Remembering The Magic of The Classroom | S1E7

In this heartfelt episode of The Ripple Effect of a Teacher, Principal Kari and host Cathy Tooley dive into the true meaning of success in the classroom. From surprise emails years later to watching students grow in ways that can’t be measured by a gradebook, they reflect on the lasting impact of teachers.

This conversation explores how dignity, respect, and encouragement create the real magic of the classroom — and how these lessons ripple into students’ futures, shaping confidence, leadership, and resilience. Whether you’re an educator, parent, or leader, this episode will inspire you to look beyond grades and celebrate growth in all its forms.

Step into growth and purpose! Discover my books and resources designed to help you lead, learn, and live with impact.

✨ Click here: https://t-sml.mtrbio.com/public/smartlink/toolsforsuccess

//About

Cathy Tooley is the Founder & CEO of Tools for Success and a seasoned educator with over 40 years in K–12 classrooms and school leadership. From high school teacher to principal, Cathy has dedicated her life to supporting educators. In 2014, she launched Tools for Success to provide real, in-person instructional coaching—not just “PD in a box.” She’s the author of The Education System Is Broken, a national speaker, and a fierce advocate for teachers. Through this podcast, she’s spotlighting the ripple effect of great teaching.
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Transcript

Success Through Student Growth

Kari Jost 0:00

As an educator , we don't understand all of the ways that we impact kids on a daily basis , so success for me has always been growth , and that's probably actually one of my favorite things about being an administrator is watching kids who come in behaving a certain way and their mannerisms a certain way . And then that growth as they walk across that stage and you think they made it . And I would tell my kids I don't care for all , as I want you to do your best and you to have success and feel that success and pride in yourself .

Cathy Tooley 0:29

And I listened to so many students post-graduation I'm sure you have too say I wasn't one of the popular kids , I wasn't in student counseling , I wasn't in whatever and I wasn't in whatever . And what I think is we missed a mark as educators because we let that child focus too much on what they weren't to mark as educators , because we let that child focus too much on what they weren't than instead of the magic of who they were .

Kari Jost 0:48

I really firmly believe that our teachers need to see that Every person in that classroom they're not troublemakers , they're somebody's kid and they come with all of these pieces and we have to figure out who they are in order to teach them . But if we recognize that dignity in them , that's what we're going to start with . We're going to start with trying to see them as individual people .

Cathy Tooley 1:10

Hi everybody . Thanks for joining us again today as we continue our series the Ripple Effect of a Teacher . I'm Cathy Tooley and I'm thrilled to death to have you with me . And today , today , I am joined with the one , the only , the Kari . Now Kari and I go a long way back . I'll tell you a little fun story about Kari before I read all that . You know the important bio stuff of her Back in the day when I very first started the company so this has been 10 years ago . I've had the company now for 10 years .

Cathy Tooley 1:44

Cardinal Ritter , which is the school where she is currently principal , was one of our school partners , and back before I had consultants working for us , I went to Kari buildings . Kari was teaching English and department chair yes , and department chair and so I got to know Kari as an incredible educator that she is and then watched her now be in the principal role . So she's been a cardinal ritter now for six years , but she was a high school English teacher . And see , that's probably also why Kari and I are like kindred spirits , because I too was an English teacher . Kari was an English teacher and then a mom of three boys Is your youngest A junior at my high school , oh wow .

Cathy Tooley 2:29

And then , of course , you know , married and all the lovely things , loving , traveling , doing all those . So , again , like I did , all the other administrators , teachers because Kari , you know , spent time in the classroom too I sent them a series of topics and Kari picked today , remembering the magic of the classroom . It's such a right , such a , because I kind of told everyone pray on what hits you and , as many of you watching this podcast know , we lose sight of that . We get so busy in the stuff that the intention of this podcast , through the amazing voice of Keri , is to get to celebrate again the magic

Unexpected Impact on Students

Cathy Tooley 3:00

that is the classroom . So , keri , thank you for joining , thank you .

Kari Jost 3:04

Thanks for having me .

Cathy Tooley 3:05

Yes , so tell me about a success story that you had that you didn't see coming .

Kari Jost 3:13

I think as a teacher , you always see the kids that you know you connect with . Right , they're the kids who stick around after class , and I was the student council advisor and so I worked with a lot of kids and so I could I could pick out the kids that I figured you know we got along well .

Cathy Tooley 3:30

They say sit in the T of the classroom , right . They sit in the T of the classroom Right , that's right . Non-teachers , it's a joke that all the kids that really connect with you sit straight here or right . They form a T in your classroom . We call it , isn't it called still the T . I remember hearing that . Okay , sorry , sidebar .

Kari Jost 3:45

Anyway , that's okay . So you know , I've taught many , many years and I've got an email a couple of years ago and I've received emails before from kids who graduated . It's such a nice feeling , right , and you know we keep them . You put them in a basket , yes , you see how we keep coming back to that . Yes , I have . I have a file at home and a file at work , yes , and you pull them out every once in a while . But this one was from a student . I was just really surprised because this was a student who struggled in my class , a student who was in honors class . She didn't always do her work . She was struggled because she didn't always get her homework done and I mean I always encouraged her , but I'd never felt a strong connection because she wasn't one who was going to work super hard for me . I mean , we always got along .

Kari Jost 4:39

This was an honors course Right , and we always got along . But I never thought that I was reaching her because I didn't see the success that I would see from other students . Well , a couple years ago this young lady's graduated . Now for a few years and I get this email that says I don't know . I appreciate you and I appreciate that you didn't stop pushing me , that you just kept at me to do my best , and I really appreciate that you had that faith in me and you didn't give up on me . And I was so taken back by this email because , as an educator again , we don't understand all of the ways that we impact kids on a daily basis .

Cathy Tooley 5:22

Absolutely .

Kari Jost 5:22

Because , again , I wouldn't have seen this coming . And also the neat thing about this young lady was I saw her after this email at her place of work and she's now in a management position at a very reputable company and I got to see this young lady in action and I got to see her flourishing . Who was it ? No , no , no . Who was it the girl you saw ? No , no , no , no .

Kari Jost 5:43

Not the girl I saw and I thought , wow , not only is she successful , she has a job where she's showing her leadership skills . She also had the thought to respond , like to let her teacher know , her high school English teacher , to know that I made a difference , and I thought , wow , I didn't know , I would have had no idea that I made an impact on this young lady and that was a success I didn't see coming because it wasn't obvious in the moment . If we're going to look in the grade book and we're going to say success is an A or a B in an honors course or you know , this student became a reader , whatever , those are some of the success criteria we would say , and I didn't see those in her .

Cathy Tooley 6:26

For what the world would have measured as success . She wasn't there , exactly . She wasn't there Exactly . Yeah , we just did a podcast on what we don't see . Yes , this is kind of behind the curtain . Absolutely , you're talking about what we don't see . You know what ? I wonder , Kari , how is it that ? Because I think kids think we measure success by an A or a B . Absolutely , help those that are listening to this , not just in my voice , but in yours . What is success to you from a kid ? How do you measure success ? Because I really think kids have stories that you know , if I don't get an A , that you don't like me .

Cathy Tooley 7:00

Because , you've heard those . Right , I didn't do well in her class . Sure , she probably didn't like me . I know that's not true , but how is it that we see success in students ? What does that ?

Kari Jost 7:12

look like to us . Well , I think it's different now that I'm in administration , for sure , and I do appreciate this time in my life getting to see it from a different perspective . I always as a classroom teacher . I found success as kids who grew , and maybe it was . It didn't have to be an A or a B because , let me tell you , I taught all levels of students and I could find success . Success could be just figuring out how to write a great email . It could be enjoying reading . That could be a great success . You're actually reading Exactly when you had never read to start with , exactly .

Kari Jost 7:50

Exactly Right , because someone told you you couldn't read Right , or you would have been the kid in high school who would come out of high school saying I never finished a book . I mean , we hear adults saying that , right , somehow I made it to high school without reading a book . So success for me has always been growth . So it's growth in getting better , it's growth in mindset , it's growth in I'm going to try now . It's growth in I'm going to attempt to do what you're asking of me . So success to me looks like that growth piece . And then for me , as administrator , I do like this piece because as administrator I get to deal with kids who cause some trouble , sometimes right , of course we do .

Cathy Tooley 8:31

We don't always see the shining stars . We do not . That's right .

Kari Jost 8:34

They are in classes where they belong . That's right . But when I see growth of a kid who has learned how to behave , learned how to watch their tongue , how they can express themselves in positive ways , how they learn how to interact with their peers , that's probably actually one of my favorite things about being an administrator is watching kids who come in behaving a certain way and their mannerisms a certain way , and then that growth as they walk across that stage and you think they made it , and they made it in a beautiful way . They grew . They are changed by their time

Redefining Success Beyond Grades

Kari Jost 9:15

here , by the people they've been around , the teachers that have impacted them . So success looks different for me as an administrator , because I wouldn't have really dealt with a lot of the discipline problems in my classroom . But as principal I get to see that side too .

Cathy Tooley 9:27

Yeah , I wished . If there's anyone watching this podcast that has those stories that you know , Ms So-and-so or Mr So-and-so didn't like me because I never got an A or B in their class .

Cathy Tooley 9:37

Oh , so not true , because I will tell you I be in their class . I'm so not sure Because I will tell you I know I'm speaking for myself and many people that I know , and I'm sure you are too I never thought that . Oh , absolutely not . Never , never considered it , never , never gave it a thought . And I , I think too , and I love what you said about success . Even the kids that were quote the trouble to me . I remember them with such a fondness Exactly they , because they cost me a little challenge too . They did , yeah , they help us grow . They do . We just did a podcast about how learning goes both ways in education , absolutely , and how I learned a different tactic to help them grow .

Kari Jost 10:14

Absolutely .

Cathy Tooley 10:15

So and I know you're not going to like this question , so I'm going to wield it on you You're not going to like it . How have you helped a student grow ? Because we hate talking about ourselves , don't we ? I could talk about my teachers all day long . I could tell you what my teachers did , but how have you Tell me a story , tell me a kid , tell me a moment where you thought maybe it is that graduation , maybe it is that freshman to sophomore .

Kari Jost 10:41

Because I don't know what happens between their freshman and sophomore years , but something happens . I will say that I work a lot with the freshmen who are in academic trouble and I will say that I can think of a young man that I met with him his freshman year and just really struggling academically and it was a combination of other resources in the building , you know , making sure he's going to tutoring , he's visiting with his teachers , but also just those check-ins with him , seeing him in the hallways . How's it going ? How are you doing Taking the time to find his interest , Even though it's supposed to be a difficult conversation ? Right , You're calling a kid in ? Okay , what's going on academically ? But in those meetings , in those times with those kids , I sure enjoy talking to them . Okay , what do you like to do after school ? What is it that you do for fun ? Tell me about a teacher here that you like , that you're connecting with and why , Tell me about , yes , and tell me about a class where you're struggling .

Kari Jost 11:37

And so this young man that I'm thinking of , watching him and the excitement in him when it's hey , can I show you my grades . When he's coming to me now , can I show you my grades , you know , and that pride right , because that's one of the hardest things is to get the kids to care , who've maybe not had the experience of feeling what it , or having that experience of an A or a B or a C even . And so watching this young man , who's a junior now , not in any kind of grade , trouble , finding his own , playing in sports and getting involved in things , and just that pride and self-confidence I see in him , and that started with that conversation as a freshman .

Cathy Tooley 12:16

You betcha so much of the magic of what happens in the classroom isn't about that letter grade , because you notice that . Nowhere in that did you talk about the success when he shows you your grades , that you counted how many A's and B's he had . No , those are lovely , right , and I'm not disrespecting an academically strong GPA . I mean those are great and important things , but that's not what you're talking about .

Kari Jost 12:37

What you're talking about is just the difference in the success that we get Well right , because you and I both know that there are kids who could sit in a classroom and because they have great memories , or they're truly gifted , or they're truly gifted . They're truly gifted , exactly so they don't have to work as hard , that's right . So they don't have to work as hard , that's right . So when you have a kid who's struggling academically and they've got to figure that out for themselves , that is true success . That's it . And it doesn't mean an A necessarily . That's it .

Cathy Tooley 13:04

Well , you have children yourself and I'm sure you've seen academically in your own children . Some of your children have to work way more than others do . I saw it in my own children and I'm not more or less proud of the academic achievements of any of them . What I'm proud of is that , regardless of what difficulties or struggles they had , that they still found academic success Right , yes , whatever that was for them .

Kari Jost 13:26

Exactly and you could see when they're doing their best . That's it . And I would tell my kids I don't care for all A's . I want you to do your best and you to have success and feel that success and pride in yourself . I'm going to be proud of you if you have A's and B's and C's . I'm going to be proud if you have a D or F . It's probably because you're not doing your homework . That's right .

Kari Jost 13:44

So you're not balancing your time , that's right , that's right , but your success is based on what you need for yourself , because all my kids need different things , for sure .

Cathy Tooley 13:51

How is it that you think that ? Because I think it's bigger than this . How is it that you think that being in education and us helping students find success and defining what success is really impacts

Building Student Confidence and Pride

Cathy Tooley 14:05

the world and future generations ?

Kari Jost 14:08

Well , I'll go back to just the again when I was talking about that self-confidence piece . Right ? If our kids can't find that confidence in themselves that they can do something , then how do we have any hope ? Right , because how do you get up and go on the next morning if you are consistently feeling like a failure ? So you have to have that confidence in yourself and our kids have to have that in order to go out and be a citizen in the world . They have to feel that .

Cathy Tooley 14:36

Yeah , I think about what is so demanded of kids today , in that you know , you and I , you know , we're about the same age . We went to school memorizing lots of facts and learning lots of things that they don't have to do anymore , and we've had to shift as educators ourselves in what we expect of our students . But the world that they're going out into is changing so fast that if we don't teach them to think or how to problem solve , we're really doing them a disservice , absolutely . And the magic truly isn't about the subject . I hope anyone who's watching this podcast catches on to that . Have you really noticed Kari and I talking about ? Well , we both love ELA .

Kari Jost 15:17

Absolutely . We are partial , that's right , we're not even hiding our partiality .

Cathy Tooley 15:23

We love you math teachers out there more or less , but we really , really love because we're language teachers . But have you seen or heard us spending so much time on that ? Because I don't think that's the magic in the classroom .

Kari Jost 15:34

No , not at all .

Cathy Tooley 15:35

Not at all . I think the magic happens in when they learn about who they are , and not everybody has to be as you said . You were in charge of the student council . Not everyone belongs in student council , that's right . There's nothing wrong with that , and I listened to so many students post-graduation I'm sure you have too say I wasn't one of the popular kids , I wasn't in student counseling , I wasn't in whatever and I wasn't in whatever .

Cathy Tooley 15:56

And what I think is we missed a mark as educators because we've let that child focus too much on what they weren't than instead of the magic of who they were . We missed the mark . We missed the mark that not everyone is a student counsel person or a band person or a . Clearly , I am not an athlete , I've never been an athlete but that doesn't mean I didn't have gifts in other . So I think that , for me , is the true magic of the classroom is having a student really understand what their success is and what that means . Okay , if you could lead us , because we just have a few minutes left with this secret bullet for you , if you to anyone that's watching this podcast today and you get to tell them , I want you to finish this sentence . For me , the true magic in a classroom happens when and I know I winged that on you- you did .

Kari Jost 16:49

You did when the teacher respects the dignity of all the kids in the classroom and that dignity and understanding that every person needs to feel that from a teacher . When that doesn't happen , I don't think learning can happen . So I really firmly believe that our teachers need to see that Every person in that classroom they're not troublemakers , they're somebody's kid and they come with all of these pieces and we have to figure out who they are in order to teach them . But if we recognize that dignity in them , that's what we're going to start with

Respecting Each Student's Dignity

Kari Jost 17:30

. We're going to start with trying to see them as individual people and all of the cares and worries and understanding they come with , all these things that we have to figure out how to get them to teach .

Cathy Tooley 17:39

And we have to sift through . Do it get English through to them ?

Kari Jost 17:42

Yes , we do , but we have to start with showing them that we care through treating them with dignity .

Cathy Tooley 17:47

Isn't that the bigger picture , even in our lives ? Isn't that the bigger picture even in our lives ?

Kari Jost 17:50

Absolutely , we want to be seen with dignity and respect in our marriages , in our parenting , in our employment , well , in our world because , if you look at it , if we were to treat others with dignity just because they are people , we would have a different world . That's not where we start .

Cathy Tooley 18:04

You're different from me , so you don't deserve that dignity , so we constantly do that , as a society , you're not achieving what I think you should be , so , therefore , you don't get what I think you should be Right , or you are this or you're in this class , or you look like this .

Kari Jost 18:16

Whatever it is , we put people and we strip them of their dignity when we put them in those boxes , so that to me is the magic .

Cathy Tooley 18:24

Absolutely the magic is to truly see students with dignity , with respect and dignity . Thank you , you're welcome . Thank you for being here , absolutely . Thank you for all the years . Thanks for having me . I laughingly say that I get to do what I do , but you really get to go back to the trenches . I do , and forever grateful for that , thank you . Thank you everyone for watching . This has been insightful for me too . I never thought about truly the magic of teaching being in respecting each of our dignity . What a different world we would have , absolutely what a different world we have , if we just respected each other's dignity . So thank you for joining us . We'll see you on the next episode .