Listen Now

This school year may be an even more difficult one for you than the previous year. While it may feel as if the most emotional and physically safe thing to do for your well being is to quit, often that is not an immediate option. Over the past nearly two decades, I have had to shift and adjust my beliefs and practices to stay in the classroom. In this podcast episode, you'll learn five of the things I have had to do over the years to remain in the classroom and have time to take care of myself and others at the end of the school day. For more resources for teachers during this time of change in education, visit erinsponaugle.com. 

For the last episode of Season 1, we are going to talk about if the events of this year are enough to leave teaching. Is it time to quit teaching. - or do you need to go into recovery mode from teaching in a pandemic (or both)? Find out the questions you need to be asking yourself this summer in this episode. Join the  Monday Message community and receive helping resources and encouragement over the Summer while the podcast in on hiatus!There's still time to download a  copy of my ebook The Thrive Guide - Beginning a Teaching Career in Uncertain Times. You can find more resources at  erinsponaugle.com . 

Has this school year left you feeling anxious, depressed, or overwhelmed by the constant changes and unreasonable demands? May is Mental Health Awareness Month. In this episode I interview Wilson Harvey, a high school social emotional learning specialist. You'll learn about  the difference between mental health and mental illness, what you should do this summer for your emotional well-being, the impact of isolation, and reestablishing your self worth. If you or someone you know needs immediate help:National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-8255suicidepreventionlifeline.org Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Hotline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357)samhsa.gov To follow Wilson on social media:Twitter: @wilsonrharvey Instagram: @wilsonrharvey and @buhsstudentservices

One of the most important things you can do to set boundaries is say "no" to the things that are causing you overwhelm and preventing you from taking care of yourself and your family after school. In this episode, you'll learn why it's important to stop being a yes machine, the big three factors that cause teacher guilt, and what to expect when you start setting boundaries by not accepting every task that comes your way. Click here to get ten ways to say "no" in your written and verbal responses. Make sure you are a member of our  Monday Message community so you can start you week with encouragement and teaching strategies.Get your free copy of my book The Thrive Guide - Beginning a Teaching Career in Uncertain Times here. For more resources, visit erinsponaugle.com . 

After a year of ups and downs, you and your students deserve to finish the school year on a high note - with as little chaos as possible. What tips can teachers follow to reduce stress a the end of the school year? You'll learn three tips in this episode that you can apply immediately that will make you feel less overwhelmed and happier at school in these last few months before summer break. This episode is a glimpse of the advice you can receive when you become a part of  the Monday Message community. Read The Thrive Guide to prepare your classroom and mindset for the challenges ahead.Visit erinsponaugle.com for more classroom management and self empowerment strategies for teachers. 

Learn more about how teachers can write grants that get funded so you can provide the resources and learning environment you want for your students. Make sure you listen to episode ten to learn about tips one through six! You can read about tips 7-9 here and tips 10-12 here. Join  the Monday Message community for weekly inspiration, resources, and teaching tips delivered to your inbox. Are you a new teacher? Download The Thrive Guide,  a free ebook to help you navigate setting up a classroom and creating systems that will help you succeed.Find more teaching resources for classroom management, productivity, and life balance at erinsponaugle.com .

Are you a teacher looking ways to fund resources and projects for your classroom, without having it come out of your paycheck? Writing grants is a skill that will help you provide projects for impactful learning experiences - as well as meet the basic learning needs of your students. In this episode, you'll learn six grant writing tips for creating proposals that get funded and develop school business partnerships. Click here to make a Donor Choose account and here to see more grants on GetEdFunding. Want to read the blog posts that go along with these episode? Click here for tips 1-3 and here for tips 4-6. Looking for  encouragement and teaching strategies to start out your week? Then you should  get the Monday Message! Get your free ebook on beginning a teaching career, The Thrive Guide, here!Listen to more episode and read my blog at erinsponaugle.com

Self care is more than taking the night off when you're on the brink of burn out. The idea of self care needs to be redefined for teachers if the profession is to thrive. In this episode, you will learn about the Inverted Pyramid of Self Care Redefined. Looking at how you care for yourself in a sea of overwhelming demands is the first step in improving and protecting your well-being and health. For more encouragement and teaching strategies delivered weekly to your inbox, get the Monday Message here. Download your free ebook on beginning a teaching career, The Thrive Guide, today!Listen to more episode and read my blog at erinsponaugle.com 

Teaching online - either full-time or in a hybrid model - has left many teachers feeling drained, anxious, and isolated. Zoom fatigue, also known as online fatigue, is for real. What are some strategies for overcoming online fatigue so you can feel less overwhelmed and reduce your screen time? Megan Brown, teacher and host of the podcast "So You Want to Teach with Technology" shares how she has worked to find balance teaching remotely this school year. Follow Megan on Instagram and Facebook @2teachwithtech and read her blog at https://2teachwithtech.wixsite.com/mysite.   Download my free ebook for teachers The Thrive Guide: Beginning a Teaching Career in Uncertain Times here! 

Does communicating to parents about student expectations leave you stressed and overwhelmed? After listening to this episode, you'll understand how to improve your parent teacher communication through setting boundaries, protecting yourself emotionally, and using a framework for effective responses to classroom issues. Don't miss this important episode!Want a dose of encouragement and strategies  before you head out the door to school each week? Make sure you sign up for the Monday Message!Get my free ebook on beginning a teaching career in the time of COVID, The Thrive Guide, today!For more episodes, blog posts, and resources to help you save time, stand out, and speak up, visit erinsponaugle.com. 

Teachers  are indeed affected by the insanity of this year and last, but we’re wired at this stage of our lives to respond and recover from it. A child who’s physically and psychologically growing and processing the unrest in this world right now -  that’s a different story. Their ability to make sense of the trauma - the impact of distressing, dangerous events - requires a greater level of concern and care. In this episode, you will learn five ways to to create a trauma sensitive classroom environment starting today -  even if the only contact you have with your class right now is thru a computer screen. Along with this I’m going to share some neuroscience to back up why these over arching practices will help with addressing trauma in the classroom. You can learn more about beginning a teaching career in uncertain times in my ebook The Thrive Guide - you can get your free copy delivered to your inbox here. Would you like to receive some encouragement and teaching strategies each Monday to start out your week? Sign up for the Monday Message here!For more resources on teacher self care and teaching strategies, go to www.erinsponaugle.com. 

In the previous episode, I discussed the disillusionment stage of teaching, where many of you are finding yourselves right now - completely taken aback by how this year is unfolding. And I shared a strategy - the 5S strategy - for surviving disillusionment. In this episode  we’re going to jump into how to strategize so you can set goals or boundaries for the new year - even if the future is uncertain and you’re not sure what teaching will look like when you return for the second semester. You can download a workbook to help you plan your goals and boundaries as you listen to this episode at this link.Remember, you’re not just strategizing how you’ll get through this year; you’re developing a new way of thinking about dealing with life’s challenges. To recap how to strategize: Step 1: Break the Upcoming Year into Quarters. Step 2: S.E.T. Yourself up for Success. Step 3: Complete the Quadrants for Home/Health/School/Self. Step 4: Choose your focus by using the sentence stems, and Step 5: Review, Remind, Reflect. Whatever this new year and next semester of school brings, you deserve a life that brings you peace and purpose. After listening to this episode,  you have the tools to create it.To get a free copy of my ebook The Thrive Guide: How to Begin a Teaching Career in Uncertain Times, go to this link. It’s a great resource for a teacher starting a career or for anyone who may be mentoring teachers during this crisis. For more information, visit www.erinsponaugle.com. 

The disillusionment phase of teaching is when reality sets in and the stress, fatigue, and expectations threaten to throw you off course. We cycle through it every year as teachers, especially in your first years of teaching. It usually hits right around the holiday season, when the newness of the school year is long gone, student attention is diverted to the excitement and festivities of the season, and nothing seems to be as you thought it would be back at the beginning of the school year. It’s a recipe for despair, especially with the added turmoil of a pandemic along with fewer hours of daylight going into the winter months. I fear that teacher’s mental well being is at higher risk than ever before with all the added uncertainty and stress brought on this school year. The amount of time you spend in the disillusionment phase depends on  your ability to climb out to the other phases that await you: rejuvenation and reflection.  Use the 5S Strategy to get to the other side: Simplify your tasks and teaching, Stop the behaviors that keep you from setting boundaries (you can hear more about boundaries in Episode 2 and Episode 3 on social media), Soften your self talk, Speak up about your feelings and solutions, and Strategize for what you need to do in order make the second half of the school year better. Use this experience being at “rock bottom” in a year that has turned everything upside down to develop routines and practices that work for you - so you can be the teacher and person you want to be.To get your free copy of my ebook The Thrive Guide: Beginning a Teaching Career in Uncertain Times, visit my website www.erinsponaugle.com!

 We’re talking about social media and how it impacts your life and practice as a teacher. There is a lot to gain from the ideas and connections we form online through social media. The technologies, apps, and programs that we have at our fingertips today are making this season of life much more doable than had it occurred 10, 15 years ago. Social media is not only our place to connect, but where we go for ideas, curiosity, and boredom. It’s easy to fall down the rabbit hole of viewing glossy feeds, stylized photos, and catchy quotes. The longer you scroll, the harder it is to separate it from reality.What you see in posts on Facebook and Instagram (or any other outlet you use, those are just the ones I’m familiar with) is not the whole picture of that person’s life, much less yours. Here are three things to remember when viewing social media, along with two acronyms to tell if your social media feed is making you S.I.C.K. or W.E.L.L.For more guidance on how to prepare for teaching in a year of unknowns, go to erinsponaugle.com and download your free copy of my ebook The Thrive Guide: Beginning a Teaching Career in Uncertain Times. There’s something in there for everyone, but especially if you are starting your teacher journey.

Today’s topic, boundaries, is extremely important considering the mounting stress teachers are under as the school year resumes in the midst of a global pandemic. Whether you’re teaching face-to-face, remotely, or in a hybrid model, the demands are unlike anything I have experienced. The expectations and uncertainty of what the future holds for this school year have not only caused disruptions to work-life balance, but to the physical and mental health of teachers. Aside from health concerns, the technology transition that most schools are undergoing is a source of overwhelm in itself.As I like to say, you are more than a teacher, and you deserve to set limits on how you spend your time outside of school. Setting boundaries will save your career before it starts. But no one can set those boundaries but yourself. How long to stay after school, when to stop responding to emails for the day, the amount of time to spend writing lessons, grading papers, or troubleshooting technology. That’s for you to decide. Here are five ways to get started with setting boundaries today.To read my blog post on teacher well-being during the reopening of schools, visit the National Network of State Teachers of the Year (NNSTOY) blog.For more guidance on how to prepare for teaching in a year of unknowns, go to erinsponaugle.com and download your free copy of my ebook The Thrive Guide: Beginning a Teaching Career in Uncertain Times. There’s something in there for everyone, but especially if you are starting your teacher journey.

This school year is starting unlike anything you could have anticipated. If you're a new teacher, perhaps you didn't even get to have your graduation to mark the milestone of completing your degree, or are still saddened by not getting to properly wrap up the year with last year's class. Months of isolation may be in stark contrast to the daily routines, favorite activities, and interaction with your family and peers. And now you're about to be a teacher, right in the throes of a pandemic.When you step into the classroom on the first day of school, you also step into the lives of hundreds of people. The one commonality we are certain to share with our students and their families is the loss, grief, and change we have all experienced in some degree over the past few months. Regardless of how you'll be teaching, you’ll have group of students and the fabric of all they have endured since March meeting you on the first day of school. Here are some steps to work through the feelings of disappointment and other emotions you may be having prior to the start of this school year.For more guidance on how to prepare for teaching in a year of unknowns, go to erinsponaugle.com and download your free copy of my ebook The Thrive Guide: Beginning a Teaching Career in Uncertain Times. There’s something in there for everyone, but especially if you are starting your teacher journey.