Speaker 1: And we continue here on our American stories, and up
Speaker 1: next we bring you a story from one of our
Speaker 1: listeners from the Twin Cities, and that's Minneapolis St.
Speaker 2: Paul.
Speaker 1: You've already heard Paul Kotts on this show, and he's
Speaker 1: back with more stories from his new book, Profiles and Kindness.
Speaker 1: Paul is a professor at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota.
Speaker 1: Today he'll talk about the importance of importance and how
Speaker 1: the why of what we do matter. Here's Paul.
Speaker 3: Many of us know what we do and how we
Speaker 3: do it very well, but when asked why we do it,
Speaker 3: we often pause and see that this is a question
Speaker 3: we might need to explore further. We've heard of people
Speaker 3: like Simon Sinek, Mike Veck, and Maya Angelo, three current
Speaker 3: individuals who bring these ideas to our attention. They make
Speaker 3: the case that it isn't just about the money so
Speaker 3: much as loving what you do and how you make
Speaker 3: people feel well. I admit that I love what I do,
Speaker 3: and recently I had a student who was so adamant
Speaker 3: that their grade should be changed on a critique assignment.
Speaker 3: The person is an intelligent, hard worker with drive and
Speaker 3: determination at the moment, I did not love what I do.
Speaker 3: What confounded me was that they actually had a ninety
Speaker 3: two percent on the assignment and were irritated that I
Speaker 3: docked them for not fully synthesizing two articles to a
Speaker 3: coherent conclusion that was not in the rubric. I was
Speaker 3: told in an email my credibility was being question and
Speaker 3: for a fleeting moment, I went back to the notion
Speaker 3: of pursuing a career in carpentry, which I also enjoy,
Speaker 3: but my why brought me back to the discussion with
Speaker 3: a revitalized impetus. Explicitly, they were right. I was trying
Speaker 3: to make this talented individual even better. Knowing integrating ideas
Speaker 3: and interweaving them together is vital to this degree and
Speaker 3: to life. I was also cognizant that I too have
Speaker 3: my limitations as their professor and a greator, so I called.
Speaker 2: Them Yes by phone zoom has already been a staple
Speaker 2: of my days, and I call people off because hearing
Speaker 2: a person's voice and the nuances of.
Speaker 3: Feeling are kind of the senses that we could tap
Speaker 3: into and off, and we neglect them. It can also
Speaker 3: be tiring, so I try to use it with a
Speaker 3: little discretion. Sometimes people are startled because from an educator,
Speaker 3: a call means they are in trouble or there could
Speaker 3: be something wrong.
Speaker 2: Well.
Speaker 3: In talking with the person, I emphasized that they were
Speaker 3: doing very well and there was plenty to say. I
Speaker 3: asked them, how are you doing? Not on the upcoming assignments,
Speaker 3: but as a person. There was a pause. Conversation led
Speaker 3: to understanding, which led to the revelation that this course
Speaker 3: was the only thing good happening in this person's life
Speaker 3: right now, the only good. This saddened me for a moment.
Speaker 3: The feeling was palpable. Their job was eating up weekends.
Speaker 3: Family issues this class I offered the stress of the pandemic,
Speaker 3: trying to be part time principle at home with their kids,
Speaker 3: and that fear of the unknown they were all weighing
Speaker 3: heavily on this individual. I shared how I used to
Speaker 3: bring my two daughters to the University of Minnesota with me,
Speaker 3: trying to finish my degree while still working in business.
Speaker 3: I would carry my books over my shoulder, holding the
Speaker 3: hand of one of my abouliant daughters, and initially carrying
Speaker 3: my other bundle of joy in my left arm, alternating
Speaker 3: when needed. I was at hand to my kids, but
Speaker 3: not consciously fully present. Care was evident, and it taught
Speaker 3: me to balance what I could, and I kept my
Speaker 3: kids fed and happy well generally, it seemed to resonate
Speaker 3: with this person. We connected and I understood empathizing what
Speaker 3: they were going through. I didn't realize that listening and
Speaker 3: through storytelling, that breaking through the shell of a grade
Speaker 3: being lower than expected was just scratching the surface of
Speaker 3: what was truly within their soul. I sensed that the
Speaker 3: wanted to know they have value and what they were
Speaker 3: doing was all worth it, and they were not getting
Speaker 3: the affirmations from their immediate surroundings. The individual acknowledged within
Speaker 3: our discussion that in the long run, the grade was
Speaker 3: not as important as knowing that what they do and
Speaker 3: how they do it has to compliment why they are
Speaker 3: even pursuing this degree in the first place. When I
Speaker 3: showed how what they did in the rest of the
Speaker 3: course demonstrated their mastery, the person laughed in some relief
Speaker 3: and realized that they were actually doing phenomenal work already
Speaker 3: and should not worry as much about this assignment grade.
Speaker 3: Instead what their future could be and how bright it
Speaker 3: looks could be. A horizon worth looking toward. The why
Speaker 3: of what we do is often what keeps us going
Speaker 3: forward and sustains our heart and mind beating in a sympatico,
Speaker 3: especially when we doubt ourselves or wonder about our true purpose.
Speaker 3: I question my purpose. Sometimes I encounter some very difficult situations,
Speaker 3: and often I put my head in my hands and
Speaker 3: ask for guidance from others and above. Yet when I
Speaker 3: see a baby laugh, for instance my grandson, and see
Speaker 3: new life emerging before my very eyes, I see a
Speaker 3: student change in confidence, or see for themselves the realization
Speaker 3: that they are valuable and they grasp that they can
Speaker 3: give what they have to someone else.
Speaker 1: And a special thanks to Robbie for his work on
Speaker 1: the piece, and thanks to Paul Cotts, whose book Profiles
Speaker 1: and Kindness is available on Amazon. In all the usual suspects,
Speaker 1: and think about what he did. He was not having
Speaker 1: a particularly good day, no day for a teachers good
Speaker 1: when the student calls to complain about a ninety two,
Speaker 1: And he did what well good teachers do. He made
Speaker 1: the call, He called the student. And that's the why
Speaker 1: in the end, and why do we even teach? I
Speaker 1: know why my dad taught. He wanted to prove young
Speaker 1: people's lives make them better people. Paul cots the why
Speaker 1: behind a phone call with a student here on Our
Speaker 1: American Story Lee Habib here and I'd like to encourage
Speaker 1: you to subscribe to Our American Stories on Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Spotify, or wherever you get our podcasts.
Speaker 1: Any story you missed or want to hear again can
Speaker 1: be found there daily again. Please subscribe to the Our
Speaker 1: American Stories podcast on Apple Podcasts, the iHeartRadio app, or
Speaker 1: anywhere you get your podcasts. It helps us keep these
Speaker 1: great American stories coming