About Mr.Loudfoot
Mr. Loudfoot is a teacher that changed my life. He is retired now, although his practices and philosophies live on. In today’s episode, I share an idea he used at the beginning of our semester/term that enabled him to make students feel seen, heard, valued and appreciated. It’s a simple idea, yet when executed, very powerful.
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Listen Now
Listen to the episode now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on your favourite podcast platform.
Resources Mentioned
Mike Loudfoot – Former Educator with over 30 years of experience
Small Consistent Actions | Sam Demma | TEDxYouth@Toronto
Empty Your Backpack: Unpack Your Beliefs, Take Consistent Action, and Create a Life of Meaning
The Transcript
**Please note that all of our transcriptions come from rev.com and are 80% accurate. We’re grateful for the robots that make this possible and realize that it’s not a perfect process.
Sam Demma (00:01):
Welcome back to another episode of the High Performing Educator Podcast. This is your host and youth speaker, Sam Demma. Today I wanna talk a little bit about a powerful idea you can use to start a new semester, or when you get a new group of students and you want to build a strong connection and relationship to them. Here is a very simple idea you can use to accomplish that, and it’s not mine. It’s something a teacher did to me in my life when I was in their classroom. If you’ve heard my keynote speech before at your school or at an educational conference, you know that I spend a significant amount of time talking about Mr. Loudfoot. Mike, my grade 12 world issues teacher who changed my life when I was so uncertain about my future. He provided certainty when I stopped believing in myself.
Sam Demma (00:56):
He provided that belief, but there was so many things that he did in the classroom aside from the way that he helped me, that I observed that I think are so valuable for you. For other teachers and people working in the education space. One of the things he did at the beginning of the new semester is he shared a Google form that he wanted every single student to fill out. It was like an intake form at a dentist’s office, <laugh>, but instead all about the student’s personal interests, hobbies, the snacks they like, the favorite candies they would eat. It was a very basic form to fill out, but he was super strategic with the way in which he used it. For example, after receiving 40 Google forms that tell Mike what all of his students are passionate about, after each lesson, he would say things like, Sam, because I know you’re passionate about soccer, for you, this lesson means X and Emily, because I know you’re passionate about movies and art for you, today’s lesson is gonna mean X and Kaon because you’re passionate about clothing and design for you, today’s lesson means X.
Sam Demma (02:16):
And he would customize the learnings, the takeaways in the exact same way that I explained it to you right now on the podcast, live in class. And it made me, as a student feel as though my teacher knew me. It made me feel like he cared about me, like he understood why I went to school. Because for me personally, one of my goals was to play pro soccer and school was an avenue that was gonna help me get there. Mr. Loudfoot recognized that because I filled it out on his intake form <laugh> at the beginning of the school year. That was the first way in which he used the information. He used it to customize the content, to
Sam Demma (02:58):
Tailor the takeaways to each of the students. Now, he wouldn’t stand in front of the classroom and do it for all 30 kids after every lesson. He would just pick two or three people per day and make sure they felt seen, heard, valued, and appreciated. The second way, and I would argue sometimes the even more powerful way, he used the information on his little intake form, was he would bring people their favorite snacks. If he noticed that someone was struggling a few days in a row, not doing so well, coming to class, and they seemed slightly off, he would go look through the intake forms, find what that person’s favorite candy was, and the next day drop off it on their, drop it off on their desk. What a way to make a student feel appreciated and a part of the community, and who doesn’t want their favorite chocolate.
Sam Demma (03:55):
Not to mention buying a mini Kit Kat is only gonna cost a couple cents, 50 cents a dollar, and it’s such a powerful way to make a student feel appreciated. And so he would routinely drop off little candies on people’s desks when he thought they weren’t feeling the best or when he wanted to. Just make them feel great. And I think this little idea is so small that it seems insignificant, but it’s actually the little things that we do that make sometimes the biggest difference. We, we sometimes buy into this belief that we have to do something massive to make a change, when in reality it’s tiny little decisions. It’s being more intentional about the, about the everyday actions already taking that enables them to make such an impact, such a change. So maybe as you start a new semester, as you begin a new term, welcoming new students into your classroom, maybe one of your new practices can be creating your own intake form, having students answer some questions totally unrelated to class and school.
Sam Demma (05:08):
What are your hobbies? What do you do when you’re not inside the classroom? Where do you see yourself in five or 10 years? What’s your favorite thing to buy from Tim Horton’s or Starbucks? What’s your favorite candy? What’s your favorite music? What’s your favorite movie? These things might seem silly, uh, but it will help you connect to your students on a much deeper level, especially when it’s a surprise when they see their favorite chocolate bar sitting on the corner of their desk. Mr. Loud Foot impacted me and impacted many others in my classroom. Recently, I launched a book titled, empty Your Backpack. Him and his wife Joan were at the event,
Sam Demma (05:56):
And there was probably 5 or 10 other people from the community that walked up to Mr. Loudfoot after the speech, gave him a big hug and thanked him for the impact that he had on them. And I think it’s these little things that enabled him to make such a big impact on so many people. He, he worked in education for about 30 years, so hopefully this little idea is something that you can put to use. Hopefully it’s something that will help you have a deeper impact with your students. If you do try this with your class, I would love to hear about it, so please send me an email. Have an amazing week, and I will see you on the next episode.
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The High Performing Educator Podcast was brought to life during the outbreak of COVID-19 to provide you with inspirational stories and practical advice from your colleagues in education. By tuning in, you will hear the stories and ideas of the world’s brightest and most ambitious educators. You can expect interviews with Principals, Teachers, Guidance Counsellors, National Student Association, Directors and anybody that works with youth. You can find and listen to all the episodes for free here.
