Secondary Science Simplified™

“Do it! What are you waiting for…it’s a game changer! It’s made my life so much easier.” This is the message today’s guest, Rachel Carter wants to share with everyone who is considering enrolling for the Secondary Science Simplified Course, which is now open for enrollment! This month, I’ve shared secrets and habits I learned the hard way in my teaching career that I wish I had known when I first started teaching. These experiences formed the foundational lessons in the Secondary Science Simplified Course. After learning from my mistakes, I truly love all things related to simplifying our jobs and lives, and I am passionate about sharing how to do that with other teachers. In today’s episode, I’m interviewing Rachel Carter, one of the teachers who took the course with me last summer after her 2nd year of teaching. You’ll hear how taking the course impacted her as a newer educator in the field. If you’re wondering how the course has impacted a more experienced educator, be sure to listen to episode 24 where I interviewed Nikki Pryor, who has been teaching for 14 years.  If you’ve been on the fence about enrolling for the Secondary Science Simplified Course, these 2 interviews provide a lot of insight into the benefits of the course and the supportive community we have created. The course only opens once a year in the summer, and the last day to sign up is June 23, 2022, so be sure to check it out! Join the Secondary Science Simplified Course Check out the show notes for all resources mentioned in this episode: https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/episode27

What are your worst work habits? This month, I’m getting open and honest about all the bad work habits I established during my first few years in the classroom. The good news is, habits can be changed! In my case, experience, making lots of mistakes, and leaning on the wisdom of my co-workers taught me how to correct these habits over the years.  In today’s episode, I’ll share what I believe is the absolute worst habit I formed as a new teacher…regularly working way more than 40 hours a week and having poor work-life boundaries. Thankfully, I learned how to leave work at work, and it made me a much better teacher and led to a happier, less anxious personal life. I’m sharing with you what I would tell myself if I could go back in time: “You work so that you can live, you don’t live so that you can work.”  Reserve your spot to the FREE workshop, 3 Secrets to Stress-Free Lab Days Join the Secondary Science Simplified Course Waitlist  Check out the show notes for all resources mentioned in this episode: https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/episode26

During my first few years as a teacher, I developed some bad habits simply because I had so much to learn that could not be taught in a teacher certification program. There’s only so much you can learn about theories or even from shadowing other teachers. Eventually, you just have to jump in and learn things the hard way, doing the best you can to manage all of the things.  On top of figuring it out as you go, you have an audience of teenagers judging you along the way. I created survival mechanisms just to get by during those first years, and they became bad habits that I had to break. Thankfully, I learned some things through experience and the wisdom of other teachers. In each episode this month, I’ll share a teacher habit that I’ve learned along the way that I wish I had started my first year. In today’s episode, we talk specifically about the importance of proactivity and how being proactive as a teacher can save you so much time and energy in the long run, especially when it comes to interactions with our students and their parents and guardians. We’ll talk briefly about lab day prep. Then we’ll spend the majority of the episode talking about proactivity with parents.  There’s still time to sign up for my FREE live virtual professional development workshop called 3 Secrets to Stress-Free Lab Days happening this summer. Be sure to reserve your seat! Check out the show notes for all resources mentioned in this episode: https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/episode25

Like many teachers who have been in the classroom these last few years, today’s guest is a passionate educator who found herself exhausted at the end of a long and trying school year. When Nikki Pryor heard me share about the Secondary Science Simplified Course I was offering last summer, she knew it was exactly what she needed. She was ready to take a proactive approach and find a way to simplify her life and stop “chasing her tail.”  Now, Nikki is here a year later to discuss how taking the course last summer impacted her. She shares how this course is different from any other professional development she has taken in her 14 years of teaching. She’ll talk about her favorite parts of the course, and some of the things she implemented during the school year that completely changed the dynamics of her classroom. Nikki is currently in her 14th year, teaching science in the public school system of Oklahoma. In addition to being an educator, she's a small business owner, mother of two, and a proud military wife. The Secondary Science Simplified Course opens its doors for enrollment in mid-June, and we’d love to have you join! The enrollment window is only open for 2 weeks, so be sure to join the waitlist so you don’t miss it. I created the course to help teachers practically simplify their jobs so that they could have work-life balance. This is a virtual professional development course where you work at your own pace. While you’re waiting for the doors to open, you can join me for a completely FREE course I’m offering called 3 Secrets to Stress-Free Lab Days. This 1-hour virtual training is all about how to prepare and manage lab days specifically so that you can enjoy them as much as your students do. This free training gives you a chance to experience my teaching style and to see what virtual professional development with me as your teacher is like. Join the waitlist for Secondary Science Simplified Professional Development Course: https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/waitlist/ Check out the show notes for all resources mentioned in this episode: https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/episode24

We are wrapping up this month’s "Ending the Year Strong" series with my favorite strategy…how you can set up rocks and boundaries for yourself this summer. In each of the first three episodes of this series, I have given you a simple challenge that can have a big impact and set you up for success next school year. Whether you’re a teacher who has a hard time unplugging from work for the summer, or you’re a teacher who leaves all your schoolwork behind and goes into the new school year feeling behind, today’s challenge will benefit you. Join the waitlist for Secondary Science Simplified Professional Development Course: https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/waitlist/ Check out the show notes for all resources mentioned in this episode: https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/episode23

Believe it or not, the end of the school year is the perfect time to reset your classroom! After a busy school year, chances are your classroom is a mess. While it’s tempting to wait till the start of the new school year to take inventory and reorganize, your future self will thank you if you do it now. I know…I know…you’re ready to leave it all behind and start your summer break, but hear me out.In today’s episode, we are continuing our series on how to end your year strong. In episode 20 and episode 21 I challenged you to reflect on your classroom management and lesson plans this past school year in order to end the year strong and set yourself up for success for next school year. Today we’ll take a mental break and focus on the physical space you teach in with the Classroom Reset Challenge. I’ll give you the step-by-step process you need to walk through every corner of your teaching space and storage areas so that when you return to your classroom next fall, you’ll be relieved rather than overwhelmed.Join the waitlist for Secondary Science Simplified Professional Development Course: https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/waitlist/Check out the show notes for all resources mentioned in this episode: https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/episode22

What can you do now with a little bit of effort that will serve “future you” 5 times over? Summer is almost here, and this month’s episodes are dedicated to sharing specific and simple strategies you can do now so you can end your year strong and go into next year rested and ready to go. Like most teachers this time of year, you may be feeling totally exhausted, but if you can channel the little bit of energy you have left into completing the challenge I’m giving you today, it will have a huge impact on saving you time and energy next year.In today’s episode, we’re talking about how and why auditing your lesson plans for next school year is so important, even if you don’t know what you’ll be teaching.Join the waitlist for Secondary Science Simplified Professional Development Course: https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/waitlist/Check out the show notes for all resources mentioned in this episode: https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/episode21

What if I told you it’s possible to end the year strong and prepare for the year ahead so that when you come back in the fall, you can start the year ready and rested rather than overwhelmed and stressed? That’s exactly what we’re talking about in this month’s podcast episodes.This series is designed to equip you with specific and simple things you can do each week in small chunks as you end the school year. These actionable steps will set you up for success next year so you can actually unplug from work this summer and recharge before entering another school year. I’ll share one practical challenge per episode that you can do now to serve “future you” and your students next year. In today’s episode, I challenge you to take some time to reflect on your current year and the procedures you had in place. Whether you have a few weeks or a few months left in this school year, it’s really important to do this now while this school year is fresh in your mind. Join me as I lead you through some thought-provoking reflection questions and give you some tips for brainstorming changes you can make to improve things for next year.Join the waitlist for Secondary Science Simplified Professional Development Course: https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/waitlist/Check out the show notes for all resources mentioned in this episode: https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/episode20

When I first started this podcast, I knew I would love to interview my dear friend and past co-worker, Jamie Whitlock. I learned so much from Jamie as her coworker and learned even more from her just through doing this interview, and I am so excited to have her on the show. In this episode, you’ll hear about Jamie’s experience in the classroom as a full time teacher and what she has learned from spending the last four years in other teachers’ classrooms observing and supporting them as an instructional coach. We cover her transition into teaching as a second career, teaching a high stakes EOC-based course. We also discuss working on a team of teachers and how to collaborate with coworkers, even difficult ones or those NOT in your subject area.  Jamie provides so much wisdom with regards to whole classroom management strategies as well as garnering respect from students, particularly in the difficult setting of teaching in a post-pandemic classroom.  She shares her experience working on her educational doctorate while teaching full time and raising two children and how earning this additional degree has really opened some amazing doors for her in the field of education. Check out the show notes for all resources mentioned in this episode: https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/episode19

What do you do with that awkward, random amount of time you have after end-of-year testing is over? Whether you have 3 days or 3 weeks left till the last day of school, energy this time of year is at an all-time low, and senioritis is running rampant, even if you don’t teach seniors! This last year has been especially challenging for so many teachers, and I totally understand if you’re just ready to breathe a sigh of relief that the testing is over and summer break is almost here. You and your students have worked hard to get here, and you all deserve to rest and relax. If you’re not ready to throw in the towel yet and want to maximize every last day of the school year, this episode is for you.Today I’m sharing 4 ideas for meaningful, yet fun things you can do after testing with your students that will keep them engaged and learning right up to summer break. These are simple, no-prep and low-prep ideas that don’t put pressure on you or your students. Check out the show notes for all resources mentioned in this episode: https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/episode18