On this episode of the Innovative Schools podcast, Kevin is sitting down with Gary Brooks. Yes, that Gary Brooks. And Gary is gonna be sharing his journey in education as well as some specific things that he thinks educators and principals alike should know. So come on, let's learn together. Hey, educators.
Jordan Bassett:This is Jordan. On this special episode of the Innovative Schools podcast, Kevin is sitting now with Gary Brooks. We love Gary Brooks. We think he's funny and motivational and has a lot of wisdom and a lot of things that just teach all of us about being the best educator that we can be, as well as just being good people in society. So, this interview between Kevin and Gary was shot at the Innovative Schools Summit, in Nashville, this past year.
Jordan Bassett:So it was a great time for us to sit down, glean some information and some wisdom from from Gary, and we love that we're able to share this with you guys. So I won't take up any more of their time and let you guys just get into listening.
Kevin Stewart:Well, welcome to the Innovative Schools podcast. Thanks for joining us. Thanks for choosing to be here and be on this podcast with us. I am incredibly excited and honored to have the great Gary Brooks with us here
Gerry Brooks:Yes. Exciting.
Kevin Stewart:Today and doing some incredible things in education. Before we get to talking about that, who is Gary Brooks?
Gerry Brooks:Well, I am an educator and and I've I hate to say social media influencer, but that happened by accident. And so I've been in education for twenty seven years starting in third grade in Florida, and I've done everything kindergarten through fifth grade for at least half a year. I did kindergarten half a year. Everything else at least a year. Wow.
Gerry Brooks:So major experience has been in elementary school. And now I've kinda switched over to be a speaker. I did a video a couple years ago about principals being on snow days, and it kinda went viral. And I've just continued to put videos up and have amassed a huge following on social media, which has enabled me to be now being on the speaking tour tour and being able to go to district opening days and amazing conferences and speak to educators that way. So I've kinda gone from influencing 25 kids to 750 kids to now being able to hopefully influence large crowds like today.
Kevin Stewart:And influencing kids all over the nation.
Gerry Brooks:Exactly. That's what and that's it. That's that's one of things I tell teachers. They say, when do you know what's right? And you just think about what where's your influence, your sphere of influence?
Gerry Brooks:And that's exactly what happened with me. I started with 25, and I thought, love this. And I had some really bad principals. And I thought, okay. I need to be a principal so then I can help others do what I'm doing.
Gerry Brooks:And so then went with a 100 teachers. And then went social media, I thought, well, you know what? I could even reach even more Mhmm. By being able to go out and speak. And so it's just been a great progression all the way through of education and the kind of the testament of knowing where you need to be and where you can do the best job of helping other people.
Gerry Brooks:Yeah.
Kevin Stewart:So I I I've known you for a little while and some of what you've done in the past. Why why did you choose education?
Gerry Brooks:Well, I grew up, I think that there are educators that are born, and then there are educators that have that desire. And I kinda had both. I, every job that I had in high school and college centered around students. I started at a a daycare. Then I went to being a lifeguard at a pool, and then I went to teaching swim lessons.
Gerry Brooks:I transferred to Troy State University in Alabama. And because I was coming up from Florida, I had my lifeguard degree and set my lifeguard certification. And so I jumped right into that, and did classes there. And so it just was a natural progression to always be one leader of teaching and being groups and always being in front of kids. And so it's just something that I think that you kind of are born with it.
Gerry Brooks:People are born with it. And you don't have to be born with it. You can know this is what I want to do. I know this is a great job and have that passion for it. But I really feel like from an early age, it's just always something that I wanted to do, be in leadership and be in front of kids.
Gerry Brooks:And it just has kind of worked out all the way through.
Kevin Stewart:What happened? Was there something specific that happened at some point in your life that you were able to look back and say, that's when I knew I was a leader?
Gerry Brooks:Specific. I think that, at least with me, it was a natural progression too. Because I was always one that would step up. And I think in, you know, high school, I was student government president. I, you know, helped organize everything.
Gerry Brooks:And that kinda happened in my sophomore year when we were trying to do this the float for homecoming. It was just so disorganized. And I just kinda jumped up literally on the float and say, okay. This is what we need to do, or we're not gonna get it done. And I literally said, and and we got it done.
Gerry Brooks:And someone came up to me said, you, that should have been him as the president of our class. And you stepped up and said, you need to run for president of the class. And I ran for president of the junior class, and then I ran for and it was really one of those things that that point my sophomore year, I realized, I don't I mean, I know it's a gift, but it's also just something you're willing to You know, I see this you know, there's somebody that needs to take charge here, and we could get this done if somebody would just step up and say, do this. And it really started that sophomore year that that at Mindy Sisterson's house doing that float with everybody unorganized, and I thought we're never gonna get this done. And the person who was the class president was supposed to be in charge of it, he was just lovely person, and he's a minister now.
Gerry Brooks:But he wasn't doing it. And I at that point, I just thought that's really and truly what I like to do is is I I don't even call it a leader. I call it an organizer. I just like to organize.
Kevin Stewart:Mhmm.
Gerry Brooks:And that is naturally a leader. And so it just kinda went on from there. I ended up being the, the head lifeguard at Troy State for two years.
Kevin Stewart:Wow.
Gerry Brooks:And so my junior year as in college, I took over that, and I organized them. And and so it's just been a natural progression of a love for kids, a love for learning, and a love for being organized and helping other people be organized. So I just think it became a natural progression for me.
Kevin Stewart:And it took the one of the most
Gerry Brooks:chaotic things It did. You have a bunch of a bunch of high school sophomores running around. Afloat. Having no idea what they're doing and going, hold on a minute. We gotta do it.
Gerry Brooks:And it really was. And I'm glad you brought that up because I thought I've often thought about that because that really was a turning point when that person came up to me and said that because had it not been for that, I would have not gotten my scholarship to Troy State University. I mean, it was a whole and so when people say, why are you where you're at? I can really pinpoint it down to that instance because had that not happened, then I wouldn't have run for class president. My you know, I it would that those stair steps would have not gone through there.
Gerry Brooks:And so that really is, I think, where the starting of me saying, I can be a leader, and I can always step up, and I can help people get organized, or I can step back and be one that will support somebody else's door.
Kevin Stewart:It probably gave you the confidence.
Gerry Brooks:Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. And and a bunch of friends.
Kevin Stewart:I mean, I did this. I did this.
Gerry Brooks:Exactly. And a bunch of friends. You know? I mean, it was not anything that was intimidating. You know?
Gerry Brooks:I just kinda went, let's do that. You know? And they just kinda and I'm glad they fell in line because they could've went poop and, you know, walked out. And it was just really kind of a turning point for me saying this is probably one of my gift gifts is organization leadership. And I don't want to say organized because if you saw my office and my house, but just that type of thing that, you know, how do we get it done and what can we do and how do you encourage others to do it?
Gerry Brooks:It kind of started that year and kind of have gone from there.
Kevin Stewart:So you went you went from kind of from that and and when you started into the education field working in schools, you went in as a teacher. Mhmm. At what point did you decide that, hey, I wanna be I wanna move into administration into the administrative role as principal. Yeah. What kinda what brought that about?
Gerry Brooks:Well, it was the kind of the same situation. I had a bad principal. And that really and truly moved me into the idea of, yes, I love these kids, and I love working with these 25 kids, but I could be much more effective elsewhere. And so I think you have to look at yourself as an especially in education is that, you know, a lot people say, oh, I don't wanna be a curriculum director. I don't wanna do this.
Gerry Brooks:I you know, I I love the kids. Well, you're still loving the kids. And I just realized that after having two very bad principals, I thought I could make a difference. And I could make, you know, 75 teachers happy, which would in turn make 600 kids happy, which would in turn make 1,500 parents happy.
Kevin Stewart:Sure.
Gerry Brooks:And so at at that point and I was in Brevard County in Fayette County, teaching third grade, and I thought, I really wanna move over, try to be an assistant principal, and move in there because I don't want anybody else to have to deal with what we're dealing with because she's just not great. And it was a very negative thing, and it was a very negative climate culture. And I thought, I need to be able to see if I can do this and change things around. So went directly there to an assistant principal for a year and was there for a year and then went directly into being a principal.
Kevin Stewart:Wow. So So I'm gonna ask you a question and because I think I know what the answer is gonna be because I met some of your former staff.
Gerry Brooks:Mhmm.
Kevin Stewart:And everyone that I met have been really excited. Yeah. I'm I'm here because I know he's gonna be here and we've talked.
Gerry Brooks:Yeah.
Kevin Stewart:Your staff retention rate, because I know that's a
Gerry Brooks:huge issue now and everything else. What was that like? We had great staff retention, and that was and I tell people, and this is one of my videos I do several times, and it drives me crazy. And that's within my own district. They let principals stay in positions with fifty, sixty, and 70% turnover.
Gerry Brooks:And I think that's ridiculous because that is an an instructional leader issue when you have that mature. I never had turnover. The only turnover I had was when we had retirement or somebody was moving to, out of state Mhmm. Or moving to a a a upward position. I didn't ever have school to school positions because we just created a great climate culture, and people wanted to be there.
Gerry Brooks:We really struggled with Spanish immersion teachers because we had to recruit from overseas, and so we usually only kept them for a couple years. So I I'm always in the interview process because we're changing those over. But I think one of the biggest things that you can do as a leader is make sure that you have a positive climate and culture. And when you have that, people don't wanna leave. Nobody wants to get up and pat I mean, I was dealing that with a friend that was really stressing.
Gerry Brooks:She was not happy where she was at. She needed to move. And when she finally got a job, she said, I'm not gonna do it. I don't want to move. I don't want to and I said, you need to do it.
Gerry Brooks:Nobody wants to move. They don't want to pack up their thing. And we, as educators, need to create a place where people don't want to and that's what my whole presentation is about. Climate culture is up to you. And if you love your colleagues, if you love your assistant principal, you love your para, then you need to make your school a place where people don't want to leave.
Gerry Brooks:Because the bottom line is, unless you're living in a small community, know, in Lexington, there's 36 elementary schools. And they're they're all over the place. And my teachers will pass 10 schools on the way to my school. And so, you have to create a climate culture where people feel like they're family. And, yes, we have disagreements.
Gerry Brooks:There are arguments. There are people that are not happy all the time. Sure. But I have found even unhappy people are not unhappy enough to say, I wanna leave. So we always had a great retention rate.
Gerry Brooks:People would say, you know, do you have an opening? I would say, only if somebody, you know, retires. Yeah. That's it. We don't have that big huge turnover that a lot of people have.
Gerry Brooks:So I was very blessed to have that, but it's also intentional. It's intentional with everybody, building grade level camaraderie, making sure that everybody feels like a family, and then you get to keep your staff and you don't end up having an interview. But, I mean, we do. We have principals that literally have fifty, sixty, 70% turnover every year, And the district keeps them in those positions. And to me, I and that's a video I say.
Gerry Brooks:If you're in central office, that's the first thing you should look at. It's not test scores. It's teacher retention rate because teachers will stay at a struggling school if they have the support that they need. And people say, oh, well, we're at a struggling school. You don't know.
Gerry Brooks:Well, I've been at those schools. Mhmm. And they will stay there if they have great leaders. They will stay there. And I think retention rate is a good indicator as to whether your principals are doing their jobs.
Kevin Stewart:I've said it a lot, but it starts at the top. Yep. I mean, really the retention and and the effectiveness of your school, of your staff, all that really starts at And the part of why I asked you is because we got we have principal, we have administrators that will watch this and see this and teachers as well. And some people, they know you because they've seen it flip through a video. That guy's funny.
Kevin Stewart:But you have a lot of great material. You have something that and part of I asked because so they would say, hey, this is a guy that not only has incredible material and funny stuff, but man, you're the real deal. Yeah. And people stick with you. And that says something about you and your personality, your integrity.
Gerry Brooks:Right.
Kevin Stewart:So I appreciate that about you. Yeah. Maybe just speak just a minute to our leaders that are gonna watch this and even hear this on whatever platform they're listening. What are some things that they can do to help create that culture? What are some of the things, simple things that they can do to say, hey, I recognize I need to change because I need to kind
Gerry Brooks:of build that? Well, think the biggest thing you can do is always say yes. I started this in my youth ministry, and I would tell my youth sponsors, if you can say yes, say yes. Because people hear no all the time. And if a kid comes to you and says, I'm hungry.
Gerry Brooks:I wanna walk across McDonald's, and you need to say yes. I will go with you and go over there. And I taught my youth ministry. People always try to say yes, and I and I leave that in there as a principle. Always try to say yes.
Gerry Brooks:If I can say yes to something, then I need to be able to say yes to it, and I need to work it out. If it's, you know, difficult for me, if it's a budget issue, if somebody is coming to you and asking you something instructionally or even personally, I really need a doctor's appointment. I need to leave half day. I need to do everything I can to say yes to that teacher, because they respect that. And they know that when they are in need of something, when they need something for their budget, when they need something for their classroom, when they are struggling personally, when they call and say, I just can't come in.
Gerry Brooks:I'm having a problem with my daughter. I I think the first thing that they can do is always try to say yes through budgets, through support, through, what they can do, the things that they can do, because then you end up being a supportive principal in all situations. And I also think you need to know that you're not the expert. I'm not an expert. My first, as an assistant principal, and I remember sitting next to my friend, Shelley Dixon, and she was a reading specialist, and I was an assistant principal.
Gerry Brooks:And I'm in this primary reading workshop, and they're talking about hunking and chunking. And I leaned over, and I said, what is hunking and chunking? And she explained it to me, and I thought, oh my gosh, I'm getting ready to be a principal, and I don't know what one of the major things that a teacher needs to know to teach reading. I don't know what hunking and chunking is. And I realized that I'm not an expert.
Gerry Brooks:I went to reading recovery, and I know there's a lot of stress around reading recovery right now, but the training for reading recovery, I put myself through reading recovery as a principal the next year, because I thought I can't lead people that if I don't know what I'm doing. And so I got the background knowledge that I needed on there, but I rely on the other people that are in my building. I'm not the expert everywhere. And so I try to train myself in the areas that I'm weak in and especially in elementary. You know, I can't not know how to teach reading in elementary, as a principal.
Gerry Brooks:And so I I got that training. And when I went in there, you know, when I need a science expert, I found a science. I hired an assistant principal that was a special ed Wow. Person because I'm not a special ed person, and special ed is huge. And so I hire to my weaknesses, and I realize what my weaknesses are, and I try to surround myself by other people that are weak.
Gerry Brooks:But so you have to go in there knowing that you're not the expert. And if you walk into a room and try to say, let me teach you about reading, and you're a principal that's never taught first grade, How in the world can I lead to PD when I had not taught first grade at that? You know, it's it's you have to realize what your strengths and weaknesses are, be okay with somebody else taking the lead on something, and knowing that you're not an expert everywhere, and surround yourself by people that are.
Kevin Stewart:That's so good. So good. A lot there. A lot there. You could keep going.
Gerry Brooks:Yep.
Kevin Stewart:And so if I'm hearing you right, number one, know your weaknesses. Know I mean, obviously, know your strengths. That's the easy part.
Gerry Brooks:Yeah.
Kevin Stewart:Know your weaknesses. Be willing to admit them. Mhmm. And then be a continuous learner.
Gerry Brooks:Absolutely.
Kevin Stewart:Is that right?
Gerry Brooks:Yeah. Continuous learning is a big thing. Re reading books, going to conferences like this. And, again, I looked at where do I need strength. I you know, I'm sitting in an IP meeting, and I'm not understanding this verbiage.
Gerry Brooks:So the next thing I did was pick up a special ed book and start going to special ed trainings. And when they were special when they were training in my district, the new special ed teachers, there I was sitting there because how can I go to an IEP meeting? And I mean, not that I don't have experts in there, and and Fayette County does a great job of having somebody that's that really knows what they're doing in there along with the teachers, but how can I sit there as the principal? And I have no clue. You know, I have to at least have a scratch the surface basic knowledge of everything.
Gerry Brooks:And so it is a continual learning in all situations, especially in big areas like teaching reading and testing. You know, you gotta know testing. You know, I purposely, made sure that I had intermediate experience in testing in more than one grade level because I'm gonna lead a school with testing, and I'm gonna look at somebody and say, your test scores are not the way they need to be, and they're gonna go, well, you've never taught fifth grade. You know, how can you do that? So I think you really need to make sure that you are, an expert at everything, but yet not.
Gerry Brooks:You just have a good basic knowledge, but more importantly, that you hire people around you that that you trust will help lead you through
Kevin Stewart:that. Awesome. What are some of the things that you would say that teachers to speak to the teachers a minute would be helpful for them to understand and know about a principal that maybe sometimes they forget in order for that relationship to build to get better if they're struggling with one? What is something that you could say, hey, maybe remember this about principals that you may not understand that they really go through?
Gerry Brooks:Right. Well, one of the big things I say when I speak is we don't live in a box in a bubble, and teachers wanna live in a box in a bubble. They wanna live in the box of their grade level or their classroom and the box of their classroom and the bubble of their grade level. So they want every decision. I'm a fifth grade teacher.
Gerry Brooks:I want you as a principal to make a decision that's best for my classroom, my bubble, and my box, fifth grade. But we don't live in a box and a bubble. We live in a big picture. Mhmm. And so, I always tell teachers, you need to understand that I'm not making a decision for your grade level.
Gerry Brooks:I'm making a decision for seven grade levels. And so we don't live in a box in a bubble. We live in a big picture, and you are focused on the box in the bubble. You want what's best for kindergarten because you're a kindergarten teacher, and you want what's best for your kindergarten team or maybe even primary. But I have to do what's best for the entire grade level, for the entire school.
Gerry Brooks:Yeah. And when I make a decision about recess, I'm not making a decision about kindergarten. I'm making it about first, second, third, fourth, fifth. And so I tell teachers all the time, you need to think about the principal. When you get upset with them and they're not making the decisions that you want, it's because you are thinking about your bubble of your your class and your box of your grade level.
Gerry Brooks:But what the principal is thinking about is the big picture. Mhmm. And you think there should be money for everything? Well, when I decide to get Chromebooks for kindergarten, I've taken money away from fifth grade because that money has to come somewhere. And now, I can no longer spend money on fifth grade wanting to come to innovate.
Gerry Brooks:Okay. And so, it's a big picture, and it's not a box or a bubble. And, I love that they wanna live in a box and a bubble. I want them to focus on their classroom. I want them to focus on their grade level, but the bottom line is we, in education, you know, a high school is a big picture.
Gerry Brooks:Mhmm. It's not the English department, and it's not your honors class. It's a big picture. And teachers don't get that, and they come in and demanding things, and they want the principal to make a decision based on their box and bubble. And we don't live in a box and bubble.
Gerry Brooks:We live in a big picture.
Kevin Stewart:Yeah. So Now go the other way. Yeah. What's something principals that maybe you would say to principals, hey. Remember this about your teachers.
Gerry Brooks:Well, that that they want what's best for those kids. They want what's best for those kids, and we need to take a step back and listen to them. When they're coming in saying, I don't think I should have to turn in lesson plans, you need to sit down and say, why do you think that? This is why I think you should. This is why and why do you think you shouldn't?
Gerry Brooks:And then come to a conclusion of what's best for teachers because what's best for students is always what's best for teachers. And so I think that we have a lot of administrators that are just making decisions in the confinement of their office, and they aren't getting out going, Okay, how is this going to be able to affect you? You can't make a decision without thinking, how is this going to affect everybody? How is it going to affect the PE teacher? How is it going to affect the librarian?
Gerry Brooks:And sometimes, we just, close our eyes and do whatever Central Wall Office wants, or we just say, oh, this is what everybody else is doing. And we don't think about the big picture of, you know, we are affecting everyone in there and asking them to, you know, have limited number of copies a month or turn in their lesson plans. Why are you doing that? What's your reasoning behind it? And when you have four different teachers come up to you and say, I don't think this is a good idea, you've hired those teachers because of their expertise.
Gerry Brooks:Why are you not sitting down and listening to the ideas that they have and how that's affecting them? And so I think that when we make decisions as administrators, we have to realize we are affecting everybody. And we have to think beyond what central office thinks, what I think, what my assistants think. We need to go into the classrooms. How is this affecting you?
Gerry Brooks:Why are you so upset about this? Why is this not a good idea? And then make a decision about, in the end, what's gonna be best for teachers.
Kevin Stewart:That's so hard.
Gerry Brooks:It is. It is well, it's very hard when you have a district.
Kevin Stewart:When you
Gerry Brooks:have a district. Down and going, you will have teachers turn in lesson plans. And I I mean, that's one of the things I'll tell today. You know, you will turn in lesson plans. And I thought, if I don't have time as a principal to check the lesson plans of 45 classroom teachers, how do you have time as district to do that?
Gerry Brooks:You were just wanting to do that for busy work. Yeah. And we're not gonna do busy work here. And it was a big, huge, major argument. And but I stuck by it, and we were able to not do it for three years.
Gerry Brooks:But the fourth year, had to. And at some point, you have to. Sometimes you have to. But I do think you just need to think what is the, you know, why is this why why is somebody wanting this? What's the end result for it?
Gerry Brooks:And more importantly, the end result is what is the result leading up to that? What's that going to cause for teachers who now don't want a turn on lesson plan on Friday? They want to have the weekend. They want to do something. There's just so many aspects to a a big huge policy that they mass produce for everybody Mhmm.
Gerry Brooks:That, you know, one of the things I'll talk about today is being a change agent. That I think as a leader, you need to be a change agent. And when the district comes down and says the entire, we have 36 elementary schools in Fayette County. Wow. 36.
Gerry Brooks:Wow. And every single one of them is different. And for a district to say, all the elementary schools will do this, to me, that's like saying to a teacher, 36 kids, and you're all going to teach you're gonna teach one way, and everybody's gonna do everything the exact same way. You'd never allow that as a principal, but you allow the district to come in and say, all 36 elementary schools are gonna do the exact same thing. And we we have to be a change agent and stand up and say, I don't think this is right for my school.
Gerry Brooks:Here's why. I will always support you because you're in charge, but I want to tell you why I don't think we should do this and then see how it goes.
Kevin Stewart:It's kinda like going down the neighborhood and saying that everybody's house has to look the exact same way inside, outside, everything. When when this family's
Gerry Brooks:got 10 kids and this one has none, it it just doesn't work that way. So
Kevin Stewart:Yeah. Wow. So I wanna I wanna I don't know why I call it the speed round because it's not speedy, so you don't have to be in through it.
Gerry Brooks:But I'm like, hey, let's do
Kevin Stewart:a speed round, whatever. Who has been the person in your life that's been most influential and why?
Gerry Brooks:Well, I would say, there's different aspects of that. I would say family wise, that would be my wife because she is absolutely amazing. And she, you know, is a great mother and a great wife and a great Christian and a great example. I have friends that say, she makes me want to be a better person. They say that about her and their relationship, and that is true.
Gerry Brooks:And so I would say her, instructionally. Leadership wise, I would say a principal named Ben from Bourbon County, who was my mentor principal when I started that. Wow. He was a great example of climate culture and what he had built at his school, and that was what I had wanted. And so he just really helped me, to be able, to do that.
Gerry Brooks:And then my assistant principal, who is now the principal of Where Is That Now, my friend Lisa, we are a great example of actually, two. My my two assistant principals, Lisa and Dana, those two women were excellent examples of, I'm gonna close the door and tell you why you're wrong. Mhmm. But when the door is open, I'm going to walk out of here and we're gonna be a team. And, as a principal, I needed that as an example because I need to do that with superintendent.
Gerry Brooks:And if I'm, you know, if I expect, you know, two wonderful instructional, women who were assistants with me to always support what I do even though they disagree with me, I, they were great examples of me that you also need to do the superintendent. You know, you can't ask that of us Yeah. And then go argue with the superintendent. You know, we are a team in here, and we're gonna walk out of here as a team. And we as a school need to do that with the superintendent too.
Gerry Brooks:So my assistants, Lisa and Dana, were excellent examples of, I'm gonna support you as a leader, but I'm also gonna tell you what I disagree with, and we're gonna agree to disagree, and then we're gonna walk out of here as a team. So they will
Kevin Stewart:think I've met Lisa. Yeah. You've met Lisa. Yep. She's a rock star.
Gerry Brooks:She is. She's great. She's fantastic. Yeah. Yeah.
Gerry Brooks:I've been very blessed with I really, all the way through. I've the, you know, what I think what makes a good leader is the people that you surround yourself with. Mhmm. And I have just lucked out with the people that I've surrounded myself with.
Kevin Stewart:Which you probably said in in being having been in youth ministry, youth pastor, show me the five your five best friends, and I'll show you your future. Exactly. It's kind of the same way Yep. You know, education. Absolutely.
Kevin Stewart:Surround yourself as as a leader.
Gerry Brooks:Yep.
Kevin Stewart:Kind of helps direct your path where
Gerry Brooks:you're born as a leader. It is. It is. Yeah. Who
Kevin Stewart:is the what who's if you can recall, who's the one student in your life that really impacted you and why?
Gerry Brooks:The one student well, I would say, a little boy named Peyton, and he, his brother is now a PE teacher, and I know the family very well. And he had some, is an extremely intelligent child, but he had some issues.
Kevin Stewart:Mhmm.
Gerry Brooks:And watching him, navigate that through friends and his family was and this was in third grade in Lansdowne, my first year in Fayette County. And he had some issues that you could obviously tell, but he was the sweetest, most outgoing, intelligent child. He had a tremendously supportive family with his mom and dad. His grandmother was in the school system. His mother was in the school system.
Gerry Brooks:And watching someone who, was dealt a hand that you probably would not necessarily want for yourself or your children, watching him be okay with that and be an example to other kids, I think that he just was an excellent example of I'm gonna, I'm gonna be a great person, and I'm gonna have a great personality. I'm gonna have friends, and I'm gonna do my work, and I'm not going to let anything stop me in life. And when you see a child like that that has any, you know, either big or small, that has something that they could easily stand out with other children, and yet you see them just blow by it and not worry about it, it is an excellent example as a so an adult is that's how we need to live. All of us have something that make us stand out and make us not fit in, but we need to be able to move past those and just move on. Wow.
Gerry Brooks:Shout out to Pate. Yeah. He's great. He's great. And when his brother walked in the building, I I knew because his brother was smaller.
Gerry Brooks:And when his brother walked in the sub, was like, I know you and your family. And he was a football fan, and we had that in common, and he's just a great kid.
Kevin Stewart:That's awesome. Yep. Awesome. So this has nothing to do with education. But if you had unlimited resources because I know you like to travel.
Gerry Brooks:Yes. Yes.
Kevin Stewart:I do. So if you had unlimited resources, where would Gary Brooks go?
Gerry Brooks:Well, I am have You
Kevin Stewart:probably may have been there around.
Gerry Brooks:I have not. No. There's too many places I have never been. I want I love my youth ministry background brings me, a love for third world countries.
Kevin Stewart:Okay.
Gerry Brooks:And so when people say Europe, I mean, my wife loves to go to Europe. I love that, but that's not where I would choose to go. I would love to go to Cambodia. Wow. I that's that's the type of places.
Gerry Brooks:Just because it's you haven't been in youth ministry, and we would take our kids to areas in Mexico and in Honduras and in Haiti. You just get a different atmosphere, and it's different when you're going and the best restaurant cost you $2 and you're giving $2 to somebody who you know that you're making a difference in their life. It's a lot different than going. And I love going to Europe, I love going to London. I love all those places.
Gerry Brooks:But I absolutely love going. When we go to The Bahamas, I would much rather go away from the markets and go into there and find those places and find the kids selling, you know, fruit on the side. And that comes from years of going to Haiti and Honduras and Mexico. Cambodia is on my bucket list to be able to go. And I love all the Asian countries.
Gerry Brooks:I I I wanna go to Japan. I've been to China. I've been to Thailand. Love those. And so I wanna see the the terracotta soldiers.
Gerry Brooks:And so I'm I'm getting to that point. What I'm hoping is if my kids ever get to the point where they trust me as a grandparent, because they don't right now and it drives me crazy, that I will be able to travel with grandkids. And so so cool. And when people say, why are you gone every day over the summer? I say it's a means to an end.
Gerry Brooks:And when I get stressed, I think I might be able to take, you know, Bristol to Cambodia one day. And so, my goal after about ten more years of this is to be able to pick up and say, where do you wanna go? Where do we wanna go? And be able to go through there and go. But I love third world countries.
Gerry Brooks:I love seeing those. I love helping. I love being in those restaurants where, you know, you're, you know, you're really changing someone's life by leaving a big tip. And I love seeing that, that there it's not all about the, you know, the Broadway scene and and how great the plays are in London. It's about being able to see the different cultures, and it's just so rich and being able to visit and and be blessed by, people from, areas that are not like London.
Kevin Stewart:That is so cool. Yeah. That is so and in doing that with your grandkids, you're gonna create world changers.
Gerry Brooks:Yeah. And help them to be able to see that. And they, I mean, they love to travel and all that, and I can't wait to see what, you know, who I you know, I loved watching my kids grow, but this is going to be very different Mhmm. Because I'm not in charge. You know?
Gerry Brooks:And watching them and see what they like and where they like to go. And, you know, we had a beach trip and just watching the three of them and how they reacted differently. And I thought, gosh, I can't wait for two more years when they're all walking and talking. This trip is gonna be so different. And so knowing I'm in a different stage of life and get to witness that is just it's a huge blessing.
Kevin Stewart:That's awesome. Yep. I hope you get to go to Cambodia soon.
Gerry Brooks:I I will at some point. I may be by myself. That's right. Kelly don't like to get coffee. Yeah.
Gerry Brooks:You Maybe it'll be a teacher trip.
Kevin Stewart:There we go.
Gerry Brooks:There you go.
Kevin Stewart:No. That's cool. Helping people. Yeah. And that's what you're doing.
Kevin Stewart:Yep. Yep. It truly is part of education. Yep. Mean, you're helping people.
Kevin Stewart:Yep. Mhmm. So to end it, let's what would be if you could give five things to say, hey, here's five tips that I wanna leave with educators, with administrators, with teachers, what were those five meaningful tips that you've learned over time? What would you say?
Gerry Brooks:I would say first and foremost, focus on the kids because it's very easy to get wrapped up in all the drama. You're in a building with, you know, 75 teachers, and it ends up being a fraternity sorority, and you can easily get split up into drama. And so focus on the kids and while you're there, close your door. At times, you'd need to be able to close your door and just put out all the noise. As a principal, as an assistant, as a counselor, as a teacher, there are times when things are going around in the building, and you can just get wrapped up in those.
Gerry Brooks:And you need to close your door and teach and and close your door and lead and close your door and counsel and know that's what you're there for. And so I say to people all the time, close your door and don't worry about everything else. Do what you're good at and ask for help what you're not. Mhmm. If you're not good at something, don't try to fake it.
Gerry Brooks:Find someone else to help you. Find someone else to model, and then do what you're good at. If if there's a need, if there's a PD, raise your hand and say, I know what I'm doing with that. I say all the time, the best thing to do is to find somebody. There's somebody in your building that is struggling, and you are struggling.
Gerry Brooks:And the key to being good is to finding the person that matches you. The person that doesn't know how to put a good bulletin board needs to be with the person that does. The person that can't get their kids to the hallway on a zero voice level needs to be mentored by the person that can. And so, know, don't try to fake it. Find people that help you.
Gerry Brooks:And when you know that you're good at something, you know, volunteer for that. I would also say don't stay don't don't stay stuck. People get real stressed, and, I there's there is something to be said for being in the same school for twenty years. Yeah. Yeah.
Gerry Brooks:But I firmly believe that if you move every five to seven years, your entire career changes. I think it it now maybe not the great even schools, but even grade levels. And I'll have a kindergarten teacher say, I could never do fifth grade. Fifth graders are a blessing.
Kevin Stewart:Yeah.
Gerry Brooks:I have high school teachers. I could never do middle school. Middle schoolers are a blessing. And I think in education, you can get very stale. And so I'd say everybody, every five to seven years, consider a change.
Gerry Brooks:Either a new building, because now you're with a whole but different thing and maybe stay the same, or go up two grade levels or go down two grade levels. And a third grade teacher that's all of a sudden teaching first grade has a different protection. But the bottom line is you can always go back. You don't like first grade? You can always go back.
Gerry Brooks:But I think that we can get stuck. We can get stuck in a building. We can get stuck in a grade level. We can get stuck in a department. And in education, you have this great blessing that there are 11 other grade levels that you can teach.
Gerry Brooks:And when you get to that point, especially as you're up there on year 15 and year 20 and year 25, and you're thinking, I'm tired of this, I say to everybody, change. Change buildings, change leaders, or change grade levels. And when you change grade levels by three years, your whole entire perspective is gone. When you change schools and you've got a whole new group of people, it's a whole new perspective. And then lastly, I would say, don't forget your family.
Gerry Brooks:That's that's the main thing. You need to be know, I do the light switch. Yeah. Where you gotta turn it off. And when the day is done at 04:00 or 04:30 or 05:00, you need to turn that off, and you need to be done with it.
Gerry Brooks:And you don't need to be doing lesson plans at home. You don't need to be contacting parents unless it's an emergency because you can easily get wrapped up in your job, And then that's the only thing that you have, and you all of a sudden, your kids are gone. And, you know, you're there by yourself, and all you got is a job.
Kevin Stewart:Yeah.
Gerry Brooks:And so I would say focus on what's important, and that's not your job. The other things in life, your friends, your family, your church, your hobbies. It's easy to think, okay, this is eight hours of my day, but you also have another eight hours a day, of going home and napping and resting and being with family. And so I tell everybody, when the time is done, turn that switch off and leave. Don't be texting parents.
Gerry Brooks:Don't be emailing. Spend time with family. And then know that tomorrow morning, that email is gonna be there at 07:00. And so learn how to turn that light switch off. That's so good.
Gerry Brooks:So yeah.
Kevin Stewart:So good. Thanks for leaving on that note.
Gerry Brooks:Oh, yeah.
Kevin Stewart:There you go. That's a we we forget that. Yep. I forget that.
Gerry Brooks:Yes.
Kevin Stewart:And we can't forget our families. Yes. Absolutely. So, man. Yep.
Kevin Stewart:How can they if they wanna reach you,
Gerry Brooks:what's the best Easiest way easiest way is my web page. I have a web page. It's Gary Brooks, p r I n print, and Gary spelled g e r y. So it's garybrooksbrooksprint.com. There's a little button on there that says contact me.
Gerry Brooks:And when you push it, my wife has filled out a form that looks like you're trying to get me to come speak at your school. It's just my email. It is literally my personal email. Awesome. So when you push that button, it comes to me.
Gerry Brooks:If they have any questions, have any suggestions, would love to come out and speak. I've got a brand new program that I'm doing today. I'm super excited. So that that's the easiest way. On social media, I monitor Instagram.
Gerry Brooks:I don't monitor Facebook. I don't monitor TikTok. But I look at Instagram all the time, and I also have somebody that monitors it for me. And so if someone comes in there and says, hey, I heard you on this podcast and you mentioned this. Can you recommend a book?
Gerry Brooks:If if you do that on Instagram, if I don't catch it, I have a social media person that helps monitor that. And so she will catch it and send it to me. So the best way is to Google Gary Brooks Pryn dot com and then push that button because you're coming to my email. But they can also message me on Instagram and and 95% of the time, unless it's been a controversial video or a funny one, I may miss it. But generally, they can also contact me on Instagram.
Gerry Brooks:Awesome. So Thank you. Yep.
Kevin Stewart:And I was sitting here thinking, prin. Prin. What?
Gerry Brooks:I know that a lot of you will be listening to this from my web page Yes. And not from from yours. So if you've not been to an an innovate conference, you've got to go. It is absolutely amazing. You guys have done a good job of getting the best of the best.
Gerry Brooks:And here's what I love about it. It's not just primary. It's not just elementary. It's not just high school. It's everybody.
Gerry Brooks:And so you can come with your, counselor. You can come with a para. You can come with your assistant. And so this is one of those conferences that there are so many choices that you could bring anybody in your building, build that camaraderie, and no matter what it is you are, whether you're a kindergarten teacher or a physics teacher, whether you're a principal or a school nurse, you're gonna find something at this conference. So I know a lot of people will be listening because I, you know, I put this up on my page.
Gerry Brooks:And so if you don't know about this conference, this is one you need to make sure you get to. Awesome. So yeah. Thank you, Gary. Yep.
Gerry Brooks:Appreciate it. Thank you.
Jordan Bassett:Well, I hope that you learned something from that conversation between Kevin and Gary. It was a wonderful time to sit down with him and just kinda listen to Gary talk and all the kind of stories and things that he has to go along with his his life. Towards the end there, you may have heard Gary talk about Innovative Schools Summit. That is something that we're closely tied to. You can kinda tell him the name Innovative Schools Podcast, Innovative Schools Summit.
Jordan Bassett:We are all part of the same organization. But Gary is actually gonna be at another some of summit of ours in San Antonio, December 2025. That's the next summit that he's at with us. He comes to a good number of them. We've had him several times at our summits.
Jordan Bassett:So, if you're interested in that, we'll put a link down below in the show notes or in the description somewhere in that area where you can, register or get more information on that summit. It's a great time to to meet with other educators, to learn from other experts. We have other people like John Almirode or Tiffany Anderson coming specifically, but we also have at the summits people like Ron Clark or Michael Bonner, Nick Furman, a lot of other experts in the field of education that just wanna pour into you to help you accomplish the difficult task of educating that you guys do. But anyway, if this episode was helpful to you, we'd love it if you'd share it with some of your education friends. Give us a follow, leave us comments, or anything like that so we know how to make this better and more helpful for you guys.
Jordan Bassett:But hope you guys have a great great week. We'll see you on the next one.