🎙️ Episode: “How I Stopped Taking Work Home (Mostly)”

If your dining room table has ever doubled as a grading station—or your weekends have blurred into lesson planning marathons—this one’s for you.

In this episode of Bathroom Break, Oliver shares his journey from overworked rookie teacher to a seasoned educator who finally drew the line. Through the chaos of parenthood, personal upheaval, and the grind of secondary teaching, he learned to focus on what actually matters—and let go of the rest.

You’ll hear about:

•The myth of being “caught up”

•How a divorce and new priorities reshaped his workload

•Why feedback can be strategic and sustainable

•Practical ways to stop assigning work that burns you out

This isn’t a how-to on cutting corners. It’s a story about reclaiming your time, your peace, and your purpose—without sacrificing the quality of your teaching.

🎙️ Episode 5: “Toxic Positivity Is Not Helping Anyone”

We’ve all heard it—“Good vibes only!” or “Just stay positive!”—but when you’re working in a school under real pressure, toxic positivity can feel like gaslighting. In this episode of Hall Pass, we’re calling it what it is: a harmful oversimplification that shuts down honesty, masks burnout, and demands emotional labor from teachers who are already at their limit.

Join Oliver as he breaks down why toxic positivity thrives in schools, how it silences real problems, and what we can do instead. We’ll talk about the power of emotional honesty, how to build a culture where it’s okay not to be okay, and how to spot the difference between encouragement and denial.

This one’s for every educator who’s been told to smile through the storm.

Spoiler: You’re allowed to feel the rain.

Burnout is real—but it’s more than just being tired. In this episode of Hall Pass, we dig into the three core dimensions of burnout: exhaustion, cynicism, and detachment. These aren’t character flaws—they’re predictable symptoms of a system that takes more than it gives. When we can name what we’re feeling, we’re no longer stuck in it. This is your permission slip to stop powering through and start understanding what your burnout is trying to tell you.

🎙 Episode Title: We’re Not a Family—We’re a Workplace As the new school year begins, many educators will hear that familiar phrase: “We’re a family here.” But what happens when that well-meaning sentiment starts to feel more like pressure than support? In this episode of Hall Pass, we take a compassionate but clear look at the “we’re a family” narrative and how it can quietly contribute to burnout, blurred boundaries, and toxic workplace culture. Oliver shares a deeply personal story about finding real connection during a painful season—and explains why you get to decide when your workplace feels like family, not the staff handbook. You’ll walk away with practical ways to talk about this with your team or leadership, as well as permission to honor your own limits—without guilt. Because supportive teams are powerful. But families? That’s a choice.

Burnout isn’t just about being tired—it’s about being used up. In this episode of Hall Pass, we unpack why burnout happens in education by looking at both the systemic forces that set teachers up to fail and the personal patterns that keep us stuck in overdrive. From unrealistic workloads and toxic school culture to people-pleasing and identity fusion, this episode explores how burnout builds—and what we can do to stop normalizing it. If you’ve ever thought, “Maybe it’s just me,” this one’s here to say: it’s not just you.

🧻 Bathroom Break 002: Your Prep Period Is Not a Catch-All Length: ~5–7 minutes Host: Oliver Chadwick Summary: Your prep period is not bonus time. It’s part of your job, and it deserves protection. In this short and honest Bathroom Break, we push back on the idea that teacher prep time is up for grabs — by meetings, last-minute asks, or crises that aren’t yours to solve. It’s time to stop treating it like a favor and start treating it like the boundary your burnout needs.

You’re not lazy. You’re depleted. There’s a difference. In this short Bathroom Break episode of Hall Pass, Oliver unpacks the dangerous lie so many educators internalize: that if they’re tired, they must not be trying hard enough. Spoiler alert—you’re likely working harder than ever. This is your reminder that rest is not weakness, and burnout is not a character flaw. Take a deep breath. You’re not broken.

You became a teacher to make a difference—but somewhere along the line, “difference-maker” turned into “do-it-all hero.” And let’s be honest: it’s exhausting. In this first full episode of Hall Pass, Oliver unpacks the Hero Complex—how it’s silently rewarded by the system, how it shows up in your daily choices, and how it’s quietly burning you out. He shares the personal moment that snapped him out of it, and why walking away from a “team player” moment was the best decision he ever made. If you’ve ever felt like your value is tied to how much you sacrifice, this one’s for you. 🎓 What you’ll hear: • The signs you’re stuck in the Hero Complex • Why saying “no” doesn’t make you selfish • How to take one small step back from the edge this week Your Hall Pass for today? You don’t have to be the hero to be a great teacher.

Welcome to Hall Pass, the podcast for teachers who are burned out, getting burned out, or just need a pick me up from, well, teaching.

In this trailer, your host Oliver shares why this podcast exists - and why it might be the pass you didn’t know you needed.