Bethany Bell:
You can see all that potential and all that good in them that's just waiting to come to fruition. And it's really exciting, and it's really something I'm personally grateful for.
Rachel Daniels:
That was Bethany Bell, career and community resource coordinator at Columbus City Schools.
On this episode of The Conversation, Bethany shares how her career journey has shaped her perspective, bringing a deeper sense of joy and gratitude to the work she does every day. She'll also talk about how she channels that joy into helping students discover and pursue their own career paths. Let's dive in.
John Hambrick:
Hello, and welcome back to The Conversation, Ohio Voices in Education, igniting ideas, inspiring change.
Rachel I'm so glad we're back together today with this conversation. I am very excited with our guest that we have with us today. Oftentimes we find these nuggets of joy. How do we get joy? Where do we find joy? What's the journey of joy? We found a friend, Bethany Bell, community and career resource coordinator with Columbus City Schools, based out of Northland High School. I'm so looking forward to this conversation, Bethany, on all sorts of cool things that you get to do, and the world that you're in. In the world of choice, why do you choose to be joyful?
Bethany Bell:
You bring the energy that you want to experience every day. And that's not just a professional thing at my job, but a personal thing as well. When I think about joy, I think about gratitude and how grateful I am to be where I am today, again, both personally and professionally. My life has not been a straight line.
And my career, even though this is my 21st year in Columbus City Schools, it's not necessarily been a straight line either. I've done a lot of different things. I was an English teacher for 14 years. I had the privilege of working with our new teachers for four years, supporting them. And then I found myself in this new space. And I'm really grateful because all of those roles gave me the opportunity to be a part of something where we're innovating, and we're building, and we're making positive changes for students. And I get to be with kids and see their potential and see some of that come to fruition.
I think about my early adulthood and some of the struggles that I experienced getting my feet underneath me, finding my way. And when I look at my students, I want them to know that they do have the potential and skills that it takes to come through those similar challenges that they may be facing now or may face in the future.
John Hambrick:
As you talk about being grateful, I've heard that gratitude is an action word.
Bethany Bell:
It is. Yeah, it is. Part of choosing joy is also choosing gratitude. This morning, for example, traffic was not great. The weather is not great. Things have been pretty busy and intense here at work, solving some problems. And it is an intention to face the day with gratitude that I'm in a space where I can solve some of those problems, that I can help people with those situations, that I can be there for my kids and support them, and that I have the things that I need. I don't take that for granted or take it lightly. It's not always been the case, and it's not the case for everyone.
Rachel Daniels:
It's a pleasure to speak with you today. And what your comments are reminding me is that when we face the world in a position of joy or recognizing the gratitude we have, it allows us to see those things a little more clearly right in front of us. And so I'm wondering, how does working with students help to expand joyful moments in your own life, either personally or professionally? And can you think of particular events or experiences that you've had with students that really exemplify joy?
Bethany Bell:
Well, first of all, young people are awesome. I know it is sometimes common to hear adults gripe about teenagers today, but I think young people today have this incredible ethos of wanting to fix maybe some of the things that my generation did not leave in the best condition for them. They care about each other. They care about making the world a better place, and they're very much engaged in that kind of work and connection with each other.
Also, they're a lot of fun. I don't know what happens to us as we get old and tired and grouchy, but they've got jokes and they've got energy. And I find that I actually enjoy working with them more than I do other adults. I love my colleagues and they're great. And I loved working with young teachers, new teachers, new to the district, mid-career teachers and all of that, but there's something about being with a young person who is on the brink of their future and just getting ready to take those first steps and seeing all of those things that are yet to come that they don't even know are out there yet.
When you get to know a young person, you can see all that potential and all that good in them that's just waiting to come to fruition. And it's really exciting, and it's really something I'm personally grateful for. That gives me joy and energy too, and it keeps me coming back. And especially in the position that I'm in now, I get to work with kids all the way, freshmen through senior year, and just seeing that progression alone is an amazing experience.
Rachel Daniels:
I think one of the sort of powerful tools that you have in your hand is when you're able to convey the power or importance of joy and students just simply existing and being who they are, it helps to innately build their confidence and helps them to see their own value and what they bring to the table. So it's what we sort of think about as a soft skill that educators help to cultivate in students. And it makes me excited to hear that your district has someone like you who's doing that for students who very much need to hear of their value.
Bethany Bell:
Well, I definitely feel lucky to be here. I feel lucky to be in the career tech space, even though this is a far cry from where I started as an English teacher. I got into ELA instruction because I had a love of the content, and I had a teacher that made all the difference in the world to me and became this guiding light as I was, as I said, finding my way in my young years in college.
But here I am, and I'm still using those skills, but I also, get to take kids out of this building. I get to take them to the Healthcare Summit that now we're having every year. I get to help them explore the sandbox of life and figure out what their next step is going to be.
And there's a lot of growth happening in this space and there's a lot of system building, which doesn't come without growing pains. There are challenges, but I think that is a good way to not stagnate yourself.
Rachel Daniels:
Well, Bethany, as we wrap up our conversation this morning, you've shared several little snippets that give us an insight into why you come back to your job every day. We're learning lots of little pieces, but I want to end with this. What advice might you offer in terms of a practical step that our listeners, educators, administrators, community members at large, what step might they take tomorrow to create more joy in their day?
Bethany Bell:
Well, I would say if you find yourself feeling stagnant, don't be afraid to do something different. I'm out of the classroom now, and that was a real challenge for me for the first couple of years. I think everyone has a different niche where they're going to be happy. I still miss teaching English. I miss it a lot. I miss teaching writing. I miss tricking kids into reading things when they really didn't intend to do the reading sometimes.
There are a lot of things that are still hard for me to have let go of, but I personally needed something different. I needed to have the opportunity to grow in different areas in order for me to be happy in my work and for me to be fulfilled in my work. And so leaving a really amazing teaching partner. Karen Ballmer at Whetstone High School is one of the most phenomenal history teachers you will ever encounter and a staff and a community that I love. That was really hard to give up. But because I was willing to do something different, I've had other opportunities unfold before me. And I've grown in ways that I didn't entirely anticipate, but that I am once again grateful for and that bring me joy.
So don't be afraid to try something new. We ask our students to be lifelong learners. We ask them to step into spaces that are outside of their comfort zone so that they can grow. And sometimes, if you are not experiencing joy, if you're not feeling grateful for where you are, maybe that means it's time to take a step out of your comfort zone too.
Rachel Daniels:
What I love is that we've taken this conversation around joy, which I think people envision with rainbows and fireworks and unicorns flying out of it to recenter it into this idea of opening ourselves up to vulnerability, which can be scary, and which can maybe not always feel so joyful. And yet, when you are vulnerable, it does allow for brand-new landscapes of opportunities that you might not have had before, where joy can really percolate. So I love that reminder for myself personally, and I'm sure that our listening audience will appreciate that as well.
Bethany, we are so thankful that you took time out of your busy schedule to join us today. It's always a good reminder to center ourselves in gratitude and joy. And for that, we are grateful to have had you with us today.
Any resources from our podcast will be listed in the show notes, so we'd encourage our listeners to take a look there to see what we have to offer. Thank you for listening. For John, this is Rachel; stay curious and keep up the conversation.