About Julie McGillivray
Julie McGillivray has been an educator for over a decade, and she shares her passion for learning with her students. She embraces the philosophy that kindness costs nothing but pays huge returns.
When she isn’t sharing her joy in the classroom, you can find her spending time with her family and dog on beautiful Georgian Bay, dancing like nobody is watching in her kitchen, or perpetually searching for her lost set of keys.
Connect with Julie McGillivray: Email
Listen Now
Listen to the episode now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on your favourite podcast platform.
Resources Mentioned
St. Francis Xavier Catholic Secondary School
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
Welcome back to another episode of the High Performing Educator podcast. This is your host, Sam Demma. Today we are joined by my friend and special guest, Julie McGillivrayWelcome back to another episode of the High Performing Educator podcast. This is your host, Sam Demma. Today we are joined by my friend and special guest, Julie Welcome back to another episode of the High Performing Educator podcast. This is your host, Sam Demma. Today we are joined by my friend and special guest, Julie . Julie has been an educator for over a decade, and she shares her passion for learning with her students. She embraces the philosophy that kindness costs nothing,
Sam Demma
but pays huge returns. Julie also kindly organized the Empt Your Backpack Reading Guide and created it to help readers engage more deeply with Empty Your Backpack and reflect on its transformative lessons. When she isn’t sharing her joy in the classroom, you can find her spending time with her family and dog on the beautiful Georgian Bay, dancing like nobody’s watching in her kitchen, or perpetually searching for her lost set of keys. Julie, thank you so much for coming on the show.
Julie McGillivray
Thank you for having me.
Sam Demma
You’re very welcome. Tell me a little bit about what got you into education.
Julie McGillivray
Well, I always wanted to be a teacher since I was a young girl. I think it was having some teachers that really had an impact on me when I was younger. And unfortunately, I did not get into teachers college outside of university. I tried for three years to get into teachers college just after I finished university. And I was unsuccessful each time for a variety of reasons. And I gave up on that dream.
Julie McGillivray
And instead, I decided to pivot and do something else. But it was always in the back of my mind that I wanted to be a teacher. And the year that I was turning 40, I was at my job at a leadership development company, we went into organizations and help them with their communication help teams with their leadership development, we did experiential learning. And I
Julie McGillivray
loved that job. But I was sitting at my desk one day, and I decided, you know what, if I don’t do it now, I’m never going to do it. I decided to take the monumental leap and go back to school. And I went to Teachers College and gratefully was hired when I graduated and I’ve been teaching ever since.
Sam Demma
Tell me a little bit about the mental challenge you went through of changing, making that decision to make the jump because there’s a lot of people that are so worried and scared about making a big change in their lives, but sometimes on the other end of those big changes are beautiful opportunities and things that bring us more joy and fulfillment than we could have ever imagined we would have got in a previous position. Walk me through that decision and how you found the courage to kind of make it.
Julie McGillivray
Well, it was really scary, So I’m grateful that you said, use the word courage, because it was scary for me. I had children, I had three children at home. I had a husband who traveled quite frequently with work. And it meant that my entire family had to make some sacrifices in order for me to go back to school. Because my kids were younger, I knew that I couldn’t go to school full time. I could not go five days a week because they were in activities and they needed their mom at home. Prior to me going back to work, I was a stay at home mom for nine years. So it was really scary to think that I was going to be away from my kids. But I took the leap because I would strongly believe that it’s never too late to make a change in your life.
Julie McGillivray
And to me, teaching is a calling, it is a passion, it is not just a job. And so I just, I felt, I guess, to be, not to sound cliche, but I felt the fear and I did it anyway.
Sam Demma
Yeah. I love the idea of it being a calling and a passion, not a job. I found that I’ve done my best work when I didn’t think about it as work. I thought about it as something I was supposed to do. Like I was using gifts and talents to really be of service in some way. And it sounds like you have the same philosophy around education. Tell me about the parts of the work that bring you the most joy and fulfillment.
Julie McGillivray
Absolutely. It is having relationships with the students. I chose to teach high school. I had an opportunity. I probably could have been hired maybe a little bit quicker because I had an opportunity to teach in an elementary school setting. But I knew that teenagers were really who I wanted to
Julie McGillivray
help facilitate their learning. I think I would have been better there. So I waited, I was very patient, it took me a long time to get hired permanent as a permanent teacher. But yeah, it’s the relationships, it’s seeing kids at a period of time in their life when so much is going on mentally, physically,
Julie McGillivray
they’ve got lots of things happening in their life and just to be able to facilitate their learning is just, it’s so special to me. And when you have a relationship with a child that, you know, you can tell that you matter, and it’s just, it makes all the difference. I’ve always, I was an English teacher before, currently I work in student services and guidance, but I was an English teacher before
Julie McGillivray
and teaching kids, for example, to love reading, to appreciate a good book or a good story and to have their light bulbs go on and say, wow, I really enjoyed that. It just made all the difference. I, I smile when I think about teaching because I know it is hard work and I’m not going to lie. There are some days that are better than others, but truthfully, I love it. I love coming to work every single day. And it’s been like that for, you know, almost 14 years.
Sam Demma
You said building the relationships with the students is one of the most fulfilling parts of the work for you. How do you build that relationship with a student to the degree where they know that you really have their best interest in your heart? And, you know, they open up about things and they really, they feel comfortable around you because I think about the teachers that I really connected with and they really built solid relationships, professional relationships with me. But I like thinking back, I’m trying to figure out how, like what is it that they did that was different? And I’m curious what your thoughts are.
Julie McGillivray
Well, I can’t be anything other than myself. I’m a pretty gregarious person. I am an extrovert and I do really like to chitter chatter. But I think that kids, particularly teenagers, but all kids really, they can smell when they, they can smell it when it’s not. And so I can, I don’t have a blueprint other than being myself.
Julie McGillivray
And so I know for me, for example, having someone say good morning to you matters. You know, I know for me, having someone smile at me and acknowledge me and see me matters. And so that’s what I try to bring into my classroom. And it’s not always easy. But I do think that every single person that enters a classroom is deserving of respect and is deserving of the opportunity to shine in their own way. And so my job as an educator is to help them recognize that little things like I don’t know, I like to talk to my students, I asked them every day in my class, we would have a question to end the day. It could be whatever. What’s your favorite color? If you were an animal, what would you be?
Julie McGillivray
And just to spend that five or 10 minutes that’s not focused on curriculum, but actually focused on them as a student or as a person, I think that that matters. Kindness costs nothing but pays huge return.
Sam Demma
Those two actions of greeting somebody or complimenting somebody are things that are free of monetary cost but can have a big impact. Tell me more about that philosophy about kindness costing nothing, but paying huge returns.
Julie McGillivray
You know what, Sam, my mom, uh, God bless her. She passed away a few years ago. I was blessed to have my mom in my life for 93 years. Well, she was not mine. I need to be 93. Um, but my mom was kind to everyone that she met. And to me, I think it’s just that simple,
Julie McGillivray
that everyone is deserving of your kindness. And it really takes no time at all to smile at someone and say something nice. So I always used to tell when I did teach in grade eight, I always used to tell my students that every time you open your mouth, you have an opportunity to make someone’s day or break someone’s day. And that’s a very big responsibility for us all as humans. like it’s all rose-colored glasses and pie in the sky, but I do believe that small acts of kindness can go a long way, particularly for students that might be struggling outside of school.
Julie McGillivray
They might not have a family life that is conducive to building them up. And so you can make all the difference by being a caring and supportive adult, somebody who’s just kind. So that’s my philosophy.
Sam Demma
You were talking about your mom. And I instantly thought of my grandfather who always was looking for those opportunities to make somebody else feel special and appreciated and included and valued. And I just know how much of an impact it had on those people because long after he’s gone, they’re still talking about it.
Sam Demma
You know, like I visit family and they’ll bring up my grandfather’s name and he passed away when I was 13. It’s been over a decade now. And I think that we underestimate how much of a difference those acts of kindness can have on other people. Have you had, aside from your mom, mentors or people in your life who showed you that level of kindness as well that really guided you down your path or supported you through challenging moments? I did actually, I had a university professor, I was in my second year of university. Her name was Dr. Oh, gosh, it’s been so long. I think her I know her first name was Nancy. She passed away. But I was struggling to make ends meet financially. And when you’re an English major, you need to read an awful lot of different novels, and they’re not always available in the library. And I went to her office, and I said to her, it was just this one book that we needed to read that
Julie McGillivray
I was I just didn’t have the funds to purchase the book. And I just went to her office and asked her if she could possibly loan me one copy so that I could stay up with the reading. And she told me to come back the next day to her office. And so I did. And when I got there, she was not in her office. But her, the person that was working there said, Oh, Oh, Dr. Bailey was her name. Nancy.
Julie McGillivray
Is it funny how when you go through a story, the names pop back in your head? Yeah. I guess her assistant said, Dr. Bailey has left this for you. And it was a bag and it was full of every one of the books that the course had brand new. She had purchased for me and I’ll never forget the card said, please accept this as a token of my respect and friendship. And it meant the world to me because the fact that she had so many students and she was so busy and she didn’t really know me,
Julie McGillivray
I was just, you know, it was kind of new in her class and she just, it made such an impact on me. So when I graduated university, I was so excited when I saw her across Johnson Green. I went to Guelph University and when I saw her across Johnson Green, I’ll never forget it. I got, it was, she’s the one professor I have a picture of on my graduation day and I introduced her to my parents and I was just so grateful for that small act of kindness. I did not, I did not need all of those books. I only needed the one, but the fact
Julie McGillivray
that she went above and beyond just meant the world to me. So definitely a mentor and to be honest, I have so many mentors in my life, colleagues that I work with that are so helpful. Going back to teacher’s college at 40 years old was not easy. And entering the arena of education as a woman with graying hair, working with students or other teachers that were maybe, you know, they could be my kids. It was very humbling experience. And so I had to ask for help and they were so gracious. So I’ve had so many acts of kindness given to me.
Julie McGillivray
It only makes sense to pay it forward.
Sam Demma
Your story gave me goosebumps. It’s such a- I haven’t thought about it in a long time actually. That’s such an impactful story and I appreciate you sharing it. I think that again, we sometimes underestimate how those actions have an impact on others. And you know, here we are years
Sam Demma
later talking about it and haven’t thought about it. But when I asked you that question, it pops in your head. And I just think that the world would be a much better place if everyone operated from that level of energy where they’re looking for ways to help others or if there’s a call for help that we do answer it.
Sam Demma
When you think of your journey through education, what are any of the resources or people while you’ve been in this school for the past 14 years that have been really helpful to you? Are there any additional mentors or resources that have shaped your thinking around working with young people?
Julie McGillivray
I’ll tell you, I think that leadership is really important in school and I have been extremely blessed to work with administrators that are, they don’t just talk the talk, they walk the walk. So yes, I had at the beginning of my teaching career, I was fortunate enough to work with an administrator who provided me opportunities to grow and challenge myself as a teacher. And that could, that was by the way of giving me, you know, courses that maybe I hadn’t thought about teaching before, although I was qualified for them, I was, you know, scared to maybe approach the subject matter.
Julie McGillivray
And seeing something in me and giving me an opportunity that maybe I wouldn’t have done myself because I would be too fearful. So that is a real blessing. Scary. I haven’t taught the same, I mean I tend to teach different courses every year and so that was hard because sometimes you know you want to get something down and you want to be able to perfect it and so sometimes I found it challenging but I’m looking back really grateful for the opportunity to do
Julie McGillivray
new things and different things. Wasn’t always, didn’t always feel that way when I had to do all of the planning. But I’m grateful for those leaders and mentors. I also had a department head when I first started at this school who was instrumental in providing me with a safe and compassionate space to talk about, you know, some things that maybe I was struggling with
Julie McGillivray
being a new slash old teacher. And that colleague of mine, I’m happy to call a friend right now and saw something in me and was able to provide me that safe space. So surrounding yourself with people that you can be your authentic self with is, in my opinion, just so important
Julie McGillivray
to our own growth and development. And so that’s why in my classroom, I’m really mindful of providing a safe space for students to be themselves.
Sam Demma
I always tell people in my life that old is not an age, it’s an energy. And you have young energy.
Julie McGillivray
Gray hair.
Sam Demma
Hey, I’m starting to get gray hair too, and I’m only 25. So it has to be an energy or else I got to start dying it. I don’t know what’s going on. This has been such a lovely conversation, Julie. I really appreciate you taking some time to talk about your beliefs about education and building relationships with students and staff. The idea of kindness costing nothing, paying huge returns, and sharing a few personal stories. I am a fan, and I will continue to follow your journey. And if someone else is listening and wanting to reach out and connect with you, another educator, what would be the best way for them to get in touch?
Julie McGillivray
Probably by my email only because I’m that old that I’m not big on social media.
Sam Demma
That’s okay.
Julie McGillivray
I work for the Halton Catholic District School Board happily and you can find me there.
Sam Demma
Thank you so much for coming on the show, Julia. I really appreciate your time and all the hard work you’re doing.
Julie McGillivray
Sam, thank you so much for writing an amazing book. Thank you. It’s helped my students immensely and thank you for all of the work that you do.
Join the Educator Network & Connect with Julie McGillivray
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.
