Angela Watson's Truth for Teachers

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 t...

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 em...

Workshop-style teaching generally has four basic parts: an opening, mini-lesson, work time, and debriefing. You can use the workshop model with ANY age of students and ANY subject area. My guest today is going to do a deep dive into an ELA or reading workshop model. This is most commonly used in grades 1-5 but kindergarten can also follow the model, and it works well at the secondary level. A lot...

The new school year is a fresh start, and the perfect time to let go of old stories and thought patterns that aren't serving you well. You can examine the stories you're telling yourself to see if they're really true, and decide if the stories you're choosing are making your work feel more or less stressful. In this episode, you'll learn how to train yourself to differentiate between the facts and...

In the last episode of our self-development summer podcast series, we're talking about living with PURPOSE. This is not just about the things you want to do or accomplish. Living with purpose is also about recognizing and appreciating what you've already done, and making time for just being, rather than always rushing forward to accomplish the Next Big Thing. If you missed our special summer serie...

We're taking a break from school-related topics as we continue our special summer series. These 4 episodes in June and July are designed to be a short time together for us to reflect, think deeply, and go big picture. In this episode, we're talking about AUTHENTICITY. Is it time to get real with yourself that there are certain things you're just not going to pressure yourself to do? Are you confor...

"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...

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...

This is the last episode of Season 9! I want to leave you with a short and sweet message to help you get more enjoyment out of your summer break. The summer seems to stretch ahead of us endlessly now, but we all know how quickly it will actually fly by. So, I'll share a bit about my summer plans, and then tell you about 5 traps I'll be working to avoid — and that I hope you'll be aware of, too — i...

Kim Lepre is a 7th grade English teacher and the founder of the Teachers Need Teachers podcast . She's also a Beginning Teacher Mentor and Ed Tech Specialist in her district, and a Level 2 Google Certified Educator. How has Kim managed to make time for all of that? She made a significant reduction in her workload during her 13th year of teaching. That's when she joined The 40 Hour Teacher Workweek...

What happens when you spend more time with other people's kids than your own? Parenting guilt is real, and there's no easy solution when it seems like family gets short-changed when you focus on students, but students get shortchanged when you focus on family. In this episode, we'll explore what creates mom guilt and dad guilt, and how those two things can manifest differently. We'll also talk abo...

I think there comes a time for many educators to re-evaluate whether the work they're doing is something they'd like to continue. You might wonder: Do I have another 10, 20, or 30 years in me, and if not, at what point do I begin the transition into something else? Is the quality of life I want possible in this field, or within this particular classroom-based assignment? What are the trade-offs I'...

This is not a guest interview — it's my story. That kid in your class who learns differently and feels impossible to reach within the structures of how we do school? That kid could have been me. That kid who has side conversations all the time and doesn't follow directions? That kid could have been me, too. That kid who skips class and seems totally disinterested in your lessons — the one who's fl...

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...

An introvert isn't necessarily quiet or shy. For an introvert, being alone provides the energy that's needed to enjoy being with people. (For an extrovert, being with people provides the energy that's needed to enjoy being alone.) It's all about what energizes you. So if you're an introverted teacher, how can you take some of the spotlight off yourself in your instruction, avoid the energy drain t...

There are 4 core beliefs that can help you strengthen the courage to focus on what matters most: ✔️I am worthy of change and better is possible for me right now ✔️I set my own expectations in life and in teaching ✔️I know what's important and allocate time accordingly ✔️I ensure my needs are met to prevent overwhelm and exhaustion. When you're overwhelmed with all expectations and responsibilities...

Let's debunk 10 of the most annoying — and dangerous — teacher platitudes. In this episode, I'll share my thoughts, along with the opinions of other educators from a great discussion on my Facebook page. If there's a common saying in education that's always sort of bugged you, but was so popular you felt like you must be the ONLY one concerned, this is going to be super validating and empowering!...

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 y...

"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 a...

How do you SHOW students through body language, facial expressions, and tone that you believe in their ability to succeed and won't settle for less than they're capable of? Every teacher knows to hold kids to high expectations, and develop with students. The warm demander stance isn't anything new — it's an equity approach developed by Judith Klenfield back in 1975. But figuring out how to make th...

Do you relate to any of these 5 mindsets? They're super common, but make it harder to draw boundaries and prevent us from doing the most impactful work: ✔️Shiny object syndrome ✔️Imposter syndrome ✔️Project manager syndrome ✔️Superhero syndrome ✔️Martyr syndrome Check out this week's episode to learn more about each syndrome—and discover the cure for each one, too. Click here to read or share the...

The secret to getting dressed quickly in the mornings and feeling comfortable (and confident!) all day long is to have a closet that consists ONLY of things that make you feel like YOURSELF. Today, I'll share 3 steps to creating a signature style, in which you'll start with what's already in your closet. These tips will help you find your signature style that will keep things simple in the morning...

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...

There's no doubt that teacher compensation, along with the unrealistic demands of the profession, are both hot topics right now. How did we end up here? How do teachers across the country effectively make changes? We need to understand the societal norms, institutional structures, gender dynamics, and other factors that got the teaching profession to what it is today in order to advocate for chang...

Sometimes, it feels like we're always working because we're always thinking about work. It's like we never truly get to relax and decompress. Today, I'll give you my 6 best suggestions, along with some practical advice from other teachers in the  40 Hour Teacher Workweek Club , on how you can mentally leave work at work. Check out these unique ideas to find ways to turn off your "teacher brain." C...