37: Starfish

In this episode, Matt, Steve, and Jessica will interview Melanie Parrish Anderson about her book, "Lessons Learned from the Starfish." Melanie, who also happens to be Matt's aunt, is an exceptional teacher. She began her teaching career 25 years ago in kindergarten and Title One Math. After seven years, she transferred to second grade where she really got the opportunity to really positively impact her students lives.

Melanie graduated from Idaho State University with a B.S. in Elementary Education and a B.A. in Early Childhood Education. She is the mother of two amazing children, the step-mom of two awesome sons, and the bonus-mom of five delightful people. She adores all 16 of her grandchildren, and is happily married. Her must read book for parents and educators is a memoir chronicling her twenty-three years teaching kindergarten and second grade at a state public school, and she shares 40 stories of empathy, loss, and triumph about children that she taught that changed her life.

Melanie will talk about how she grew to become an advocate for her students even when it was tough, and how she did that by learning what the hierarchy of needs for every child should look like. Matt, Steve, and Jessica will share how they really connected with the love and belonging aspect of those needs based on their own interactions with their kids. It’s going to be a funny and emotional episode that you won’t wanna miss.

Highlights of the discussion:

• The Miss Chubbuck pageant that no girl wanted to try out (02:23)
• The little school age boy who had never met a teacher nor held a pencil (04:52)
• Having a hard time getting parents to come to parent teacher conferences when families are split (13:13)
• Teachers that are successful are the ones that take the time to build relationships with the kids (17:00)
• The power of the love belonging stage in ensuring children’s overall well-being (22:48)
• Jessica’s insecurities and vulnerabilities when it comes to ensuring Matt’s kids feel loved (27:35)
• The ideal situation of divorced/separated parents showing up at the same time to their kid’s parent-teacher conference (35:25)
• When you put that other parent down, you're putting down half that child (43:37)
• A great way to build empathy in your children (52:19)

Additional Resources:

• Lessons Learned from the Starfish By Melanie Parrish Anderson
• www.MelanieParrishAnderson.com
• www.Linktr.ee/TheBoldLogic

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