Middle Schoolers Are Like Big Kindergartners But With Sarcasm @Jennpowders

A lot of teachers quietly admit it: middle school feels intimidating. Jenn Powders once felt that too—until coaching cracked the door and a calling pulled her through. Across sixteen years, she’s taught everything from kindergarten to eighth grade, and her story reframes the “hard age” as the place where structure, humor, and deep care change lives.

We dig into why relationships aren’t just classroom management, they are the curriculum. Jenn shares how keeping a clean slate with “behavior kids” opened trust, why her room stays full before school and at lunch, and how that presence turns disengaged learners into invested ones. Then we get tactical with action-based learning—movement woven into instruction to activate attention and memory. From formal labs with bikes and balance boards to no-cost hacks like hallway tape paths, figure-eight walks, and clapping games tied to content, Jenn shows how to calm brains, cut disruptions, and raise retention without extra prep bloat.

Transcript

Welcome And Jen’s Teaching Journey

SPEAKER_01 0:24

You're stepping in the classroom for the first time this August of 2026. This podcast is designed to help new teachers find their teacher's voice. And today on the podcast, we've got Jen Powders. Let's dive in. Your teaching story, like how you how that came about, um, all of that good stuff.

From Elementary To Middle School

SPEAKER_02 0:39

So basically, this is my 16th year in education, and I've gone on a wild ride to say the least. So um I have always known that teaching is what I wanted to do, even since I was a little little. Like I remember specifically being in first grade and being like, I'm gonna do this someday when I grow up. So it's just always been it for me. So going to college and being a teacher didn't surprise anybody. Um so that that that's kind of that. But um, I started when I graduated um teaching kindergarten. I've literally taught everything kindergarten through eighth grade over the last 16 years. Um, but I started doing kindergarten because there was no way that I was ever gonna do anything older than second grade, was kind of my little niche, I think. Um, and then I don't know how now I'm teaching middle school health. So um I I've done it all, but um, I did elementary for 10 years and then switched over to PE. And I did first through fourth grade PE for several years. And then as I got into coaching, that ultimately led me to not being as afraid of the middle schoolers as I was in the beginning. And now I just feel like I'm I kind of ended up exactly where I was always supposed to be anyway. Um, I loved elementary when I was doing elementary. I don't want to go back to elementary, if that makes sense. Um, I just I think that every part of my teaching career has been exactly what I needed at that moment in time. And I just I love teaching middle school.

SPEAKER_01 2:22

Right. Awesome, awesome, so awesome. So I I see, I'm I'm the opposite. So I'm just starting out, right? This is gonna be my first year teaching come this August. And like what you said, middle schoolers do scare me. So I want to definitely, I feel like elementary is my thing. Um, so it's kind of funny because it's kind of the opposite there. Maybe I can work my way up one day to to being brave enough to face face all those middle schoolers.

Coaching Cross-Country And Track

SPEAKER_02 2:51

I will say though, it is the uh and I make this joke, but it is literally like teaching big kindergartners. And you would be surprised at how much some of the stuff that they say, the way that they act. I'm like, are oh my gosh, are you five or are you 13? Because right now I really can't tell the difference. But it it's so much fun. And I think the most fun thing for me is I don't have to filter down my sarcasm if somebody says something. Like the first couple weeks of school when I started middle school, I was like, Oh, I don't know if I can say that out loud. But they all just laughed and they like now now they joke about it. They're like, Oh yeah, Coach Powder, she likes to clock our tea and she puts us in her place. And I'm like, Here, right, I do. But it's all in love, it's still sarcasm.

SPEAKER_01 3:34

But so hey, so so talk about so you're the the coaching part, like talk about that too for a minute. Like, how how has that like impacted like how have you juggled both of those things? Kind of, you know what I'm saying?

Why Teaching Still Matters

SPEAKER_02 3:48

I yeah, um I it's such a passion for me because I mean we talked about it in the other podcast, but like running is such a huge part of my life, and so being able to implement that into um my relationships with students and just kind of getting getting them hooked at a younger age, so that even and the cool thing about my my position is yes, I have a lot of incredibly talented runners in cross-country and in track, but they're multi-sport athletes, so it's kind of instilling that passion in them now at this age, so that when their soccer career is over after college or high school, even for some of them, or you know, baseball's done and over, um, they still have that fitness ingrained in the back of their brain. But for me, it's pretty easy to balance it now because, well, number one, my daughter's in college, so um I don't I don't have littles at home that I'm trying to juggle anywhere because she just turned 19. So she basically takes care of herself. Um, and so that helps. Um, but my district's also really amazing that it's built into the school day, and so we are actually seventh hour. Um, I'm right now, since we're like in between track and cross country, we leave at the end of the school day. But because we're built into the school day, it's 30, maybe 45 minutes after school. And um for track season, all of our meets are during the school day. So it's, I mean, I miss school, which that part can sometimes be kind of hard, but it's not late evenings and a bunch of demands being pulled here and there. So I mean, they really have made it pretty easy and they do take a lot of that stuff into consideration. So I feel like I'm pretty lucky with that aspect of it.

SPEAKER_01 5:34

Yeah, that's awesome. Um, so okay, so this kind of leads into the next thing. Like, and you've kind of already like explained that, but can you go into more um you know, detail about how like why are you passionate about teaching and education field, you know, in general? Because and you live in my state, so you know this, um there is a lot of people who do not want to teach, who do not want to go into teaching because of uh, you know, where we're at, um education-wise. Uh and just, you know, so so tell me like why you're passionate about it. What what um gets you going as far as like teaching and um you know, speaking, uh encouraging other teachers and stuff like that?

Making The Case For Middle School

SPEAKER_02 6:30

Um, well, I think, let's see, I gotta I gotta think of how to word it. Um, I mean, obviously, I feel like this is a God-given passion for me. And like I said, something that I have known since I was a little little that this is what I want to do. So there was never anything else for me. Um, even when I was in high school and even getting ready to graduate and go into college, so many people were like, you've got to think about the pay, you've got to think about a livable wage, like all of the negative things. Um, I don't know obviously at the time I graduated, let's see, yeah, six 16 years ago this May that I graduated college. So um some of it's times were different back then. Um, and so there wasn't people didn't hate teachers as much as they did back then. So that wasn't like a piece in it at the time. Um, teacher burnout was not as much talked about. Um, but for me, it was just about the passion of some of these kids really just need an adult in their life that loves and cares about them. And especially at that elementary level, um, that was such a big driver for me. Is that me telling these kids that I love them when they come to school in the morning, or me telling them that I love them when they leave at the end of the day, sadly, the reality is that was the only time that they heard that in the day. Or um the hugs that they would come over and give at that level. Again, sadly, that might be the only human contact that they have for the day, just because of the way that society is, and you know, no judgment on anybody because everybody's parents have different things that they're going through and different reasons, and some of it's not like an intentional type neglect or anything like that, um, but just the reality of the lives that they're living. And so for me, that was always the relationships were more important, and I feel like that's just as important now because our our middle schoolers are kind of the forgotten about ones, they're kind of in that middle ground of they're not the elementary school babies. And so their teachers, and me included, like we don't we don't baby them, we don't really coddle them. We're trying to get them ready for high school. High school, they're a lot more independent and kind of doing their own thing. Um, but sometimes these kids just need somebody to talk to. And there are days, and some days, some days I get some the end of my rope and I'm like, you guys have to get out. But my room is kind of that revolving door that my kids know that if they're struggling with something, they can come to me. And sometimes they'll come to me and talk to me about issues they're having at home with parents or siblings. Sometimes they come to my room and they just want to talk to me about boyfriend or girlfriend struggles. Sometimes they want me to help them with math. In that case, I have to turn them away because I don't teach math for a reason. But um, they they know that they have a place that they can go. And I I have kids in my room before school, after school, at lunch, every single day, because to me, the relationships is the biggest and best part of what we get to do.

SPEAKER_01 9:38

Right. Awesome. I I and I just I have two things, but one one thing, did we say where you teach at? And is it okay to say say where you're not?

SPEAKER_02 9:48

Where you're at?

SPEAKER_01 9:49

Is that okay? I mean, because if you don't want to, that's also fine.

SPEAKER_02 9:53

No, so I teach in um at Jinx Middle School. So that's where I'm at currently.

Relationships As Classroom Foundation

SPEAKER_01 9:59

In in Jinx, uh Oklahoma, USA USA, that sort of thing, right? Um South Tulsa. Um so you when you said when you were talking, um saying that stuff about middle schoolers, it it made me think. Um because it it would seem maybe, and I mean, granted, granted, there's a teaching shortage all over the place, right? I mean, for for all grades, right? But that's interesting that you said the middle schoolers are maybe the forgotten ones. Talk to me, and I know I I understand because I'm the same way. Like it for me, it's it's a God thing, it's a calling thing that's that's happening, that's driving me into teaching. But talk about like uh if somebody's coming in as a new teacher, um plug plug middle schooling middle schoolers as opposed to elementary. Like what you know what I mean? What specifically could you say um to get them to go? Maybe maybe they're on the fringe, maybe they're like, well, I don't know like what to choose. I don't know if if I'm choosing elementary, I don't know if I'm going middle school. So kind of put a plug in for middle school and say why they should do that.

Action-Based Learning Explained

SPEAKER_02 11:21

Well, I'd have to say, first of all, don't be scared of them. They are they really are just big little people on the inside. Um, but they they need good people too. And yes, they need structure, they need boundaries, they need to learn how to be a high schooler. And sometimes it can be so frustrating to be the one to teach this this is how we use our online forms, this is how you send an email. Last week before the snow days, I literally had to teach some of these kids how to write a letter for one of their assignments, and I just assumed that they all knew how to write a letter. And I uh I had two kids come up and ask me what letters I wanted them to write, and they thought I was talking about the alphabet. And these these are seventh and eighth graders. And I was like, no, no, no, I'm not that kind of letter. Um, so they just they they need people that are going to accept them as is, but also push them forward to where they can go. And I people say it and they laugh and they joke, it takes a special kind of person to teach middle school, which is true. But I mean, they they can be some of the kindest, most loving people too. But they're like, if I'm you have to think about how middle school was for you too. Like, yes, I was in middle school a way long time ago, but um, thinking back, it's it's weird, it's awkward. Your body's changing, you're going through all of these situations and learning new things. And for us, the way that our district feeds in, this is the first year that all of our elementary schools and all of our intermediates are bleeding together into one school. So it's new people that they've never seen before because, oh, well, you went to elementary school on this side of the river, and I went to elementary school on this side of the river, and now they're all coming together in just this big jumbled-up mess. But all of that set aside, they also deserve people that are gonna care about them, that are gonna be the teachers that they need them to be. And it's really, really hard to find good teachers for the middle school because people are like, oh, hormones, puberty, I'm not touching that. Those kids are mean. And yes, they very, very much can be mean, but I feel like the more that they get to know me, the more that I get to know them. Having that two-way communication and just building those relationships, it really, really, really is not as bad as everybody makes it sound. It's just a hard age, no matter what. But it's it's really not as bad as everybody says that it is. And I was terrified of it for 14 years before I finally was like, well, no, no, I take that back. I started coaching probably 12 years into my career, and that was my first experience of middle schoolers. And thankfully I only had 28, 28 total that I was dealing with. And then I was like, okay, this is not so bad. And then I finally was like, all right, I'll try this whole middle school teaching thing and see what it's like. And now I have thousands of middle schoolers that you know, I go to a football game and I'm kind of like a celebrity because you know, and I teach an elective class, so that helps too. Um, I probably like I said, I couldn't teach math because I'm terrible at it. Um, I might teach ELA or something, but there's really not a lot of core subjects that I would be brave enough to teach. So that has a little bit to do with it too. But they're just they're fun. They really are fun.

SPEAKER_01 14:49

Once you get past the awkwardness and right, well, and and not that, and not that we're comparing because um obviously all kids need those role models, but I mean you could argue there's a good case. I mean, my son, some of his worst, like my my baby, my uh last um son, uh you know, had um a lot of issues and a lot of anxiety, like all these things that happen in sixth, seventh grade. So there's a lot that you know, changing things and changing parts that that happen um in those middle school years. So you could make an argument that, man, that's yeah, that's a really tough time and they need adults for sure. And and again, not that we're comparing, but you know what I'm saying.

Low-Cost Movement Strategies

SPEAKER_02 15:38

Yeah, yeah. It's easy to love them in elementary school, though, because they're so little and they're cute. And every aside beside your few outliers, obviously, but almost all elementary kids automatically love their teachers. And I learned this as an elementary PE teacher too. Every year, they have the best teacher in the world, and they you know, they draw pictures. I I love Mrs. So-and-so, Mr. So-and-so is like they they love you no matter what, and you could have absolutely the worst possible day and snap at them and yell at them and scream in them, and the next day they're still telling you, you're the best teacher in first grade, you're my favorite second grade teacher. Right. They just automatically are going to love you. But like, and even with high school too, like they're at an age where you're either gonna click or you're not gonna click, and you know, you get along with some kids better than others, and some kids are gonna need more from one teacher than another teacher, but like in high school, they kind of figure it out on their own. Middle school needs to know that, like those middle schoolers, they need to like feel that unconditional love from their teachers too. Of like, I don't know, it just they're they can be a hard nut to crack, but once you do.

What Makes A Great Teacher

SPEAKER_01 16:51

Right. Yes. Um, so okay, so what is like specifically, yeah, and this again is for this whole podcast is for, you know, um, not only it's twofold. It's not only for new teachers coming in to to learn different things from you know, teachers that have been at it um, you know, for a number of years, but also maybe to encourage those other teachers that are, you know, like facing burnout, um, and like thinking like, okay, this is I've done this a number of years, but I'm out. Like, this is not for me anymore. Like, so uh specifically like as far as like classroom strategies, like what um has there any is there any classroom strategies that has impacted you directly and your teaching? Or are there um things that you've found or come up with that have really been helpful, like longevity-wise, wise over the years?

Rapid Fire: Humor And Habits

Parting Advice: Find Your People

SPEAKER_02 18:56

Um, specific classroom management techniques are more kind of trial and error, and those really have changed over the years based on what my kids need. I always go back to relationships number one. Um and again, kind of comparing this to my time as a PE teacher. So when I taught PE, there were three specials teachers. We had music, art, and PE. Um, I could get those quote unquote behavior kids, the worst of the worst kids, to do whatever I wanted them to do. Because when they came to my gym, whatever they had done in the classroom that day, whatever they came or whatever they had done at recess that day, whatever they had done outside of the gym didn't affect my opinion of them. And I didn't talk to them. They were those, again, quote unquote, troublemaker students. And so that helped me to build relationships with them. And I've I've got one that I'm thinking of in particular, um, whose mom actually teaches with me at the middle school now. So we we have gotten to stay in connection a little bit, but just hearing it from that parent perspective of like the way that you treated him, the way that you spoke to him, he still loves and adores you. Um, he will he'll still come to my classroom every once in a while after he gets out of school and stop by and say hi. Um, but the music teacher and the art teacher would always come to me and say, Well, this they so-and-so's a little terror in my class. I don't understand why they're so good for you. How come you never have to call the principal? How come you never have to da da da? And it really is the foundation of all behavior management, my personal opinion is relationships. It's harder with some kids than it is with other kids, but I can't think of any instance where it's never not been worth it. Um, the other big thing that I really plug is action-based learning. And there's there's a whole program, there's a whole study, action-based learning labs. Um, Jinx is a school, obviously, that has enough money to be able to implement these labs within schools. Um, but like T Set and different places like that will write grants to get these action based labs. I think every school possible that can get them should, because it's all about movement in the classroom. And they have, they have so that's that's kind of a twofold thing too. Um, they have stuff that you can do specifically in the classroom that doesn't require equipment. Um, Essentially kind of like a brain break type thing, but deeper. Um, but then we also have these labs where we have exercise bicycles or walking pads, all of these um like balance boards and things like that to activate the students' brains. And that's not just the health and PE teacher and me being like, you got it, gotta get moving in the classroom. Right. But when I was an elementary teacher, I saw this firsthand. So my first year when I started teaching in Jinx, I was like, oh great, here's another thing. I'm already overwhelmed. This is my fifth year teaching, so I'm still kind of new. I'm in this new district and they're throwing all this stuff at me. And now I've just got another thing I have to do. I have to take my kids to the lab for 20 minutes every week. And so I kind of had a bitter attitude about it, but I did it because I'm a rule follower. And then that second semester, I was like, okay, there's something to this. This is not bad. When we come back from the lab, student behavior is better, their attention is different. So then the following school year, I started implementing it very intentionally in our schedule during reading roots rotations or during word work or during a math station where we were doing movement, but we were also doing content and curriculum. And we have we have slideshows and Google slides of all of the data just showing that student learning is so much better because they're moving. And that goes into all of the science that you know, us active people, we already know that it's so much better for our brain. But just to see the data and the different things, like um, even some of the SEL stuff, there's stuff that directly ties in with this action-based learning. And so that's always my biggest plug, is I'm like, oh, I wish more teachers knew about this and I wish more teachers did this because it really is like one my last year teaching second grade, actually, um, had a student that would just scream constantly all day long because that was their way of managing anxiety and um a lot of oppositional defiant type stuff. So I put a figure eight mat at the back of the classroom and I trained the student to you need to go take a walk. And so they would go and just walk in the figure eight pattern, and that pulls those students out of their brainstem, gets them calm. Now we can have a reasonable conversation. Now you can go work on your math assignment versus listening to you scream for 90 minutes straight because we did have to do one day. So it's that that's like my biggest thing that when I saw that question, I was like, here we go. I'm gonna get on my soapbox because I love movement in the classroom, but it's more than just it's gonna be inside recess all week this week. So instead of just playing go noodles or putting on dance videos, there are different intentional clapping games, counting games, spelling games, things that you can do to help activate students' brains and also manage a classroom.

Closing And Snow Day Hopes

SPEAKER_01 24:31

Right. Say and you and you said it, and and it's just it's just how it is uh Jinx, union, broken arrow, different schools have more money. What uh what would you say to maybe a school that doesn't have the funds? Like what and somebody's interested in what you're talking about, like what um where where do they go? What do they do?

SPEAKER_02 24:59

There, well, there's a website that it used to be called kidfit.com, but you could just Google action-based learning. And um in as far as in the classroom, like you could do jump ropes. So you could get a long jump rope and put it in the shape of an eight and just have them walk that figure eight pattern. Um, if you have access to any type of ball, basketballs, anything like that, they can they can use those and kind of roll them on the ground. But even they also have YouTube. So even just getting on there and going through the stuff that's on their channel, like I said, there's like hand clapping games that they can do and songs that they can sing, um, and just things like that, again, that you would do in your classroom where you don't actually have to go to this lab. And then there was one year too, my team and I decided, because our at the at that site, our ABL lab was in a completely different building. So if it was cold, we weren't going outside if we didn't have to, even to walk from building to building. And so we just took masking tape on the carpet in the hallway and made little shapes. And so they have like hopscotch type patterns, or you can put triangles on the floor and they have to walk the shape of the triangle, or an X means that you have to jump on two feet, but two straight lines means that you're jumping on one foot, or whatever it is, just so many different little things like that that you can do right in the classroom with very minimal equipment or in the hallway. And we would just, there were four of us in our little pod, and we would just take turns. Okay, my class is gonna go out for 10 minutes at this time. Then, all right, my class is gonna go at it for 10 minutes at this time. Or if you just have one student that you're like, oh my gosh, you're bouncing off the walls and you're driving me crazy, go out in the hallway and do the shapes or whatever.

SPEAKER_01 26:52

Um so what do you thank you for uh answering that and being specific with that as far as like where to go, you know, like website and all that stuff. Um over the over the years, so it was 16 years for you, right?

unknown 27:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:09

Has your when you first started as opposed to now, like has your definition, what what has been your definition of like a good teacher, a great teacher? Um, is it different uh now than when you started? What what does that look like to you?

SPEAKER_02 27:30

Um, I think it can look different for different cases and different scenarios. Um, I mean, obviously you have those great teachers that are good at delivering content. And so you're a great teacher because you understand your content, you know your content, but maybe isn't the best at building relationships. So kids are learning a lot. They're, you know, they they have a great classroom teacher, but they don't really like that teacher very much. And I have um that happened with my daughter and one of her middle school teachers. Wonderful, incredible teacher, one of the best teachers she ever had, really filled in some holes and gaps from what she had in elementary school versus when she actually transferred with me into Jinx. Um and so wonderful teacher, but she can't stand that person outside of that curriculum because there was never a connection there, never tried to get it.

SPEAKER_01 28:28

The relationship wasn't there, right?

SPEAKER_02 28:29

Yes. See, there I go again with the relationships.

SPEAKER_01 28:33

I mean, I mean, we talk about it uh, you know, as if it's you know, all these different things like classroom strategies, um, you know, like how to set up your classroom, um, the action-based learning, all of those things. We talk about all those things, but I I feel like relationships is right up there. I feel like you need that before you do the other stuff.

SPEAKER_02 29:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:03

Right? I mean, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 29:06

And I feel like there are those teachers that are great at relationship building, but they never really teach, or they're not very good at teaching, or maybe we have a couple even in our building that are kind of being fallen told to teach a certain subject that they're not really familiar with or that they would normally teach. So I feel like a great teacher would be one that finds the balance of like you have to have that passion for your content. But again, it really does boil down to relationships. And you said um something about like that's that's that first piece. I had a um professor in college, Dr. Sharon, and she said, These kids are not gonna care what you know until they know that you care. And I was like, that's cute, yeah, okay, you know, me very cliche. But like that, there's there can't really be anything to that. But now, 16 years later, I can look back and I'm like, you know, of all of the things that I remember that she taught us, and it's true, they really until they get to know you and you get to know them, and you prove to them that you do care about them and their education, they don't care how much knowledge you have about math or social studies or science or health in my case, whatever it is, they they really don't care until they know that you genuinely care about them as people. And I even have the cool thing about moving up to middle school is I do get to have some of my former students again as older students also having already having that relationship building. I see, I really do see the feedback in their work and in some of their reflections and things that we do in the classroom that they're paying more attention to what I'm teaching because we already have that relationship built. Some of them I met when they were second graders and now they're seventh graders, and we already have that relationship. So I just feel like normally they may or may not put as much into a health class as they could. A lot of kids take this class because it's an easy elective. And the there's three teachers of us that teach it all together, and we are all three amazing. Like we, we all three, we love our job, we get along wonderfully. We all have very similar teaching styles, but different teaching styles. So no matter which one of us they get, like they're they're gonna be super, super lucky. But just already having those relationships established, I feel like makes them take the content itself a little more serious. And I really do feel like they're taking something away. Maybe not every single 150 kids that I have this semester are gonna take something away, but it does feel like enough of them are that it matters, right?

SPEAKER_00 32:12

Yeah, I I I agree, I completely agree.

SPEAKER_01 32:15

So what do you okay? So well, let's let's do this. Are you can you can we do some rapid fire, like funny questions? Sure. You don't have these, so uh these are just quick. Yeah, you gotta it's a snow day, but you listen, you gotta you gotta think today still. Um okay, so just whatever pops into your head, okay. Um most creative or funny excuse you excuse you've ever heard for missing an assignment or not doing it.

SPEAKER_00 32:50

Ooh. That's kind of a tough one.

unknown 32:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:53

You can take a second.

SPEAKER_02 32:57

Well, not an assignment, but when I was teaching PE, and I I love this story, um, had a third grader come up to me and say that she could not do the five jumping jacks during the warmup because it would make her heart rate increase too much. And her sister told her that if her heart rate got too high, she would die, and then asked if I wanted her to die.

SPEAKER_01 33:19

And I was like, Want her to die?

SPEAKER_02 33:22

Uh literally, she said, Um, my watch says that my heart rate is increasing, and it's not good for my heart rate to increase because my sister said, If my heart rate gets too high, I'm gonna die. Do you want me to die? That's that's how the conversation went. Um so that's that's one of my favorite stories. I did actually get to meet her mom and tell her mom this story, and she was like, None of that is true. Um, but it was just it was like the most interesting excuse to get out of doing five jumping jacks that I've ever had.

SPEAKER_01 33:50

I mean, it's creative, it was very creative, and and pulls on your heart strings too. Because, like, do you want me to die?

SPEAKER_02 33:56

No, I don't want you to die. This is my first week of teaching B. What are you talking about?

SPEAKER_01 34:01

Oh, goodness. Um, okay, so what's a sentence that you say often at your school? Um, that if you had a dollar for every time you've said it, you would be a millionaire by now.

SPEAKER_02 34:12

This is not gonna make sense to anybody else, but my students actually call me out on this all the time. I will say something to the effect of I'll I'll I'll give them instruction or direction, and then I'll say, but what do I know? I'm just a and then I'll say, but I'm just the health teacher, or I'm just the coach. In like, for example, what your knee is hurting today, and instead of working out or doing the speed work with us on the track, you should probably do some mobility, maybe do some stretches, but I'm not a doctor, I can't force you to do anything. I'm just the track coach, so what do I know? And I I have had kids call me out on that often because that's probably my most said thing.

SPEAKER_00 35:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 35:04

Um okay, so okay, so you can only pick one of these, right? Okay, coffee, silence, or extra planning time during a school day.

SPEAKER_02 35:15

I need my iced coffee.

SPEAKER_01 35:19

Okay. You're the first one, you're the first one out of two two whole people that I've uh done this podcast with.

SPEAKER_02 35:25

I need my iced coffee, but also I'm a former PE teacher, so the noise doesn't really bother me because I'm kind of used to it. And my daughter gets so frustrated with me, we'll go out to eat or we'll be out in public, and she's like, Why is this not bothering you? They're so loud.

SPEAKER_01 35:40

And I'm like, I I just I mean it's true, you kind of become immune to it, right? So that was I didn't even notice it, notice it was loud, right?

SPEAKER_02 35:49

Yeah, no, so that the noise level doesn't usually bother me, and if it ever does, earplugs, right?

SPEAKER_01 35:56

Exactly. There you go. Um, okay, so Jen, that's that's the end of our rapid fire questions. So give me some parting uh words here. Like what would you say to a new teacher coming in? Like, what's what's a couple of things, just like basic things, like you need to know this or you need to do this.

SPEAKER_02 36:21

Find your people. That's the most important thing because no matter how much you love your job, no matter how passionate you are, there are going to be hard days. There's gonna be hard students, there's gonna be hard parents. You have to have those coworkers that you know that you can go to that are gonna support you, whether that's listening to you vent or bringing you iced coffee on you know the morning after a rough day or whatever it is. That's that's one of my favorite things, personally, is to like take people their favorite candy, your favorite snack, or whatever. Um, but you you have to find your tribe and lean on them for support above anything else. And nobody understands it like your coworkers do. Like, yes, you can go home and talk to your significant other, you can spill to your own parents, you can share these things, but the people that are on the inside with you are the only ones that are genuinely gonna understand.

SPEAKER_00 37:22

Really understand it. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 37:24

And they're gonna be the ones that know how to pick you back up after even the hardest of hard days, so that you do want to come back the next day. Yeah, you gotta find your people.

SPEAKER_01 37:36

I love that. Hey, listen, Jen, thank you so much for being on today.

SPEAKER_02 37:41

Of course, thanks for asking.

SPEAKER_01 37:42

I I appreciate you, and um listen, hopefully, maybe we get to go back to school this week. Yeah, because I'm I'm tired of the snow days already. All right. Well, thanks, Jen. Have a good day, okay?

SPEAKER_00 37:57

Yeah, you too.

SPEAKER_01 37:58

Thank you.

unknown 37:59

Bye. Bye.