Sustainable Teacher Podcast

85. 5 Monthly Habits of a Sustainable Teacher Feb 21, 2023

Just as it was true in my last episode, it’s true here too. These 5 habits are not rocket science, not earth shattering, but they are slightly different from other tips I’ve seen because they aren’t just for teachers, and they also aren’t just for anyone. These tips are for educators who are managing all the things, and want to build some habits into their life that allow them to manage it all a little more sustainably.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/5-monthly-habits-of-a-sustainable-teacher

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

GET YOUR FULL FOCUS PLANNER: https://www.teachonamission.com/planner

JOIN THE FREE SUSTAINABLE TEACHER CHALLENGE: https://www.teachonamission.com/sustainableteacherchallenge

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Mandy and the Sustainable Teacher." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more teachers -- just like you -- move toward the sustainable work-teacher-life balance that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

84. 5 Daily Habits of a Sustainable Teacher Feb 14, 2023

Holy moly! I recorded this episode in mid-January and am not publishing it until mid-February - woah! But here’s the thing, at Teach On A Mission, we are nothing but #reallife, and sometimes deadlines aren’t met and life takes over. So when you hear me say it’s mid-January, just know that I am completely wrong, but hopefully what I share still resonates with you.

In this episode we get super practical! Share this episode with a teacher who needs to hear the message that their sustainability is important and a priority!

Get your Full Focus planner at https://www.teachonamission.com/planner

Find the full length show notes at https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/5-daily-habits-of-a-sustainable-teacher

And join our Sustainable Teacher FB Community at https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

Learn about and get signed up with Mandy's Faster Way to Fat Loss Coach at https://www.fasterwaycoach.com/#Mandyrice

*****

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Mandy and the Sustainable Teacher." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more teachers -- just like you -- move toward the sustainable work-teacher-life balance that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

83. Project Management for Teachers | My New-Found Love Dec 27, 2022

Project management software was not on the scene yet when I was in the classroom. Now that I’m using a specific software, to manage all things business and life, I see exactly how revolutionary it would be for a teacher in the classroom. In this episode I give a glimpse at how Asana has revolutionized project management in my life, and how it could do the same for teachers.

To try out Asana and create your own free account, be sure to head to the link below.

Stay tuned for more episodes on this topic as well as a YouTube video that will SHOW you what I’m talking about today over on my channel in the near future here: https://www.youtube.com/mandyriceteaches

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/project-management-for-teachers-my-new-found-love

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

TRY ASANA: https://asana.com/

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Mandy and the Sustainable Teacher." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more teachers -- just like you -- move toward the sustainable work-teacher-life balance that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

82. Being More Intentional in 2023 | A Teacher's Year-End Reflection Dec 20, 2022

Holy cow guys this is a long one, but, I have to admit, I really really loved recording this. So, if you have to listen in chunks, that’s the beauty of a podcast, just pick right back up where you left off and it even rewinds it a few seconds for you when you’re able to click play again.

Here’s to a more intentional 2023, and a glimpse into my year-end reflection and planning process. I hope you find it helpful.

As promised, here is a link to that year-at-a-glance calendar I grabbed on Canva - it’s now a template you can use.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/being-more-intentional-in-2023-a-teacher-s-year-end-reflection

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

FULL FOCUS PLANNER: https://www.teachonamission.com/planner

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Mandy and the Sustainable Teacher." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more teachers -- just like you -- move toward the sustainable work-teacher-life balance that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

81. How to Use Other Teachers' Videos in Your Flipped Classroom Dec 13, 2022

You do NOT have to reinvent the wheel in order to start flipping your classroom. Using other teachers’ videos can allow you to get your feet wet in this awesome teaching practice, and it’s one I show you how to do in this episode.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/how-to-use-other-teachers-videos-in-your-flipped-classroom

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

FLIPPED CLASSROOM STARTER KIT: https://www.teachonamission.com/starterkit

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Mandy and the Sustainable Teacher." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more teachers -- just like you -- move toward the sustainable work-teacher-life balance that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

80. Overcoming Teacher Burnout Dec 06, 2022

Teacher burnout is at an all time high, and you don’t have to be leaving the profession to be burnt out. I’m also not talking about this topic today to trigger you, and I really hope that doesn’t happen.

My hope is that some encouragement and maybe even a little tough love in this episode is just what you need to work through the level of burnout you may be experiencing - because it’s a continuum, and no one’s burnout looks like anyone else’s. So let’s chat, teacher-to-teacher.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/overcoming-teacher-burnout

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER CHALLENGE: https://www.teachonamission.com/sustainableteacherchallenge

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Mandy and the Sustainable Teacher." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more teachers -- just like you -- move toward the sustainable work-teacher-life balance that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

79. Why I'm All Done with The Flipped Classroom Nov 29, 2022

I bet this title made you think - woah, what’s happening here Mandy? You are all about the flipped classroom - and you’re not wrong. I still stand by the statement I made on a recent Youtube video that the flipped learning model is the BEST way for 90% of teachers to be effective with their post-pandemic students in ways that are sustainable for them.

So, why am I all done with it then?

Yes, let’s talk about that and more in today’s episode. Here we go.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/why-i-m-all-done-with-the-flipped-classroom

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

GRAB THE STARTER KIT: https://www.teachonamission.com/starterkit

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Mandy and the Sustainable Teacher." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more teachers -- just like you -- move toward the sustainable work-teacher-life balance that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

78. Guess Who's Back... Back Again! Nov 22, 2022

Guess who’s back… back again?!? Ha - I bet every millennial listening to this right now is finishing that lyric, please know you are my people!

Hey all! I am back after a much needed, but not anticipated hiatus from all things Sustainable Teacher Podcast, and in this episode I’m going to share what in the world has been going on here in our world that has kept me away, what I think about it, and what this space is going to look like moving forward. Because, you know, I’ve learned some things.

So if you are here for it and haven’t yet, please share the love by following my podcast, giving it a review telling me what you love about it, and that will help me know how to best serve you on this platform I love so much.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/guess-who-s-back-back-again

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

COME HANG OUT WITH ME ON IG: https://www.instagram.com/teachonamission/

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Mandy and the Sustainable Teacher." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more teachers -- just like you -- move toward the sustainable work-teacher-life balance that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

77. Batch Planning: Using Frameworks to Take Back Your Life Outside the Classroom! with EBAcademics Jun 16, 2022

Welcome back to the Sustainable Teacher Podcast, I am so excited to be welcoming a special guest on this episode, and it is Caitlin Mitchell of EBAcademics, a former high school ELA teacher turned middle school ELA Teacher supporter through her business alongside her business partner Jessica.

I’m recording this quick intro here after having interviewed Caitlin already and I’m so excited for you to tune in and hear what she has to share with teachers as her number one piece of advice and number one strategy really for building a more sustainable teaching-life, which is batch planning. She even shares about an upcoming batch planning event they are offering teachers, so be sure to head to the link where you’re listening to learn more about that.

Let’s get right to it, here is Caitlin Mitchell with EBAcademics.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/batch-planning-using-frameworks-to-take-back-your-life-outside-the-classroom-with-ebacademics

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

EB ACADEMICS BATCH PLANNING LIVE EVENT: https://www.ebteacher.com/summer2022BPL

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Mandy and Sustainable Teacher." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more teachers -- just like you -- move toward the sustainable work-teacher-life balance that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

76. Throw Away Your Teacher Planner and Use This Instead Jun 15, 2022

Hello there and welcome back to the Sustainable Teacher, I am your host Mandy Rice, and I’m so excited you’ve joined us for another episode of teacher inspiration and encouragement packaged into recommendations and tips to help make your teacher-life a bit more sustainable. Because we are all about helping you have BOTH in your life. What do I mean by that, you might be asking???

Well, I mean you should have BOTH an effective classroom AND a thriving personal life. You shouldn’t have to sacrifice one for the other, and I’m hoping today’s episode, as well as this podcast as a whole, helps you take one step closer to that truth.

Starting with this episode, I am excited to announce that each of our episodes will now also be available in video format on my YouTube channel, so if you’re listening to the podcast head to the link in the description to check out the YouTube video that will give a visual glimpse into today’s topic.

Which is….Throw Away your Traditional Teacher Planner and Use This Instead!

Yep, that’s right. I am recommending and strongly encouraging my teacher-friends listening or watching to throw away our traditional teacher planner and to use a planner that I recommend instead - I’ll tell you what that planner is, why you should be using it to become a more sustainable teacher and human being as a whole, and how you should be planning your teacher-life instead.

After listening to this episode you’ll see the obvious power of a daily planner that allows you to live a more sustainable well-planned life, one that encompasses all roles you play, not just that of a teacher, because doing so will ultimately allow you to show up better as a teacher.

So buckle up my friends, and let’s get to it!

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/throw-away-your-teacher-planner-and-do-this-instead

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

FULL FOCUS PLANNER: https://www.teachonamission.com/planner

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Mandy and the Sustainable Teacher." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more teachers -- just like you -- move toward the sustainable work-teacher-life balance that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

75. How the Flipped Classroom Helps You Reach Post-Pandemic Students Jun 03, 2022

Today’s episode topic on how to reach your post-pandemic students is very similar to and piggy backs off of a recent episode on the same topic, and that would be episode 72, which we have linked in the show notes below so you can go there and give it a listen if you haven’t yet.

In that episode we talked about how our students have changed and how we can respond to those changes in ways that are sustainable for us, the teachers in the room.

This episode is going to continue that conversation with a focus on how aspects of the flipped classroom allow you to be effective with today’s post-pandemic student.

At this time this episode will go live, just a couple weeks ago I was on a Facebook live with a group of teachers where we discussed the topic of how the pandemic has collectively changed students and what trends we are seeing. To summarize what those teachers shared, they see that students are disconnected from learning, and from others, they are less motivated to achieve and learn, and overall just less engaged in the process of school.

And this breaks my teacher-heart.

Now this isn’t to say that all students are behaving this way, but it’s definitely a trend teachers are seeing amongst many of their students.

So, what are we to do?

Well, I’d love to help you with some strategies that will allow the ability and extra time to dedicate to re-engage your students, and connect with them, without having to feel guilty about spending class time doing so. I’ll make suggestions based off of my twelve years of flipping my classroom and helping hundreds of other teachers flip theirs in ways that engaged and empowered their students while preserving their own evenings and weekends for things other than work in the mean time.

After listening to this episode you will have a clear understanding of what aspects of the flipped classroom you want to implement so that you’re prepared to more effectively respond to the needs of your post-pandemic students.

So if you are ready for this discussion and ready to take back your classroom of engaged students, then this episode is for you. And I bet it’s for one or two of your teacher-friends as well. If you agree, go ahead and click that share button and send this episode their way. I so appreciate you taking the time to help me get my message of teacher-sustainability into the ears of more teachers like you.

Alright, let’s get into episode 75, how to reach your post-pandemic students with the flipped classroom.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/how-to-reach-your-post-pandemic-students-continued

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

REGISTER FOR FREE PD: https://www.teachonamission.com/pd

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Mandy and the Sustainable Teacher." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more teachers -- just like you -- move toward the sustainable work-teacher-life balance that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

74. How Flipping Your Classroom Helps Overcome the Game of Grades May 24, 2022

Oh, the game of grades. It’s the toxic consumption of our students' attention only on what grade they are paid with for every little move they make in your classroom rather than on the experience of learning that happens in their brain while a student of yours.

It’s as if you have to pay your students in the currency of grades for any “work” they do in your class, otherwise it won’t get done. As if the work getting done is the goal - NO! It’s not! The learning that happens while doing the work is the goal, and yet our students can’t take their focus away from the work.

So how do overcome this game of grades? How do we make the focus of our classroom on the learning that happens rather than the “work” that leads to grades?

I’ve actually addressed this topic already in episode 30 titled Overcoming the Game of Grades with Your Students. So that episode is very much a precursor to this one. Although it’s not required to listen to episode 30 before proceeding with this one, it’s definitely an episode you want to select “play next” on. I’ve linked episode 30 below in the description of this episode so you can check it out.

This episode is going to focus on how the flipped classroom specifically can help you overcome the game of grades with your students.

In fact, after listening to this episode you will have a laser sharp depiction of what the flipped classroom will do for your classroom culture and the performance of your students because of how it shifts the focus away from grades and onto the learning itself.

I’ll discuss the various aspects of the flipped classroom that you’ll implement when you’re ready to start your flipping journey, and how you’ll see that work pay off as a result in your students’ focus on learning rather than on grades.

If this episode topic is intriguing to you, I would so appreciate you click to share the episode with your teacher-friends. Send it in a text or email, post a screenshot on social media tagging me as @teachonamission, and I so appreciate you helping us get our message of sustainability into the ears of teachers craving to get back to the manageable career they love.

Ok, let’s get to it.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/how-flipping-your-classroom-helps-overcome-the-game-of-grades

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

REGISTER FOR FREE PD: https://www.teachonamission.com/pd

73. The 3 Pros and Cons of Flipping Your Classroom May 17, 2022

“The flipped classroom was a strategy I knew I wanted to implement, but I never saw it coming when my flipped classroom gave my students more access during the pandemic and is now a strategy that provides me more sustainability in my post-pandemic classroom.”

This is a quote from a teacher whom I’ve helped flip their classroom, and seriously, I can’t say it much better than that.

Which is why in this episode I am going to dive into both the benefits and the drawbacks of flipping - at least from the perspective of someone who is considering flipping their classroom and hasn’t quite doven in yet (or maybe you have dabbled in the technique but not gone all in just yet).

After listening to this episode you’ll have a clear understanding of how the flipped classroom makes for a more sustainable and effective classroom in the post-pandemic world, knowing if the strategy is a good fit for you.

Because here’s the thing, although the post-pandemic classroom brings multiple additional hurdles, like students attending your classroom in different ways giving you what equates to more preps, as well as increased absences, and a list too long to get into, the standards are not going away. Which means the expectation is continued effectiveness and performance even though your day is increasingly less sustainable.

And this is the nature of the beast. This is unfortunately the new normal for at least the time being. Not to say that the systemic unsustainability of it all shouldn’t be addressed quickly and effectively, but if you’re anything like me, I’m not one to wait around on other people to make my situation better or what I want it to be.

So if you’re ready to make your post-pandemic classroom more effective for your students (no matter how they attend your class) and more sustainable for you in your daily teaching life, providing you more time at home and with your family, then this episode is for you.

And I’m betting this episode will resonate with one or two of your teacher-friends, and if that’s the case, go ahead and click that share button in the app where you’re listening, or copy the web address if you’re listening on our website, and send this episode over to them. I bet they’ll thank you for it, and I will too because your help in getting our message into the ears of more teachers means the world to me.

Alright, let’s get to the episode on Flipped Classroom Pros and Cons, so grab your pen and paper if you’re a note-taker and let’s get to it.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/the-three-pros-and-cons-of-flipping-your-classroom

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

FLIPPED CLASSROOM FREE PD: https://www.teachonamission.com/pd

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Mandy and the Sustainable Teacher." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more teachers -- just like you -- move toward the sustainable work-teacher-life balance that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

72. How the Pandemic Has Changed Our Students May 12, 2022

The pandemic took all the routines and understandings about school, shook them up in a paper bag, and spit them out with no semblance of what they once were.

At least that’s how some of our students are now behaving.

With student apathy and absences on the rise as expectations and stakes for students and teachers remain the same, we are working through trying times in education.

Education is different. Our students are different. And if we don’t respond to how our students have changed, we will not be as effective with them in our classrooms.

We must change with our students but in a way that does not sacrifice our evenings and weekends to do so. I’m all for changing with the times and responding to the ever changing needs of our students, but I believe it is absolutely contradictory to the system’s success if we do so at the sacrifice of our teachers’ well being. And requiring that they do it all without support will lead to the end of education as a whole because teachers will burn out and new teachers will avoid the career field entirely.

In this episode, we’ll look at how exactly students have changed from living through and going to school through a pandemic, and how as teachers we can respond to those changes without being the sacrificial lamb in the process - that is, we’ll respond to our students’ needs while striving for work-life balance as educators.

This is an important message that I believe and want all educators to hear, and I would SO appreciate you helping me do that… I would love it if you would share this episode with a teacher-friend which will help us spread our message of sustainability for teachers, and hopefully revive the career field a bit during this trying time. I truly appreciate your efforts.

Let’s get started.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/how-the-pandemic-has-changed-our-students-and-how-teachers-can-respond

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

VIP WAITLIST: https://www.teachonamission.com/waitlist

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Mandy and the Sustainable Teacher." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more teachers -- just like you -- move toward the sustainable work-teacher-life balance that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

71. Make the Most of Class Time So You Can Leave On Time May 03, 2022

Quick question for you… when you were in college as a pre-service teacher, making your preparations to become a teacher, taking all your education classes, did you ever take a class on how to lecture?

Me neither.

Another question, when you were assigned to make plans for an entire unit, like a curriculum map for a unit in one of those college classes, did you plan to lecture in class 80%+ of the time and say that out loud to your class?

Yeah, me neither.

That’s because as a pre-service teacher you were being trained on how to best help your students through the learning process, you spent thousands of dollars on your education to become the expert on the learning process, and now that you are actively in the classroom, let’s face it… you’re an overpaid lecturer if that’s all you do.

Oh man. I may have just ticked off a lot of people, but let me explain real fast.

I don’t believe lecturing is bad. Seriously, I don’t. Some of the best teachers I ever had were artists at lecturing and I learned SO much. It’s a form of content delivery, and I still do it in my own classroom.

But here’s the thing. We are trained professionals in the art of learning, and the art of learning that consists of our students just sitting there and getting the information from us is NOT THE hardest parts of learning. So why are we spending so much of our time and energy on the easiest parts of learning?????

This is the topic I’m going to dive into in today’s episode of the Sustainable Teacher Podcast, and I hope you’re ready to join me for it.

If you are, be sure to grab the link to this episode and let one of your teacher-friends know that you’re about to give it a listen, and they should too. I so appreciate your help in getting our message out to other teachers that you, the teacher in the room, are a total B-A, and deserve the sustainable classroom of your dreams.

So let’s get to it.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/make-the-most-of-class-time-so-you-can-leave-on-time

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

FLIPPED CLASSROOM STARTER KIT: https://www.teachonamission.com/starterkit

FLIPPED CLASSROOM FORMULA™ WAITLIST: https://www.teachonamission.com/waitlist

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Mandy and the Sustainable Teacher." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more teachers -- just like you -- move toward the sustainable work-teacher-life balance that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

70. How I Accidentally Monetized My Flipped Classroom Apr 26, 2022

I don’t know if I’ve ever told the full story of how I flipped my classroom and what happened once I had flipped. You know, like the whole story, start to finish. Sure, I’ve told it in bits and pieces as was applicable to the episode or post on our website, but not the story in its entirety.

Well, buckle up because I’m going to share it in this episode with a focus on the absolutely unexpected surprise I got in my inbox shortly after publishing my first videos, and the surprise that just keeps on giving now that I’m 12 years past flipping for the first time.

After listening to this episode you’ll see the bonus, and what was hidden advantage of flipping your classroom that may or may not be a perk to you, but at least lets you know the possibilities of flipping so that you can make the most informed choice for your unique classroom. You’ll be ready to start flipping and see the worldwide impact, yes worldwide impact, you can have with your new classroom that surpasses the limitations of its four walls.

Even if this idea of monetizing your flipped classroom is of zero interest to you, the potential global impact might be. Not to mention how prepared you’ll feel for any and all of your current and future students who someday could be reporting to you in any number of ways, not just in person. And I firmly stand my ground here that flipping your classroom is the BEST way to make your content accessible to your varyingly attending students while remaining sustainable for you.

So if this sounds like something you want to learn more about, well, teacher-friend this episode is for you. And, it might be for one of your teacher-friends as well. So if you could, please grab this episode link or a link to the show and share it with your friends, and I so appreciate you for it.

Alright, let’s get to this episode.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/how-i-accidentally-monetized-my-flipped-classroom

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

STARTER KIT: https://www.teachonamission.com/starterkit

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Mandy and the Sustainable Teacher." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more teachers -- just like you -- move toward the sustainable work-teacher-life balance that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

69. The No.1 Thing You Need to Flip Your Classroom Apr 19, 2022

The most common question I get from teachers about making a more sustainable classroom or flipping their classroom is “Where do I start?”

You may be asking yourself this question before you even considering if flipping your classroom is something you want to do, and I think you are absolutely justified in doing so because you want to know if it will be worth your time.

Well, when I answer this question, and what I’ll lay out for you in this episode is the fact that how you start your classroom is not just the answer to how you get started with step one, it’s also the exact thing you should be focusing on for each and every step you take and decision you make in your flipped classroom.

What that means is that when you take this first step toward flipping your classroom, you’re also helping your future self by making each and every other step in the flipping process that much easier to take - saving you time and headache in the process.

After listening to this episode you’ll have taken the first and, what I would argue, most important step in flipping your classroom, putting you one huge step closer to the classroom of your teacher-dreams with engaged and accountable students, a classroom that lights you up and runs so well that you don’t need to work on evenings and weekends.

Because you know better than anyone that teaching right now is hard. And we’re being told the solution is to hustle harder, work more, care more, and engage them more. Evidence of the “great resignation” is showing us that teachers have had enough of the narrative that in order to be effective in the classroom that they need to be the ones doing more. Together, we can challenge this narrative and show our colleagues, new teachers coming into the field, and even administrators that we can have more by doing less - we can do more by streamlining. And this episode will explore how.

Let’s get to it.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/the-no-1-thing-you-need-to-flip-your-classroom

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

STARTER KIT: https://www.teachonamission.com/starterkit

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Mandy and the Sustainable Teacher." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more teachers -- just like you -- move toward the sustainable work-teacher-life balance that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

68. Working Through the Shame Behind Teacher Burnout Apr 12, 2022

Welcome back to the Sustainable Teacher Podcast, or welcome for the first time if this is the first episode of the show that you’re listening to. Either way, I’m so happy to have you listening in. And I’m going to start off by saying that this episode will be a healthy dose of tough love.

I have all the love for my people - and my people are teachers. They are educators through and through, and I love them. But I also have tough love for you today. And I’ll say that a dose of tough love might not be exactly what you want today. Heck, it might not be what you need, because you really need an open ear to vent to. And that’s healthy as well, but unfortunately, on this platform I can’t be that listening ear, so I encourage you to go and find it. We have our Sustainable Teacher Podcast private community on Facebook that you are welcome to join and find a safe place to vent and express your concerns. Be sure to find that link in the description below where you’re listening.

Ok, are you ready for the tough love that’s wrapped in a hug and a strong look in the eye?… There is no shame in feeling burned out as a teacher. None at all. But it’s time to do something about it and decide if you’re in this or not.

Ok, there it was. Tough love is not easy, because it’s tough. But it’s still love and it’s necessary. Now, I’m not saying this to say get the heck out, NOW! I’m also not saying that you will be ready to decide to do something about it right now. But for some listeners, maybe you, this is the perfect time because you NEED to do something about your burn out. You need to take a moment or a day or a few days to focus on what it is that’s burning you out, and not live in it anymore. Stop letting your day’s worth be determined by what’s burning you out, and instead do something about it.

After listening to this episode you will be relieved of your shame within being burned out as a teacher, as well as have a clear path BACK to the career you love IF that is the path you wish to choose.

Because here’s the truth - teaching is so incredibly hard right now. Teaching is always hard through major historical events, and those events are not going away anytime soon. So how do we find our constant amongst all the unpredictable in a way that allows us to love what we do? This is the larger question that I hope this podcast helps you answer, but this episode is meant to help you decide if you can bounce back from your burn out. Because screw the shame. It’s time to take a few steps that I’ll outline in this episode for whenever you’re ready to take them that will lead you back to the career you love. Or not - because it is your choice. No shame involved.

So buckle your seat belts for an episode of tough love and guidance - I’m not just going to lecture the whole episode - but hope to impart some inspiration to act.

Here we go.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/working-through-the-shame-behind-teacher-burnout

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

STARTER KIT: https://www.teachonamission.com/starterkit

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Mandy and the Sustainable Teacher." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more teachers -- just like you -- move toward the sustainable work-teacher-life balance that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

67. What I'm Reading: My Top 5 Recommended Reads Apr 05, 2022

I recently was driving in the car sans children so it was very peaceful and serene. Not to say my time in the car with my three boys isn’t wonderful - it’s just a louder version of wonderful where I don’t get to sit in quiet or do what I ended up doing on this particular drive which is downloading a book that I forgot I had waiting for me on Audible and click play.

I’m going to recommend this particular book to you in this episode so I will talk more about it later, but for now I need to share how the book struck me in a way I was not anticipating.

So I’m driving along and I’m listening in as the author tells a story and brings wisdom to something I had been feeling for most of my life, and she gave such clarity I didn’t know I needed. I was even brought to tears - not tears of sorrow necessarily but tears of feeling seen in what I thought was just all in my head.

And the book, so aptly named, is Jennie Allen’s Get Out Of Your Head: Stopping the Spiral of Toxic Thoughts.

The book title doesn’t necessarily matter for the purpose of me bringing it up in the intro of this episode. What matters is a few key things that will serve as another part of this episode where we talk about what we teachers can get out of our reading when there seems to be no time and no energy left over to do anything for ourselves… even picking up a book.

Those key things are this:

I wasn’t reading the book, I was listening to it, and that didn’t make the message and lesson I received from the book any less meaningful.
Reading this book wasn’t an added item on my to-do list, and yet I was happy to be doing it without the overwhelm of needing to do something else more meaningful or productive.
This book was one after quite a large stack of books that were either unread in my nightstand or completely abandoned, nor did it have anything to do with my profession.

I’ll get into each of these items, plus some, and recommend my top 5 recent reads, but the goal is that after listening to this episode you’ll not only have that list of 5 recommended reads from me, but also some strategies or practices I’ve used to maintain some semblance of reading of books amidst the craziness of life, raising a family, and running a business while teaching part-time.

Because here’s my truth or reality I want to get across to you listening today. Before all of the commitments I hold near and dear to my heart in my life right now - being a mother of three boys, a principal’s wife, running a business and teaching, plus a few others - I read almost non-stop. Then my reading came to a crashing halt when I became a teacher, and then even more so when I became a mother. And for some reason I felt guilty about that. As if it was the indicator of the fact that I’m NOT able to do it all.

This may seem like a nothing topic to you, which that’s totally fine, but I’ve learned a few things over the last five to ten years that I’ve reflected on and want to share from a place that is a working-mom-teacher perspective.

So, if you’re ready to join me, I would so love it if you took a moment to share this episode with a friend - and this time it doesn’t only have to be a teacher-friend. You can click on the share button where you’re listening, and send the episode in a text or email, or even share it on social media. It would mean the world to me.

Alright, let’s get to it.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/what-i-m-reading-right-now

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

FULL FOCUS PLANNER: https://www.teachonamission.com/planner

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Mandy and the Sustainable Teacher." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more teachers -- just like you -- move toward the sustainable work-teacher-life balance that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

66. A Sustainably Epic Classroom with Trevor Muir Mar 29, 2022

Hey there teacher-friend and welcome back to the Sustainable Teacher Podcast, I’m so glad you’ve chosen to join us today, and man have you picked a good episode to land on. I am so excited to have Trevor Muir on the podcast today.

Trevor’s roots are as a high school English teacher, and is now teacher, author, and speaker. He is the author of the books The Epic Classroom and The Collaborative Classroom. Trevor is a teacher at Grand Valley State University, was a national faculty member for the Buck Institute for Education, and is one of the Andrew Gomez Dream Foundation speakers. His work has been featured in the Huffington Post, Edutopia, EdWeek, and WeAreTeachers. He gave a TED Talk titled, "School Should Take Place in the Real World," at TEDxSanAntonio. Trevor’s Facebook page, The Epic Classroom, has inspiring videos that have been viewed over 30 million times. At the heart of Trevor’s work is the conviction that every student has the potential for greatness, and every teacher can be equipped to unlock that potential.

This episode is sure to light you up as a teacher, giving you inspiration and fuel for your own sustainability, but it also offers practical take-action pieces you’re sure to find valuable.

Before we get started, take a moment to click on the three dots or share icon to share this episode with a friend. If you’ve listened to an episode with us before or this is your first time, we would so appreciate you taking a moment to help us get in the ears of other teachers with this never more important message that teachers matter, and their sustainability matters. We so appreciate you.

Ok. Without further ado, here’s Trevor Muir.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/leading-a-sustainably-epic-classroom-with-trevor-muir

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER CHALLENGE: https://www.teachonamission.com/sustainableteacherchallenge

TREVOR’S LINKS

PODCAST: https://www.trevormuir.com/podcasts/the-epic-classroom-with-trevor-muir

WEBSITE: https://www.trevormuir.com/

65. Do You Need a Teacher Desk Revamp? Mar 22, 2022

One year I got a wild hair and reduced my teacher desk to the size of a cafe table. You know, like the ones you stand next to at a wedding reception or have a coffee over at the local coffee shop. Yes, about a two-foot space. I sure was up on my high horse that year thinking, “I don’t need a big space because my classroom is student-centered”, mmmmhmm.

It was cute and all, but I didn’t have any space to relax, which is what my teacher-desk was used for briefly during my planning period or other break times during the day, yes, even during class when I had a minute.

In fact, that was my space’s main purpose. To be a small, but mighty space for me to be able to just sit and take care of a few things when I had a moment. But I didn't know that until the space was gone. So I quickly switched back to a regular table sized desk, but made sure that the space served it’s main purpose - allowed me to get work done and to relax a bit amidst the chaos of daily teaching.

So, teacher-friend, in this episode we’ll be talking over ways you can give your desk a little revamp, know if it’s needed in the first place, and then make sure that your space is what you need it to be.

If you love this episode or any of our recent episodes on the show, we would so appreciate it if you would click the share button where you’re listening and send it to a teacher-friend, helping us reach more teachers with the message that their sustainability is our top priority.

Let’s get to it.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/do-you-need-a-teacher-desk-revamp

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

FULL FOCUS PLANNER: https://www.teachonamission.com/planner

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Mandy and the Sustainable Teacher." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more teachers -- just like you -- move toward the sustainable work-teacher-life balance that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

64. Overcoming the Struggles of Teacher-Mom Life Mar 15, 2022

You know the age old tale of what it’s like to be a first, second or even third year teacher and all the hustle and grind that it is. You get to work before 6 AM and you leave sometime after five or 6 PM and probably still have more papers to grade or lessons to plan once you get home and a lot to do on the weekends. And that’s just to keep your head above water.

As if those first years of teaching aren’t bad enough it’s as if the universe looked at me and said just wait. At the start of my fourth year of teaching I became a mother and everything changed.

Suddenly what had been my absolute top priority, which was teaching even above my marriage, sad to say it but true because I’m such a workhorse and so professionally focused, but motherhood shook the bedrock, if you will, of my priorities. And I had no clue how to deal with that when my identity had been so wrapped up in who I was as a teacher.

And that is where this episode comes into play. Really that is what has inspired this episode and a lot of my thinking around the subject of being both a teacher and a parent.

In fact, after listening to this episode you will be encouraged as a teacher mom or teacher dad, feeling heard and seen knowing the impact of the two amazing roles you play on this earth.

Now you may be someone who is not a parent yet or doesn’t plan to be but I do hope that this episode gives you a glimpse into the struggles of what it is to be both a parent and a teacher because those are two very unique roles that an educator could play at some point in their lives.

It’s also important because, and here’s the truth, you’re essentially raising a lot of children not just your own and so to balance those, both with your time and in your mindset and how you are emotionally, is no easy task and so I hope that this episode can be an encouraging one for you but also a practical one in helping you take on both of these amazing roles.

Before we get started though if you know of a teacher who is also a parent I would so love it if you would share this episode with them. Click on the share button where you’re listening and you can send it to them via email or in a text message letting them know “hey this episode was made for you.” Plus I would so appreciate you helping us get into the ears of more teachers with our message of encouragement and sustainability in their daily teaching lives.

Let’s get to it.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/the-struggles-of-teacher-mom-life

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

FLIPPED CLASSROOM STARTER KIT: https://www.teachonamission.com/starterkit

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Mandy and the Sustainable Teacher." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more teachers -- just like you -- move toward the sustainable work-teacher-life balance that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

63. Student Reflection: How You Make It Happen Mar 08, 2022

Welcome to the Sustainable Teacher and what is part two of this series on student reflection. Last week we discussed the what and the when, so be sure to go back and give episode 62 a listen if you haven’t already, and today’s episode we’re focusing on the how of student reflection.

Now, if you’re anything like me and the hundreds of teachers I’ve worked with, you already are feeling a bit anxious about spending class time on student reflection rather than content, so it’s important to make sure the student reflection is efficient while remaining authentic. Last week I gave tips on how you can keep the reflection authentic, and today we’ll talk about how to keep it efficient and effective.

After listening to this episode, you’ll have a clear picture of how you can implement effective and time efficient student reflection strategies in your classroom so that your students are empowered in their learning and investing more in the learning process that will ultimately impact their confidence and their scores in your class.

So let’s get right to it.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/student-reflection-how-you-make-it-happen

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

CAMTASIA: https://www.teachonamission.com/camtasia

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Mandy and the Sustainable Teacher." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more teachers -- just like you -- move toward the sustainable work-teacher-life balance that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

62. Student Reflection: What It Could Look Like Mar 01, 2022

Here at Teach On A Mission and the Sustainable Teacher, we believe that building a sustainable classroom includes a very important player… which is, your students. Empowering your students as learners is one of the most sustaining strategies you can implement in your classroom.

And that is what today’s episode is all about, empowering students in the reflection process, showing you exactly what student reflection can look like, giving you practical strategies to get your students doing some meaningful reflection tomorrow.

Because you know the value of hard work in the learning process, you understand the connection between effortful processing and performance on assessments, you understand the value in engaging in your classroom.

Students don’t always see that, you know this. You also know that telling them the value in all of these things isn’t going to do it for many of them.

Enter stage left, reflection that helps students make the effort-to-performance connection. Now it’s not going to solve world hunger or all the issues in your classroom. But it will certainly serve many of your students in ways that help them own their learning and take initiative to engage and work hard in the learning process you lay out for them.

And that is my hope for you in today’s episode, teacher friend.

I should mention that this episode is part one in a two part series. In this episode, we’ll focus on the when and what of student reflection, what it looks like to actually empower your students through reflection. And next week, we’ll talk about the how - what it actually looks like to get students reflecting and how it can serve and empower them.

So let’s get to it.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/student-reflection-what-it-could-look-like

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

CAMTASIA: https://www.teachonamission.com/camtasia

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Mandy and the Sustainable Teacher." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more teachers -- just like you -- move toward the sustainable work-teacher-life balance that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

61. The Year of Enough Feb 22, 2022

Never before has there been a time where more teachers have had enough, and I'm betting it's because they don't feel that they are enough - ever.

Enough is my one-word for 2022.

Not enough, in that I’ve had enough, and am at my wit’s end - although maybe I am with certain things - but, no, it’s more about my mindset and accepting that I am doing enough, I have enough, and it is a glorious and beautiful thing.

Although we spend most of the air time on this podcast on sustainability in the classroom, we also want to speak to your lifestyle and personal lives in the name of talking to the whole you. And in that light, this episode will be dedicated to the personal side of things, and less about teaching.

In today’s episode, I am going to talk about the idea of seeing the world and our teaching lives through the lens that what we have is enough, it is just what we need, and that what we are doing is enough.

After listening to this episode, my hope is that you will feel restful and content in knowing that what you are doing is enough and that you don’t have to exhaust yourself physically and mentally in order to feel as though you are valuable or making an impact with your students.

So if you’re ready for a pick me up that is simultaneously a calm the heck down kind of episode, then you are in the right place.

Now, if you find yourself nodding your head right now, ready for this message, you might know another teacher who would feel the same way. So if you haven’t yet, or even if you have, please share this podcast. Share it with your colleagues and other teacher-friends as we attempt to spread our message of sustainability to teachers, helping them know they are enough as well.

Ok, let’s get to it.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/the-year-of-enough

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

FLIPPED CLASSROOM WEBINAR: https://www.teachonamission.com/camtasia

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Mandy and the Sustainable Teacher." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more teachers -- just like you -- move toward the sustainable work-teacher-life balance that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

60. Binder, Interactive Notebook, Digital Notebook, OH MY! Feb 15, 2022

In last week’s episode, where I talked about streamlining your content in order to have the time to actually put relationships first, the main recommendation was to put your content delivery into video. There are many reasons why, and if you haven’t yet, be sure to go back and listen to those suggestions, but this week’s episode on creating one space for your students is in the same vein as streamlining your content.

Are we going to talk about Binders, Interactive Notebooks, and Digital Notebooks, oh my? You betcha.

But this episode is more about streamlining your classroom, especially the aspects of it that are student facing, so you can use more of your time focusing on what matters - connecting with your students.

So what we’re going to streamline today is what, rather where, exactly our students house all of their materials and necessities for our class, and go over the purposes of this one spot for your students.

As chaotic as things have felt in the recent years, it’s very clear that having so many places and so many spots for turning in work, housing work, or just keeping items for reference is a stressor for kiddos, but also for us as their teachers, especially when it comes to grading that work.

In this episode we’ll talk about declaring one spot for your students and what that one spot could be because having ONE spot to go to is better than many when it comes to managing your students' work in a virtual or in-person classroom.

After listening to this episode you’ll feel empowered to simplify what we call the student experience of your classroom by creating one central spot for your students so that it can create a more sustainable work flow for them and for you.

Let’s get to it.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/binder-interactive-notebook-digital-notebook-oh-my

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

FLIPPED CLASSROOM WEBINAR: https://www.teachonamission.com/register

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Mandy and the Sustainable Teacher." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more teachers -- just like you -- move toward the sustainable work-teacher-life balance that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

59. What It Looks Like to Really Put Relationships First Feb 08, 2022

When asking a group of teachers what has the most impact on their students’ performance in their classroom, the resounding answer I’ve heard in my career is without a doubt relationships - building relationships with our students that lets them know we are rooting for them, guiding them, and that allows them to trust us and invest in the course and what we’re asking them to do.

As much as we recognize that relationships have the most powerful impact on moving the needle with our students, all the other aspects of teaching that pile up in a day take precedence over taking the time to build relationships.

In today’s episode, I have a proposal on what it could look like to actually make relationship building a top priority. And if there were a calendar of how you spent time in your classroom, this proposal I have for you would allow you to spend more time working one-on-one with your students, and ultimately building relationships than any other item on your docket.

After listening to this episode you’ll know the best way to streamline the content delivery of your course, what ultimately takes up the most time, am I right?, so that focusing on students and not feeling guilty spending time building relationships with each of them is a real thing that happens in your classroom on a regular basis.

Because here’s the thing. As the teacher in the room, you want to know your students. You’ve felt the pressure of doing everything else other than just getting to know your students, and it’s time that you actually have time to focus on building relationships without feeling like you’re wasting time doing it - without feeling like you’re missing out on pressure time spent on the content.

I can’t wait to let you in on this strategy. Let’s get to it.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/what-it-looks-like-to-put-relationships-first

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

FLIPPED CLASSROOM WEBINAR: https://www.teachonamission.com/register

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Mandy and the Sustainable Teacher." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more teachers -- just like you -- move toward the sustainable work-teacher-life balance that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

58. My Goals, Planner & Calendar System Feb 01, 2022

You’ve heard the saying out-of-sight-out-of-mind, which in most contexts refers to distraction tactics of an infant or toddler. But I’m here to burst everyone’s bubble and say that out-of-sight-out-of-mind is a very real occurrence for adults, especially when it comes to our goals, but not in a good way like it is for toddlers.

Instead of being able to use it to our advantage, though, the out-of-sight-out-of-mind concept robs us of accomplishing our goals each year if they aren’t something that has to do with our daily lives or we’re otherwise trying to get outside our comfort zone.

For instance, it’s easier for someone to accomplish a goal of working out everyday if they work at a gym. They have the constant reminder and opportunity. But for a teacher, especially when it comes to their personal goals, we are so focused on what we do as educators everyday and then don’t have much mental space leftover to focus on our goals at the end of each day or week.

What this means is that we may do a great job at the beginning of the calendar year or school year making goals for ourselves or our careers, but then the daily grind of teaching hits, and we are too exhausted to focus any more time or effort on what really is very important to us.

In this episode I want to provide some steps you can take to change that. To help you take those goals you make in January or at the beginning of the school year, and plan them out so that they are NOT out-of-sight-out-of-mind, but instead you’re using your planner and calendar system to visit your goals regularly.

After listening to this episode you’ll go from feeling defeated in accomplishing your goals (whether personal or professional) to knowing you’ve got it in the bag when it comes to concrete steps I provide for you to keep those goals in your sights and in your mind throughout the year no matter the daily teacher hustle.

Before we get to today’s episode, I have a favor to ask of you. If you are enjoying the content of this podcast and feel that it provides value to your teaching or personal life, I would so appreciate it if you helped us reach other teacher who might find value in our message as well. You can do that in a few simple steps.

First, you can subscribe to and rate this podcast.

Second, you can click to share this episode or any episode you’ve enjoyed, and email or text it to your teacher-friends. We are but a small group of current and former teachers working to support teachers in building sustainable classrooms so they can live the life they want WHILE remaining in the classroom, and you helping us reach more teachers who want that means so much to us.

Alright, now let’s get to the episode.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/my-goals-planner-calendar

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

FLIPPED CLASSROOM STARTER KIT: https://www.teachonamission.com/starterkit

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Mandy and the Sustainable Teacher." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more teachers -- just like you -- move toward the sustainable work-teacher-life balance that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

57. Using Tests to Your Advantage Jan 25, 2022

A great sports quote I saw recently asked “Which player are you?” and then said “Bad players don’t take much seriously. Average players take games seriously. Good players take practice & games seriously. Great players take academics, nutrition, warm-ups, individual work, weight room, conditioning, film, practice & games seriously.”

I love this quote because it flies in the face of what is part of the demise of recent generations and the age old saying “kids these days” who need instant gratification for any action they take. When we see all the greats in sports, or any performance-oriented task, we only see their greatness. Sure, we hear the cool stories of perseverance like how Michael Jordan was cut from the high school basketball team and went on to be the best player who ever played, but we don’t see the thousands of hours they put in to get to their greatness.

And even if someone does take on this mindset in sports, that to be great you have to care about all aspects of what will make you great, it seems even less common for someone to take on this mindset about succeeding in school, and ultimately doing well on tests.

Now, I’m not saying that in your one classroom you should focus on teaching students about taking care of themselves down to the final detail of nutrition and sleep. Sure, it can be something to address and promote with students, afterall, we are teaching the whole student. But what I am saying is that there is a way to help you students make the connection between what they do in your classroom and their tests. Better put, there’s a way to help students see the effort to performance ratio. In that, the more effective effort they put in to your class, the more their performance indicators (tests and grades) will show that.

It’s the same as saying to a player, the more you focus on working hard at practice and taking care of yourself, the better you will be in games… where it really matters.

So, in the spirit of the title of this episode, how about we use tests to our (and our students') advantage, much like athletes use the game (what is ultimately their test) to their advantage?

In this episode I’ve got three ways for you to use tests to your advantage in order to help shift the mindset of your students to clearly understand the connection between their hard work of learning and their performance on tests, ultimately giving you more accountable and empowered students so you can focus on building those connections and relationships.

So let’s get to it.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/using-tests-to-your-advantage

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

FLIPPED CLASSROOM STARTER KIT: https://www.teachonamission.com/starterkit

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Mandy and the Sustainable Teacher." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more teachers -- just like you -- move toward the sustainable work-teacher-life balance that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

56. Top 5 Attributes of a Sustainable Classroom Culture Jan 18, 2022

Welcome back to the Sustainable Teacher Podcast for episode 56, the Top 5 Attributes of a Sustainable Classroom Culture, and here’s the very first thing I want to say.

I think there should be an entire college course on classroom culture. I don’t say that about many things. I teach Intro to Educational Technology, and I think a course on classroom culture should come first. And here’s why… because it’s one of the top, if not THE top factor that will determine your sustainability and impact in your career.

It’s this awesome mix of knowing what you believe as an educator and making sure you always act from that space, helping you to recognize that your impact is greater than any mastered standard or test score.

So, I’ve got five of them for you today, and they each have a message of sorts that you could be sending to your students. And they are a part of a sustainable classroom culture because they compromise the messages, systems, beliefs and actions of your classroom that determine how your students will leave it feeling.

What these attributes look like in your classroom is what is unique about the culture you develop. This episode will give you the attributes and the resounding messages, but how those live out and present themselves in your classroom is up to you. And that’s a really cool part of what we do… that is, teacher autonomy… one of my favorite things about what we do as educators.

The attributes are in no particular order, nor is any one of them dependent upon or more significant than any other.

But here’s my goal for you… that after listening to this episode you’ll feel a certain level of teacher-bad-ass :). Truly. I want you to feel gung-ho and confident in your influence and impact with students through each of these messages you send through your classroom culture, all knowing that these messages are ones that will last the longest, longer than any amount of content.

Before we get started, if you have been listening to this podcast for some time now or have found an episode or two that you love (and hopefully this will be one of them), I would so appreciate you taking a brief moment to share this podcast with your teacher friends. Click the three dots in the upper right corner (sometimes it’s the side arrow share button) in the app where you’re listening and text or email any episode to your teacher-friend across the hall, your lunch table friend, or even that awesome educator you’ve connected with on Instagram. It really would mean the world to me and all of the teachers here at Teach On A Mission.

Alright, let’s get to it.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/top-5-attributes-of-my-classroom-culture

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

FLIPPED CLASSROOM STARTER KIT: https://www.teachonamission.com/starterkit

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Mandy and the Sustainable Teacher." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more teachers -- just like you -- move toward the sustainable work-teacher-life balance that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

55. Do You Really Want a Job You Don't Take Home? Jan 11, 2022

As I’m sitting to write this episode, I’m in an approximately six square feet space in the cab of our pick up truck pulling our camper on our way home from our Christmas vacation with three boys and our dog. I’m reflecting on what was by far our best camper-trip yet as it was at the beginning of winter and was full of sunshine which we midwesterners aren’t used to in December.

It was a great refresh.

But you know what I thought about quite a bit? Work.

Not in a way that was stifling to my or my family’s enjoying the trip. Not at all. We just had a lot of relaxation time. And that meant my mind was able to wonder and think and plan.

And it reminded me of how I was with my classroom when on a break or vacation.

When I was able to step back from it, I was able to think about it in a clearer way. I was able to work on my classroom rather than in my classroom.

In today’s episode, I’m asking you the question, in a very non-rhetorical way, do you really want a job you don’t have to take home, because taking too much work home is unsustainable, and leads to burn out quickly. But I’d like to offer some points to ponder in answering this question so we’re able to shift how we think about the work we take home and even value it.

After listening to this episode you’ll have a much more sustainable understanding of what work to take home and how that work can fuel your sustainability overall, leaving you with a new found love for your evenings, weekends, and long holiday breaks.

Because taking work home everyday or weekend is unsustainable, but work that fuels your sustainability when you have the opportunity to work at home can help keep you in the classroom while present at home longer.

Let’s get to it.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/do-you-really-want-a-job-you-don-t-have-to-take-home

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER CONFERENCE: https://www.eventcreate.com/e/stc

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Mandy and the Sustainable Teacher." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more teachers -- just like you -- move toward the sustainable work-teacher-life balance that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

54. Revisiting Your Teacher Why in 2022 Jan 04, 2022

Last semester I had the privilege of working with mostly freshman students at a local university in an Introduction to Educational Technology course. This was one of the very first education courses many of my students were taking, and I appreciated the perspective of a college student with next to no experience in education, but the drive to know as much as they could about strategies and best practices to implement in their future classrooms.

What I discovered in conversations with many of my students is that although they hadn’t much experience yet, they all had stories and the first stages of what will become their why as teachers.

Now you may be someone who knows your why, is grounded in it, and acts from that space more days than not. But you also could be someone who hasn’t had the time to consider what your why might be because, seriously, who’s got time for that right?!?

Whether you are a teacher who’s known your why for a decade or hasn’t yet discovered it, I would like to revisit a few common why stories of teachers, and even share a few personal stories so as to inspire you to know its importance and to own your why to the fullest. It really is one of the best things you can do in reaching for sustainability in your daily teaching life.

After listening to this episode you’ll have a renewed sense of your foundation as an educator because of the common teacher-whys that I’ll share and the personal stories of educators finding and living their why in their classrooms.

I’ll even recommend a book I love on this topic and share an awesome opportunity I have coming up that all educators will want to take advantage of as we start the new year.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/your-why-revisited

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER CONFERENCE: https://www.eventcreate.com/e/stc

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Mandy and the Sustainable Teacher." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more teachers -- just like you -- move toward the sustainable work-teacher-life balance that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

53. Classroom Culture & Rigor with Andrew Sharos Nov 30, 2021

Welcome back to the Sustainable Teacher Podcast, I am your host, Mandy Rice, a ten year teacher turned biggest teacher supporter in building sustainable classrooms so you can stay there longer, and today on the show we have Andrew Sharos, the author of Finding Lifelines and All 4s and 5s, a teacher then administrator, and now an administrator and teacher and school supporter, providing professional development and support to schools around the country.

In today’s episode, Andrew and I are talking about his book, All 4s and 5s, whose title is referring to the highest scores a student can get on the AP Exam. For those who don’t know, AP stands for Advanced Placement, and is a global curriculum in over 30 courses run by an organization called CollegeBoard, and at the end of each course, in the month of May, across the world, hundreds of thousands of students take a summative test to prove how much they learned in that course. That test is scored on a scale of 1 to 5, and most college and universities will accept a three or higher for at least some, in some cases a substantial, amount of college credit.

I personally took two AP courses and tests, AP U.S. History and AP Psychology, got a 4 on both of them, earning the equivalent of 4 college courses of credit saving my family and I thousands of dollars.

But here’s the thing.... This episode and this book we’ll be chatting about is NOT, I repeat, is NOT exclusively for Advanced Placement teachers. No, not at all.

This episode and Andrew’s book is for any teacher who wants to build a classroom culture that is not each kid against each other, but instead is, as Andrew explains it, us together versus the test.

If you are an educator who wants to understand and master the technique that allows you to rise above just being a top expert in your content, yet allows you to still get great student outcomes, then this episode is for you.

And stay tuned until the end when I talk about a giveaway you won’t want to miss.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/classroom-culture-and-rigor-with-andrew-sharos

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

ALL 4S AND 5S BOOK: http://andrewsharos.com/the-book-all-4s-and-5s

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Mandy and Sustainable Teacher." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more teachers -- just like you -- move toward the sustainable work-teacher-life balance that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

52. 3 Tips to Clean Up Email: Teacher Tech Series Part Four Nov 23, 2021

Kids have just left your room, you grab your lunch from the fridge and decide to have a working lunch (because, yes, those are ok to have every once in a while) in the peace and quiet of your empty classroom, and as you sit down and open your laptop, you immediately lose all semblance of peace and quiet when you open your email to find 15 new emails amid your inbox that already has over 200 messages needing your attention.

Among those emails are no less than a few reminding you of past emails you have not responded to yet, and there goes your peaceful and lite working lunch.

Much like we talked about in last week’s episode referring to project management and all the roles we fill as teachers, we are filling the position of around 5 people. It’s high time we start acting like someone who fulfills 5 positions by using a project management tool, and by streamlining how we handle our email inbox.

After listening to this episode you’ll be ready to tackle what is possibly the most triggering tab you have open right now… your email inbox, so that you can feel less mental clutter, and better able to handle the onslaught of inquiries that come your way on a daily basis, leaving you with more head space and time to focus on what matters most.

In this episode I’ll be giving your three tips to manage your email inbox more efficiently, so grab your pen and paper, because you won’t want to miss the mental decluttering that’s about to go down.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/teacher-tech-series-part-four-3-tips-to-clean-up-email

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

FLIPPED CLASSROOM WEBINAR: https://www.teachonamission.com/flippingwebinar

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Mandy and Sustainable Teacher." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more teachers -- just like you -- move toward the sustainable work-teacher-life balance that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

51. Calendar & Project Management: Teacher Tech Series Part Three Nov 16, 2021

You’ve already taken the big step in being more efficient with your lesson planning by doing it digitally like we talked about back in episode 50, now it’s time to take it one step further, and really it just makes sense to take it one step further with your time and task management as a teacher. Here’s the truth, as much as what we do in helping kids learn can be super simple, as educators we have plenty of spinning plates in the air. We are in charge of lots of projects and other moving parts of our day, leaving us with somewhere around ten things we’re managing at any given time. There’s got to be a better way to manage all that we do other than in a paper planner or calendar.

Because, here’s the thing… The management of time and tasks is the greatest low-grade, yet constant stressor of life, is it not? Especially for teachers. The autonomy we have as teachers is truly one of the best aspects of the career field in my opinion, but the inability to think long term and manage the creation of an entire year’s worth of curriculum, lessons, activities, projects, assessments, etc. will stifle the impact of any educator. So it’s high time we streamline our time and project management as teachers. And I’ve got a few ways to help you do just that.

In this episode I’m going to give you three ways to streamline your calendar and use a project management tool. Each of the three suggestions build off of each other - you could implement all three if you’d like, or you could take each one as a baby step along the path of project management in your teaching life. The first tip I give (let’s call it step one) being the smallest and easiest to implement, then step two is a bit bigger of a step, and same with step three, the third tip I recommend because it’s adopting an entirely new system. Now, some of you may already be rocking the third tip I give in project management, but for others it may be quite the gigantic leap of faith to get into it, but either way, I hope this episode and my recommendations are ones that feel actionable at some point in your teaching career. Maybe not today, and that’s ok, but definitely some time soon.

After listening to this episode you’ll be energized by at least three actionable steps you can take in reaching more efficiency with your time and task management, whether that’s individually or as a team of teachers.

So when you’re ready, and you may want to open your notes app or get out your trusty flair pen and notepad, let’s get into these recommendations for better time and project management.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/teacher-tech-series-part-three-calendar-and-project-management

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

FLIPPED CLASSROOM WEBINAR: https://www.teachonamission.com/flippingwebinar

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Mandy and Sustainable Teacher." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more teachers -- just like you -- move toward the sustainable work-teacher-life balance that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

50. Digital Lesson Plans: Teacher Tech Series Part Two Nov 12, 2021

When I first started teaching, I hated lesson planning. I loved teaching from day one, but when I had to sit down and write out plans I was doing it on someone else’s terms (meaning it wasn’t in the format that was helpful to me), and I knew by writing it down I would look at it once and then have to redo it again next year.

I hate doing things twice.

That’s when I stopped writing my lesson plans on paper and kept them completely digital. Most teams I worked on did the same, which gave us a huge advantage because then our plans were sharable. That’s a total game changer when it comes to collaboration for a team - seriously, it was beautiful.

Collaboration and team planning is one of the biggest benefits to digital lesson plans, but there are many others, and I want to point you to episode 5 of this podcast where I give 3 Steps to Sustainable Planning, and the first step is to go digital. In that episode I talk about the benefits, so that this episode picks up where it left off and gives you actionable steps to take in going digital with your lesson plans.

After listening to this episode you will have four techniques to implement for your digital lesson plans, four things that will make them the living, breathing, useful documents that they should be, rather than the inaccessible, write-it-down-and-never-look-at-them-again plans of old.

Because here’s the thing. As much as we love edtech and using technology to make our lessons more effective, the teacher tech is just as important. What better way to learn along with our students than to implement and use many of the tools they are using in ways that optimize our time and effectiveness.

So if you’ve ever wanted to forget your lesson plan book - I know, it’s hard because they are so cute, but there are other ways to implement that cuteness - and optimize your planning by keeping it digital, then this episode as part two of our Teacher Tech series is for you.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/teacher-tech-series-part-two-digital-lesson-planning

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

FLIPPED CLASSROOM WEBINAR: https://www.teachonamission.com/flippingwebinar

"I love Mandy and Sustainable Teacher." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more teachers -- just like you -- move toward the sustainable work-teacher-life balance that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

49. Parent Communication: Teacher Tech Series Part One Nov 05, 2021

Welcome back to the Sustainable Teacher, I hope your week so far is going as smoothly as possible, and that you have found this episode at just the right time, whenever that time might be for you. This episode will be a conversation about EdTech, but more so on the technology that is teacher-facing, and less student-facing.

Oftentimes in conversation and professional development involving educational technology, the focus is on student-facing technology and what newest tool can be used to have impact in your lessons. Although It's not bad that this is the main focus, it’s not the only way that technology can benefit a teacher and a classroom. So in this episode we’ll be talking about teacher tech and how to leverage technology to make a part of your day more sustainable, and the part of your day we’ll focus on in this episode is parent communication.

Sure, technology, in most areas, is great. It improves efficiency and even sustainability, but only if those are our intentions and goals in using the technology. And using tech in those ways is often overshadowed by the “cool factor” - using technology just because it will wow our students. So this episode, and the following two episodes, will be focused on what I call Teacher Tech - that is, how teachers can be using technology to streamline aspects of what they do or retune parts of their day or workload to be more efficient, for a three-part series on this topic. Today we’ll focus on, like I said, parent communication, next week we’ll get into the specifics of digital planning (that’s right, no more paper lesson plan books), and finally your calendar and project management system (that’s a new one that I’m particularly excited about).

So if any of these topics sound like something you want to tune into and learn more about, be sure to subscribe to the podcast and find our full length show notes on our website that’s linked when you scroll down where you’re listening. Likewise, if you know a teacher-friend or two that would benefit from or find some interest in this Teacher-Tech series, find and click the share button where you’re listening and send it their way, or take a screenshot and post it on social media tagging @teachonamission so your followers can find the podcast as well.

Here we go for part one of our series on Teacher-Tech, Parent Communication.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/teacher-tech-series-part-one-parent-communication

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

FLIPPED CLASSROOM WEBINAR: https://www.teachonamission.com/flippingwebinar

48. Classroom Culture and Mental Health Oct 28, 2021

During the ten years I spent in the classroom, I taught AP® Psychology all of those years. I attended numerous content-specific professional development opportunities, flipped the entire curriculum that is readily available for free on my YouTube channel, as well as built resources that many teachers find helpful in my Teachers Pay Teachers store or in our Sustainable Psych Teacher membership. I’m sharing all of this to say that I became, and hopefully remain, well versed in the AP® Psychology curriculum - I would even venture to say I’ve got my 10,000 hours Malcolm Gladwell teaches about as indicating expertise, at least in the curriculum that is… but certainly not in the field of psychology.

So as much as I know and love psychology, I am by no stretch of the imagination a psychologist, psychiatrist (shout out to my psych nerds who know the difference), or a mental health professional. No advice I give today in this episode is advice for handling mental health. No. Instead it is advice on building a classroom culture that helps students feel welcome at the core of who they are, not because of their facade, and that they feel comfortable to be vulnerable enough with you or another adult so they can seek help if and when they need it.

So I’ll say it again - I am not giving mental health advice or recommendations on how to go about handling a mental health situation for yourself or for that of your student.

However, my hope is that after listening to this episode you will have a clear vision of a balanced message to send and classroom culture to create around mental health.

It is NOT news to educators today that our students' mental health is different than it was ten or even five years ago. And then you throw into the mix this whole pandemic, not just the potential and reality for some of getting sick or caring for our sick loved ones, but more prominently impactful, the social distancing, total wrench thrown in young people’s lives, routines, and futures that absolutely changed everything for them, or at least for some. I would venture to say the impact is and will be immeasurable, never quite completely quantifiable. But teachers know. We see it, and, if you’re anything like me and the many teachers I work with, as educators are convicted of sending a welcoming message to all students, but also a message that empowers our students no matter their state of mental health.

In this episode I’ll be talking to the teacher in the room, I bet that’s you, on the topic of taking care of yourself so you can care for others, what recent research is showing us about our students’ mental state, and finally three messages you want to be sending to your students everyday when it comes to their emotional and mental health.

So if you’re ready to talk about this hot button issue like a professional, while keeping it real amongst colleagues with the perspective of wanting to make an impact with your kids, then this episode is for you. Here we go.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/classroom-culture-and-mental-health

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

FLIPPED CLASSROOM WEBINAR: https://www.teachonamission.com/flippingwebinar

47. How to Use Stations in Your Classroom Oct 21, 2021

Are you ready for a very practical, how-to episode today? I hope so, because that’s exactly what I’ve got for you when it comes to implementing stations. I try not to overwhelm you on this podcast with “implement this now and solve all your problems” strategies, because that’s just not how things work, and, at least for me, learning all kinds of new things just clouds my thinking and vision, and I end up accomplishing less.

However, a nice how-to every now and then can be refreshing, and I hope that today’s episode is that for you, and it’s all about stations and how they can be used in any classroom.

Now, who could use stations, what classrooms or students would it benefit? And I want to answer that question before we get started. Really, any teacher at any grade level can use stations, but I recommend the use of stations, and wrote today’s episode especially with the teacher in mind who’s been doing things the same way for a while and might just need a little bit of change. I would also recommend stations for the teacher who has a ton to get through, feels rushed all the time to get through it, but in rushing ends up compromising student understanding and mastery. Finally, I recommend the use of stations to any teacher who would like to have his/her classroom flow without completely depending on his/her presence and constant attention to make sure it flows…. Meaning, you need your students to take a bit more ownership of their learning inside the walls of your classroom.

The idea of stations in the classroom is a familiar one in the elementary classroom, but much past that and they aren’t very common. But the advantages of having stations in an elementary classroom don’t just go away once students get older. No, the benefits of keeping their attention in short bursts rather than the whole class period, teaching students to manage their time within shorter amounts of time, breaking larger concepts or standards into smaller, more manageable chunks… all those benefits still exist beyond the elementary classroom.

After listening to this episode you’ll have a clear vision of what stations are, how you can use them, and the benefits you and your students will get from implementing them. And I have a special gift for you, just for being a listener of the Sustainable Teacher Podcast today. Scroll down where you’re listening, you’ll find the description of today’s episodes, then three helpful links. The first link you’ll see is to our full length show notes, a blog post on today’s episode. When you click there, you’ll find on that page how to sign up to receive a video tutorial on how I use stations (as well as two other how-to videos from yours truly), what stations look like in my classroom, and even how to use a “key” in your stations without promoting laziness and learned helplessness in your students.

Here’s the ultimate benefit of stations. You’re putting more of the onus of learning onto your students rather than having them rely on you for their understanding or how to go about each and every task. If that sounds like something you and your students could benefit from, then today’s episode is for you, so grab your pen or open your notes app and let’s get to it.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/how-to-use-stations-in-your-classroom

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

FLIPPED CLASSROOM WEBINAR: https://www.teachonamission.com/flippingwebinar

46. *BONUS* 3 Steps to Flip Your Classroom Before Christmas Oct 14, 2021

It is mid October at the time this episode will air which means only one thing… the Holidays, and Winter break, and by extension, second semester, is right around the corner. Home improvement and craft stores have been setting up for Christmas since August, so don’t call me crazy that I’m talking about it in today’s episode. Deal?

Alright - today I’m giving you a challenge, if you’re willing to take it on and reap the benefits for you, your classroom, and your students. And the challenge is this - flip your classroom by Christmas.

Now, does every teacher need or want to do this? Absolutely not. And many of you listening today have already flipped, and I’d love to give you a virtual (or at least audio only) round of applause… and ask that you email me or find me on social media and let me know how it's going - truly I want to know. But for everyone else who hasn’t flipped and has maybe considered the idea and would like to know more, this episode is for you.

Flipping your classroom is no small task, and it will meet the unique needs of your unique students if you build it well. And this episode will get you started in that direction.

After listening to this episode you will have a clear understanding of what it takes to flip your classroom so that your time investment and decision to flip is both sustainable for you and effective for your students, getting you the ultimate return on your time investment.

Because here’s the thing, the post-pandemic classroom is one that must be accessible to students outside the classroom walls, but also sustainable for you, because if it isn't’ both of those, you’re either leaving students behind or losing teachers. Flipping allows you to be accessible and sustainable, effective with your students in the post-pandemic classroom in ways that streamlines your content for all, and empowers your students to take ownership… a lesson they’ll use for the rest of their lives.

So grab your pen and paper, or open the notes app on your phone, get ready to jot down these insights, ideas, and steps toward flipping your classroom in effective and sustainable ways. Here we go.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/3-steps-to-flip-your-classroom-before-christmas

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

FLIPPED CLASSROOM WEBINAR: https://www.teachonamission.com/flippingwebinar

45. The 4-Step Reflection Process for A Sustainable Teacher Oct 12, 2021

Well hey there, and welcome back to the Sustainable Teacher Podcast, I’m so glad you’ve decided to join me today for this four-step reflection process every educator needs, and I’ll just add that every teacher needs this if in fact they are feeling the pressure of all the change, and the overwhelm of seemingly never satisfying anyone whether it be parents, administration, or even our students. Now, I recognize that never is a dramatic word, but I’m betting it describes how you feel right now regardless of if it’s dramatic or not, so I’m sticking with it.

I was on a walk with my nine-month old puppy the other day, and when I’m on walks that’s when my wheels really get to turning, most of the time in good ways. Often I won’t even bring my headphones or listen to a podcast, although Ii’ve done that before, because the silence and the space for my mind to go where it wants leads me to some great ideas whether it be for this podcast, for teacher training, or for myself and my family. This story has nothing to do with this episode other than that the idea of this topic for today’s episode came from one such walk after a day of working with my preservice teachers in my Intro to Educational Technology class.

Having three classes of preservice teachers looking to me for guidance has very much got me thinking and prioritizing the advice I give so as to inspire but not overwhelm them, remain honest with them but not lead them to despair in what is a very hard career field to step into every day. One such piece of advice I wanted to give them the other day and that I will give to you today is that you are not always going to get it right. And that is ok.

And even when you do get it right, it’s not going to be perfect. Most of the time that doesn’t sit well with us educators because we value what we do so much. Oftentimes the pressure and burden we bear each day on getting things perfect is self-induced and it’s because we see the immense impact we can have, and we don’t want to get it wrong. This is the amazing thing about teaching, but also the most stressful in my opinion.

But if we are going to make it past the statistically deadly year five or heaven forbid all the way to retirement, we have to take a step back and recognize what’s really important and keep our focus on that.

And that’s what today’s episode is all about. After listening, you’ll have a four step reflection process that is NOT just about making sure you take the time to reflect on your practice (although, yes that is necessary), but that more importantly will help you keep what’s important, important.

We are teaching (and living) in a time where we are second guessing ourselves and everything we believe to be effective in our classrooms, and as much as I’m aware how much has changed, the basics of how the human brain learns, and how it does that best in a safe and welcoming environment surrounded by people they’ve emotionally connected with is still the same. So I hope these four steps help you confidently step back into the role as the number one influence on student learning in your classroom and help you prioritize exactly what is important about what you do.

Let’s get to it.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/four-step-reflection-process-for-every-teacher

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

FLIPPED CLASSROOM WEBINAR: https://www.teachonamission.com/flippingwebinar

44. Sustainable Ed Tech with Samantha Fecich Oct 05, 2021

Well hey there and welcome back to the Sustainable Teacher Podcast. I am so excited to have Samantha Fecich of EduMagic on the podcast today, and I’ll share a couple of reasons why. First, I’ve recently stepped into the higher ed space, and she’s been there for a while, so it was nice to have a conversation within that context. Secondly, as a special education teacher turned educational tech expert, she gives a refreshing perspective on ed tech in ways that reinvigorate my passion for the field and I think this conversation will do the same for you.

In this episode you will hear us chat about various topics including student-life balance for preservice teachers, tech tool (and non-tech tool) recommendations for preservice teachers, as well as the purpose and possibilities of educational technology for students today. So no matter what you teach, this episode will be valuable for you, but will be especially valuable for pre-service teachers out there.

Without further ado, let’s bring on Dr. Samantha Fecich

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/sustainable-ed-tech-with-samantha-fecich

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

STUDENT VOICE WORKSHOP: https://www.teachonamission.com/studentvoiceworkshop

43. The Meaning of Grades with Dr. Bill Rice Sep 28, 2021

Welcome back to the Sustainable Teacher Podcast, and today we have a return guest, my husband, Bill Rice. He was first on the podcast back on episode 39, so not too long ago, where we talked about his perspective as principal and husband to a sustainable teacher - so if you haven’t yet, you’ll want to go back and give that a listen.

In this episode, though, we are focusing in on a particular subject, and that is grading. Specifically, the meaning of grades and how a teacher could be more aware and intentional around what it means when they give a student a specific grade.

This is not a light conversation, and there are certainly fourteen other conversations (or podcast episodes) we could have from this one interview.. And maybe some day we’ll go there, but today we’re focusing on the work Bill has recently done in his research on the meaning of grades, and what it’s been to just scratch the surface on this issue.

So without further ado, let’s bring Bill back to the podcast.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/the-meaning-of-grades-with-dr-bill-rice

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER CHALLENGE: https://www.teachonamission.com/sustainableteacherchallenge

42. It's Happening Now! What It's Like to be in our Sustainable Teacher Content Coaching Clubs Sep 16, 2021

It’s happening right now. Really it is. We have three Sustainable Content Teacher Memberships open for enrollment right now, with amazing teacher- content coaches just waiting to support you, provide you with materials, and get you confident in your course.

Here’s the thing. As much as we, meaning myself and the amazing content coaches on my team love to teach and are absolutely reaching thousands of students, that’s not the only kind of impact we want to have.

We believe in empowering teachers. Building their confidence, and most importantly, removing huge chunks of their to-do list (without sacrificing effectiveness of course) so they can focus more on what this pandemic has taught us is truly important about what we do… making connections with our students. That’s it.

When your students are connected to you and within your classroom, they perform better. But most teachers, especially those new to their content area or course, don’t have the mental space or time on their calendar to truly make those connections. All they have time for is planning and grading. We’re here to change that, and we’re ready to do with our membership, the Sustainable Biology Teacher, the Sustainable English Teacher, and the Sustainable Psych Teacher.

In this episode I’m going to share the full experience with you so you know exactly what’s included and exactly how you’ll be feeling at the end of the most supportive year you’ve ever had.

Let’s get to it.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/it-s-happening-what-s-it-s-like-to-be-in-one-of-our-sustainable-content-teacher-memberships

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

AP® PSYCH: https://www.teachonamission.com/appsych.

AP® BIO: https://www.teachonamission.com/apbio

HIGH SCHOOL ELA: https://www.teachonamission.com/ELA

TELL US WHAT YOU TEACH: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdy3L26NF5sbBtwHbd01h7g_Uao2LABhyxax4sDao5LVY3OOw/viewform?usp=sf_link

41. 3 Things at Home I'm Reevaluating this Back to School Season Aug 24, 2021

Today I am sharing with you three things that I am reevaluating during this back to school season. We teachers are lucky in that we really have two times throughout the year where we get a fresh start. At the new year that is the calendar year, and at the new year that is the school year.

And so I am taking this opportunity to make sure that all systems are a go, and that there’s not anything that’s dragging us down as we each are working towards a thriving and fulfilling life.

We’re going to talk about my attempt at going paperless at home, how I’m using the big D word, that is Delegation, and a mantra I’ll be using this year as it is clear that I’m taking on a bit more than usual in this season, so I’m wanting to be aware of that and completely prepared.

Also stay tuned until the end, because I give a bonus tip.

By the end of this episode you will have a clear understanding of three things you could be considering or implementing in your own life in order to continue striving for sustainability in your teacher- and home-life, because this is an incredibly stressful time of year, but it’s also one that allows us to determine how we want our year to go, so let’s take the bull by the horns and make it our most sustainable year yet.

Here we go.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/3-things-at-home-i-m-reevaluating-this-back-to-school-season

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER CHALLENGE: https://www.teachonamission.com/sustainableteacherchallenge

40. Honoring Student Voice is Easier Than You Think with Monica Burns Aug 17, 2021

Well hello there teacher-friend and welcome back to the Sustainable Teacher Podcast where we talk about all things sustaining daily teacher-life so we don’t have to spend our evenings and weekends working, and yet are still effective in the classroom.

Today I am excited to welcome Dr. Monica Burns of Classtechtips.com onto the podcast. Monica is a former New York City teacher and edtech expert that is now sharing her edtech expertise with schools and teachers around the world. Her focus, both on her Easy EdTech Podcast and many publications, is to infuse technology for engagement and differentiation in order to simplify and streamline the technology integration process.

Monica is here today to talk about student voice and creativity, and how technology can help us elevate both of those important aspects of our classrooms, particularly in the flipped classroom.

I just know you will leave today’s episode with some great ideas and maybe even a new tool to try but not because the tool is “cool”, but because it’s going to help you accomplish the more important purpose behind the tool.

Without further ado, let’s bring on Dr. Monica Burns.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/honoring-student-voice-is-easier-than-you-think-with-monica-burns

MONICA’S BOOK BONUSES: https://classtechtips.com/bookbonus

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

STUDENT VOICE WORKSHOP: https://www.teachonamission.com/studentvoiceworkshop

39. Being a Principal and Spouse to a Sustainable Teacher Aug 10, 2021

Hey teacher-friend, welcome back to the Sustainable Teacher, I’m so glad you decided to tune in today, and oh boy do I have an episode for you. In this episode I am introducing you to none other than my main-man and husband, Dr. Bill Rice.

I’m excited to bring him on the podcast not just because he’s my husband and I think he’s pretty cool, but also because he is an administrator. He is a high school principal at a school about 15 minutes down the road from us, and today he is offering a wonderful perspective - well, two perspectives actually - on what it is to be a sustainable teacher, and that is from a principal’s role and the role of a teacher’s spouse.

My goal in interviewing Bill is not so that we can say, “see, this is what you should be doing” to either our principals or our spouses, but so that teachers can see that your sustainability is what’s most important, next to being effective with kids, and that the classroom atmosphere and overarching learning experience you build for your students is more important than any one, overly amazing lesson that you feel you have to create every day of the week.

This is an incredibly important message especially now, during the back to school season which we’re in at the time this episode will air, and I hope the message resonates with you more than any amount of stress you’re feeling.

Without further ado, let’s bring Bill on.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/being-a-principal-and-spouse-to-a-sustainable-teacher

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER CHALLENGE: https://www.teachonamission.com/sustainableteacherchallenge

38. Do You Need a Content Coach? Aug 03, 2021

AP® Psychology, Intro to Psychology, Sociology, Hybrid Psychology, American History, Honors American History, Women and Minority Studies… all courses that I taught in my ten years in the classroom. In each course I did have some materials from former teachers or current teams that were willing to collaborate, but I had to learn the content and standards of each of these courses… and this is nothing novel. I’m betting you’ve had a similar experience whether you’ve had multiple preps or had to teach a new course.

And as I shared in last week’s episode, a teacher who has to focus on learning the content they teach, although that is important, is less able to focus on their students’ growth.

I’d like you to have both. Know the content, well enough at least, and get to connect with kids and focus on their growth… all without having to sacrifice your evenings and weekends to do so.

My mission here at Teach On A Mission is to empower teachers to confidently step into that role as the number one influence on student learning. And there are very specific ways that I believe we can do that, and that I can help with. I will elaborate on the few ways I think that can be done given the pressures of the education field today, but for this episode I want to focus on just one. That one is content coaching.

You’ll leave this episode with a sense of surity that a content coach is exactly the kind of targeted support you need that allows you to sustainably be knowledgeable in your content area, but not overwhelmed by learning the new content so that you can focus on building relationships with students.

And here’s why… When a teacher is told they’re teaching a new course, subject, or grade-level, their personal lives and well-being are the first sacrifices in the name of being effective with students in that new content area. It doesn’t HAVE to be that way. We don’t always have to DIY aspects of our professional lives. A teacher who can focus more on their students and less on everything else, yes, including the nitty gritty of your content, is more effective in getting their students to show growth year after year.

Alright teacher friend, let’s get to it.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/do-you-need-a-content-coach

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

AP® PSYCH: https://www.teachonamission.com/appsychologyteacher

AP® BIO: https://www.teachonamission.com/apbiologyteacher

HIGH SCHOOL ELA: https://www.teachonamission.com/englishteacher

TELL US WHAT YOU TEACH: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdy3L26NF5sbBtwHbd01h7g_Uao2LABhyxax4sDao5LVY3OOw/viewform?usp=sf_link

37. Are Teachers the Top Influence on Student Learning? Jul 27, 2021

The conversation and debate around what is best for students, and what impacts learning most is not a new one in the human experience. It's been hotly debated for quite some time.

What impacts student learning most?

Are tests the best way to measure student learning?

Or, wait, don’t tests hinder learning?

How does technology impact learning?

Standards-based, flipped classroom, project-based, problem-based, student centered, backwards planning, flexible seating...

Wow - so many things. So many ways to impact student learning.

How in the world do we know what strategies impact students the most?

That's just it... there is no ONE strategy that will impact student learning more than another.

But...

... there is one person.

If you're reading this post, this is probably no surprise to you that teachers are the number one influencer on a student's learning.

But I don't want to just say that and claim it as truth. I want you to see for yourself.

And that’s exactly what I want to show you in this episode.

After listening to this episode you’ll feel reassured, but definitely empowered, without a shadow of a doubt that you as the educator in the room are THE number one influence on student academic achievement in your classroom, above all other aspects and influencers.

And as the school year is about to ramp back up it’s so important for you, teacher-friend to keep this fact in mind, because when a teacher feels hindered or somehow that their autonomy is overshadowed by the one million other aspects influencing their students (most of which being outside their control), if they remember their impact, they can rise above those other aspects.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/are-teachers-the-top-influence-on-student-learning

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

AP® PSYCH: https://www.teachonamission.com/appsychologyteacher

AP® BIO: https://www.teachonamission.com/apbiologyteacher

HIGH SCHOOL ELA: https://www.teachonamission.com/englishteacher

TELL US WHAT YOU TEACH: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdy3L26NF5sbBtwHbd01h7g_Uao2LABhyxax4sDao5LVY3OOw/viewform?usp=sf_link

36. 3 Steps to Help High School Students NOT Hate Reading with Emily Fox Jul 20, 2021

Attention all High School ELA teachers, more specifically 9th and 10th grade English Language Arts teachers who are ready to stop forcing their students to read, but want to build a love of reading into their classroom and students… this episode is for you.

Today I am welcoming Emily Fox to the podcast and to Team Teach On A Mission as our new ELA Content Coach for 9th and 10th grade teachers, and she is sharing 3 of her 5 steps to help your high school students not hate reading!

She’s also giving you all 5 steps in a downloadable and printable resource you can grab at the link below, so be sure to click and grab that your classroom.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/3-steps-to-help-high-school-students-not-hate-reading

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

5 STEPS TO NOT HATE READING DOWNLOAD: https://www.teachonamission.com/reading

35. 3 Steps to a Successful Year in AP® Psychology Jul 13, 2021

Guess what!?! Teach On A Mission, LLC, is growing, and I am so excited to introduce you to Rachelle Dusso in this episode. Rachelle is a five-year teacher in Wisconsin who is joining our team as the Content Coach for our Sustainable Psych Teacher membership for AP Psychology teachers!

In this episode she not only introduces herself, but brings us 3 steps to a successful year for all our AP Psychology teachers out there. But that’s not all… she’s got 7 more steps (plus a bonus)... that’s right 7 more actionable steps you can be taking this summer to make sure your school year is successful and sustainable in AP Psychology.

Grab the full download - AP Psych Done Right Teacher Workbook - at the link below.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/3-steps-to-a-successful-year-in-ap-psychology

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

AP PSYCH DONE RIGHT WORKBOOK: https://www.teachonamission.com/appsychworkbook

34. 3 Steps to a Successful Year in AP® Biology Jul 08, 2021

Guess what!?! Teach On A Mission, LLC, is growing, and I am so excited to introduce you to Adriana Targa in this episode. Adriana is a ten-year teacher in Managua, Nicaragua who is joining our team as the Content Coach for our Sustainable Biology Teacher membership for AP® Biology teachers!

In this episode she not only introduces herself, but brings us 3 steps to a successful year for all our AP® Biology teachers out there. But that’s not all… she’s got 7 more steps!!! That’s right, 7 more actionable steps you can be taking this summer to make sure your school year is successful and sustainable in AP® Biology.

Grab the full download - 10 Steps to a Successful Year in AP® Biology Teacher workbook - at the link below.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/3-steps-to-a-successful-year-in-ap-biology

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

AP® BIOLOGY TEACHER WORKBOOK: https://www.teachonamission.com/apbioworkbook

33. Teachers Aren't Teachers Jul 06, 2021

Have you ever heard the phrase that the best way to learn something is to teach it? Or have you ever, instead of you, yourself teaching a concept, had your students take over to teach it because you knew they would have to learn it first?

You’ve experienced this yourself. The only way to be able to teach something is to learn it first. And this is why teaching can be so hectic, especially if you’re told you’re teaching a new subject or course within your certification. First you have to learn it, then you have to get into the complexities of best practices in teaching that specific content. Talk about time consuming, right?

But what if it didn’t have to be that complicated?

What if we approached it not as a teacher, but instead as expert learners?

In this episode I’m diving into how teachers are not teachers, they are expert learners of their specific content, because gone are the days where you can just talk at kids and expect them to absorb everything you say. Kids just don’t work like that anymore, and when you step into the role of expert learner you’ll be so much more effective at helping your kids do the same.

After listening to this episode you will have a renewed understanding of your role as an educator and how you can empower your students as learners through that role. You’ll also walk away with actionable strategies to take advantage of this renewed understanding of your role.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/teachers-aren-t-teachers

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

7-DAY SUSTAINABLE TEACHER CHALLENGE: https://www.teachonamission.com/sustainableteacherchallenge

32. What's Behind Teacher Self-Talk? Jun 29, 2021

Have you ever caught yourself saying or heard someone else say that you’re “just” a teacher? Maybe in a circle of friends who aren’t teachers? Adding the word “just” means I’m nothing more than, or I could’ve done more with my life, but instead I’m “just” a teacher.

Or how about this common saying, “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.”

Now, that’s just a saying, but it’s one we’ve all heard, and I’m sure had aimed at us in some way before even if it was in a joking manner. But I bet it wasn’t laughable.

In many ways I think teachers have assumed these beliefs about teachers, and almost absorbed them as part of who they are as teachers. This is not a conscious occurrence, as if when we become teachers we say to ourselves that we are less-than or some how mediocre in reaching life’s successes, but I do think it’s become part of the common perception of teachers even in the minds of teachers.

In today’s episode we’ll talk about why I think this, how it’s impacting teachers, and what we can do to overcome iit.

After listening to this episode, you’ll understand three ways society, and therefore we may perceive ourselves as teachers, and how to shift that perception and our self-talk so that you can step into your amazing role as the number one influence on student achievement in your classroom.

Are you ready?

Let’s do this.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/what-s-behind-teacher-self-talk

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER CHALLENGE: https://www.teachonamission.com/sustainableteacherchallenge

31. Flipped Classroom Success Stories Jun 22, 2021

Brenda in 4th grade, Keri in 7th grade math, Jessica in high school chemistry, Megan in Algebra 2, and Charles in high school ELA… all are teachers who flipped their classrooms this past school year and are now on the other side of their hard work reaping the rewards of the flipped model and ready to share their own and their student success with you.

I’m compiling experiences into this one episode and hope that the stories shared allow you to see the possibilities for your own classroom and daily teaching life.

After listening to this episode you’ll be inspired by the success teachers of the flipped classroom have found, and see yourself in their transformation, knowing that this time next year, your classroom or student success story will be told.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/flipped-classroom-success-stories

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

FLIPPED CLASSROOM WORKSHOP: https://www.teachonamission.com/workshop

30. Overcoming the Game of Grades with Your Students Jun 15, 2021

I’m betting you’ve had a student come to you at the end of the semester or grading period to ask if there’s anything they can do to improve their grade, and your answer is, yes, you could’ve cared and done your work months ago - but caring now is too little too late.

Or maybe you’ve had a student come to you about how they were only one or two points away from an A on the test, after you had already slightly rounded up their score, and now they were asking you to round it up more.

I’m betting you’ve had any number of experiences like these whose true, underlying meaning is that the student cares more about the grade they receive in your class than they do the learning experience.

This is not a one-classroom, one-school, or one-region issue. This is a systemic, culture-wide issue inside of education that I will say, I’ve seen some improvements in over my years in the classroom, but I’m not sure will ever truly go away.

I mean it when I say that I don’t think the game of grades will ever cease to exist completely in education, but I have made the commitment inside of my own classroom, and would love to help you make the commitment as well to absolutely centralize LEARNING over grades inside my classroom.

And that’s what we’ll dive into in this episode.

After listening to this episode you’ll feel ready to take your classroom culture by the horns and make it reflect the messing process of learning as the reward, rather than the game of grades, teaching our students a much more valuable life lesson than any grade can.

So let’s get to it.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/the-end-game-of-a-sustainable-teacher

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

FLIPPED CLASSROOM WORKSHOP: https://www.teachonamission.com/workshop

29. Responding to Learning Gaps Left by 2020 Jun 08, 2021

Now that the 2020-2021 school year has come to a close, we can all look back and realize the race it was to lessen the ramifications and decrease the learning gaps created by the shutdowns that occurred in the spring of 2020.

And when I say it was a race, I mean it was a rat race, with tons of hurdles, obstacles, disqualifications, delayed starts, and crap on the track and anything else that symbolizes hardship in our foot race analogy here.

Learning and achievement differences have always existed, but the shutdowns of 2020 put all kids’ learning in a jar, shook it up, and laid it out for us to clean up. And here’s a big takeaway for today’s episode… That clean up process is not finishing as we end this school year.

We will notice those learning gaps indefinitely. And we must respond in-kind.

So as we reflect on how to close these gaps, let’s do so with the facts in mind that

This is a long game, and gaps will not close in one year, so let’s prepare our classroom and differentiation strategies accordingly, and
Let’s keep the long game in mind for ourselves as well, because if we just stab at any one strategy trying to find a solution, our sustainability will be the first sacrifice in the name of what’s best for students. So let’s strive to do both - maintain our sustainability while being ultra-effective in the classroom.

And for these reasons, I’ve got three tips for you today on why the principles of flipped learning will allow you to flourish in the long game of closing learning gaps left by 2020, but doing so in ways that preserve your sustainability in the process.

After listening to this episode you’ll go from feeling helpless amongst the learning gaps, to empowered and in control with the differentiation techniques of the flipped classroom, ready to respond to the needs of each of your future students.

So let’s get to it.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES:https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/responding-to-learning-gaps-left-by-2020

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY:https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

FLIPPED CLASSROOM WORKSHOP:https://www.teachonamission.com/workshop

28. The End Game of a Sustainable Teacher Jun 01, 2021

I am control freak. I am also a work horse, and am productivity obsessed.

I’m sharing all these things about myself in this episode because maybe you can relate, especially in your career and daily teacher-life, but also because I want you to know that as much as I preach streamline, reduce, fight for your own sustainability, I want you to know that when I say these things, I’m also speaking directly to myself.

Working for your own sustainability is a journey, not a destination. Meaning we will never arrive at one place where we look around and realize, “Ok, yes, my daily life is sustainable now.” I don’t know, maybe we will, but I for sure know that if we can say that to ourselves, we won’t last if we don’t continually do the work to prioritize our sustainability.

So, in this episode we are going to focus on the why behind sustainability, as in, what exactly are we after, what does sustainability mean and look like, and how will we know when we get there.

After listening to this episode you’ll feel empowered to own your teacher-life sustainability, knowing that you don’t HAVE to do all the things, but can feel confident in your effectiveness in the classroom now that you know the true end game of sustainability.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/the-end-game-of-a-sustainable-teacher

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

FLIPPED CLASSROOM WORKSHOP: https://www.teachonamission.com/workshop

27. 3 Summer Must-Dos for Sustainable Teachers & Parents May 25, 2021

Our summer looks like this.... Me wearing a ball cap and athletic shorts with flip-flops, no makeup, and lots of sun - and us traveling, camping, and doing all the things as a family (with a summer evening date night worked in there too... anyone got a good date night idea for us?).

What does your summer normally look like? And what do you want it to look like this year?

This is what we talk about in today's episode on the Sustainable Teacher, 3 Summer Must-Dos for a Sustainable Teacher and Parent.

And we take a break from the normal teacher talk, and get more personal, because - HEY - we need to be personally sustainable as well... the life part of the work-life balance, right?

So if you're here for the LIFE part of the work-life balancing act as we strive for sustainability together be sure to listen to this episode.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/3-summer-must-dos-for-a-sustainable-teacher-parent

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER CHALLENGE: https://www.teachonamission.com/sustainable-teacher-challenge

26. What is Summer to a Sustainable Teacher? May 18, 2021

I have an analogy for you that will take us through the duration of this episode. Here it is. Throughout the school year, we each have multiple spinning plates in the air as teachers and as human beings. Each facet of our life is one spinning plate, and it’s our job to keep them spinning and in the air lest they drop and shatter. Summer break, then, is a time for us to put down all the educational, teachery plates we keep spinning for 9-10 months of the year so that we can focus on other plates. Summer is an incredible thing for teachers - this is no news to you - but truly, it is time for us to refuel and rejuvenate in whatever aspect of our life we want. In this episode I’d like to offer some food for thought on how we can use summer to fuel our sustainability throughout the year. Hence the title What is Summer to a Sustainable Teacher. So stick around areas within this topic that we’ll be pondering and discussing today, and if it’s an episode and a message that you’re loving, I would so appreciate you letting us know by subscribing, rating and reviewing the podcast. Alright, let’s get to it. SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/what-is-summer-to-a-sustainable-teacher SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher SUSTAINABLE TEACHER CHALLENGE: https://www.teachonamission.com/sustainable-teacher-challenge

25. Don't Do This ONE Thing In Your Classroom May 11, 2021

As teachers (and humans, really), we are provided with steps and formulas to follow in implementing great strategies, fixing our classroom management, and all other things teacher-life, at what seems like every turn. And I knowingly contribute to this, although I hope that my advice is valuable and helpful, but in this episode I hope to provide you with something NOT to, multiple steps NOT to take when it comes to improving upon and implementing strategies in your classroom. And it really comes down to one piece of advice. After listening to this episode you will know this ONE thing you shouldn’t do in your classroom because in not doing iit you’ll serve your own sustainability and your effectiveness with your students. You’ll feel empowered and ready to take next steps in strengthening your sustainable teacher-life. SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/don-t-do-this-one-thing-in-your-classroom SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher FLIPPED CLASSROOM TEACHER-WORKSHOP: https://www.teachonamission.com/workshop

24. A Teacher's Flipped Classroom Transformation Part 3 May 06, 2021

On today’s episode of the Sustainable Teacher Podcast I am so excited to welcome Charles Youngs, a 30-year high school English teacher in Western Pennsylvania, who has been recognized as a Pennsylvania State Teacher of the Year finalst, a Fulbright scholar, and is a frequent presenter at the annual convention of the National Teachers of English. Currently he spends his days in a suburban public high school just south of Pittsburgh, teaching courses in Writing, Public Speaking and in AP Literature. That’s just part of his day. The other half is spent as an instructional coach for faculty on the ins and outs of ed tech. Charles and my paths crossed in the spring of 2020, as he explains in the interview, when he was thinking about ways to make his time with students more intentional and more effective. He took my online course, Flipped Classroom Formula, and offers today a unique perspective on flipping, one that includes that of an English teacher and how to flip in an ELA class, but also one that is incredibly reflective of what the past year’s experience has been for educators and how we can move forward. Without further ado, here’s Charles. SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/a-teacher-s-flipped-classroom-transformation-part-3 SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher FLIPPED CLASSROOM TEACHER-WORKSHOP: https://www.teachonamission.com/workshop

23. A Teacher's Flipped Classroom Transformation Part Two May 04, 2021

How has the flipped classroom transformed your teaching experience and the learning experience of your students, both within the pandemic and regardless of it. On today’s episode of the Sustainable Teacher Podcast I am so excited to welcome Jessica Verrill, a chemical engineer turned stay-at-home-mom turned high school chemistry teacher. She has been teaching chemistry at a small town academy in central Maine since 2018, has a wonderful husband, two fabulous teenage daughters, and a fun little dog named Ziggy. Jessica loves to spend time with her family kayaking on the local river, at camp on the New Brunswick border, and hiking in the mountains or on the beautiful coast of Maine. Our paths first crossed in the spring of 2020, as Jessica will explain in the interview, where she attended my flipped classroom workshop. She then took my online course Flipped Classroom Formula, and is on the podcast today to share her classroom transformation amongst teaching in a pandemic and the success she and her students have experienced because of her hard work, and strategic decision to flip her classroom. Without further ado here is Jessica Verrill. SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/a-teacher-s-flipped-classroom-transformation-part-2 SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher FLIPPED CLASSROOM TEACHER-WORKSHOP: https://www.teachonamission.com/workshop

22. Top 3 Classroom Tools for the New Normal in Teaching Apr 27, 2021

As we are approaching the new normal we’ve got to talk about technology and sustainability in the same sentence. In fact I almost named this episode are you technology fatigued yet. Ha! But instead of being funny I wanted to be sure that you knew exactly what you’re getting from this episode and that we will be discussing three tools that I believe you absolutely have to use inside of your classroom when the new normal is here. And after listening to this episode you will have a full grasp on the few powerful tools you want to have in your classroom as we approach what will be the new normal education so that you can rest in knowing what consistently works and not be bogged down by all the technology options. So let’s do this. SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/top-3-classroom-tools-in-the-new-normal SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher FLIPPED CLASSROOM TEACHER-WORKSHOP: https://www.teachonamission.com/workshop

21. A Teacher's Flipped Classroom Transformation Part 1 Apr 20, 2021

How has the flipped classroom transformed your teaching experience and the learning experience of your students, both within the pandemic and regardless of it? On today’s episode of the Sustainable Teacher Podcast I am so excited to welcome Keri Tafuro, a full time classroom teacher of 7th and 8th grade math in Vacaville, California. Keri is a 22-year teacher, having taught math at the high school, and now middle school level. She and her husband have two college-aged children, and mine and Keri’s paths crossed about a year ago when Keri was exploring a bit more about the flipped classroom, and came upon one of my Facebook live trainings. Since then she has jumped in with two feet taking Flipped Classroom Formula last summer and into flipping her classroom this school year. I can’t wait to bring her on and have you hear her story of her transformation, and that of her students. So without further ado, here is Keri Tafuro in our first of three episodes on a Teacher's Flipped Classroom Transformation. SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/a-teacher-s-flipped-classroom-transformation-part-1 SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher *Limited Time* FLIPPED CLASSROOM TEACHER-WORKSHOP: https://www.teachonamission.com/workshop

20. *BONUS* The Number One Question I Get Asked About the Flipped Classroom Apr 15, 2021

What happens when students don’t watch the video notes for homework? That’s the number one question I get from teachers when they are considering flipping their classroom, and it’s a good one. You should absolutely be asking this question because it means you are aware of an obstacle to your students learning, and now you can take steps to be sure you’re helping them overcome it. We have an entire module dedicated to this inside of my online course for teachers, Flipped Classroom Formula, and we address multiple obstacles, not just this one big one. In today’s episode we are going to answer this question so that after listening you will feel hopeful and empowered by the possibilities of flipped video knowing that you’re making learning NOT optional in your classroom and in fact setting up your students for success. Let’s get to it.

Flipped Classroom 30 Day Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/30dayflippedclassroom SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/the-number-one-question-i-get-asked-about-the-flipped-classroom SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher FLIPPED CLASSROOM STARTER KIT: https://www.teachonamission.com/starterkit

19. Isn't Flipping Just More Work? Apr 13, 2021

Isn’t flipping your classroom just more work? That’s the question, isn’t it? And it should be the question for all teachers when deciding what changes to make to their classrooms, especially coming off of one of the hardest years in education ever. And the question is really asking, is the work I put in going to be worth it? Because here’s the truth, it’s not that flipping your classroom is more work… it’s that your classroom is work. Your students are work. So it’s a matter of knowing where you’re putting in time and effort and how it’s going to pay off, and this episode is all about helping your teacher work pay off for you and your students.

Flipped Teacher 30 Day Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/30dayflippedclassroom SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/isn-t-flipping-just-more-work SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher FLIPPED CLASSROOM STARTER KIT: https://www.teachonamission.com/starterkit

18. Will Flipping Work For Me? Apr 06, 2021

It’s easy to find the differences in what we do as teachers.

And I must say… aren't all those differences that make up our unique classrooms so beautiful?? In this episode, I want to highlight not just the differences in all our teaching experiences and classrooms, but more so your individual and incredibly unique classroom. What you teach, how you teach it, where you teach it, and who you teach it to are all factors that contribute to and create the unique learning environment of your classroom. There is no one-size-fits-all approach in education, but in this episode I want to show you how you can know if flipped learning techniques can work for your classroom. Notice that I say IF, meaning I know that it won’t be the answer for everyone. And that, really, is my goal here. That after listening to this episode you will have clarity around how flipping can benefit your unique classroom, and feel equipped with the foundational principles of flipped learning to be ready for the new normal in education. Flipped Classroom 30-Day Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/30dayflippedclassroom SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/the-number-one-tool-your-classroom-needs-right-now SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher FLIPPED CLASSROOM STARTER KIT: https://www.teachonamission.com/starterkit

17. The #1 Tool Your Classroom Needs Right Now Mar 30, 2021

Why right now? If you’re listening to this episode at the time that it airs in March of 2021 we are in a time of transition in education as we head back to normal or at least to some sort of new normal. If you’re listening beyond that time though, your right now is probably one full of teacher-hustle, and you’re reflecting on the changes you want to make to your daily teaching life so that it’s a bit more sustainable, am I right? Either way, the tool that I’m going to tell you about in today’s episode is one that’s going to help you take practical steps towards a more sustainable and effective classroom in the modern times of education. It’s going to help you take steps towards more evenings focused on your family and less weekends spent grading papers, all while maintaining or even increasing your effectiveness in the classroom. Want to know what the number one tool is? It’s the Flipped Classroom Starter Kit I’ve built to help you do just that, get started flipping your classroom. In this episode I’m going to walk you through the first three steps of this starter kit, the same ones you’ll take to flip you classroom, so make sure to grab that kit by clicking in the show notes whether that’s right now so you can take some notes, or when you’re finished listening. After listening to this episode, you will know three steps to take to start flipping your classroom with confidence, and where to go to learn two more important steps so that you don’t feel alone in this big change you would like to make, and so that you know the intentional steps you’re taking now will pay off big time when we’re living in the new normal of education soon. SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/the-number-one-tool-your-classroom-needs-right-now SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher FLIPPED CLASSROOM STARTER KIT: https://www.teachonamission.com/starterkit

16. The Biggest Secret to Sustainability in the Classroom Mar 23, 2021

Obviously, by the name of the podcast, sustainability for teachers is what we are all about. Teachers do some of the most impactful and important work, and keeping them in the classroom is our top priority here on the podcast and for team Teach On A Mission, and we work to do that by helping teachers build sustainable systems and practices in their classrooms. Sometimes it’s hard to have these conversations about doing things that sustain teachers because it feels guilty to focus so much on the adult in the room rather than the students. That narrative, along with the status quo of teacher hustle equating to effectiveness, is what’s ultimately driving teachers away from the classroom. Could we overdo it by focusing too much on the teacher and not enough on the students? Of course we could - there are two ends of extreme to every choice, and I choose to live somewhere comfortably in the middle as much as possible, including when it comes to building an effective classroom. So what is this big secret? The biggest secret to finding sustainability in the classroom? Well, I’m going to tell you all about it, and I’m also going to provide three reasons why this one thing is so sustaining. After listening to this episode, you will feel empowered to get the best return on your time investment with every classroom choice you make because you know that sustaining you is important, not selfish, work, and you’ll know how to make it happen with the flipped classroom. SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/the-biggest-secret-to-sustainability-in-the-classroom SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher FLIPPED CLASSROOM STARTER KIT: https://www.teachonamission.com/starterkit

15. *BONUS* 5 Things Everyone Should Know About the Flipped Classroom Mar 18, 2021

There are only a few reasons why you may be listening to this episode right now. You’ve heard of the flipped classroom and want to know a bit more. Or you feel like you’ve been flipping your classroom since the pandemic started and now you’re wondering how that translates as we enter our new normal. Or you know the new normal we’re heading toward can’t be the normal that was, and yet you’re not sure what it will look like, or more importantly what you want it to look like. All you know is, there has to be a better way to go about being accessible, flexible, and effective without you being the martyr that sacrifices your personal life and well being to do so. I’m going out on a limb here to say that although there is no silver bullet in education to solve all our daily teaching life problems, flipping the classroom is absolutely the answer for most teachers to be accessible, flexible, and even more effective without sacrificing their sustainability to do so. Will it solve all your problems? Absolutely not. Will it help you be prepared for the new normal that we’re approaching in education where students are accessing your classroom from anywhere, and more than ever our students’ choice to show up and engage is more powerful than ever? Absolutely, yes. So in this episode I’m going to talk about 5 things everyone should know about flipping, including your students and parents. When you’re finished listening to this episode, you’ll fully understand the possibilities and opportunities within flipping your classroom as you think about what you want your teaching life and classroom to look like as we approach the new normal in education. Here we go… SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/5-things-everyone-should-know-about-the-flipped-classroom SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher FLIPPED CLASSROOM STARTER KIT: https://www.teachonamission.com/starterkit

14. The "New Normal" In Education Mar 16, 2021

If I sit still and quietly for a moment…. More than ever, at least in my own life, I can almost physically feel the currents of change in education. We could spend time labeling that change good or bad, but it’s happening with our without us due to circumstances and powers we can not control. Have you heard the phrase “A rising tide lifts all boats?” It’s an aphorism tied to economic policy, but one that I’ve been thinking about a lot lately in the educational realm. What if we looked at the shifts that are happening in education and our approach to the new normal as a chance to be the tide? We as individuals, seize this moment to say I’m going to shift and I am going to take advantage of this opportunity to show folks the possibilities here. What if? I’ve got three takeaways for you today, and after listening to this episode, teachers will feel empowered to face the inevitable changes in education, knowing that the flipped classroom will allow you to be flexible and proactive as we approach the new normal of education. SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/the-new-normal-in-education SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher FLIPPED CLASSROOM STARTER KIT: https://www.teachonamission.com/starterkit

13. I Bet You'd Never Guess These Numbers Mar 09, 2021

17% points. That's the jump in scores that happened over a three year period in my classroom. Want to know what I believe made that happen? Flipping my classroom. In this episode I’m going to talk a little data, meaning numbers behind flipping my classroom, but more importantly I’m going to share the experiences, the qualitative data other teachers have shared with me about their flipped classrooms. After listening to this episode teacher friend, you will feel reinvigorated by the stories shared about the flipped classroom in a way that empowers you to focus on what you can control in your classroom and take back your evenings and weekends for yourself instead of work. Because flipping is NOT just about the data or being more effective with more students. No no no. It’s also about sustaining YOU so you can stay in the classroom, doing what you love about your job, impacting students over the long haul. Here we go. SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/i-bet-you-d-never-guess-these-numbers SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher FLIPPED TEACHER CLASSROOM STARTER KIT: https://www.teachonamission.com/starterkit

12. Can I Help You With Student Accountability? Mar 02, 2021

The million dollar question in education right now is how in the world we get our students to do the work? It seems we have alarming rates of failure and, week after week, a substantial amount of students just not doing the work. In the flipped classroom, this has always been one of the top questions I’ve fielded from teachers when they come to me for help to get the flipped classroom process started, and that is “What happens when a student doesn’t do the work, meaning take the notes, at home? Then what?” In this episode we will dive into what it is to actually hold students accountable and how you can use it to not only be a more effective educator, but one who is actually reducing your own to-do list as student accountability increases. After listening to this episode, you will have clarity around what it means to hold your students accountable in ways that empower your students to own their learning, and ultimately reduce your to-do list as you watch your students totally rock it in your classroom. SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/can-i-help-you-with-student-accountability SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher FLIPPED CLASSROOM STARTER KIT: https://www.teachonamission.com/starterkit

11. Are You Tired of Low Student Engagement? Feb 23, 2021

It’s no news to you and the other teachers listening that student engagement is at an all time low. We could spend hours talking about the reasons why, but I’d rather spend more time on a topic a bit more uplifting than the glaring student absenteeism occurring right now, and that is on how to improve it by means which we, the teacher, can control. After listening to this episode, you will feel empowered, rising above that nagging sense of helplessness, because you’ve learned how to increase student engagement which will allow you to take your seat as guide-on-the-side rather than sage-on-the-stage. Welcome to episode 11 of the Sustainable Teacher Podcast.

FLIPPED CLASSROOM STARTER KIT: https://www.teachonamission.com/starterkit

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/are-you-tired-of-low-student-engagement

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

10. My Flipping Conversation with the Master IEP Coach Feb 16, 2021

Calling all teachers who have sat at an IEP table! This episode is for you. A few months back I sat down with Catherine Whitcher, the Master IEP Coach of specialedinnercircle.com and catherinewhitcher.com to chat about the possibilities of the flipped classroom in today’s education context and how the flipped classroom can serve teachers at the IEP table and their students. This interview was done for Catherine’s podcast which I encourage you to go check it out, it’s called Special Education Inner Circle, and so she is actually interviewing me. I loved our conversation so much that I wanted to share it on my podcast as well. From a basic understanding of flipped learning to how the flipped classroom can serve you and your students long after distance learning, this episode brings the noise for teachers wanting to be effective with students in today’s world without sacrificing their evenings and weekends to do so. Find all details about the Catherine and the Flipped Classroom Starter Kit in our show notes linked below. SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/my-flipping-conversation-with-the-master-iep-coach SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher FLIPPED CLASSROOM STARTER KIT: https://www.teachonamission.com/starterkit

9. 3 Steps to Organization in the Sustainable Classroom Feb 09, 2021

I am excited to welcome Kelly Jackson of Thesimplyorganizedteacher.com to today's episode so we can chat about something that many of you have resolved to accomplish in 2021. Many teachers who have participated in our Sustainable Teacher Challenge where we all are challenged to find ways to make our daily teaching lives a bit more manageable, actually set goals around becoming more organized. Whether you set those kinds of goals or have an interest in getting all things teacher-life a bit more organized, then this episode is for you. Kelly is a former teacher of little turned Classroom Organization Coach. She helps busy and overwhelmed teachers create organized, safe, and well-managed classrooms that facilitate effective learning for their students and more time for themselves. She is a Texas girl currently living in Germany. Kelly runs The Simply Organized Teacher, hosts the Simply Teach podcast, and is the creator of The Organized Teacher Framework™ course which helps teachers transform their classrooms so they can transform their teaching. Find out more about Kelly in our full show notes linked below. SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/organization-in-the-sustainable-classroom SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher SUSTAINABLE TEACHER CHALLENGE: https://www.teachonamission.com/sustainableteacherchallenge

8. Gaming in the Sustainable Classroom Feb 02, 2021

Dustin Staats of Board Games with Education is joining us for today's episode where we'll talk about all things that allow you to reap the benefits of gaming without all the over the top planning and extravagance. From my personal story of what got me into board games in the classroom, to foundational student engagement, to increasing growth mindset amongst competition, we talk all about games. But most importantly, we talk about how you can implement games sooner rather than later without feeling the stress and overwhelm of trying something new. Give it a listen and then subscribe, rate and review the podcast. And don't miss updates from Dustin by checking out the links in our show notes here. SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/gaming-in-a-sustainable-classroom SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher SUSTAINABLE TEACHER CHALLENGE: https://www.teachonamission.com/sustainableteacherchallenge

7. Parent Communication Systems Jan 26, 2021

“Hours!” she said. “I spent HOURS on my Sunday afternoon grading just late work alone, and then you want to know what I had to do the rest of the week?” I could almost guess what it was, “call parents” she said, exacerbated. My teacher friend went on to explain how as it was the end of the quarter and grades were due soon, it was that time of the year that comes around four times per year to communicate to parents whose child is near or actually failing a course. I squinted and turned my head to the side to lessen the blow of her answer as I asked, “how long did it take to contact parents?” Three days after school, she said, until well past 5pm. And I never got to them all. We’ve all been there. We’ve all been in a place where something in our teaching lives is taking up way more hours than we want it to, or than is healthy. Whether that’s because we’re new at it and haven’t developed the processes to make it a quick process, or we just straight up don’t like doing it. Either way, it’s not helping you continue to love your job. In this episode we’ll be talking about all things parent communication, and we are going to get very practical and even take you step by step through a particular system that I think will help you get a handle on it a bit more. Now, those steps may seem a bit much listening to it on a podcast, so I would encourage you to take notes if you’re able to, but if you’re driving or on your run and can’t - no worries… be sure to catch the show notes where it’s all laid out for you with pictures and everything at the link in our show notes where you’re listening. Here we go.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/parent-communication-systems

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher SUSTAINABLE TEACHER CHALLENGE: https://www.teachonamission.com/sustainableteacherchallenge

6. Declaring the Student Learning Process Jan 19, 2021

Although I wouldn’t wish living through a pandemic on my worst enemy and I’m sure we’d all love to get back to normal, there are major lessons I believe we all can learn from this experience within the world of education. I could list quite a few and make separate episodes on each of them - hey, note to self, maybe I will - but one of those lessons is that our time with students, meaning a teacher’s time with his or her students IN THEIR PRESENCE is not only imperative, in many cases it’s an issue of equity. The fluctuating schedules, whether they are all virtual or some variation of hybrid, we teachers feel the urgency of wanting to see our students more - wanting more time to master those standards, right?!? And you may even be drowning right now in the schedule you’re living, unable to keep up with all things. Whether you are fully remote, some form of hybrid, or even back to face-to-face 5 days a week “normal” some day, I want you to try out this one thing in making it all a bit more manageable not only for you, but for your students… and that is to declare the student learning process. Let me explain. SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/are-students-really-learning SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher SUSTAINABLE TEACHER CHALLENGE: https://www.teachonamission.com/sustainable-teacher-challenge

5. 3 Steps to Sustainable Planning Jan 12, 2021

I LOVE all things planning. In fact, I plan out our family calendar each year in January… no joke the whole year. But even as much as I love to know what we’ve got coming up and how we can best use our finite amount of time on earth, planning as a teacher can be tough. You can do some really great work for it all to just change on a dime without any heads up or prior notice, and there’s nothing you can do about it. That’s just the nature of the beast, but there also has to be a better way to make this whole planning thing more effective and more intentional so that it serves us and our students. In today’s episode I walk you through three steps that will help you do just that - streamline your planning process so that you’re better able to stay on track throughout the school year and are helping your future self when you go to plan in the years to come. Let’s get to it. SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/3-steps-to-sustainable-planning

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER CHALLENGE: https://www.teachonamission.com/sustainable-teacher-challenge

4. 3 Steps to Sustainable Grading Jan 05, 2021

Sustainable grading - is that even a thing? It’s like teachers have all collectively just rolled over and accepted the fact that if we aren’t drowning in grading then we aren’t really doing our job. Not only is that crap, but it’s unsustainable. No one can manage that in a healthy way. But then we’re left with the question, well what do we do instead? If we aren’t grading everything in our classes, aren’t we saying that it’s not important??? O man, that statement couldn’t be more wrong. There is a way to reach more sustainable grading practices and in this episode I will provide three steps to help you get there. SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/3-steps-to-sustainable-grading SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher SUSTAINABLE TEACHER CHALLENGE: https://www.teachonamission.com/sustainable-teacher-challenge

Ep. 3 Sustainable Systems at Home Dec 03, 2020

I’m betting that when you’re in the middle of your week it’s not just your teaching responsibilities that have you stressed. It is that endless teacher to-do list, but it’s that piled on top of all the things that need to be accomplished at home as well. Whether you’re single, married, have kids or not, maintain a home or rent, there are things outside of your teacher life that are super important and can’t just be put on hold as you focus solely on maintaining your professional life. Sustainable Teacher FB Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher Sustainable Teacher Show Notes: https://www.teachonamission.com/podcast To sign up for Amazon Subscribe and Save go to https://amzn.to/3mTey3O To learn more about Grove go to https://www.teachonamission.com/grove

Ep. 2 Reflection and Goal Planning for Teachers Dec 03, 2020

With all the talk of self-care for teachers during a year where teachers have less time than they’ve ever had to even think about themselves, let alone their self-care, I’m here to remind everyone that without you there will be no classroom, there will be no lesson, there will be no impact on your students. But even if we do recognize that self-care is necessary, it’s such a broad, even vague and relative term. Logistically, what really is it? And how effective will it be? I am here to make the claim that there is no better form of self-care than to set goals for yourself and to work toward them. It’s taking what we know about planning in our teacher-lives, that is that planning is best when we do it backwards - starting with the end in mind - and applying it to our lives. Because you know what, yes you’re worth it. Even if taking the time to do so means you’re a day later on grading those papers, answering those emails or even planning those lessons. Those tasks will ALWAYS be there. But the opportunity of now will never be here again for you. Know that You’re worth it, my friend. In this episode I’ll show you the systems I’ve used to set goals for my classroom, now my business, and even my personal life and how it’s changed my self-care game. Here we go friends. Sustainable Teacher FB Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher Sustainable Teacher Show Notes: https://www.teachonamission.com/podcast Full Focus Planner: https://www.teachonamission.com/planner

Ep. 1 Find Your Why as an Educator Dec 03, 2020

During a year that has most of us asking, “am I cut out for teaching,” teachers have got to find their why as educators and hold on to it for dear life. Discovering your unique answer to the question “why do I teach” may seem like fluffy woo-woo stuff, but if done right it will help you stay in the classroom longer because you’re building sustainable commitments and using your why proactively. In this episode we’ll dive into just how to find your teacher-why and use it to your advantage. SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOWNOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/find-your-why-as-an-educator SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher BLENDED CLASSROOM WEBINAR: https://www.teachonamission.com/blendedclassroom

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