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Gratitude - the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.

Welcome to our final episode of Season 4 and of 2025. Brandt and I have started a little tradition here at I’m Listening headquarters. We are bringing Gratitude back to the forefront. But isn’t your podcast about listening? Yes. And gratitude is listening’s not too distant cousin. So here we go!

Surprises, acts of kindness, generosity, and yes, listening, are all ways that create opportunities for moments of gratitude. Yet, the holidays can be so stressful, and even sometimes sad. Is this the great paradox of this time of the season? We believe that you have the power to fill the holiday season with gratitude… and right now!

Thank you to all who answered our call and sent us recordings of what they are grateful and thankful for this holiday season: Jon, Anna, Matt, Elizabeth, Kris, and Erin!

Until next time and with gratitude,

Brandt and Drew

Sources:

https://www.earthsattractions.com/your-brain-is-wired-to-remember-the-worst-moments-and-the-reason-is-wilder/

https://harbormentalhealth.com/2022/11/26/how-to-overcome-negativity-bias/

https://medium.com/@rlmartin078/the-problem-with-being-grateful-for-your-hardship-e70392b9d96c

"Gameshow correct answer bell" by Zapsplat Media

"Kool Kats", "Monkeys Spinning Monkeys", "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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We welcome our guests Travis and Kate to this episode. They are both elementary teachers and we get to explore all things listening in the classroom! They bring excellent insight into things like “whole body listening”, building relationships, and what trust and respect looks like in today’s public education system.

Things have changed a bit since Brandt and I were in elementary school. Back then, listening was just an expectation… and some us of weren’t very good at that. Today, it’s still an expectation, but they actually teach you how to do it.

A huge thank you to Travis and Kate for spending time with us. And thank you to all of our hard working teachers across the world!

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Welcome to the classic court case of Listening v. Reading ca.2025.

When it comes to the best way to take in a book, which method is the best? In this case, Brandt defends listening to books while Drew defends reading them. Clearly the author of this set of podcast notes is correct, but not without a great debate.

Can you experience a book the same way by listening to it vs reading it. Is it just as effective?

We dig deep into this topic and come out with 1 very clear indisputable outcome. Enjoy listening to this podcast and if you want to read this episode, please as AI to help…

Resources:

https://www.google.com/search?q=what+percetange+of+amercialns+read+daily&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS923US923&oq=what+percetange+of+amercialns+read+daily&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIICAEQABgWGB4yCAgCEAAYFhgeMggIAxAAGBYYHjIICAQQABgWGB4yCAgFEAAYFhgeMg0IBhAAGIYDGIAEGIoFMgoIBxAAGIAEGKIEMgcICBAAGO8FMgoICRAAGIAEGKIE0gEIOTgzMWowajeoAgCwAgA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&zx=1761144795005&no_sw_cr=1

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psyched/202506/can-we-just-read-audiobooks-instead

https://theconversation.com/do-you-really-need-to-read-to-learn-what-neuroscience-says-about-reading-versus-listening-250743

https://www.wcpo.com/brand-spotlight/how-reading-20-minutes-a-day-impacts-your-child-amazon-kindle

https://nesca-newton.com/why-does-my-child-have-to-read-20-minutes-per-night-after-being-in-school-all-day/

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