If you’re a teacher, you probably know the feeling of juggling too many things all at once, taking care of all the people around you. But how often do you stop to check in with yourself?

Today we’re diving into a topic that’s not talked about enough, especially in education. It’s something that impacts each one of us every day—mental health. I’ll share a vulnerable story about my mental health journey, and talk about why taking care of our mental health as teachers is just as important as the lessons we deliver in the classroom.

We’ll talk about what the signs of anxiety and depression may look like, as well as practical ways to support your mental well-being when the demands of teaching feel overwhelming. So whether you’re feeling burned out, or you’re curious about how to build healthier habits, this conversation is one that we all need.

Episode Highlights:

03:28 - Why teachers are prone to mental health struggles, and how that shows up in the classroom

07:09 - How mental health struggles lead to burnout in the classroom

10:06 - My own journey with mental health and why I left a job I thought I would love

16:49 - Practical steps to build healthy habits and prevent burnout

Links & Resources:

• The Thinking Reader
• Free Close Reading Guidebook
• The Literacy Lounge Facebook group
• Leave your rating and review on Apple Podcasts!

Show Notes: https://cieraharristeaching.com/episode22

Mentioned in this episode:

The Thinking Reader* is a must-have for teachers looking to bridge the gap between phonics and deep comprehension. Packed with research-backed strategies, this book helps students think critically and truly understand what they read. https://cieraharristeaching.com/the-thinking-reader/

How can we best support our students with special needs inside the general education classroom when we don’t have a background in special education? Without training in special education, teachers often wonder how they can ensure their students with special needs are receiving the instruction and support they need. Dr. Chris Reeve is joining me today to share some incredible insight on how we can support these students.

Dr. Chris Reeve has a doctorate in psychology and is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst-Doctoral. She has a passion for helping special education teachers serve their students in the best ways possible.

Join us as we dive into the best ways general education teachers can support their students with special needs, specifically in the literacy block. She shares some invaluable information on how teachers can support these students, how to create a supportive classroom culture, the role of differentiation, the importance of understanding a student’s IEP, and more!

Episode Highlights:

06:57 - The 3 areas teachers can support students with special needs inside the literacy block

10:24 - What role differentiation plays when supporting the diverse needs of students

21:27 - The importance of knowing, understanding, and implementing the student’s IEP

32:10 - How we can support and find more effective collaboration practices to bring both general education teams and special education teams together to support those students

42:33 - What strategies general education teachers can use to assess the progress of students with special needs.

Links & Resources:

• The Comprehensive Autism Planning System: (CAPS) Library
• Autism Classroom Resources Podcast Episode 80. Teaching Implementation Plan: An Easy Road Map for Your Classroom IEP
• Free Close Reading Guidebook
• The Literacy Lounge Facebook group
• Leave your rating and review on Apple Podcasts!

Grab all the podcast links and resources mentioned in this episode inside the show notes: https://cieraharristeaching.com/episode21

Mentioned in this episode:

The Thinking Reader* is a must-have for teachers looking to bridge the gap between phonics and deep comprehension. Packed with research-backed strategies, this book helps students think critically and truly understand what they read. https://cieraharristeaching.com/the-thinking-reader/

The demands on teachers seem to grow endlessly. There always seem to be curriculum changes, standardized testing, and all the challenges that have come along with the past few years. Teachers today are facing very high levels of exhaustion, stress, and burnout. So, what can we do to help prevent and manage this stress and burnout?

Teacher burnout and sustainability strategist Brittany Blackwell joins us to share all about teacher burnout. She offers invaluable insights and strategies to help educators navigate these turbulent times by getting to the root cause of burnout and offering practical approaches to help teachers refresh their minds, bodies, and souls.

In this episode, Brittany is breaking down the primary causes of teacher burnout, the brain science behind stress, coping strategies for educators, and how to recognize the early warning signs of stress and overwhelm.

Episode Highlights:

06:11 - The primary causes of teacher burnout and how this impacts educators both personally and professionally

12:04 - The psychological and physiological mechanisms behind stress

20:38 - Effective coping strategies educators can use to help mitigate the effects of stress

29:48 - How educators can recognize early warning signs of burnout in themselves and what steps they can take to address it before it becomes just too overwhelming

33:29 - What systematic changes are necessary to address and prevent teacher burnout on a broader scale

Links & Resources:

• Get Your Next Steps to Burnout Recovery in this quiz
• Grab Your Free Breathwork Guide for Educators
• The Resilient Teacher Podcast
• Free Close Reading Guidebook
• The Literacy Lounge Facebook group
• Leave your rating and review on Apple Podcasts!

Grab all the podcast links and resources mentioned in this episode inside the show notes: https://cieraharristeaching.com/episode20

Mentioned in this episode:

The Thinking Reader* is a must-have for teachers looking to bridge the gap between phonics and deep comprehension. Packed with research-backed strategies, this book helps students think critically and truly understand what they read. https://cieraharristeaching.com/the-thinking-reader/