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How To Survive The Classroom — Education
How To Survive The Classroom

As we all know, an educator’s career is one of prestige, respect, and authority.
Just kidding.
Sure, there are lesson plans and inspirational posters. Book reports and detentions. But nobody tells you it’s also parents brawling in the parking lot, students unleashing live crickets during finals, and getting evaluated for “running a tight ship” while the ceiling literally leaks onto your head.
Hosted by Andrea Forcum (aka @Educator Andrea on TikTok, former high school teacher and current professor at Indiana State University), How to Survive the Classroom is part advice column, part survival guide, and part group therapy. Each week, Andrea dons her trauma tiara to tackle call-ins and confessions from fellow educators (and brave educator allies). From hilarious war stories to brutal burnout moments, join us as we strategize, survive, and occasionally let out a good old-fashioned cathartic scream into the void.
If you’ve ever Googled “how to professionally quit mid-semester” or seriously considered hiding in a supply closet, this show’s for you. Teaching may be a noble profession… but nobility doesn’t stop your classroom from catching on fire.

Latest Episodes:

This Is the Most Hard-Core Thing I Do Before a Show Dec 15, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, I’m unpacking how something as innocent as kombucha sent my entire life into chaos… how my own child managed to humiliate me in public with the confidence of a man three times his size… and why I found myself saluting a complete stranger at a gas station like we’d been through battle together.

Plus, your stories this week? Unhinged. We’re talking ski masks, mystery backpacks, “not again” from a school counselor (which is never the phrase you want to hear), and one of the wildest parent–interpreter–admin conferences I have ever imagined.

And because I can’t help myself, I’m also taking a moment to climb atop a hill I’m fully prepared to die on, one that every creative, teacher, and comedian should probably hear.

Takeaways:

The kombucha incident that nearly destroyed my dignity and a mom-and-pop gas station bathroom.

How my child chose a random truck driver as his “best friend” and shared my darkest secret.

A ski mask mix-up that absolutely no administrator wants to explain.

The classroom situation that made a counselor say, “Not again…”

Why bitterness has no place in comedy—and what I’ve learned from watching others rise. --

Teachers’ night out? Yes, please! Come see comedian Educator Andrea…Get your tickets at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠teachersloungelive.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Educatorandrea.com/tickets⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for laugh out loud Education! — Don’t Be Shy Come Say Hi: www.podcasterandrea.com Watch on YouTube: @educatorandrea A Human Content Production

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Please Put Your Shirt Back On Dec 08, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, I’m talking about everything from a wildly out-of-place operatic performance at my dinner table… to a voice memo that had me reconsidering every teacher’s unspoken job description… to the moment I accidentally confessed to a German felony because I couldn't understand what anyone was saying.

And yes, there’s a story in here about nipples. And lotion. And regret.

Plus, I’m finally sharing the unexpected resource that has completely reshaped how I think about reading instruction… and honestly, I want to know what you think about it.

Takeaways:

Why context is the difference between a beautiful performance… and a crime scene.
The unexpected way a Japanese festival turned one teacher into a local legend.
How I found myself explaining German law at 4 AM while crying in a police station.
The moment a student’s “self-care routine” derailed an entire classroom.
The literacy podcast that has me rethinking the way we teach reading, yes, even outside ELA.

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Teachers’ night out? Yes, please! Come see comedian Educator Andrea…Get your tickets at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠teachersloungelive.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Educatorandrea.com/tickets⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for laugh out loud Education! — Don’t Be Shy Come Say Hi: www.podcasterandrea.com Watch on YouTube: @educatorandrea A Human Content Production

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How Did a Safety Talk Turn Into a Crime Plot? Dec 01, 2025

Show notes

This week, I owe Texas an apology. Between discovering that Tex-Mex might be the best food on Earth and listening to a kindergarten voicemail about baby mama drama, I had no idea where this episode would go.

But then my kids started planning how to get rid of a body, a student declared his future as a midwife, and somehow we still managed to end with a heartwarming story about my sister’s new baby and a resource to help your students love writing again.

Takeaways:

Andrea finally admits she was wrong about Texas and Tex-Mex might be elite cuisine.

A kindergartener exposes her “husband’s other babies” in the classroom.

Andrea’s kids invent a disturbingly creative plan for “body disposal.”

A student’s career quiz leads to a midwife meltdown and a hilarious OB-GYN story.

Andrea gets personal about her sister’s baby’s birth, gratitude for NICU staff, and the importance of helping kids embrace discomfort. --

Teachers’ night out? Yes, please! Come see comedian Educator Andrea…Get your tickets at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠teachersloungelive.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Educatorandrea.com/tickets⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for laugh out loud Education! — Don’t Be Shy Come Say Hi: www.podcasterandrea.com Watch on YouTube: @educatorandrea A Human Content Production

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BONUS EPISODE: A Thanksgiving Special: Gratitude and Turkey Butts with Denver Riley Nov 27, 2025

Show notes

A re-release from last years thanksgiving episode!

In this special Thanksgiving episode I sit down with Denver Riley to dive into a blend of holiday trivia, teacher humor, and unexpected insights. As we tackle Thanksgiving history questions (with some questionable accuracy), Denver and I find ourselves navigating through fun facts, turkey anatomy, and relatable teaching stories. We also discuss Denver’s “Jersey Shore” spirit day look, the challenges of historical memory, and the little moments that make teaching worth it.

Takeaways:

Thanksgiving Fun Facts Gone Wrong: Andrea and Denver tackle Thanksgiving trivia, with some hilarious (and incorrect) guesses on everything from turkey consumption to historical dates.

Teacher Humor and Real Talk: The episode highlights the lighter side of teaching, where even everyday classroom mishaps can make for memorable stories.

Celebrating Spirit Week in Style: Denver’s “Jersey Shore” inspired spirit day outfit brings humor and nostalgia, showing the fun side of school traditions.

The Perils of Classroom Management: Through laughter, Andrea and Denver reflect on how to balance classroom humor with the need to stay grounded.

Learning Through Laughter: Even as teachers, Andrea and Denver show that learning new facts—especially holiday-related ones—can be fun, relatable, and full of surprises.

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Want to Learn more about Denver Riley?

Instagram: @keepingupwithms.b_

Tiktok: @keepingupwithms.b_

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Don’t be shy come say hi: andrea@human-content.com and podcasterandrea.com

Watch on YouTube: @educatorandrea

Listen Anywhere You Podcast: Apple, Spotify, PodChaser, etc.

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A Human Content Production

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The Day “Keep Your Hands to Yourself” Took on a New Meaning Nov 24, 2025

Show notes

This week’s episode had me clutching my pearls and questioning everything I thought I knew about middle schoolers. We got a voicemail about a student caught doing something unthinkable during class and somehow, it gets worse. Teachers, you are not paid enough for this level of trauma.

Then, I share the foreword from my upcoming book They Never Taught Us That, talk about what inspired it, and reveal a resource that actually helps teachers get feedback that matters. Spoiler: it’s not from your administrator.

Takeaways:

The most uncomfortable voicemail of all time and Andrea’s horrified (but honest) reaction.
Why middle school might just be the most chaotic age in human history.
A sneak peek into Andrea’s upcoming book, including her emotional foreword about what teaching really teaches you.
A resource that helps educators gather feedback that’s actually useful not just bureaucratic.
Andrea’s reflection on surviving awkwardness, embarrassment, and burnout with humor (and caffeine).

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Teachers’ night out? Yes, please! Come see comedian Educator Andrea…Get your tickets at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠teachersloungelive.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Educatorandrea.com/tickets⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for laugh out loud Education! — Don’t Be Shy Come Say Hi: www.podcasterandrea.com Watch on YouTube: @educatorandrea A Human Content Production

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Smart People Can Be Terrible Teachers Nov 17, 2025

Show notes

This week I learned that parenting might actually be harder than teaching. It started with my five-year-old asking questions about his “balls,” escalated into my husband giving a full anatomy lesson, and ended with me praying his kindergarten teacher doesn’t get a surprise lecture about semen.

Then we hear from a teacher whose classroom window literally exploded mid-class (because of a rogue lawnmower rock, obviously), and I share one of my favorite free classroom tools for teaching grammar, plus the hill I will die on: college professors should be required to learn how to teach.

Takeaways:

The “anatomy conversation” that got way more detailed than Andrea intended.

Why middle school classrooms feel like a mix of chaos, zoo smells, and budding philosophers.

The voicemail about a lawnmower rock that shattered a teacher’s window mid-class.

A free, AI-powered grammar resource that actually works (Quill.org).

Andrea’s unfiltered hill to die on: professors should have to learn to teach, too. --

Teachers’ night out? Yes, please! Come see comedian Educator Andrea…Get your tickets at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠teachersloungelive.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Educatorandrea.com/tickets⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for laugh out loud Education! — Don’t Be Shy Come Say Hi: www.podcasterandrea.com Watch on YouTube: @educatorandrea A Human Content Production

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What Happens When Algebra Meets Abandonment Issues? Nov 10, 2025

Show notes

This week’s voicemails took me on a ride I did not see coming. First up: a sub walks into a high school on eighties day and witnesses a kid try to smash his phone with weights and somehow sets off the fire alarm in the process. Then another teacher shares a story that starts like a simple math problem and ends in the darkest dad joke ever written on a whiteboard.

Somewhere between bathroom popcorn hustles, entrepreneurial students, and emotional damage disguised as equations, we unpack why teachers are equal parts stand-up comedians and hostage negotiators.

Takeaways:

A substitute teacher’s unbelievable day: a phone, a dumbbell, and a fire alarm.

The student-run popcorn speakeasy that actually made money.

The eternal mystery of why schools shut down every student side hustle.

A math lesson that turned into an emotional roast of one missing dad.

Andrea’s take on why chaos might actually be a sign of creative genius. --

Teachers’ night out? Yes, please! Come see comedian Educator Andrea…Get your tickets at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠teachersloungelive.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Educatorandrea.com/tickets⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for laugh out loud Education! — Don’t Be Shy Come Say Hi: www.podcasterandrea.com Watch on YouTube: @educatorandrea A Human Content Production

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Teachers Deserve Hazard Pay For Moments Like These Nov 03, 2025

Show notes

This week’s voicemails reminded me why teachers deserve Oscars for keeping it together. One teacher shares the horror of being publicly asked if she’s pregnant and another walks us through a “balloon” disaster that turned out to be something… very not balloon-like. Plus, I unpack the best advice I ever got from an administrator about what to do when kids say something so wild you have to literally turn and face the wall.

Takeaways:

A choir teacher’s nightmare: a seventh grader publicly asking if she’s pregnant, complete with hand motions.

The admin advice that changed how Andrea handles those can’t-laugh-right-now moments.

Why students will always “rather seem like a badass than a dumbass.”

A “balloon” story that turned into the world’s most awkward cleanup.

The lesson every teacher learns eventually: if it’s round, floating, and suspiciously slippery… don’t kick it. --

Teachers’ night out? Yes, please! Come see comedian Educator Andrea…Get your tickets at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠teachersloungelive.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Educatorandrea.com/tickets⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for laugh out loud Education! — Don’t Be Shy Come Say Hi: www.podcasterandrea.com Watch on YouTube: @educatorandrea A Human Content Production

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why Is This Man Eating Placenta Soup?! Oct 27, 2025

Show notes

This week started with a gut punch, my course evaluations. Let’s just say a few of my college students think I should “go back to teaching middle school.” Ouch. But you know what? They might have a point.
Somewhere between grading, crying, and doom-scrolling, I stumbled into a TikTok hole about a guy making something called “perpetual stew.” (Spoiler: it involves placenta. You’re welcome.)
Then I found joy again through the weirdest toy ever made, the Fugglers, and two teacher voicemails that prove no classroom (or online class) is ever boring. Oh, and a story about a teen giving birth mid-class that somehow leads to me oversharing about my own labor story.
We’ll end with a TED Talk reminder about being a champion for your students… and a hill I will absolutely die on: letting kids live online before they can legally be left alone is one of the biggest mistakes we’re making as parents.

Takeaways: Andrea opens up about getting roasted in her course evaluations and why she actually agrees with some of the criticism.

The placenta stew TikTok saga that you won’t be able to stop thinking about (for better or worse).

A hilarious (and horrifying) teacher voicemail about a car “stolen by a tow truck” and a class of sixth graders trying to cheer their teacher up.

A second voicemail that takes a wild turn when a student’s water breaks during last period.

Andrea’s final reflection on Rita Pierson’s “Every Kid Needs a Champion” TED Talk and her hill to die on: protecting kids from early internet exposure. --

Teachers’ night out? Yes, please! Come see comedian Educator Andrea…Get your tickets at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠teachersloungelive.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Educatorandrea.com/tickets⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for laugh out loud Education! — Don’t Be Shy Come Say Hi: www.podcasterandrea.com Watch on YouTube: @educatorandrea A Human Content Production

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bless Your Heart… But You’re Wrong Oct 20, 2025

Show notes

You ever have one of those weeks where your kid says something so wild you can’t even respond right away? Yeah… mine started with a confession about sniffing a friend’s butt. I also found myself on tour with two grown men who can’t remember their rental car company, and then I saw a viral video of a mom furious at her kid’s teacher… because he didn’t drink his water bottle.

This week, I’m unpacking all of it . The parenting chaos, the wild road trip energy, and why sometimes, “Bless your heart” is the only thing keeping me from losing it. Plus, two hilarious teacher voicemails you have to hear, including one about a student trying to learn cursive for a very suspicious reason.

Takeaways: The “butt sniffing” confession that proves kindergarteners are just tiny, chaotic humans.

Why touring with comedians feels a lot like parenting toddlers.

The viral kindergarten water bottle mom — and what it says about modern parenting.

A voicemail about a kid learning cursive for forgery (yes, really).

An honest look at special education resources and why every teacher needs them. --

Teachers’ night out? Yes, please! Come see comedian Educator Andrea…Get your tickets at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠teachersloungelive.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Educatorandrea.com/tickets⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for laugh out loud Education! — Don’t Be Shy Come Say Hi: www.podcasterandrea.com Watch on YouTube: @educatorandrea A Human Content Production

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