Kids Say the darndest Leader-like things…
ENTRY 2 - Gratitude = Great + Attitude
Dr. A here, again, reflecting on the simple yet profound ways the kids I work with support my continual learning amid my fervent efforts to supplement theirs. It is spring break for the local school system, and my elementary and middle schoolers are home this week. I keep saying I need a parent spring break because the work hasn’t stopped just because kids are out of school!
While I own and sort through the variety of sentiments that I espouse during this first day of April (no fools, only financial literacy celebrations!), I am brought back to a superb perspective shifter that I learned from the superior humans a.k.a. kids Money Magnets Club serves. Here it is, we can have and feel our feelings and it’s up to us what those feelings inform by way of action. I have the great privilege of being able to make time to take away, and to take my kids with me to some meetings I need to attend this week. Despite needing to attend to important things work-wise, having options and flexibility is wonderful, and I am thankful for that. I can see my having work to do and wanting a break as the only lens to view the circumstance or I can acknowledge that feeling and be encouraged by the privilege of being able to take some time away and to have flexibility in all of it. That feels like gratitude.
I give each student that comes through a full Money Magnets Club program series a book. In one classroom recently I intended to give students one book and had communicated the intention to do so. There was an issue with the publisher and the other book became backlogged for an indefinite time period. I had to break the disappointing news to the students, but I had an alternative, which was also very cool. Before I could get to hand out the books, there were groans and grumblings. So, I stopped in my pursuit of the book box and got the attention of the class and asked “who can tell me what gratitude is?” One of the brilliant students raised their hand and said “gratitude is great and attitude together.” The best definition I’ve heard, and thanks to the teachers for impressing this upon the students because getting back to the basics has fueled so much good in the world! I encouraged the students with the knowledge sourced right in the room, to let’s draw upon the great attitudes we can have for going home with a gift that is not the one that was expected but a new and different one with its own benefits and surprises to discover.
Let’s tap into our own Great + Attitude = Gratitude more!
Learn more about several of the books we distribute to Money Magnets Club students because we’ve found them to be really fun and engaging tools for our work.
Danny Dollar Books by Ty Allan Jackson
Kyng & Kyren’s Wealth Building Activity Book
A Penny’s Worth by Kimberly Wilson
ENTRY 1- Sometimes we’re just going through some things.
Dr. Alexandra “Dr. A” Arrington, Money Magnets Club’s Co-Founder and Executive Director, here. I had an experience that prompted me to reflect, share in conversation, and decide to chronicle these “ah-ha and haha” moments, as I will term them. These occurrences are teaching moments that the kids our organization is so fortunate to serve gift to us, that happen quite often. Here’s a recent moment that sparked the trend and that I will be listening out for more intently to continue sharing over time. Thanks for reading!
I could tell something was in the air this particular program day, and perhaps it was just the lack of air circulating in the room, ‘cause whew! The kids were energetic per the usual, but this one student was moody, frustrated, and a little whiny just minutes into the program. Now, usually I’ll have an aside and get to the bottom of what’s going on with my little friends, but today we had a shortened schedule and I was helping to manage the agenda for our guest, so there was a lot going on. The student flopped around at their desk with intermittent huffs and I went over, finally, and said “hey, what’s going on? I’m surprised at how you are showing up today. You’re usually very attentive and engaged.” They shared something about other students distracting them and I knew that wasn’t the full story, but I asked them to move their seat to address the issue that was immediately conveyed. A little later the frustrated behavior started up again and I just asked them to put their head down at their seat, check out, and relax for the remaining time.
You know what happened? They followed my suggestion, and I never unearthed the full story. With probably 15 minutes left in the program, the vitality of this kid returned and they began engaging and taking some notes down. As we were packing up and the kids were lining up to leave, the kid going through it during the session came up to me and said, “Dr. A, I’m sorry for how I was acting, I will try and do better next time. I really like being at Money Magnets and I don’t know what was going on with me today.”
For a 10-year-old (or a 20, 30, 40+-year-old, let’s be real!), the level of self-awareness and accountability they exhibited was far beyond their elementary years, and a stellar example of the transparency that we all can grow from and learn to appreciate each other better with. I was floored and took some notes from this masterclass, actually.
My simple response was, “That was big of you to be able to say, so thank you. I’m proud of you, and I believe you.”
Sometimes we’re just going through some things. For kids, knowing the specifics for themselves or to share with the adults in their lives is so much less important often than knowing they are cared for and that someone is paying attention to them. The real issues may not be resolved right then, but the resource that we can provide by simply being attentive and sharing an encouraging word is so valuable.
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Also, Happy International Women’s Day! Here are some great women who have partnered or served with us that you should learn more about, in addition to their work:
Ayesha Murphy - MMC Board Member, Guest Entrepreneur & Supporter
Christine Edwards - MMC BOTWEF Vendor, Entrepreneur, and Collaborator
Dr. Taylor “Taylor Dee” Spencer - MMC Vendor, Guest Entrepreneur & Collaborator
Rashaan Peek - MMC Board Member, Entrepreneur & Supporter