The Teachers' Podcast
The SUMO approach: Paul McGee, founder of the SUMO principles
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Episode notes
EPISODE NOTES
In this episode, Claire talks with Paul McGee, founder of the SUMO principles about what the SUMO approach is and how anyone can use it as a tool to achieve better results in life.
Paul talks about how his background in behavioural and social psychology led him to running training seminars and coaching courses. It was an audience heckle during one of these sessions that introduced him to the acronym SUMO which he has since adapted and developed into a way of helping to get the best out of ourselves, the best from others and the best from life.
Paul shares and discusses some great ideas linked to the SUMO principles including ‘checking your chatter’, being aware of avoiding ‘passive moaning’ to improve your mental diet, and always looking to invest in yourself.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Look after yourself to be able to help others.
While we do need be resilient with facing challenges – an inevitable aspect of life – it can be very easy to unintentionally dismiss or side-line the negative and debilitating effects of stress. You are your number one priority. It is also easy to overlook that wellbeing leads to welldoing and, if we are not ‘right’, we won’t be inspiring and anywhere near as effective as we should be with those we teach.
- Invest in yourself.
As teachers, we can all too easily focus our attention on the development of others without thinking about developing ourselves. Being inspired by others is a great way to motivate us to be inspiring.
As a part of self-development, consider time to reflect. It is great to have a degree of distraction built into our days - such as audio books or exercise - but it is also good to have reflection time to focus on yourself.
BEST MOMENTS
“In 2007 we banned smoking in public places because of the effects of passive smoking. Well I think we need to be mindful of the effects of passive moaning.”
“This phrase I use, 'to be at your best, you need to rest'; that doesn't mean work yourself crazy until the next half-term. It's building in a little bit of rest time even during the day or in the evenings. Rest is not the opposite of work; it's work's partner.”
“A metaphor I use in life is, 'sometimes life is like a game of snakes and ladders'. If you want to win the game, the likelihood is you might land on a snake. But that's not a time to quit. It's a time to roll the dice, go again and keep looking for the ladders.”
“Who's the most important person you can talk to? It's actually yourself.”
“Sumo is a word in Latin. So, not as an acronym, but as a word, means 'to choose'. Drew Povey, a leadership speaker and former headteacher, says 'every day is a choose-day'.”
“That phrase 'manage your mental diet'. We think about the word 'diet' and we think about food, but I just think it's really important what we feed our minds with.”
“If you want to help the kids, you've got to help yourself.
“Teachers are obviously in the world of education; in the world of learning. But I think it's really important that we don't just think, 'well we're trying to teach kids'. We're also trying to teach ourselves.”
“For me, the number one priority is actually about investing in yourself.”
VALUABLE RESOURCES
Website: https://www.thesumoguy.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheSumoGuy
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUn8r9hCk8ewTXHapv1-Ngg
Books: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Paul-McGee/e/B001JOWPYU/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesumoguy
Classroom Secrets Kids: https://kids.classroomsecrets.co.uk
The Teachers’ Podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheTeachersPodcast/
Classroom Secrets Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ClassroomSecretsLimited/
Classroom Secrets website: https://classroomsecrets.co.uk/
LIFE/work balance campaign: https://classroomsecrets.co.uk/lifeworkbalance-and-wellbeing-in-education-campaign-2019/
ABOUT THE HOST
'My mother is a teacher. I will never be a teacher.' - Claire Riley
Claire arrived at the end of her performing arts degree with no firm plans to move into the entertainment industry. A fully funded secondary teaching course seemed like the perfect way to stall for a year on deciding what to do with her life. Turns out, teaching was her thing.
Three years in a challenging secondary school - check. Two years in primary schools with over 90% EAL children - check. Eight years doing day-to-day supply across 4-18 - check. If there's one thing she learnt, it was how to identity the best ideas from every school in terms of resources and use that knowledge to create something that would work for teachers far and wide.
In 2013, Classroom Secrets was born. Claire had seen other resource sites and wanted to add something to the market that she felt was missing. More choice + More quality = Balance.
Claire is a self-proclaimed personal development junkie and is always looking for ways to learn and improve. It's usually centred around business, her new-found passion.
In 2019, Claire launched The Teachers' Podcast that hits the charts on launch and is listed in the top 200 educational podcasts most weeks.
The Teachers’ Podcast is a series of interviews where Claire meets with a wide range of guests involved in the field of education. These podcasts provide exciting discussions and different perspectives and thoughts on a variety of themes which are both engaging and informative for anyone involved in education.
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