Teacher Talk with Chrissy Nichols

In this episode, we continue our series about how to create the summer that is just right for you. So many of us think that summer “just happens” to us. But, did you know that even if you are already booked solid, you can still create the intentional summer of your dreams? It’s all about the kinds of thoughts you are thinking. In this episode I describe how setting goals is in the present tense an...

Yes, summer is here and so is this podcast as we begin this series called “Summer Creation”. You can have everything you want this summer so why not get intentional about it? In this episode I describe how setting goals does not have to feel like pressure and how abundance can help you get clear on what you want to create.  In This Episode I share:   How to create exactly the kind of sum...

This episode features a conversation with high school history teacher Dylan Esson.  Dylan earned his PhD from University of California at Berkeley and loves to ski, read, race after his two daughters. In this conversation, Dylan and I discuss the challenges that students face with technology, apathy, and self-identity. Dylan shares what he loves about teaching as well as the challenges he see...

Today we are going to talk about a tool that will help you deal with that person in your life that might be hard to love: zoo animal them! What is that? When faced with this person, transform yourself into a documentary filmmaker or researcher and get so present that you notice the person in front of you as if they were a rare species or specimen.  When done in a respectful present way to see...

Today we are going to talk about how to accept others just as they are and find some detachment even in conflict when you believe your colleague or administrator is “going off the rails.” In this episode, I remind all of our brains that resisting reality and always yearning for other people and our lives to be different creates suffering for us. Using the concept of , “Yep, that’s ‘on brand’ for h...

My guest today is Ryan Hoglund. Ryan is the Director of Ethical Education at Rowland Hall in Salt Lake City, Utah. This conversation spotlights May for Men in Education as Ryan talks about how teaching was his antidote to the "spirit murder" he experienced in his brief career in finance. In this conversation, Ryan reminds us why it's so important to model reflective masculinity for his students--m...

Welcome back to part two on my series of how to ask yourself high quality questions. In this episode I give more examples of powerful questions to ask yourself. I also describe why taking responsibility for your thoughts  and feeling your feelings is the key to change. In this episode, I also describe how I use the coaching model to see that thoughts determine feelings which drive our actions...

Welcome to part 1 of a two part series on how to ask yourself high quality questions. I will explain how to start asking the right questions that will give you the answers to help you steer your school life and personal life in the right direction. Your brain is a powerful piece of machinery that will work for you if you ask it empowering questions. Whether you are wrapping up the end of your scho...

Episode 9 features a conversation with David Colaw, a 34 year math teacher in both high school and college. David describes why he started teaching (and it’s not because he loves math!) and the challenges that he faced during Covid, and how connection is the key to teaching. David dives deeply into his hard why for staying in teaching for so long: connection with his students and watching their di...

Who’s in charge? You are! In this episode we talk about how it’s so easy to accept the thoughts that our brain gives us and to see them as the truth. I share a powerful story about a client who dreaded going to work and how, through coaching, I helped him choose a more helpful thought that created more determination and ease about going to work.  In This Episode I Share:  That you are in...

This episode, “Change Grief” explores the inevitable changes that happen for teachers, particularly at the end of the year. I describe some of the changes that teachers experience and why it is so important to feel the emotions that come up around changing colleagues, classrooms or just the end of the year.  In This Episode I share: Why it’s important, as teachers, to feel end-of-the-year cha...

Episode 6 features a conversation with former elementary teacher Sara Whittaker who spent seven years in the classroom and then started her own company, Podcasting for Educators. Sara and I discuss what she misses about the classroom as well the challenges she experienced in terms of fatigue, burn out, inequity in education, and maternity leave.   In This Episode, We Share: Why work/life...

Let’s talk about fatigue. We’re tired. Some of us are so tired, it feels like a deep, bone tired. We’ve been through Covid and all sorts of hybrid/online teaching modalities. I see it in the teachers in the faculty room and in my clients: an exhaustion that feels physical, deep, and visceral that only rest will cure. In this episode you will learn: How to check in with yourself about the differenc...

Welcome to Teacher Talk Episode 4 ,which I like to call the “I DID IT!” Self-appreciation episode. As I record this, it’s Teacher Appreciation Week in our world of education and so it got me thinking about self-appreciation. As children and as young children we celebrated  A LOT. If you walk into any lower elementary classroom, you can hear little voices exclaiming, “I DID IT.” As teachers we...

As a teacher, you have so much on your plate. Your day is filled with back to back things to do and other people to take care of. As a result of this busyness, we often forget to let ourselves feel the feelings that come up for us and we’re filled with anxiety. My guest, Kelsey Sorenson, and I want to help you change that. Kelsey is a former teacher and current homeschool mom. She is the founder,...

We all want to feel like we fit in with the community around us. Feeling like you fit in at school is no exception. At the same time, a sense of belonging to ourselves is also essential. In today’s episode, I’m going to share the difference between fitting in and belonging. I’ll also give you some key questions to ask yourself around the idea of belonging and connection. To celebrate the launch of...

Welcome to the very first episode of Teacher Talk! I’m your host, Chrissy Nichols. Having spent over 20 years in the teaching trenches myself, teaching everything from grades two through twelve, it makes me really qualified to say that I see you, teachers. I am so glad that we’ve found each other and so very grateful that you’re sharing this space with me. As I began planning for this podcast, I g...

Welcome to Teacher Talk! I'm your host, Chrissy Nichols. After 22 years as a teacher, the joy and passion I felt for teaching started to fade away. That's when I found coaching and everything changed for the better. Now I'm a life and mindset coach for teachers, and I'm on a mission to help as many educators as possible. If you're feeling burnt out and questioning your ability to continue teaching...