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The Teachers' Lounge

NHA Teachers·36 episodes

EducationTeacher interviewsClassroom advice20-45 min/epStandalone episodesEducator-friendlyPractical teaching

The Teachers' Lounge is a podcast for teachers, by teachers. This content is created through a collection of National Heritage Academies teachers, discussing classroom specific topics.

Why listen

The Teachers' Lounge is built around practical conversations with working National Heritage Academies teachers about the parts of classroom life that rarely fit in a handbook. Episodes focus on real problems like student confidence, classroom management, parent communication, math anxiety, and teacher work-life balance, usually through a single educator's experience. It is a useful listen for teachers who want grounded, peer-to-peer advice they can adapt in their own classroom.

Episodes

32 min
Oct 25, 2023
Student Confidence

On today's episode of The Teachers' Lounge, we talk with Rebecca Penrod about student confidence, why it's important, how to identify students who have low confidence, and some of the ways Rebecca increases the confidence levels of students in her classroom. #NHAmazing

31 min
Oct 18, 2023
Student-Led Classroom

On this week's episode of The Teacher's Lounge, we talk with Mrs. Simpson, middle school teacher at Knapp Charter Academy, about student-led environments, the importance of one-on-one student conferences, and how you can start identifying classroom leaders.#NHAmazing

33 min
Oct 11, 2023
How to Get Your Students Excited About Reading

On today's episode of The Teachers' Lounge we talk with Mrs. Quinn about the importance of independent reading and how to get students excited about it. #NHAmazing

21 min
Oct 4, 2023
Teaching With a Type B Personality

On today's episode of the Teachers' Lounge, we talk with Ms. Angel about what it's like to have a Type B personality in a very Type A teaching world. #NHAmazing

20 min
Sep 27, 2023
The Mental Health of Your Students

On this episode of The Teachers' Lounge, we talk with Ms. Thorpe about the importance of mental health, and how a teacher can start building a positive mental health culture in their classroom. #NHAmazing

41 min
Sep 20, 2023
My Inclusive Classroom

Today on The Teachers' Lounge, we speak with Morgan Grifka about what it means to have an inclusive classroom. Morgan shares why it's important to her, how it impacts her students, and how you can start making efforts to have your own inclusive classroom.#NHAmazing

27 min
Sep 13, 2023
Using Language to Combat Math Anxiety

On today’s episode of The Teachers' Lounge we talk with Taylor Hucks about math anxiety, what it looks like, and the importance that language plays in combating math anxiety in your classroom. #NHAmazing

26 min
Sep 6, 2023
Student Engagement

Getting out of your comfort zone, providing your students with choice, and encouraging classroom ownership. On this week's episode of The Teachers' Lounge, we talk about the importance of student engagement, and how a teacher can begin building  student engagement in their own classroom. #NHAmazing

20 min
Aug 30, 2023
Classroom Organization

On this episode of The Teachers' Lounge, we talk with Ms. Sullivan about classroom organization and how you can encourage your students to take ownership of the classroom that they are in every day. #NHAmazing

41 min
Aug 23, 2023
Fostering Quality Relationships vs. Friendships With Students

Today on The Teacher's Lounge, we talk with Amy Sheppard about the difference between fostering quality relationships with your students and being a friend, why the distinction is important, and how you can build relationships with your students while maintaining respect. #NHAmazing

36 min
Aug 16, 2023
Work-Life Balance

On today’s episode of The Teacher's Lounge, we talk with Susan Leieritz about work-life balance, what it is, some of the mistakes newer teachers make with this concept, and ways you can improve your own work-life balance as an educator. #NHAmazing

40 min
Aug 9, 2023
Back to Basics

On this week's episode of The Teachers' Lounge, we talk about how giving up control, social contracts, and creating relationships with parents and students are key to starting the school year off on the right foot. #NHAmazing

20 min
Aug 2, 2023
Teachers and Instagram

On today's episode of The Teacher's Lounge, we talk with Amanda Hall on how teachers can leverage social media for classroom ideas, how to build a following, and why the teacher community is so helpful and engaging. #NHAmazing

33 min
Jul 26, 2023
Classroom Management for New Teachers

On today’s episode of The Teacher’s Lounge, we talk with Jodi Suiter, kindergarten teacher at Quest Charter Academy, about classroom management for new teachers and why you should focus on it as an educator.#NHAmazing

29 min
Jul 19, 2023
Proactive Parent Communication

On this week's episode of The Teacher's Lounge, we talk with Mrs. Sheppard about being proactive with parent communication, and how this proactive approach can build equity and trust with the parents of your students. #NHAmazing

41 min
Jul 12, 2023
Identifying and Rediscovering Your "Why"

On today’s episode of The Teachers’ Lounge, we chat with Mrs. Martin,  middle school teacher at Forsyth Academy. She shares the importance of identifying and understanding your "why" as a teacher, and if you lose track of your "why" throughout the course of the school year, how to rediscover it.  #NHAmazing

46 min
Jul 5, 2023
My First Year Teaching to Now

On today's episode of The Teachers' Lounge, we talk with Ms. Yzenbaard, kindergarten teacher at Windermere Park Charter Academy,  about how she has grown as a teacher compared to her first year in the classroom. #NHAmazing

36 min
Jun 28, 2023
Advice for Teachers in the Job Market

On today's episode of The Teacher's Lounge, we talk with Lyndsay Olsen, Talent Acquisition Consultant at National Heritage Academies, about what you need to do to get a job as a teacher. What should your resume include? Do you need a cover letter? How do you prepare for an interview with school leaders? #NHAmazing

43 min
Jun 21, 2023
Top 10 Teacher Tips

On today’s episode of The Teachers’ Lounge, we talk teacher tips with Jodi Suiter, Kindergarten teacher at Quest Charter Academy. She shares tips about everything from classroom management to student engagement.#NHAmazing

41 min
Dec 7, 2022
Conscious Discipline

On today’s episode of The Teachers’ Lounge, we chat with Mrs. Marcoux, third-grade teacher at North Saginaw Charter Academy, about conscious discipline. What conscious discipline is, the 3 brain states within this concept, and how to incorporate conscious discipline into your own classroom. #NHAmazing

34 min
Dec 2, 2022
Student Empowerment

On today’s episode of The Teachers’ Lounge, we talk with Melissa Calcara, fourth-grade teacher at Mountain View Academy about what it means to focus on student empowerment, why this concept is so important, and how to make student empowerment a focus in your classroom. #NHAmazing

27 min
Nov 16, 2022
Using Language to Combat Math Anxiety

On today’s episode of The Teacher’s Lounge we talk with Taylor Hucks about math anxiety, what it looks like, and the importance that language plays in combating math anxiety in your classroom. #NHAmazing

39 min
Nov 9, 2022
Using Language to Combat Negative Behavior

On today's episode of The Teachers' Lounge, we talk with Rebecca Penrod about using language to combat negative behavior in the classroom. #NHAmazing

43 min
Nov 2, 2022
Teachers and Feedback

On today’s episode of The Teachers’ Lounge, we chat with Rachel Yzenbaard, kindergarten teacher at Windemere Park Charter Academy, to uncover the importance of feedback in the classroom and how to make feedback productive for your students.  #NHAmazing

44 min
Oct 19, 2022
The 4 Functions of Behavior

On today's episode of The Teachers' Lounge, we talk with Rebecca Penrod about the 4 functions of behavior, and how you can prepare yourself when confronted with these behaviors in the classroom. #NHAmazing

50 min
Oct 13, 2022
The Mental Health of Teachers

On this episode of The Teachers' Lounge we talk with Ms. Thorpe about the importance of mental health in the classroom, and how a teacher can start working on their own mental health. #NHAmazing

48 min
Oct 5, 2022
Classroom Culture

On today's episode of The Teacher's Lounge, we talk with Mrs. Quinn about building classroom culture. #NHAmazing

30 min
Jun 1, 2022
Creating Relationships in an Urban Environment

Patience, authenticity, vulnerability, and being able to take your “teacher hat” off. On this week’s episode of The Teacher’s Lounge, we talk with Deonte Bridges of Atlanta Heights Charter School about creating relationships with students in an urban environment.#NHAmazing

34 min
May 25, 2022
Mr. Knox's Student Behavior Strategy

On this week's episode of The Teacher's Lounge, we talk with Mr. Knox, Achievement and Behavior Support Specialist at Willow Charter Academy, about the role that relationships, communication, and fidelity play in interacting with students that have behavioral issues. #NHAmazing

35 min
May 18, 2022
A Non-Traditional Classroom Environment

On today's episode of The Teacher's Lounge, we talk with Christina Harmon, middle school teacher at Windemere Park Charter Academy, about the unique teaching environment she has created for her students. No traditional desks, different lighting, sharing circles, and other non-traditional teaching practices are a staple in Christina's classroom, and we go into the why behind this thought process and its impact on learning. #NHAmazing

35 min
Jan 18, 2022
Leaving Teaching Taught me to Come Back with Limits

On today’s episode of The Teachers’ Lounge, we talk with Jeff Verkaik, middle school teacher at Vanguard Charter Academy, about why he left teaching, what he learned about himself, and how he implemented necessary changes when he returned to the classroom. #NHAmazing

47 min
Jan 12, 2022
How Covid Impacted Social Emotional Learning

On today’s episode of The Teachers’ Lounge, we talk with Cam Creighton, sixth-grade ELA teacher at South Canton Scholars Charter Academy about how Covid impacted the social emotional learning of the students in his classroom, and how student collaboration and celebrating social and emotional wins has helped his students progress. #NHAmazing

41 min
Aug 17, 2021
Extra Credit

On today's episode of The Teacher's Lounge, we give our students the opportunity to answer some fun questions about their teachers, and read the responses to our teachers whilst capturing their live reactions. #NHAmazing

32 min
May 25, 2021
Embracing Virtual Teaching

On today’s episode of The Teacher’s Lounge, we talk with Michael Lucido, middle school teacher at Windemere Park Charter Academy, about embracing teaching in a virtual setting, making this style of learning engaging for students, and what digital teaching concepts he plans on continuing to implement in his classroom moving forward.#NHAmazing

22 min
Jan 6, 2021
Teaching During COVID-19

On today's episode of the Teacher's Lounge, we talk with Ms. Angel, sixth-grade teacher at Peak Charter Academy, about what it's like teaching during COVID-19 and what she learned  about herself as a teacher during this experience. #NHAmazing

22 min
Aug 19, 2020
Creating Relationships With Your Students

On today's episode of the Teacher's Lounge, we talk with Mrs. Hall from Summerfield Charter Academy about the importance of creating relationships with students and how a new teacher can begin this process. #NHAmazing