Untidy Teacher

If you’ve ever gotten home from teaching and felt completely drained, like your brain just can’t handle one more thing, this episode is for you.

We’re talking about the mental exhaustion that comes with teaching, why it hits so differently than other jobs, and what it actually looks like to try and stay sane outside of school.

Because you’re not lazy... You’re just tired in a way that’s hard to explain unless you live it.

Teacher swap day seemed fun… until I found myself teaching 5th grade and completely forgetting how fractions work in real time. A chaotic, humbling, and surprisingly heartwarming hour that reminded me exactly why I love my 2nd graders (and why I should probably stay there).

One day you’re being screamed at to stop talking. The next, you’re “a joy.”

In this episode, I’m talking about the emotional whiplash of teaching... How kids can go from arguing with you to loving you in less than 24 hours. If you’ve ever walked out of school questioning everything… only to be someone’s favorite teacher the next day, this one’s for you.

You know those days where you ask nicely… and ask nicely again… and before you know it, you’ve asked nicely 47 times.

Yeah. This is one of those days.

Here's the very real moment I hit my limit during a math test, what led up to it, and why “losing your cool” as a teacher isn’t as simple as it might seem from the outside.

Because it’s never just about the talking.
It’s the repetition. The pressure. The feeling of not being heard.

If you’ve ever walked away from a moment in your classroom thinking, “Did I overreact?”... This one’s for you.

Every teacher has that kid... the one who tests your patience, disrupts your lessons, and keeps you on your toes all day long. But sometimes those same students end up giving you the biggest wins.

In this episode, I’m sharing the story of one student who spent most of the year struggling with behavior and believing he “couldn’t control it,” and the progress that’s made me more proud of him than I ever expected.

Some students act like they don’t care about anything we’re teaching. They argue, refuse to try, and say school is pointless. In this episode, I talk about the students who pretend not to care and share a story from my classroom about a kid I’ve battled with all year and the conversation that finally got through to him.

Teaching isn’t just lesson plans, grades, or classroom management. Sometimes, it’s showing up every day while your heart is breaking.

In this episode, I share what it’s like to hold it together for your students while navigating personal loss, grief, and heavy emotions behind the scenes. If you’ve ever had to smile through the pain, keep it together when you’re falling apart, or be the steady adult when you feel anything but steady, this one is for you.

You know the kid who’s perfect in the hallway… and then turns into a full-blown gremlin the second they walk into your classroom? Yep. That kid. Let’s talk about why it happens, how to reframe your thoughts about it, and how to hold boundaries while still being the safe place.

My students think I live at school, never get tired, and always know what I’m doing. In this episode, I’m unpacking the version of me they see, the parts they don’t, and why teaching is so much more than what happens in front of kids.

Warning: may cause excessive laughing, nodding, and sudden validation of your teacher brain. Teaching requires endless smiling while thinking unhinged thoughts. This episode spills everything teachers never can... Staff meetings, late-night emails, and second graders with big feelings.

Survive the chaos with us, one meltdown at a time.