Leaving Teaching: What School of Life Teaches About Time and Taking the Leap

Teachers in Transition – Episode 260: What School of Life Teaches Us About Time, Teaching, and Taking the Leap

What if the best career advice came from a forgotten 2005 TV movie starring Ryan Reynolds in red Chucks?

In this episode, we unpack the under-the-radar gem School of Life—a story that holds unexpected wisdom about purpose, time, and finding joy in teaching.

• Why Mr. D’s lessons hit harder than any PD you’ve sat through
• What this movie reveals about teacher grief, freedom, and burnout
• How to rewrite your job search story with power and purpose
• A real-world breakdown of what “teaching like you're free” might look like
• Practical steps for building confidence, clarity, and connection in your next chapter

Because let’s be honest: we don’t have that much time. And you deserve to live a story that gives back to you.

🎧 Listen now and take your shot.
🔗 Click here to listen on Buzzsprout

💌 Connect with Vanessa:
 📧 Vanessa@TeachersinTransition.com
 📅 Schedule a free Discovery Session
📱 Text or leave a voicemail: 512-640-9099
📘 Follow on Facebook
🧵 Instagram & Threads: @teachers.in.transition
🌀 Bluesky: @beyondteaching.bsky.social

Help Grow the Podcast!

Please share this podcast with someone that you think might like what it has to say – many teachers are aching to find a way to a new career.  You can help them. People find new podcasts mostly because they’ve been recommended by someone they know.   

The transcript to this podcast is found on the episode’s homepage at Buzzspout

Transcript

Hi friend — you’re listening to another episode of Teachers in Transition, where we explore what happens to your heart, your story, and your future when the classroom stops holding space for both. Today, we’re talking about a movie called School of Life.  It was an ABC movie, so it’s not one you went to see in a theater. It’s not flashy, not viral, but in its simplicity, it’s a story that can rewire how we think about time, purpose, and… letting our inner teachers lead. And yes — we’re weaving it into your mental health journey and your next career move. 

School of Life is one of those little movies that flies under the radar but grabs your soul by the heart. Released in 2005, it stars a younger Ryan Reynolds as Michael D’Angelo as “Mr. D”,  and David Paymer as Mr. Warner.  The whole story is narrated as seen through the eyes of Mr. Warner’s son, Dylan.  Mr. Warner lives in the very long shadow his history-teacher dad, Stormin’ Norman Warner (played by John Astin).  They teach at the same middle school, and Stormin’ Norman has been the student-elected teacher of the year for 43 years.  It’s a lot to live up to.  The opening scene is a scene where we watch Stormin’ Norman pass on to the next world and do so in front of his son, Mr. Warner.  Norman tells his son  “It takes less than death to kill a man.”  His son doesn’t understand.  

They move forward to the next school year.  Mr. Warner is feeling the pressure of “this is MY year” at the beginning of the year faculty meeting (in this tiny school with apparently only 8 teachers and 16 kids per class), we are introduced to Mr. Michael D’Angelo, or Mr. D as he prefers to be called.   He’s immediately different from the other teachers – more casual – wearing bright red chucks.  
 
 He's relaxed and informal.  He enters the school with a radically different approach to teaching. While Mr. Warner leans into the rules, Mr. D invites curiosity, humor, and human connection into his classroom. His students adore him. He lets them sit where they like, surprises them by knowing their names, and dives into lessons like he’s building something bigger than test prep.

Mr. Warner, on the other hand, is rigid and traditional. He sees Mr. D’s style as a threat, and it offends his sense of The Rules.  But in this story about fear vs. freedom. Mr. Warner is stuck in the safe lane.  Mr. D seems to march to the beat of a different drummer that only he can hear.

 Another early lesson by Mr. D was when he asked the class how much time they had left. The whole class turns to look at the clock, and before they can answer, Mr. D tells them “The answer to that question, you're not going to find on a clock. The answer is not a lot. How much time do we have? Not a lot.”
 
 And that becomes a repeated line throughout this entire movie. How much time do we have left? How much time do we have? And all the kids learn to respond. Not a lot.  And it turns out that the entire time, (spoiler alert!!) Mr. D. is speaking from intimate experience.  He is quite ill, and it is from that place of knowing when Mr. D. speaks and  says, “we don't have that much time left”.  

That line becomes more poignant when you realize that Mr. D isn’t just playing with metaphor. He’s doesn’t have all that much time.  In spite of the many things that drive teachers nuts when they see factual inaccurate things in a movie (no teacher would ever leave the rest of the class completely unattended to take a child to the office over a sarcastic comment.), this is one of the things that teachers never think about from their own POV.
 
 At first, it’s just it’s played for a joke. But we see Mr. D get very rattled after stumbling across Mr. Warner’s lesson on lungs.  But then we find out—. He’s speaking from lived experience as he fights lung cancer.

And the truth is - even for those of us who aren’t dealing with illness or major life changes - you never really know when something could snatch it all away in a weekend. We don’t have all that much time.

So I would make two arguments here.

Number one:
You shouldn’t have to spend your time doing something that makes you cry.
You shouldn’t have to stay in something that kills your spirit and hollows you out from the inside.

You shouldn’t have to do something that makes you afraid to face Monday morning. 
 You deserve to do work that makes you proud. And to work in a place where you know you matter and you make a difference.

Number two:
You should be allowed to teach in the way you know works best. Because you KNOW that what we are doing in a classroom isn’t JUST standardizes tests. Because if we keep going the way we’re going, we’re going to lose an entire generation of teachers who ever got to have fun in their classrooms and be silly just for the joy of learning.

Henry David Thoreau said “most men live lives of quiet desperation.”  I find this is exponentially true for teachers.  That spot of desperation grows with every moment of gaslighting, disrespect, and overwhelm.    We deal with it by not dealing with it.  So it grows.  

That old saying about dancing in the rain - or dance like no one’s watching?
 It’s about using the time you do have. Because none of us knows how much of it there is.

Do you routinely say “after I retire, I will be able to do the things that I don’t have time for now?”  What -What gets in the way from being able to do those things now?  Is it time, money, or stress?

 Mr. D’s arrival at Fallbrook wasn’t an accident.  It was because he was once a student of Stormin’ Norman.  It was his way of giving back to a teacher who meant so much to him. And he taught more than just students – he also taught Mr. Warner what it was that Stormin’ Norman had never been able to teach: Take. Your. Shot.

By the end of the movie, you see how deeply this has impacted his students — and even Mr. Warner. It’s gone beyond the curriculum. It’s became a legacy that lingers.

PART 2: MENTAL WELLNESS & MOTIVATION

One of the first lessons Mr. D gives is about seating charts—but not in the way you’d expect. He walks in and says, “Sit wherever you like.” (I know many of you out there just cringed). Then, before anything else, he surprises a student by calling her by name. One of the kids asks, “How did you know her name?”

And with what would later become trademark Ryan Reynolds insouciance, he replies: “Hey, you do my homework and I’ll do yours… wait—wait. I’ll do your homework, and you do mine…” It’s playful, but also clear: he’ll do his part of the work, and they’ll be expected to do theirs.

Later, our narrator, Dylan, tells his parents that what makes Mr. D’s class so unique is that each class is like a  little mystery they get to solve. And I think all of us wish teaching still felt like that. It used to feel like that.

When this movie came out in 2005, (and undoubtedly filmed prior to that) it was before No Child Left Behind had fully taken over our classrooms. There’s a quick reference to standardized testing as a be-all-end-all in the movie, but it’s brief.  There was still space for play. For joy. For teaching with creativity. There was still the freedom to run around outside and reenact the Civil War, while a teacher dressed up as Abraham Lincoln shouting, “Hey! Go do your job!”

So if you’re heading into what might be your last year in the classroom, and you know that no reprimand or write-up or admin memo will stop you…

What would you do?  What could you do?

How would you teach if you were free to teach the way you know works? And was fun?

I wonder what would happen if kids had classrooms full of teachers like that again.

Because the truth is…
 We don’t have much time left.

And that clock?

It can’t help you. Because there’s just not a lot of time.  

And as morbid as it sounds, no one ever lays on their deathbed and wishes for more time at work.  They start to yearn for the things that they didn’t get to do while they could – when their bodies are able and their spirits are willing. 

How on earth can this apply to a Career Transition and a Job Search?

One of the hardest things about leaving the classroom is that you’ve spent your whole career making other people your priority. Students, administrators, parents - you’ve been trained to serve, adapt, and wait for permission. But in the job search? Permission doesn’t come. It never comes. Decision, however, can.

Your job search isn’t just about getting a new gig. It’s a way of reclaiming your agency after years of being told to sit down, stay in line, and be grateful for that burnout. You don’t have to wait until you have a flawless resume or complete clarity. You just have to start.

Start messy. Start scared. But … start!

Let today be the day you say, ‘I’ve done enough to take the next step.’  Decide that exploration is valid. Decide that every application, every resume draft, every LinkedIn scroll is a breadcrumb on your way to something new. Decide that you’re worth more than your fear.  

Mr. D is such a powerful teacher because he’s such a powerful storyteller.  They’re not just opening the book to chapter 12 to read about the Civil War, he dresses up as Abraham Lincoln, and then they act out a battle.  And the more we learn about Michael D’Angelo, the more we realize what a fascinating story he has.  Every teacher has at least one unforgettable classroom story. Teachers have fascinating moments.  You have fascinating moments!!  A moment where you improvised a new lesson because everything about the old one crashed, calmed a conflict, sparked a breakthrough. Those moments are your raw material.

Let’s say you led a spontaneous classroom debate when a student brought up a social justice issue - you didn’t just “go off topic.” You demonstrated live facilitation, emotional regulation, and adaptive learning design. When you rewrite that story in corporate language, it might sound like:

“Guided respondents in a high-stakes discussion using real-time conflict resolution and inclusive facilitation strategies, fostering critical thinking and peer respect.”

That’s not just fluff. That’s how you translate your gifts.

There’s a point in the movie where Mr. Warner goes over the edge he starts following Mr. D all over town and finds himself in a bad part of what HAS to be a neighboring city.  His efforts to further spy on Mr. D are thwarted when three locals youths from the area rough him up because those three guys are looking out for Mr. D.  A small but interesting example of how networking happens when you least expect it.  I am positive that when Mr. D chatted with those young men and encouraged them, he had no idea that they’d prevent a future theoretical robbery of his place or that they’d sit vigil outside his hospital room.  But they did.

Networking doesn’t have to be scary. You don’t have to become a LinkedIn influencer overnight. You don’t have to become one at all.  Start by joining one education-adjacent group: EdTech, DEI in the workplace, learning and development professionals. Read a post. Like something. Maybe even direct message (DM) someone you admire with a simple, “I loved your insight—thank you for sharing.”  Teachers have the ability to connect with small people who are trying to wall themselves off from the world – I have every confidence that teachers can connect with adults who are actually looking to connect. 

 By connecting with others and interacting in meaningful ways, You invite resonance.

Let’s talk about your skillz. If you look in the transcript, you’ll see that’s spelled with a Z. That is on purpose and for effect.  You already have so many. But confidence often follows evidence. So build a small proof-of-skill bank:

• Write your story – the one that reflects your teaching-to-career journey.  It could be a blog post or a LinkedIn Article. 
• What if you create a Canva/Google Pages/PPT slide deck breaking down a concept you’ve taught for years?
• Make a voice memo talking through what you care about in a future workplace.

These don’t have to be parts of your portfolio. They’re confidence pieces. When you build, you remind yourself what you’re capable of. And you show the world when you take your shot you’re stepping into who you are. 

You don’t need to scream your worth. You just need to speak from your center. When you write your LinkedIn summary or your cover letter, let your actual voice come through. Don’t write like a robot trying to sound professional. Write like someone who believes in human-centered systems, student-first values, and collaborative leadership. 

The people who need what you bring? They’ll find you faster when you stop trying to be perfect and start showing up real.

Because clarity attracts. Confidence attracts. But nothing attracts like alignment to your values and your skillz.

Let’s be brutally honest: fear is going to be with you. Of course it is.

Fear asks:

• “What if I fail?”
• “What if no one wants what I bring?”
• “What if this leap is a mistake?”

And you don’t need to argue with fear. Just don’t let it lead. Mr. Warner spent SO much of the movie trying so hard to be what he thought he was supposed to be. He was afraid to be himself.  

Let fear make you thoughtful. Let it sharpen your focus. Let it remind you that this does matter.

But don’t let fear dictate your direction.

Fear can ride along. But it doesn’t get to touch the steering wheel.

You don’t need to feel ready to begin. You just need to act like someone who trusts they’ll figure it out along the way. Because you will. You always have.

We get to the third act of the movie, and Mr. D goes into the hospital as his cancer progresses.  Mr. Warner slips in to tell Mr. D how much he has mattered – to the school, to his Dad, and to him.  He shares that Mr. D was able to teach what ol’ Stormin’ Norman never could – to shoot your shot.  
 
 And when the kids act up because Mr. D is in the hospital and not with them, Mr. Warner reminds them that all the students carry a little bit of their teachers forward with them. I’d like to remind you that that’s true for you too.  What you have done has mattered, and if it’s time for you to do something else, that’s OK too. 

Because job searching isn’t about becoming someone new.  I mean, I can make a strong argument that you aren’t even doing things that are all that new. Mostly it’s about doing things in a new environment,

It’s about showing the world who you already are once you finally let yourself be seen.

I encourage you to watch School of Life. It’s streaming now on Pluto TV, or to rent on  YouTube and Apple TV. Let Mr. D remind you: your story deserves to be lived on your terms and to remember that there’s not a lot of time left- take your shot. 
 
And let me remind you  - the best time to start a career transition is 6 months ago.  The next best time is now. 

That’s the podcast for today! If you liked this podcast, tell a friend, and don’t forget to rate and review wherever you listen to your podcasts. Tune in weekly to Teachers in Transition where we discuss Job Search strategies as well as stress management techniques.  And I want to hear from you!  Please reach out and leave me a message at Vanessa@Teachersintransition.com  You can also leave a voicemail or text at 512-640-9099. 

I’ll see you here again next week and remember – YOU are amazing!