One Tired Teacher: Teaching Without Burnout
One Tired Teacher: Teaching Without Burnout is a podcast for tired teachers who want to keep teaching without burning out. If you’re exhausted by constant pressure, shifting expectations, and the feeling that you’re never doing enough, this show offers grounded support and a practical perspective to help you teach sustainably.
Each episode explores teaching without burnout—from navigating evaluations and testing season to simplifying instruction, setting boundaries, and choosing classroom practices that are calm, humane, and actually work. We talk honestly about what teaching feels like right now, and how to protect your energy, your values, and your students’ learning without performative extras.
This is real talk for educators who love kids but are done sacrificing themselves for the job. You’ll find encouragement, classroom-rooted insight, and permission to trust what you already know—because sustainable teaching isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing what matters.
If you’re a burned-out teacher looking for clarity, calm, and a way forward that doesn’t cost your well-being, you’re in the right place.
Episodes
282 episodes
The Last Weeks of School Don’t Have to Be Chaos in the Classroom Episode 293
The last week of school can make the best teachers feel like everything is coming apart at once: grades due, rooms to pack, routines blown up by assemblies, and kids who are equal parts excited and dysregulated. I’m sharing a practical way to c...
Themed STEM in the Classroom: The End-of-Year Behavior Trick for Teachers Episode 292
The sprint to summer for teachers doesn’t have to feel like a grind. We share a practical, energizing way to turn late-April restlessness into focused learning with themed STEM that honors where students are right now in the classroom. If you’r...
Theme Weeks for Teachers: The Secret to Surviving Spring in the Classroom Episode 291
The last weeks of school for teachers don’t have to be loud, chaotic, or exhausting. We show how a simple theme week in the classroom can turn spring fever into focused fun, giving students a sense of ceremony while teachers keep learning on tr...
The Sub Plan Safety Net for Teachers in the Classroom Episode 290
Spring brings sunshine and chaos in equal measure into the classroom for teachers—testing windows, field trips, allergies, family appointments, and that restless energy buzzing through the classroom. We dig into a practical, compassionate strat...
Teachers In the Classroom Don’t Have to Be Martyrs At School- Episode 289
Exhaustion doesn’t equal excellence in the classroom. We open up about the quiet message so many educators absorb—that the “best” teachers are the ones who stay late, skip sick days, and shoulder every shortage—and we trade that myth for a heal...
Teach Kindness In A Divided World
When the culture outside feels loud and divisive, we choose a different tempo inside our classrooms: slower, kinder, more human. We talk candidly about why connection is not extra, but essential, and how teacher judgment beats any script when a...
AI Can’t Replace Teacher Heart
What happens when the loudest voice in education says “use AI” and the quietest voice—the one in your gut—whispers “trust your judgment”? We dig into that crossroads with honesty, naming both the power of new tools and the irreplaceable role of...
Why Human-Centered STEM Builds Better Classrooms
What if STEM wasn’t about bins of stuff, but about the humans in the room? We dig into a human-centered approach that treats STEM as a daily practice of connection—where students learn to collaborate, think critically, and care for one another ...
Small Humans, Big Work for Teachers
When the world shouts at teachers to do more, faster, and perfectly, we choose a different anchor: the small humans in front of us. A seven-year-old’s quiet kindness reframed an entire classroom and reminded us why presence matters more than pe...
Trust Yourself, Teacher
The outrage machine is loud, but your classroom doesn’t have to be. We’re pulling the focus back to what you can control: the students in front of you, the relationships you build, and the professional judgment that makes learning human. If you...
Teachers, Hold On to What You Know: Trusting Yourself During Testing and Evaluations
Testing season and evaluations can make even confident teachers question themselves. In this episode, we talk about how to stay grounded, trust your professional judgment, and teach from your values when pressure and opinions get loud....
Simple STEM Activities That Still Build Deep Thinking
Overcomplicated STEM lessons don’t lead to deeper learning—they lead to burnout. In this episode, we unpack why simple, well-designed STEM challenges create stronger thinking, better engagement, and more meaningful classroom moments.
Teaching the Engineering Design Process When Failure Is the Lesson
Looking for a simple way to teach growth mindset, productive struggle, and the engineering design process—especially during testing season? This episode shares a real classroom STEM challenge that shows how failure becomes feedback when stu...
You Are Enough: Surviving February Burnout and Evaluation Pressure
February burnout hits hard for teachers—testing pressure, evaluations, and the constant push to do more can make even experienced educators question their worth. In this episode, we talk honestly about staying grounded, protecting ...
Surviving Teacher Evaluations: How to Stay Grounded During Classroom Observations
Teacher observations can trigger stress, self-doubt, and overperforming—especially during evaluation season. In this episode, we talk honestly about how to stay grounded, protect your confidence, and remember what actually matters when you’...
Super Bowl Reading Lessons: Engaging Informational Text Without Busywork
Looking for Super Bowl reading activities that actually build skills—not just hype? This episode shares practical, low-prep ways to use football culture to strengthen informational text comprehension, media literacy, and engagement for elem...
Integrating Reading And Science With Severe Weather
The school year restarts, the weather turns wild, and our schedules fill faster than a radar screen during a storm. We’re leaning into a smarter way to teach: integrating reading and science through a focused study on severe weather so every mi...
Back To School Without The Chaos: Simple Routines For A Smoother January
The first days back after break don’t need to feel like a sprint through fog. We map out a gentle re-entry that keeps your class connected, your planning sane, and your energy intact. Instead of diving headfirst into new content, we focus on th...
Give Yourself Grace: Simple Ways Teachers Reset And Return Renewed
The holidays are done, the calendar is rolling toward a new year, and your energy tank is somewhere between low and blinking. Let’s make winter break feel like it actually refills you. We pull back the curtain on what a real teacher reset looks...
January Without Whiplash
If January has ever felt like educational whiplash, this conversation is your warm landing pad. We walk through a practical plan to protect your peace after winter break, built on a few high-impact moves you can set up before you unplug: print-...
Five Blissful, Low-Prep Classroom Ideas To Survive December
December doesn’t have to be a stress test. We unpack five blissful, low-prep strategies that keep kids learning and let you breathe, so you can walk into winter break proud, present, and not wiped out. We start with Elf Diaries, a creative writ...
Turning December Chaos Into Hands‑On Science Kids Remember
December doesn’t have to be glitter storms and lost learning. We share a practical, story-driven way to turn holiday energy into real science with a Christmas-themed matter unit that keeps kids focused, curious, and proud of their work. Think s...
Ten Christmas Read-Alouds That Teachers and Kids Love
December doesn’t have to be survival mode. We’re sharing ten Christmas read‑alouds that bring the room to a cozy hush while still nailing essential skills like character analysis, sequencing, vocabulary, point of view, and fluency. Each pick co...
Short Week, Full Heart; Sanity Saved
The week before Thanksgiving can feel like a carnival on wheels—school-wide feasts, cupcake drop-offs, half the class rehearsing for a turkey play, and attention spans migrating toward grandma’s pie. We lean into that reality with a grounded pl...
A Read-Aloud That Reframes Thanksgiving and Belonging
What if the most meaningful lesson in a noisy month is the quietest one? I share the story of a short read-aloud—Molly’s Pilgrim—that shifted my classroom from scattered to centered, and why one complete book can spark more empathy and i...