Always A Lesson's Empowering Educators Podcast

A lot of frustrated educators can alleviate their pain by learning to love the detours and obstacles that come their way. This often means embracing options other than their current one, and making the most of those options. Tune in to hear how Option B can be just as amazing as Option A in your professional life when you learn how to work it just right! Quotables It’s your reality now and you hav...

You can’t live out your potential and bless others if you are not living out your WHY. A future guest inspired me to help you avoid being “glib” because that doesn’t benefit you or those you serve. So tune in to hear what you can do today to put yourself on the right track to living a more purpose-filled life as an educator! Quotables When you pour everything you have into something you do, it sho...

Kitty Boitnott, Ph. D., NBCT is a former educator turned Career Transition and Job Search Coach. She is an expert on teacher burnout, teacher stress, and general stress management techniques for those who are experiencing the pain and heartache of teacher burnout—a specific form of burnout that differs to some degree from the job burnout of other professionals. Kitty provides one-on-one and group...

As a teacher leader it’s so easy to just make decisions without thinking through the ramifications. Long-run leadership describes someone who is forward thinking and makes sacrifices for the good of the group so that down the line everyone benefits. Tune in to hear how you can become a long-run leader in no time! Quotables Don’t be that person who puts your own needs before others When you take yo...

Sometimes we are in a career where something is missing. We aren’t quite sure what that something is or what to do about it. This episode will walk you through 5 passion statements to get you moving in the right direction so that your talent will be best showcased and utilized to bless others! Grab your freebie here : Quotables Nothing beats work ethic Just because you are great doesn’t mean you d...

Quotables Social media glamorizes education Do the basics extremely well “Big things often have small beginnings.” – Unknown Practice the little things The more you hurry, the longer it will take Require yourself to be consistent It’s not a forever point, it’s a starting point Connect with Gretchen Email: gretchen@alwaysalesson.com Blog: Always A Lesson Facebook: Always A Lesson...

As teacher leaders we need to create the culture in the school where balance is acceptable and encouraged. Without a healthy teacher, a classroom can never reach its fully potential. Tune in to hear two steps teacher leaders can take today to ensure teachers and students are physically, mentally and emotionally safe. You are ‘The Safe Keeper!” Quotables Find you a tribe at school where you c...

Dede Faltot Rittman graduated from Edinboro University in 1974 with a bachelor’s degree in secondary English and attended the University of Pittsburgh for post-graduate credits. After two years at Penn Hills, she began teaching English and Theater in the North Allegheny School District, a position she held for thirty-five years. For thirty-two of those years, Dede worked with underachieving studen...

Sometimes we feel as though we need to be the expert in everything and start pretending we have the knowledge and skills required to do it all. The fact is, it’s a sham. We are pretending and the ones who get hurt the most are the children. Tune in to hear how to stop being a pretender and empower yourself to be better without fear, embarrassment or worse, losing your job. Quotables [Teachers’] da...

“What do you want to accomplish this year and how can I help you get there?” is a powerful question from a teacher leader to someone that they lead. Act like Publisher’s Clearing House and go knock on your colleagues’ doors during this back to school season and make their dreams come true. Tune in to hear how you can do just that! Quotables Step one of relating to people is being in physical proxi...

Grading is only as good as the effectiveness of instruction leading up to it. A grade on an assessment that doesn’t match the learning leading up to it is worthless, demeaning and dysfunctional. Tune in to hear three steps you can take now to ensure you teach hard enough, long enough and deep enough for students to be successful and prepared on their learning journey. The photo below from my trip...

If you are in education, you are in the people business. In order to have a successful school year, students and teachers need to feel supported. By building capacity, you are investing in people, and that has a high return on investment. Tune in to hear how teacher leaders can empower classroom teachers to attain their own dreams while also meeting school requirements. Quotables Teachers focus on...

Phyl Macomber is an award-winning national speaker, author, inclusion specialist, and curriculum strategist. As President of Make A Difference, Inc., Phyl has consulted with and trained thousands of teaching staff. She’s been a guest on several radio shows to discuss simplifying instruction for students of all abilities. Her partnership with Leave No Girl Behind International is training young peo...

The summer is upon us and teachers are busy relaxing… nope, teachers are busy preparing for a successful school year. This busyness is translating into going overboard in their preparation- especially due to Pinterest/Instagram photos of classroom set ups and inner workings in other classrooms around the world. Tune in to hear how to deal with the pressure of keeping up and making decisions that s...

Teachers enjoy decorating their classroom, but making over a classroom with stuff does not improve student achievement or instructional effectiveness. Tune in to hear about 3 characteristics that make over a classroom – and one of them is not classroom décor! Quotables Making your classroom an effective, enjoyable space without the investment of classroom décor is the number one transformative dec...

Summer break is upon us. Educators spend this time away from the classroom in a variety of ways, and no one way is better than the other. However, we are often quick to share advice on how someone should spend their time and this isn’t often what is best for that particular individual. Tune in to hear how to listen to your summer intuition (regardless of what others are saying) so that you can be...

Students come to us in their roughest state. Its up to us educators to cultivate a mindset and environment that polishes students into their potential. Tune in to hear three action steps to ensure every student reaches their best self under your leadership in the classroom. Quotables As educators we are the tools to chip away the immaturity and insecurity and shape students to become responsible c...

Justin Ashley  is an award-winning teacher, motivational speaker, author, and public education advocate from Charlotte, North Carolina, where he began teaching in 2007. He is also a highly sought-after speaker for professional development. He has been an inspirational keynote presenter for thousands of current and future teachers, creating an atmosphere that bounces back and forth between rap...

It’s easy to slow down when you get close to the end. But, elite educators don’t slow down, they ramp it up. Tune in to hear how to keep your energy tank on full throttle so that you can provide engaging, rigorous instruction up until the last minute of the school year. Quotables You can’t be amazing ¾ of the way. Kids deserve a quality education and not just on Tuesdays or in September or at 8 am...

The environment that we work in can help or hinder us. In fact, we have more to do with our environment than we may initially think. Tune in to hear how you might contribute or contaminate your own working environment and how you can correct yourself when you go off course! Quotables Contributors are magnets Just because it wasn’t helpful or exciting for me didn’t mean it wasn’t exactly what they...

Oftentimes educators bring emotional baggage to work that doesn’t belong and isn’t healthy for teacher effectiveness and student achievement. It’s important to check that baggage and then unpack it so that all negative emotions are dealt with, leaving space for happiness and contentment in teaching. Tune in to hear the simple four step solution to unpacking your baggage so that you can become your...

It’s easy to miss out on the amazing developments in our life and career when our eyes are pressed forward to the horizon rather than keeping our feet in the boat. Tune in to hear how you can still set long term goals but enjoy the journey along the way! Quotables There’s no point in holding out until the destination before stopping to smell the roses. Please don’t keep setting goals and set...

Dr. Fredericks is an educator and international business professional with more than 30 years of management experience and academic achievements in the United States, Europe and China. His professional education career began as an elementary school teacher in the Fort Apache section of the South Bronx, New York. In addition to his teaching duties during regular school hours, he also created a...

Good teachers know there is always room for improvement in their practice. But, choosing the right areas to improve can be more difficult than expected. Tune in to hear how to make small tweaks with a large impact in your classroom and beyond! Quotables Its unrealistic for me to expect myself to change so many things about my instructional practice and still remain effective It has to be the RIGHT...

Teaching is a calling, a career choice made by many. However, many teachers are getting discouraged quickly and exiting the profession without living out their passion. Tune in to hear how to answer the call without getting distracted by all the extraneous noise that comes along with the teaching territory. Inspiring Quote: “It doesn’t matter if the public doesn’t support you. It doesn’t matter if...