Teaching through Emotions: psychological strategies and resources for educators

It is so frustrating to me — and I think to a lot of educators — that the practices schools adopt that are meant to solve all their problems end up fading away. Like Restorative Practices . A really great program aimed at strengthening relationships through honesty, support, and community connection. Teaching through Emotions is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my w...

So something happens that irritates you and you berate yourself for being too judgmental, eh? It might be time to rethink that judgment. Teaching through Emotions is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. In this episode, which is the one you, dear listeners, listened to the most this season, Joe and I talk about a sim...

We knew it was going to happen even if we couldn’t imagine it: The school year is coming to an end. And so is Season 3 of Teaching through Emotions. Teaching through Emotions is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Huzzah! Congratulations to all for making it through another crazy year! Speaking of crazy years: In th...

God knows I am no fundraiser. Actually, neither is my guest, Erin McQuade-Wright — at least, not anymore. Erin used to be a fundraiser for non-profits and even has a podcast called The Brave and Balanced Fundraiser (which shares psychodynamic wisdom on how to survive that difficult job). But now she’s a coach who helps people of all types live vital lives. (Her company is called Vitalist Coaching...

As y’all probably know, I’m a big fan of caring in education. But, thanks to today’s guest, Rachel Branham, a veteran Teacher Support Group participant who’s now working in higher education, we get to consider the downsides of caring, too. What if you’re not a particularly “squishy” person? What if you don’t want to be “in the shit” with your students all the time? What does caring look like for y...

How can it be that teachers all over the country want to be observed ? How can it be that observations of their teaching bring teachers joy ? Today I’m conversing with Craig Randall, founder of Trust-Based Observations and expert in the art of supporting teachers in improving their practice. We go “pretty dang deep,” as Craig put it. Which is good, because classroom observations are super importan...

In my experience, most teachers — hell, most people — don’t want to admit they hate anyone. “Hate,” they say, “is a strong word.” As if there’s a problem with strong words. (Like “love,” for example.) Teaching through Emotions is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. But people do hate. And when they hate irresponsibl...

This one’s for the leaders. In this episode, I talk with a most amazing psychotherapist and “Leadership Whisperer,” Jerry Fromm. Jerry does organizational consulting, which means he helps people figure out (as I put it) what the hell is happening psychodynamically within their walls — or within their societies! or countries! since he works with individuals and groups domestically and international...

On the face of it, having a Teaching Assistant or any adult in the classroom is a boon, right? The more adults, the more expert help students can get, the better. In theory, yes. In practice, having a TA or an adult helper can feel like having too many chefs in the kitchen. Because it’s another person to manage — and that person is more likely to have ideas of their own about how to teach and mana...

In this episode, I’m joined by Carol Garboden Murray, director of the Wimpfheimer Laboratory Nursery School at Vassar College. She is a lifelong lover of the youngest children, ages 0 - 5, and thinks a lot about what it means to teach and care for them. Early childhood education, care, and love are very dear to my heart. I know that teachers of young children have special skills and talents that t...

I don’t think I have ever thought about the role of the ego in teaching. Until now! Thanks to an old student who wanted to talk with me about her ego, Joe and I dig into the tension between having self-regard (and being a little self-righteous) and maintaining amicable professional relationships. Listen now on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or wherever you get your podcasts . Teaching through Emotions...

In a departure from the typical TTE conversation, I talk in this episode with Felicia Keller Boyle about her two podcasts, The Bad Therapist Show and What Your Therapist Thinks (if you’re already looking up the latter podcast, you are joining thousands of others who listen religiously). So we’re talking podcasting but, actually, we're talking about emotions. We’re therapists, after all. Listen now...

In this episode, Joe and I unpack the story of a teacher who was so fed up with a student who was a huge “pain in the ass” that she wanted to quit. Right then and there. And I’ll be damned if she didn’t turn that relationship around in the most dramatic way. Joe and I talk about the difficult circumstances surrounding this teacher’s and this student’s situation and the hypotheses she and I came up...

In this episode, I sit down with Jesse Dukes, producer of the magnificent podcast on AI in schools called The Homework Machine . We discuss the findings his podcast team lays out about the complicated ins and outs of a “drunk guy” (as I put it) who has “crashed the party” (as Jesse and The Homework Machine puts it). Jesse (not the drunk guy) is so articulate and so sensitive to the information his...

It’s a good thing when parents are involved in their children’s educations. When parents establish routines for getting homework done. When parents attend Back-to-School nights, parent-teacher conferences, and student performances. When parents contact teachers with concerns or questions about their children’s experiences at school. But it’s a bad thing when parents go all nuclear on their childre...

In this episode, I’m joined by physics and math teacher Stephanie Watroba. You’ll get to hear her dramatic journey through burnout — what it was like, why it happened, and how she got through it. She went from Teacher of the Year to burnout and depression to “the best year of school that I’ve ever done.” It’s an informative and intense conversation. Listen now on  Apple Podcasts ,  Spotify , or  w...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.teachingthroughemotions.com I’m on a roll with the boys-and-men-in-trouble theme here. My last rant dropped two weeks ago, on November 7th. It was about a bunch of youngish Republicans (all over 30 years old, apparently) who texted each other racist, misogynistic, anti-Semitic and generally hate-filled messages with evident glee. To...

Here is a guarantee: You will never hear an interview like this one anywhere else. Because it’s a family affair! A Holiday Family bonus episode of TTE! In which my beloved daughter and I chit-chat about basically the things that matter the most to us. Listen now on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or wherever you get your podcasts . We discuss: * The Soul in Teaching: What it means to live (and teach) i...

This episode is really fun because the teacher whose story we wrestle with, Donna, is actually in the virtual studio with us! What you get to hear is a simulation of a (very small) Teacher Support Group where Joe and I ask the types of questions we would ask in a real TSG and work with the data Donna’s answers provide. Listening will bring you into the world of TSGs, where teachers and I get to un...

Yep, I’m biased: I am certain that teaching is spiritual. Not because teachers need to be religious but because the tasks of teaching human beings require heart-based skills: faith, care, love, “unconditional positive regard for difference” — skills that do not necessarily come naturally all the time and therefore demand care and attention themselves. In this episode, I explore this question and o...

Have you ever sat in a staff meeting that felt like a total waste of time? Just endless complaining and blame? What if that chaos wasn’t just “bad behavior” but a clue to the entire school’s dysfunction? This episode takes us back to a Teacher Support Group I led over a decade ago at a school steeped in chaos. What seemed like an unproductive, blame-filled space was actually an unconscious mirror...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.teachingthroughemotions.com Happy World Mental Health Day! Given that we’ve got 24 hours to focus on mental health the world over, I thought I’d offer a bonus episode for TTE’s paid subscribers. This one celebrates the day by sharing a story of an unbelievably dysfunctional school administration. A story that might sound sadly famil...

“Accountability.” It’s a buzzword that usually makes educators tense up, fearing punishment or judgment. But what if holding someone accountable was actually an act of care? In this episode, I chat with two phenomenal leaders from a unique Vermont town academy: Meg Kenny, Associate Head of School, and Jen Hyatt, Academic Dean. We hear about their journeys to senior administration, daily challenges...

Do you feel guilty when you get annoyed at a fellow teacher or student? Do you label yourself as “too judgmental” when, actually, you just want personal space? In this co-hosted episode, Joe and I unpack a teacher’s struggle with feeling “too judgmental” after her classroom space was taken over. We explore how what seems like simple annoyance can reveal critical needs. We describe how a teacher mo...

It is so fun to talk with kindred spirits! That’s what the inaugural episode of TTE’s Season 3 is: an interview with Jim and Story Leonard, founders of Coaching@Altitude and two extraordinary coaches who share a lot of wisdom and insight into the lives and worlds of school administrators (and, therefore, of teachers, students, and schools). Listen now on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or wherever you...