ERIN SPONAUGLE

If you are a teacher in the United States right now, you already know what I'm about to say. The things our students are seeing in the news or right outside the front doors of their own homes are heavy. Every time you check the news, it feels like we are teaching in a time of tragedy or crisis. They involve real people's safety, real families, and real fear. And those same students are walking through your classroom door every morning carrying all of it, whether or not you ca

The demands. The constant changes. The workload. The very real concerns for our own safety and the safety of our students. The fact that we carry our personal lives right alongside all of that, because we don't stop being people just because we walked into a school building. When I first decided to become a teacher, people questioned whether it was a wise choice given my history with anxiety and panic attacks. And I get it: on the surface, putting a high-strung person in a h

Teacher burnout has many causes — but this is one that rarely gets discussed. I debated whether to include this topic in my book. I left it out, actually, because you're supposed to teach from your scars, not your wounds. But I can't stop thinking about how much this influenced my career, my decisions, and my experience with burnout. So I decided to talk about it here, in this space, and see what kind of response it gets. Because I have a feeling I'm not the only one who has

When you’re a teacher, life doesn’t hit pause just because the school year’s in full swing. Here are some gentle ways to keep teaching through a personal or medical crisis — and protect your own well-being along the way.

Teaching through a crisis like the pandemic may have you wondering if now is the time to leave the classroom. Here's how to tell.

After reading this blog post, you'll know how to use the 5 A's to create a trauma sensitive classroom environment for your students.