Educate & Rejuvenate: The Podcast

You love your students. You believe in this work. But somewhere between the lesson plans, the meetings, and everything else on your plate, you stopped showing up for yourself, and you're tired in a way a weekend off never quite fixes.That has a name here: Teacher Brain. It's not a flaw, it's what happens when your mind has been running on survival mode for way too long. Educate & Rejuvenate is the podcast that helps you understand what's actually going on underneath the burnout, so you can educate AND rejuvenate, not just one or the other. This podcast is here as a retreat for your Teacher Brain.Host Kelsey Sorenson is a former teacher turned certified life coach who left the classroom looking for relief and found out the burnout followed her anyway, until she learned to work with her mind instead of against it. This show is for teachers, and any educator raising or homeschooling kids, who want to be present at school and present at home, without waiting until summer to feel like the

Educate & Rejuvenate: The Podcast is a education podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 258 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 84.

Unknown Host hosts Educate & Rejuvenate: The Podcast, a education show with 258 episodes published.

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  Episode #200

  Admin Asked for Volunteers. Nobody Spoke Up... So You Did.

  Oct 1, 202615 min

  It's Friday afternoon at 4:00 PM, and your admin asks for "one quick volunteer" to lead Spirit Week. Silence fills the room—and before you even think about it, you hear your own voice say, "I can do it." If you struggle with setting boundaries as a teacher , teacher people-pleasing , or constantly saying yes when you mean no , you are not alone! In Part 1 of our 5-part Teacher Boundary Series, we’re looking at what actually happens inside your "Teacher Brain" during those 3 seconds between being asked and volunteering—and why fear of not being a "team player" keeps educators trapped in teacher burnout . WATCH THE EPISODE ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/Uw5gQDdhglQ We are prioritizing YouTube for the podcast moving forward. Be sure to watch & subscribe over there, as some live podcasts and bonus videos may not be available on audio. GRAB THE BOOK & WORKBOOK: Get your copy of Educate & Rejuvenate: A 3-Step Guide to Revitalize Your Teaching, Renew Your Spirit, and Reignite Your Passion for Life : https://amzn.to/4d4ZxIa (As an Amazon affiliate, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you). GET THE APP & FREE MINI WELLNESS COURSE: Access our free mini wellness course for teachers directly inside the Educate & Rejuvenate App: https://educateandrejuvenate.com/app-access-directions/ ✨ WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE: What happens in the 3 seconds before you say "Yes" to extra school duties Why "Teacher Brain" predicts that saying "No" means you're not a "team player" The 4 types of teacher people-pleasing: The Automatic, The "Nobody Else Will", The Job Creep, and The Peacekeeper How Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs explains our deep desire for school belonging Why every "Yes" to extra school work is a hidden "No" to your family or personal time Why setting external boundaries still leaves teachers feeling guilty—and how to fix the internal pattern ⏱️ DETAILED EPISODE TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 - The awkward staff meeting volunteer moment 1:05 - Welcome to Educate & Rejuvenate & Episode Overview 1:40 - Hallway asks, covering preps, and automatic emails 2:25 - Understanding the Why behind teacher people-pleasing 3:15 - Welcome to Part 1 of our 5-Part Teacher Boundary Series! 4:05 - The Quiet Your Teacher Brain Masterclass & Email List 5:25 - What happens in the 3 seconds before you say "Yes" 6:10 - Fear of letting people down & wanting to be a "team player" 7:15 - Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: Love, Belonging & Fitting In 8:05 - What does being a "team player" actually mean? 9:00 - The 4 Types of "Yes": Automatic, Nobody Else Will, Job Creep & Keep the Peace 9:55 - Why this matters: Regret, burnout & hidden sacrifices 10:45 - Why teachers feel guilty even when they do say "No" 11:20 - You don't have to say "No" to everything (Intentional vs. Fear-Based Yeses) 12:30 - Your 1-week action step: Notice your Teacher Brain in real-time 13:30 - What's coming next in Part 2 of this series! FREE RESOURCES & LINKS: Get the Teacher Brain Break Newsletter: https://educateandrejuvenate.com/teacherbrainbreak Get the Educate & Rejuvenate App & Mini Course: https://educateandrejuvenate.com/app-access-directions/ Visit the Website: https://educateandrejuvenate.com READY TO GO DEEPER? Don't miss Part 2 of this 5-part series, where we talk about what to do before you answer so your "Yes" actually means yes! Make sure you're subscribed to the channel and on the Teacher Brain Break newsletter so you never miss a new episode or masterclass announcement.

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  Episode #199

  School ended. Why is your brain still there?

  Sep 25, 202636 min

  School ended hours ago, so why was your brain still there? You're standing at the stove making dinner, and instead of hearing about everyone's day, you're replaying the comment your admin made in the hallway after lunch. You left the building at 3:30, but your Teacher Brain is still standing in that hallway, trying to figure out what you should have said. To dive deeper, sign up for the next Quiet Your Teacher Brain masterclass: https://educateandrejuvenate.com/sp/live-masterclass/ Watch the full episode and leave your own story in the comments: https://www.youtube.com/live/Sd9PyJlywGQ In this relaunch episode of the Educate & Rejuvenate Podcast, we talked about what happens when school follows you home, and why "just leave work at work" is so much harder than it sounds. Teacher Brain comes home with you in more ways than the grading in your bag. It shows up in the conversation you keep replaying, the email you're still answering in your head, and the thing you said yes to when you really wanted to say no. The same patterns that keep you overwhelmed at school are often the ones that make it hard to be present once you get home. We talked about what Teacher Brain actually is, the good intentions usually sitting underneath it, and one of the patterns I see most often with the teachers I coach inside the Educate & Rejuvenate Club: boundaries. This episode was recorded live, and the teachers who joined us shared their own stories in the comments, the last time they said yes at school when they wanted to say no. Their answers are helping shape the first new series on the relaunched podcast. We also celebrated the podcast's return and gave you a first look at what's coming next. Missed it live? You can still get in on the giveaway. Comment on this video or any Educate & Rejuvenate video before September 30 for a chance to win one of three signed copies of the book. The podcast is officially back. Hit play, and if you like what you hear, subscribe so you don't miss what's next.

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  Episode #198

  What to Do When You Fall Off Track as a Teacher (Without the Shame Spiral)

  Sep 17, 202627 min

  Title: What to Do When You Fall Off Track as a Teacher (No Shame Required) Maybe you set a goal to leave school by a certain time, or to finally hold a boundary, or to do something that would help you live the life you actually want, inside and outside the classroom. Then a week or two later, you look up and you're completely off track. If that's you, there's nothing wrong with you. This is what happens when we're working against years of patterns, and it's more common than you think. This is part 3 of a 3-part replay series pulled from the exact episodes that came out with my book two years ago, and they still hold up completely. We're covering the third and final step of the Inside-Out Teacher Framework: Align. Part 1 covered observing yourself, part 2 covered choosing your direction, and this episode is about what actually happens when you fall off track from what you chose, and how to get back on track without the guilt spiral. WATCH the podcast episode here: https://youtu.be/m1uGVKn-9Nc What Falling Off Track Actually Means (And Why It's Not a Failure) If you've ever set an intentional schedule, a morning routine, or a boundary and then fallen right back into old habits, this episode is for you. You'll hear why the goal was never to do it perfectly, what "comeback rate" means and why it matters more than never falling off in the first place, and why community is one of the most overlooked parts of staying aligned with the life you want as a teacher. What You'll Learn in This Episode The difference between alignment and balance, why falling off track is a normal part of building new habits and not a sign you're doing something wrong, how to trade judgment for curiosity when you notice you've gotten off course, why owning your wins matters just as much as noticing where you slipped, the marble jar method for training your brain to keep going, and why finding the right community can make or break whether you actually stick with the changes you're trying to make. New episodes of the podcast officially relaunched September 25th, and I'm hosting a masterclass at the end of October that goes even deeper into this framework. Get on the Teacher Brain Break newsletter so you don't miss either one. Episode Timestamps 0:00 Why falling off track a week or two after setting a goal is so common 0:58 Podcast intro 1:05 Welcome to part 3, quick recap of observe and choose 2:00 What "observe" really means, a quick refresher 3:03 Fixating on what's outside our control vs. what we can actually observe 4:00 Leading from the inside out, and what's coming as new episodes launch 5:00 Why this is becoming a YouTube-first podcast 6:00 Comment for a chance to win a signed copy of the book 7:00 Coming off book launch week 8:00 Reader story: Hannah Guajardo, "clarity for my brain" 8:56 Endorsements from Gaspar Randazzo and Malia Hollowell 9:36 Reader story: Sarah Snyder, "my village" 10:00 Quick recap of observe and choose, then into align 11:07 Reading the book's "Align Yourself" section intro, the compass metaphor 11:47 Alignment vs. balance, and why this framework holds up as new tools get added 12:47 The tools that live under align: scheduling, routines, vision boards, boundaries 13:30 The habit tracker, ideal week, and urgent/important worksheets 14:03 Why you're not meant to do this perfectly, and the "comeback rate" 15:00 Trading judgment for curiosity when you notice you're off track 15:36 What increasing your comeback rate actually looks like 16:07 Why owning your wins matters (our brains default to the negativity bias) 16:47 The daily "three wins" worksheet 17:12 Giving yourself the same positive reinforcement you'd give a student 17:42 The marble jar method 18:26 Why community is chapter 11 of the book 18:50 The Harvard study on reference groups and success 19:26 "You're the average of the five people you spend the most time with" 19:56 The line between healthy community and people pleasing 20:36 Finding your own "village," with or without E&R 21:07 Trying the club free for a month with your book purchase 21:47 Why you can (and should) have more than one community 22:26 A quote from the book on community and comeback rate 23:16 Why leaving an Amazon review helps more teachers find the book 24:11 Wrapping up the 3-part series 24:41 The free daily notifications in the E&R app 25:11 The upcoming masterclass and where to find all the links Links Mentioned in This Episode Get the Teacher Brain Break newsletter: educateandrejuvenate.com/teacherbrainbreak Grab my book, Educate & Rejuvenate (as an Amazon affiliate, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you): https://amzn.to/4d4ZxIa Get the Educate & Rejuvenate app: educateandrejuvenate.com/app-access-directions/ Visit the website: educateandrejuvenate.com Part 1 of this series, Observe: [link] Part 2 of this series, Choose: [link] Ready to Go Deeper? This wraps the 3-part series, but the Inside-Out Teacher Framework isn't going anywhere. New episodes officially relaunch September 25th, and the masterclass diving even deeper into all three steps is coming at the end of October. Join the newsletter so you don't miss either one.

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  Episode #197

  How To Know What You Want as a Teacher (Even If You're a People Pleaser)

  Sep 10, 202633 min

  If you're a teacher and someone asked you right now what you actually want, could you answer? Most teachers can't. You can tell me exactly what your students need, what your admin needs, what your own kids need. Ask what you want, and it's silence. This is part 2 of a 3-part replay series pulled from the exact episodes that came out with my book two years ago, and they still hold up completely. We're covering the second step of the Inside-Out Teacher Framework: Choose. Once you've started observing your thoughts, feelings, and nervous system (that was part 1), this episode is about how to know what you actually want and use that to make real decisions, instead of letting everyone else's needs decide for you. WATCH the episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LB0N0UbkloQ Why Teachers Struggle to Know What They Want (And What to Do About It) If you're a people pleaser, this will probably sound familiar: you go looking for the answer to "what do I want" and come up blank, because you've spent years answering "what does everyone else need" instead. In this episode, you'll hear why that happens, why people pleasing shows up in almost every coaching conversation I have with teachers, and how to start figuring out what you actually want even when people pleasing has been your default for years. What You'll Learn in This Episode How to know what you actually want when people pleasing has made that question feel impossible to answer, the concept of "the manual" (the invisible rulebook we hold other people to, and hold ourselves to), why wanting love and belonging is the root of most people-pleasing habits, the difference between choosing consciously as a teacher versus running on autopilot, how to use your own senses and values to figure out what you want, why your brain fights to be right more than it wants you to be happy, and why goal-setting belongs in "Choose" and not "Align." Episode Timestamps 0:00 Why teachers rarely stop to ask what they want 0:58 Podcast intro 1:05 Welcome back, part 2 of the coaching framework series 1:50 Signed book copies giveaway 3:03 The three steps: observe, choose, align (this week: choose) 4:00 Why to watch on YouTube, and how to enter the giveaway 5:00 The October masterclass 5:36 Get on the Teacher Brain Break newsletter 6:06 Today's episode starts: revisiting the book launch 7:00 Quick recap of step one, Observe 9:03 Observing your feelings 9:41 Observing your nervous system 10:11 What's actually in your control 11:07 How the book is structured, and the staircase visual 12:26 Reading the book's "Choose Your Direction" section intro 13:03 The Notebook scene: "what do YOU want?" 14:11 Why "I don't know" is such a common answer 14:55 Love and belonging as the root of people pleasing 15:47 Why people pleasing shows up everywhere, not just teaching 16:47 The concept of "the manual" 18:00 Tapping into your senses to figure out what you love 19:07 What are your top values? 19:56 Why did you decide to teach in the first place? 20:11 Example: switching up her homeschool curriculum 20:57 Example: what a week in Maui taught her about choosing direction 22:11 Chapter 7: the power of conscious thinking 22:40 Why your brain would rather be right than happy 23:30 The intentional thought model, plus bridge and ladder thoughts 24:03 Chapter 8: goal setting 24:37 Why we set goals, even though the goal itself isn't what makes us happy 25:36 Using the self-coaching model to build a goal backwards 27:00 Why goal-setting belongs in "Choose" and not "Align" 27:56 Recap of the episode 29:16 Why the book gives clarity even to longtime club members 30:53 What's coming in part 3, Align Get the Teacher Brain Break newsletter: educateandrejuvenate.com/teacherbrainbreak Grab my book, Educate & Rejuvenate (as an Amazon affiliate, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you): https://amzn.to/4d4ZxIa Get the Educate & Rejuvenate app: educateandrejuvenate.com/app-access-directions/ Visit the website: educateandrejuvenate.com Ready to Go Deeper? If this episode resonated, part 3 picks up right where this one leaves off, covering how you actually follow through on what you choose instead of falling back into autopilot.

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  Episode #196

  The Real Reason You're Burned Out (It's Not Teaching)

  Sep 4, 202634 min

  Teacher burnout isn't actually about teaching. Here's what it really is, and where to start. This is part 1 of a 3-part replay series pulled from the exact episodes that came out with my book two years ago, and they still hold up completely. We're covering the first step of what I now call the Inside-Out Teacher Framework: Observe. Not observing like a principal walking in with a checklist, but observing like a student teacher who's just genuinely curious about what's going on. In this episode, you'll learn why teacher burnout and overwhelm are rarely about the job itself, the difference between your thoughts and your feelings (and why most of us mix those up constantly), a Viktor Frankl story that reframes the space between what happens to you and how you respond, and why your nervous system might be running the whole show without you realizing it. If you've been searching for teacher self care ideas or ways to deal with overwhelm as an educator, this is where to actually start. New episodes of the podcast officially relaunch September 25th, and I'm hosting a masterclass at the end of October that goes even deeper into this framework. ⏱️ Timestamps 0:00 Why teacher burnout usually isn't about teaching 0:58 Podcast intro 1:05 Why we're replaying these episodes now 2:00 The 3-part series and the September 25th relaunch 3:10 Get on the Teacher Brain Break newsletter 4:15 The book, the framework, and how it came together 7:00 Why the framework came down to three simple steps 9:15 Step 1: What it means to observe yourself 11:00 The "principal vs. student teacher" way to self-observe 13:00 Why observing yourself matters so much 14:00 You're not trying to fix anything yet 15:45 The Instagram poll on teacher burnout 17:30 What's actually driving teacher burnout 19:00 The 3 things to observe: thoughts, feelings, nervous system 20:00 Thoughts vs. feelings (and why we mix them up) 21:00 The Viktor Frankl story on choosing your response 22:00 Cognitive distortions to watch for 23:45 Why you can't just bury your feelings 25:45 Your nervous system and the fight, flight, freeze, fawn response 28:00 The safety check flowchart for regulating yourself 29:45 Self compassion and why change takes time 31:00 What's coming in part 2: Choose Links Get on the Teacher Brain Break list: educateandrejuvenate.com/teacherbrainbreak Grab the book this episode is based on: educateandrejuvenate.com/book Next in this series: Part 2, Choose If you're a teacher dealing with burnout, overwhelm, or feeling like you're always putting everyone else first, this one's for you. Subscribe so you catch part 2 and 3, plus all the brand new episodes starting September 25th.

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