The Balancing Act

Join our hosts as the talk all things executive functioning with Dr. Lethco, an expert in the field of research and daily applications of researched tools that can improve executive functioning for those individuals that are  neurodivergent and really so many of those that are just trying to make their way through the daily chore of existing. Season 3 is brought to you by our principal sponsor, Te...

Joe and Jamie talk about the current holiday season and all the trimmings to boot! Listen as they talk about what it means to teach during this hyper- busy season and how much stress can come your way in and out of the classroom. These two veteran educators discuss their tips on successfully making it through as a teacher in December.  Season 3 is brought to you by our principal sponsor, Teachers'...

Hosts Joe and Jamie hit the road all the way to Atlantic City, New Jersey to the 2025 New Jersey Educators Association Conference. Speakers, teachers, leaders, companies and the one and only Malala Yousafzai were highlights of this year's convention and Joe and Jamie were there to cover all of it. Listen as they speak to County Teachers of the Year winners, former NJ Teachers of the Year and so ma...

Leaning into the gratitude of the season, our hosts play a fun game of Thanksgiving: Would you Rather.  The hilarity of that is just  a twist and turn onto the street of the newest learning challenge for teachers everywhere: learned helplessness.  Season 3 is brought to you by our principal sponsor, Teachers' Insurance Plan. Check out their website below for more information and to get a quote. ht...

Listen as our hosts speak to four day work week teacher Courtney White. Straight from the Dallas Fort Worth area of Texas, teacher sensation Courtney White shares all the benefits and positive outcomes she has encountered in her four day work week school district as a teacher and as a parent.  Season 3 is brought to you by our principal sponsor, Teachers' Insurance Plan. Check out their website be...

Join Joe and Jamie as they talk about parenting their three high school seniors through the steps of visiting, applying, waiting and stressing. When our hosts went to college way back in the 1900’s paper and pen was the only option, but now there are codes and apps and portals too.  Listen as they update their collective journeys to graduation, 2026.  Season 3 is brought to you by our principal sp...

Joe and Jamie talk to NJ Teacher of the Year, Joe Nappi. Between these three teachers they have nearly 70 years of collective teaching experience. Tune in to their “shop talk” about the changes in education and their up to the minute response to those changes. Mr. Nappi has an incredible back story that will inspire all with his impact and influence on the students and colleagues that have the ple...

Let’s celebrate this very special time of year, especially one for all of the teachers, Halloween. We are posing the question to the teacher, what is your Teacher Haunted House? Kids bring the extra energy, the trick and the treats and all the excitement that comes along with Halloween season.  Season 3 is brought to you by our principal sponsor, Teachers' Insurance Plan. Check out their website b...

Sit down and listen to Kristen, aka social media influencer @teacherpaywithK as she informs  and updates hosts Joseph and Jamie about hot education topics like pension reform, the NJ Gubernatorial Race, and more pressing issues facing teachers across the country.  Season 3 is brought to you by our principal sponsor, Teachers' Insurance Plan. Check out their website below for more information and t...

Season 3 is brought to you by our principal sponsor, Teachers' Insurance Plan. Check out their website below for more information and to get a quote. http://bit.ly/4mQC27G Teachers' Insurance Plan: auto insurance that brings exclusive educator savings and exceptional customer care to New Jersey and Pennsylvania educational employees. We want to hear from you! Shoot over an email and say hi: podthe...

Life coach,  author, app creator, Club Creator, Kelsey Sorenson is flooding the conversation with hope, tools, smiles, stickers and all the brilliant things each teacher needs to not only be able to educate, but also remember to rejuvenate. Her monthly themes and teacher tips are brilliant as community builders for teachers new and seasoned alike.  Check out our episode with Kelsey Sorensen from E...

Our hosts Jamie and Joe have a real hot take on the latest news out of their neighboring state of Pennsylvania, with the announcement that student teachers will be paid, leading to incentivizing teaching in the great state of PA. Practicing in this career for over two decades, Jamie and Joe are all over this hot topic and the future of tomorrow’s teachers.  — We want to hear from you! Shoot over a...

Our hosts Joe and Jamie both have Class of 2026 seniors this year, so they are all ears for any pieces of information on how to aid in the process of college acceptance and decision making, and Jen Foldvary has so much to share.  Jen Foldvary and other great tutors are available for college counseling, subject matter, and executive function at www.ectutoring.com.  If you are interested in college...

Opening the school year can be a challenge even for the most seasoned teachers. Join our hosts as they discuss handling daily schedule changes, classroom decorating, and interacting with their students each day.  — We want to hear from you! Shoot over an email and say hi: podthebalancingact@gmail.com Don’t forget to subscribe! Leave us a comment!    Follow  Facebook - podbalact JoeandJamie Instagr...

Professor, comedian, mom and friend of the pod Educator Andrea is here to give us some top secret information into her new book, her comedy tour, and what it is like for her to balance her many professional responsibilities, as well as being a wife and a mom. No one can make us laugh quite like @educatorandrea and you will too.  Come and see Educator_Andrea on tour at a city near you!  Check out h...

Join our hosts as they recap their summers and share with us all the sunny weather and rain filled storms they had to endure over the past two months while on summer hiatus. Big plans are in the works for the upcoming season, so grab a cup of coffee and join us for a welcome to the new school year, summer catch up session. — We want to hear from you! Shoot over an email and say hi: podthebalancing...

Join Joe and Jamie as they review and reminisce on Season 2 episodes of the Balancing Act Podcast. They will reveal their top three moments of the season, guests that left a lasting impression, and all the ways they plan to continue this journey in September with Season 3 of the podcast that has helped them to help others like you.  — We want to hear from you! Shoot over an email and say hi: podth...

One session with doctor Noelle Santorelli was simply not enough, we needed a part II. Join our hosts Joe and Jamie as they talk to Dr. Noelle Santorelli about her research and work into the topic of relational aggression, and what it means for parenting styles, relationships, and systems within families and schools as people earnestly try to navigate this new way of dealing with everyday stressors...

Join our hosts Joe and Jamie as they talk to Dr. Noelle Santorelli about her research and work into the topic of relational aggression, and what it means for parenting styles, relationships, and systems within families and schools as people earnestly try to navigate this new way of dealing with everyday stressors that include comparisons through technology and social media. — We want to hear from...

Teachers in this country are perpetually exhausted. But why?? Join our veteran host teachers with over 50 years of teaching experience between them to explore the reasons behind why teachers are so tired. Both in and out of the classroom, teachers are more tired than ever, but why? Our hosts have some strong opinions about the reasons behind this. — We want to hear from you! Shoot over an email an...

 Is this a tech “eat” tech world? Just how much tech is too much? Listen to our hosts discuss Ed Tech, social media and cell phones in schools, with Common Sense Media’s voice of reason, Merve Lapus. Lapus has a next level approach to how to parent and teach using tech, and some strong words of advice on how to guide teens through the tech heavy world we all share.  — We want to hear from you! Sho...

Jamie and Joe revisit the topics connected to parent volunteers in public schools, as well as the weight of judgement between working and non working parents. Such hot topics in the education space overlap into the parenting space and include how much of the “extra” that exists in education is from the wallets and off the backs of unpaid teacher labor.  — We want to hear from you! Shoot over an em...

Bianca and Chelsea from the “NJEA Aspiring Ed PodSquad” podcast join us this week in an exciting pod swap experience. As hosts in their own right, these two ladies are navigating the education space and taking New Jersey by storm. TCNJ students and future teachers, Chelsea and Bianca share with Joe and Jamie their hopes and concerns for themselves and other future educators across America.  Check...

In today's society being a parent can be amongst the most difficult of all of life’s challenges. Raising children is not for the faint of heart, and Jamie and Joe discuss some of the issues facing parents these days that make them both say, I don’t get it!  Being a good parent is everyone’s goal, but have we all lost sight of what makes someone good at this extremely unforgiving job?  — We want to...

Educator, speaker and author Mitch Weathers joins the pod to discuss his method for maximizing student success with the Organized Binder method. Students, teachers and parents have noticed the cognitive load placed on our kids year after year, but are baffled as to the process in which to build these skills and improve executive functioning and success in school, and Mitch Weathers has come up wit...