This Popular Teacher Quote Totally Sucks, and Here’s Why (Live Recording) [#151]

October 8, 2024

Click below to listen to episode 151, This Popular Teacher Quote Totally Sucks, and Here’s Why (Live Recording):

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Key themes from This Popular Teacher Quote Totally Sucks, and Here’s Why (Live Recording) [#151]:

Setting Boundaries for Well-Being: Teachers must establish clear work-life boundaries to protect their mental and emotional health. Kelsey emphasizes strategies like limiting after-hours work communication to prevent burnout while still excelling in their careers.
Challenging the Self-Sacrifice Mentality: The narrative of teachers needing to sacrifice their personal well-being for the profession is harmful. Kelsey encourages educators to view themselves as needing regular recharging, advocating for balance rather than self-sacrifice.
Finding Community and Emotional Resilience: Building a supportive community and processing emotions are crucial for educators to combat burnout. Kelsey highlights the importance of connecting with peers and using tools like guided meditations to foster emotional health.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re stuck on the teacher treadmill, running non-stop and wondering where the “off” button is, then you’re not alone. Teachers are givers; we know that, but there’s got to be a line somewhere, right? It’s time to talk about setting healthy boundaries and finding the joy in teaching again. Trust me, it *is* possible to pour into your students and still have some juice left for yourself!

Navigating the Landscape of Education

Alright, let’s get real. Today’s teachers and homeschool parents are juggling more than ever—grading papers, planning lessons, meeting with parents, and still trying to have a life. It’s no wonder so many educators are feeling *burned out* and ready to throw in the towel.

In this episode, Kelsey draws from her book Educate and Rejuvenate to share how to set boundaries, protect your energy, and keep that fire burning without totally burning out.

Rethinking Boundaries for Sustainable Teaching

First things first, boundaries are your best friend. Kelsey’s dropping truth bombs, like how you’ve gotta stop treating teaching like it’s the only thing that defines you. She’s all about keeping it real—teaching is a passion, but it’s also a *job* that shouldn’t take over your life.

Kelsey even shares some simple but game-changing tips, like getting rid of work emails on your phone. Who needs that 24/7 access to stress? By drawing those lines in the sand, you’re protecting your energy so you can show up for your students *and* yourself.

Addressing the Myth of the Self-Sacrificing Teacher

Let’s bust a myth, shall we? You’ve heard those cute little teacher quotes like, “A good teacher is like a candle, it consumes itself to light the way for others.” Kelsey is here to say, nope, that’s gotta stop.

This idea that teachers should give everything of themselves? It’s toxic. We’ve got to change the narrative and start treating teaching like the legit, professional career it is, where boundaries and balance are key. You are *not* a candle, folks—you’re more like a rechargeable battery. And you know what happens if you never recharge, right? Exactly.

Finding Strength in Community and Emotional Processing

No one’s an island, and teachers definitely shouldn’t be. Kelsey highlights how community is everything when you’re feeling overwhelmed and burned out. Whether it’s through book clubs or just sharing your struggles with fellow teachers, knowing you’re not alone is half the battle.

And here’s the other big thing: don’t bottle up your feelings. You’ve got to process those emotions, or they’ll eat you alive. Kelsey’s book even has guided meditations to help you work through the stress. It’s like a mental spa day for teachers!

Introducing Practical Tools for Rejuvenation

Kelsey’s book Educate and Rejuvenate is like the Swiss Army knife of teacher wellness. It’s got everything—real-life strategies, tips from the trenches, and a handy PDF workbook to guide you through the process. She’s packed it all into an easy-to-read guide, so you can fit it into your already packed schedule. The goal? Help you reignite that teaching spark without draining yourself in the process. Kelsey’s framework for rejuvenation is simple but powerful: three steps to get you back to loving what you do, without sacrificing your well-being.

The podcast episode doubles as a behind-the-scenes peek into how Kelsey juggled writing the book with the chaos of life. Sound familiar? Yeah, she gets it. Her mission is to help every educator find that balance between doing what they love and living a life they can love, too.

Embrace Rejuvenation and Balance

Kelsey’s message is clear: you deserve balance, you deserve joy, and you deserve to set some boundaries without guilt. It’s time to take a step back, recharge, and keep that passion for teaching alive *without* burning the candle at both ends.

And if you’re looking for more guidance, her book Educate and Rejuvenate is packed with the tools to get you there. So go ahead, invest in yourself. You’ll be a better teacher—and a happier human—for it.

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Read the transcript for This Popular Teacher Quote Totally Sucks, and Here’s Why. (Live Recording) [#151] below:

If you are like me, you’ll love a good teacher quote that helps you feel inspired and ready to take on the world. And if you’ve listened to the show at all, you know the power our thoughts have on how we feel and how we show up in the world. But some teacher quotes are better than others. There are a few that just drive me nuts, and I think it’s a symptom of bigger problems in education. I’ll share all about one in particular that I think totally sucks even though it’s super popular. And as you know, we keep it real here, so I’m going to tell you why. Welcome to educate and rejuvenate the podcast, episode 151. This popular teacher, quote, totally sucks, and here’s why.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:00:43 – 00:01:20

Welcome to Educate and Rejuvenate, the podcast to help you revitalize your teaching, renew your spirit, and reignite your passion for life. I’m your host, Kelsey Sorensen, a former teacher, current homeschool mom, published author, and certified life coach. Whether you are a teacher in a traditional classroom, homeschool from your kitchen table, or anywhere in between, I am on a mission to help you not only survive as an educator, but thrive. Get ready to up level your skills with incredible insights from guest experts and discover the missing piece, rejuvenating yourself. Are you ready to both educate and rejuvenate? Let’s go.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:01:26 – 00:01:50

Hello, everybody. And I’m so excited to be back recording a podcast for the first time since the launch of my brand new book, educate and rejuvenate. We have had such a fun launch week. The book hit number 1 in 3 education categories. I’ve been having a launch party with a bunch of live streams where I’ve been able to engage with so many of you. You might have been there. If not, no worries. We’ve got the replays for you if you want.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:01:50 – 00:02:19

But in fact, this episode is extra special because this is one of the launch party recordings. I’ve actually been with my friends for about 15 minutes now, and we’re now recording a live podcast. So if you’re listening to this, you’re like, oh, no. I missed it. Make sure to stay tuned. Make sure you’re on our email list because I will be doing a live podcast again sometime, and maybe your comments will end up in the episode just like is going to happen today. And I’m so excited for all your comments to help shape this episode, so make sure that you get them in the chat. There are a few times where I’m going to ask you to actually answer a certain question so I can read it out.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:02:19 – 00:03:06

And if you’re listening later, you’re listening to this recording, I want you to think of your own answer too and then see how it compares with the answers of those who are here live, who are your fellow educators from across the globe. Now, this book launch, like I mentioned, it’s been so fun. We had a bit of a hiccup in the beginning with the book becoming unavailable on the second day, but since then, it’s been so much fun. And while it’s not the topic of today’s episode, I did wanna talk about that first set because usually at the beginning of the episode, I share a little bit behind the scenes of what’s going on here at Educate and Rejuvenate and tie it into what might be going on for you. And how often when you’re teaching, do you have, like, your plans perfectly laid out and then suddenly something goes wrong? Right? It probably happens to you all the time. Right? And that’s what happened with this book launch. I had, like, this perfect plan. We had all these lives that were going to be happening and then all of a sudden I’m, like, wait.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:03:06 – 00:03:42

I’m about to go on a live in, like, an hour and the book isn’t there. What do I do? And so what I did is I went live but then we canceled the ones for that weekend since the book wasn’t going to be there. But, again, I’m thinking back on how much coaching has helped me because me a few years ago, what would I have done in that situation? I would have been panicked all weekend. I would have been frustrated. I would have been texting all my friends all weekend, like, I can’t believe my book is not up. What can I do? I’d be checking every 5 minutes. I’d be totally freaking out. Right? I mean, I had my little moment where I was like, what do I do? I’m supposed to be on these lives and a little bit like, my book’s not up.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:03:42 – 00:04:26

Is it gonna lose that spot for a minute? Okay? For just a minute. And then I was like, oh, you know what? This is a circumstance, right, that I don’t have control over. Just like if something goes wrong in your classroom and a circumstance goes on that you don’t have control over, we can control our response, and that’s a big thing that we talk about in the book. And so it was a great way for me to actually practice what I preach and put it into action and just, like, surrender and be like, you know what? I can’t control when my book comes back up, and it actually did come back up over the weekend before Monday, and it was great. And it actually, for me, ended up being a good thing because we had some family stuff come up that weekend, and I was able to deal with that. I didn’t have the live, so sometimes it actually does work in your favor. And other times, it doesn’t. Other times, it’s just like, you know, can’t do anything about it.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:04:26 – 00:05:05

But, again, even then, it’s a growth opportunity. Right? It’s an opportunity for us to learn how to apply all these tools I’m talking about in the book, how to notice our thoughts, notice our feelings, notice our nervous system, and redirect it a little bit so we can actually be heading that direction that we want to go. And I love some of the comments here. Marie Chris says, I would be crying my eyes out, but learning from your book, I’ll acknowledge that and then move on a little bit. Now let’s get into the actual content of this episode. You’re probably wondering, because I left you hanging for a few minutes, what is this teacher quote that I don’t like? Right? I wanna see. Some of you who are in the chat today, any of you have any guesses on what teacher quote it is that I don’t like. And if you’re listening later on, think about it.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:05:05 – 00:05:29

What are some popular teacher quotes you hear? And what what is one that I might just say totally sucks that I don’t like? Martinez says Kendall. Yes. Because I talked about it on his podcast too. It has been on my mind this weekend for some reason, and that’s why I’m, like, I’m talking about it tonight. I was actually just lighting a candle, and I was like, you know that candle quote? I really don’t like it. So I’m like, I have to do a reel about it. I have to do a podcast so that I happen to be doing Steve’s podcast and brought it up. Okay.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:05:29 – 00:06:11

But the quote that it is is a good teacher is like a candle. It consumes itself to light the way for others. Now we all agree that we might need education because we wanna light the way for other people. Right? But I wanna know, everybody, you here listening right now, whoever you are listening, wherever, whenever, whether it’s on October 8th when this airs, live right now, 2 years from now and you found this on Spotify or whatever, what does consumes mean to you? Define that word. And for those of you who are here live, put your definition in the chat because I want to read it out. When you think about the word, what does consume mean? So if you’re saying a good teacher is like a candle. It consumes itself to light the way for others. Use up.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:06:11 – 00:06:25

Right? Yeah. It’s to use it all up. You gone, l o l. Yeah. You’re gone. Right? If you consume, to take something in. Right? Yeah. Like, we, like, consume food or we consume content, like, on the online or on Netflix or whatever.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:06:25 – 00:06:46

Right? Consume means to use up. Right? Consume means eaten up, uses up, takes over it, shouldn’t consume our life, but it does a lot. A new way of saying burn the candle out on both ends, but don’t want to be consumed. Right. Yes. To use all up, exhausted teacher, used up, diminished, gone, absorbing it. Also never heard it. Over mommy taking over.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:06:46 – 00:07:18

I wanna know, how many of you have heard this quote? If this quote is new to you and you’re hearing it for the first time, now you’re gonna know. The next time when you do finally hear it, because you probably will at some point, you’ll be, oh, yeah. I remember hearing about why I didn’t like that quote. Consuming is completely gone. When you think of what the word consume means, like, when I think of it in that quote in particular, it’s like a candle. When you think of a candle and it’s, like, consuming itself, right, to light the way so the the candle’s lit. The wax is slowly going down until there’s absolutely nothing left, eventually. Right? And it it isn’t rejuvenating itself.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:07:18 – 00:07:40

It’s just, like, down and down and down and down. And I really don’t like that. Right? I believe we can light the way for others without consuming ourselves, and that is really what we want. Right? Because it’s kind of this culture that has been ingrained in education. This quote didn’t just come from nowhere. It had good intentions. Right? Oh, yeah. We light the way for others.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:07:40 – 00:08:31

Right? And we wonder why teachers feel the need that they need to consume themselves to light the way for others, but then there’s quotes like this, and then there are teachers who are feeling like they can’t ever put their phone down. They have to answer work emails all the time. And there are tons of quotes like this that kind of make it sound like teachers it’s just like, it’s a calling. Right? Teaching is a calling, not a profession, or or calling, not a job or whatever. And while, yes, you might be called to teach, it is still a job. Right? It means you should be able to clock out at some point. It means that it is not actually the very most important thing in your life because, again, you have family and other people in your life who, if you give everything to this calling of teaching and you leave nothing left for your own children or for your important people in your life, that’s not what we want. Right? Or another one, teachers do it for the outcome, not the outcome, not the income.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:08:31 – 00:09:05

Like, oh, yeah. We’re totally cool with not getting paid a living wage because we are doing it for the outcome. But the thing is, you do need an income, right, if this is your profession. And I feel like there’s so much ingrained into the education sphere, into just the culture of educators that it makes it sound like we just need to be giving all the time. And whatever’s left, we can use to take care of ourselves. But if you continue to give, give, and give, there’s often nothing left. Right? Because there’s always more you could be doing. It’s not an ending to do list.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:09:05 – 00:09:25

There’s always more that could be getting done. Like, you could always find something else than if you don’t set those boundaries yourself, if you don’t choose that for yourself, then it’s not going to happen. Right? Yeah. Katie says, Latrice, we need to have boundaries. Are doctors available 24 hours a day? No. Right? We are going away from 24 hour stores even. Yeah. And even then, it’s people switching out shifts.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:09:25 – 00:09:40

Right? It’s not one person there 24 hours all the time. At my school, we fill out a sheet just to go to the bathroom. Yeah. It is a calling, but that doesn’t mean we should kill ourselves doing it. Yeah. And I’m not saying it’s not that we don’t feel called to teach or that it’s like a calling. Yeah. A lot of us do feel like, yes.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:09:40 – 00:10:06

I was I am here on this Earth to teach for whatever reason. Right? And I’m not taking that away from you. I’m not saying you can’t believe that, but, also, it’s kind of like a both and. Right? It’s that, yes. I’m called to teach, and it’s not the only important part of my life, and I also need to take care of myself so that I can do a good job teaching. Right? Teachers are very important. Next step, parents, teachers make careers, and we cannot forget them in our lifetime. That’s from Kishore.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:10:07 – 00:10:21

Yes. Right? Latrice says, I said, I guess I’m not a good teacher. I will never be available 247. Oh, man. Yeah. So this is like we’re seeing this. Right? We’re seeing this in the chat. All everybody listening now is probably like, oh, yeah.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:10:21 – 00:11:12

I’ve seen examples of that time and time again. Right? Like I said, with platitudes like this kind of quote, right, it’s no wonder that 78% of followers when I did a poll on our Instagram stories, I put up a poll that was just like, hey. Do you feel like you put your job ahead of your own needs? And 78% said always or almost always, and 20 something percent said sometimes, and only 2% said rarely or never. So 98% of our followers were either always or almost always or sometimes putting their jobs ahead of themselves. And that’s where I see a problem. Right? Because if you’re always putting your job first and you’re on the back burner, you’re eventually going to get fully consumed like that candle. And when a candle gets fully consumed, it’s burned out. Literally teacher burnout.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:11:12 – 00:11:54

I don’t think the person realized, whoever it was who originally said this quote who put it together, that literally they were saying, like, teachers, a good teacher burns itself out, and I don’t agree with that. I don’t agree with that. A good teacher needs to burn itself out, that it needs to consume itself to light the way for others. I believe that there is a way to do that, to light the way for others without consuming ourselves until the light burns out. Because if you do that, then it’s gone. Then there’s no light left to give. Right? There’s nothing left, and it’s embedded in the culture. But that meant and so that messaging that we are teaching superheroes, right, who give everything of ourselves and leave nothing to spare, that’s the messaging that we’ve been having.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:11:54 – 00:12:42

Right? And it can take some time to unravel. It can take some time to see that I can still be a good educator. I can help my students. I can go to work and be fully focused and give my all while I’m there and be present where my feet are in my classroom, and then I can go home and I can be present with my children, my own family, or, you know, just myself, wherever whatever looks like for you. But it’s important that we all do that. Right? It’s important that we take the time to unravel that messaging. What do you think? Those of you who are live with me, do I mean, I think it’s important to unravel that messaging. To all of you who are here with me, do you think it’s important for us to unravel that messaging that we need to give our all at the expense of ourselves to become to be a good teacher? Right? Katie says, Kelsey, you’re nailing it right now.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:12:42 – 00:13:00

Yes. Hannah says the quote is ancient and it has been changed over the years. Oh, Hannah, I would love to hear about how it’s changed over the years. I’ve only heard that variation of it. So if you have other versions of it, I’d love to hear. Sabrina says she puts my job ahead of me and my family way too much. And, yes, Wendy says we need to find a balance. Linda says, yes.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:13:00 – 00:13:27

It’s important. Susan says, yes. It’s so important to unravel the messaging that we need to give our all and forget all about our needs. Andrea says, if you are not a 100%, you can’t give other aspects of your life a 100%. Right? Yeah. If you’re not a 100%, how can you give a 100%? You’re always gonna be giving, like, 50%, 25%, or whatever. If you don’t take that time to recharge or refuel, you’re not going to have as much to give. So in fact, like, if we want to light the way for others, we need to do something else.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:13:27 – 00:13:55

We need to not consume ourselves. What is it that we need to do? We need to rejuvenate ourselves. Right? We need to rejuvenate, not just consume and consume ourselves. And, yes, we do while we’re teaching. We give. We give a lot, and that it might dwindle down a little bit, and then that’s when we need to refuel. Right? I wanna think of us more like a battery than like a candle, where we’re a battery that, yes, some of it gets used up, and then we need to recharge. Right? We need to rejuvenate.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:13:57 – 00:14:22

And, yes, like Chrissy says, Chrissy is another coach in the educate and rejuvenate club. I’ve quoted her in the book as well, but she says we need to find our pleasure. Yes. What would it look like if we had a pie and looked at what we give to school? Yes. And you can choose that intentionally and then be like, okay. I’m gonna give this much to school, and I’m not gonna give a certain number because that’s going to look different for all of you. Maria said, I used to. After 17 years of teaching, the last 7 have been balancing more.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:14:22 – 00:15:00

Yes. And it takes time. Right? Like, you see, you had a decade where you weren’t doing that. Right? And I’m hoping that for teachers, no matter how long they’ve been teaching, whether they are at the beginning of their career, or I’ve had teachers who are, like, I’ve been teaching for 20 years and I’m still, like, struggling with finding that balance. I’m hoping wherever you’re at in your teaching that this book is going to be there to help you and give you strategies and skills and tools that you can pull out of your toolbox and use any time that are going to help you to rejuvenate yourself, to revitalize your teaching, renew your spirit, and reignite your passion for life, and that is why I wrote this book. Right? Yeah. And I know a lot of teachers taking work email off their phones. Yes.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:15:00 – 00:15:30

That’s actually an example I use in the book is, like, having boundaries about when you respond to emails or if you have work email on your phone. Right? And so we all like, all of us in the chat, we’ve agreed that this is important. And those of you listening later, you probably agree that it’s important too. Do you want a career where you and your students both thrive? It doesn’t have to be one or the other. It doesn’t have to be your students thrive or you thrive. Both can thrive. Right? And have a career where you look forward to going to school most days. Right? And I’m not gonna say every day.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:15:30 – 00:15:50

Right? We’re still in reality. We’re in the real world. We’re not using toxic positivity here. But most days, you look forward to it because you know that it’s, like, you’ve rejuvenated yourself. You’re looking forward to seeing the kids. You’re not already burned out when you walk in the door. And the same thing for those I know most of you here are probably teachers, but we also do have some homeschool parent followers. Same thing for that.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:15:50 – 00:16:35

So you feel rejuvenated, so you can continue dealing with homeschooling too. Right? And when you know how to handle the stress that comes your way, manage your time, and set boundaries so you can enjoy your life outside of teaching too. Right? Because you’re not just a teacher, and we don’t teach in a silo. If we have stress in our personal life, it tends to follow us into the classroom and vice versa. So when we have these tools that help us to really get more present in the moment, to process our feelings that we need, to regulate our nervous system, to see how we’re thinking and how we might want to shift that, it’s going to really help. And it is possible to have all these things. Right? Some will say it’s not possible. It’s just the way teaching is is a systemic issue.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:16:35 – 00:17:06

Right? And there are systemic issues. We’re not denying that. There absolutely are. But what is possible on our side? What is it we can do to rejuvenate? Right? There is a better way to not consume yourself, but to rejuvenate yourself. And that is why I wrote this book because so many of us have forgotten how to do that. Those of you who are listening right now answer in your own head, is it easy or hard for you right now to slow down and rejuvenate yourself? And answer that for you because you might be like, oh, no. I’m really good at it right now. Others of you might be like, oh, I’m terrible at it.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:17:06 – 00:17:49

And others might be like, oh, I am okay at it, or it depends on the day, or it depends on how stressed out I am. But I want you to really think about that question right now. Is it easy or hard for you to slow down and rejuvenate yourself? Because as kids, we knew how to do this. Right? As kids, we knew how to, like, spend hours just playing outside for no reason other than our own enjoyment. Right? We knew how to do that. But over time, we’ve forgotten how because we’ve got so ingrained in the habit of productivity, of always needing to have something done, of all everybody’s expectations. Right? Wanting to meet all of them and our and never ending to do lists, the never questioning whether all those things actually need to be done or not. Right? I see some comments here.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:17:49 – 00:18:15

I see Julie says impossible right now. Linda says better than I used to be. I’m so glad that you’re feeling better about it. Hope the club stuff has helped. Ariana says super hard. Right? Hannah says, I used to work 12 to 14 hour days because I thought I just needed to do more. But after joining this community and reading this book, I have discovered that less is more, not overdoing it, allows me to be the best for my students. Hannah, I love that so much.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:18:15 – 00:18:59

And I have seen that for you in particular, but also so many of our club members. I have seen the change, and that’s why I’m so passionate about this because I love seeing it. I love seeing you claim so much of your life back. And that is what I’m hoping more teachers will get when they grab a copy of this book because you not only get the book, you get the workbook, right, that is gonna help you apply all the tools. And don’t feel overwhelmed by it because you can do it in a few minutes a day, and it doesn’t even have to be every day. Work at your own pace. We’re also doing a book study where you get to come on with me, and we’re going to chat and not just me. Me and all of our members and all of everybody who purchases a book is invited to this book club where we’re going to discuss a couple chapters at a time and really dig dive in deep.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:18:59 – 00:19:32

It’s going to be such a heartwarming time where we’re all gonna come together and validate each other, and there’s camaraderie, there’s community, there’s laughter, there’s tears in a good way. Like, this community is so powerful. Katie says that 1% better at a time makes a difference, doesn’t it? It starts to add up. Yes. In fact oh, I cited the stat in the book, but James Clear, it’s 1% over a year. I believe it was 37 per times better if it’s 1% each day over a year. 37 times over the course of a year. So it’s just little things that add up and make a huge difference.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:19:33 – 00:19:59

Latrice is excited for the book club. It’s gonna be fun. Jennifer says, I sometimes feel like I have to try and keep up with the other teachers on my team. They haven’t been very kind lately. Oh, Jennifer. And and that can be a challenge. Right? Because as we talk about especially in chapter 6 of the book, we all want that love and belonging, right, the camaraderie with our colleagues, with our community. And the people we surround ourselves with is, like, such an important piece, and we talk we’ll talk a lot about this in the book too.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:19:59 – 00:20:32

So definitely come to the book study. We’re gonna talk more about that, about how maybe and we love to have it in our school, but if we can’t have it in our school, we can’t control other people. Right? You can find it in other ways too. Susan says some of us were raised with the idea that women need to be supermom. We can’t do that and take care of ourselves at the same time. So many of us are forgetting how to slow down, though. Right? And all these things that are coming up, like, all these feelings, feeling disconnected, like Jennifer was saying, from her colleagues, and that probably doesn’t feel good. Right? But we can find a light at the end of the tunnel.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:20:32 – 00:20:58

Right? We can utilize these strategies. They’re going to help us shift our perspective. They’re going to help us tap into those feelings and validate those feelings. Like, Jennifer, maybe you’re feeling left out or maybe you’re feeling hurt. And you know what? Sometimes we try to push that hurt away. Right? We try to be like, oh, no. We don’t wanna feel that, but you know what? Sometimes we just need to feel that, and we need to give that compassion to ourselves that, yeah, I’m hurt, and there’s a reason for that. And I talk a lot about how to do that in the book and how to process our emotions.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:20:58 – 00:21:16

You’ll actually get a guided meditation that comes with the book when you claim your resources that is going to help you to do just that. And, Jennifer, I really yeah. Linda says she hopes things get better this school year. I sure hope so. Christina says, I’m so sorry your team has been supported. Make sure to find others that can help support you. Remember to always do what’s right for your kids. Yes.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:21:16 – 00:21:34

100%. And we are all here for you, Jennifer. We are all here cheering for you. And, again, come to the book club. We will cheer you on. We will be your community here too in this book club. Julie is feeling disconnected from life. Oh, Julie, so many of us are feeling disconnected in all this stress.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:21:34 – 00:21:57

Right? And it’s because we are so go go go go all the time, and that makes it harder to connect with others when we’re all in constant stress. Right? And that’s what I’m hoping this book can help with. We are all so in that, and what I want us to do is we come together. We all read this book together. We talk about it. We do the exercises in the workbook. We meditate. We process our emotions.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:21:57 – 00:22:13

We don’t push them away just because I can’t feel this right now. I need to get something done. No. Feeling that emotion is more important than that thing that needs to get done. I promise every time when there’s a big feeling. Sometimes we need to feel that feeling. Vanessa said, so excited for book club. My book arrived today.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:22:14 – 00:22:43

Yes. I’m so excited for you all to read it and for us to talk about it together. That’s why I wrote the book. And what it’s about what I learned from my own personal development journey, my teaching experience, but also my experience coaching other teachers the last few years. And even, like, when I was writing this book, I would even go back to all the replays. I would, like, rewatch replays of coaching that I did, coaching that or other coaches have done in the club. Really, it just kind of be like, I want my examples to be real. I want them to resonate with everybody.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:22:43 – 00:23:36

What is going on right now? And I feel from what I’ve heard from our readers that that it does that, that it really resonates. And, again, and it’s not just from my experience. It’s from the experience of so many members of our community who have been doing this, and I put it all together into this quick, heartfelt read. And, really, what I did is I took everything we’ve done in the club and on this podcast and condensed it into a book format so you don’t have to listen to, like, hundreds of hours of content necessarily. You can get really caught up to speed by reading this book that’s under 200 pages of content, and yet I not only condensed it, but I also expanded upon it. And I know that doesn’t fully make sense here. How can you condense and expand something? But, again, it really just gets it into a format, into a framework that makes it so much easier to understand. There’s so much more research in here, like, sources.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:23:36 – 00:24:22

There’s a bibliography if you wanna even more about any of it. So it’s both expanded and condensed at the same time. The only way for it to really make sense is for you to read the book and see. If you’ve been listening to this podcast and you’ve been loving, like, getting little tips, like, about, oh, here’s the little thing about the model here, or here’s sort of create an intellectual schedule here, or here’s a little bit about the stress cycle here. But it’s just, like, random podcast episodes that you’ve been listening to up until this point where when you come and you grab the book and you read it, it puts it all together, and you see how the puzzle pieces fit into place. It’s not just like learning a little thing here, a little thing there. You’re getting the full picture. And then when you come back to the podcast or if you’re one of our educate and rejuvenate club members and you come to a coaching call, you’re going to have kind of that baseline of that deeper understanding.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:24:22 – 00:25:03

So then when you listen to the podcast in the future, you have more depth behind it. You, like, are really up to speed on what’s going on, and you might understand the nuances of what I’m talking about or what our guests are talking about that you might not have caught before reading the book. So the book is really just going to help you to really enrich your listening experience of educate and rejuvenate the podcast, which you’re listening to right now. I wanted to make it as easy to consume and understand as possible. Now, of course, I don’t hold back here on the podcast that you’re all listening to. I love to share everything I have with you in this format, but it’s just the nature of podcast format. Right? It’s short little snippets here and there, but the book brings it all together. Hopefully, by now, you’re like, yes.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:25:03 – 00:25:28

I do wanna read this book. Andrea says it’s such an easy and engaging read. But if you’re not sure, you can even read the introduction and the first chapter for free. I will put that link in the show notes for all of you. But, again, don’t just take my word for it that this book is going to change things for you. I wanna show you what a few of our reviews have come in on Amazon have to say so far. So I need to share my screen. We’ve had just a couple reviews come in so far, which I’m thrilled about.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:25:28 – 00:25:40

I’m thrilled about every single review on this Vogue. Let me see. It’s not letting me share the right screen. Is that it? Oh, it is. Okay. Here we go. So I’m gonna scroll down. You’ll see still number 1 new release.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:25:40 – 00:26:04

Right now, it’s in the homeschooling category, but it’s in a variety of categories. It’s definitely not just a homeschooling book. I think there are a couple homeschooling examples, more teachers, though. So here’s what Hannah had to say. Hannah’s here live too, but love her review here. She said an essential book that is needed for every educator. I absolutely love this book from debut author Kelsey Sorensen. If you were in education, this book needs to get in your hands immediately.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:26:04 – 00:26:39

This book helped me build self awareness, and because of it, I’m creating habits as an educator to make it a lifestyle change. Kelsey’s 3 step framework for revitalizing your teaching will give you with a better idea of how to navigate the trickier parts of education. One of my favorite quotes from the book is, remember your thoughts don’t hold authority over you. By assuming the role of observer, you unlock the ability to choose which thoughts to accept and which thoughts to graciously release. Hannah, I love that you picked that one because when I, like, got that on the page which you graciously release, I was like, oh my gosh. I love that imagery. It took a while. There was so much rewording and all that, so I’m glad that made it in.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:26:40 – 00:27:11

Back to the review. This really speaks to who I am as an educator because there are many circumstances in the field of education that may or not be within my control, but I can always choose how I think about them. And after reading this book, I choose to think about them in a more positive way. This then leads me to having more compassion for myself as well as the students I served. Kelsey also includes a free PDF workbook that you can download and work through as you’re reading the book. And that was an amazing review written by our wonderful Hannah from our community. Got a few reviews here. Mind blown, overwhelmed, gone.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:27:11 – 00:27:23

Love the included examples. Oh, another one here. Oh, Malia. My friend Malia wrote a review. I love her. She’s the author of the science reading in action. I had not seen hers yet. But Lisa, I I don’t know if Lisa’s here.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:27:23 – 00:27:43

She’s another from our community. She says, so excited to read this book and dive into the workbook. I have been attending Kelsey’s live book release party, which a lot of you are here right now. Facebook group calls this week, and it’s been so fun to get a heads up on what topics the book covers. Hooray, Kelsey. So happy for your first book release. So fun. And, again, I would love and appreciate any reviews on Amazon, by the way.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:27:43 – 00:28:32

You can always like, Lisa did. She maybe she’s gonna update it once she reads it, but she’s just sharing her excitement, and she knows a lot of the content because she’s been attending these calls. The reviews do help us a lot because it helps get the book pushed out to more teachers so we can get this message out to more teachers. Okay. So if you were wanting to snag your copy of the book, you can find it on Amazon or wherever you like to purchase your books online. But, again, go to teachergoals.com /educate dash bonuses. We will also put the link in the show notes if you would like to purchase the book and make sure you claim the bonuses, including the workbook, including the app, and all the fun stuff that we’ve got for you as a podcast listener when you purchase the book. Now if you haven’t already and you’ve been reading the book and you’re enjoying it, I would love for you to leave a review.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:28:33 – 00:28:54

My mission is to get this work into the hands of as many educators as possible. No more teachers consuming themselves like a candle completely burning out, but rejuvenating yourself so you have something to keep on giving to light the way for your students. So thank you for listening to educate and rejuvenate the podcast. Make sure you are subscribed so you don’t miss the next episode, and we’ll talk next week.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:28:57 – 00:29:01

Thank you for joining me on educate and rejuvenate the podcast today.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:29:01 – 00:29:03

If you’d love what you heard in this episode, be sure

Kelsey Sorenson 00:29:03 – 00:29:51

to hit subscribe so you don’t miss the next one. And if you’re hungry for even more, be sure to check out the book that I wrote. It’s called Educate and Rejuvenate, a 3 Step Guide to Revitalize Your Teaching, Renew Your Spirit, and Reignite Your Passion For Life. It takes everything you learn here on the podcast and that I teach our members inside educate and rejuvenate club into a guidebook you can refer to again and again. One of our early readers said it was like clarity for her brain. Plus, it’s not only a book. With your purchase, you’ll get a full PDF guide with exercises and links to videos and more so that you can not only consume, but apply everything that you learn. If you’re ready to make Educate and Rejuvenate not just a podcast you passively listen to, but a lifestyle that you put into action, it’s time to grab your copy on Amazon today.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:29:52 – 00:29:57

0:00 – 29:58

Or head to educateandrejuvenate.com/book to read the first chapter and the introduction today.

More about Educate & Rejuvenate: The Podcast

Being an educator is beyond a full-time job. Whether you’re a teacher or a homeschool parent, the everyday to-do list is endless. Between lesson planning, grading, meetings, and actually teaching, it probably feels impossible to show up for your students without dropping the ball in other areas of your life.

Educate & Rejuvenate: The Podcast is the show that will bring you the teacher tips, practical strategies, and inspiration that you need to relieve the stress and overwhelm of your day-to-day. Your host, Kelsey Sorenson, is a former teacher and substitute turned homeschool mom. Tune in weekly to hear Kelsey and her guests cheer you on and help you thrive as a wife, teacher, and mommy. Because with a little support and community, you can do it all. To access every single Educate & Rejuvenate resource, join the club at educateandrejuvenate.com/club.

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