Resilient & Resourced Podcast for Educators

The Resilient and Resourced Educator Podcast gives you an inside view of educators who have dedicated their lives to teaching, mentoring, coaching and supporting others on their learning journey. Education workers, new and experienced, reflect on their strengths, their areas of need and how they resource others and themselves. The unique stories of how passion for education was born and how that passion expresses itself will inspire you. All education workers worth their salt know that free time is at a premium so these pocket-sized chats can easily weave into your day.

Grief and Other Things the Body Knows Jennie's relationship with resilience has been marked by a strong sense of knowing that giving up simply wasn't an option. Unravelling the impact of this survival mindset has been a lifelong journey punctuated by deep and significant losses. The ensuing grief and anger led Jennie to explore the wisdom of the body, ways of working with difficult emotions and a passion for helping others do the same.     Jennie is no stranger to grief but she'd be the first to say that it doesn't define her. After the loss of her college ...Read Full Post →

resilient & resourced podcast – season 2, episode 2

Mar 15, 2021

Get Real! Lisa is an energetic empath and self-described "open book" who places great value on her connection with others. She's a strong proponent of being real with those around her so that she can get support when she needs it and give support to others when they need it. With creativity and an optimism that still honours difficult emotions, Lisa has found methods of staying hopeful and resilient through this pandemic year.   Lisa is grateful for her parents who inspired her to develop a strong work ethic and a confidence to rely on her own ability. The self-reliance ...Read Full Post →

resilient & resourced podcast – season 2, episode 1

Mar 2, 2021

Running a Good Race Dr. Barbara Ward has been working in the field of social work for 30 years and is currently the Mental Health Lead for the Waterloo Region District School Board, a Clinical Supervisor and is also a valued workshop presenter in the areas of Resilience and Self-Care. A lifelong runner, Barb draws on the lessons she's learned from her running practice, through recovering from injuries as well as positive psychology and mindfulness. Join us for this inspirational conversation about how leaning into everything can help us build up our stores of resilience for times when it is ...Read Full Post →

resilient & resourced educator podcast #12

Jan 12, 2021

Sheri:  Teach with Your Heart Forward  Sheri has been a thoughtful, engaged educator for 20 years primarily in the areas of Phys Ed and Guidance.  Now, during this second lockdown to start the new year, she and her educator husband are both teaching at home at the same time that their two children are learning at home. It's not just her children who need support, Sheri admits that even the dog has needs during the day!  The impact of the pandemic on education is a learning situation for everyone and Sheri has hopes that we will learn enough to not ...Read Full Post →

resilient & resourced educator podcast episode #11

Dec 29, 2020

Melissa: Challenges as Opportunities   Melissa has been involved in Early Childhood Education for almost 20 years. Over those two decades, she has worked at a university ECE Centre and a regionally-run facility while also spending some time as an ECE instructor at a local college. This educator is also heavily involved in a wide variety of community building initiatives in her region and has been recognized with the Mayor's City Builder Award for her work on a wide array of local interests and causes.             As an Early Childhood Educator in a pandemic year, ...Read Full Post →

resilient & resourced educator podcast #10

Dec 8, 2020

Maria: Learning and Growing is Key to Mental Health   In her almost 20 years of being an educator, Maria has covered a whole lot of ground! She has taught math, English and Social Science while working with students from Grades 5 -12. When she wasn't in the classroom, Maria has facilitated professional learning workshops with the Critical Thinking Consortium, been engaged in politics and now coaches educators. Maria embodies the term life-long learner and is currently doing her doctoral studies on Climate Justice Education as it connects to the mental health of young people.       Blessed to ...Read Full Post →

resilient & resourced educator podcast #9

Nov 30, 2020

Mary: Genuine Connection Matters   Mary has been an Educational Assistant for 11 years and sees her primary role as being a caring presence for her students and a positive and encouraging support for her colleagues, Mary believes in the power of intentionally reaching out to others when things get stressful and not try to go it alone.        Back in September, Mary recalls how the anxiety around the social distancing and hygiene protocols, including the multiple layers of PPE, made it stressful to meet the students where they were at. She says that "it was so ...Read Full Post →

resilient & resourced educator podcast #8

Nov 9, 2020

Kathleen: Teachers and Students Are All Learning to Adapt   Kathleen is an energetic high school math teacher who simply loves being in the classroom! With the pandemic-led learning disruptions last spring, she sees how some students continue to struggle with the self-regulation and organizational skills needed to understand challenging math concepts. Join the conversation to hear what hopes this caring educator has for her students in a post-pandemic world.       Teaching had always been a back-up plan after a senior high school math teacher suggested she'd be good at it. But that suggestion stayed with Kathleen as ...Read Full Post →

Resilient & Resourced Educator Podcast #7

Oct 29, 2020

Gwen: Don't Reinvent the Wheel   Gwen is a seasoned and steady educator and is also my sister! While the chaotic changes this year have proved to be the greatest challenge in her 30 years of teaching, she remains firm that there is some glimmer of reasonable hope. With vulnerability, wisdom and compassion, Gwen shares her story of her personal and professional challenges in pandemic times and how she resources herself through it all.       After a decade out of the classroom, Gwen was unsure of what she'd be teaching until the week before classes started. The stress ...Read Full Post →

Resilient & Resourced Educator Podcast #6

Oct 29, 2020

Derrick & Andrea: A Two Educator Family Derrick and Andrea are a two-educator partnership and parents of young children who have unique concerns during this pandemic school year. Concerns range from safety, to scheduling to new modes of teaching and all the way to the impact on these changes on the students.       Derrick and Andrea are a study in contrasts! One loves to have things planned out, one not so much. One works in STEM and misses the regular interaction with colleagues while the other works in a congregated class with multiple EA's in the classroom each ...Read Full Post →