Hello amazing teachers, In this episode, I share three go-home-happy strategies for when you've had a bad day. Have you had a bad day recently? Did you go home frustrated, stressed, angry? Did you tell your spouse or significant other all about it in order to "get it off your chest?" I used to do this all the time, and now I regret it. My wife didn't deserve to have her day ruined by my bad day. Here she was having a good day, and all of a sudden I get home, and I share all the bad...

Hello amazing teachers, In this episode, I share a strategy that I learned from Brendon Burchard's book, High Performance Habits - How Extraordinary People Become That Way. It's called, Three Aspirational Words. I also share the Teach Happier Strategy from my book called the Control List.                 I hope you are finding these podcast episodes valuable. Thank you again for listening and spreading the news about The Amazing Teacher Podcast. Until next time, Be...

Hello amazing teachers, In this episode of the Amazing Teacher Podcast, I share three more strategies from my book, Teach Happier: 21 stress-reducing, joy-inspiring, burnout-avoiding strategies to help teachers love their jobs and have more success in the classroom. The three strategies in this episode are: Teach Happier Strategy #9: The Grateful Welcome Teach Happier Strategy #10: Smile and Teach Happier Strategy #11: The Starving Child I also recommend a couple of amazing books that I...

Hello Amazing Teachers, In this episode, I share three more strategies from my new book, Teach Happier: 21 stress-reducing, joy-inspiring, burnout-avoiding strategies to help teachers love their jobs and have more success in the classroom. Strategy #6: The Positive Journal Strategy #7: The Gratitude Email Strategy #8: Talk Behind Someone's Back   I hope you find this episode helpful. Please let me know what you think. Send me an email at [email protected].   Until next...

Hello amazing teachers, Thank you for stopping by to listen to the latest episode of the Amazing Teacher Podcast. In this episode, I continue reading from my book, Teach Happier - 21 stress-reducing, joy-inspiring, burnout-avoiding strategies to help teachers love their jobs and have more success in the classroom. I read chapter 4, which is the strategy called, Thank Your Class. This is a strategy that I wished I had used more often when I was teaching. It's a great way to bring a little...

Hello amazing teachers, In this episode, I'm doing something different. I'm actually going to read from my new book, Teach Happier - 21 stress-reducing, joy-inspiring, burnout-avoiding strategies to help teachers love their jobs and have more success in the classroom. I'll be reading from the Introduction along with the 3rd Teach Happier strategy - 21 Days of Gratitude. I share what I've learned about how our brains work, and how it is naturally inclined to look for the negative. With some...

In this podcast, I share one of my favorite Teach Happier strategies that I include in my book, Teach Happier - 20 stress-reducing, joy-inspiring, burnout-avoiding, strategies to help teachers love their jobs and have more success in the classroom. It's the strategy I call, The Gratitude Wall. When we identify those people who have helped us get to where we are through their support, encouragement and inspiration, we can invite one of the greatest contributors to our happiness -...

“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” —Mark Twain. I believe that for most teachers, this is an easy one. We know our purpose. We’re out to make a difference in the world. Right? We didn’t get into this profession to become millionaires. It’s not for the money or fame. Most of us became teachers to give something back. What happens, however, is that our purpose can get lost over time. With all the demand of the job, we can often...

Hello amazing teachers, I was pleasantly surprised a few weeks ago when my former student – and former student teacher – Eva, contacted me to ask me if I would have a mock interview with her. She is planning on applying for a position in our district, and she wanted some practice. This is the second part of that interview. In this episode, we conduct the mock interview. I ask her some questions that she will most likely get from the interview panel.   If you would like to hear the...

Hello amazing teachers, I was pleasantly surprised a few weeks ago when my former student - and former student teacher - Eva, contacted me to ask me if I would have a mock interview with her. She is planning on applying for a position in our district, and she wanted some practice. I, of course, agreed, and we spent about an hour on Skype going over some interviewing tips, along with a practice interview. It was great. I asked Eva if it was OK to record our conversation, and share it on...

Welcome Amazing Teachers! In this episode, I share the three remaining questions that we need to ask to change Johnny's behavior. In the last episode, we learned that the first question we need to ask is: What does Johnny believe about education? Why do we have to ask about Johnny's beliefs? Because our behaviors are determined by our beliefs. In this episode I share the other three questions that we have to ask about what Johnny and we believe. The questions are: What does Johnny...

In this episode, I share what I've learned about changing Johnny's bad behavior. You know Johnny. He's the student that you go home talking about. Your family knows who Johnny is. When you go home happy, your family assumes it's because Johnny was absent. Yes, that Johnny. We spend the entire year, giving Johnny lectures about the how he needs to change his behavior, but nothing seems to get through. Then we take the next step: giving consequences. We start small, like a detention or a...

Welcome amazing teachers to the 35th episode of the Amazing Teacher Podcast. In this episode, I share what I call, The Amazing Teacher Goal Creation Formula. You can find more details on the Formula at SuccessInTheClassroom.com, where I take the different parts of the formula, and write a post for each. In the podcast, I share how success in the classroom begins with setting a goal. What happens, however, is that the goals we create are often times never reached for one reason or another....

Welcome amazing teachers to the 34th episode of the Amazing Teacher Podcast. In this podcast, I share what I learned recently about how our expectations of our students has a major impact on their success. I mention the results of the Pygmalian Effect Study that took place back in the 1960’s that demonstrated how our subconscious actions as educators can either help or hurt our students’ chances to be successful. It was an eye-opening and revealing study for me, and I wanted to share that...

Welcome to the 33rd episode of the Amazing Teacher Podcast. In this episode, I share what I learned while on a trip to a conference. Not knowing how to get to the conference, I asked my iPhone, and the pleasant, patient voice that I've come to know and love took me straight to my destination. As I was driving the two miles, listening to the lady in my iPhone, and it occurred to me that there are three ways that amazing teachers are like her. I know that sounds a little out there, but I...

Well, I guess I couldn't stay away forever. I am back on the air, and I am so excited. In the last episode, I told my listeners that I was going to put the podcast to rest, but I did leave the door a little open for my eventual return, and after a year away from my microphone, I am back. The main reason is because, like I say in the episode, I have discovered my purpose in life. I know that sounds a bit "out there," but it's true. I have found out what I'm supposed to be doing - helping...

This is a special episode of the Amazing Teacher Podcast. It is the final episode. Yes, this is the last episode. I have had a great year of inspiring interviews with amazing teachers, and as much as I have enjoyed putting on the podcast, I feel it’s time to bring it to an end. I know that I have become a better educator after picking the brains of these amazing teachers, and I have received so many messages from the listeners who have told me that they also have found great value in the...

In this episode,  I have Dorina Sackman the 2014 Florida State Teacher of the Year. She was also one of the finalists for the National Teacher of the Year. I had such a great time picking Dorina’s brain about teaching and education. She’s a middle school teacher, so you know as a former middle school teacher myself, we had so much to talk about. We spoke a lot about the importance of building positive relationships, and if you have heard any of the other podcast, you know that is something...

In this episode,  I have Jeff Baxter, the 2014 State Teacher of the Year for Kansas, and this was one of the most inspiring interviews I have had on the podcast. I am so glad that I was able to spend a little bit of time with him, not only for the amazing advice that he offered to new teachers, but for the inspiration that he gives with his life story. He is such an amazing person. I know you will enjoy our conversation. Listen for when he shares about the moment when his life and his...

In this episode, I sit down with Laura Gilchrist who is a Bammy Award Finalist and Christa McAuliffe Pioneer in Education Award winner. She also was selected as the Teacher of the Year in her school district. Laura was so great on the podcast. She shared her insights on teaching which focuses on connecting and believing in kids and stepping outside the box. I was particularly impressed with what she shares about Edcamp. As you know, I like the idea of Edcamp, where teachers learn from...

In this episode, I sit down with 2014 Montana Teacher of the Year, Dr. Anna Baldwin, and we have great conversation. Dr. Baldwin teaches on an Indian Reservation in Montana, and she shares some great advice for new teachers and soon-to-be teachers on the podcast. She encourages new teachers who might be struggling in those first few years  to go ahead and ask for help from other teachers. Many new teachers, and I was one of those, are hesitant to ask for help, because they don’t want to be...

In this episode,  I have 2014 Arizona Teacher of the Year, Beth Maloney, on the show, and I have to tell you that I had a great time speaking with Beth. I know you will find her as inspiring as I did. She has so much to share on the podcast and I know you will come away with many take-aways. One part of the show that I thought especially important was when she shared with me the importance of investing time into learning about brain research and how understanding how the brain works can help...

In this episode of the Amazing Teacher Podcast, I sit down with Ben Kuhlman. Ben has a website called, Writing Teaching and Teaching Writing. Reading his blog posts, I was particularly impressed with his knowledge of Twitter. I have come to learn that if a teacher wants to be amazing in the classroom, he/she needs to connect with successful teachers and learn from them. Twitter allows teachers to do just that. I asked Ben to share his expertise in this area, and I learned a lot. I know...

This week's guest is Tammy Tweten, from Ed Tech Nerdo. In this episode, I have a great time speaking with Tammy about technology and how she is using it in the classroom. I was very impressed with how she has incorporated Chromebooks in her lessons. I have seen how iPads have been utilized in classrooms, but Tammy shares how she was able to acquire 30 Chromebooks for her students and how she is using them in her classroom. I found it fascinating. Tammy also shares her what she learned...

This week, my guest is Jeff Shoemaker, known online as the Gifted Teacher.  He has an amazing blog where he shares some insights on teaching students who are identified as "Gifted." What is a gifted student? What characteristics are common in gifted students? How do you best engage gifted students? These are all questions that Jeff answers on the podcast. Jeff also shares his insights in what makes teachers amazing. He shares on the podcast that amazing teachers are passionate. The love...