wayman, and I was like, who is this woman? And she did something incredible. She took a school that was very low performing and what she describes as persistently dangerous. A school that everyone had given up on students who everyone had given up on. And she decided, I'm not giving up on these people. She became the principal of that school. The school had had four new principals in four years. She was the fourth. And she turned the beat around. She's inspiring. She is amazing. And she said to me, when we sought her out, she was like, well, she lives in Philly. And she said, well, who's the group? It's for teachers. And she said, we know it's gonna be a, whatever, a five or six hour drive out here. She said, if it's for teachers, I'm coming. So will you guys please welcome Principal Waym.
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I'm living a dream. Oh, I'm living a dream, guys. I'mma tell you, if somebody would have told me that I will be sitting here someday with Hoda, anything's possible.
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I just want to say, check out her TED Talk because it shows you that the impossible is possible. Will you describe the school where you arrived?
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Okay.
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C
And will you just tell me what you thought when you saw it and the changes you made?
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B
Okay, let me get a little bit of backstory. This school was considered persistently dangerous for several reasons. One reason that was not told in the TED Talk, it was an emerger of three high schools in the most dangerous part of Philadelphia. And I was assistant superintendent for high schools. I was the leader of all 61 high schools in Philadelphia. And they had made the decision that they had to merge these three schools because the schools really did not have many students in them. So they were going to merge them together, even though they knew it was in a very dangerous neighborhood. And I pleaded with them, please don't do that. It is going to be very dangerous to do that. And I knew that because I grew up in that community. And so I said, it's going to be a very dangerous situation. And so my superintendent said, well, you find the principal. You find the principal who could handle this persistently dangerous school. And so I went on a national search. And I tried and I tried and I tried to find a principal who would take on Strawberry Mansion High School. And they offered a package that was second to none. And I did not get one taker for that job. And the news media was having a frenzy. This school is going to be dangerous, and there's no way we could go in there with no principal. And so after I looked around at my 61 principals, I said, well, okay, well, I'm going To decide which one I could move to this school. And since I couldn't hire anyone. And so when I looked at my 61 principals, it was one principal I was really sure that could do it. And she came into my office. You know, the rumor mill with teachers and principals, they're going to move somebody. So as soon as she walked in the room, she's okay. Not me, please. I mean, please don't. Please don't move me. Please don't move me. And I looked and I grabbed her hand and I said, I'm sorry, but I have to move you, because I don't have anyone else to go into that school. And she lifted up her shirt and didn't like that, and it displayed a small black device on her hip. And I said, what's that? She said, it's a heart monitor. You may send me there, but it just may kill me. And so I was right back to where I started. And so I was walking into the school building one day, and all I could hear, my superintendent in one ear, who was going to go into school, was going to be a bloodbath. Oh, my God. And I kept hearing this voice. Go. You go. You go. It was so powerful in my ear that it stopped me in my tracks. And I said, migo. I answered the voice. I said, miko. And then it dawned on me that it was my assignment. And so I resigned from the best job I ever had in my Life, leading all 61 high schools in Philadelphia to become the principal of Strawberry Mansion. And that's how it started. And when we went in there, There were only three children. Now, I did not say 3%. There were only three children proficient in math and three in English. Three, three. And so when I went back downstairs to talk to my leadership team, because I was walking the building, I was very depressed. And I was thinking, oh, my God, what am I going to do with this place? I just didn't know. And I assembled a great leadership team, and they're sitting there. I walked in the office, and they look so somber. I said, what is the matter? They said, Ms. Wayman, did you see this data? Ms. Wayman, did you see the data of the assaults on the teachers and staff that were already in the building before the merger had even started? And I just looked at them and I said, so what now? What. What we gonna do? How we gonna change this school? That was then and this is now, and that's how it started.
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So will you describe the school? What it was like, what the halls were like, and like Most change, it's not a giant step. You had to take baby steps to repair things.
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Describe what the school was like before school opened. Our leadership team got together. We came up with a series of a discipline plan to figure out how we're going to organize the culture of the school, right? So we had rewards, we had consequences that was going to happen if the kids got out of line. We had rewards for them when they were going to behave. We had set everything up over the summer. We were ready for when school opened. And then we opened the door the very first day of school. We had someone outside saying to them, listen, you're going to walk through the scan, don't have any weapons, anything on you, you coming through the scan. It's the first day of school, of the murder. And I hear this, Ms. Wayman, cold purple. And I knew what cold purple was. So I run to the back door and we had the largest drug bus in the history of Philadelphia on the very first day of school. And I said to the young man, I said, why would you bring that in here? I was just shocked. Why would you bring that in here? He said, well, why wouldn't I always bring it in here? So we called everyone into the auditorium for the first time. We were going over the whole system of how we were going to transform this school. And a young man stood up in the back and he said to me, miss, why do you keep telling us about your rules and your consequences? Don't you know we do what we want, you do what you want. And that just rang out for me, that you do what you want. And I said to Stan, we got back together later. I said, why do they think they can do what they want? And so we had to change the entire mentality. The kids never went to class at the beginning. They didn't want to go in the room. We had to find ways just to get in the classroom. They had never been used to just going in the classroom. And so we had to start from the very basic. And it was all through communication. So we started having town hall meetings where I met with the students every week. This is what we're going to do today. This is how we're going to change it. This is what's going to happen starting tomorrow if you don't comply. So it's a gradual, gradual step. And then we would do a whole bunch of reward for the kids. And they got used to that.
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C
Well, I think what's interesting too is you found, like, the problem was also low expectations. And it's Funny, because I think something that really landed with me when you talked about this is the teachers were very empathetic to the plight of some of the kids. So you're like, well, this kid has a very terrible home life, so we can't fault him. Let's kind of help push him through. But that helping was hurting. Will you talk about that?
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Well, a lot of the teachers really, really cared for the students because that's why they came. A lot of students said, oh, I'm going with you, Ms. Waymond, I'll go with you because this is my third school today. I'm gonna go with you to take this on. But there were also teachers that were already in the building who were like, But, Ms. Waymond, they couldn't do their homework because, you know, they go home and there's no food. You know, Ms. Wayman, you can't ask them to do that because, you know, there's no parent right there. Ms. Wayman, you know, you can't do that. So they cared and loved them so much, but they didn't realize it was excuses and low expectation for what they actually could do. So once we have conversations with teachers over and over again, we have to hold them accountable, because they don't see this as a school, Right? And they would tell me, this is not a school. It's a place to hang out. And I would say, no, it's a place to transform your life. And so once we got that through to the students, that this is a place to transform your life, after a lot, believe me, a lot of talking, a lot of action, a lot of begging, a lot of everything, the kids start to say, okay, well, let's give this lady a chance again. Like you said, I was the fourth principal in four years and see, for them, oh, we gonna run her out too, right? So they didn't think I was gonna stay. Oh, she gonna leave like the rest of them.
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I think the key component, the thing that you did that was different. You did a lot of different things, but you led with love, and you are a slogan person. That's what I read. And so there was something that you repeated to children. Talk about what that was.
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Well, the origin story to that is I had a student when I was teaching middle school, lower grades. It was the high school, but they were lower grades in this particular high school. And this particular student was so irate. She was so irate. And the teachers didn't know what to do with her, so they brought her to me. They said, Ms. Wayman, listen, we don't know what to do with her. It's just too much. And so she sat in my office and I said, baby, what's the matter? What is the matter with you? And she said, do you know nobody loves me? Do you know nobody has ever told me in my entire life that they love me? She was in high school, she's an eighth grader. I said what? It was so shocking that I picked up the loudspeaker and I gave my morning announcements and I said, and remember I was mad if nobody told you they loved you today, you remember? I do, and I always will. And I saw the reaction of the staff and the students from saying that. So I said it every morning and I said it every afternoon. Remember, if nobody told you they loved you today, you remember? I do and I always will. And when I would even forget to say it. Cause sometimes I'm in a hurry, they would track me down. Ms. Wayman, you didn't say it. Ms. Wayman, you didn't say it today, Ms. Wayman. As I would run back to the oh, oh, oh, oh. I'm sorry, sorry, sorry. And remember, if nobody told you they loved you today, you remember. I do.
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More with Principal Wayman after the break.
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What did that love do for the students and learning? Because, I mean, how did that open up their minds? And what did you see? Like, what was the difference in the school?
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Well, it wasn't just the students. Yeah, the teachers saw that, the reaction on their faces when I said it. And so the teachers would come to me and go, hey, Ms. Wayman, I think that's working. You know, the teachers say. Cause again, they look sort of skeptical. You know, I think that's working, Ms. Raymond. Say that again. And so I saw that the teachers started to believe in me, that maybe if we really do show these kids some love, that deep love, that we really could transform this place. So when the kids saw that, the teachers were also embracing this. What's the matter, baby? How can I help you? How can I support you? How can I hold you accountable? Then it just. Throughout the building, you could feel that we were becoming a family. It was step by step by step by step by step that everybody had to get on board. And so the kids, in their behavior, of course, the suspension rates always go down, right? When the kids realize, okay, even if they got in trouble for something and they knew it was the reason why they were being punished, they understood it. So it was no more anger over that. Right. So the teachers realized in the classroom that the kids came more prepared. And I would always talk to them about a dream. Dream. Every day, you have to dream. And they would say, Ms. Wayman, look around us, though. How are we going to dream? And I remembered how my mother got me to dream. And my mother, every Sunday after church, she would put bus schedules on the floor or the table. And she would say, because the buses were free in Philadelphia on Sundays. And we were. We were very poor growing up. And so my mom said, well, we're going to ride the bus route from the beginning to the end. And so every Sunday we would get on the bus because it was free for us on Sunday. And my mother would point out, look at that house, Linda. If you go to school, you just might get that house. She would tell my sister, look at that car. One day, you can own that car, but you gotta go to school. So I started doing the same thing with my students. We took them on multiple trips, multiple experiences. Look at what you can have if you just go to school. Look at what you can do if you just get good grades. All you got to do is go to school. And they started to just believe it because we showed them that it was possible. Hold It. If you live in a community where you don't think it's possible, then you don't. You don't dream. And we had students who would tell us, we're not going to live. Why would we dream if we're not even going to live? Live? What do you mean? They never saw themselves living past 21 and becoming grown. And so once we told them, oh, you're going to be here, and you have to live out your dreams, so what is it that you think you want to do? And everything that a student would come to us about what they wanted to do, we made it happen. One student said, I want to go to the University of Pittsburgh. I want to visit. I said, well, how do you know about the University of Pittsburgh? He said, I saw it on tv. I said, let's get a bus to go to the University of Pittsburgh. Yeah, highlight of that young man's life. So we started doing things like that. And the most disruptive students would say, cause you. I would open it out, speaker. I would list all the students who had behaved enough that could go on these trips. And some kids just didn't behave right. They were like, you know, you not going on the bus. My teachers would tell me, hey, Ms. Wayman, he ain't going. No, don't send him. No, no, no, he can't go, right? And so this one kid, he was so disruptive, he said, Ms. Wayne, you think I'm gonna get on that bus next time? I said, I don't know. Are you? And well, he had behaved enough to get on this bus, let me tell you. He said, I'm going, Ms. Wayman. I'm going on the bus. He was so. And my teacher's like, Ms. Wahmie, you sure? But he got on the bus, and he did very, very well because we. And he was running the school. I mean, he was the big man on campus. And so I knew when I had him, I said, oh, boy. Teachers remember that. You gotta get one of them.
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C
So what happened to the school after you did all of that stuff? And how long did it take for something to take hold?
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It took. Oh, for us, after the very first year, we were removed from the persistently dangerous list. Wow. We never got on the list our first year. And so people were like, how in the world did you. Again, I tell them because I did what I said I was going to do. Teachers, you got to do what you say you're going to do. And if you do what you say you're going to do, they will believe you. And they will do anything for you. So always. And so I said, I did what I said I was going to do. I held my promise and I loved them to the bottom of my heart. I said that, and they knew it. And I remember one day I got an award for something and they rolled out this banner and had all the kids sign the banner. And on the banner, it was one kid said on the banner, high school Ms. Waymond is the only person who ever told me they loved me. And so I said, now mind you, I don't know the kid. You don't know thousands. I'm thinking, who is that? And how in the world did my saying be the only person in his life that ever told him they loved him? Teachers, you have students sitting in front of you every day. Kids you would never expect have never heard I love you, never heard it. And I know we find that unbelievable. We find that that's impossible. Not impossible. Remember that. I'm sorry. Hold on. You're sorry?
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Oh, my God.
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I'm sorry. I had to squeeze that one in there because they just. They don't have anyone to tell them that. Wow. And we think they do, but they don't.
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So you, all of your efforts got you off of that list.
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Off the list.
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And yeah, I left.
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Five years later, I stayed five years. Again, that voice came back. Same voice that told me to go. I'll never forget it. I was in the gym, I was walking the treadmill, and I heard it's time. The most painful day of my life. And so I. I decided to heed that voice once more because the school was so calm. We were off the list. Our test scores had rose far beyond anyone had ever expected. Right? I told my officer, you can now have lunch. Now that you can have lunch, it's time for me to go. And after five years, I heeded your voice and I left. And a young lady, I wish I would have bought a copy of it, but she stood up and she read this letter to me that I'll never forget. But it was a letter knowing that my job was over, that I had. I had completed what I had come to do. And I left, painfully left. And I always tell people was one. Was. Was one of the most saddest days of my life because it was not everybody was crying, every child, every teacher. Because I just left at the height of what we were doing. You know, I didn't. We didn't. We wouldn't. Nothing happened. It was just time. And. And so I left. But as soon as I left, Right. We had done all these remarkable things there. They. I'm gonna keep saying they, because this, you know, put it this way, they didn't take on the philosophy that we took on. After we left, my staff and I, some of us left and they would call me on the phone and they would say, But, Ms. Wayman, they're destroying it. Ms. Wayman, they're Destroying it. Ms. Wayman. Ms. Wayman, please. They're Destroying it. They're Destroying it. Ms. Wayman. And a lot of my staff stayed after I left, but when the new regime came in, they just not willing to do all the things we were willing to do, you know, And I'm sure some of you, you understand that they just were not willing, right? And so what happens? Things just go by the wayside when. Because all the best teachers leave, right? They're not going to hold this together like Ms. Wayne. Nope. We already got the blueprint. We already know what's working. We know how to do this. And then. So we're just going to do. Were you.
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C
You must have been so upset. I mean, all that work and. And then suddenly it goes away.
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Upset is not even a word. The pain was so, so bad that I did have to seek help too, because I was in. I was miserable. And I had a person that said, I think you need to talk to a coach. You need a coach. You need a life coach. And I spoke to this woman for like three hours on the phone, just crying. I didn't even know the lady. I was just. I never met the lady. I was on the phone crying for three hours, right? So the lady said, listen, why don't you go to a retreat with me? I said, retreat? I said, well, I ain't the retreat type, you know, I just retreat tight, right? So she said, no, no, no, you need to go on this retreat with us. So I don't know the lady. I'm in so much pain. I said, okay, I'll go on a retreat. I go on a retreat. And we started doing this exercise. We had to walk around a labyrinth and you had to let it all go, just whoever it was, whatever spiritual being you believed in. Just when you keep walking around the labyrinth and walk around the labyrinth and just talk to who, whatever God or spirit you believe in. So, you know, so we started walking. And I'm eyes. These people are really walking. This is what I'm thinking. I'm thinking to myself, right? These people are really doing this, right? So I said, okay, well, let me get into this thing. And so I Started walking around the labyrinth. And I felt this whole weight sort of lift off of me. But as I was walking, I got angrier and angrier as I kept walking. And I remember saying to myself, but I know went up to the spirit, why did I have to leave my children? Why was it time for me to leave my children? I was like, and this is the pain I was. Why was it time? So I started crying. I was walking. And I'm saying this to myself, why would I have to leave my children? Why'd I have to leave my children? And I hear that voice again. And the voice said, my children are suffering, and I need your voice. I had never done public speaking in my life, except for when I was in the school. Never. Never. And when. So people started calling me to give conferences, to talk about my kids, I said, oh, this is the reason I had to go. I had to go and tell people about this deep love you have to have for children. I had to tell them about this deep love and respect that you had to have for teachers. Without teachers, there would be nobody else. There is no other profession without a teacher. And so I had to go and remind people of how important teachers are to the. To. To. To this country and to this nation. So I understood that. I got it. And so once I got it, I said, oh, that's why. That's why. That's as. Wherever I went, children was suffering. In these school districts where I go to speak to. And everyone I remember holding. I went to the Harlows of West Virginia. I don't know if you all ever been to the Harlows of West Virginia. And I would say to them, why do you want me to come to West Virginia? You know, I'm an urban teacher, no friends. Why would you want me to come to West Virginia? You know? And they said, because our kids are like your kids. They have no hope either. And we need you to come and give them some hope. And so it's a universal problem of kids just losing hope. And it's only teachers. We're the only people beside their parents. And for some, their parents don't instill this kind of hope. It's all up to us to do that for them. And I would always tell my students, because they would say, But, Ms. Wayman, my mom said, I'm gonna be trash. This from a kid. My mom said, I'm stupid. My mom said, I'm gonna be trash. My mom said, I'm never going to college. I said, no, you're beautiful. That's not true. You gonna go on and you're gonna be the best whatever in this world. You're gonna be great. And so I said when he got to 11th grade, I told him, now you got to decide which side you're going to listen to. You gonna listen to that side or you gonna listen to this side? What side you choosing? Because it's up to you. And they started to buy into that.
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C
More ahead with Principal Wayman.
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D
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C
Let's go.
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B
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Do you hear a lot from your students?
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Oh, a lot.
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What, what does that feel like.
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When I hear from my students when they walk up, like up to me on the street? Many of them I don't remember, of course, right. But they remember me. And most of them will say to me, Ms. Waymy, we thought you was crazy, but Ms. Wayman, you saved my life. Can you imagine hearing from a kid, you saved my life. We are life savers, people. We're life savers. And some you may not ever hear from. And then I'll say to them, baby, Just tell me if you're happy. Are you happy? Just tell me you're happy. I'm happy, Ms. Wayman. And that means all. That's it. That's it, Oda. That's it.
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C
I want to talk about someone who you briefly mentioned, who is the whole cornerstone of your life. Who told you to take the bus around town? Your mom. Your mom. You said you grew up in extreme poverty.
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Yes.
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Tell me, what was it like being you as a kid?
- [33:31]
B
My mom was extraordinary. I'm absolutely nothing without her. And everything that I did was because of her. I really never wanted to go to college. I never really wanted, you know. But she would always say to us, it's something with that college thing. Everything in our family is poor, and nobody has ever been to college. There's something to that thing. Now, she didn't know, Hoda. She really didn't know. She just figured, gotta be something to it. And so I kept my sight even when I was in college. It was very difficult for me at the beginning to get adjusted. Everything I thought about was, I gotta do this for my mother. It's not about me here. If I do this, my mother wouldn't have to work so hard. If I do this, my mother don't have to take public transportation. And my mother was an amputee, so she had to take a paratransit, but she had to take public paratransit. And they would constantly leave her on the bus corner, not pick her up, don't come back to get her. Because my mom was also overweight. And so I said, if I just finish this. If I just finish this, she don't have to go through this anymore. Any. Anymore. And I kept my sights on that. So as soon as I got out of college, I bought a handicapped van. I drove my mother everywhere she had to go. She never had to work as hard. My mother was always before her time because she always knew the value of education. My mother would tell me, guys, it could change. I know it can. Just try it. Just keep going. And the rest of my family never really did that. Just keep going to school. So I can't even express to you the love and respect I have for a woman who raised three children every day of her life on her own. My mother worked every day of her life. She was the working poor. She never had assistance, but she was considered the working poor. With three children and a job that made, like, $13,000 a year. She was extraordinary, the love of my life. She's no longer with us, but I Sit here today and I know I'm living a dream she dreamt for me. I already know that I'm living a dream that she dreamt for me. And so who would ever think I would be here? You know, I mean, who think I would be here? I'm a tweet teacher. All I ever wanted to be was a teacher. I want you all to know out there that you are greatness. So you never be afraid to go into a room and say, I'm a teacher. Because I'm going to tell you this, and I'm going to guarantee you this today that if you go in this room and you love every child from the bottom of your heart, no matter how disruptive they are, if you love them from the bottom of your heart, the windows of heaven is going to pour out blessings to you that you will not have room to receive. All you have to do is continue to love them. Continue to love them and you will be rewarded beyond measure. I'm sitting here, I'm a teacher. That's all I could say, you know, and it's all because I chose to love children. Yeah.
- [37:28]
C
Did your mom get to see your success?
- [37:32]
B
Not to this height, no. My mom died years ago. My mother lived to see me to be the principal of my son second school. It was a girls school that I did. I was the founder of. She lived to see that. But I just. Every time I think, every time I go to a college graduation, I think about my mother because. And I feel sorry for the people who came behind me. Right? Because my mother again, I told you my mother was overweight, right? My mother stands in the middle of the aisle and they say, they go, Linda Client Wayman, a bachelor of science of education. And all you could hear was thank you, Jesus. In the middle of the house. And I'm thinking, that's my mother. That's my mother Mama. So. So no, she did not live to see that. But she knew my mother would always say, but you special, you special. And I said, my mom not no special than anybody else. Oh, no, no, you're special. Should God got a plan for you? Because I was the kind of person who always took up for people. Yeah. Like if somebody bullied somebody, it was none of my business. I never liked that in school. So I got the name Robin Hood. When I was a kid, they called me Robin Hood because if somebody picked with you, I don't even know you, I would go, why are you picking with her? I don't know. So my mother would always say, you special. And so I grew up knowing that if nobody loved me, my mother did. I knew that. And just if one person loves Yehuda, just take one the things you can do with that love to pass that love on. And I hope I pass that same love often to my two daughters. So it was magical. But no, she never lived to see me do a TED Talk. She never see. Lived to see me write a book and do all the wonderful things I've done. So now. But she see me, though. I was gonna say she sees you. Oh, she see me sitting right with you.
- [39:34]
C
Older Tell me what you're doing now. Like what? Where did life take you?
- [39:40]
B
Okay, now this is for the retirees out there. Retirees is not over. Retirees is just the beginning. And you're going to take all that you've done, all that you, and you're going to start something amazing, Right? So what I did after I left, I started my own consulting firm, Principal Wayman Consulting. So I work inside schools today, just mentoring, not mentoring teachers, working with principals on how to work with teachers. I do a lot of keynote speaking around the country. And the one passion project that I have if I started a nonprofit, and my nonprofit is called is a weird name. It came from kids. It's called currently trending, all One word. And it's a leadership development program for high school students. And our mission is we want to have students overcome challenging experiences so they can learn, lead, love generously, and live purposefully. So that's our goal. So we work with them in the summertime, we work with them throughout the high school years, just teaching them skills they will need to be successful in life, no matter whether they choose college or work. We just know that there are skills that young people need to have in order to be successful no matter what they do. So that is my passion project, and I'm going to see that through. And we're on our eighth year. Oh. And we're getting ready to take our eighth quarter students next week at our high school retreat. And so we're looking forward to that. Very cool.
- [41:11]
C
Very cool. Why don't we leave the teachers with some just a little bit of wisdom.
- [41:18]
B
Teachers. When they contacted me to come to speak to you all, they were really, again, concerned about me driving over so far, writing so far in one day. And it was short notice. But when Allie told me, first of all, it was Hoda, Come on now. Come on now. Okay. First, when Allie told me it was Hoda, I was like, whoa. And then. But she said, but it's teachers I said, it's teachers. I said, I'll do anything for a teacher. And I'mma tell you, you are the most special, precious people on this planet. Like I said before, there is no president, there is no vice president, there's no astronaut, there is no one without you. I want you to always be proud to say, I am a teacher. Do not put your head down. Do not say it low. Do not say it lightly. You look at someone in the eye, you tell them, I am a teacher and I change the world. That's what you do. And so I want you. I am so glad to be in your presence. I am so glad that you chose teaching as a profession. I want you to pass the joy of teaching along. I know some days it is difficult, I know some days it is difficult, but you matter. I want you to tell other people about this profession because it's a dwindling profession. A lot of people, they're leaving teaching and we need teachers. And who best to tell people about how rewarding this profession is, besides yourself. Don't always tell them, oh, I'm tired. I'm drained. Unless I plan. Don't start with that stuff. Don't start with the paperwork now. Don't go there. Just say I get to change the world. And if you every day come that you don't think you do that, you gotta pinch yourself. You gotta pinch yourself. And I know there are other things you probably want to do, and I know there are so many other talents that you have. I know, I know because it was buried inside of me. But your first thing that you are, you're a teacher. And never forget that. Thank you. Oh, yes. Thank you, guys. I love you. Thank you, guys. Thank you, Principal Wayman. I'll hold that for you.
- [44:03]
C
Thank you, guys. Hey, guys, thank you so much for listening and for coming on this journey with me. If you like what you heard, and I hope that you do, please give Making Space a five star rating and review on Apple Podcasts. And make sure you tell your friends. Follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you're listening right now. Making Space with Hoda Cotton is produced by Allison Berger and Mitch Rismiller along with Kate Saunders. Our associate audio engineer is Juliana Mosarilli. Our audio engineers are Katie Lau and Mark Yoshi Zumi. Original music by John Estes. Bryson Barnes is our head of audio production. Missy Dunlop Parsons is our executive producer. Libby Leash is the executive vice president of Today and Lifestyle Foreign.
- [45:01]
B
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