Engage in authentic conversation and reflection with experienced educators

Focus on Educator Well-Being

Guest(s): Sydney Snyder and Joshua Magri
Date: 04/23/2025
Run time: 49:32
Season 4, Episode 5

In episode 5, Carol welcomes guests Josh Magri and Sydney Snyder as they talk about educator well-being beyond teacher self-care. Together they discuss practices and building environments where educators can thrive even in challenging times. Carol, Sydney, and Josh share impactful ideas to help teachers and leaders foster vulnerable conversations, rethink how we define success, give ourselves grace when we make mistakes, and find balance between our personal and professional lives.

Create your own Circle of Light with a book study for Carol’s book Teaching With Light: Ten Lessons for Finding Wisdom, Balance, and Inspiration.

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Episode Audio

[MUSIC PLAYING]

MODERATOR 1: Welcome to Corwin's Teacher to Teacher podcast with host Carol Pelletier Radford. Carol is an experienced

classroom teacher, University educator, founder of mentoringandaction.com, and author of four best selling

professional books for teachers. She believes the best form of professional learning happens when teachers

engage in authentic conversations and share their wisdom.

In every episode, Carol and her guests share stories about pivotal moments in their careers, successful

classroom strategies, and personal actions they take to minimize stress and stay healthy. The Teacher to Teacher

podcast is a place to engage in authentic conversation and reflection with experienced educators. We hope these

conversations will energize you, keep you inspired, and remind you why you chose to become a teacher.

LIZ GILDEA: Hello, and welcome to the Teacher to Teacher podcast. I'm Liz Gildea, Senior Acquisitions Editor here at Corwin.

This season of The podcast focuses on mentoring and action. We have such a timely episode to share with you

today on the topic of educator well-being. Our guests are Josh Magri and Sydney Snyder.

Josh is a third year chemistry teacher at a high school in Virginia, and Sydney is a principal associate at

supported and the author of best selling Corwin books-- Unlocking Multilingual Learners Potential, Strategies for

Making Content Accessible and Culturally Responsive Teaching for Multilingual Learners, Tools for Equity. I love

how this episode unpacks educator being beyond teacher self-care. It's about instilling practices and building

environments where educators can thrive even in challenging times.

Carol, Sydney, and Josh share impactful ideas to help teachers and leaders foster vulnerable conversations,

rethink how we define success, give ourselves grace when we make mistakes, and find balance between our

personal and professional lives. They highlight that educator well-being requires both recognizing challenges and

celebrating victories. I can't wait for you to hear this refreshing and authentic discussion.

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

Hello, everyone. My name is Carol Pelletier Radford, and I am the host of this great podcast,T eacher to Teacher.

And today we have two guests that I will be introducing in a moment. So the theme of this season, season 4, is

mentoring in action. And this is all about conversations where we actually are talking about what's happening in

real time in schools, like mentoring in action.

And the Teacher to Teacher podcast is unique in some ways because I invite guests that don't know each other.

So I have two guests today, and this topic that we're going to dive into in a moment is-- it's episode 5, and it's a

focus on teacher well-being, educator well-being. So for those of you who are administrators that might be

listening is like, hey, what about us? We need being as well. Yes. So school leaders, educators, teacher. I'm using

the word teacher broadly.

And it's going to be a time where we can dig in a little and discuss, like, what's this all about and why do we need

to think about it? But before we get there, let me let my guests introduce themselves. I have a beginning teacher,

a third year teacher, Josh, will introduce himself. And then I have a very experienced teacher, Sydney, who's

going to introduce herself in her role as a consultant. So hey, guys. How are you doing?

SYDNEY

SNYDER:

Hi.

JOSH MAGRI: Doing well.

SYDNEY

SNYDER:

Thanks for having us.

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

Yay. I'm glad you're here. So, Josh, let's hear about you. Where are you? Where are you teaching? Why are you

teaching? [LAUGHS]

JOSH MAGRI: Sure. My name is Josh Magri. I'm a third year chemistry teacher, currently residing in Salem, Virginia. I work at

Salem High School, so right in the town in which I live, which is super convenient for me. I currently, this year,

have six courses of chemistry that I have with a total of 135 or so students--

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

Wow.

JOSH MAGRI: --which is really exciting for me. A big caseload, but a nice challenge. It's been nice. I taught middle school part

of the time last year, and taught AP my very first year teaching. I started halfway through a year, so my

experience has been a little bit funky. But I've been very, very grateful that everything has worked out for me,

and that I've had the experience. So I'm excited to be here.

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

Thank you, Josh. OK. So full disclosure, everyone, I do know Josh. So I hand-picked him for this podcast. I met

Josh about three years ago, before he was in his own classroom. I was an invited guest at Roanoke College doing

a keynote on teacher well-being, educator well-being using my book, Teaching With Light.

And Josh was one of my handlers, I guess, is that what I would call it, getting me from here to there and making

sure I didn't miss anything. And we actually just connected. And I invited Josh-- we did a live podcast at the

college on the stage in front of 300 people that were in the audience, and Josh interviewed me. So the tables are

turned, Josh. Do you remember that? What's your--

JOSH MAGRI: I do.

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

--memory of that? [LAUGHS]

JOSH MAGRI: It was an awesome experience. I feel like I learned a lot. One of the things that I've taken from Carol in that time

is just, grow where you go. I've been fortunate to get a job and make the most of what that job has been, even

though it's been kind of crazy over the last couple of years and has looked different every time. But like I said,

super grateful for everything and where I've ended up, and excited that my path has gotten to cross with you

again.

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

Thank you. Welcome to teaching. It's going to be like that forever, [LAUGHS] your paths crossing. And Sydney, a

pleasure to meet you. Welcome.

SYDNEY

SNYDER:

Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. So I'm Sydney Snyder. I'm a Principal Associate at Supported.

We're a woman-owned small business based out of the DC area, and we focus on educational equity for

multilingual learners. And prior to my work at Supported, I was an English language development or an ESL

teacher.

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

Ooh. Welcome. It's a lot of work, and it's an important mission that you're on, because our students need

teachers who can engage age them in all the content areas. So what you're doing is admirable and needed, and

I'm just glad that the two of you are going to have this talk with me on well-being.

But before we get there, my heart is really in mentoring and mentor training, and that's how I started. So I'd like

you-- I'd like each of you to share a moment from your own experience as a teacher or observing, when you were

either mentored or being mentored or mentored someone. Josh, let's start with you. What does mentoring mean

to you?

JOSH MAGRI: Sure. When you say the word mentoring, my mind goes back to when I was a student. I feel like I owe most of my

successes in life to people who have put time and effort into growing who I am. I grew up with the most fantastic

babysitter in the world who instilled in me a really big belief in that education was important. We would come

home after school, the first thing we would do with her is sit down, get our homework done, and then wait for our

parents to come pick us up. But we were not allowed to get up from that table until that homework was done.

And just all my teachers in high school. There's one moment that sticks out. A teacher named Ms. Brown. She

took the time as, not even a teacher of mine, but as an advisor of a club, to really instill leadership opportunities

into me. So I got to be the president of what we called our Hope Club, trying to find ways to bring random acts of

kindness to other students in the school.

And there was one day after school where we were planning some elaborate project that I had cooked up that

week, and she looked at me and could tell that the stress of being a senior in high school was kind of taking its

toll. And she said, Josh, it's OK to let the weight of the world off of your shoulders. And she had to highlight,

because I am quite a small guy, that my shoulders aren't that broad, and that there's only so much that I as one

person can carry, and that she was there to support me. There were other people in the building that cared

about me and loved me. And she knew that everything for me was going to work out, and she just wanted me to

know that.

That was an emotional moment for me. I remember crying in her room that afternoon and her handing me a box

of tissues and giving me a hug, and that was the first time that we had ever had a connecting moment like that.

Had always just been like, she was my advisor. I would go and chat with her about advising stuff. And she really

broke down that barrier for me to say, hey, look, we got you. It's going to be OK, and I was really grateful for that.

I think it's exactly what I needed to hear at a time in my life where I thought that a lot more was on my shoulders

than it needed to be, deciding where I was going to go to school. I ended up moving 10 hours away from home,

which was a big decision. And so I owe a lot to her in that regard.

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

Thank you for sharing that story. And I'm glad you brought back a memory of being a student in high school. So

this podcast, yes, it's about mentoring, but it's mentoring at all levels-- teachers-students, students-student,

experienced teacher-novice teacher. And I appreciate the vulnerability for you to share that and let us hear how

mentoring touches us when someone really sees us.

And those are the kinds of conversations that, in many ways, will lead to this conversation that we're going to

have in this episode about well-being. Because she saw that. She saw your well-being was compromised, and she

knew how much you could contribute. And that's a special teacher. And I think we're all mentors. It's not like,

officially, I'm the mentor of this new teacher. Everyone in the school is watching everyone else. [LAUGHS]

But the courage is more about, what is somebody willing to do about it? Like, she could have walked by. She

could have just let it be what it was. But that experience and story, that aha moment that you've carried with

you, and then you just are sharing this on a national podcast is huge. And I want our listeners to really take it in

and hear how important it is for us to go beyond the title of mentor to the act of mentoring. So Sydney, what's

your reaction to that story? And then I want to hear are yours.

SYDNEY

SNYDER:

I think what you're saying, Carol, is so true about how we pay attention to one another and really look out for

those that we can see might need our help. And I think that's kind of what my story is about also, is, like, how we

create the space for that. When you ask me to come on this show, I was thinking about my own experiences with

mentoring and what that looked like. And I realized that for a lot of my early teaching days, I didn't feel like I had

a strong mentor.

And I think that that can be true, especially in the world of English language development teachers who might be

the only one at their school. But after I got my master's and I had just finished my student teaching, I ended up

getting a long term sub job teaching 9th and 11th grade English. So it wasn't-- I wanted to be teaching ESL, but I

got this English job, and it was a hard time, honestly. Like, look back, I think about all the mistakes that I made in

terms of my lessons, in terms of the procedures or routines I didn't put into place, or should have in my-- the

ways I responded to students.

And at the end of the year, I was at a lunch for all of the English department, and I it came out that it had been a

hard time for me. And this very kind woman in the Department said to me, oh, you know you could have come

and asked us for help. And I just thought, really? Could I? Still thinking back, I'm like, why didn't I ask for help?

Was it that I didn't-- was it on me that I didn't want to admit that I was having problems? Was it the culture of the

school where it didn't really seem open?

But fast forward a couple of years from there, I got a job teaching at a private boarding school, and I was one of

two teachers teaching ESL. The other was the Department head who hired me. The two of us shared an office.

And I would come back to that office after teaching, and we could talk about anything-- things we were thinking

about our lessons, concerns about students, visions that we had for helping students get more integrated into the

community.

And I realized what it was to have a space where I could feel vulnerable-- I could be vulnerable, where I could

say, I'm having trouble with this, or this is something I'm wondering about. What do you think? And it was OK.

And so to me, that's the kind of space-- when we talk about teacher well-being, educator well-being, we need to

have that space where we can feel free to ask those questions and reflect.

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

Oh, thank you for saying that. Josh, I'm going to let you react to what-- those two stories. Because they connect,

but there's something in there that I think is worth teasing out a little bit. What do you think?

JOSH MAGRI: Yeah. The first story of not knowing that you even have the capacity to ask for help really resonates with me as

somebody who's just starting out. And remember those first six months of my career very vividly. I also, in some

sense, took a long term sub job where I picked up a classroom halfway through the year. And just that sense of,

what did I get myself into? And that overwhelming, like, what do I do? I see that I'm making mistakes. I don't

know what to do about them. I don't want the students to think that I don't know what I'm doing because I'm

making mistakes, but they can definitely tell that I know that I'm making this.

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

They know everything. [LAUGHS]

JOSH MAGRI: And--

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

It's true

JOSH MAGRI: --that is a real feeling. And--

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

Yes.

JOSH MAGRI: --I still feel sometimes that, oh, I made a mistake today. I'm not so sure what to do about that one, but we're

going to figure it out tomorrow. But I agree with the second story sentiment of like, once you find that group of

people that you can trust and can work with and have that "we can talk about anything" relationship, it feels

really nice. I have a work mom at work who is kind of taken me in where we teach the same subject, which is

super nice if I notice that my kids struggled on a topic, balancing equations, I could go across the hall or next

door and say, so do you have any ideas?

Because this is not going so well today. And I can pick up. We share the same planning period. She'll say, right,

this is what I do, and I try it for the rest of the day. Usually, it works because she knows what she's talking about.

But it is that almost freedom that I actually have somebody who can bounce ideas off of. It would make work a

lot more difficult, I feel like, if I did not have that [INAUDIBLE].

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

I love that. All right. So thank you both for that, because gives us the context for the conversation on well-being.

So what you just said, Josh, too, we need mentors-- we need a variety of mentors. I always say it's the whole

team, because we are trying to help students be successful, all right? So I have my own little business mentoring

for mentoring in action. And our motto-- our mission is transform education for students by supporting novice

teachers and their mentors. Because if I help Josh be a better novice teacher, his kids are going to learn more.

So we know that the content is important. So content mentoring, and then I want to introduce this idea of-- I'm

not going to call it mentoring, well-being awareness maybe. I'm not exactly sure. So here's why I got into this

from mentoring in action. So I've written books for Corwin over the years, and I do a lot of trainings for teachers

to train mentors, because I really believe mentors have to be prepared and supported for these conversations.

They have to have that awareness to know when the teacher needs help. Instead of saying, you should have

asked me for help, we have to be proactive. And in my courses, it would be how to see that the teacher needs

help or how to just have regular meetings. So you're having that experience, Sydney, that you had in the second

story. That's just part of the mentoring. We meet once a week, and whatever comes up. You're creating a safe

space.

So what happened is I was doing some of these trainings in some larger school districts. And at the end of the

session, some mentors came up to me, and they just said, we don't have any problem with the content. It's the

social and emotional feelings of our novice teachers. We don't know what to do. They're overwhelmed. They just

want to talk about the mistakes and what isn't working. And it takes away from the whole conversation of student

learning. I'm trying to do this really coaching-- you know we have the instructional coaches, and their content

content. Pedagogy, strategies.

And the mentors-- it really stuck with me, like, oh my god, how am I going to integrate that into the mentoring,

the preparation of mentors? So this whole journey for me led to the book that Josh interviewed me on, Teaching

With Light, which is a book of vulnerable stories from my teaching, and then getting other teachers to tell their

vulnerable stories.

But the well-being piece, I kind of shifted to, so what are you going to do about it? It's like, we all have those

stories. Teaching has always been hard. Before COVID, after COVID. It was hard 10 years ago. It's hard when I

was teaching. So we can't just lay this idea that we're never going to get any better. I'm not going to buy that. I'm

not going to buy that. But I do see that mentoring for well-being has to be directly addressed.

And I'm not talking self-care as much as what you two are bringing up-- the safe space for a conversation, the

feeling of going next door and asking content, or emotional like the other mentor in high school just said, listen,

let that weight off your shoulders. That's kind of a different mentoring in action conversation. But you have to

have an awareness with another person to step into that zone is a little trickier than, let me show you some

strategies for teaching chemistry. So that's my entree into the conversation. And I'd like the two of you to just

react to what I said and see, how does it relate to where you sit? Who wants to go first?

SYDNEY

SNYDER:

I'll start. So I do a lot of coaching in my work. And we're focused on strategies for teaching multilingual learners.

That's the focus of the coaching. But I think if a teacher is having a behavior issue in the class that's disrupting,

that makes it really hard to implement the strategies, then that's what we need to create the space to talk about.

So I think connecting back to this idea of teacher well-being, we have to-- through mentoring, we have to be

there or have the space to talk about what the teacher needs to talk about, right?

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

Right.

SYDNEY

SNYDER:

It's like we say, if the student comes to school and they haven't had breakfast or they have things going on at

home, and then we're trying to teach them the math, we need to think about, what are those other factors? And I

think it's the same-- it's true for educators. It's really hard for us to focus on the practice of these other factors

are having a big impact on our work.

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

Right. And it's becoming more and more prevalent, I think. And I don't know if it's after COVID, before COVID. I

think it's always been there. It just wasn't spoken. Josh, what do you think about well-being and what we're

talking about and how do you handle it?

JOSH MAGRI: I think for me, just off of what Sydney just shared, that sense of knowing that teachers have other things in their

mind going on, that teachers are humans beyond just this omnipotent being at the front of a classroom who's

supposed to know everything about their subject and be prepared for anything in their classroom, I think trying

to get past that barrier for me in my first couple of years has been hard.

I recognize that I'm a human and that I'm not perfect every day. And it took me a while to get to that point of

like, I-- it's OK. I made a mistake today. We'll fix it tomorrow. Move on. And my favorite part about my work mom

is that if I go across the room and I'll tell her or across the hall and I'll tell her that I made a mistake today, she'll

look at me and she'll go, OK, I made that mistake 10 years ago. You're good. I'm still here. You'll still be here

tomorrow.

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

You'll still be here. [LAUGHS]

JOSH MAGRI: And--

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

So is it fear that comes up as a beginning teacher? Talk a little bit about what it feels like to be in those

beginning emotional stages. Because a lot of us that are listening are experienced, and we're like, OK. Yeah, we

got you. But say a little more about how you feel.

JOSH MAGRI: Sure. I mean, for me, it's definitely fear. I'm a pretty anxious person in general, so it rolls over into what I do with

work. I'm also aware of what I look like. Like I mentioned before, I'm a little guy. I'm often mistaken for my

students, because I look like I should still be in high school. And I work in a building where up until a week ago, I

was the youngest person in that building by about 5 to 10 years.

So as a high school teacher, that's pretty glaring, and it makes me feel like I've got a lot of weight on my

shoulders of, hey, I'm the young dawg on campus. If I'm not pulling my weight, then I am, one, making the rest of

the people who are my age and teachers not look so good, because I'm our only representation of that in the

building. And it also makes me feel like I really got to step it up. How can I try and get my results to look like my

coworkers that have been here for 20 years? Because--

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

Wow.

JOSH MAGRI: --I want to feel like I can play with the big dogs, right?

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

Yeah.

JOSH MAGRI: I want to feel like I'm part of a team that's contributing to student success. And it's really hard when I look at my

results and I see the gaps between my coworker, who's been teaching chemistry for 20 years, and me, who's

been teaching for 2 and 1/2, 3 years. And knowing that a lot of it is experience, and I'm just going to have to get

better at what I do. But I'm a perfectionist, so I want it to be good now. And knowing that difference, I gotta just

live with it. And it--

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

Wow

JOSH MAGRI: --stinks sometimes, but it is what it is.

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

Well, you're aware of it though. And I think part of the well-being strategies, I guess, I don't know what they are,

is knowing what it is that's triggering you. And I think you said it very eloquently. And it's a process of learning,

and it isn't going to change in 2 and 1/2 years. It's a developmental continuum. Sydney, any reaction? What do

you want to say to Josh?

SYDNEY

SNYDER:

What I want to say is a couple of things. One, I want to make sure that we're creating spaces for educators that

don't feel like we're judging each other. I think we-- why do why do people go into education? And Carol, I think

you said it at the beginning. We go in because we want to support students in learning. We want to-- and so we

have this mission that's driving our work. And to me, that means we should approach other educators with the

assumption that they have the best of intentions. I think that's one.

And then the other piece, I think, is recognizing that all teachers-- just like we say our students bring different

strengths to the classroom, educators bring different strengths to the classroom. And even experienced teachers,

we still have things to learn. So I think you're coming in there, Josh, and you have things that you probably just

learned from your studies that you could share with your colleagues. And I think that's part of mentoring too.

How do we create those spaces where we can share the things that we're good at, and then also ask questions

about the things we need more support with?

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

I love that. Thanks-- and the other thing too, Josh, I feel like the well-being connection to all of this-- I'm using it

broadly, it's like how we feel as human beings in the role of teachers. It's not the mani pedi or the going out after

work self-care that I'm talking about. And you can-- I mean, it's good for people to do those things too, but it's

that safe place to be vulnerable. It's not measuring our success always around the test scores and the instruction,

which I know is a huge thing.

And it's easy-- people might say, well, that's easy for you. I'm under a lot of-- they have to pass these tests. And

we know that. They always had to pass tests. I mean, when I was teaching. But I feel like the well-being--

personal well-being choices for us have to be seeing beyond that. And you see it, but it can't be the whole thing.

It can't be the whole thing as you as a chemistry teacher, you're actually teaching people, your students, how to

react when you make a mistake. I mean, that's a life skill. Some people don't know how to do that.

I know adults that will never admit to a mistake, because they never learned-- they never had a model that they

felt safe enough to say, I made that mistake. So I like what Sydney just said, and I just want to underscore that

for you as a beginning teacher and for those beginning teachers who are listening to expand your definition of

success. What does that feel like for you?

JOSH MAGRI: Yeah, I would agree with you 100%. I think that people in my first couple of years teaching, a lot of what I hear is

burnout.

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

Yes.

JOSH MAGRI: And a lot of it's because a lot of us are perfectionists. We want to see good things happen. And when we don't

see things perfect, it's a weight, right?

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

Right.

JOSH MAGRI: But with that being said, that sense of allowing for creativity, I think Sydney put it really well, that there is

something that we can all bring to the table. And trying to remember that and encourage that of my other

younger peers, that would be something that I would try and recommend, because it's been one of my highlights.

This past year, I got to turn my classroom into a mini restaurant for an activity that I did, and my students lost

their minds. [INAUDIBLE] I was crazy.

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

[LAUGHS] I love it.

JOSH MAGRI: But just things like that we can--

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

And I think it's the pause in the well-being. So how will we defining well-being? We're still exploring it, I think. I'm

trying to distinguish it from self-care, because that is now like a bad rap. It's like, I don't want self-care. I

meditate, mindfulness. Although, I'm into mindfulness. I am a yoga instructor and did the training. And I think

those pauses and those inspirations and the Teaching With Light book, you sent those to me, Josh, that you had

posters in your room. So how does inspiration play into your well-being? Talk a little bit about that.

JOSH MAGRI: For me, I feel like it's a lot of satisfaction. Like, when I see a moment of inspiration for students, I can see that

something has clicked in their head, the light bulb moments that we all talk about, that's when I feel the most

satisfied with the work that I do. I'm very self-aware that chemistry is not for everybody, and that most of my

students are taking it for a graduation requirement. And they just want to get through.

But when I can pique their interest with something out of the ordinary-- today, my class talked about carbon

monoxide, and we got to talk about real life applications of what carbon monoxide poisoning is. And they all had

that aha moment of like, really? This is something that can happen? And I to be like--

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

Oh, yeah.

JOSH MAGRI: --yes, guys, this is real.

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

[LAUGHS]

JOSH MAGRI: But that moment of like, wait, this actually does apply to my life.

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

Right. The relevance

JOSH MAGRI: [INAUDIBLE] today.

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

Bringing that relevance in. So I think those moments do contribute to our well-being. Again, it's being aware that

that's happening, and that's part of the well-being. Sydney, chime in. What is the definition of well-being that we

can live with that fits with mentoring? And as we're talking about mentoring, everybody's a mentor. So what do

you think?

SYDNEY

SNYDER:

I think it is celebrating those moments of success, whatever they look like, and especially when we feel like they

connect back to our purpose or what motivates us. So if we're trying to get students engaged, we're trying to

help them make connections between chemistry and their lives and you succeeded in doing that, that's a huge

celebration. And that's going to bring a lot for well-being, I think.

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

Yes.

SYDNEY

SNYDER:

So we need more celebrations, I think.

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

I guess we do. And that different way of measuring success. So that's through the mentors eyes, and it's also

through our own eyes, our own self-awareness of acknowledging, what would we like to be acknowledged for. So

Josh, what would you like to be acknowledged for? As a beginning teacher, a third year teacher, if somebody was

going to acknow-- self acknowledgment, that's part of well-being and mindfulness. So share, what would you like

to be acknowledged for?

JOSH MAGRI: I had my mid-year evaluation yesterday, so I am perhaps a little bit in their right mind space to talk about

acknowledgment, because my boss had the moment to say to me, she could see me getting more confident in

what I'm doing, and that she was proud of me for taking on more responsibility. And that sense of

acknowledgment of like, I do belong here. I've got this. It's been a couple of years. I've got my shoes wet, my feet

wet, however you want to say it. Just, I'm ready to keep doing what I'm doing. I'm getting comfortable in where I

am. I'm not as worried anymore. And to see somebody else notice that in me when I didn't notice it in myself was

huge.

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

And now you are noticing it in yourself. And look at you, you're on a podcast, a national podcast, sharing your

wisdom. And this is what other listeners that are beginning teachers are using. They're listening to this. This is

the wisdom that we all need to hear. We can't keep it private. And I think that's part of well-being, is sharing

what's working, as Sydney said, the successes, and all of that. Sydney, what are your thoughts? What would you

like to be acknowledged for in the work you do that embraces mentoring and well-being in the work with your

multilingual learners and teachers?

SYDNEY

SNYDER:

Some of the best acknowledgment I can get in my coaching is when a teacher says to me, oh, this is so much

better than I thought it was going to be. [INAUDIBLE]. They're not really sure if they want to do this, but we

collaborated in support of multilingual learners, and they-- it's been helpful. So to me--

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

And they could do it. It was like--

[LAUGHTER]

That is. But see, we have to mentor each other. So mentoring in action is us having this conversation, three

strangers. Well, I kind of knew Josh. But who are willing to be honest and authentic and bring these topics

forward. So I have a couple more things as-- gosh, the time went by so fast today. I love this topic. We have to

keep integrating it into mentoring, into schools, into conversations, into our way of being mindful.

And I always-- I like to read some affirmations. And I usually read them at the end, but I'm going to read them

now, because I'd like you each to give me a little tip or advice on how we can do this. Because all of our listeners

are like, there's no way we can remain balanced. So affirmation from mentors, which includes everybody. I model

a healthy balance in my personal and professional lives. And an affirmation for novice teachers, listen, Josh, I

balance my personal and professional lives.

So take that in. And I'm already hearing the listeners go, yeah, like, how do you do that? And give me some tips

for that. So Josh, what is some advice that you would give about maintaining the balance? Because we believe in

it. We do believe in it. [LAUGHS] We just need to do it. So what advice would you have for yourself and beginning

teachers?

JOSH MAGRI: I think the first thing is to recognize that as a beginning teacher, I get it. It feels really, really hard to walk away

from work. I remember staying at work until 5:00 PM, 6:00 PM those first six months of working, just trying to get

my head above water. The biggest thing that has helped me in the last year mostly find some more balance is, I

pick one day a week. Usually it's a Tuesday because it's right after Monday, which is always hard getting right

back into things, just to leave it all at work. I leave my laptop--

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

Yes.

JOSH MAGRI: --at work. I don't look at work emails after I leave, and I just go home and I snuggle my cat on the couch, and I

take a day. And that's more that self-care kind of personal well-being, but--

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

And it is. It is. And do it. And I love that. Yesterday, I took a no tech day, which is really hard because I'm

addicted to my phone. [LAUGHS] But there was a thing-- a book I read that was like, take one day a week off, no

tech, and that's kind of what you're reminding me of. And even an hour. I mean, it makes a huge difference. So

congratulations new teachers. I hope you're listening, and all teachers. All right. Sydney, what's your advice or

way to balance?

SYDNEY

SNYDER:

Yeah, I really like what Josh said. I like that idea of having it be a very definitive strategy. I was thinking

something more broader like recognizing that every lesson doesn't have to be perfect. And sometimes we're

going to have the energy to spend more time on making lessons more creative, and sometimes we have to

remember, OK, we're going to go in there and we're going to-- this is what we're going to focus on. And we don't

have as much time to spend with the lesson. So I guess just having some self acceptance around that maybe.

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

Yes, I love that. I love that. And it could be a little closure or a sense of humor. Like, Josh, I heard you say earlier,

well, that didn't work. I better go across the hall and ask for another idea. But sometimes that just closes it up

instead of letting it fester. It affects our well-being when we fester about it. Being a perfectionist doesn't have to

be all bad. It helps us strive. And it's just-- what you're saying, Sydney, is important is, you have to know when to

stop it.

SYDNEY

SNYDER:

Yeah.

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

It's like, OK, I'm a perfectionist, and now it stops. That lesson did not work. And you just say it not, like, beating

ourselves up. It's a social and emotional skill set. I believe that. I do. So as we wind down, I want to hear just a

little bit about what you two are involved in. Like, I know Sydney, you've written some books. And Josh, you've

got projects at school. And I want to close out this episode with listening to what's going on with you in the topic

of chemistry or school, or Sydney, in your multi lingual work. So Sydney, tell us what's going on. What are you--

what do you want to share with us?

SYDNEY

SNYDER:

I just really love this conversation this evening, because I'm doing a lot of coaching. I'm coaching in an

elementary school this year, and I'm coaching in a career in tech Ed program, a CTE program for secondary. And

I'm always thinking about how to have conversations with teachers that are really going to support them and

support them in supporting their students.

And I think that this idea of listening and making sure that they have the skills for self-care-- or not the skills, but

they have-- they're thinking about that. And I'm creating space for that self-care in those discussions. I just think

that's really important.

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

And tell us about your book. What's your title?

SYDNEY

SNYDER:

Yeah. Sure.

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

Tell us about your work.

SYDNEY

SNYDER:

--a couple

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

OK.

SYDNEY

SNYDER:

So the first one is Unlocking Multilingual Learners Potential, Strategies for Making Content Accessible. And then

Culturally Responsive Teaching for Multilingual Learners, Tools for Equity. So those are the--

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

So who should be reading those books?

SYDNEY

SNYDER:

They are designed for any educator who has multilingual learners in their classes. So it's a lot of--

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

Give us one tip. Give me something. Everybody has multilingual learners. Josh, do you--

SYDNEY

SNYDER:

Yes. My--

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

So give us something.

SYDNEY

SNYDER:

--is, get the students talking. So set up your learning routines so you can have students talking. Yeah.

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

OK. I like that. All right. Josh, what's going on with you?

JOSH MAGRI: At work, I'm trying to do the best I can to tackle the ever so present problem with chronic absenteeism.

Something really cool that our district does is offer students opportunities to make up time at a Saturday school

session. So I'm spending that extra time myself to get some work done and help students finish up things that

they might not have been able to get done for the week because they were out sick or they had something

happen at home that took them away for a little while. Whatever we can do to get those students back on their

feet, that's been my primary focus this year. And it's been a lot of fun. I've gotten to meet a lot of students that I

wouldn't get to meet otherwise.

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

Yeah, because--

JOSH MAGRI: I've learned a lot of new subjects.

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

[LAUGHS] I know. You're branching out of your chemistry work. So, Sydney, you mentioned something about

having the conversations with the teachers. So one mentoring conversation that I use in the Mentoring and Action

book that starts the conversation-- and this is good with the students, too, even in the Saturday school, is asking

questions-- asking the question, what's working?

Because usually, our brain goes to the mistake. I just made a mistake, got to fix that. That's not working. I don't

know how to do that, because that's just teacher talk. That's teacher brain, teacher brain. We're problem solvers.

So when we begin a conversation-- and try it out with your groups-- we have to do wait time. Because what I've

noticed when I start a mentoring conversation with a teacher who's sitting down in front of me, and I say, so tell

me what's working as the beginning question, silence. It's silent, and I have to wait then. But I didn't expect that

the first time that I did it.

And you take a few moments, and then the teacher will speak, because we have to dig into the what's working?

Because that will help our well-being as well. So one thing with well-being and mindfulness and what I learned in

the yoga teacher training and what you're both saying is strengths. It's like when we come from our strengths. So

usually when something works, we were coming from our strength. We might not have acknowledged that we

were consciously, but it worked.

And then another follow up is, how can I help you? How can I support you? So you've got this student with

another subject, and again, silence. Because people and students and teachers don't really know what it is that I

need support in. But that's a huge question, because they do know, but to take a moment to articulate it. So Josh,

what's working in your teaching saying that you know is working? Because we did talk a lot about what you're

challenged by, and you are a beginning teacher. But everything's not a challenge. So what's working for you?

JOSH MAGRI: This year, I found a lot of success in helping students acquire skills. And chemistry is a pretty skill-based course.

So how to write electron configurations, which if you were to look those up, you'd probably think are super, super

tricky, super confusing. This year, my students did really, really well.

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

I love that. And what's working in your work life balance?

JOSH MAGRI: I think that packing everything up and leaving it at work on Tuesday.

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

OK. So keep doing that. Sydney, what's working in your consulting and your work in schools around your two

books? What are you seeing from people reading those books?

SYDNEY

SNYDER:

I think something that works for me is taking that time to listen. And then being willing-- something that I really

enjoy when I'm collaborating with teachers is being willing to co-teach-- try out a new strategy with a group of

students that I might be not that familiar with. So taking--

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

I'm proud of that. So stepping right up and co-teaching with them.

SYDNEY

SNYDER:

That's right.

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

I love it. I love it. Oh my goodness. This has been a great conversation. I think I have new ideas about what wellbeing

is. And sometimes you just have to say things out loud. It's not a planned thing. I want you both to continue

to think about well-being and how it influences you and your behaviors as a teacher. And let's just end with

either a, what did you hear Sydney say? What did you hear Josh say or a takeaway from being on this podcast?

Like, what does it feel like to have this kind of a conversation? What are you taking away? What do our listeners

need to hear from this? Josh.

JOSH MAGRI: I think Sydney said it best in that we just need to listen to each other and hear each other out. If it wasn't for the

fact that I have great coworkers where I work now that listen to me all the time, a great boss who will listen to

anything that I have to say or any concern that I could bring up, I don't know that my first three years of teaching

would have gone as well as they have. I've been lucky to have that experience. I know it's probably not the same

for all my other first few year teachers out there, but finding someone who will listen to you, I think, is probably

the best gift that you can give yourself, even if it's somebody who's not at work.

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

I love that. Sydney, what's a big takeaway from this conversation? And listening to Josh or beginning teacher, any

insights from this podcast guest appearance? What are you thinking?

SYDNEY

SNYDER:

I think having or taking the opportunity to be vulnerable with others, and then reaching out for those people who

accept your vulnerabilities. And they are going to hold that for you and support you in those. I think it's--

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

Thank you.

SYDNEY

SNYDER:

--important for all of us.

CAROL

PELLETIER

RADFORD:

Yes, it is. It's for all of us, wherever we are on the developmental continuum. I just want to thank both of you,

bottom of my heart. I want to thank our listeners for listening. [LAUGHS] It is about listening and encouraging our

listeners to listen to all the podcasts. The next step is-- so this was episode 5. So episode 6 is going to be a

different spin. It's the role of teacher education in mentoring their graduates after they graduate. So I hope you

will listen in to the next episode. Thank you both, and have a great night.

MODERATOR 1: Thanks, everyone, for joining today's Teacher to Teacher conversation. We hope this time together energized

you, inspired you, and reminded you why you chose to become a teacher. You can purchase any of Carol's books

and any books mentioned in the podcast online at www.corwin.com. Please leave a review and share this

podcast with your colleagues. Thank you for listening to the Corwin Teacher to Teacher podcast, a place to share

teacher wisdom and engage in authentic conversations with experienced educators.

MODERATOR 2: Come explore Corwin's free new teacher toolkit and resources. We've curated these resources based on

extensive research from teachers, coaches, and principals alike. Whether you are brand new or a veteran

teacher, find ready-to-go teaching tools at corwin.com today.

Sydney Snyder

Dr. Sydney Snyder is a Principal Associate at SupportEd. In this role she provides professional development, coaching, and technical assistance to educators, districts, and organizations in support of equitable education for multilingual learners. She is a former English language development teacher.

Joshua Magri

Josh Magri is a 3rd year Chemistry teacher in Salem, Virginia. Originally from Seymour, CT, he attributes a lot of his success to the mentorship of the many “teachers” in his life from childhood babysitters, to classroom educators. He followed in their footsteps to the classroom to help breathe curiosity into learning.

Carol Pelletier Radford

Carol Pelletier Radford is the founder of Mentoring in Action, an organization dedicated to the success of novice teachers and their mentors. Before she established her own organization to support mentors and new teachers, she was a veteran elementary school teacher and a teacher preparation leader. Carol is the author of Corwin’s bestselling books Mentoring in Action: Guiding, Sharing, and Reflecting With Novice Teachers and The First Years Matter: Becoming an Effective Teacher.

Carol received her Education Doctorate from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, where she focused her studies on mentoring and teacher leadership. She is also a certified yoga teacher who practices meditation and shares mindfulness strategies with educators through her online courses and website. Her podcast Teaching With Light features the stories of teachers and inspirational leaders. Her next passion project is the creation of a Teacher Legacy Network, where retired teachers can share their wisdom with the next generation of teachers.

You can learn more about Carol, find free resources, videos, meditations, courses, and all of her books at mentoringinaction.com/.

Twitter: @MentorinAction
Facebook: @MentoringinAction4Teachers
Instagram: @cpradford