Lessons Unplanned: Realities of Teaching

For the Season 1 finale of  Lessons Unplanned , Craig Stage and Jake Lezak sit down with graduating seniors Brooke Geiger and Owen Wilkinson for an honest conversation about school, careers, stress, motivation, and life after graduation. From balancing jobs and Career Center programs to discussing what adults misunderstand about today's students, Brooke and Owen provide insights that every edu...

What happens when you bring a parent into the conversation about modern education? In Episode 9 of Lessons Unplanned, Katie Behm joins Craig Stage &Tressa Heffron for a candid discussion about what schools are doing right, where students are struggling, and how phones, behavior, parenting, and classroom culture are changing education. From screen time and student attention spans to disruptive...

From cursive writing mandates to recess requirements and cell phone bans… schools are changing fast. But are these changes actually helping students? In Episode 8 of  Lessons Unplanned: Realities of Teaching , Superintendent Craig Stage and veteran educators Tressa and Jake break down several major shifts happening in education right now—and what they mean for students, teachers, and families. Thi...

Are we truly supporting kids—or are we rescuing them too much? In Episode 7 of  Lessons Unplanned: Realities of Teaching , Superintendent Craig Stage and veteran educators Tressa and Jake tackle one of the toughest questions in education today: where is the line between helping students succeed and removing the struggle they actually need to grow? This honest conversation explores how expectations...

College prepared us to write lesson plans. It didn’t prepare us for loaded parent meetings, student trauma, shrinking attention spans, and the emotional weight of modern classrooms. In Episode 6, we talk honestly about the gap between teacher prep and classroom reality — and what future educators really need to know.

What happens when your two most demanding roles—parent and teacher—collide? In this episode of  Lessons Unplanned: Realities of Teaching , Superintendent Craig Stage sits down with veteran educators (and parents) Tressa and Jake for a brutally honest conversation about the double life so many educators live. They reflect on the unique pressures, blurred boundaries, and unexpected blessings of rais...

What does it really mean to be a teacher in 2025? In this episode of  Lessons Unplanned: Realities of Teaching , Superintendent Craig Stage joins longtime educators Tressa and Jake to unpack how the profession has shifted over the past two decades—and what it means for teachers, students, and schools today. Together, they explore: The rise in student behavior challenges and classroom disruptions W...

In Episode 3 of  Lessons Unplanned , Craig Stage, Tressa Heffron, and Jake Lezak dive into one of the biggest questions in education:  What does our system actually get right, and where is it failing? This conversation is real, blunt, and packed with moments every educator, parent, and community member will recognize. They dig into: • Politics in education and how it derails real progress • The im...

In Episode 2 of  Lessons Unplanned , host  Craig Stage  sits down again with  Tressa Heffron  and  Jake Lezak  to talk about  the joy and the grind  of teaching. From small moments that remind educators why they love their work, to the daily frustrations that test their patience, this conversation is an honest look at the highs and lows of the classroom. They share stories of connection, resilienc...

In this first episode of  Lessons Unplanned , host  Craig Stage  sits down with teachers  Tressa Heffron  and  Jake Lezak  to talk about what really happens behind the scenes in education. From teaching kids how to grocery shop to helping families through tough times, they share honest, funny, and heartfelt stories that show just how much goes into the work teachers do every day. This conversation...