Angela Watson's Truth for Teachers

Latest Episodes:

EP289 A practical guide to building students' attention stamina and ability to focus Oct 29, 2023

Show notes

How long can you read a book without getting distracted? Do you swipe through TikToks or reels before they're over because you've gotten impatient? Do you find it hard to just stream a TV show or movie without also looking at your phone or doing another activity at the same time?

Yep — the shortened attention span issue isn't something unique to Gen Z.

It's something that I think almost all of us in modern western culture have been impacted by…and there's good reasons for that. In this episode, I'll share:

Some of the reasons why it's difficult for us to concentrate and think deeply
Why the ability to focus for extended periods will be like a superpower in the coming years
A 3 step process you can teach students for redirecting their attention when they notice their minds wandering
How to make intangible terms like "stay focused" easy for students to understand
The 5 step classroom practice you can use regularly to help students build capacity for concentration over time
The limits of the human ability to do focused work, and what valuable tasks students can do once they've maxed out concentration for the class period
Cal Newport's research on how to alternate periods of deep work and shallow work
How–and why–to break the addiction to staying busy with low-level tasks and spend more time (on our own and with students) in deep work, focus, and concentration

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.

EP288 Mindful moment: Finding the calm amidst chaos Oct 15, 2023

Show notes

Let's try something new together! I started offering guided "mindful moments" on my new Truth for Teachers Daily Encouragement podcast about once per week, interspersing them with the main content of uplifting and motivational messages.

I don't plan on incorporating mindful moments here on the regular podcast, but I did want to introduce you to the concept so if you like this format, you know you can get more on the Truth for Teachers Daily Encouragement Podcast.

New & exclusive ad-free episodes drop daily from Mon-Fri (approx. 20 eps each month)! Each one is a 3-5 minute uplifting message and is ad-free. You subscribe through Spotify for $3.99/month, and can then listen wherever you get your podcasts, and cancel anytime.

If you're already a subscriber of the Truth for Teachers Daily Encouragement Podcast and you enjoy the mindful moments, I thought it might be fun to do a longer one here to allow you to take the practice deeper.

So what exactly do I mean by "mindful moment"?

It's simply an invitation to slow down and be fully present in the moment and in your body. You don't have to close your eyes and you're not expected to enter a meditative state. That's especially true for the Daily Encouragement mindful moments since they're so short. Some folks do them while sitting at their desks during a break, or while gazing out the window before or after school, or even in the car to help calm them while driving it.

It's just a quick moment to get out of your own head and back into your body. It's a chance to be fully present in the moment without our minds racing ahead to what we need to do next. The mindful moments are a break in which I guide you to reflect on gratitude, non-attachment, joy, or another concept that helps you return to a state of ease and flow.

The mindful moments that I'm offering have their roots in secular Buddhism, which is a philosophy of life and not a religion or belief system. The mindful moments that I'm offering are not a religious practice, or even necessarily a spiritual practice. Certainly you could incorporate them into your understanding of those things, but this is really about practicing presence and being intentional about what you are focusing on. The mind is extremely powerful, and visualization is a really impactful way to help you feel more grounded, centered, and balanced.

If you've never done this before, thank you for being open and trying this out. See how you feel afterward — does your mind feel clearer? Has your heart rate slowed and nervous system downregulated? Is it easier to concentrate or get things done afterward? Just notice what — if any — impact you feel this first time.

If you have a meditation or mindfulness practice already, welcome! I would love for this to be something we can do together. I hope you enjoy having a familiar and hopefully calming voice to guide you through something that's maybe a little different than what you normally do in your practice.

For today's episode, I thought I would focus on finding the calm amongst chaos, since this is a practice all of us need. I'll be introducing music and nature sounds periodically throughout this time together to help create a sense of calm and relaxation.

Find a comfortable, quiet place, and listen in to join us! Subscribe to the Truth for Teachers Daily Encouragement Podcast to get new mindful moment episodes on a regular basis.

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.

EP287 Bell-to-bell instruction is NOT best practice. Here's the research. Oct 01, 2023

Show notes

The expectation that students be fully engaged in learning tasks from the first minute of the class period until the last is known as "bell-to-bell instruction."

It's a widely-accepted practice in education, but does neuroscience actually support it?

Bell-to-bell instruction works from the premise that our class time with students is precious and limited, and therefore needs to be maximized. I think we can all agree on that: wasting students' time and dragging out transitions isn't beneficial.

But let's dig deeper into what it means to "make the most of every moment" with students. What if the best way to maximize our instructional time is by NOT attempting to pack every single moment with more work?

The value of offering breaks and downtime to students is self-evident to most educators, and yet many schools and districts don't permit it.

So, I've curated the brain research showing that breaks are absolutely essential for maximal learning and productivity.

I'll share 6 big takeaways from the research around how the brain learns, and 6 practical ways to incorporate that research into your classroom. My hope is that this podcast/article can be shared to open up conversations about how our schools can better meet the needs of students.

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.

EP286 Student-centered learning sounds great, but what's the reality? (with Erika Walther) Sep 17, 2023

Show notes

Need a practical roadmap for increasing student ownership? So much of teaching now revolves around teacher accountability, but the same accountability and ownership can be transformative for students as well! Students who have opportunities to increase their ownership over their learning throughout the school year can complete more assignments on time, they feel more confident during testing, and they feel less anxiety over time when it comes to academics.

In today's episode, I'm interviewing Erika Waltherr, who's been working in Baltimore City Public Schools since 2012 is currently doing work there as a school-based Literacy Coach. She's observed the difference in students since the start of the pandemic, and how many of them struggle to be independent and self-motivated.

Erika wrote an article for our Truth for Teachers writer's collective, and I'm interviewing her here to go even deeper. We're discussing practical ways to get your students to be more independent, take more responsibility for their own learning, and shift the balance in your classroom from teacher-centered to student-centered. This advice will be especially helpful for teachers who may struggle with letting go of control in their classrooms.

Read/share Erika's article here: https://truthforteachers.com/truth-for-teachers-podcast/student-centered-learning-reality/

If you teach 8th-12th grade, check out Finding Flow Solutions, my new curriculum lined designed to help students find flow in the classroom and manage their time, energy, and focused attention: https://shop.truthforteachers.com/collections/finding-flow-solutions

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.

Announcing the NEW Truth for Teachers Daily Encouragement Podcast! Sep 10, 2023

Show notes

I'm starting a brand new show with short episodes dropping each week from Monday-Friday!

The purpose of the Truth for Teachers Daily Encouragement Podcast is to offer an exclusive message each day for educators who want to show up as the best version of themselves. Every weekday, you'll receive a short message that helps you return to what matters, stay grounded in your purpose, and uplift your mood.

The TFT Daily Encouragement podcast is ad-free and exclusive to subscribers for $3.99/month.

(And don't worry, the regular TFT podcast you already know and love isn't going anywhere, isn't changing, and remains free for listeners! This is something NEW and ADDITIONAL for those who want more.)

Each episode of the Daily Encouragement podcast is 3-5 minutes long: no promotions, no fluff, no filler. You'll hear just a boost of motivation and inspiration on topics like:

mindfulness
self-compassion
radical acceptance
reframing your thoughts
managing anxiety
enjoying your work
connecting deeply with students
staying grounded in your vision and purpose

I plan to make one episode per week a guided meditation or mindfulness moment, in which you're invited to slow down and be fully present in the moment and in your body. You don't have to close your eyes and you're not expected to enter a meditative state: these eps will just be a quick moment to get out of your own head and connect to your higher self or even just to your breath. It's a break in which I guide you to reflect on gratitude, non-attachment, joy, or another concept that helps you return to a state of ease and flow.

This podcast is designed for ALL educators (anyone who works in a school), including those who ordinarily don't listen to podcasts because they don't have the alone time or mental bandwidth to consume lengthier episodes.

It's designed to be the perfect short, calming listen for:

When you first wake up to start your day on a positive note
During your commute to school to ease into "school mode"
On your break to re-energize yourself for the afternoon
After dismissal to ground, calm, and re-center when the day's done

I tried to pick a price that felt affordable for educators while staying mindful of the hosting/payment process costs, and I think that $3.99/monthly offers a really good value for a Mon-Fri daily show. If you appreciate my work in general and with the podcast specifically, I would love your support with this project!

The technical details: Subscriptions and payments are handled through Spotify so the link to subscribe is a Spotify payment link. You can use a credit card or Google Pay. Once you've subscribed, you can listen right in Spotify. If you have another podcast app that you like better, you can copy/paste the private RSS feed link into the podcast player of your choice and listen there. Each weekday a new episode will automatically appear in the feed wherever you want to listen to your podcasts. You can cancel anytime through Spotify, just know that your access to the podcast archives will be removed at the end of your monthly billing period.

I'm committed to the TfT Daily Encouragement Podcast ONLY for this school year, and will then re-evaluate. So, if this is something you're interested in, sign up now!

Subscribe to the TfT Daily Encouragement podcast; https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dailyencouragement/subscribe

Learn more: http://truthforteachers.com/dailyencouragement

The first episode drops Monday, Sept. 11th!

I hope this will be an easy, fun, way for you to hear some positive words spoken into your heart and mind on a daily basis, so you can keep showing up as the best version of yourself each day.

Thank you for supporting me and my work!

Angela

EP285 Why boys are struggling (and what educators can do about it) Sep 03, 2023

Show notes

I recently read a powerful book called, "Of Boys and Men: Why They're Struggling, Why We Should Care, and What We Can Do About It" by Richard Reeves. It's not the first piece of media I've consumed about the crises men are facing in the U.S. right now, but IS the first I've seen with a deeply comprehensive, intersectional understanding of the problems AND practical solutions.

In this episode, I wanted to open a (hopefully ongoing) conversation about this topic, sharing what I learned from the book and what educators should be aware of when considering how to to support the boys in their classrooms.

I'll discuss:

Just a few of the ways in which outcomes for men are lagging behind those for women, leading to an increase for men in fentanyl and opioid use; deaths of despair; unwillingness to enter college or the workforce; and vulnerability to groups that push harmful misogynistic ideologies
How older millennials, Gen X, and Boomers may be unaware of how much boys are currently lagging behind girls in key areas of success because the opposite problem was more prevalent when we were younger
Why acknowledging that structural and institutional support for boys/men does not negate the different types of support that are still needed for girls/women
How schools can use redshirting, male staff members, and vo-tech programs to improve outcomes for boys
What unlearning needs to happen around "women's work" so that activities/careers coded as female are seen as desirable by boys (and are better compensated for everyone)
Why the opening of doors for girls in STEM fields needs to be paired with role models and opportunities for boys in HEAL fields (health, education, administration, and literacy)
Why we can't keep condemning "toxic masculinity" without offering a broad range of possibilities for healthy masculinity
How educators can be conscious of the messages that boys receive about what expressions of their identity are acceptable
Ways educators can help boys embody their full authentic selves and be free from limiting social constructs around what men are (and aren't) allowed to feel, think, be, and do

This is a controversial and delicate topic, so please listen when you are in the headspace to extend grace if some of my phrasing or examples aren't ideal! I plan to address this topic again in at least one future episode with the support of a guest expert as well as the voices of male students themselves. Resource recommendations, interview suggestions, feedback, and additional perspectives are welcome at info@truthforteachers.com.

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.

EP284 Ask me anything: Listener questions about my personal + professional life Aug 20, 2023

Show notes

This AMA is a follow-up to the 3 part summer series I created for the podcast to celebrate 20 years of sharing teaching ideas online and reflect on my personal and professional growth during that time.

In the final ep of that series, I included a link to an anonymous Google form for folks to submit questions about things I didn't answer in the series that they're curious about. Your questions were absolutely wonderful and you've brought up some super interesting things for me to discuss!

Here are the questions you'll hear me answer in this episode:

Childfree or childless? "If it's not too personal, I wondered about your infertility journey. I remember praying for you when you shared about it before. Having gone through IVF myself, I know it may be too sensitive, and I respect that." (NOTE: If this is a triggering topic for you, skip to the 13:30 minute mark.)
Blowback from taking a stand? "Your message about how the train was leaving the station (you can't keep waiting to convince everyone to go with you, and you are just going to move forward with what you thought was right) has really stuck with me, maybe moreso than anything else you've ever said and I've been following you since 2003. It's really been impactful on my life because I really cared way too much about making sure every possible person would be happy with every possible thing I did. I have been wondering, what were the repercussions of that? Did you have a drop in followers, angry emails, anything like that?
Enneagram number? "Have you done any work with the Enneagram system? In the last few years, I have heard you speak in a way that sounds as though you may have. If so, I would love to hear about it."
Highly-sensitive teachers? "How does being an empath impact your work! Can you explain with some examples?" and "As an introvert and empath myself (happily married, but no kids), I have found it hard to make friends in the teaching world. Many teachers are strong personalities who either don't seem to understand or relate to me or I feel drained by. Any tips for introverts and empaths regarding surviving and thriving in teaching?"and "You talked about how as an introvert & empathetic person, you had to find ways to get energy from your students instead of it just being a drain. Would you share some? I related to this immensely and wanted to hear more! Thanks!
Mental health struggles? "Do you have any advice for teachers who struggle with anxiety and depression and did you struggle with either of those things as a teacher? I love your work and appreciate your perspective so much! I am also an introvert and a highly sensitive person and sometimes I don't think I am cut out for this career because of my personality and mental health struggles."
Admin who don't share the 40 Hour workweek vision? "Hi Angela, I love all you do and I loved your three-series podcast this summer. Thank you very much. Would you consider doing an episode about how teachers can work alongside administrators who DON'T share the 40 Hour Teacher Workweek vision? I'm talking about the administrators who routinely expect overworking as a part of the job (and some colleagues, too!)"
Connecting with local advocacy groups? "Beyond putting this hope out into the universe and sharing it with you, I wanted to ask — as someone connected to many education justice and activist groups and orgs in the city — if you have any desire to get involved in our local work to make the NYC schools more equitable, culturally responsive, and democratic? Your voice is so powerful and we need all hands on deck. Let me know if you have any desire to get involved and I'm happy to connect you to folks who will find ways your unique gifts can serve the fight for education justice in NYC and beyond."

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.

EP283 Rooted in joy: Creating a classroom culture of equity, belonging, and care (with Dr. Deonna Smith) Aug 06, 2023

Show notes

If you need an uplifting conversation to get you energized for the new school year, this episode is a can't-miss!

I'm talking with Dr. Deonna Smith about the ideas behind her new book, Rooted in Joy: Creating a Classroom Culture of Equity, Belonging, and Care."

Listen in as we discuss:

What it means to be "rooted in joy" and how Deonna uncovered the meaning of that phrase in her own work as a teacher
The types of internal work we can do as educators to create school-based practices that are rooted in joy
What it looks like to have a classroom that is rooted in joy
How joy arises naturally in equitable, humanizing environments
How a classroom can be understand as an ecosystem in which every person and practice are interconnected
Specific practices teachers can implement to create a classroom culture of equity, belonging, and care

Learn more about Dr. Deonna Smith here: https://www.deonnasmithconsulting.com

Get her new book here: https://amzn.to/3qdOLKB

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.

EP282 Where I'm going: Reflections on what excites me about my work & the future of schools Jul 23, 2023

Show notes

I'm concluding the 3 part podcast series this summer offering a deep dive into my personal story: where I've been, where I'm at, and where I'm going.

Usually you can listen to my podcast episodes in any order you want, but since this is basically my life story, what I'm sharing in this episode will make a lot more sense if you've heard the beginning of what happened:

EP278 How I got here: Reflections on 20 years of sharing teaching ideas online
EP280 Where I'm at: Reflections on who I've become as a person and educator

In this final installment of the three part series, I'm looking forward, and talking about what's next:

How I grapple with imposter syndrome, maintaining relevance, and criticism of my work
Why I view my work in terms of years-long problems I'm trying to solve over the course of a lifetime
How I plan to translate my experience and accumulated wisdom into my next big project
Why I plan to focus more on connecting with educators via my email list and podcast instead of social media
A dream my husband and I have for supporting educators in a way that leaves a lasting legacy
How rediscovering lost parts of myself, childhood interests, and hobbies apart from work shapes the perspective I bring to teaching
Why I think the future of schools is nearly impossible to predict, but I'm committed to uncovering new possibilities and finding the good
How I stay hopeful amidst so much bad news, and the perspective that keeps me feeling balanced, energized, and optimistic

Anything you're still curious about? If there's anything I didn't talk about in this podcast series that you're still left wondering, I'm doing an AMA (ask me anything) episode next month!

Use this form to submit a question about a personal or professional aspect of my life that you'd like to hear more about. https://forms.gle/CNWQT7Y8ccT66phS6

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.

EP281 Why planning ahead can be a form of self-care (with Lisa Woodruff) Jul 09, 2023

Show notes

It's a myth that "having a plan" means locking yourself into a rigid schedule from which you can't deviate. Knowing the things you want to experience and accomplish (and carving out time for them) is one of the most powerful ways to craft a fulfilling life!

Lisa Woodruff recently interviewed me for her Organize365 podcast, and I wanted to play an excerpt of that conversation for you here.

Listen in as we talk about how we each fell in love with planning and how our individual planning processes have changed throughout our various seasons of life.

We each share how we schedule our time and manage our to-do lists, and what our summer schedules look like.

You'll also hear us illuminate a few key truths we've uncovered through developing various productivity systems:

Why working toward being "finally done" with a tasks is not necessarily the goal
How to enjoy the never-ending process of tending to your own life, needs, and healthy habits
How planning ahead creates freedom and allows presence in whatever experiences arise
Why the goal isn't to execute your plan perfectly but to re-evaluate priorities

You can listen to the full conversation on the Organize365 podcast, or check out her organizational tools, such as the Education Friday workbox, which is a system that helps teachers get organized and reduce the amount of time spent on administrative tasks.

Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.

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