Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education

100 Ingredients in the Secret Sauce of Education

📝 Show Notes In this milestone 100th episode of Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education, Dr. Joey Weisler revisits the question posed to guests throughout the series: What is the “secret sauce” for improving education? When Joey began the podcast in 2024, he believed he was searching for redemption from the teacher he remembered himself as during his first year in the classroom. Across 100 episodes, however, he found something different: validation, connection, and a community of voices committed to making education more human. This commemorative episode brings together 100 ingredients shared by educators, students, survivors, mental health professionals, advocates, researchers, and school leaders. Their reflections explore the importance of authentic relationships, student voice, intentional listening, emotional safety, professional boundaries, educator well-being, community, and the courage to keep learning. The episode concludes with former students reflecting on the classrooms they need—and a reminder from Joey that when students are given space to develop self-love, form meaningful connections, and value learning as a lifelong process, educators are teaching with both heart and soul. Which ingredient would you add to the secret sauce of education?

Beyond the Diagnosis: Listening Without Rescuing Students with Morgan DiPrimo

📝 Episode Synopsis Every classroom is filled with stories that students haven't yet found the words to tell. In this episode, Joey speaks with filmmaker, advocate, and Align33 Media founder Morgan DiPrimo to explore what educators can learn from hundreds of conversations with survivors, clinicians, families, and researchers navigating eating disorders and recovery. Drawing from her own lived experience, Morgan challenges one of our strongest instincts as educators: the desire to fix students. Instead, she argues that healing often begins when someone simply feels seen, heard, and believed. Together, Joey and Morgan discuss identity beyond diagnosis, why students often hide their struggles, the difference between helping and rescuing, and how teachers can approach difficult conversations with curiosity rather than fear. Their conversation serves as a powerful reminder that while educators cannot solve every problem their students carry, they can create classrooms where students know their stories matter. Whether you're supporting students through mental health challenges, navigating your own desire to "save" everyone, or simply hoping to become a better listener, this episode offers practical wisdom grounded in compassion, resilience, and human connection. 📋 Show Notes 👉 In this episode, we discuss: Morgan's personal journey through eating disorder recovery and how it inspired the creation of Align33 Media. Why more than 400 interviews convinced her that society doesn't have a lack of stories—it has a lack of microphones. Common misconceptions surrounding eating disorders and why they affect far more people than stereotypes suggest. The powerful relationship between identity, recovery, and rebuilding a life after illness. Why people often don't need someone to fix them—they need someone willing to truly listen. How educators can check in with struggling students without making assumptions or causing additional shame. The difference between supporting, rescuing, and empowering students toward resilience. Joey's reflections on trying to "save" every student after Parkland and the lesson that simply showing up can be enough. How resilience develops when we help people discover their own strength rather than solving every problem for them. Why every classroom should become a place where students know their stories will be heard when they're ready to share them. 🔗 Show Links and Resources 📌 Align 33 Media (Morgan DiPrimo) 📌 Morgan DiPrimo's substack 📌 Social Media handles: Instagram @ morgan_maxwell_diprimo 📌 CLASSROOM NARRATIVES PODCAST SEGMENT: Beyond the Plate: Helping Students Build Healthy Relationships with Food, Body, and Mind with Lauren Dorman (Joey's conduit for Morgan. Thank you, Lauren!)

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Beyond the Institution: What Fiction Reveals About Power, Leadership, and Humanity in Schools with John Infortunio

📝 Episode synopsis Schools are built on relationships—but they're also shaped by policies, politics, and the people making decisions behind the scenes. So what happens when those worlds collide? In this episode, Dr. Joey Weisler speaks with with educator, coach, school leader, and novelist John Infortunio, author of Destroyed by the Events of the Day, for a conversation about the realities that schools don't always like to acknowledge. Together, they explore the dual-business and community models that institutions juggle, the pressures facing teachers and administrators, the emotional weight educators carry, the gap between leadership and the classroom, and why fiction can sometimes tell the truth about education better than nonfiction. From difficult leadership decisions to school culture, hidden tensions, and the power of listening, this episode challenges us to think more deeply about the systems we build—and the people inside them. 🔗 Links and resources 📌John Infortunio: USA Today press release 📌 Book 1: "Destroyed By The Events of the Day" 📌 Book 2: "Today Was Tomorrow" 📌Instagram: @johninfortunio

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Teaching with the HEART and SOUL: Going BEYOND the HEART

📝 Episodic Synopsis In this concluding episode of the HEART series, Dr. Joey Weisler reflects on an unexpected conversation with a college student that affirmed everything the HEART framework was designed to accomplish. After weeks of sitting outside the classroom door, afraid to enter, one student finally found the courage to come inside. What followed became a reminder that meaningful teaching isn't measured solely by content delivered, but by whether students believe they belong in the learning community. Looking back across each pillar of HEART, Joey reflects on what happens when intentional classroom design, meaningful engagement, purposeful awareness, resilience, and truth converge to help students feel seen—not just as learners, but as people. 🔗 Key Takeaways Belonging precedes participation. Students often carry invisible fears into our classrooms. Compassion and rigor strengthen one another. The greatest impact of teaching is often invisible. Every HEART practice points toward one goal: helping students feel seen. 📌 HEART SOLO SERIES SEGMENTS: 💛 Teaching with HEART and SOUL: "The Look" That Taught Me to Care, Not Carry 💛 Teaching with HEART and SOUL: The HABITS That Evolved Community Beyond Compliance 💛 Teaching with HEART and SOUL: ENGAGEMENT Beyond a Right Answer 💛 Teaching with HEART and SOUL: AWARENESS Beyond "Why Does This Matter?" 💛 Teaching with HEART and SOUL: RESILIENCE Beyond "I Can't" 💛 Teaching with HEART and SOUL: TRUTH Beyond a Story

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Beyond the Hurdle: Building Resilience Through Identity, Failure, and the Courage to Keep Going with Dr. Vonetta Kalieta

📝 Episode Synopsis What if the greatest obstacle standing between us and success isn't failure—but our expectation that success should come easily? In this episode of Classroom Narratives, Dr. Joey Weisler welcomes psychologist, former counselor educator, and sports performance consultant Dr. Vonetta Kalieta for a powerful conversation about resilience, identity, perfectionism, and the psychology of high performers. Drawing from decades of experience working with athletes, students, and educators, Dr. Kalieta explains why true excellence is never built through shortcuts—it is built through consistency, setbacks, and learning to keep moving forward even when life refuses to cooperate. Together, they explore how social media has distorted our understanding of perfection, why failure is an essential part of learning, what happens when our identity becomes tied to a single role, and how educators can create classrooms where students feel supported without removing the productive struggle that growth requires. Along the way, they challenge common misconceptions about resilience, redefine what mental wellness really means, and remind us that sometimes getting stuck isn't failure—it's exactly where transformation begins. Whether you're an educator, coach, student, parent, or anyone navigating life's inevitable hurdles, this conversation offers a refreshing reminder that success isn't about never falling—it's about choosing to keep going. 🔗 Links and Resources 📌 About Dr. Voneetta Kalieta 👉 Meet the Abrams Psychological Services Team.... 📌 CLASSROOM NARRATIVES SEGMENT: Adjust the Flame: Exploring Anger and Emotional Intelligence in Schools with Dr. Mitch Abrams 📌 CLASSROOM NARRATIVES SEGMENT: "The Pie Just Gets Bigger”: Parenting, Identity, and Emotional Survival in Schools with Dr. Julie Davelman

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Teaching with HEART and SOUL: TRUTH Beyond a Story

📝 Episode Synopsis In the final installment of the HEART series, Dr. Joey Weisler explores the Truth pillar and asks what may be the most important question of all: What do students do with everything they've learned? Beginning with a classroom tradition in which students read Joey's own screenplay about the aftermath of the Parkland tragedy, this episode examines how storytelling can become a bridge between lived experience and meaningful learning—not through disclosure for its own sake, but through responsible reflection and purposeful communication. Through examples spanning English, mathematics, science, engineering, economics, and beyond, Joey argues that every discipline offers students opportunities to discover truths about themselves, their communities, and the world around them. The final pillar of HEART reminds educators that while content teaches knowledge, stories help students decide what that knowledge means. 🔗 Show Notes In This Episode Why Joey assigns his own screenplay during the first week of class. The purpose of asking, "What did you think about this work?" instead of testing plot recall. Why stories exist to create meaning—not simply to be decoded. Modeling vulnerability without turning classrooms into confessional spaces. The difference between trauma disclosure and purposeful storytelling. Helping students shape difficult experiences responsibly through language. Why every discipline contains opportunities for meaningful storytelling. Revisiting Your Voice, Your Change as an example of truth through authentic expression. Helping students find pieces of a curriculum that resonate personally. Concluding the HEART framework through the power of student voice. 👉 Key Takeaways Stories become powerful when they create meaning. Teachers model reflection—not performance. Truth is cultivated through thoughtful communication. Every subject offers opportunities for personal connection. Students don't simply learn content—they discover voices worth sharing. Show Links and Resources 📌 CLASSROOM NARRATIVES SEGMENT: Voices of Resilience: Paula Reed on Healing Through Education After Columbine 📌 HEART SOLO SERIES SEGMENTS: 💛 Teaching with HEART and SOUL: "The Look" That Taught Me to Care, Not Carry 💛 Teaching with HEART and SOUL: The HABITS That Evolved Community Beyond Compliance 💛 Teaching with HEART and SOUL: ENGAGEMENT Beyond a Right Answer 💛 Teaching with HEART and SOUL: AWARENESS Beyond "Why Does This Matter?" 💛 Teaching with HEART and SOUL: RESILIENCE Beyond "I Can't"

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Teaching By Day: The Boundaries that Sustain Great Teachers with Yvette Dixon Ledford

📝 Episode Synopsis For generations, education has celebrated the teacher who arrives first, stays last, answers emails at midnight, and sacrifices everything in the name of serving students. But what if those habits aren't signs of dedication at all? In this episode, Dr. Joey Weisler speaks with educator, speaker, and author Dr. Yvette Dixon-Ledford, author of Teacher By Day: A No-Guilt Guide to Boundaries, Balance, and Bliss, to challenge one of education's most dangerous assumptions: that caring more must always mean doing more, and often beyond contractual hours. Together, they explore teacher burnout, professional boundaries, emotional labor, school culture, and the subtle ways educators begin tying their worth to exhaustion. From "teacher tired" to after-hours expectations, grading overload, difficult student situations, administrator relationships, and redefining success beyond standardized test scores, this conversation offers practical strategies for building a sustainable career without sacrificing compassion. Dr. Ledford offers ways for educators to love their job while hold onto a healthy professional identity. 👉 Show Notes In this episode, we discuss: Why "teacher tired" has become normalized—and why it shouldn't be. The hidden cost of equating availability with professional value. How healthy boundaries actually make teachers more effective for students. Practical ways to reduce burnout without becoming disconnected or uncaring. Why quality almost always outweighs quantity in classroom design. The emotional challenge of supporting students while protecting your own well-being. Building relationships with administrators that make honest conversations possible. Using the "village" approach to share responsibility for students in crisis. Moving beyond standardized test scores as the primary measure of success. Redefining professional fulfillment through sustainable teaching instead of self-sacrifice. Why rest is not selfish—but essential for longevity in education. 💭 Memorable ideas from the conversation "We are professionals, not possessions." Teacher exhaustion should not become a badge of honor. Boundaries don't reduce compassion—they protect it. Great teaching isn't measured by how late you stay at school. Sustainable teachers create sustainable classrooms. The goal isn't simply surviving education—it's continuing to love teaching years from now. 🔗 Links and Resources 📌 Dr. Ledford's personal website 📌 BOOK: Teacher By Day: A No-Guilt Guide to Boundaries, Balance, and Bliss 📌 Instagram handle: @dr.yvetteledford

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Teaching with HEART and SOUL: RESILIENCE Beyond "I Can't"

📝 Episode Synopsis In the fifth installment of the HEART series, Dr. Joey Weisler explores the Resilience pillar and reframes one of education's greatest misconceptions: that struggle signals failure. Through stories ranging from a classroom disagreement in college literature to a powerful eighth-grade "No Puedo" ceremony that continues to shape his teaching today, Joey argues that emotion is not the opposite of learning—it is often evidence that learning is taking place. This episode examines how educators can respond when students encounter discomfort, resistance, frustration, or failure without attempting to eliminate those emotions altogether. Instead, resilience is presented as the process of helping students move through those emotions with purpose, support, and practical strategies that transform "I can't" into "Let's try another way." 👉 Key Takeaways Emotion is evidence that learning is being internalized. Resistance often signals that students need support, not less challenge. Grace and rigor can coexist. Revision communicates possibility. Resilience is not avoiding difficult emotions—it's learning what to do with them. Show Links and Resources 📌 CLASSROOM NARRATIVES SEGMENT: Making Moments Matter: Weisler Alumni (Pt. I) — Mandy Lanier & Ryan Romero on Student Voice, Creativity, and Authentic Classrooms 📌 HEART SOLO SERIES SEGMENTS: 💛 Teaching with HEART and SOUL: "The Look" That Taught Me to Care, Not Carry 💛 Teaching with HEART and SOUL: The HABITS That Evolved Community Beyond Compliance 💛 Teaching with HEART and SOUL: ENGAGEMENT Beyond a Right Answer 💛 Teaching with HEART and SOUL: AWARENESS Beyond "Why Does This Matter?"

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Leading with Culture: Building Schools Students and Teachers Want to Attend with Shaun Hurtado

📝 Episode Synopsis What makes students genuinely want to come to school? In this episode of Classroom Narratives, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down with principal, speaker, and author Shaun Hurtado to explore how school culture is created—not through slogans or assemblies, but through thousands of intentional interactions between students, teachers, and leaders. Together they discuss why every student deserves at least one trusted adult, how administrators can lead through visibility instead of isolation, and why authentic relationships are among the strongest forms of prevention available in today's schools. Shaun shares practical leadership strategies from his Leading with Culture framework, including his powerful "No Dot Student" exercise, daily leadership habits, and the importance of creating schools where both educators and students feel genuinely seen. The conversation also examines teacher wellbeing, leadership empathy, safe spaces, student voice, and the responsibility every adult carries in shaping school climate. Whether you're a classroom teacher, administrator, counselor, or educational leader, this episode offers practical ideas for building cultures where people don't simply attend school—they belong. 💭 Memorable Takeaways: 💡 "Every data point has a heartbeat." 💡 "It only takes one trusted adult for a student to feel connected to school." 💡 "Culture is never finished—it's something we build every single day." 💡 "Everybody has an effect on culture." 🔗 Links and Resources 📌 Shaun Hurtado personal website 📌Leading With Culture: Creating Schools That All Students Want To Attend 📌 Leading With Culture-75 Leadership and Culture 🎧 CLASSROOM NARRATIVES PODCAST SEGMENT: When Presence Becomes Prevention: School Safety, Trauma, and Educator Voice with Abbey Clements 🎧CLASSROOM NARRATIVES PODCAST SEGMENT: More Than a Title: Leadership Through Service and Presence (Part I with Jeremy Brooks) *Special thanks to Jeremy Brooks https://www.theedtalk.com/ for the connection to Principal Hurtado!

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Teaching with HEART and SOUL: AWARENESS Beyond "Why Does This Matter?"

📝 Episode Synopsis In the fourth installment of the HEART series, Dr. Joey Weisler explores the Awareness pillar and asks one of education's most important questions: Why does this matter? Reflecting on a first-year teaching assignment that left both him and his students uninspired, Joey introduces a different vision for learning—one where curiosity replaces compliance and students move beyond simply completing assignments to creating meaningful work that reflects their own interests, values, and purpose. Through the framework of Recognition, Expression, and Solution, this episode explores how educators can help students identify what they care about, transform those interests into authentic learning experiences, and create work that extends beyond the classroom. Whether you're teaching elementary school, secondary education, or higher education, this conversation invites you to rethink how awareness transforms learning into action. Key Takeaways Awareness begins with curiosity. Students become invested when they discover personal meaning. Learning becomes memorable when students create something that extends beyond the classroom. Design learning transforms assignments into contributions. Authenticity invites authenticity. Show Links and Resources 📌 CLASSROOM NARRATIVES SEGMENT: A Conversation With Dr. Adam Wolfsdorf (Pt I): Teaching in the Riptide: Subversion, Power, and the Moments That Redefine the Classroom 📌 CLASSROOM NARRATIVES SEGMENT: A Conversation With Dr. Adam Wolfsdorf (Pt II): Teaching in the Riptide: Trauma, Authority, and the Ethics of Response in the Classroom 📌 CLASSROOM NARRATIVES SEGMENT: Invitation Over Compliance: Design Thinking in Classrooms with Dr. Fred Estes 📌 HEART SOLO SERIES SEGMENTS: 💛 Teaching with HEART and SOUL: "The Look" That Taught Me to Care, Not Carry 💛 Teaching with HEART and SOUL: The HABITS That Evolved Community Beyond Compliance 💛 Teaching with HEART and SOUL: ENGAGEMENT Beyond a Right Answer

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Beyond the Plate: Helping Students Build Healthy Relationships with Food, Body, and Mind with Lauren Dorman

📝 Episode Synopsis For decades, health education has focused on what students should eat. But what if the bigger question is how students think about food, their bodies, and themselves? In this episode of Classroom Narratives, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down with registered dietitian, nutrition therapist, and author Lauren Dorman to explore the emotional side of nutrition and why lasting health begins with self-compassion—not self-criticism. Drawing from more than twenty years of clinical experience, Lauren shares how social media, diet culture, body image, and shame are shaping today's students, and why schools must move beyond calorie counting and weight-focused messaging. Together, they discuss Lauren's STRONG Student Shift framework, the neuroscience behind healthy habits, the connection between nutrition, sleep, mindset, and emotional regulation, and how educators and families can help young people become the CEOs of their own minds & bodies. Rather than promoting perfection, Lauren offers a refreshing vision of sustainable wellness built on curiosity, flexibility, and small daily choices that support lifelong wellbeing. 👉 Show Notes In this episode, you'll learn: Why traditional nutrition education often overlooks the emotional and psychological factors behind healthy behaviors. How social media and diet culture have contributed to rising concerns surrounding body image, food anxiety, and disordered eating among young people. Lauren's STRONG Student Shift framework and how each element helps students build sustainable habits from the inside out. Why vision, purpose, and identity are stronger motivators than rules or willpower. The importance of teaching media literacy so students can recognize misleading nutrition and wellness messaging online. How respecting—not perfecting—the body creates healthier long-term habits. The connection between nutrition, sleep, focus, emotional regulation, and academic performance. Why restrictive food rules often create guilt and shame instead of healthy relationships with eating. How educators and families can encourage flexible, balanced approaches to food rather than all-or-nothing thinking. Why nourishment extends far beyond food to include the ways we think, cope, connect, move, & rest. Practical strategies schools can implement to foster healthier, more resilient students through compassionate health education. 🔗 Guest Resources Lauren Dorman, RD: Personal website ('schools' tab) IG: dont_diet_dietitian Nine to Nourish: The Nine Ingredients to Refuel Your Relationship with Food, Body, and Mind Snack Plate STRONG student shift

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From the Classroom to Congress: Why Leadership Begins with Service with Amanda Bell

📝 Episode Synopsis What happens when a scientist, substitute teacher, and congressional candidate all become the same person? In this episode of Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down with Amanda Bell to explore an unconventional career rooted in one common purpose: serving others. After nearly 25 years with the U.S. Geological Survey, Amanda stepped away from federal service and into Wisconsin classrooms as a substitute teacher—experiences that ultimately shaped her decision to run for Congress. Rather than focusing on politics, this conversation examines what classrooms reveal about leadership, empathy, educational equity, and civic responsibility. Together, Joey and Amanda discuss why schools function as community hubs, how respectful disagreement can be taught through critical thinking, why educators deserve leaders who understand education firsthand, and how teachers often influence lives far beyond the walls of their classrooms. Whether you're an educator, school leader, student, or someone passionate about building stronger communities, this episode is a reminder that meaningful leadership always begins with listening—and with a genuine commitment to serving others. 🔗 Show Links and Resources IG: amandabellforcongress

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Teaching with HEART and SOUL: ENGAGEMENT Beyond a Right Answer

📝 Episode Synopsis In the third installment of the HEART series, Dr. Joey Weisler explores the Engagement pillar and challenges one of education's most persistent questions: How do we get students to care? Reflecting on experiences ranging from teaching Night in middle school to designing an innovative college business writing course, Joey argues that authentic engagement isn't created through compliance or performance. Instead, it emerges when students see themselves in their learning. This episode introduces two complementary forms of engagement—academic and emotional—and offers a practical framework for helping students connect classroom content to their own experiences while maintaining healthy instructional boundaries. Whether you're teaching literature, science, mathematics, or elementary school, this conversation invites educators to rethink what meaningful participation truly looks like. In This Episode Why one student's comment—"I don't care about this class"—changed Joey's approach to teaching. The difference between academic engagement and emotional engagement. Why students often participate to sound "right" instead of to think deeply. Introducing the Reveal • Relate • Justify framework. Helping students make personal connections without turning the classroom into group therapy. Why emotional learning should remain connected to academic purpose. Designing multimodal opportunities for students to demonstrate learning. Why silence isn't always disengagement. Helping students become active participants instead of passive recipients. Preparing students for the next HEART pillar: Awareness. Key Takeaways: Students engage when learning feels meaningful. Intellectual and emotional engagement work best together. Personal connection should deepen comprehension—not replace it. Great discussions invite interpretation instead of simply rewarding correctness. Engagement begins when students recognize themselves within the learning. Show Links and Resources 📌 HEART SOLO SERIES SEGMENTS: 💛 Teaching with HEART and SOUL: "The Look" That Taught Me to Care, Not Carry 💛 Teaching with HEART and SOUL: The HABITS That Evolved Community Beyond Compliance

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Listening Beyond the Answer: Narrative Medicine, Grief, and the Courage to Witness with Dr. Rondalyn Whitney

📝 Episode Synopsis What happens when we stop trying to fix people's pain and instead learn how to truly witness it? In this episode of Classroom Narratives, Dr. Joey Weisler welcomes narrative medicine practitioner and occupational therapist Dr. Rondalyn Whitney for a profound conversation on grief, storytelling, and compassionate listening. The discussion ultimately invites educators to reconsider what it truly means to respond responsibly—not by carrying another person's pain, but by helping them know they do not have to carry it alone. In this episode, we discuss: What narrative medicine is—and why it is rooted in deep listening rather than treatment. Why stories, literature, and writing can become powerful tools for witnessing rather than fixing pain. Dr. Rondalyn Whitney's personal journey through widowhood and how writing every day for "a year and a day" became an act of survival. The role of educators as compassionate witnesses while maintaining healthy professional boundaries. Why classrooms should make space for difficult conversations without becoming therapeutic spaces. How literature helps students develop empathy by learning to "deeply read" both texts and people. The difference between responding to students and feeling responsible for saving them. Why authentic listening often requires becoming comfortable with uncertainty and not immediately searching for solutions. 🔗 Links and Resources 📌 Rondalyn Whitney's website 📌Rondalyn Whitney's ResearchGate 📌Habits of Widows (by Rondalyn Whitney) 📌Lies in the Afterlife (by Rondalyn Whitney) 📌 Columbia University: Narrative Medicine Workshops 📌CLASSROOM NARRATIVES SEGMENT: Beyond the Text: Creating Safe Spaces for Emotional Learning with Dr. Adam Wolfsdorf

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Teaching with HEART and SOUL: The HABITS That Evolved Community Beyond Compliance

📝 Episode Synopsis In the second installment of the HEART series, Dr. Joey Weisler explores the first pillar of the HEART framework: Habits. Reflecting on his early years as a college professor, Joey shares how he once believed academic rigor meant assigning more work—until both his students and his own life revealed a different path. This episode examines how simple, predictable classroom routines can foster psychological safety, increase student ownership, and strengthen engagement without sacrificing rigor. Through practical examples—from classroom circles and invitational language to flexible assessment choices—Joey argues that effective habits aren't about controlling students; they're about creating structures that invite them into meaningful learning. Dr. Weisler justifies that earning respect from students does not come the quantity of work assigned; but rather, the quality in which content can be responded to. Whether you teach elementary school, high school, or college, this conversation offers practical ways to rethink routines so that students feel both challenged and supported. 💭 Memorable Takeaway Great classrooms aren't built on rigid compliance—they're built on predictable habits that invite students into learning. 🔗 Show Links and Resources 📌 CLASSROOM NARRATIVES SEGMENT: Safe Enough: Redefining Healing, Safety, and Story with Dr. Jamie Marich 📌 HEART SOLO SERIES SEGMENTS: 💛 Teaching with HEART and SOUL: "The Look" That Taught Me to Care, Not Carry

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The Power of Love in Caregiving: Winston Meikle on Connecting With Care Instead of Fear

📝 Episodic Synopsis What happens when caregiving stops being driven by fear and starts being rooted in connection? In this deeply reflective episode of Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down with nurse leader, educator, healthcare innovator, and author Winston Meikle for a conversation that bridges the worlds of healthcare and education through one shared reality: the emotional weight of caring for others. Drawing from more than four decades in nursing and patient advocacy, Winston explores burnout, survival mode, patient-centered care, authenticity, and the emotional toll that helping professions often place on the people within them. Together, Joey and Winston discuss the parallels between hospitals and classrooms, the fear-based systems that shape caregiving professions, and why genuine human connection may be the very thing that protects caregivers from losing themselves. The conversation also dives into Winston’s developing “Power of Love Theory,” energetic presence, trauma, emotional healing, and the importance of remaining authentic in professions that often pressure people to emotionally disconnect. This episode is for educators, nurses, caregivers, leaders, and anyone trying to serve others without abandoning themselves in the process 🔗 Show Links and Resources 📌 Winston Meikle's website 📌 The Power of Love a Nursing Theory: When science meets spirits, A new kind of nurse is born (book by Winston Meikle) 📌 Classroom Narratives podcast segment with Ron Yap

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Teaching with HEART and SOUL: "The Look" That Taught Me to Care, Not Carry

📝 Episode Synopsis In the first installment of the HEART & SOUL series, Dr. Joey Weisler shares the deeply personal story that helped shape the foundation of the HEART framework. Long before he entered a classroom as a teacher, Joey recognized what he calls "the look"—the quiet expression carried by people who simply want to feel visible. Through reflections on a high school friendship, and the loss of the friend to suicide, and the lessons learned from years of trying to help others heal through direct intervention efforts, Joey explores the difference between caring for people and carrying people. Along the way, he examines how empathy can become both a gift and a burden, and why educators need structures that allow them to support students without sacrificing themselves in the process. This episode serves as the emotional origin story behind HEART, offering listeners an invitation to reflect on their own motivations for entering education and challenging the belief that seeing someone's pain automatically makes us responsible for solving it. 🔗 Links and Show Notes 📌 Join HERE for the HEART and SOUL book launch 📌 CLASSROOM NARRATIVES segment: Stepping into the classroom – An introduction to the "Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education" podcast journey with host Joey Weisler 📌 CLASSROOM NARRATIVES segment: From Disillusionment to Fulfillment: Teaching with the HEART...A Mindset by Dr. Joey Weisler 📌 CLASSROOM NARRATIVES segment: Listening Beyond the Answer: Narrative Medicine, Grief, and the Courage to Witness with Dr. Rondalyn Whitney

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Making Moments Matter: Weisler Alumni (Pt. V)-- Growing Up Through Grief, Friendship, and Parkland

📝 Episodic Synopsis In this special “Weisler Alumni” segment of Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education, Dr. Joey Weisler reconnects with Haylie — a former Parkland-area student now studying sociology and higher education at Georgia Southern University. Together, they reflect on growing up in the aftermath of the MSD tragedy, navigating grief during adolescence, and the educators who helped make school feel safe, human, and healing. Haylie opens up about losing her father to glioblastoma during middle school, the friendships that carried her through, and the classroom environments that helped her breathe during difficult seasons of life. From calming writing exercises and stream-of-consciousness journals to the impact of compassionate teachers, this conversation explores what students remember long after the lesson plans are gone. At its heart, this episode is a reminder that sometimes the smallest moments in education — feeling heard, welcomed, and emotionally safe — become the moments students carry forever.

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Adjust the Flame: Exploring Anger and Emotional Intelligence in Schools with Dr. Mitch Abrams

📝 Episodic Synopsis ‼️ PROFANITY LANGUAGE ALERT in this episode ‼️ What if anger itself isn’t the problem? In this powerful episode of Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education, Dr. Joey Weisler speaks with psychologist and anger specialist Dr. Mitch Abrams to unpack one of the most misunderstood emotions in education and society. Drawing from his book I’m Not Fcking Angry: Adjust the Flame to Get What You Want and Need*, Dr. Abrams challenges the idea that anger should simply be suppressed or feared. Instead, he explores the critical distinction between anger and aggression, the relationship between trauma and emotional dysregulation, and why emotional intelligence must be intentionally taught—not assumed. Together, Joey and Dr. Abrams examine classroom power dynamics, teacher burnout, school violence, emotional validation, and the hidden psychological realities shaping student behavior. From Parkland to Sandy Hook, from prisons to classrooms, this conversation confronts the difficult truths educators quietly carry while offering practical strategies for emotional regulation and healthier school culture. This episode is not about “staying calm at all costs.” It is about learning how to recognize emotion before it reaches the breaking point—and understanding what happens when people feel unseen for too long 🔗 Show Notes and Resources 📌 I’m Not F*cking Angry!: Adjust the Flame to Get What You Want and Need (Book by Dr. Mitch Abrams) 📌 Dr. Mitch Abrams website 📌 For Dr. Abrams' Beach scene Imagery & Visualization script + PMR Muscle Relaxation Script, please email mitchabramspsyd@gmail.com

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When Presence Becomes Prevention: School Safety, Trauma, and Educator Voice with Abbey Clements

‼️DISCLAIMER‼️ This segment discusses themes of violence within communities, significantly around Sandy Hook Elementary School (2012). Please take care of yourself while listening. In this deeply moving episode of Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down with Abbey Clements, a second-grade teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School during the tragedy of December 14, 2012. Drawing from the anthology If I Don’t Make It, I Love You, Abbey reflects on survival, grief, educator presence, and the invisible emotional labor teachers carry in the aftermath of collective trauma. Together, Joey and Abbey explore what it means to “show up” for students when there are no perfect words, why educators are often excluded from conversations about school safety, and how teacher advocacy itself can become an act of prevention. The conversation also highlights the work of Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence, the national organization Abbey co-founded alongside Sarah Lerner to amplify educator voices, support impacted communities, and advocate for trauma-informed prevention efforts nationwide. From Sandy Hook to Parkland and beyond, this episode is a powerful reminder that sometimes the most important thing a teacher can do is simply remain present. 🔗 Show Links and Resources 📌 If I Don't Make It, I Love You: Survivors in the Aftermath of School Shootings (anthology edited by Amye Archer and Loren Klineman) 📌 Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence (also check out their sign-up page here) 📌 Teachers Unify podcast 📌 Classroom Narratives: Sarah Lerner, Paula Reed, Adam Wolfsdorf

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