Be A Funky Teacher Podcast

Episode Summary In this episode, I talk about what it feels like to be misunderstood as a teacher. At some point, if you lead with conviction and care deeply about kids, you will be simplified, labeled, or reduced to one moment or one interpretation. That tension can sting, especially when your heart is in the right place. I reflect on how misunderstandings often come from partial information. Peo...

Episode Summary In this episode, I talk about something many teachers feel but do not always say out loud — the experience of not quite fitting the system. Sometimes the hardest part of teaching is not the kids. It is the quiet disconnect between what we believe matters and what the system rewards. I reflect on how that tension shows up in subtle ways. It appears in meetings, in mandates, in pacin...

Episode Summary In this episode, I talk about what it really means to teach against the grain. At some point in your career, you quietly realize that the way you believe kids should be taught doesn’t always line up with how the system operates. You are not trying to rebel or stand out. You are simply trying to teach in a way that feels human, ethical, and right. Teaching against the grain often st...

Episode Summary In this Sunday School for Teachers episode, I reflect on Galatians 5 and the Fruit of the Spirit, focusing on who we are becoming before what we are producing. As Christian educators, we spend so much time measuring outcomes—test scores, growth data, performance metrics—but heaven measures differently. The real question is not just whether we finished the lesson, but whether love,...

Episode Summary In this Saturday Stories episode, I introduce a Leadership Kit story focused on enthusiasm and the skill of being careful of enthusiasm destroyers. Through the story “The Comment That Stuck,” students explore how a single comment can drain excitement—and how leadership includes protecting your energy and ideas anyway. I walk through the story of Jaden, Aaliyah, and Sophia as Jaden...

Episode Summary In this episode, I tackle a common misconception in education — that leading with love somehow means lowering expectations. That idea has shaped conversations in schools for years, and it needs to be challenged. Love and rigor are not opposites. Belief sits at the center of real love in the classroom. When teachers truly believe in a student’s potential, they don’t lower standards....

Episode Summary High expectations and grace are often treated like opposites, but they are meant to work together. In this episode, I unpack the tension teachers feel between holding the line and holding the child, and why the most effective classrooms refuse to choose one over the other. Grace does not lower the bar. Instead, it changes how expectations are carried. Students experience high stand...

Episode Summary Too often, connection gets labeled as a soft skill, something extra that comes after the real academic work. In this episode, I challenge that assumption and argue that connection is not optional. It is the foundation that makes learning, behavior growth, and classroom safety possible. Rigor without connection feels like pressure. Feedback without connection feels like criticism. W...

Episode Summary Pushback in the classroom can feel personal, especially when it happens publicly. In this episode, I unpack why the instinct to tighten control isn’t always the most effective response and how pushback is often a test for connection, not a rejection of authority. What looks like defiance frequently masks something deeper. Students who question, resist, or challenge are often asking...

Episode Summary Behavior shows up in every classroom, but what matters most is the child underneath it. In this episode, I slow the conversation down and explore why behavior is communication and how our response changes when we pause long enough to ask what the behavior is trying to say. Too often, labels replace curiosity. When students become “the behavior kid” or “the problem student,” growth...

Episode Summary This week on Sunday School for Teachers, I reflect on the story of Peter walking on water and what it means for educators living and teaching in uncertain seasons. The waves, the wind, and the fear feel familiar in a profession where change and pressure are constant. The story reminds me that Peter is often remembered for sinking, but he is also the only one who stepped out of the...

Episode Summary This Saturday Story from the Leadership Kit focuses on enthusiasm and the skill of bringing excitement into everything. Through the story “Aaliyah Tries Again,” I explore how students do not always begin tasks feeling motivated, but excitement can grow once effort begins. The story captures a familiar classroom moment. Aaliyah feels bored before even starting an assignment. With en...

Episode Summary I explore why classroom culture is the emotional foundation that makes learning possible. When trust erodes, when students no longer feel safe or seen, even the strongest lessons lose their impact. Culture is not an extra layer of teaching. It is the environment that allows everything else to work. I reflect on how culture often breaks in small, quiet moments rather than dramatic o...

Episode Summary In this episode, I unpack a truth that took me years to fully understand: you can have strong standards, engaging lessons, and well-designed curriculum, but without trust, it will not land the way it is meant to. Trust is what allows students to take risks, struggle openly, and believe they belong. I walk through real classroom moments that show how trust is built in small, repeate...

Episode Summary Rules matter in my classroom. Structure matters. Consistency matters. But I have learned that rules without relationships only create compliance, not connection. In this episode, I unpack why relationships must come before rules if we want learning to stick. I walk through familiar classroom moments where a rule is broken and the response can either escalate or deepen trust. Studen...

Episode Summary In this episode, I talk about something that can feel almost rebellious in education but shouldn’t: safety has to come before standards. I make it clear that standards, curriculum, and learning targets absolutely matter. But none of them can take root if students don’t feel emotionally and socially safe. When students feel threatened, embarrassed, or unseen, their brains shift into...

Episode Summary In this episode, I talk about something that sits underneath every lesson plan, every standard, and every behavior conversation: belonging. I say clearly that belonging is not a classroom slogan or a decorative poster — it is a felt experience. Before students can engage academically, their brains are scanning for safety, acceptance, and connection. If they don’t feel like they bel...

Episode Summary In this episode, I reflect on the story of Mary and Martha from Luke 10 and what it reveals about the tension I often live in as a teacher. I talk honestly about how easy it is for me to drift into “Martha mode” — constantly moving, constantly managing, constantly carrying responsibility — and how that busyness can quietly become pressure instead of presence. I unpack how Martha wa...

Episode Summary In this Saturday Stories episode, I introduce another story from the Leadership Kit focused on the value of listening to others and the skill of being present and focused. I share why presence is more than just being quiet — it’s about giving full attention to the moment and choosing to return when your mind drifts. Through the story “Sophia Looks Up,” I walk through a simple class...

Episode Summary In this episode, I slow down and name something many teachers feel but rarely say out loud. Midyear fatigue is real, and being tired, overwhelmed, frustrated, or even numb does not mean you are failing. It means you are human in a profession that asks you to be “on” all day long. I talk about the difference between minimizing feelings and managing them. Pushing through can help in...

Episode Summary In this episode, I talk honestly about why vulnerability matters with kids and why it is so often misunderstood in schools. I name the tension many educators feel around vulnerability, the fear that it may weaken authority or blur professional boundaries. I explain why healthy, grounded vulnerability is not oversharing or losing control, but instead modeling emotional regulation an...

Episode Summary Teaching is emotional work, and I wanted to slow this episode down enough to name that honestly. The weight teachers carry does not show up in pacing guides, standards, or lesson plans, yet it shapes how we experience every day in the classroom. I talk about how that weight builds quietly through small moments, split attention, and the constant awareness we hold for students. I ref...

Episode Summary In this episode, I name something that does not get said enough in education. Many teachers are not burned out. They are just tired. I explore the difference between exhaustion that comes from caring deeply and true burnout, and why confusing the two leads to unnecessary guilt. I walk through what tired teaching actually looks like in real life, from slow mornings to moments when e...

Episode Summary In this episode, I reflect on what it truly means to teach while being human instead of pretending I can leave my life at the door. I talk about how we carry stress, joy, exhaustion, and responsibility into the classroom, and why denying that reality drains more energy than it saves. I share small, real classroom moments where awareness changed my response. Instead of reacting quic...

Episode Summary In this Sunday School for Teachers episode, I reflect on the Parable of the Lost Sheep from Luke 15:1–7 and what it means for Christian educators. Jesus tells a story about a shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine to go after the one who wandered. It is not a story about efficiency. It is a story about value. As teachers, we understand the pull of the ninety-nine. We manage classrooms...