From the Pitch to the Classroom: Kit Brown's Playbook for High-Performance Teaching

In this special bonus episode in partnership with Get Into Teaching, Jake chats to Kit Brown, a primary school teacher and a semi-professional footballer. Kit has accumulated over 1 million social media followers sharing his passion for teaching and education. He shares the rewards of being a teacher and how the small wins make the hard work worthwhile.

Jake and Kit discuss the skills he has gained in football that he applies to his teaching, including how to build resilience in young people and how he brings a high performance mindset into the classroom. He shares with Jake the creative techniques he uses within the classroom, like rapping about the water-cycle or cutting up his tie to teach the kids about fractions. “Teaching is what you make it… make it creative”.

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# Podcast Episode Summary: Kit Brown - The Creative and Impactful Journey of a Teacher and Semi-Professional Footballer

In this special episode, Jake chats with Kit Brown, a primary school teacher and semi-professional footballer who has amassed a large following on social media for his passion for teaching and education. Kit shares his insights on the rewards of being a teacher, the importance of resilience, and the creative techniques he uses to engage students.

## Key Points:

- Kit emphasizes the significance of the small wins and progress that teachers witness daily.
- He recounts a powerful moment when a student, who initially struggled with multiplication tables, eventually mastered them, demonstrating the transformative impact of teaching.
- Kit highlights the importance of building relationships with students and fostering respect to create a thriving learning environment.
- He stresses the value of resilience, a skill he learned from his football career, in navigating setbacks and challenges in teaching.
- Kit believes that teaching is a creative endeavor, and he shares examples of innovative methods he uses to make learning fun and memorable for his students, such as rapping about the water cycle and using creative visuals.
- Kit encourages aspiring teachers to consider the profession, emphasizing the profound impact they can have on children's lives, both academically and personally.
- He acknowledges that teaching is not an easy job but asserts that the rewards and satisfaction of making a difference outweigh the challenges.

## Insights and Perspectives:

- Kit's passion for teaching and his ability to connect with students shine through in his storytelling and enthusiasm for his work.
- His emphasis on resilience and creativity in teaching resonates with the idea that effective educators must be adaptable and innovative in their approach.
- Kit's use of social media to share his experiences and insights as a teacher demonstrates his commitment to promoting the profession and inspiring others to consider a career in education.
- The episode highlights the importance of recognizing and celebrating the positive impact that teachers have on society, often extending far beyond the classroom.

## Conclusion:

Kit Brown's journey as a teacher and semi-professional footballer serves as an inspiring example of the transformative power of education and the impact that passionate and dedicated individuals can have on the lives of young people. His message encourages listeners to consider teaching as a fulfilling and rewarding career, emphasizing the joy of witnessing students' growth and progress and the opportunity to make a lasting difference in their lives.

[00:00.000 -> 00:08.240] Hi there, welcome along to another episode of the High Performance Podcast. This episode
[00:08.240 -> 00:12.240] brought to you in partnership with Get Into Teaching. And today I'm really pleased to
[00:12.240 -> 00:17.160] say we're joined by a teacher from Hertfordshire who is also a semi-professional footballer.
[00:17.160 -> 00:20.900] Like how can you imagine your teacher being a semi-professional footballer? That makes
[00:20.900 -> 00:25.680] them automatically cool. He's also really heavily involved in social media,
[00:25.680 -> 00:30.800] he's used it to amass tens of thousands of followers. The question is why does he use it,
[00:30.800 -> 00:36.960] what does it do for him and why does he think teaching is such an amazing career. I'm delighted
[00:36.960 -> 00:41.200] to welcome Kit to the High Performance Podcast. How are you Kit? Good thank you Jake, thank you
[00:41.200 -> 00:48.000] for having me on here. No worries, right first things first. How often do the kids want to talk about football rather than get on with their schoolwork?
[00:48.000 -> 00:52.000] Every single day, every single lesson. And they know what they're doing as well.
[00:52.000 -> 00:59.000] What tricks and tips would you give for parents who went, because I have the same, I'm in the middle of doing homework and Seb, my boy, would just go,
[00:59.000 -> 01:08.080] Dad, who's on high performance next week? Or what's the next game you're on, on the football. Cause you know, I'm a football host as well. And I'm like,
[01:08.080 -> 01:11.040] Seb, I know what you're doing, mate. You don't want to do your spellings.
[01:11.040 -> 01:16.240] You're you're using distraction techniques. Uh, what's the trick for avoiding getting distracted
[01:16.240 -> 01:20.880] in your class? Delay, delay, delay. I say, Oh, that sounds incredible. I'd love to talk about
[01:20.880 -> 01:28.300] that. Can we do it at break time, please? Not in the middle of my maths lesson. Jason Vale – It's kind of nice though, in some ways, isn't it? That football is that
[01:28.300 -> 01:31.600] common thing that allows you to relate to the kids. And I, you know, for people listening
[01:31.600 -> 01:37.340] to this thinking, maybe teaching is something for me, like, do you feel that you have to,
[01:37.340 -> 01:42.420] you know, get on with kids to be a teacher? Or is it something that you can sort of learn
[01:42.420 -> 01:45.060] and pick up in the classroom? you know human beings are human beings
[01:45.060 -> 01:48.400] Regardless of age. Yeah, I generally think it's what you've just said
[01:48.400 -> 01:53.260] I think human beings human beings we all thrive off of relationships and you know interacting with each other
[01:53.260 -> 01:55.140] I think it's something you pick up in the classroom
[01:55.140 -> 02:00.000] I'm a firm believer that your relationship with the children in your class is a you know
[02:00.000 -> 02:04.540] That's at the core of everything we do as teachers and I feel like if you've got respect for them
[02:04.540 -> 02:06.840] They know you've got respect for them, and they know you've got respect for them,
[02:06.840 -> 02:08.280] they'll give you their respect as well,
[02:08.280 -> 02:10.240] which is where they'll thrive and blossom
[02:10.240 -> 02:12.280] and you'll get the best out of them.
[02:12.280 -> 02:14.840] So what do you love about being a teacher?
[02:14.840 -> 02:16.440] For me, being a teacher,
[02:16.440 -> 02:18.520] my favorite thing is the impact
[02:18.520 -> 02:20.680] and the small wins and progress
[02:20.680 -> 02:22.120] that you can see right in front of your eyes
[02:22.120 -> 02:23.400] every single day.
[02:23.400 -> 02:28.760] You know, there's bigger wins and the progress in the bigger picture across a whole year for however long
[02:28.760 -> 02:32.560] you have those children in your class. But for me, it's those small wins every single
[02:32.560 -> 02:38.400] day. I think back to some of my favorite moments being a teacher. I remember quite a powerful
[02:38.400 -> 02:43.600] one in my class in my very first year. I had a child. He said to me, Mr. Brown, I just
[02:43.600 -> 02:45.520] can't learn my times tables, I'm not
[02:45.520 -> 02:51.000] smart I can't do this I'm rubbish and I said okay come back to me tomorrow break time we'll
[02:51.000 -> 02:54.360] spend five minutes learning them and then on Friday when we do your times table tests
[02:54.360 -> 02:58.120] we'll see how you get on and even if you've got one more question right then that's a
[02:58.120 -> 03:02.560] win for me and he came in for those five minutes we talked through them we learned some tips
[03:02.560 -> 03:07.320] and tricks for him to remember them and lo lo and behold, he got to Friday,
[03:07.320 -> 03:08.920] he got every single question right.
[03:08.920 -> 03:10.680] And his face, when I read his name out
[03:10.680 -> 03:12.920] to give him his certificate, he was beaming.
[03:12.920 -> 03:14.120] And it was what he said, he said,
[03:14.120 -> 03:15.600] "'Mr. Brownsea, you were right.
[03:15.600 -> 03:17.360] "'I am smart and I can do it.'"
[03:17.360 -> 03:20.240] And it's moments like that, it's those small wins
[03:20.240 -> 03:22.880] that make teaching all worthwhile for me.
[03:22.880 -> 03:24.480] Mate, that story gives me goosebumps.
[03:24.480 -> 03:26.640] Like, partly because I'm a parent now of,
[03:26.640 -> 03:31.040] you know, children and I see, you know, that I say things that I think is the right thing and
[03:31.040 -> 03:35.520] suddenly I go, oh no, that was not the right thing to say. I think it's such an art speaking
[03:35.520 -> 03:40.640] to children, sort of encouraging and pushing, but at the same time making them feel like they're
[03:40.640 -> 03:44.400] doing well. And, you know, Professor Damien Hughes, who I host the High Performance Podcast
[03:44.400 -> 03:47.540] with, you know, he says that lots of studies have shown that if you walk into
[03:47.540 -> 03:51.720] a room of three-year-olds and say, Hey, everyone who can sing, every single hand
[03:51.720 -> 03:52.960] goes up in the air, right?
[03:53.320 -> 03:56.960] If you walk into a class of 12, 13, 14 year olds and say, hi everyone, who can
[03:56.960 -> 04:01.280] sing, maybe one or two hands go up in the air because at that age, they start to
[04:01.280 -> 04:05.360] add on in their minds, the word well, who can sing well, and we stop
[04:05.360 -> 04:09.840] doing things purely for the love of it and we avoid things that we struggle at and I think
[04:09.840 -> 04:14.080] the art of teaching of course is to bring the things out of young people that they're passionate
[04:14.080 -> 04:18.320] about and they love and they're good at but it's also the thing that you've said there it's about
[04:18.320 -> 04:24.160] reminding them that you can become good at loads of things and like you know you're an amazing
[04:24.160 -> 04:27.040] person who can go on to achieve incredible things.
[04:27.040 -> 04:29.320] And I think that's the magic of being a teacher.
[04:29.320 -> 04:30.140] Isn't it right?
[04:30.140 -> 04:31.640] That in 20, 30, 40 years time,
[04:31.640 -> 04:32.880] there's people walking around going,
[04:32.880 -> 04:35.320] oh, Mr. Brown, he changed my life.
[04:35.320 -> 04:36.760] You know, I say that about my teachers.
[04:36.760 -> 04:38.280] I say it about mine, absolutely.
[04:38.280 -> 04:40.440] That's, that is the magic of teaching.
[04:40.440 -> 04:42.120] When do you think this happened for you then?
[04:42.120 -> 04:44.320] Like, obviously I'm imagining at 10 years old,
[04:44.320 -> 04:45.680] you would love to have been a pro footballer, maybe even at 20 years old. But when did you think this happened for you then? Like, obviously I'm imagining at 10 years old, you would love to have been a pro footballer,
[04:45.680 -> 04:47.760] maybe even at 20 years old.
[04:47.760 -> 04:49.760] But when did you think, right,
[04:49.760 -> 04:52.080] teaching is something that I'm going to pursue?
[04:52.080 -> 04:53.760] Quite late, if I'm honest.
[04:53.760 -> 04:54.880] My mum works in a school,
[04:54.880 -> 04:56.600] so I've always been in and around education.
[04:56.600 -> 04:57.640] I've always loved education.
[04:57.640 -> 05:00.400] I've always, you know, really valued my education.
[05:00.400 -> 05:02.680] I always loved school, but like I say, growing up,
[05:02.680 -> 05:04.280] I always wanted to be a professional footballer.
[05:04.280 -> 05:06.120] You know, that was my dream, that was my goal.
[05:06.120 -> 05:07.120] I played at quite a high level.
[05:07.120 -> 05:11.200] I played at Luton Academy right up to 17.
[05:11.200 -> 05:13.280] And it wasn't until I got released from there
[05:13.280 -> 05:15.200] and, you know, injuries were going against me
[05:15.200 -> 05:18.000] and everything was kind of just going the wrong way for me.
[05:18.000 -> 05:19.280] I thought, okay, maybe I need to think
[05:19.280 -> 05:21.000] about a different path.
[05:21.000 -> 05:23.640] And I've always, always loved being in school,
[05:23.640 -> 05:24.760] always loved education.
[05:24.760 -> 05:25.520] And I always wanted to do something in my, always loved education and I always wanted to
[05:25.520 -> 05:30.040] do something in my life where, you know, I wanted to help someone and have an impact on someone's
[05:30.040 -> 05:34.560] life. And I had a conversation with my mum, she said, well, go back to school, get some grades
[05:34.560 -> 05:39.520] behind you and then take it from there. And she kind of gently nudged me into the direction of,
[05:39.520 -> 05:43.680] who ever thought about being a teacher, you know, I always volunteered when I went back to sixth form
[05:43.680 -> 05:45.920] to listen to readers in
[05:49.680 -> 05:55.280] our partner primary school and listen to some of the readers come in. I always loved it and always felt like it was quite a natural thing to me to work with younger children. So I thought
[05:55.280 -> 06:00.640] about it and in all honesty it was the best decision I ever made. It was quite a hard thing
[06:00.640 -> 06:04.000] to come to terms with that I wasn't going to be a professional footballer at that moment in time
[06:04.000 -> 06:08.280] where I got so close. I think it's I think it's cliche, but when one door
[06:08.280 -> 06:12.800] closes, no one opens and it was the best door to open for my life.
[06:12.800 -> 06:16.540] That's amazing. And what did you learn in the football world that you apply into the
[06:16.540 -> 06:21.980] world of teaching? I mean, I guess, you know, the, um, the ability to withstand knockbacks
[06:21.980 -> 06:28.560] and setbacks is quite a big one for a young footballer. And I think that we have to be so careful, don't we, about creating young people who
[06:28.560 -> 06:33.440] have got an ability to deal with the negative news and the negative things
[06:33.440 -> 06:35.520] that can happen in life. Got to be resilient.
[06:35.520 -> 06:39.120] Yeah, I think, I think it's what you said with that word there, it's resilience. You
[06:39.120 -> 06:42.480] know, it's one of the biggest things that I take from, from getting released,
[06:42.480 -> 06:48.280] that resilience to, and I'm quite proud that I managed to turn that negative into a positive if you like and
[06:48.280 -> 06:52.120] that's something I built up all throughout playing football is that
[06:52.120 -> 06:56.320] resilience having setbacks it's things that you know I see in my teaching career
[06:56.320 -> 07:00.360] now there's setbacks things will go against you but actually the positives
[07:00.360 -> 07:04.880] of being a teacher and and the things we do on a day-to-day basis outweigh all of
[07:04.880 -> 07:08.560] those negatives so I think that resilience of being a teacher and the things we do on a day-to-day basis outweigh all of those negatives. So I think that resilience of being able to deal with those setbacks
[07:08.560 -> 07:10.680] and those negatives is something that stayed with me.
[07:10.680 -> 07:13.840] And why do you think so many teachers listen to the High Performance Podcast?
[07:13.840 -> 07:18.640] Well, I think it's that reasoning in that it's an honest podcast, it's an honest review
[07:18.640 -> 07:23.120] of what being a teacher is like and the insight to why people do teach and the impact that
[07:23.120 -> 07:28.980] it can have on people. And I think it's shedding a positive light on what many see as negative
[07:28.980 -> 07:32.360] professionally at the moment and things that have kind of been magnetized
[07:32.360 -> 07:33.720] towards that professions being negative.
[07:34.040 -> 07:34.520] You know what?
[07:34.520 -> 07:37.800] I think that one of the things that people throw at teaching, which in a sort of
[07:37.800 -> 07:41.000] negative light, they go, well, you know, I'm really creative.
[07:41.000 -> 07:43.560] You know, I don't want to teach children based on a curriculum.
[07:43.560 -> 07:46.840] I don't, you know, I want to do it my own way. And then I look at the things that you've done.
[07:46.840 -> 07:52.840] I mean, setting up TikTok and getting like an incredible number of followers is amazing.
[07:52.840 -> 07:55.800] And I think that's a really great way for you to sort of meet young people halfway.
[07:55.800 -> 07:59.920] I think also the fact that you use all of your football knowledge and conversation and
[07:59.920 -> 08:03.960] skills, I know that you've been rapping to students, you're dancing, you cut up your
[08:03.960 -> 08:05.960] tie in front of them to teach them about fractions.
[08:05.960 -> 08:11.800] I think there's a great bit of learning here about teaching is what you make it, right?
[08:11.800 -> 08:14.560] Teaching isn't what you're told to make it.
[08:14.560 -> 08:15.560] Absolutely.
[08:15.560 -> 08:20.480] And I think even when you are following those curriculums and those schemes and things like
[08:20.480 -> 08:24.240] that, where it doesn't seem like there's much flexibility, teaching is what you make it
[08:24.240 -> 08:27.680] at the end of the day. You know, I always pride myself on being a creative
[08:27.680 -> 08:33.120] teacher that kind of fun teacher if you like, who brings learning to life and kind of makes
[08:33.120 -> 08:37.320] memorable experiences for the children like cutting up my tie. You know, I think I kind
[08:37.320 -> 08:42.040] of spun what would be a boring lesson to some of them into a memorable lesson to hopefully
[08:42.040 -> 08:47.880] give them that experience that they can take forward. So I think like you say, I think teaching is what you make it. You can put your spin
[08:47.880 -> 08:51.640] on things even when it doesn't seem like there's much flexibility there really is. So if you
[08:51.640 -> 08:54.120] want to be creative, then it's the perfect job really.
[08:54.120 -> 08:57.560] And where do you get your ideas from? Like, let's do the tie cutting up, right? Are you
[08:57.560 -> 09:01.800] there getting dressed in the morning and you think, you know what, cutting this tie up
[09:01.800 -> 09:06.520] and sharing that way of sort of doing maths is going to really
[09:06.520 -> 09:10.120] work for my kids or is it like a spontaneous thing and a lot of your
[09:10.120 -> 09:14.000] ideas come in the classroom? Some of them come in the classroom weirdly enough
[09:14.000 -> 09:17.200] that one did come when I was getting dressed in the morning I looked at my
[09:17.200 -> 09:20.000] plan in the night before and I knew I was doing fractions I put on a tie in
[09:20.000 -> 09:23.360] the morning it was quite a nice tie actually and I remember speaking to my
[09:23.360 -> 09:27.720] mum as I was walking out the door I said how cool would it be if I cut my tie into quarters to teach
[09:27.720 -> 09:31.480] my class about fractions? And she, I remember, she said, well, maybe don't wear that one
[09:31.480 -> 09:35.280] because it's quite a nice one. So I got one of my old ties, one of my rubbish ones and
[09:35.280 -> 09:39.400] I used that. And, but yeah, I think a lot of it does come on the spot, you know, in
[09:39.400 -> 09:45.120] the moment teaching. I take a lot of inspiration from all different places and walks of life. You
[09:45.120 -> 09:50.440] know, teachers that I work with, colleagues that I used to work with, people I went to
[09:50.440 -> 09:56.680] university with, films I've seen, loads of different things. I remember watching a film
[09:56.680 -> 10:00.520] the other day and the teacher got on the table and he was delivering the lesson up on the
[10:00.520 -> 10:05.680] table to the children and then I was teaching a science lesson about, you know, how high the ball would bounce.
[10:05.680 -> 10:08.440] I just, I incorporate loads of different things from every
[10:08.440 -> 10:09.520] aspect of my life, really,
[10:09.520 -> 10:12.320] to make the teaching fun and memorable for the children.
[10:12.320 -> 10:13.140] I love it.
[10:13.140 -> 10:15.000] Kit, the impact you're having is certainly going to go a
[10:15.000 -> 10:16.320] long way.
[10:16.320 -> 10:18.280] Look, we normally end each podcast with me saying,
[10:18.280 -> 10:20.760] what's your one golden rule for living a high performance
[10:20.760 -> 10:23.060] life? I would like to ask you really,
[10:23.060 -> 10:27.880] what's your one golden message for people listening to this? And maybe they're looking for a change in their life, or maybe
[10:27.880 -> 10:30.620] they're, maybe they're young, they're listening with their mum and dad, wondering what the
[10:30.620 -> 10:35.780] future holds for them. Or maybe even, you know, they're in their sort of later years
[10:35.780 -> 10:38.700] and they want a career change and they're thinking, oh, you know, those days are gone.
[10:38.700 -> 10:42.780] I can't, I can't possibly become a teacher at this point. What would you say to people
[10:42.780 -> 10:49.760] across the spectrum who are thinking that maybe, just maybe, teaching might hold something special for them? It's not the easiest
[10:49.760 -> 10:55.600] job in the world, I'm not going to sugarcoat it, but genuinely the impact that you will have on
[10:55.600 -> 11:01.600] children's lives, the difference you will make to children, both on an academic level, on a personal
[11:01.600 -> 11:07.720] level, on a social level, outweigh everything. And they're the things that will stay with you forever.
[11:07.720 -> 11:10.520] You know, I think I've got a wall in my classroom
[11:10.520 -> 11:12.080] of what was meant to be notices,
[11:12.080 -> 11:13.560] it was meant to be our notice wall,
[11:13.560 -> 11:15.480] and it's filled up with notes from the children
[11:15.480 -> 11:17.240] from my first class up till now,
[11:17.240 -> 11:19.180] and there's not one space on there.
[11:19.180 -> 11:22.280] And they're the things I'm gonna read in 20, 30 years time
[11:22.280 -> 11:24.040] and think, you know what, that's why I did it.
[11:24.040 -> 11:25.240] It's the most incredible career.
[11:25.240 -> 11:26.440] It allows me to be creative.
[11:27.160 -> 11:30.280] It allows me to really make a difference and see that difference
[11:30.280 -> 11:31.800] being made in front of my eyes.
[11:32.240 -> 11:35.880] And I know it's cliche, but I couldn't imagine myself doing anything else.
[11:36.240 -> 11:39.360] Stepping into this profession was the best thing that ever happened to me.
[11:39.620 -> 11:40.640] So definitely consider it.
[11:40.920 -> 11:41.680] I love that Kit.
[11:41.920 -> 11:42.800] Thank you so much.
[11:42.840 -> 11:45.600] And, um, you know, I know I think that you know you can judge
[11:45.600 -> 11:49.440] the impact you're having by the responses you get from the young people or the exam results they get
[11:49.440 -> 11:53.440] or the improvement that you see in their work. It's impossible for you to judge the impact you're
[11:53.440 -> 11:57.680] having because you won't feel it or know about it for a long time to come but what an amazing thing
[11:57.680 -> 12:02.960] to sit here having this conversation and you know as well as I do that in years to come you know
[12:02.960 -> 12:05.480] many years to come there'll be people who
[12:05.480 -> 12:09.000] credit you with turning their life around. And I can't think of a more honorable way
[12:09.000 -> 12:14.220] to live your life, earn your living and impact people than that. So thank you so much, mate.
[12:14.220 -> 12:15.220] Thank you so much, Jake.
[12:15.220 -> 12:20.680] Good man. And if you really love what Kit had to say, and perhaps you're inspired to
[12:20.680 -> 12:27.920] get into teaching, then you can do exactly that because Get Into teaching are partnering with us on this special episode of high performance because we
[12:27.920 -> 12:32.400] also believe that it's an incredible career and we hear every single day from
[12:32.400 -> 12:35.720] teachers who are changing lives and if you would like to do the same then all
[12:35.720 -> 12:41.920] you have to do is just search get into teaching to find out more.
[12:41.750 -> 12:42.750] Thank you.
[12:42.750 -> None] Bye-bye.