Angela Watson's Truth for Teachers (Angela Watson)

investing in our own news literacy is one of the best things we can do for kids. But with so much disinformation, how can we as educators ensure what we're finding and sharing is accurate? 

Join me as I talk with Peter Adams. He's the head of the education team of the News Literacy Project, a national education nonprofit offering nonpartisan programs that teach students how to know what to believe in the digital age.

We'll begin by talking about why information (and misinformation) is more prevalent. Peter gives a brief overview of how extremists of all kinds have become better networked and influential, and how hate groups and conspiracy theorists have leveraged our polarization to promote their own agendas.

Then we discuss:

• How we can identify point-of-view or propaganda in our news sources
• Why objectivity does not mean staying neutral
• What's actually news-worthy ("How come the media isn't talking about this?")
• The difference between a conspiracy and conspiracy theory
• Intellectual humility and not demonizing everyone on "the other side"
• Looking for disconfirming evidence of our beliefs
• Having open, offline conversations with people who think differently
• What it means to "do your own research"
• Overcoming cynicism and relentlessly pursuing truth
• How social media and search engine algorithms shape our thinking about what's true
• How educators can ensure they're relying on and sharing accurate info
• Why investing in our own news literacy as educators is one of the best things we can do for kids

For ongoing support in these areas, you can sign up for The Sift, a free weekly newsletter for educators distributed by NewsLit.org. It's a rundown of what happened the week before that you can use in the classroom to teach news literacy. It includes a distillation of the most news-literacy-relevant pieces of news and information that were published the previous week to help educators stay informed. It also includes a Viral Rumor Rundown of about four or five viral rumors that circulated the week before, with ideas for discussion, classroom activities, and links to resources.

NewsLit also offers a free e-learning platform called The Checkology Virtual Classroom, with 14 lessons to help teach students about many of the topics you'll learn about in my interview with Peter, including how to understand conspiracy theories. Checkology is primarily aimed at middle school and high school grades, but some teachers in upper elementary adapt the lessons and folks in higher ed have utilized them, as well.

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.

Who you ARE matters just as much as what you DO. How can you show up as the best version of yourself each day, not only for students, but in every aspect of life?

I’m talking today with Elena Aguilar, a writer, leader, teacher, coach and the author of seven highly acclaimed books including The Art of Coaching, (2013) Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience in Educators (2018), Coaching for Equity (2020), and The PD Book: 7 Habits that Transform Professional Development (2022).

Elena is the founder and president of Bright Morning Consulting, and host of The Bright Morning podcast (which is a phenomenal listen, by the way.) She also collaborated with Dr. Rebecca Branstetter and I on the Reversing Educator Burnout course–you can hear her as a special guest expert in Module 2. 

Listen in as Elena and I discuss:

• Why “bringing your best self” brings ease rather than “one more thing” to your plate
• The power and simplicity of being fully present in challenging moments
• Trying harder vs letting go
• The traits and dispositions we display when we are our best selves
• What to do when you’re too exhausted to bring your best self to the classroom

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.

A sudden switch to teaching remotely is so difficult to manage. But what if it allows us to let go of all our previous assumptions about what we “have” to do with kids?

If schools can simplify the curriculum, cancel standardized testing, and put kids’ socio-emotional wellness first right now ... why can’t we do that all the time?

In this episode, I’m offering encouragement to help you let go of the pressure to do remote learning the “right” way. There is no right way because what we’re trying right now has never been done before on such a large scale.

If you’ve been feeling anxious about how to make everything work, listen in for some reassurance and clarity. This might just be the beginning of a profound and deeply-needed transformation of the expectations placed on teachers and students.

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.

This short, encouraging episode explains how you can tackle really difficult problems using layers of imperfect solutions, rather than giving up doing anything altogether.

This approach is used in healthcare, aviation safety, computer security, and more…why not uncover a real place for it in K-12 education, as well?

We can work to create positive change in our schools, communities, nation, and planet if we think in terms of multiple layered solutions, rather than waiting for that one big perfect thing that fixes it all forever.

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.

My inbox is typically bursting with messages from overwhelmed teachers. Help! I can't do this! I feel so inadequate—it's just too much for one person and I don't think I can teach anymore. The situation is so bad—I'm thinking of just quitting.

Each person who has contacted me was searching for the same thing: reassurance that their feelings are normal (they are), encouragement that they can handle the responsibilities (they can), and a reason to believe that the rewards of teaching outweigh the costs (they do).

This week and next, we’re going to look at eight keys to help you regain your confidence and avoid burn-out. These are principles that helped me stay in the teaching profession at times when I didn't think I could take another day. They are based on what I've seen happen in my own life and in the lives of other teachers who overcame feelings of hopelessness and frustration and regained their enthusiasm for teaching.

In this special 4 part summer series, we're focused on self-development instead of professional development. Every other week in June and July, I’ll bring you a short episode to help you focus on what matters most. I’ll also share some things that have been on my heart that might be otherwise off-topic for a teaching podcast.

If you normally listen to the podcast on 1.25 or 1.5 speed, I encourage you to go down to 1.0 for these 4 summer episodes. This series is not about consuming as much information as fast as possible — which is certainly a fine goal in other contexts. This series is about savoring the time, and being present with yourself for each moment of it.

Let this be a short time together to reflect, think deeply, and go big picture. We’ll explore a different word each time.

In part one, we’re talking about PRESENCE through immersion in both silence and healing sounds. How can you create short, regular rituals in your life where you enjoy the benefits of silence, and experience sounds that are calming?

You’ll get to experience a few moments of “sound therapy” in this episode and discover how to use sounds and silence to help you experience more presence this summer. Don’t let your summer fly by because you were rushing from one activity to the next! Time seems to slow down when we are truly present, and even a few moments of practicing presence each day can give you a sense of peace and gratitude.

I encourage you to sign up for the special summer series emails. There’s one written message to go with each of the 4 podcast episodes.

The emails are designed to be short, powerful reminders to help you make the most of your summer break. If you want to receive them, click here:

https://thecornerstoneforteachers.com/truth-for-teachers-podcast/summer-2019-series/

Work/life balance doesn't mean creating a total separation between teaching and everything else. It’s about integrating work with the rest of your priorities in a way that allows you to give appropriate time and energy to each.

Balance IS possible and worth striving for, even when teaching remotely from home for the first time.

If you feel like you're tied to the computer 24/7 and working more now than ever before, these 11 reminders and practical tips can help.

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.

“We live in a specific kind of America that offers an okay education for some kids, and then a totally subpar education for other kinds of kids. That our country—and specifically our education system—has been defined by intergenerational inequity really bothers me. And so much of my message is around how we disrupt that, how we can begin to look at the things that have plagued us for generations and begin to take those things apart.

We cannot be okay with the way things are. It’s just too dire for too many kids. We can’t make excuses by saying, ‘Well, this is how we've always done it,’ or ‘I’m just a teacher. What power do I have?’

Yeah, I'm just a teacher, and we have a whole lot of power. The most important thing to me is to be able to step back, look at my practices, customs, and traditions, and do the kind of action research that's going to lead to change. That really matters a lot to me.

I don't have to wait for city hall to say, ‘Let's do this thing.’ I can look at the inequitable outcomes in my school, in my department, in my class, and I can address those things in a really intentional way using action research or inquiry.”

Listen to this week’s episode for more from Cornelius Minor on re-writing the teacher hero narrative and disrupting the status quo.

Click here to read or share the transcript and audio or participate in the discussion.

Have you ever shared a great teaching idea with a co-worker who immediately shot it down and discouraged you from thinking outside the box? Listen as Dave Burgess of “Teach Like a Pirate” fame shares how you can express your creativity even when co-planning with colleagues who are reluctant to innovate. Discover how collaboration can be used to improve your teaching practice, not standardize it.

"Transformative change means feeling different, having different experiences every day, not just little changes that feel like a band-aid."

These are the words of today’s guest, Elena Aguilar, an instructional coach whose latest book is called Arise: The Art of Transformation Coaching. (https://amzn.to/3Srseot) Through her book and our conversation today, you’re invited to teach in a “human-centered, compassionate, wildly optimistic way.”

Listen in as we discuss:

• What “transformation” looks like and how it applies to the work of classroom teachers
• Why transformation results from addressing the Three Bs: beliefs, ways of being, and behavior…
• and why that order matters Which conditions allow for beliefs to change and how we can implement them in our classrooms
• How our “ways of being” as teachers tie to transformation

As we look toward the start of a new school year, I hope that Elena’s thoughts will help you reimagine what’s possible in your classroom, and create conditions for both student transformations and your own.

Get the shareable article/transcript for this episode here.

Today I’m going to let you listen in on a coaching call I did with a 3rd grade teacher named Daniele. Like all the teachers I’m conducting these free coaching calls with, Daniele completed a year in the 40 Hour Teacher Workweek Club and has a really good understanding of how to be intentional in her teaching and maintain a positive, productive mindset.

However, as we progressed through the conversation, it became clear she’s dealing with a whole lot of things that are completely out of her control, things that are increasing her workload and stress level exponentially.

About halfway through the call, I think we got to the real heart of the issue, which is that morale at the school is really faltering right now and it’s incredibly hard to hold onto hope every day and keep doing the work when the school climate is filled with a constant low-grade anxiety.

Daniele’s given me permission to record our conversation and share it here with you so that if these are issues you’re facing in your school, hopefully our thoughts will give you some encouragement.

What do you want your life to look like? When you look back on it all at the end, what do you want to feel like you've accomplished? How do you want to have spent your time? What will be your legacy?

Those are deep questions for sure, and most of us just don't have the time or energy to try to answer them. It's not because we don’t care. We're just too tired to take a step back and try to figure out a better way. And yet, getting clear on what matters to you could change everything about the way you use your time and where you focus your energy.

Even though "there’s no tired like teacher tired," a few changes in your mindset and habits can totally transform that.  I created a free challenge called "Goodbye, Teacher Tired" with five of the most important things you can do to stop feeling tired all of the time and maximize your time, and energy and focus.

Listen in to get a summary of the five steps covered in the challenge. You can sign up for the challenge and participate in the discussion by visiting the original post here.

Or, you can learn more about the "Goodbye, Teacher Tired" Challenge here.

We’re tackling one of the biggest challenges educators face today: keeping students engaged in a world full of distractions. 

AJ Juliani joins me to explore how to create meaningful and relevant learning experiences that resonate with today’s learners, even in the age of TikTok, smartphones, and endless notifications.

He’s an educator, author, and speaker who serves as an instructor for the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education (PLN). AJ has worked towards innovative learning experiences as the Director of Learning and Innovation for Centennial School District, as Curriculum Coordinator, as Tech Director, English teacher, football coach, and K-12 Instructional Coach.  His favorite role is being dad to five kids. You might know AJ from his books Adaptable, Empower, Launch, or The PBL Playbook.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• Why simply removing phones or distractions won’t solve the engagement problem.
• How to balance direct instruction with collaborative, student-centered learning.
• Why meaningful, relevant tasks are more effective than “rigorous” assignments for long-term learning.
• The “traffic light” system for integrating technology and AI into classroom activities.
• How to help students develop focus, self-regulation, and intrinsic motivation.
• Strategies for using choice and ownership to foster deeper learning experiences.
• The surprising truths about rigor, assessment, and knowledge transfer.
• How to create performance tasks that build real-world skills and make learning stick.
• Why human connection and relationships are more vital than ever in education.
• Practical advice for building long-term habits of engagement that go beyond quick fixes.

AJ also shares insights from his latest book and offers actionable strategies for educators who want to make their teaching meaningful and impactful in a rapidly changing world.

Get the shareable article/transcript for this episode here.

In this episode of Truth for Teachers, we're talking about how to keep teaching from ruining your marriage (or any relationship you have with a significant other).

I can’t tell you how many emails I've gotten over the years from teachers telling me that teaching is ruining their marriage. I’ve heard of husbands giving their wives ultimatums: It’s either teaching or me. And I’ve also heard from many 40HTW club members over the years that they have used strategies from the club to reduce their workload, which has ultimately helped them strengthen their marriage and have more time to spend with their partners.

This episode will use a slightly different format, as I’ve asked club members to share some of the things that they are doing to preserve their marriage and keep teaching from coming in between themselves and their partners.

Join me today as I’ll be sharing some of the advice that they’ve written, and also play a couple audio clips so you can hear things in their own words.

Click here to read or share the transcript and audio or participate in the discussion.

Want some practical strategies backed by brain research that can help you and your students co-thrive together?

My guest today is Dr. Rebecca Branstetter, Ph.D. She’s a school psychologist, speaker, and author on a mission to help children thrive by supporting educators, mental health providers, and families. She is the founder of The Thriving Students Collective and Thrive Hive TV™ Network, online platforms for boosting the mental health and learning needs of children. She is also my co-creator for our professional development course called How to Reverse Educator Burnout.

Listen in as we discuss:

• What can people who aren’t current classroom teachers add to conversations about educator burnout?
• What are the brain research-based markers of thriving in life and in work?
• What are some specific practices backed by neuroscience that teachers can use to make their classrooms a place where co-thrive with kids?

Let your school or district know that How to Reverse Educator Burnout is 50% off through March 10th, 2023, and purchase orders are accepted. This is relevant, practical, and enjoyable PD to help schools go beyond talking about self-care and burnout, and instead provide support to educators with practical tools.

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.

Teaching involves a lot of hard work that is rarely acknowledged. Learn strategies for staying encouraged despite a lack of appreciation, and stay focused on your personal vision.

On April 10th, I’m releasing my new book, “Fewer Things, Better”! To celebrate, I’m giving away a FREE course + downloadable workbook to EVERYONE who pre-orders a Kindle or paperback edition of the book.

The course will help you implement the ideas in the book and reflect on how you want to be spending your time. Each exercise in the downloadable workbook will give you a clearer understanding of your priorities so you can develop an actionable plan for what “fewer things, better” looks like in YOUR life.

Just go to FewerThingsBetter.com. You’ll find the link there to pre-order your copy on Amazon, which means you’ll have your Kindle or paperback copy on release day (April 10th!)

After you pre-order, return to FewerThingsBetter.com to claim your free bonuses. You can download the course and start going through the downloadable workbook right away if you want.

I am so excited to get this book into the hands of teachers and am so grateful for your support!

Here’s a little insider knowledge into the publishing world and how I make decisions to ensure all 5 of my books are current and relevant...

I’m planning to release a second edition of Awakened: Change Your Mindset to Transform Your Teaching in November 2022, and I wanted to give you an idea of what will be different and why.

From a technical standpoint, the second edition of a book counts as a brand new book: it has a new ISBN number, new links and listings in online retailers, etc.

As a general principle in publishing, a book should only be released as a second edition if readers who already own the first edition would benefit from owning the second. In other words, it needs to be different enough from the first edition — to have enough updated content, new ideas, and so on — to qualify as a separate book. This is the first time I’ve ever attempted a second edition of a book and it’s been a really enjoyable process, as you’ll hear.

I’m also creating an audiobook version which I’m very excited about — there wasn’t one for the first edition. I think the book really lends itself well to that format, and of course I’m reading it myself, because so many of you are used to my voice from the podcast and it would feel weird to hear someone else reading it!

I wanted to let you hear an excerpt from the audiobook version of the Awakened second edition that talks about choices I’ve made around updating books and removing books from print. Listen in to hear what’s changed and why.

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.

The episode you’re about to hear is a free coaching call I conducted with a graduate of the 40 Hour Teacher Workweek Club. It’s a combination of instructional coaching and life coaching all sort of rolled into one, where I’m answering teachers’ specific questions about productivity and balance and managing it all.

This particular call is a teacher named Claire who teaches special education. She works with kids in grades K-6 and actually splits her time between 2 schools, so she’s at one school with one group of kids in the morning and another in the afternoon.

Claire’s initial question is about how to use her summer to get ahead for fall when she doesn’t know the needs of the students in her classroom. Her caseload can change a lot from year to year and that makes it difficult to plan ahead. So we talk through some systems she and any teacher can create during the summer that will make the following school year easier to manage. We talk about getting digital files organized, getting procedures in place, and so on.

I then challenge Claire to figure out 2-3 of her biggest time-wasters and use her summer to figure out a better way. It’s very hard to find the time and mental bandwidth to take a step back during the school year and analyze systems, so summer is really perfect for that. And when she told me what her biggest time suck is, when she talked about collecting data on student progress and grading their writing, she had a really big aha moment that I think is going to resonate with you in a powerful way, too.

Claire and I dug really deeply into how to analyze if something really has to be done, if the things we perceive as mandated are in fact requirements, and analyze teaching practices through the lens of whether they’re actually effective for kids rather than if they’re the way they’ve always been done, and they way everyone else does them. I love that moment in our conversation and I can’t wait to share it with you. 

At the end of the call, I mention a free on-demand video series I've created to help you plan out how to use your summer. You can sign up for that here:

http://thecornerstoneforteachers.com/secrets

How can we make SEL more than a buzzword? School psychologist Dr. Byron McClure is here to go beyond what’s trendy, and give an honest overview of the mental health and socio-emotional support students really need from us right now.

Byron shares 3 specific practices you can do with kids to address their social-emotional needs on a daily basis in your classroom. You’re probably familiar with restorative conversations, daily check-ins, and morning meetings ... but Byron frames them in a larger context that taps into the real power behind the practices.

Listen as Byron shares some of the history of SEL and what elements have been intentionally obscured and overlooked. We’ll examine how to keep SEL from being “touchy-feely fluff that doesn’t prepare kids for the real world.”

The key is to be action-oriented, and ground the work in culturally affirming practices, justice, and equity. We can help students understand ways that privilege is showing up, and ways they might be able to dismantle systems for themselves or others.

You’ll learn how to use a strength-based approach to building relationships within a sense of community. As Byron says, we can “shift from what's wrong to what's strong with students."

We’ll also talk at the end about how schools can address teachers’ socio-emotional needs, as well.

Byron’s energy is contagious, so if you’re ready to get fired up, listen in!

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.

Today I’m going to let you listen in on a coaching call I did with a 9th and 10th grade ELA teacher named Taylor. Like all the teachers I’m conducting these free coaching calls with, Taylor completed a year in the 40 Hour Teacher Workweek Club and has made really strong progress in work/life balance. Before joining the club, she worked around 80 hours a week, and she’s not working around 55-60, for a net savings of 20-25 hours a week. So she’s obviously doing a lot of things right when it comes focusing on what’s most important and letting go of the rest.

However, Taylor is now committed to being a class advisor, and that’s causing her to work a lot of additional hours. As we talk, it becomes clear that she’s going to have to eliminate some things from her schedule.

But she’s getting stuck on figuring out what she can realistically say no to when it comes to grading, which is what takes up the majority of her time. And, she’s having a hard time saying no to students when they ask her to do extra things for them.

Listen in as I talk with Taylor about how to figure out what can realistically be eliminated from a teacher's workload in order to free up more time.

In this last episode of 2024, I want to leave you with a powerful conversation to marinate on deeply.

I’m talking with Dr. Shamari Reid, an assistant professor of justice and belonging in education at New York University. He has taught Spanish, English as a new language, and ELA at the elementary, secondary, and post-secondary levels in Oklahoma, New York, Uruguay, and Spain. 

Shamari shares the journey from seeing himself as a “teacher superhero” to understanding he’s a human who teaches. Like many of us, Shamari once believed that it was his job to save his students and fix systemic issues like racism and classism through sheer hard work. That mindset led him to overwork himself until he burned out completely, even blacking out while driving from exhaustion. 

During his recovery, Shamari came across Toni Morrison’s concept of self-regard, which caused him to rethink his identity and realize that he was more than just a teacher. He started to see the importance of recognizing his humanity and taking care of his needs outside of the classroom.

I could relate deeply to Shamari’s experience. As women, especially those of us in nurturing roles, we often feel pressure to put our personal needs last. In this conversation, we unpack how different groups, like Black male educators, face unique pressures. Shamari shares the unrealistic expectations placed on him, particularly being seen as a relatable savior for students facing discipline issues.

Together, we explore how centering love in education—nurturing both students’ and our own emotional and spiritual growth—can create a more just and equitable learning environment. It takes courage to break away from fear-based, status quo practices and lead with love, but it’s necessary.

We talk about how teachers can overcome common fears like making mistakes, not being perfect, or neglecting academics. Shamari shares practical steps for navigating these challenges, including articulating your vision, planning backwards, and, most importantly, giving yourself grace.

At the heart of this conversation is a reminder: being human is enough. We don’t need to earn our worth by overworking or sacrificing our boundaries. It’s okay to say no, set limits, and take care of yourself. By embracing our humanity, we invite love into our classrooms and can overcome obstacles together. 

This is an honest, heartfelt conversation about what it really means to teach with love and why it's crucial to prioritize our well-being. I hope it leaves you feeling inspired and reminded that you are enough—just as you are. 

I’ll be back with more episodes for you in the new year. Until then, be well, my friends, and keeping choosing love over fear.

Get the shareable article/transcript for this episode here.

If you’re feeling jaded or frustrated with how little systemic change you believe you can make as a teacher, this episode is for you!

I’m talking with educator Jay Benedith, who noticed unhelpful patterns in her own thinking and is here to share how she’s unpacked them. Together, we’ll explore how to examine your beliefs and assumptions that prevent you from cultivating and exercising full equity leadership.

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.

Leave a review for the Truth for Teachers podcast here:

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I get a lot of listener-submitted questions that could be tough for me to offer advice on without knowing the specifics. I’m going to answer a bunch of them in this episode from a big picture perspective, and give you my single best piece of advice on each topic.

We’ll cover sticky situations like administrators who play favorites, releasing control to student teachers, supporting colleagues when morale is low, lack of student motivation, kids who can’t handle choice, anxiety over teacher evaluations, forced collaboration with colleagues who over-complicate things, and more. Check out this quick-paced episode for some practical advice.

Click here to read or share the transcript and audio or participate in the discussion.

What career options are available for teachers? Is it true that other industries don’t value education degrees or teaching experience? What else is possible when you feel like the “only” thing you know how to do is teach?

Daphne Williams of Teacher Career Coach is on this week’s episode to provide guidance to those who are considering a career move outside the classroom. Together, we destigmatize the desire to find another career, and help teachers process the unwarranted embarrassment and guilt that can come with leaving teaching.

You’ll also learn:

-Why teaching has prepared you for a multitude of other careers
-How to translate your experience from classroom to corporate so potential employers understand the value of your skills
-What types of industries frequently hire former teachers
-How (and when) to apply for positions in the 2020 job market
-How to find work when you live in a rural area or small town
-Why you should do the math on how much you’re making per hour when comparing your teaching salary to other fields

If you are looking for affordable support in transitioning out of the classroom, I’m proud to partner with Daphne as an affiliate of her Teacher Career Coach online course and networking group.

To learn more about the program, get Daphne’s free eBook with samples from the course and a list of the top jobs that hire teachers at teachercareercoach.com/truthforteachers.

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our new podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.

There are a dizzying number of effective ways to lead a classroom. How can you figure out which style is right for you? Learn from a mistake I made in emulating another teacher’s management techniques, and develop the confidence to make decisions about what works best for you AND your students.

Your worldview shapes your classroom management and curriculum choices, whether consciously or not. Let’s examine and question the belief that “neutral” is the only ethical position for us to take, and interrogate whether being neutral is even possible in certain contexts.

To be true advocates for our students and have strong, authentic relationships with them, we have to fully embrace and support their identities, and be willing to take a stand when they are discriminated against, bullied, or marginalized.

Click here to get recommendations for anti-bias and anti-racism resources, including books, podcasts, free curriculum materials, and more.

Share your thoughts on the episode and collaborate with other listeners in our NEW private group on Facebook! Click here to join: https://www.facebook.com/groups/truthforteachers/.

You can also leave a comment on the blog post/transcript for this episode here: http://thecornerstoneforteachers.com/truth-for-teachers-podcast/neutral-politics-in-the-classroom/. 

In this week's episode, I'm excited to try this new episode format because I get a lot of questions from teachers which I haven't been able to answer up until now. Either I don't have enough information or knowledge to answer, or I don't have enough to say that would fill an entire podcast episode. And sometimes, the question is just so specific to that person that it wouldn't make a good episode for everyone else.

I think this will be a really fun way to cover a wide variety of topics in a short amount of time and still give you a lot of value. Basically, I’m going to give my BEST piece of advice for each scenario. 

All of these questions came from Instagram. If you want to ask a question, go to my Instagram Story Highlights, or fill out the form at truthforteachers.com. 

Click here to read or share the transcript and audio or participate in the discussion.

Do you feel like self-advocacy among students is a pervasive problem? As in, if students don’t know what to do, they won’t ask questions or seek out more information … they’ll just sit there and do nothing. If something is challenging, they don’t seem to be interested in improving their skills, or learning for the sake of learning. They just give up. 

In response to this, many teachers feel like they have to work harder than their students are working. They have to keep going the extra mile to make lessons personalized and engaging and put all these additional supports and interventions in place to help students be successful, all while many of their students are doing the bare minimum.

I’ve spent a lot of time over the past few years exploring this phenomenon, and why it’s becoming more and more common. The more that I learn about student disengagement, the more I am convinced that the solution is NOT to put the onus on teachers to make their lessons more engaging and personalized. An amazing lesson isn’t going to get through to a kid who’s not willing to engage in any mental effort.

Is it possible to teach kids how to take initiative and persevere through difficult tasks?

Absolutely. I’ll share what I’ve learned in this podcast episode.

I’m also sharing 2 free resources for implementing the practices in this episode with your students:

1. Attend a free online training with me!
   • I’m conducting two in February, one for middle school teachers and one for high school teachers. Both are designed to help you reimagine student engagement in your classroom, and rethink what might be possible for your students. A replay link will be sent to everyone who registers, so if you miss it or don’t see this podcast until it’s over, catch the replay by signing up at FindingFlowSolutions.com.
2. Download a free 5 lesson unit and try it out with your students
   • All 6 high school units and 4 of the middle school units in the Finding Flow curriculum are ready now. The first unit, called Foundations of Flow, can be accessed for free. Get the free unit and see what else is available here: https://shop.truthforteachers.com/collections/finding-flow-solutions

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion.

I decided to scrap the topic I had planned for this week and speak to the teachers who feel like they’re drowning. I know what's expected right now of many kids, families, and teachers is not humanly possible on a long-term basis. And in this episode, I want to counter the system-wide gaslighting that is occurring.

What many (most?) of you are being asked to do right now is NOT, in fact, reasonable ... and the solution is not for you to simply work harder.

We are still in a pandemic. This is still crisis distance learning. This is emergency hybrid teaching. Regardless of how much districts want to pretend we can replicate normal, we cannot.

Resist the pressure to perform at optimal levels when we are not working in optimal conditions. Pushing yourself to work harder when your body's calling for rest will not help you get ahead. That approach is part of the old paradigm which has to fall away and be replaced with a way of working, teaching, and learning that is humanized and centered on well-being rather than accomplishment.

You deserve grace and compassion. Give those things to yourself when no one is giving it to you. Rest tonight. Rest this weekend. Rest is necessary for your survival and you don't need to apologize for it.

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.

As the school year comes to a close, we’re taking a step back from practical strategies, and looking at the big picture of K-12 education. Until summer, there’s not a lot of time or mental bandwidth to consider questions like, “What are the larger factors impacting our work? How are other schools handling these challenges? How do we proactively prepare for what’s next and create a vision for where we’re heading, instead of just trying to put out fires all the time?”

In an era of student disengagement and teacher disillusionment, it’s crucial for us to envision a better way of doing school and collectively work to make that vision a reality.

So, in this episode, I’m sharing the statistics around teacher vacancies, student enrollment declines, and budget forecasts, along with the implications for schools.

I’ll then analyze the trends and focuses that we’ll be seeing more of in education in the coming years. Topics covered include:

• Artificial Intelligence
• Student safety and mental health
• Rationalizing and consolidating curriculum
• Hybrid learning and multi-classroom models
• The 4-day school week
• Vocational-technical training and non-college prep
• Microschools and “schools within a school”

You’ll be invited to reflect on what else might be possible for schools and use your expertise as a teacher to help shape the future of education. Together, we can change the narrative around the profession and find the overlap between what’s best for teachers and what’s best for kids.

Read the blog post for this article here.

As much as we’d like to believe that we’re growth mindset oriented, most of us (myself included!) will likely discover upon reflection that there are old fixed mindset thought patterns that we haven’t quite let go of. Fortunately, we can examine these self-defeating thoughts and replace them with growth mindset thoughts that are empowering and energizing. See if you can recognize yourself in any of these 10 fixed mindset traps, and practice exercising a growth mindset instead.

Today I’ve invited Dr. Leonard Sax to the show. Leonard is board-certified in family medicine and currently practices in suburban Philadelphia, and also has a PhD in psychology. I was introduced to Leonard’s work when I heard him on NPR, and was just fascinated by his insights about how schools are failing boys. As I dug deeper into his work, I realized that Leonard also has done a significant amount of work around "girls in crisis." So, I've invited Leonard on the show to talk about what we as teachers need to know about overcoming the gender gap in schools so we can break down gender stereotypes to support every child. 

How much energy are you wasting complaining about or resisting reality? Radical acceptance can help you deal realistically with the facts of the situation (rather than the story you’re telling yourself about the facts) and sitting with the discomfort of the present moment instead of insisting it shouldn’t be happening.

Radical acceptance doesn’t mean you approve of the problems you’re facing or deem other people’s inappropriate behavior as okay. You don’t have to ignore your own needs, let people walk all over you, ignore a problem, or tell yourself it’s okay that something awful is happening or has happened to you.

Rather, it’s a principle you can practice to bravely see all that you are, and all that the people around you are. You can take constructive steps to improve working conditions while practicing radical acceptance of your current reality. You can change your self-talk from “I can’t believe this unfair thing is happening” to “It IS happening, and I accept that reality for the purpose of being able to address it in the healthiest, most productive way possible. What thoughts, words, and actions can I choose that will make things better?”

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our new podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes. 

Teachers are often told to “focus on the positive and ignore the negative” when it comes to student behavior. While providing positive reinforcement and specific praise is good practice, it’s NOT the only thing we need to do, and consequences are a part of learning behavioral expectations.

So how do we get the outcome of better behavior?

Classroom teacher Amy Stohs is here to share how her teaching philosophy manifests in a blend of grace and consequences in the classroom. Having taught at both the early elementary and middle school level, Amy offers practical guidance about how to take away privileges as a logical consequence for students at all age levels.

Amy also shares tips for maintaining a productive learning environment even during the final weeks of the school year, having fun with each other, and enjoying the classroom community you’ve built together.

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussionor, join our podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.

Do you refuse to throw anything out because you MIGHT need it one day, or find yourself holding on to worthless stuff “just in case” you need it?

In this episode, I’ll share 10 things you can get rid of in your classroom this spring to make space for what you actually need and use.

And, I’ll help you establish a mindset of abundance rather than scarcity, so you can approach spring cleaning with a perspective that will help you feel good rather than apprehensive about getting rid of the things you worked so hard to accumulate:

• I like to streamline and simplify how my classroom runs.
• I don’t keep things I don’t really need.
• I could still teach well with a fraction of the materials I’ve accumulated.
• If there is something that I need later and don’t have, I trust that I will be able to find it again, or borrow it, or be able to do without it just fine.
• The foundation of my classroom is my energy, enthusiasm, and know-how, not my stuff.
• I feel good about clearing away the things that drain my energy and enthusiasm by creating a cluttered, disorganized work space.
• I can let go of things I don’t need in order to make space for things I do.

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion.

As we move into 2020, I’m sharing some very personal self-reflections about the course my life has taken over the past 10 years, and new insights I've had about who I am and what I need in order to thrive.

A few of the things I touch on in this stream-of-consciousness episode:

• Learning to set boundaries
• Becoming a "people person"
• Why I chose the direction I did for my business
• What marriage looks like for me now
• Why we don’t have kids
• What I've learned about my creative process

I wrap up by sharing the personal development work I want to focus on as the new decade begins.

I would love to hear your self-reflections and what you’ve learned about YOURSELF over the past decade! You can share with me and other Truth for Teachers listeners in our private Facebook community here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/truthforteachers/

Happy New Year! I'll be back with the next "official" episode on Jan 26th.

Wrapping up Season 8 with this episode! Always feel days and weeks behind in your lesson plans? Let's talk about doing fewer things, better, and eliminate things from your schedule.

This episode is perfect for teachers who want to learn how to take control of their instructional time in every way possible so they feel less rushed and have time for the things that really move the needle for kids. You can shift your mindset from that of the frazzled, rushed, over-scheduled teacher to that of the truly productive one.

For my FREE resource called "Goodbye, Teacher Tired," which might be helpful to you as you figure out what this looks like in your life, click here or visit teachertiredchallenge.com.

Click here to read or share the transcript and audio or participate in the discussion.

Truth for Teachers will be back for Season 9 in mid-January, but keep an eye out for informal eps and casual updates from me in the meantime. --Angela

In last week’s episode, I shared 10 growth mindset shifts you can take to enjoy teaching more, and gave examples of negative, fixed mindset thoughts that can reframed into something that helps you perceive your job as less stressful and more meaningful.

This week, I want to go deeper with that, and talk to you about how the story you tell yourself about teaching is probably not true, and ways you can choose to see things differently. You can reframe your work to recognize and appreciate what a tremendously important job you are doing every single minute of the day.

“Grit” is a huge buzzword right now that’s used to refer to perseverance and resilience. Many schools are rushing to adopt grit curriculums and character education programs so they can teach their students about how to put in the effort and determination that’s needed in order to be successful.

But here’s the thing about grit. I’ve done a lot of research on this topic, and I’ve seen grit get a lot of pushback because it’s been misused and misinterpreted. And while I believe in the value of teaching grit to students, I think we as educators have the responsibility to be informed about what being “gritty” really means, and what it doesn’t mean.

You can’t just positive-think your way into confidence: real confidence comes as a result of consistently taking action, and seeing growth in yourself over time.

When I started my podcast 4 years ago, I wasn’t confident about it. At all. In fact, I was very self-conscious about my voice, my accent, my ideas, my theme song, my introduction. You name it, I doubted it.

And that’s how it should be — how can you be confident about something you’ve never done and aren’t great at yet? I didn’t have the confidence yet because I hadn’t yet built the capability.

But, I believed in my own ability to grow and improve. I knew I COULD have the capability if I kept showing up.

With each mediocre episode I worked so hard to produce, I got better at it. Things began to come easier to me, and I was happier with the end result. I saw my growth, and THAT’S what gave me my confidence as a podcast host.

In this episode, I share my encouragement to you: to build your confidence as a teacher by building your capability. Don’t try to manufacture confidence: build it by taking action.

Do the same things over and over until you get good at them or at least better at them, and then move on and try something else. Work toward mastery and depth, knowing that mastery always requires repetition.

Reflect each day on what you have grown in, and the things you have learned that day. Notice your progress in the smallest ways. As you start to pay attention to your own growth and recognize your accomplishments, you will build REAL and unshakeable confidence in your abilities as a teacher.

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our new podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.

Adapting a flexible, resilient pedagogy will allow us to roll with any changes that might come, and will carry us through to post-pandemic teaching, as well. The goal? To emerge from this school year with more equitable, sustainable, and relevant ways of teaching and learning.

So what exactly does flexible resilience pedagogy look like in practice?

I’ll share some tips to help you plan ONE set of activities for every lesson, and use them for face-to-face, online, and hybrid instruction.

I’ll also share 11 practical strategies to help you find a manageable, sustainable approach to planning instruction this year, no matter what changes might come in your teaching context.

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.

The foundation of using your time effectively and being efficient is knowing how to prioritize your tasks. In this episode, I'll share 7 guiding principles to remember when figuring out what to get done first.

Are you constantly losing instructional time to minor disruptions and off-task behavior? What if you shifted your focus from eliminating misbehavior and interruptions to maximizing learning time?

When the goal is to eliminate interruptions, you feel like you have to address every single one so it never happens again. When the goal is to maximize learning time, you can choose a more constructive response that keeps the majority of the class on-task.

This approach will reduce the wasted class time spent on lectures about the rules and arguing with kids over what you’ve told them to do. Here’s how to plan your responses in advance so you’re not constantly exploding in frustration over minor things. 

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our new podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.  

We all want to work smarter, not harder … and that doesn’t require a complete overhaul of your teaching practice or a brand new innovative workflow.

Small changes in daily habits and mindset shifts can add up to big results, and I’ve invited 4 teachers to share what’s made the difference for them:

1. The MVP principle and timer when lesson planning (LB Blackwell)
2. Using a turn-in sheet for student work to speed up grading (Christina Rudd)
3. Simplifying and automating email with parents (Christie Manners)
4. Not having kids turn every assignment in and using less paper (Becky Teater)

These teachers cut back on the amount of time they spend working WITHOUT sacrificing their instructional quality or shortchanging students and families. They’re proof that it’s possible to do a great job for kids without working endlessly on nights and weekends.

Want more support in reducing your workload? Check out the 40 Hour Teacher Workweek program these 4 educators completed: https://join.40htw.com

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.

One of the big principles that we’re always coming back to in The 40 Hour Teacher Workweek Club is that implementing small changes right away is more effective than hoping you’ll feel like implementing big changes later on. We often make the mistake of assuming that our future selves will somehow be less stressed and busy and more disciplined and productive, and therefore we’ll able to handle making positive changes LATER.

The problem with that logic is that those qualities of being less busy and more productive later don’t just happen on their own. This summer or next year only seem like they will be slightly less crazy than right now because all the unexpected interruptions, emergencies, and new obligations haven’t cropped up yet. Unless we’re actively taking steps now to set our future selves up for success, things really aren’t going to change very much.

In this episode, I'll share how to break that cycle, and embrace the fact that your willingness to adapt what you’re doing NOW has the ability to save you countless hours and immeasurable stress in the new school year.

If you’re a regular listener of Truth for Teachers, you know I like to focus on very practical, actionable strategies that every person listening can implement. Today’s episode is going to be a slight departure from that. This episode is a chance to dream, to imagine new possibilities, to rethink everything about the way your school day is structured.

I’m going to be talking with Jodi Fletcher, a principal whose team had a vision for a really innovative way to support kids in personalized learning and project based learning. Listen in as she tells the story of what that dream looks like now that they’ve made it a reality for 500 kids.

A TfT listener wonders how to cope when her cohesive team is mocked by other teachers in the school. How can collaborative groups of teachers prevent their positive, innovative attitudes from wedging a divide between them and other colleagues? In this epsiode, I share 6 tips for extending a bridge to distrustful co-workers and reaching out to isolated teachers who may be interested in joining the collaborative spirit.

Growth mindset has been a buzzword in education for quite awhile and I think a lot of teachers and kids are already familiar with it. But I’ve noticed a pitfall that seems to occur fairly often: growth mindset is introduced to students near the beginning of the year and then the curriculum demands seem to take precedent.

When you have so many skills you have to teach and so many standards for kids to master, it’s hard to remember, much less make time to talk about growth mindset. Fortunately, there are some simple ways you can infuse growth mindset into what you do on a daily basis.

Join me today and listen in for these regular practices that help you ensure students will be willing to try new things, stick with hard tasks and not give up, push themselves to do their best work, and believe in themselves and their own ability to learn.

Click here to read this podcast online or download it to listen on the go.

Here's quick access to the resources I recommend in today's podcast: Dr. JoAnn Deak's Fantastic Elastic Brain book, Carol E. Reiley's Making a Splash growth mindset book, free online brain songs, and a more structured, complete 10 lesson unit that I've created that is a best seller on TeachersPayTeachers.

Some of you are barely making it through the school year, and the idea of going into school each morning just makes you sick with stress and anxiety. You want to quit more than anything but have no idea what the alternative would be. I get it. I have been in your shoes.

Others of you still love teaching, but you’re feeling an itch to do something different. You want to make a greater impact for kids, or you want a flexible schedule, or just feel like there’s something more out there for you. I’ve been in that position, too.

You see, I’ve quit teaching twice: once because the school environment was so toxic that I hated my job, and once because I wanted to shift into a different role in education. I’ll share both of those stories with you in this episode, along with 5 things I learned that might be helpful if you’re thinking about quitting for either reason.

This episode features a sneak peek from one of the upcoming 40 Hour Teacher Workweek Online Summit sessions. You’ll hear from a teacher named June Link, whose session is called, “Clock out confidently: 5 tips to get out the door at contract time.”

In this episode, June shares some helpful principles and mindset shifts, along with the exact process she used to carve out time for a new demand in her workload. June and her colleagues were supposed to implement a new socio-emotional learning curriculum, but needed to find time to explore it, write lesson plans, and figure out how to integrate the new materials into everything else they were doing.

June shares how she estimated how much preparation time she’d realistically need in order to implement this new curriculum, which was 10 hours. Then she explains how she made time for that work during her contractual hours, instead of taking the new curriculum home to figure out on the evenings or weekends.

Listen in to learn about that experiment and more.

Then, save your spot for the 40 Hour Teacher Workweek Online Summit:

✅ 30+ presentations

✅ Opening and closing keynotes by 40 Hour founder Angela Watson

✅ All presenters are current K-12 classroom teachers

✅ No fluff, filler, or pitches: each session is just 15-20 minutes long

✅ Chat with other teachers during the live sessions and get personalized advice

Sign up for the free live Elementary Summit April 5th-6th

Sign up for the free live Secondary Summit April 12th-13th

If you can’t attend live or the event has already passed by the time you see this, you can purchase forever-access to all the sessions (both elementary and secondary), plus get time-stamped transcripts, note-taking guides, and all the presentation links and templates in one document so that you can reference them easily. Forever-access is just $19, and helps cover the cost of running this event and compensating the teachers who share their ideas.

Thank you for your support, and for spreading the word about this event!

Our automatic reactions — the things we say to kids without even realizing the words are coming out of our mouths — are usually things we’ve heard from other adults. Often our parents or our teachers said those things to us.

We can make a conscious choice to change the script by examining the ineffective and unhelpful things we say to kids. In this episode, I'm sharing 5 of the phrases I'm most embarrassed about using in my classroom, and what was more effective for me to say instead.

Share your thoughts on the episode and collaborate with other listeners in our NEW private group on Facebook! Click here to join: https://www.facebook.com/groups/truthforteachers/
You can also leave a comment on the blog post/transcript for this episode here: https://thecornerstoneforteachers.com/truth-for-teachers-podcast/unhelpful-things-teachers-say/

I recently had an upbeat, fun conversation with Lisa Woodruff of Organize 365 for her podcast, and thought I'd share an excerpt of it here with you!

We're talking all about the state of education today, what we're hearing from teachers about their needs, and our experiences with burnout and balance.

As a fellow former educator, Lisa knows the mindset and challenges of teaching well, and does a deep dive with me into some of the 40 Hour Teacher Workweek principles. This includes: the difference between required work vs hobby work, overcoming perfectionism, and learning what you can say no to without having your classroom fall apart.  

We both share some major timewasting mindsets we fell prey to as teachers, and how we think about our work and time differently today.

If you enjoy this conversation, check out ep 149, called Living life as an organized teacher.

You can also listen to Lisa's Organize 365 podcast on home and paper organization: https://organize365.com/podcast

Or check out Lisa's Education Friday Workbox® for teacher organization: https://af271.isrefer.com/go/EDWX/AngelaWatson/

And finally, here's the link to my 40 Hour Teacher Workweek program which is open through July 27th:
https://join.40htw.com

The uncertainty and constant changes have been one of the most stressful parts of this school year.
 
Nearly every teacher I know has invested countless hours into setting up a system for one approach to learning, only to find out that everything’s going to be completely different the following day … and then it’s all going to change again two weeks after that.
 
Resilient pedagogy (as defined by Joshua Eyler) is “a combination of course design principles and teaching strategies that are as resistant to disruption and to change in the learning environment as possible.”
 
The idea is that the essential qualities of your lesson plans will be in place, no matter what changes in the way you deliver instruction.
 
A resilient approach to teaching requires us to SIMPLIFY and SCALE DOWN.
 
You’re not going to be able to offer kids all the resources and options you wish you could … and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
 
Everything in our world right now is limited and restricted to an extent. If you go to a restaurant, for example, there are limitations as to where you can sit and probably fewer choices on the menu. 
 
It’s the same for your instruction: the menu of options is different, and simplified. Since we were trying to cram in way too much to our pre-pandemic instruction, resilient pedagogy returns us to what is essential and most important.

As you think about supporting your students during these final weeks of the school year, ask yourself, What would this look like if it were easy? 

Then pick simple, flexible options that are going to reduce stress for you, your students, and their families. 
 
I know that many of you are under immense pressure to hold to pre-pandemic expectations and learning standards. Many of your students are going to be taking standardized tests this year.
 
Do what’s necessary to power through this … but don’t devote a ton of time, energy, or attention to it.
 
Check the boxes, dot the i’s, cross the t’s. But keep your gaze steadily focused on what matters most for your students. 
 
No one gives 100% to everything they do, so stop pressuring yourself to uphold that standard. Figure out what’s worth the investment and pour your heart and soul into that, and give 75% or 50% or 25% to the other things.
 
Think about what you’re doing that is really moving the needle for kids, and how you can get a return on your investment of time with future classes.
 
What things have you done this school year that were really effective and that can probably be used next year?
 
That’s where you want to devote the majority of your time and energy. 
 
Obviously next school year’s still a question mark for many of us, too … but that’s where a resilient pedagogical approach really shines. Invest in lessons and activities that are context-independent (things that can work no matter what the teaching format is like in the future). 
 
The stuff that’s just useful for now, or isn’t really doing much for kids? 
 
Simplify it. Scale it down. Cut it out altogether if possible. 

Flexible resilience seems like a necessary survival tool for the foreseeable future. Let’s lean into that instead of resisting it. 

Because this is not a “lost year of learning” as so many folks outside the profession like to call it. 
 
Sure, many kids will have adverse effects on their mastery of content due to the pandemic. That’s true. But just because it’s true doesn’t mean it’s healthy or useful to dwell on it. You don’t have to choose that framing, or think and talk constantly about “how far behind” kids will be. 
 
Because it’s also probably true that some of your students are actually doing better now than they would be in a traditional classroom during a typical school year. 
 
Some of your kids may be struggling academically or socio-emotionally, but not necessarily both, and some are experiencing some truly wonderful benefits right now, too. 
 
Many of your students are learning to develop critical thinking, tech proficiency, self-advocacy, time management, socio-emotional regulation, and other important life skills in ways that far surpass their abilities earlier this school year. Those skills will help them get back on track with any content-area loss … this is probably also true, right?
 
And it’s certainly true that you will not be the only teacher grappling with this problem next year. The entire country (and many other countries around the world) will be dealing with how to keep moving kids forward after the disruptions we’ve experienced. 
 
So, this is not your problem alone to solve. It’s a bridge that all of us are going to have to cross when we get there. 
 
Can you see how this is a better-feeling thought than, “Half my class is failing and they’re never going to catch up?” 
 
You can choose these better-feeling thoughts and then actively look for evidence of them throughout the day. 
 
You can train yourself to focus on assets instead of deficits, or (as Dr. Byron McClure puts it), focus on what’s strong instead of what’s wrong. 

Be flexible. Be resilient. Support your students in doing the same. We’re going to power through this, together.

Sign up for the Power Through series emails on this page here.

The constant pressure to achieve more, work harder, increase results, generate more money, and so on can be exhausting.

In this episode, I wanted to share some things I’ve been mulling over in terms of holistic wealth and wellbeing, and what it means to use our time well.

What if we didn’t try to maximize EVERY moment, and instead allowed for some moments of rest, daydreaming, and moving slowly with intention?

What if we identified some things that add a richness and satisfaction to our lives, and prioritized those activities at the same level as “getting things done”?

What might it look like — in our schools and in our personal lives — if we weren’t constantly upping the ante and working toward the next goal, but focused on reveling in what we’ve already done?

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.

“Making a conscious and intentional effort to tap into your own personal power and being courageous” is the way today’s guest defines “teaching like yourself.”

I’m talking with Dr. Gravity Goldberg, whom you might remember from a 2019 interview I did, which ended up being one of the most downloaded Truth for Teachers episodes ever. It’s Episode 171, called “Teach like yourself: Why YOU are the person your students need most.”

Gravity has over 20 years of teaching experience, including positions as a science teacher, reading specialist, third grade teacher, special educator, literacy coach, staff developer, assistant professor, educational consultant, and yoga teacher. Gravity holds a B.A. and M.Ed. from Boston College and a doctorate from Teachers College. As the founding director of Gravity Goldberg, LLC she leads a team that offers side-by-side coaching and workshops that focus on teachers as decision-makers and student-led instruction. 

Since our last conversation, Gravity — who has authored 9 books on teaching — has released a new title called Active Learning: 40 Teaching Methods to Engage Students in Every Class and Every Subject, which she co-wrote with the late Barry Gilmore. 

We touch a bit on that book and what Gravity’s working on now, but I thought of this conversation as a “Teach Like Yourself, Revisited”. I wanted to know how her thinking has changed around this topic, and the role authentic teaching plays now. Listen in as we discuss:

• How “teaching like yourself” (making a conscious and intentional effort to tap into your own personal power and being courageous) is more important now than ever
• What Gravity has learned about authentic teaching and learning since publishing her book on that topic Has she changed her mind on anything? What would she add?
• How teachers can integrate engagement strategies in a way that feels authentic and meaningful, rather than just tossing something into their instructional day because they think (or are told) they should
• The impact of authenticity on students, and specific, practical ways we can make sure students are able to be their true, authentic selves in the classroom

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion.

What do you do for a student who continually chooses to misbehave? What happens when you feel like you've tried everything, and you're starting to turn into the type of teacher you never wanted to be? Here are 7 traps to avoid when dealing with extreme student behavior.

How can you design learning experiences that help kids understand themselves and their place in the world? A 5th grade teacher shares how she creates inquiry experiences that help kids develop understandings about personal identity, bias, moving beyond a single story, and seeing what isn’t there (critically studying history).

I’ve asked Jess Lifshitz to come on the podcast because I love learning from her on Twitter, and I wanted to amplify her work so more teachers can use inquiry, reading, and writing to help students better understand create positive change in the world beyond the classroom.

Jess shares, “I’m constantly looking at the models around me of the humans that I want my students to grow up to be and asking, “What did they have to learn to be that kind of person?’ We see people stand up for strangers in the supermarket, and I think to myself, ’What was that person taught that allowed them to become the kind of adult that's going to stand up for someone else?’ Someone taught them those skills, and I can't assume that anybody else is teaching my students that. I need to make sure that those are things I'm working into my classroom so that my students can grow up to be the kinds of people that I want to share this world with.”

In this episode, you'll hear Jess share her lesson planning process, how she ties real-world lessons like these back to her standards and curriculum, and how she uses inquiry to support students in uncovering truths for themselves instead of being told what to think.

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our new podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.

What if school was designed around student agency, real-world learning, and deep relationships—instead of compliance and test scores? In this episode, I take you inside Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School, a Big Picture Learning school in the South Bronx that is reimagining what education can be.

I spent two days observing classes, talking with students and teachers, and experiencing firsthand how this school operates within the constraints of the public school system while centering student voice and engagement. You'll hear about:

• How Fannie Lou’s advisory system, looping, and block scheduling create a close-knit, supportive learning environment
• Why students don’t take standardized tests and instead defend portfolios of work
• How extended learning opportunities (ELOs) and internships connect students to real-world experiences
• The role of AI and technology in supporting student-driven, competency-based learning
  What it actually looks like to make relationships the foundation of a school

Fannie Lou’s approach isn’t a magic bullet or an exclusive model—it’s a public school choice within NYC’s Department of Education that any student can opt into. Listen in to hear what’s possible when we trust students, empower teachers, and rethink what high-quality learning truly looks like.

Get the shareable article/transcript for this episode here.

How do we get kids to go from saying “Just tell me what to do!” to truly taking ownership of their work? In this episode, you'll learn 6 strategies to help get kids on board with the sometimes daunting task of student-directed learning.

By now, you've probably heard me talk a lot about strategies for work-life balance and productivity as a teacher. Join me today in this episode of the Truth for Teachers podcast where I personally reflect on what those principles look like in this season of life currently.

I’ll share five choices I’ve made that are essentially habits now, and they help me to automate and simplify my life. Hopefully, it will give you some ideas about ways that you can do the same in order to focus on your biggest priorities!

Click here to read or share the transcript and audio or participate in the discussion.

We all want students to be self-directed in their learning and take initiative to figure things out for themselves. We want them to think critically and engage in the struggle of understanding so they come out on the other side truly owning their own learning, ideas, and beliefs.

Two of the most powerful ways to help students experience this kind of learning are:

1. Explicitly teaching students how to optimize concentration, time, and energy
2. Model these strategies for students with enthusiasm, curiosity, and intellectual humility

That’s exactly what this episode is designed to help you do.

The first and most important step is to shift from viewing learning as something that you’re trying to get students to do and they’re resisting, and instead view learning as something that you experiment with together.

Listen in to learn more about flow theory, and why I prefer its focus on joy and ease over just “managing time” or “getting more done.”

You and your students can internalize this way of thinking about time, energy, and attention, and establish the goal of finding flow in the classroom whenever possible.

• Learn more about FINDING FLOW Solutions and check out curriculum previews: http://findingflowsolutions.com/
• Download the free Foundations of Flow unit for teens
• Purchase the complete set of 6 units for teens as a beta tester
• Get notified when elementary resources are ready
• Get notified when middle school resources are ready

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.

For many teachers, PBL is a very different way of facilitating learning, where kids are identifying a real-world problem and developing its solution. It’s an incredibly powerful, effective, and cross-curricular way for kids to learn. But it’s not always simple to plan, and manage, and assess, so we’re going to talk about some practical teaching strategies.

We’re also going to look at how to address some of the pitfalls that students face. PBL is incredibly rigorous, or should be, and we all know that kids aren’t always excited about rigor and working hard--they can’t just pass a test at the end of the unit and be done. With PBL, kids show what they learn as they journey through the unit, interact with its lessons, collaborate with each other, and assess themselves and each other. It’s pretty complex stuff. It’s a tough juxtaposition with the “fill in the bubble” standardized testing mentality that most are expected to juggle simultaneously.

I have two guests on the show today to help us explore these issues--they are the co-authors of the new book Hacking Project Based Learning: 10 Easy Steps to PBL and Inquiry in the Classroom. You’ll hear from Erin Murphy, who is an assistant principal and certified literacy specialist in the East Penn School District in Pennsylvania, and Ross Cooper, who is the Supervisor of Instructional Practice K-12 in the Salisbury Township School District in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Erin and Ross are passionate about inquiry-based learning and have supported countless teachers in implementing it, through not only their school-based work but also through the PD and workshops they conduct. I’m really excited to have them here to help us move past the jargon and buzzwords, and talk about the realities on doing PBL with kids.

Listen in on a coaching call I conducted with a graduate of the 40 Hour Teacher Workweek Club. His name is Jim, and he’s entering his 4th year of teaching. Jim works on a grades 7-12 campus and is a high school geometry and 7th grade honors math teacher.

The questions that Jim submitted to me were mostly about getting student buy-in with room arrangement and routines/procedures. But the part that I wanted to share with you here on the podcast is where we do a deep dive into getting student buy-in with a cell phone policy.

Like most teachers, Jim already has most of the solution inside of him, and it’s just a matter of helping him uncover the different parts of that solutions and put them together. Notice how each of his responses to me is like a clue which leads us to the next piece of the puzzle, until we have the whole thing assembled. It’s a really fun process to participate in and I think it will be fun for you to listen to, also.

What we’re doing in this conversation is partially about ironing out the details of the cell phone policy, about partially about figuring out which areas of the classroom to give kids ownership of, and where we need to provide more leadership and modeling.

The value of this episode is in helping you ask YOURSELF the right questions, because honest self-reflection is what's going to get you to the right result.

“Just do your best” is not always helpful advice for perfectionists, people-pleasers, and folks struggling with anxiety.

The phrase is meant to offer comfort, but can create pressure, because you know what your best looks like, and how much time and effort it involves!

The truth is: you can’t possibly give your best effort to everything on your plate, and not everything you need to do deserves your best effort.

What if you only aimed for A+ work on the most important stuff in life and work, and aimed for B+ work in everything else?

You might be thinking, “This is an interesting concept, Angela, but my brain doesn’t work that way. I can’t give less than 100%.”

This podcast episode will give you 5 things to remember in order to really internalize healthier expectations for yourself so that you can decide where to focus your time and energy.

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.

I first started this podcast back in 2015, and nearly 300 episodes later, I’m proud to say there’s a wealth of helpful information available to you.

But… you don’t have time to listen to 300 episodes.

How do you know you didn’t miss out on something great awhile back?

What if there’s something you need to hear NOW that I haven’t talked about in awhile?

Enter the NEW Truth for Teachers playlists.

I’ve carefully curated the episodes I’m most proud of — and that I think will help you most — from our seven years of podcasting.

Choose from: 

• The Greatest Hits Playlist: A collection of the most popular and impactful episodes
• The Encouragement Playlist: Mindset tips and motivation to help rejuvenate and inspire you
• The Productivity Playlist: Time and energy management ideas to create work/life balance
• The Student Engagement Playlist: Innovative teaching strategies that build a healthy classroom culture

Visit https://truthforteachers.com/playlists/ to learn more and get the one you want sent straight to your inbox!

The end of the school year can feel super crazy because it means lots of close out tasks for the teacher. We’ve got tons of paperwork, plus bulletin boards to remove, supplies to label and pack away, cleaning, and more.

You as the TEACHER have plenty of things to do. But often, the kids don’t. Standardized tests are done, gradebooks have been closed out for the year, and often our students feel like they’re just biding their time until summer break. 

In today's episode, listen in as I discuss a simple 4-step system I created for closing out and deconstructing your room in a single day, and pace yourself so the rest of your end-of-year tasks don’t feel so unmanageable.

Click here to read or share the transcript and audio or participate in the discussion.

Click here to view my done-for-you system for end-of-year close out on sale now.

“We didn't forget how to be teachers. It’s the same passion, engagement, and relationships — you already know how to do that. What we have to learn is a few tech tools, so that we can accomplish the teaching moves that we want, but we did not forget how to teach ... Human beings know how to develop relationships, and sometimes they develop from a distance.”

Listen as I talk with Doug Fisher (of Fisher & Frey) about the most important ideas from their new book with John Hattie called “The Distance Learning Playbook: K-12 Teaching For Engagement and Impact in Any Setting.”

The book is based on the classroom experiences of a diverse group of more than 70 teachers this past spring. I ask Doug to sum up their most important takeaways, the things that surprised him, and the best practical ideas that came out of these teachers’ experiences.

We talk extensively about the best ways to get kids to show up to distance learning and complete their work, as well. Doug shares specific examples, and says, “When you move to higher levels of engagement — where kids drive the learning, where they set their goals, they monitor their progress, they reflect on what they've been learning — that’s when we see them show up and participate.”

If you need to hear a positive outlook and some inspiration about distance/hybrid learning right now, I think you’ll really enjoy this conversation:

“I did not sign up to be this distance teacher. But right now our kids need us. We're still a school. We still have a job to do. Together, we will get through this pandemic and we will be better, as a result, when we come back.”

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.

Many teachers are far too hard on themselves and constantly feel guilty about things they’re not doing. You can make 3 small changes that will create a dramatic shift in how you think and feel about yourself. Learn how to change your mindset and move from self-criticism to self-acceptance.

Although each day holds the same 24 hours, there is something that we have come to accept as being innately different between "5:00pm on a Friday" compared to "5:00pm on a Wednesday.”

Not only is it untrue that the weekend is the only time to exhale after the impact of the workweek, but this also skirts around an important truth: The way that we choose to spend a weeknight has a more immediate impact on our ability to renew ourselves the next day than a weekend sprint of self-care.

In this episode, my guest (middle school teacher Marissa Minnick) shares how thinking about your tasks as belonging to a sort of task triangle can help. The task triangle includes space for activities that attend to your immediate self, your future self, and your sense of self. Marissa’s found that her productivity and energy soar the next workday when she’s taken time to invest in that third portion of the task triangle.

Listen in as Marissa shares 4 tips for balancing the task triangle and using your weeknights to dedicate time for things that help you feel re-energized.

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.

Leave a review for the Truth for Teachers podcast here:

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/angela-watsons-truth-for-teachers/id954139712?mt=2
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It’s always tough to strive for great teaching AND a great personal life, but that battle seems to ramp up exponentially during the holidays. If you’re feeling pulled in a million different directions, check out the tips in this episode which help you prioritize and make time for what’s most important.

What happens when even looking at your to-do list makes you want to shut down? How do you get yourself re-energized when basic adulting feels like too much?

I’ve found it empowering to have a menu of choices — or a toolbox — I can go to when I experience those feelings. It’s a collection of strategies I can pick from which have worked in the past, so I can choose whichever one feels easiest to me at the time.

In this episode, I’m sharing 8 approaches that work for me:

• Give yourself permission to stop doing and thinking
• Choose self-comfort or self-care                                                  
• Get out of your head and regain perspective                                  
• Tap into your vision, legacy, and long term goals                            
• Dump the stress by planning and batching tasks                      
• Eliminate tasks and go back to basics                                          
• Ease your way into productivity mode with quick wins                    
• Tackle the task that’s creating the most anxiety                                  

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our new podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes. 

LAST EPISODE OF SEASON 13!

Education is in a time of transition. We’re not quite to the point of post-pandemic teaching, but we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Moving forward, there’s going to be a lot of talk about what expectations to keep and what to let go of, and it’s critical to reflect:

• What parts of pre-pandemic teaching do we want to return to?
• What parts of remote and hybrid learning are here to stay?
• What do we want the future of education to look like?

The summer plan I’m suggesting in this episode to help you regroup includes 3 elements:

1. A mental vacation (taking a break from thinking about work)
2. Reflecting on what you learned about yourself and your teaching
3. Daydreaming and reimagining the future 

We all need a time of recovery and preparation between school years. And this summer, it's going to be more essential and than ever before to process how the past year has shaped our identities…not only as educators, but as humans.

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.

Learn more about the 40 Hour Workweek, 40 Hour Leadership for administrators, and 40 Hour Instructional Coaches.

Have you ever wasted half the weekend worrying about the week ahead? Even if you love your job, you might still wake up on Sunday mornings with a feeling of dread and spend the evening in a total state of anxiety simply because there are so many pressures associated with teaching.

Join me today for 7 tips to help you relax, enjoy your time off, AND be more productive. 

Click here to read or share the transcript and audio or participate in the discussion.

Want more resources for tackling the Sunday blues? Check out the Finally Free teacher toolkit for conquering anxiety and overwhelm.

Lunch can be a surprisingly big stressor for teachers: figuring out what to pack, being scheduled for a 10:30 am lunch slot when you’re never quite hungry, having to scarf down a whole meal in 15 minutes or less, or not getting a break for lunch at all.

So, by popular request, this episode is all about ways to simplify and streamline. Some of the main strategies we’ll explore include:

• Make convenient containers easily accessible
• Keep a variety of snack choices to mix and match for lunch
• Make green smoothies or protein shakes
• Prep veggies as soon as you bring them home
• Batch your lunch prep
• Make (almost) every dinner give you two days’ worth of lunches
• Create a set of go-to meals for dinner to be used as leftovers
• Eat the same lunch daily or eliminate it altogether
• Try to reduce the additional lunch prep you handle for family members 

Learn how to invest a bit of time in creating a simple plan, so that figuring out a healthy lunch is one less decision you have to make each day.

WARNING: This episode could be triggering for those with a history of eating disorders or other unhealthy relationships with food. I don’t discuss weight loss or restricting your nutritional intake, and this is a body-neutral episode, but the topic could bring up some issues around your relationship with food, particularly near the end when I’m talking about intermittent fasting and simplifying how many food choices you have for the purpose of making meal prep easier and faster. Please be kind to yourself as you’re listening, and focus on just the ideas that resonate with you and your body.

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our new podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.

You can tell from your very first interaction with some parents that there will be challenges ahead. Every teacher encounters both "helicopter parents" as well as those who are impossible to get in touch with. In this episode, you'll learn how to plan ahead and avoiding being caught off guard when parents don’t fit your expectation of the Perfect Amount of Involvement. Learn how to do everything you can to contribute to a good working relationship with your students’ parents, and go the extra mile without taking forever to get there.

Have you lost patience for refocusing your class and fallen into the trap of just barking at the kids (“No talking!”) or pleading with them (“I'm waiting for quiet!”) all day long? Ironically, it’s more tiring to keep repeating your request for silence, since nagging kids puts us in a bad mood and the kids just tune us out, anyway. Here are 5 ways to grab kids' attention in a fun and engaging way.

Here’s an innovative way to get student buy-in for your cell phone policy, reduce distractions, and maximize class time.

Today you’re going to hear from Ashly Hilst, a secondary teacher at North Clackamas Christian School in Oregon City, Oregon. Ashly has taught high school English for 7 years in both public and private schools. 

For the 2024 Summit for the 40 Hour Teacher Workweek, Ashly unveiled her innovative approach to managing cell phone use in the classroom, and it was so impactful I wanted to make sure more teachers had a chance to hear about it.

Her method focuses on conveying the message that "phones don't make good moments, people do," drawing from personal experiences to connect with students. 

In this episode, you’ll learn from Ashly how to establish clear expectations and consequences for phone use while allowing flexibility and gentle reminders. 

Discover for yourself how Ashly's approach reduces stress levels and enhances the teaching experience by promoting responsible phone habits in the classroom.

Get the transcript + free copy of Ashly’s slideshow here:  https://truthforteachers.com/truth-for-teachers-podcast/how-to-get-true-student-buy-in-for-your-no-cellphone-policy/

It’s a myth that “having a plan” means locking yourself into a rigid schedule from which you can’t deviate. Knowing the things you want to experience and accomplish (and carving out time for them) is one of the most powerful ways to craft a fulfilling life!

Lisa Woodruff recently interviewed me for her Organize365 podcast, and I wanted to play an excerpt of that conversation for you here.

Listen in as we talk about how we each fell in love with planning and how our individual planning processes have changed throughout our various seasons of life.

We each share how we schedule our time and manage our to-do lists, and what our summer schedules look like.

You’ll also hear us illuminate a few key truths we’ve uncovered through developing various productivity systems:

• Why working toward being “finally done” with a tasks is not necessarily the goal
• How to enjoy the never-ending process of tending to your own life, needs, and healthy habits
• How planning ahead creates freedom and allows presence in whatever experiences arise
• Why the goal isn’t to execute your plan perfectly but to re-evaluate priorities

You can listen to the full conversation on the Organize365 podcast, or check out her organizational tools, such as the Education Friday workbox, which is a system that helps teachers get organized and reduce the amount of time spent on administrative tasks.

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.

As an educator who's lived and taught in both the US and Denmark, Pernille’s story is a revealing look into two vastly different education systems. Let's unpack her journey and what it tells us about work-life balance, societal values, and teaching philosophies.

You’ll hear:

• Why Pernille’s family moved to Wisconsin from Denmark when she was a teenager, how she became a teacher in the U.S., and why she and her American husband made the decision in 2022 to move with their four children to Denmark
• The cultural differences Pernille has noticed living in Denmark, particularly in relation to families, children, work, and school
• How the Danish school system is set up, including how students are not formally taught to read until the equivalent of 2nd grade in the U.S, and how high school (as Americans understand it) ends around age 15 so students can focus on career training
• What the school day looks like for Pernille, who is looping with her students through multiple grade levels, including how much instructional vs planning time she has and why Danish teachers are not permitted to work more than 40 hours a week
• The aspects of the Danish approach to work/life balance that U.S. educators might replicate to make teaching more effective, efficient, and enjoyable

She shares, "In Denmark, being a teacher is about nurturing well-being first—both for students and educators. It's about giving your best within working hours and then fully embracing life at home."

“And, education here isn’t just academics; it’s learning through play, community building, and practical skills that prepare children for real-world challenges from an early age."

I’m always curious about what it’s like to teach in different countries, and if you feel the same, I think you’ll find this informal conversation is a fascinating deep dive into values, priorities, and what it means for kids and teachers to co-thrive.

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion.

Though it’s a common problem that happens in pretty much every classroom in America, there isn’t any clear cut solution. Obviously you want to make the work as meaningful, authentic, and relevant as you can, and build rapport with students. But there are some kids who just aren’t going to focus and get their work done no matter how much of a personal connection you’ve tried to make with them, or how much choice you’ve given in the assignment. In this episode, I'll share how I respond to these students, and what you can do to keep disengaged learners from stealing your enthusiasm for teaching.

During today's episode, I am excited to feature an interview with Dan Tricarico as part of my Truth for Teachers podcast. Dan and I met when we were both speaking at a conference a couple of years ago, and I remember walking away from the conversation with him thinking, “This guy is the real deal.” That’s the phrase that stuck in my head because he just came across to me as being so grounded and so sincere in everything he said -- he was truly passionate about everything we spoke on and had a pure heart for helping kids and teachers.

Last February, I was out in San Diego for another conference, and he and I sat down together and hashed things out a bit. We’ve been working for the past 7-8 months on creating something together that addresses teacher anxiety. It’s called Finally Free: The teacher toolkit for conquering anxiety, overwhelm, and the pressure to do more. 

Today, we’re going to give you some of our favorite mindset shifts and advice from the toolkit and talk about some ideas that will really make a big difference in how you feel.

Dan and I are making one of the modules in the Finally Free toolkit available to you for free. It’s Module 1: Freedom from Comparison, which is designed for you to listen to when you’re feeling not good enough and comparing yourself to others. You can go to finallyfreetoolkit.com to learn more about the toolkit, and scroll down to the preview where you can download the audio and PDF for that first module on comparison right now.

Click here to read or share the transcript and audio, or participate in the discussion.

Today's episode centers on educators who feel like they're drowning in work and struggling with anxiety. I'll walk you through different aspects of teacher anxiety and help you figure out a new way to think about your work, and also help you to think in ways that FINALLY create freedom from anxiety and overwhelm.

When you're feeling anxious, there’s nothing better than hearing reassurance from someone who understands what you’re going through, validates your feelings, and helps you work through those feelings in a practical, uplifting way. Today's episode will offer a sort of "virtual mentorship," so whenever you’re feeling isolated, discouraged, and unsupported you can listen to practical encouragement and reassurance.

Click here to read or share the transcript and audio or participate in the discussion.

Click here for the full set of audio messages and digital tools that I created called Finally Free: The teacher toolkit for conquering anxiety and overwhelm. You'll get to hear my words of encouragement which you can listen to anytime you’re feeling anxious about all the things that need to be done.

"There can't be any large-scale revolution until there's a personal revolution, on an individual level. It's got to happen inside first." --Jim Morrison

Take a break this summer from thinking about work, and let’s do some big picture reflection on life together. In part two of this summer series, we’re talking about ALIGNMENT, and what it means to live in alignment with what you really believe and who you really are. We'll talk about doing our part (imperfectly) to make the world the place we believe it should be.

Make sure you sign up for the special summer series emails! There’s one written message to go with each of the 4 podcast episodes. The emails are designed to be short, powerful reminders to help you make the most of your summer break. Just click here to sign up:

https://thecornerstoneforteachers.com/truth-for-teachers-podcast/summer-2019-series/

Also: the 40 Hour Teacher Workweek Club is open for early bird access (with early bird bonuses) from now through June 30th! Learn more or sign up here: 40htw.com.

This was the most challenging school year of almost every educator’s career.  We’re used to certain aspects of the work getting easier over time, but there were so many new challenges recently that even the most experienced teachers often felt like it was their first year all over again. 
 
You had lots of personal and professional growth, of course … but somehow you’re feeling less confident in your abilities now than ever before. It’s a very weird dichotomy, to feel like you worked so hard and learned so many new things, yet there’s no sense of a commensurate payoff.
 
So what does it look like to wrap up a year feeling like this? How do you get a sense of real closure?
 
I think it’s important to acknowledge that we’re all experiencing various levels of collective grief right now. There’s a sense of loss for what we’ve missed out on: “regular” school, being close to family and friends, traveling, vacations, and our normal way of life. Some are also grieving deeper losses for any number of reasons, and not being able to process those losses in our normal ways is also painful.
 
The thing about grief is that we each experience it differently. And, there are many different phases and types of grief which people might cycle through. 
 
Some days, I’m content. I’ve made peace with the limitations I have in my life right now and the things I love that are unavailable to me currently. I feel content and able to embrace my new routines for as long as I need to.
 
Other days, I’m simply resigned to these new routines. I’m restless and frustrated. Sometimes I’m deeply sad. I have moments when I feel hopelessness and helplessness that won’t ever seem to end.
 
But that’s the other thing about grief, right? It doesn’t feel the same forever.
 
The ups and downs are all a natural, expected part of the process.
 
So if that’s how you’re feeling as the school year draws to a close, know that you are not alone in experiencing those mixed emotions.
 
There’s a surreal quality to the end of this school year, because many of the activities and face-to-face goodbyes that create closure have changed or been eliminated. Traditions have been altered. Not shutting down classrooms with our colleagues and celebrating together in the usual way makes it harder to emotionally and mentally transition into summer.
 
On top of that, the excitement for summer may also feel a bit muted, with fewer plans to look forward to.
 
And throughout all of this, there’s this sense that maybe you didn’t do a good enough job, because you could have done MORE.
 
The what-ifs start to swirl: Would that student have passed if I’d done A,B, and C? Would that parent have been on my side if I’d offered X, Y, and Z? Would that kid I yelled at have participated in our Zoom meetings if I’d done a better job connecting with them?
 
All of our lowest moments of the year circle around in our heads: the mistakes made, the opportunities missed.
 
And this year that feeling is intensified because of all the limitations in how we were able to reach our students. The number of kids who were disengaged and not making learning gains is probably much higher for you this year than any other in your teaching career.
 
My encouragement to you is to avoid dwelling on the losses. Don’t focus on the things you could have done, or wish you had been done differently. Don’t torture yourself by imagining how much better everything would have been if only certain conditions had been different.
 
Your kids’ learning gains this school year are NOT an accurate measure of your abilities or theirs.
 
Their learning (or lack thereof) is NOT reflective of your worth, or theirs.
 
You’ve been teaching through a crisis. And if you’re reading this, that means you’ve made it this far. 
 
That’s worth something. It’s worth a lot, in fact.
 
I hope you will look back on this school year as a test of resilience and fortitude that you have passed.
 
You did it.
 
You got through the sudden and expected transition from the style of teaching you’re used to, and fully immersed yourself in something completely different and nowhere near ideal for you or your students.
 
You’ve faced limitations and setbacks and confusion with the best you were able to give at the time. 
 
And now you will face the end of the school year with that same determined attitude. 
 
This is a time for patience and flexibility. It’s a chance to learn to be soft-hearted toward ourselves and others when our basic instincts want to flare into anger and indignation at having to deal with problems we never signed up for.
 
This is a time for going inward — to stop looking for validation from outside sources, to stop seeking out others’ approval — and make peace within ourselves. 
 
It’s a time to let go of regrets and “could-have-should-have” anxiety. Forgive yourself for the mistakes you made. Open yourself up to repairing the harm done via honest conversations and apologies where needed. Make peace in every way with what’s already done, so you can have a fresh start moving forward.
 
Give grace toward yourself and everyone around you. This is a time for more humility and patience and understanding than ever before.
 
With time, we can let go of regrets and what we hoped would be, and practice radical acceptance of the experience we are currently having. 
 
That is the BEST possible way to position ourselves to move forward and face whatever comes next.

I hope the previous 6 weeks of Wednesday emails in my “Power Through” series helped encourage and energize you through the spring months.

You did it, my friends. You’re powered through, and you’re almost at the finish line for the school year.

And I’m not going to leave you now! Here’s how we can stay connected:

#1  I’ll continue sending my Sunday night emails with free encouragement and practical tips (sign up here.)

#2  My Truth for Teachers podcast will continue to release new free episodes through the end of May. The regular episodes are longer than the “Power Through” ones (about 20-40 minutes usually) and there’s a blog post transcript for each one. We take a break each summer and then resume with new episodes in August.

#3  You can connect with me regularly on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. (My most personal reflections are on IG.)

#4  I’ll have a free webinar over the summer to help you counter the “lost year of learning” narrative and craft an inspiring, achievable vision for next school year (more on that soon!)

#5  The 40 Hour Teacher Workweek program is open to new members from June 1st-July 27th. If you want a full year’s worth of ongoing support, encouragement, and practical resources for streamlining your workload, 40 Hour is the place to get it. Our community focuses on professional development AND personal development, so you don’t have to navigate any aspect of the new school year on your own.

Thank you for supporting me, and supporting my work.

Each time you listen to one of my podcasts, visit my website, open my emails, engage with me on social media, purchase one of my books/courses/printables, or tell a fellow educator about my resources … know that it is so appreciated!

I’ve chosen this work because I want my ideas to make a difference for teachers and kids, and it’s an honor to have your time and attention. More great stuff for you is on the way!

Want to start this series from the beginning? Sign up for the Power Through series emails on this page here.

What if being your best in the classroom didn’t mean changing yourself or “fixing” things that are wrong with you?

What if you didn’t need gimmicks to hook students into your lessons, and the key to engagement was more about being interested rather than interesting?

Join educational consultant and author Dr. Gravity Goldberg as she shares what it means to “teach like yourself.” We’ll explore how to go from predicting failure to building on success, and tap into your personal power in the classroom.

Share your thoughts on the episode and collaborate with other listeners in our NEW private group on Facebook! Click here to join: https://www.facebook.com/groups/truthforteachers/. You can also leave a comment on the blog post/transcript for this episode:http://thecornerstoneforteachers.com/truth-for-teachers-podcast/authentic-teaching/

If you and your students are already losing motivation this year, here’s how to inject focused energy, student agency, and joy back into your classroom.

Learn how to bring the benefits of play into your classroom and why students need playfulness now more than ever, including at the middle and high school level.

Using this brain-based, research-backed approach explained by teacher Laura Gellin, you’ll be able to leverage aspects of play to design learning experiences that will engage, empower, and enliven your students.

You can read or share Laura's guest post on Truth for Teachers about this topic here: https://thecornerstoneforteachers.com/truth-for-teachers-podcast/5-ways-to-prevent-burnout-by-bringing-more-playfulness-to-your-classroom-even-if-you-teach-middle-or-high-school

Or, join our podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.

Even young students can learn how to understand and combat misinformation, and it's a key information literacy skill in 2024.

In this episode, I'm talking to Melanie Trecek-King of Thinking is Power, because I love how her approach to the topic of misinformation is characterized by compassion and empathy. 

Melanie emphasizes that everyone is susceptible to misinformation, and falling for it doesn't indicate a lack of intelligence. This perspective humanizes those who believe in conspiracy theories or disinformation, so we can view them as people who--like ourselves--have unknowingly accepted false information.

Melanie and I discuss 3 primary reasons we fall for misinformation:

Confirmation Bias: Our tendency to interpret information in ways that confirm our existing beliefs. Once we believe something, we see evidence for it everywhere, reinforcing that belief. Skepticism is crucial for protecting oneself from misinformation, but it's most challenging when information confirms our biases.

Appeals to Emotion: Emotions, particularly anger, outrage, and fear, can trigger the part of our brain that hinders critical thinking. Many forms of misinformation specifically appeal to our emotions to convince us without evidence. When we feel emotionally triggered, it's a good time to slow down and practice emotional skepticism.

Reiteration Effect: Also known as the illusory truth effect, the reiteration effect means that the more we hear something repeated, the more likely we are to think it's true, even if it isn't. Our brain equates ease of processing with truth, so repeated exposure to false information can lead us to believe it.

We also discuss the problem with "doing your own research," and why Melanie sees 2024 as a the post-trust era, not the post-truth era, and how we can respond.

The remainder of our conversation is centered on how to teach information literacy to students. Melanie provides actionable tips and ready-to-use resources to help you:
1. Demonstrate to students that they can be fooled (e.g., through personality reading exercises).
2. Discuss how beliefs are formed using non-triggering examples (e.g., historical witch trials).
3. Include misinformation in lessons to help students recognize its characteristics.
4. Use tools like the FLOATER toolkit to help students evaluate claims systematically.
5. Have students create misinformation to understand its techniques better.

While these concepts are typically taught at the college level, they can be introduced as early as middle school. Even elementary students can begin to understand concepts like author's purpose and recognizing persuasive techniques.

Understanding misinformation is crucial in our daily lives, yet it's often absent from educational standards. Check out Melanie's site for lots of free resources to teach about misinformation using humor and non-triggering approaches to help students recognize it in the real world.

Get the shareable article/transcript for this episode here.

There has been a significant increase in mental health issues among young people in America since 2012, including anxiety, depression, self-harm, suicide attempts, and suicide. Contrary to popular belief, these trends started before the pandemic, with rates of major depression among teens doubling between 2011 and 2019. Girls and young women are more likely to experience these issues, and the gender gap has been widening.

The introduction of smartphones and social media around 2012 is believed to be a major factor in the decline of mental wellbeing, as it has led to less face-to-face interaction, increased sleep deprivation, and constant exposure to social media.

Dr. Jean Twenge has conducted extensive research in this area. She’s a renowned psychologist and scholar who specializes in generational differences and technology based on a dataset of 39 million people, and has published more than 180 articles and books.

In our conversation, Jean emphasizes the need for conversations about healthy phone and screen habits, as well as the importance of setting clear rules and boundaries for phone use.

We talk extensively about getting student and parent buy-in around Jean’s recommendation that cell phones be banned in school from bell-to-bell, including during lunch time and breaks. Jean asserts that the research supports this policy, and emphasizes that it should be school-wide and not left to individual teachers to enforce. 

Despite the challenges, we discuss our hopes for Gen Z and what makes Jean optimistic about the future. She encourages educators to take the mental health crisis seriously and understand that it is not just our perception or feeling that something is wrong.

Her challenge is for educators to help students understand the love-hate relationship they have with their phones, and provide structure and clear rules to help them navigate technology in a healthy way.

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion.

Wrong episode playing this week? Please refresh the podcast feed. :)

If this episode were a movie on the Lifetime channel, it would be called Behind the Scenes: The Angela Watson Story. I'm going to be very transparent and vulnerable in this episode, and share details that I haven’t shared publicly before to take you behind the scenes in my career from new teacher to where I'm at today.

I’ll start by sharing how I got started as a teacher, educational consultant, instructional coach, and author. You'll hear mistakes I made along the way and challenges that forced me out of my comfort zone. I'll also share practical advice and inspiration if YOU'RE thinking about making a change in your career or just want to look for ways to impact education beyond the four walls of the classroom.

I’m concluding the 3 part podcast series this summer offering a deep dive into my personal story: where I’ve been, where I’m at, and where I’m going.

Usually you can listen to my podcast episodes in any order you want, but since this is basically my life story, what I’m sharing in this episode will make a lot more sense if you’ve heard the beginning of what happened:

• EP278 How I got here: Reflections on 20 years of sharing teaching ideas online
• EP280 Where I’m at: Reflections on who I’ve become as a person and educator

In this final installment of the three part series, I'm looking forward, and talking about what's next:

• How I grapple with imposter syndrome, maintaining relevance, and criticism of my work
• Why I view my work in terms of years-long problems I'm trying to solve over the course of a lifetime
• How I plan to translate my experience and accumulated wisdom into my next big project
• Why I plan to focus more on connecting with educators via my email list and podcast instead of social media
• A dream my husband and I have for supporting educators in a way that leaves a lasting legacy
• How rediscovering lost parts of myself, childhood interests, and hobbies apart from work shapes the perspective I bring to teaching
• Why I think the future of schools is nearly impossible to predict, but I’m committed to uncovering new possibilities and finding the good
• How I stay hopeful amidst so much bad news, and the perspective that keeps me feeling balanced, energized, and optimistic

Anything you're still curious about? If there's anything I didn't talk about in this podcast series that you're still left wondering, I'm doing an AMA (ask me anything) episode next month!

Use this form to submit a question about a personal or professional aspect of my life that you'd like to hear more about. https://forms.gle/CNWQT7Y8ccT66phS6

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.

Differentiating learning for every student in your classroom can be incredibly exhausting and time-consuming. So, I've invited Dr. Laura Fitzpatrick on the show to talk about some streamlining tips.

Laura has been a 6th grade English Language Arts teacher for the past 8 years. She earned an M.A. in Special Education and Ed.D. in Inquiry-Based Learning, where her research primarily centered on teacher burnout.

Laura is also a writer for the Truth for Teachers collective, and she wrote an article about 6 high-impact, low-burnout strategies to differentiate for neurodivergent kids.

To put it more simply: Laura’s sharing 6 ways to differentiate without drowning. Listen in!

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.

Today's episode is coaching call with Amy, a graduate of the 40 Hour Teacher Workweek Club. We're talking about what happens when you create routines for your planning time and nterruptions keep popping up, making you feel like that you never use the planning time in the way that you intended.

We also discuss what to do when you create really effective routines that work awhile, and then stop working because either your preferences or your circumstances have changed.

We're also talking about being intentional about what you're saying yes to and knowing the reason WHY you're saying yes.

Click here to listen to the audio, or read the transcript the coaching call.

How do you show up each day as the best version of yourself? Kyle Cohen, a 4th grade teacher in Cleveland OH, is here to share his contagious positive energy.

Listen as Kyle talks about what keeps him motivated, how he taps into his patience and empathy when working with students, and how implementing fun, engaging lessons helps him keep energy levels high throughout the school day.

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.

Whether you're interested in publishing your own books or just curious what happens behind the scenes of mine, today I'll be sharing how I write and publish books! Currently, I'm finishing up book #5, which is called Fewer Things, Better. I receive questions about book writing often, and since I'm so close to publishing, I thought it would be interesting to talk about my writing process and how I publish, especially in relation to the inspiration and challenges from FTB. We'll dive into the writing process for that book and I'll reveal what question I'm answering for teachers, as well as the general questions behind my other books.

This spring, I'll be sharing excerpts from the book here on the podcast so you'll get to hear more of what it's about. To get notified when the book is released, visit fewerthingsbetter.com.

Click here to read or share the transcript and audio or participate in the discussion.

In this episode, I'm sharing one of the biggest mistakes I made as a teacher. I have a feeling it’s something you’ll be able to relate to, particularly if you have a couple of students who you just don’t feel like you are equipped to handle. The choices I made took a bad situation and made it worse. I'll share what I wish I'd done differently, how I ultimately changed my approach, and what YOU can do to prevent the same problem from happening to you.

Want free resources to help you enjoy your work, even when it's super challenging? 

Visit https://thecornerstoneforteachers.com/unshakeable and enter your email address.

I'll send you a downloadable calendar with ONE simple, actionable step you can take each day to enjoy teaching more.

I'll also send you a link to join the online book community for my book Unshakeable: 20 Ways to Enjoy Teaching Every Day...No Matter What. Join more than 9,000 teachers who are sharing ideas around how to infuse more joy into their teaching and stay connected to their purpose.

Every couple of episodes on this season on the Truth for Teachers podcast, I’m going to be featuring coaching calls. I’m answering teachers’ specific questions about productivity, balance, and managing it all. Think of it as instructional coaching and life coaching rolled into one–and you get to listen in!

In this episode, I’m talking with Kendall, a grade 4 teacher in Alberta, Canada. Kendall has made a tremendous amount of changes to her workflow and is doing really well with time management overall, but there are a few areas where she’s having trouble sticking to her habits and best practices. Listen in as we work through these common issues that you might be grappling with, too.

Listen in on the second half of my interview with Tamara Russell and Sarah Plumitallo on building trust and relationships with families!

I've invited two current teachers, Tamara Russell and Sarah Plumitallo, onto my Truth for Teachers podcast to talk about what they're doing with their students.These two ladies are in the trenches, so to speak, on a daily basis and they share about their work on social media, which is where I first connected with them. We’ve had countless conversations about an issue we’re all very passionate about, which is education equity, and I invited them both on the show so that more educators can learn from their experiences.

Our conversation ended up running for over an hour! For the first time ever on Truth for Teachers, I've decided to air almost the entire interview and split it into two episodes. The first half hour of our conversation was focused on classroom-based work, and the last 20 minutes was focused on building trust and relationships with families.

Click here to read or share the transcript and audio, or participate in the discussion.

“You can break motivation barriers for disengaged students by recognizing that motivation is an investment decision. Students have time, attention, and effort, and they are making a decision every single day about whether they want to invest those things in our classrooms or in something else. Making your classroom worth investing in is about creating a space where students’ time, energy, and effort will be rewarded.” --Dr. Robyn Jackson

Join us as Robyn and I do a deep dive into her quote above. We’re tackling whether there is such thing as a kid who doesn’t want to learn, and then working through the 4 causes of student disengagement (instructional, institutional, interpersonal, and internal.) Robyn explains in-depth how teachers can identify and address each cause in practical, relatable ways.

We camp out for quite a while on the topic of interpersonal barriers, because there’s a powerful approach there which can be used to re-engage a reluctant learner. Robyn explains how to uncover students' primary will driver: purpose, mastery, autonomy, and belonging/connection. We discuss what each one means, and how you can incorporate these needs into your daily lessons in a way that reaches all your kids.

Feeding kids’ dominant will drivers is surprisingly simple once you understand the basic principle: in fact, just changing the wording you use when giving directions to kids can address the variety of will drivers in your classroom and increase the likelihood of engagement, and Robyn shares specific examples.

Motivation is a complex issue, and Robyn provides lots of concrete tools to solve the root problems permanently. This is not about quick tips and hacks: I promise if you can invest an hour of your time into learning the principles from this episode, it will forever change your teaching — Robyn’s work is just that powerful.

Don’t muddle through the rest of the year trying to use band-aid solutions with disengaged kids: it’s not too late for a breakthrough, and these simple, powerful principles can make a huge difference quickly.

Resources referenced in this episode:
Robyn’s previous Truth for Teachers interview on rude, disrespectful student attitudes
Robyn’s book, How to Motivate Reluctant Learners
Episode 5 of Robyn’s article and episode of School Leadership Reimagined (her podcast) called The most powerful way to motivate anybody.

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our new podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.

Artificial intelligence can help you work more efficiently and save hours each week! Listen in as I talk with Dr. Monica Burns, an author, speaker, and former New York City public school teacher. Monica shares incredibly practical ideas for teachers on her website ClassTechTips.com, and is prolific on Twitter as well.

This episode was recorded live at the Future of Education Technology Conference (FETC), and Monica and I discuss why artificial intelligence is exciting us right now in the world of ed tech. Monica shares specific ideas for how the free AI tool ChatGPT can accelerate your work so you can produce better results, faster.

Download a free guide to simplifying your workload with ChatGPT here.

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.