Teacher Fan Club

Michelle Young - an inspiring educator, TV personality, speaker, and founder of The Michelle Young Foundation - shares her stories of teaching, television, and transitions in this special Back to School TFC episode!

In this episode, Michelle joins Dana to discuss the importance of prioritizing wellbeing during major transitions (ranging from the classroom to TV, and from summer to school!), and practical strategies for easing the shift from summer-mode to school-mode. Relatable tip for all teachers - 📓 new stationery helps! Michelle shares her strategies for recharging, routines for getting "back in the game," and classroom ideas to foster connection and community in those first few days.

Beyond "Back to School" - this candid conversation also explores the identity dynamics at play when you're a teacher - from the pressure and responsibility to be "on" and serve as a role model, to the courage to pursue change when you're ready for new career horizons. Whether you're a fan of Michelle from her time on The Bachelorette, or a new fan of her inspiring Foundation, you will enjoy listening to her inspiring stories and wisdom on navigating life and transitions as an educator.

"Once an educator, always an educator" - Michelle Young, TFC Episode 26

Visit www.teacherfanclub.com for full Show Notes.

In this enlightening episode of the Teacher Fan Club we welcome Dr. Dacher Keltner, one of the world’s foremost emotion scientists and the founding Director of the Greater Good Science Center. Dr. Keltner is a distinguished psychology professor at the University of California, Berkeley and has consulted for Google, Apple, and Pinterest on emotion and wellbeing. He was also the scientific advisor behind Pixar’s Inside Out. With an inspiring career that spans over 200 scientific publications and six books, including his lastest, Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How it Can Transform Your Life, Dr. Keltner has revolutionized our understanding of emotions and their impact on wellbeing and social connection.

In this episode, we dive into Dr. Keltner's latest work on awe and explore the eight wonders of life and their transformative effects on our everyday lives, relationships, and even our educational approaches. Learn opportunities to trigger awe in your daily life and classroom, and reflect on your own transformative awe experiences.

Whether you're an educator looking to inspire your students, a parent seeking to cultivate awe in your child's life, or someone eager to embrace the beauty in every day, this conversation with renowned expert (and super teacher fan!) Dr. Dacher Keltner is bound to leave you awe-inspired and ready to explore the world with renewed wonder and appreciation.

**FYI - this episode has a sound distortion, off and on, until about 13:00. We did our best to fix it and minimize the distraction! Thanks in advance for your patience - and please know it doesn't last :).

Full show notes are available at: https://teacherfanclub.com/?p=106

Christy Harrison is a journalist and registered dietitian specializing in intuitive eating and disordered-eating recovery. She is the author of bestselling books including Anti-Diet: Reclaim Your Time, Money, Well-Being, and Happiness Through Intuitive Eating and of numerous publications featured in The New York Times, Shape, Refinery 29 and The Food Network. Christy produces and hosts two podcasts, Rethinking Wellness and Food Psych, which have helped tens of thousands of listeners around the world think critically about diet and wellness culture and develop more peaceful relationships with food. Christy returns to the Teacher Fan Club in this episode to discuss her newest bestselling book, The Wellness Trap. She talks with Elizabeth and Dana about her ideas on challenging wellness culture and her view that it promotes a standard of health that can be unattainable and harmful.

For more information on Christy's books, offerings, and resources, please visit her website at https://christyharrison.com.

This episode is for anyone seeking realistic approaches to resentment and gratitude in their personal and professional lives. We welcome Dr. Kerry Howells back to the Teacher Fan Club, a renowned researcher and author on a quest to bring deep, authentic, sustainable gratitude into our lives and workplaces. We may know the benefits of gratitude, but sometimes it may feel like an inauthentic, band-aid fix for deeper issues in education. Kerry's work explores the nexus between gratitude and resentment, and how a lack of gratitude can destroy relationships, workplace morale, and a sense of belonging.

Drawing from her powerful books, "Untangling You: How can I be grateful when I feel so resentful?" and "Gratitude Practices for Teachers: Navigating the everyday challenges in education," Dr. Howells demystifies the complexities of resentment and how to navigate this common (yet sometimes hidden) emotional experience. We discuss practical strategies for bringing resentment out of hiding and releasing our grip on its desire for justice, and the role gratitude can play in choosing a healthier and more meaningful way forward.

Kerry's expertise is grounded in educational settings and everyday experiences of teachers. Listen as she shares tools to foster classroom environments brimming with deep gratitude while effectively addressing underlying resentments. If you've ever felt consumed by resentment, or thought, "gratitude, seriously?!" - this real-talk episode is for you.

Show notes at www.teacherfanclub.com/podcast

Our inspiring guests in this episode are Dr. Yvonne Poitras Pratt, Métis Scholar, Research Excellence Chair, and award-winning teacher educator at the University of Calgary, and Veronica Doyle, an incredible Teacher and Assistant Principal at Rocky View School Division.

In this special episode, Yvonne first joins Dana for a follow-up conversation to her first appearance on the Teacher Fan Club, Episode 4, where she discussed Truth and Reconciliation in Education and three entry points to the work of reconciliation. In Episode 22, they discuss their shared experience working together as Dana lives the three entry points with Yvonne: Listening to and learning from; Walking with and learning from; and Working with and learning from.

After attending an impactful professional learning session led by Yvonne, and a powerful activity symbolizing the ripple effects of taking intentional action for reconciliation, Veronica took up The Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action in her own life and teaching practice, creating a significant and ever-growing ripple effect across her community. Listen to Yvonne, Dana, and Veronica share stories of ripple effects and opportunities to mobilize the Calls to Action in your own life and teaching.

For full show notes including the resources mentioned, please head to www.teacherfanclub.com/ripples-of-reconciliation.

Have you ever felt your summer break fly by so quickly, you barely had time to enjoy it?! Then Episode 21 with Jodi Wellman is definitely for you!

Jodi Wellman is a speaker, leadership coach, and facilitator on living lives worth living. She founded Four Thousand Mondays to help people make the most of their time while they’re alive! She promotes a healthy practice of memento mori and offers life enhancement resources and programs "for people who want to live on purpose, inspired, and totally alive."

Jodi has a Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) from the University of Pennsylvania, where she's also an Assistant Instructor in the MAPP program and a facilitator in the Penn Resilience Program. Jodi is an ICF Professional Certified Coach and Certified Professional Co-Active Coach. Her amazing TEDx talk is called How Death Can Bring You Back to Life and has over 1.3 million views!

In this episode, Jodi and Dana chat about how memento mori, peak-end rule, and the science of novelty can help us make the most of summer break (and why habits aren't the be-all-end-all!). The conversation is filled with Jodi's inspiring and energizing approach to life, with practical ideas to savour summer and avoid the classic, "it flew by too fast!" feeling.

Find additional show notes on Jodi's Teacher Fan Club page (teacherfanclub.com/jodi-wellman) and check out her article: Five Ways to Have Your Bestest Summer Ever (fourthousandmondays.com).

Dr. Christian van Nieuwerburgh is a Professor of Coaching and Positive Psychology at the Centre for Positive Health Sciences at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), University of Medicine and Health Sciences. He is the Global Director for Growth Coaching International which offers coaching, courses and consultancy services to enhance the quality of conversations in educational communities worldwide. Christian is also an accredited executive coach and has written many articles and books on coaching and positive psychology, including From Surviving to Thriving: A Student’s Guide to Feeling and Doing Well at University. His work reflects a passion for wellbeing, and an optimism and trust in the inherent strengths already present in both individuals and school systems.

In this episode, Christian speaks with Dana and Elizabeth about the positive impact coaching can have in the school setting. He shares examples of how coaching can influence school cultures and outcomes, highlighting inspiring stories from the field. In particular, he focuses on how coaching supports both student and teacher wellbeing.

Find full show notes on Christian's episode page on our main website.

We'd love to connect and support you and the teachers in your life! Learn more about Teacher Fan Club at www.teacherfanclub.com.

Amy Shmyr and Elizabeth Fraser are both registered dietitians who work with Alberta Health Services. In their roles as public health dietitians, they both work in a variety of community settings including schools. In this conversation, Amy and Elizabeth share how parents can support their children in developing a positive and healthy relationship with food in partnership with schools. We cover why it’s important to approach food and bodies from a weight-neutral perspective, and how to handle some of those issues that can come up when feeding children and teaching them to become more independent in their food choices. As well, Amy and Elizabeth discuss how to approach and encourage physical activity. Finally, we talk about how to handle weight-based bullying and other body related comments that can happen in the school setting, and how body image concerns may present in young people. This episode is part of our series on weight-neutral wellbeing. Full show notes are available at www.teacherfanclub.com

Benjamin Oswald is both a teacher and a talented artist. Benjamin received his master’s in education from the University of Alberta and a master’s of fine arts at Emily Carr University of Art and Design. His beautiful sculptures and ceramic pieces have won both provincial and international awards; he was a recipient of the Robert Weghsteen Memorial Award in ceramics. In this conversation, Dana and Elizabeth talk with Benjamin about his teaching career path from Physics teacher to a Ceramics teacher and artist, all while developing more as a teacher and raising a family. We discuss the connection with the arts and our own wellbeing and some ideas on how to develop our own personal art practice. Benjamin shares a special thank you to the colleague that supported him in his inspiring journey.

Full show notes are available at www.teacherfanclub.com

Susan Sawatzky is a fellow teacher, who now works as a consultant and adult educator specializing in fatigue management and psychological health and safety in the workplace. Her business, In-Scope Solutions, offers learning solutions and consultation to a variety of businesses, agencies, and certifying partners, from helping to create policy guidelines for the Canadian oil and gas industry to working with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Susan is also an instructor with the University of Alberta, University of Calgary, and the University of New Brunswick. In this episode, Dana and Elizabeth talk with Susan about why sleep is so important for our health and functioning, and how to know if we are getting enough. She offers practical strategies for dealing with fatigue and prioritizing sleep so we can be at our best and replenish our energy when we need it most. Full show notes are available at www.teacherfanclub.com