Teachers Ed with Edward DeShazer

Protecting School Culture When Energy Fades

• Edward DeShazer

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The first cold snap hits, the room isn’t spotless anymore, and that August buzz has faded. That’s when the real work shows up—and so does the truth about culture. We talk candidly about beating the fall slump and why October, not August, shapes the educators and leaders our students need.

We start with the human side: shorter days, less sunlight, and the silent drag on mood and motivation. Then we get practical. From Walking Wednesdays—a simple 15‑minute, no‑email, no‑grading movement break—to four anchor habits that actually stick: early morning sunlight, scheduled movement, community connection, and guilt‑free rest. These small, repeatable actions lower stress, boost focus, and help you return to class grounded, not just busy.

From there, we tackle culture with clear eyes. What you allow becomes your culture: gossip, negativity, and slipping effort spread fast when energy is low. But so do wins, professionalism, and compassionate accountability when we model them daily. We share how to run a mid‑fall culture check, set boundaries without drama, and protect the peace of your classroom or campus with love and clarity. The kids are watching, the staff is watching, and your actions write the rules far louder than any speech.

If you’ve felt heavier, tired, or less inspired, you’re not broken—you’re human. Keep showing up, not perfectly but intentionally. Try one habit, invite a colleague for a walk, and name one boundary you’ll enforce this week. If this resonated, subscribe, share it with a teammate who needs a lift, and leave a review so more educators can find it. Your light still matters, and your daily choices build the school everyone deserves.

www.EdwardDeShazer.org

SPEAKER_01:

School culture is not built uh by what we say once in a staff meeting, it's built by what we allow and what we do every single day. If you allow gossip, that's gonna become your culture. If you allow negativity, that is going to become your culture. If you allow people to stop giving their best effort, that becomes your culture.

SPEAKER_00:

If you're an educator that's passionate, but you're tired and you're burnt out and you're wondering what to do next, this is the show for you. We're gonna learn together, we're gonna recharge together, and we're gonna grow together so you can be the best you and serve your students and your community to the best of your ability.

SPEAKER_01:

What's going on, Pod? Welcome back to Teachers Ed Podcast. I'm your host, Edward Ashazer. Teachers Ed Podcast is the place where the best and brightest in education come to be inspired, to connect, to learn, and to grow. Uh, if you enjoyed today's episode, as I always ask, uh, please take a moment to subscribe. Please, please, please, if you're listening, pause this for a second, leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Uh, that feedback helps me, helps this podcast get in front of and reach more uh dynamic educators just like you. Let's get started. Uh, fall is here. The air, um, I guess depending where you are, I'm in Wisconsin, the air is getting cooler. Uh, pumpkin spice has officially taken over the building, taken over every single store. Uh the school doesn't feel new anymore. It's starting to get, you know, your school, your room now is spotless is not spotless like it used to be. And the energy of the first, you know, few weeks, first month of school is beginning to uh level off. Uh, you know, and that um honeymoon period where the students, you know, are still testing the waters, the staff are uh smiling a little wider um is gone. You know, the routines are starting to kick in, and the real work in education has started. We're past that you know, building relationships phase that the school year typically starts with at most schools. Um we're in the real work. Um for teachers and educators. Now you're gonna start noticing those little things, whether it's that one student that forgets their pencil, whether it's the transitions that do not go as smooth as they used to. Uh you know, that lesson plan that went great did not go as great because attention spans just aren't um as long as they used to be. And for school leaders, it is the same. You know, meetings are piling up, the to-do list is getting longer. I mean, I just think of myself, it's like I have this long to-do list when the day, when I walk into the day, and at the end of the day, I look and like I just feel like the to-do list did not even get chipped away at because I spend so much time doing all of the other things. And in coming up very soon, again, at least for people in the you know, the northern United States, the days are gonna start getting shorter. Um, you know, you're gonna drive to school in the dark, and by the time you leave, the sun's already gonna be setting. The lack of sunlight, um, you know, that affects all of us a lot more than a lot of people probably realize. It affects your energy, it affects your motivation, and it can affect your mood, you know. So if you one thing, if you notice, if you are noticing that you are uh starting to feel a little heavier, a little more tired, or just not as inspired as you were in August, that is normal. Um, that is a very normal thing. Uh, so do not feel like because you're feeling more tired, you know, because you're not getting as much light that there is something wrong. Like you are a human being. Um, so it's important right off the bat, you know, because we're past the the honeymoon stage. The August energy that's gone. The lesson plans don't always land. Um, kids are testing boundaries, staff are starting to settle into their real rhythms, and that's okay because this is where the real work um happens, and this is where the real work uh begins. It's like sports. The best educators are not built in August when everyone's fresh and motivated. The best educators are built in October when you're tired, the days are shorter, and you're still showing up. This is where consistency and those consistent routines start to separate the good um from the great. So if you are feeling drained, do not mistake that for uh some sort of failure. It's just a sign that you are doing the work and that work matters, and it's not gonna be easy, you know. So just making sure that you're giving yourself, I've always said this, you're giving yourself the same grace and mercy um that you give everyone else in your life. You know, this is the time when it gets difficult. So, talking about some of the things that we can do um to fight that fatigue this year. Uh at our school, one of the things we started this year is walking Wednesdays, and it's super simple. Um, every Wednesday we challenge our staff to take a 15-minute walk. Uh, if it's nice out getting outside, if it's not nice out, you can do it inside. Not no meetings, no emails, no grading, just taking 15 minutes uh to walk. And we started it because you know, realizing as these days get shorter, we move less. Um, we stay inside more, and before you know it, you go entire days without seeing sunlight, or even sometimes it feels like you don't even take a real breath. Um, so on Wednesdays, you see people pairing up, you see people getting outside, walking around our playground. We have a massive playground. Uh, you see people walking through our commons area. Um, and you'll see people who maybe on a normal time just sit in the room and eat lunch, actually getting around and moving. Excuse me, and it's not just about the fitness aspect that's important, it's about mindfulness and about uh intentionally slowing down to care for yourself in the middle of you know the chaos that we go through sometimes in education. And what I have noticed is little shifts like that can change the energy uh of the day. You know, you come back in, you feel a little lighter, you feel a little more grounded. Um, and it's just a simple, intentional 15 minutes that can shift your entire uh tone and shift the entire tone of a school. So if you don't have something um like that in place, create it. Super simple, starting small, 15 minutes of movement, 15 minutes of walking, you know, encouraging people, maybe getting your grade level together, getting your department together, um, inviting your team to do it before work, maybe it's after work, um, and just stepping outside to get that few minutes of quiet while getting some fresh air. Um, and for anyone, everyone listening, there's some tips that I always like to share as that fall fatigue um begins to set in. Number one, getting your sunlight early. Um, even if it's just for 10 minutes in the morning, getting your sunlight early in the day, because if you don't get it early in the day, by the time some people are leaving work, it's pitch black again. And you're not gonna, you're gonna be tired, you're gonna go home. So getting sunlight early is important. Moving with intention. Do not wait for the motivation and do it. You have to schedule and recharge or schedule and schedule your recharge time where you're doing these movements, even if it's 20 minutes when you get home from work, maybe it's getting to up 20 minutes earlier, maybe it's during your planning period, whatever it may be. But I need you to move um with intention. The third tip is staying connected. Um, the darker the days get, the more we will need community around us. So it's absolutely important that you stay connected with the people in your building. You know, if it's not in your building, maybe as a virtual community, it's family, friends, whoever those people are, but staying connected when these days get dark. Then, fourth, giving yourself permission to rest. We get this guilty feeling as educators that we can't, you know, sitting on the couch and doing nothing feels wasteful because there's always work that we can do as educators. So, what I want you to do is give yourself permission to rest. Give yourself permission to sit on the couch and do absolutely nothing. You don't need to grade, you don't need to check emails, sit and do absolutely nothing because you deserve to have that time to rest without feeling guilty. Easier said than done. I get it. Um, you deserve that time, you know. So as the days get shorter, I want you to be intentional about protecting your light. Because if you are not um careful, that darkness that's going on outside begins to creep um inside, and I mean inside of you. And you know, at our school with the walking Wednesdays, 15 minutes every Wednesday, um, where we're encouraging the entire staff to take walks, you know, no emails, none of the other stuff, none of the other stuff, just movement and uh connection. And you will be amazed how much those intentional 15 minutes can do where people come back in, they feel refreshed, people come back in, they feel calmer. Um, people come back in, they feel more focused. So take the walk, step outside. Um, what is it? Uh don't live, laugh, love, breathe, laugh, and move. Um, but do something that you know reminds you that there's still life outside of the walls of the building that you're in. Uh, because the world is not going to stop when you pause. Uh, but as an educator, your peace depends on it. So making time to do that. And then to kind of veer towards closing this episode out, it's not a super long episode, but uh really just looking at the culture check. For those that have heard me speak, you know, this is the time of year that you send that culture survey out. If you are listening and you're not familiar with it, please send me an email and I will send you uh my culture survey for free. Um, but shoot me an email and I'll send it to you. But let's start talking about what happens when we start to lose energy because that's when culture gets tested the most. Beginning of the year feels great uh because everyone's on their best behavior, everyone is recharged, we're feeling the best that we can. Students are figuring you out, staff are you know doing, they're feeling refreshed, they're trying to impress. Um, but now you start to see the real patterns of students, but also staff members. Um, and this is where leadership at every level matters the most because school culture is not built uh by what we say once in a staff meeting, it's built by what we allow and what we do every single day. If you allow gossip, that's gonna become your culture. If you allow negativity, that is going to become your culture. If you allow people to stop giving their best effort, that becomes your culture. If you allow individuals in your classroom, individuals in your uh staff, individuals in your department to pull the rope the other direction, that will become uh your culture. But when you consistently model professionalism, when you are consistently celebrating wins, when you are consistently holding people accountable with compassion, that can also um become your culture. And this work is too hard to allow nonsense to breathe. Um, and sometimes that nonsense is your students. Other times, let's be honest, that nonsense is with the staff. Um, but we cannot afford to waste energy managing drama, we cannot afford to waste energy manning managing excuses. We cannot afford to waste energy uh managing negativity. The stakes are too high in education. The kids are watching, the staff is watching, and every day you have a choice to set the tone of what is acceptable and what is not. And you set it not just by what you say, but most importantly by what you uh do. So again, we're I I want to kind of run back through that. This work is too hard uh to allow nonsense to breathe. You cannot build a positive culture if you're constantly putting out the fires that come from what you refuse to address, the people you refuse to address, the people that have been there for too long that are just becoming an issue. If you allow gossip, that's your culture. If you allow negativity, that is your culture. But if you show up consistently, if you model professionalism, if you celebrate the wins of your staff, if you hold people accountable, um, that's your culture too. And it is much easier to avoid confrontation, but leadership requires uh courage. Culture grows in whatever space that we give it. So I need us to make sure that we protect our piece and protect our buildings piece and your classrooms piece, whatever space you are the leader of. And even if you're a teacher, you are a leader. I need you to protect the piece of that space. And I want us to uh lead with love, but most importantly, I want us to lead with clarity because what we allow and what we do, that's who we are, that's who our school um becomes. So as we head deeper um into fall, and especially for my people that get winter in these cold areas, if you're listening from Arizona, this doesn't apply, it doesn't really apply to you because you guys stay with sunlight. Um the light outside is going to be fading, but the light inside of you uh still matters. Your consistency matters, um, your presence matters, the way you protect your energy and the way you protect your culture is going to matter. You do not have to do everything perfectly, you just have to keep showing up and being intentional with how you show up because that is how uh strong schools, strong teams, and strong leaders are built. Not through the big moments, or those although although at times those big moments feel like they define us, but we're built through our daily habits. And when things start to feel heavy, um, when those nights or those days start to get uh shorter with daylight, uh I just want you to remind yourself that you are not doing this work alone. There's a whole community of educators fighting the same fight, um, pushing through the same fatigue, trying to lead with the same heart, having the same struggles where, you know, they feel like they're not doing enough as a parent, go to work, they feel like they're not doing enough as an educator, they go home, you know, they're not doing enough as a spouse, you know, all those same things. You're not the only one going through it. So continue to take care of yourself, continue to protect your peace, continue to stay consistent. And I want you to remember the work you do in October and November, the very unglamorous work that we're doing right now, um, is the work that will shape the rest of the year. We do the work on the front end of the year, so when we get on the back end, our life is much easier. So, thank you all for uh joining me. That's all I got for you today. Thank you all for joining me. Again, if you are listening to this, please make sure you like. Um, please, please, please. I ask again, leave a review on Apple Podcast. And for those tired teachers, I forgot to give the plug uh for Rise Coffee. If you are interested and if you enjoy coffee, Rise Coffee is a mushroom coffee with six functional mushrooms. Um, I love to have it in the morning. They have a creamer, they have overnight oats. Uh, their coffee is very good. If you are someone that does not need 17 sugars and eight creams in their coffee, you will like it. Head over to Rise Superfoods, R-Y-Z-E Superfoods.com, and use code Edward DeShazer to get 15% off your order. RYZE superfoods.com, uh, 15% off whatever it is that you order. So head over there, place an order, use the code, get a discount, check it out, and thank you all for tuning in. As I, you know, as I always encourage you on the way out, you know, I just want you to keep showing up for yourself, uh, keep showing up for your staff, keep showing up for your students. The work that we do matters, always a tough time of year as we get back into the rhythm. But thank you for what you do in education on behalf of your students, on behalf of your staff. Uh, keep fighting the good fight. We need more people like you fighting the good fight. So do not give up, even though you're tired, even though you're drained, even though you're exhausted. Do not give up. These kids need you more now than they ever have. And thank you all for tuning in. And I will see you next time.