This Teacher Life

Want students to be prepared for class? This episode is for you! Want students to listen in class? This episode is for you? Wants students to have respectful attitudes? This episode is for you! Want students to have charged Chromebooks? This episode is for you! Creating classroom competitions is one of the easiest, most engaging, most beneficial ways to help manage a classroom and it can be SO fun...

Do you have a sharpie marker in your classroom?  If so, I’ve got an engaging idea for you! Do you have even one piece of technology in your classroom? If so, I’ve got an engaging idea for you. Do you have students in your classroom for at least 1 minute? Of course you do! So, I’ve for an engaging idea for you. 3 ideas will come your way in this episode that is all about being a Game Changer for ki...

We know as teachers that classroom management is essential, but we also understand that it can be very difficult. Sometimes students are defiant. Sometimes students don’t want to work. Sometimes students are antsy and energetic. Sometimes this causes stress and struggles in school. But what if there was a simple solution to create a classroom where things were both predictable and positive? In thi...

Looking for ways to not let one student or one class period ruin your whole day? I’ve got an idea. Looking for ways to not feel super overwhelmed with all the extra roles and responsibilities of this year? I’ve got an idea. Looking for ways to balance or separate home life and teacher life? I’ve got an idea. This episode is all about answer the top 3 biggest questions that we as busy, stressed tea...

Spoiler alert: I am sharing an idea that has created a MAJOR decrease in classroom issues. The term “classroom management” is thrown around a lot. We had whole classes dedicated to it in undergrad. Our principals talk about it in our evaluations. And these days some teachers are even saying we need to “ditch it.” Some educators believe that classroom management “isn’t needed” if we just have class...

Parent-Teacher conferences can be a little stressful for both the parents and the teacher. Often times they take a lot of time and effort. Often times the parents don’t even show up! But what if I told you there was a structure and a strategy that would change all of that? In this episode you will hear about WHAT I call my conferences, HOW I am proactive about them, WHO is actually at the table, a...

Sometimes the silliest ideas end up being the most strategic ideas! So let me ask you, how is classroom management going in your teacher life right now? Are students getting disorganized? Are students struggling to keep their hands to themselves? Are students simply not turning in work? If you are looking for a solution to solve common teacher problems you are in the right place. On this week’s ep...

Over 55% of educators admit to considering  a career change. Are you thinking about leaving teaching? Are you wanting to say goodbye to education? Am I contemplating quitting this year too? In this episode you will find out what you need to do, say, or think before making this big decision. By the end you will know what path is the right path for you, for your purpose, and for your profession. Epi...

This is not what I thought this school year was going to look like…. That is a statement that has been said by nearly every teacher this year and we are heart-broken about it. If you are struggled to get your footing this year… If you felt this year was your hardest in education to date…. If you are need a big boost…. Then this episode is for you because it’s all about setting realistic expectatio...

Do you have a door to your classroom?  If so, I’ve got an engaging idea for you! Do you want to keep kids quiet at the right times? If so, I’ve got an engaging idea for you. Do you want students engaging rather than staring at the wall? Of course you do! So, I’ve for an engaging idea for you. 3 ideas will come your way in this episode that is all about being a Game Changer for kids. If you are loo...

How are you feeling about the end of this school year? Exhausted? Excited? Empowered? Teaching can be an emotional roller coaster and sometimes we just need a reminder that we are doing an amazing job! In this week’s motivational episode of the This Teacher Life podcast we dive into 4 simple reflections that will help you to see that you truly made a huge impact this year. I promise you will...

How long does it take you to plan for an entire school year’s worth of curriculum? If your answer is longer than 1-hour, then I have a simple, strategic system for you! Using plan books, journals, file folders, and lesson plan templates can be energy vampires and hard to adjust on the fly. What if I told you that you can plan highly engaging, really meaningful classroom content using 2 tools...

What is the vibe in your classroom right now? Do you find it is different on various days of the week! If you want to bring TGIF energy and enthusiasm to your classroom everyday, I’ve got an idea for you. Our students LOVE YouTube and short form video, so why not leverage that for learning? In this week’s episode of the This Teacher Life podcast I dive into a lesson I recently did on a...

Have you ever tried something in your classroom and thought, “That was really silly, but it TOTALLY worked!” I find myself saying that the most when I am using toys to teach. Because the reality is that toys can actually be really powerful tools in education! In this week’s episode of the This Teacher Life podcast we tackle how one, really unexpected throwback toy, transformed a...

As an educator, how do you feel by the middle of the week? Are you emotional drained, out of great ideas, and feeling teacher tired? Sometimes by hump day, we are needing some creativity to add to your curriculum. In this week’s episode of the This Teacher Life podcast I explain a strategy that is a really fun remix of something that kids already know and love. The secret sauce to this strat...

Music is a highly underutilized tool in education! We use books all the time to help kids learn and grow, but songs are just books without pages. So how can you use music to motivate students and get them all engaged in heartfelt, meaningful conversation? That is exactly what we are going to unpack in this week’s episode of the This Teacher Life podcast. Super simple, strategic teacher tips...

Do your students every walk into class with tired eyes and total disengagement? Do you ever ask your students questions and the only thing you hear are crickets? Do you ever start a lesson and it totally flops, but you keep rolling with it because you don’t have a back-up plan? If you said YES to any (or all) of those statements you are not alone. Sometimes it feels like we are competing wit...

Spring fever is a real thing! But spring celebration is a real thing too. As a teacher do you want to have an AWESOME April or an AWFUL April? I know it seems like a silly, obvious question, but sometimes if we want something to be awesome, we have to put something new in place. And in this week’s episode of the This Teacher Life podcast there are 3 super simple ideas that you can try immedi...

What if I told you there are 5 super simple things that can change EVERYTHING about education. These 5 things can help you: LOVE your job CONNECT with kids CREATE amazing lessons DECREASE stesss INCREASE success in the profession In this week’s episode of the This Teacher Life podcast we talk about each of those and dive into how “holding off” and “holding on” are sec...

Are this point in the school you are you surviving, thriving or in neutral? The reality is that all honest answers are great answers! This is the point in the year where the wheels start to come off for a lot of us. This point in the year is where there is light at the end of the tunnel for a lot of us. This point in the year is where we feel numb for a lot of us. But what if I told you there is s...

You are a unique teacher that is bringing awesome ideas to your classroom that help you crush it for kids. The big question is, do you believe that? Do you truly believe that your unique interests, skills, and strengths are making a positive impact on people? In this week’s episode of the This Teacher Life podcast I’m diving into ways to make your classroom full of laughing, learning,...

Building relationships with students can be difficult these days. Our students have changed, their communication has changed, their engagement has changed, and it feels like many of our students have walls. But what if I told you we could bust down those walls with a brilliantly simple structure. In this week’s episode of the This Teacher life podcast we talk about how brackets can create co...

Classrooms need more clapping than critiquing. Do you agree? Sometimes if we want to crush it for kids we need to simply celebrate education and celebrate our students more often. But, how can we do that when we barely have enough minutes to get through our curriculum and all the other disruptions? In this week’s episode of the This Teacher Life podcast I share how I use 2 things to boost th...

Have you ever sat through school PD and thought, “This is not what I need right now!” Have you ever been at a teacher workshop and said, “These ideas are even practical or realistic.” Have you ever been to a back-to-school event and thought, “This was a waste of time.” If you said YES to any of those situations, you are not alone. Teacher professional developmen...

Have you ever tried to make a decision in your classroom or with your students and started to question everything? Should I say this? Should I try that? Should I go this route? Should I implement this idea? Sometimes, as educators, we can start to question things and don’t feel empowered to make best practice decisions. But you may have noticed that your “teacher gut” has changed...