Teacher AA Meetings: Recent Episodes
Alina & Astrid
Two teachers unpacking the good, the bad and the ugly of teaching. Join Alina and Astrid as we navigate through the profession and bring to light the importance of teacher wellbeing, discussing ways to improve teachers mental & physical health in their working environments. This is a safe place for ALL teachers to chat, ask questions and most importantly to feel supported. You’re not alone. We see you. We hear you. We’ve got your back.
In today's episode we are discussing some political stories that have been in the media recently. We begin with explaining the repercussions of the NSW Premier’s idea to make school days longer to support two parent working families. Later we discuss the new initiative that all schools in Australia will now have to teach consent from Reception to year 12. This episode highlights the important role policy makers have on our education system and therefore on us as teachers, for better or worse.
This week we chatted with teacher Lizzie, who describes her experience with mental illness in a leadership role. We discuss perfectionism and the pressures within the teacher profession and how this can cause serious damage when not supported by both the school and education system as a whole. Lizzie perfectly explains what teaching will look like in 10 years if we don’t prioritise educator mental health and wellbeing, arguing that a systemic approach is needed for education as a whole. This episode is so crucial as we break down the stigma of mental health within the profession and begin to have those hard conversations that people are scared to hear or talk about. Consequently, we do discuss depression and suicide so if this is a trigger warning for you, please call Lifeline if you need to on 13 11 14 or maybe just give this episode a skip.
This week we discuss societies perception of teachers, including parent expectations and the detrimental effect that occurs when leadership back parents instead of their staff. We also debate about the parent's role in a child's life, including where their responsibility lies in terms of manners, resilience and wellbeing. How much more can an educator really take on? We lastly touch on social media for children and how this can quickly impact the classroom and therefore teachers as well.
Welcome to another episode of your traditional Tuesday rants. This week we are unpacking the hybrid model and what this looked like from both a teacher and parents’ point of view. We also discuss the controversial and damaging contract that Citipointe Christian College in Brisbane enforced at their school in the last two weeks. This episode is a fiery one and has everything from teaching to religion, politics and everything in between. Apologies in advance for the swearing, we weren’t impressed.
In today's episode we are lucky to have Ashleigh & Alisha from Rainbow Sky Creations, a business dedicated to helping teachers by creating resources that are simple, engaging and hands-on. These incredible women also specifically cater to early career teachers, including tips and tricks to navigate through the first years of this difficult but rewarding profession. From a new to an experienced teacher, this episode includes much needed advice regarding prioritising yourself and maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
Please check out their website for incredible resources, a useful blog and the courses you wished you had at university. This is not one to be missed.
https://www.rainbowskycreations.com/
linkinprofile.com/rainbowskycreations Insta: @rainbowskycreations
Welcome to season two of Teacher AA Meetings. We'll be kicking off the new season by interviewing our new co-host, Steph. Steph is a teacher and former colleague and just an all-round legend. She will explain her rich teaching background, what she defines as wellbeing for herself and her opinion on teacher wellbeing and the education system as a whole. Make sure you tune in to the end of the episode where she reveals what unique super power she'd love to have if she could pick one.
Welcome to the season finale of Teacher AA Meetings. Today's episode we wrap up with some tips for report writing and give advice to all the new early career teachers as they embark on their new adventure within the profession. We also discuss our amazing Float session we had, what we have planned for 2022 and what you can expect for the podcast next year. Shout out to all our incredible listeners, thank you all for coming on this journey with us. We also like to say a special thanks for the incredible guests we've been able to get on the podcast and those who said yes to coming on next year. To all the teachers out there, congratulations for making it through another hard year, you're all incredible and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Have an incredible Christmas, enjoy your holidays and make sure you look after your wellbeing. Seeya in 2022!
This week's episode we chat to Jim & Jo from Breathe Stretch Float, a 5 star boutique wellness centre in the heart of Adelaide. They explain their amazing centre, the science and health benefits behind their services and the importance of holistic health. We discuss how these techniques can be used in an education setting and which services are best suitable for teachers. With school reports and the stress of term 4 creeping up on us, there is no better time to book in a treatment or attend a class to ensure you're prioritising your wellbeing. Please check out their website (see link below) as they also offer dance classes and events incorporating yoga and alcohol (f*** yeah). If you're still unsure, come and meet both Jim & Jo at the next 'Flirty Fridays' session, a dance class combining burlesque and cabaret on Friday November 26th. We'll see you there!
https://www.breathestretchfloat.com/
This week we talk with renowned psychologist Tom Nehmy who you may know as the Director of Health Minds. He explains what wellbeing actually means, the dangers of perfectionism, the issue with parents solving problems for their children and the importance of having negative emotions. Tom also discusses what wellbeing education should look like and how teachers can improve and maintain their wellbeing. A lot of helpful tips this week, you don’t want to miss this one!
Purchase Tom’s incredible Book ‘Apples for the Mind’: https://books2read.com/apples
Rate your wellbeing with the Healthy Minds Wellbeing Wheel: https://www.healthymindsprogram.com/about-us/the-healthy-minds-approach
This week we talk with renowned psychologist Tom Nehmy who you may know as the Director of Healthy Minds. He explains what wellbeing actually means, the dangers of perfectionism, the issue with parents solving problems for their children and the importance of having negative emotions. Tom also discusses what wellbeing education should look like and how teachers can improve and maintain their wellbeing. A lot of helpful tips this week, you don’t want to miss this one!
Purchase Tom’s incredible Book ‘Apples for the Mind’: https://books2read.com/apples
Rate your wellbeing with the Healthy Minds Wellbeing Wheel: https://www.healthymindsprogram.com/about-us/the-healthy-minds-approach
This week's episode is a controversial one. We discuss student's disrespectful behaviour and question if restorative practices actually work, arguing that consequences are still needed in today's education system. We argue that resilience is severely lacking in children today, which is seen particularly in sport with the implementation of participation awards and this 'everyone's a winner' mentality that is breeding a "sooky" generation and ultimately setting children to fail in the real world. Listen in to hear us open a big can of worms.
Today’s episode we chat with Steven Kolber who is a top 50 finalist for the 2021 Global Teacher Prize. He explains #Edureading, a research-based reading group created by Steven on Twitter, involving teachers, academics and educators around the world to read education articles and share their thoughts. Steven also discusses the biggest issues in education today, the future of education, wellbeing in schools and the important link between leadership and teacher wellbeing. Another amazing interview with an incredible teacher wanting to make a difference.
Check out and subscribe to Steven Kolber’s #Edureading below:
https://sites.google.com/view/educational-reading-group/home
This weeks episode we chat with high school teacher and author Brendan James Murray about the education system and the societal issue of equity that challenges it. Brendan also discusses his new book, 'The School' and his Griffith Review article 'Silence'. He gives us the rundown of his experience with teacher wellbeing and supports the correlation between this and leadership. Brendan also explains what he'd say to Federal Education Minister Alan Tudge if he had a chance to meet with him. This one is a goody!
Purchase Brendan's book, 'The School' today: https://www.panmacmillan.com.au/9781760982430/
Read Brendan's Griffith Review article, 'Silence':
https://www.griffithreview.com/articles/silence/
This week’s guest is an ex-colleague of ours who has stepped away from the profession. She has taught in a variety of different schools and year levels. Join us as we discuss with Kali her opinion about the education system, teacher wellbeing and ask the question whether she is happier now that she’s not in a classroom. This episode follows on from last weeks as we see both the similarities and differences in opinions between Kali and Becc.
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Our first guest joins us...Becc! Becc is an incredible teacher and amazing friend and we're excited to have her on the podcast. This episode Becc discusses her opinion about the education system and her own experiences as a teacher as she has taught from reception to year 12. Join us as she talks about her favourite year levels, pros and cons to both primary and high school, her experience with teacher wellbeing and her opinion on teacher drop out rates, issues with education and staying optimistic. Becc also informs us on her own mental health and wellbeing strategies.
Teaching is the second profession most at risk of developing a mental health condition. This week we will be unpacking statistics like this and more regarding teacher wellbeing.
Our whole podcast is based around this important topic, so we thought it was time to discuss teacher wellbeing in depth. Part 1 covers teachers’ ill-being, that is the factors that negatively impact our wellbeing, as well as discussing individual strategies that improve our mental health and wellbeing.
This week's episode we're discussing what wellbeing means to us, what the research says and our experiences with wellbeing in the workplace.
Today we will be interviewing each other regarding our background, teaching experiences and what lies ahead for us in the near future. These experiences are our driving force for creating Teacher AA Meetings podcast.
Astrid & Alina welcome you to Teacher AA Meetings with a brief description about the podcast, including our purpose, why we decided to create Teacher AA Meetings and topics we will be covering throughout the series.
We're excited to share our education journey with you all, in the hopes that we can emphasise the importance of teacher wellbeing and allow teachers to have a voice and be heard.