How To Survive The Classroom

Raising Gerry: A Mother’s Day Special


Listen Later

ORDER MY NEW BOOK (AVAILABLE NOW)!!! — https://bit.ly/49CZ5A0⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

We are back with part two of our Mother's Day special, and this time the spotlight is on Gerry’s mom, Melanie Potoka!. Not only is she the woman who raised Gerry, but she’s also a fellow educator who’s been in the game for 10 years teaching fifth-grade math and science. Melanie drops some major truth bombs about Gerry’s childhood, including the fact that she was actually shocked he became a teacher since she figured he’d be a preacher or a sports broadcaster.


We dive into Gerry’s legendary costume phase (Elvis! Pirates! The Situation from Jersey Shore!) and why he currently has five Spider-Man "dolls" within arms reach while we're recording. Plus, Melanie spills the tea on Gerry’s high school days, including the time a teacher threatened to kick him out for saying the book The Giver sucked, and honestly, Gerry still stands by that review.


We also talk about the "gummy bear war" and the "little man" catchphrase that has been haunting their family car rides for years. Happy Mother’s Day to all our teacher moms out there, we hope you're getting some quiet time (and maybe a coloring book) today!

Takeaways:

  • The Career Surprise: Why Melanie never saw Gerry's teaching career coming, despite his natural gift for gab and remembering random facts.


  • "The Situation" at Spirit Halloween: The hilarious story of the year Gerry chose the most "wild" Halloween costume possible and ended up on the local news.


  • The Giver Debate: Gerry recounts the first time he was almost kicked out of a classroom for his very vocal (and very negative) literary critique.


  • The Surgery Incident: Melanie and Andrea discuss a "medicated" Gerry post-kidney surgery, involving an exposed hospital gown and some very questionable comments to the nurses.


  • Mom as the #1 Fan (and Heckler): Why Melanie’s "delayed laugh" and tendency to guess punchlines makes her the most stressful audience member at Gerry’s comedy shows.

    --

    Teachers’ night out? Yes, please! Come see comedian Educator Andrea…Get your tickets at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠teachersloungelive.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Educatorandrea.com/tickets⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for laugh out loud Education!

    Don’t Be Shy Come Say Hi: www.podcasterandrea.com
    Watch on YouTube: @educatorandrea
    A Human Content Production

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

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store

    How To Survive The ClassroomBy Andrea Forcum

    • 4.9
    • 4.9
    • 4.9
    • 4.9
    • 4.9

    4.9

    256 ratings


    More shows like How To Survive The Classroom

    View all
    My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark by Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts

    My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

    172,037 Listeners

    Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard by Armchair Umbrella

    Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard

    69,626 Listeners

    Social Studies by Joe Dombrowski & Gaspare Randazzo

    Social Studies

    13 Listeners

    Best Friends with Nicole Byer and Sasheer Zamata by Headgum

    Best Friends with Nicole Byer and Sasheer Zamata

    4,792 Listeners

    Office Ladies by Audacy & Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey

    Office Ladies

    85,636 Listeners

    Bendy Bodies with Dr. Linda Bluestein by Dr. Linda Bluestein

    Bendy Bodies with Dr. Linda Bluestein

    228 Listeners

    #IMOMSOHARD by Pionaire Podcasting

    #IMOMSOHARD

    2,186 Listeners

    Teachers Off Duty by Bored Teachers

    Teachers Off Duty

    2,388 Listeners

    Pod Meets World by iHeartPodcasts

    Pod Meets World

    6,815 Listeners

    New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce by Wondery

    New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce

    17,788 Listeners

    I've Had It by Jennifer Welch and Angie Sullivan

    I've Had It

    18,270 Listeners

    Knock Knock, Hi! with the Glaucomfleckens by Human Content

    Knock Knock, Hi! with the Glaucomfleckens

    470 Listeners

    Moby Pod by Moby

    Moby Pod

    121 Listeners

    Accidental Experts with Dani and Tay by Human Content

    Accidental Experts with Dani and Tay

    43 Listeners

    Handsome by Headgum

    Handsome

    13,710 Listeners

    Psychiatry Boot Camp by Mark Mullen, MD

    Psychiatry Boot Camp

    200 Listeners

    Long Winded with Gabby Windey by Gabby Windey

    Long Winded with Gabby Windey

    1,493 Listeners

    The DoubleBlind Magic Hour by DoubleBlind Magazine

    The DoubleBlind Magic Hour

    20 Listeners

    Human Values by Human Content

    Human Values

    23 Listeners

    Ungroundable with Lisa Schwartz by Human Content

    Ungroundable with Lisa Schwartz

    46 Listeners

    Explain Like I’m Thirty with SidneyRaz by Human Content

    Explain Like I’m Thirty with SidneyRaz

    13 Listeners

    Hidden Stories with Andy Jiang by Human Content

    Hidden Stories with Andy Jiang

    83 Listeners

    How to Be Patient by Human Content

    How to Be Patient

    87 Listeners

    We Are Fine by Human Content

    We Are Fine

    6 Listeners

    Not Gonna Lie with Kylie Kelce by Wave

    Not Gonna Lie with Kylie Kelce

    10,274 Listeners

    Good Hang with Amy Poehler by The Ringer

    Good Hang with Amy Poehler

    12,559 Listeners

    House of Maher by Wave

    House of Maher

    550 Listeners

    Speech Talk by Eva Johnson & Emily Brady

    Speech Talk

    4 Listeners

    The Sepsis Spectrum by Sepsis Alliance

    The Sepsis Spectrum

    13 Listeners