Episode 342: When Spring Break Isn’t a Break, Classroom Size Surprises, and Teaching Through Hard Weeks

This week on Sunday Night Teacher Talk, CJ gets real about coming back from a spring break that was anything but restful. He talks about feeling worn down, spiritual resistance, tech disasters, sickness at home, and what it looks like to keep showing up when you do not feel refreshed. He also shares a fascinating insight from Malcolm Gladwell on ideal class size, then answers questions about reviewing for state tests, choosing novels that actually work, helping students who have checked out, building relationships with new admin, and what to do when grief hits right before Monday’s lessons.

Chapters

0:00 Spring break was not a break
2:18 Hacked accounts, broken gear, sickness, and a hard week at home
4:52 Malcolm Gladwell, dyslexia, and the surprising truth about class size
9:08 Why 18–22 students may be the sweet spot
11:18 Taylor’s question: reviewing old world history without losing US history time
17:22 David’s question: novels and stories that work in English 1
21:32 Dark Red Wood’s question: one student changing the whole class dynamic
29:42 Talking Into the Mic Show’s question: loud classes and no admin support
37:40 Notes From My Overdraft’s question: how to tell if a district is financially stable
45:31 Becky’s question: what to do when a family member dies and Monday is coming
54:53 Closing encouragement and final thoughts

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