SPEAKER_00 0:05

Hello, and welcome to the Piper Harris Coaching Podcast, where I share how you can rebuild your ruins, find growth, freedom, and fulfillment in your life. Through my podcast, we dive into topics surrounding women, couples, positive psychology, Christianity, shifting your mindset, and how to overcome behaviors and thoughts that are holding you hostage in your life. My name is Piper Harris, and I use my over 20 years of experience as a mental health counselor, coach, business owner, wife, and mother to dig into deep and complex issues that you're facing and empower you to overcome and harness the courage to chase after your best life. Thanks for joining us today, and welcome to the Piper Harris Coaching Podcast. Hey there and welcome to today's podcast. So today's going to be a little bit different. For those of you that typically have listened to me over the years, I usually do some end-of-the-year wrap-ups, and this year is going to be a little bit different because I'm inviting my kiddo, my youngest Colt, to join us today. He has finished his finals, yay, for him. So he's got a half day. And he has always expressed interest in doing a podcast with me. So I thought what a great way to get a perspective from him on how the first part of his school year went, and we can kind of have a roundup for the year from a middle schooler's perspective. Um, if you typically watch this online, you'll notice that there is no video along with this. I am protecting my son's images because, well, we know there's people out there that like younger boy images, and I'm not going to take part of that. Ew. So, anyway, uh if you've got kids that are in middle school, I would invite you to invite them to listen in. This might be a really great opportunity for you to have a conversation with your kids. And again, it's something that I do every year for myself, thinking about how the year went or the half year went, what my goals are for 2022. And I thought, what a great opportunity for Colt to have a conversation with me about this. So, Colt, welcome. Tell us a little bit about yourself.

SPEAKER_01 2:11

Hi, I'm Colton. Um, I'm 12 and uh I I'm a cross I do cross country and I'm a student ambassador at my school. And in my off time, I just like playing video games.

SPEAKER_00 2:20

Yeah, you do like video games, don't you? What's your favorite video game so far?

SPEAKER_01 2:23

Fortnite.

SPEAKER_00 2:24

Fortnite. Yeah, yeah. Always Fortnite. I saw uh Dwayne Johnson is on Fortnite now. Yeah, it's not a good skin. It's not a good skin. Okay, whatever that is, people. So uh Colt, you kind of heard what I was talking about. So let's kind of jump in. Tell me about um some the top two to three highlights of this first part of your school year.

SPEAKER_01 2:45

Well, my number one highlight's probably gotta be my midterms because I I was really worried about them like all week, and I got A's on all every single one of them. And then my second one was when I got the email to become a student ambassador. And I was really very excited about that because I didn't know I was gonna get it because there's like 50 kids.

SPEAKER_00 3:04

So tell everybody what what's a what's a student ambassador?

SPEAKER_01 3:08

Uh basically we represent the school, and we're like we get like this is a tradition in our school where we the sixth graders who are from fifth grade and they the rising sea stage, we tour them around the school. So the ambassadors are the ones that do that.

SPEAKER_00 3:20

Okay, because you're in seventh grade. Yeah, gotcha. Okay. So if you think about this whole last year, 2021, what do you think out of this whole last year has been like the biggest thing that you've grown on?

SPEAKER_01 3:34

Um, just my relationship with God.

SPEAKER_00 3:36

Yeah. Okay, well, tell us about that.

SPEAKER_01 3:38

Well, I went I used to be, I used to be, I've always been Christian.

SPEAKER_00 3:43

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 3:44

But it was like I felt like I was treating it more like a title than an actual thing.

SPEAKER_00 3:48

Oh, okay. Tell me more about that.

SPEAKER_01 3:50

When I went to church, well, I felt like I'm not being as connected as God as should as a Christian should be. Mm-hmm. So I went to Bible camp and it just completely changed me, especially like the the dinner sermon, and it was it blew my mind, and I I think I've I haven't changed ever since. Oh I have changed, but you know what I mean.

SPEAKER_00 4:11

Well, tell me how how what does a a Christian middle schooler look like for you? Like how how what's that change been in you?

SPEAKER_01 4:20

I just feel like I think about what I do more and I feel more thoughtful about what I do, and I start to see the problem with things. That's not a bad thing. I'm not saying I'm super negative when it comes to that stuff. Is that when you see like like peer pressure that happens to kids every day, you see the problem in what they're doing?

SPEAKER_00 4:36

You know, so you're saying that you're better able to think things through before reacting? Yeah, okay, and so then you're just able just better able to what like I don't feel as lonely, you know. Oh, okay. So you're feeling less loneliness because your relationship with Jesus is better.

SPEAKER_01 4:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:54

So if um someone your age is listening to this and they're like, I totally don't get what Colt Colt is talking about, how would you encourage them to try to figure it out?

SPEAKER_01 5:07

Well, um, how you would figure it out, just dive into some scripture. If you ever feel like, huh, well, I'm confused. Well, there's this saying that says, You know about me, but you do not know me. So I think it just taking the time like every night, getting to know God, and just not saying, Well, I'm Christian, but you should see not only word actions are more powerful than words, and words mean a lot too. So So why do you think it's I mean and don't be kind you can be kind to people wherever you go. There you go. So showing kindness, yeah, and because and here's something that's gonna be hard for all of us, and trust me, it's taking you know a long time for this. Don't try to think bad thoughts. And I know it's really hard because they're we're human, but what always helps me when I'm thinking about something, saying something or thinking something, because God's right next to us, right? So always like make sure that you know that God's right next to you. So would you say that in front of God?

SPEAKER_00 6:08

Okay, so you're saying that you imagine God like physically being next to you, and that's kind of like me standing next to you as like a parent saying, Hey, would I say this if mom was in the room or dad is in the room?

SPEAKER_01 6:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:21

So does he make you feel loved like a parent? Yeah. Okay, how so?

SPEAKER_01 6:27

It just feels like you don't you feel like you don't deserve it, you know? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Why is that? Because it's just like we all sin and we've all made some really bad mistakes in our life, but then God comes up and goes, Hey, you did all this, this, and that. I still love you, you know, and I forgive you.

SPEAKER_00 6:45

So kind of like that. So um you said, I want to go back to you said dig into scripture. What if somebody doesn't have a Bible? What if they don't know how to read the Bible? What are some other options?

SPEAKER_01 6:54

There are a bunch of options. Number one, you can always go to church. And if there's not a church in the area, then you know, if you have a phone, there's a really good app called Bible app. The U version app. Yeah, the U version. And you can get scripture daily, you can get all of that. And if that doesn't work, you know, go to the go to somebody at school who you know is Christians, ask them, hey, could I borrow your Bible for a little bit? Is there or what about having a conversation?

SPEAKER_00 7:18

Would you be comfortable having a conversation with somebody? Yeah. Okay. So you're saying your one of your greatest growth things this year has been that you went to Bible camp, yeah, and it really changed you, and you dedicated your life to Jesus. You got baptized this year. Okay. And then finally understand the Holy Trinity.

SPEAKER_01 7:36

It's been a long time.

SPEAKER_00 7:38

That's super confusing, right?

SPEAKER_01 7:40

It doesn't confuse me at all anymore. Good. That's good. But what how how I kind of remember it is that you know spy you know thing is Spider-Man, right?

SPEAKER_00 7:48

Oh, okay. Yep, Spider-Man.

SPEAKER_01 7:49

So Peter Parker's the photographer for the Daily Beagle. He serves he d does that. Okay. Now there's Peter Parker who's a college student, he's learned, and then there's Spider-Man.

SPEAKER_00 7:59

So you're saying there's the photographer Peter Parker, there's the college student Peter Parker, and then there's Spider-Man Peter Parker. Yeah. So there's three. But one. But one, because he's all Peter Parker. Yeah. That is a really good image for us to understand what the Holy Trinity is. Yeah. That totally makes sense. So if you are thinking about um going into next year, 2022, what are some of your goals for this next part of the year?

SPEAKER_01 8:27

Number one, try to be more connected with God. And number two, I just want to keep good grades and make new friends.

SPEAKER_00 8:32

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 8:33

It's hard in school, isn't it? And I'm all for making new friends, but I want to keep friends too. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:39

I mean, yeah. So what do you think some of the biggest challenges are for a middle schooler?

SPEAKER_01 8:44

Probably peer pressure and daily environments. Yeah. It's sometimes it's spoken and sometimes it's unspoken. So you don't know. And sometimes you won't even notice it. Yeah. Like it's unspoken, but like um it's just there's a lot of different stuff that's against what it says in the Bible. And I'm not gonna list it on the stream because there might be I might offend something.

SPEAKER_00 9:10

Right. No, I understand that.

SPEAKER_01 9:11

But um basically, I just feel like the hardest thing for middle schoolers is just being who they are. You know what I mean? Yeah. When I say that, not people telling you who you are, but being who you are. Like, let's just say I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 9:29

Well, like, let's take, for example, you tell me like one of the big changes you notice in middle school was like all the cussing that you're like, holy moly, there's a lot of cussing. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:39

Yeah. But you gotta notice, well, if that's not it's just it's just you shouldn't say that kind of stuff.

SPEAKER_00 9:46

Right.

SPEAKER_01 9:46

And if everybody else is saying it, you still shouldn't say it. Like this is a this is a an over an exaggeration, but let's just say let's just go back to the 1945. Okay. 1940s. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 9:58

And we're in Germany. Colton is my history buff, y'all. I have no clue. So he's constantly teaching me.

SPEAKER_01 10:04

We're in Germany.

SPEAKER_00 10:05

Okay, we're in Germany.

SPEAKER_01 10:05

Yeah, everybody's so so doing a whole Nazi kind of thing.

SPEAKER_00 10:08

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 10:09

But us.

SPEAKER_00 10:09

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 10:10

Does that make it right?

SPEAKER_00 10:11

Hmm. So you're saying that.

SPEAKER_01 10:13

Just because everybody's doing it doesn't mean it's right. Gotcha.

SPEAKER_00 10:16

Okay, well, that's a really good perspective. Okay. So, um, if you could leave middle schoolers with one piece of advice going into next year, what would it be?

SPEAKER_01 10:31

Um, just I want I want you to just take a minute every day and just spend some time with God. Try to go to church as much as you can because God will help you through middle school. And honestly, that's just what has always helped me in middle school. And of course, you always just just always be yourself no matter what people do.

SPEAKER_00 10:52

Good, good. Okay. So, um, with our our kind of our podcast together, what are some issues you think that um are difficult for middle schoolers like when it comes to academics? Academics?

SPEAKER_01 11:10

That's well, a lot of kids, I think this frustrates us all. And I feel like if you're y'all new nerds in the audience like me, well then you'll know exactly how this feels. Your teacher's tu teaching and you're trying to study, and then you got the moron in the back screaming. Well, that's not nice to call a name. Well, not a moron, but right, but somebody in the back who's not very nice.

SPEAKER_00 11:33

That's not yeah, right. And so that's frustrating.

SPEAKER_01 11:36

Yeah. Yeah. And I just feel like when that happens, you know, just try to block everything out. Just don't out. Try to and um I feel like the other biggest distraction is that tests. And I know that sounds like tests isn't a distraction. Well, do you learn really a lot from a test?

SPEAKER_00 11:57

Well, but how are they supposed to figure out if you've learned?

SPEAKER_01 12:01

They don't have to give you tests though. Well, I mean like the milestones.

SPEAKER_00 12:06

Oh, the yeah, okay. So you're saying standardized standardized testing.

SPEAKER_01 12:10

I don't think we need standardized testing. I think we just need normal qu testing. Oh, standardized testing, there's been like an upage and stress when it comes to standardized testing. Yeah. And you know, it's just it's always nuts those days. And a part of the problem at school is that it's kind of like you know, when you get okay, let's just say you get a bunch of bananas. Okay. If one banana goes rotten, do you throw out the whole bunch? Well, you shouldn't. Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 12:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:39

Well at school, I think one of the biggest challenges academically is that there are most kids who aren't doing anything wrong, but there's always that one kid and they throw out the whole bunch.

SPEAKER_00 12:47

Oh, okay. So you're saying that everybody gets penalized for one kid's misbehavior. Yes. That's frustrating. Yeah. Yeah. So if you were to kindly speak to teachers in middle schools, how would you one encourage them? And two, how could you explain what would really be helpful in the classroom?

SPEAKER_01 13:07

Um, how I encourage them, I tell them, Well, you're doing a really good job teaching us this stuff and you're doing all that. But I would also say we need to do more hands-on activities because I have this teacher, Mrs. Blank. Okay. I'm not gonna say her name. Um and she does she does some really n cool stuff. She has a lot of hands-on activities. She does she she does some she cuts up, she lets us do cutting and she lets us do all these different projects, and we all learn stuff from 'em. Like my my science midterm. Well, she did this whole mid end games merch and review, and the prize is like a little infinity got like keychain. Right. And it was super fun because everybody gotta do it, and it was a competition. I just think we need some more spirit in the classroom.

SPEAKER_00 13:55

Okay, so you're saying this teacher specifically is very good at hands-on engaging the students, yeah, because I mean now this teacher I know who you're talking about. She's also pretty strict, right? She's strict, but don't but she's caring, yeah. So you're saying the key for a middle school teacher is engaged, be kind, caring, but also have boundaries and be strict.

SPEAKER_01 14:17

It's kind of like one of the what's what's what's a good way of saying it? It's like it's kind of like a leash, you know? Like you should let them go for a little let them r run around for a little bit, but you have to be able to have the ability to pull it back. So my point is is that you students can learn and have fun, but that does not mean if you they don't need to the only people think that the only way for kids to learn is pass them a notepacket. Half the time we just read the blanks and put the things in. We don't read the sentence. Right. So they just need to get rid of that kind of system.

SPEAKER_00 14:50

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 14:51

And we just need to do games like that attribute to it. Like when we do fun games, everybody pays attention. Why? Because they know there's like a little there's there's some fun and they know that it's academic. Right, right. Because sometimes it's just like we just need to be treated like hey, we're not robots, you know. We're not just gonna take we we can take in information, but we also like to have fun. And like being a teacher is a hard job. It is, but part of it being a hard job is not the hands-on engagement because people are so energized in class. Why? Because we get 30 minutes like my at my school we have like th 30 minutes in gym, so it's like minus the warm-up, so that's like 15 minutes of running and playing. It's not even always running and playing, sometimes they make you walk.

SPEAKER_00 15:42

Yeah, so you're saying it'd be better to have more energy.

SPEAKER_01 15:45

Yeah, it's just we need more energy out. Yeah. Hey, bring back recess. I don't know. Bring back recess. Well, they do that in a lot of countries, right? Right. This they need to stop treating like a daycare in a school. And it needs to just it needs to be a like it needs to be So that's not just about the teachers, though. That's the families, it's not just about the teachers, not just about the families, it's just a mix of both. Yeah, it's just I think that you can teach somebody but also make it really, really fun. Sure. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 16:15

Well, so that's I think that's a lot for middle school teachers to hear. I like that. And I wonder if um if other middle schoolers are listening to this, this might give them cor courage, right? To have those conversations in their school. So let's get to the exciting stuff.

SPEAKER_01 16:30

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 16:31

Christmas is next week. Yeah, what are you looking forward to?

SPEAKER_01 16:35

Um, I just can't wait to see to till my dad sees what I got him and what you what you know you see, what I got you, and I can't wait to see all that. I can't wait to see my own presents. Me too. And I can't wait to see all your dads' reactions. And I just that's my favorite part of Christmas, seeing other people open up your gift. Yeah, you know, and my second favorite part is my dad's taking me to six flags. Yeah, the same.

SPEAKER_00 16:56

You you guys get to do some fun stuff. So a big blessing for our family, right? We have that blessing that our dad works really hard for us and we can go do fun stuff. Yeah, yeah. So, well, I've had a lot of fun. So, what do you think about this whole thing that mom does podcasts and mom going to school to be a counselor? What do you think about all that?

SPEAKER_01 17:19

Uh, it's pretty cool, actually. I like it. Then you can be female Dr. Phil.

SPEAKER_00 17:23

Yeah, Colt told me today it could be Dr. Piper, like Dr. Pepper. So we were kind of laughing about that. Well, Colton, I have had so much fun with you today. Thank you for joining us and kind of sharing a little bit about your 2021, your goals for 2022, and and some insight and encouragement for kiddos your age and for uh teachers. So thanks everybody. It's a quick one today. I'm hoping I can bring my eldest son on as well and include him in some of these conversations. Be sure to stay tuned. We still have a couple weeks left in this year, and we'll make sure that I do my end of year. But thank you again, everyone. We hope you are well, you're healthy, and we're playing praying for you in this season. Talk to y'all soon. Thank you for joining me today on the Piper Harris Coaching Podcast. If you enjoyed today's episode, please be sure to share it on your social media, share it with your friends and your family. And if something really spurred or stirred inside of you, send me a message. I'd love to chat with you more about how you can rebuild and you can find healing and vitality in your life. Thanks so much. I appreciate you, and you'll hear from me soon in future episodes.