Angela Watson's Truth for Teachers

Everyone has an opinion about AI in classrooms right now, but very few of those opinions are grounded in what we actually know about how kids learn. In this episode, I sit down with Erin Mote, CEO and founder of InnovateEDU and co-founder of Brooklyn Laboratory Charter School, to cut through the noise and talk about what the evidence actually shows about AI as a learning tool.
This isn't a conversation about ChatGPT, cheating, whether to ban devices, or what kids are doing with AI at home on their own time (which are separate topics worthy of their own discussion).
We're talking specifically about AI-powered tools designed for classroom use that are being pitched to your district and showing up in your school, and whether they hold up when measured against what we know about how kids learn.
In this episode you'll hear Erin share her thoughts on:
Why "good enough" consumer tech is not good enough for students, and what to look for in tools that are actually built around learning
The difference between sycophantic AI and Socratic AI, and why it matters for student outcomes
What the early research is showing about AI as a learning tool, including what's promising and what we still don't know
What to ask for and advocate for at the school and district level so these decisions aren't made without you
If you've been feeling overwhelmed by the pace of change and unsure what to actually do, this episode will leave you with more clarity, and more confidence in what you already know about how kids learn.
Listen in. Or read the transcription here.

Teaching gives you a lot of opportunities to look back and wish you'd done it differently, and most of us carry those regrets way longer than we need to.
In this episode, I'm sharing what I learned from Daniel Pink's book The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward, and how his research applies to the unique kind of regret that teachers carry. 
I'll walk you through the four categories of regret most people have, the difference between "if only" and "at least" thinking, and a three-step process for actually processing a regret instead of just ruminating on it at 2 a.m.
I'll also share the line from Pink's book that hit me hardest, the one that completely changed how I think about looking back:
If you know what you truly regret, you know what you truly value. 
Your regrets aren't proof you've failed this year. They're a map of what you care about.
If you've been carrying something from this school year and you're not sure what to do with it, this episode is for you.
Listen in. Or read the transcription here.

Food writer Bee Wilson has been in classrooms across the UK, and what she's discovered is startling: many children have completely lost their sensory connection to real food.
They know the peach emoji but not the fuzzy feel of actual peach skin. They recognize mint from shampoo but have never smelled a fresh mint leaf.
When asked where food comes from, kids used to say "the supermarket." Now they say "mommy's iPad."
This slow shift is revealing a new gap in child development that affects how kids observe, describe, and engage with the world around them.
In this episode, Bee explains what's lost when children grow up disconnected from real food. And she explains what can happen when you put fresh produce in their hands and simply ask: What do you see?
Bee shares how these lessons build scientific observation skills, spark rich oral language, and get even the most reluctant writers eager to put words on paper. Kids speak in vivid similes and metaphors. They notice details they've never noticed before. And, teachers report some of the most meaningful classroom experiences of their careers.
Bee is the co-founder of TastEd, a charity offering free sensory food education resources now used in over 1,800 UK schools: tasteeducation.com
She's a fascinating guest sharing practical ways any teacher can bring this into their classroom, including a simple lesson you could try tomorrow.
Listen in. Or read the transcription here.

You've been holding it together with caffeine and adrenaline, but your nervous system has been white-knuckling it for ten months and hit a breaking point.
It's time for The Reset.
This is something brand new I'm offering for the first time: an at-home restorative retreat for teachers happening June 26-28th. 
It's intended to be like a real retreat experience, just held somewhere you don't have to pack a bag for and deal with travel expenses.
Because The Reset is FREE.
Over the weekend of June 26th-28th, I'll guide you through the practices that actually move the needle for teacher burnout.
I've created videos for morning stretching and restorative yoga, audio for forest bathing (which is a mindful nature practice you can do anywhere outside), breathwork, and more.
There are also nervous system mini-seminars where I explain what's actually happening in your body during a stressful school day, why you feel the way you feel, and how to send the all-clear signal so you can calm down again. And no worries about being tied to a screen: these are designed to be listened to while you're walking, going for a bike ride, gardening, or whatever you like to do! 
If you're thinking, "I don't know if I can actually take a real break if I'm at home with all these distractions," I've planned for that.
Everything is on-demand and completely optional. 
There's no Zoom call you have to show up to, no message forums to keep up with, no schedule to follow.
I'll release videos of guided experiences each day on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in the retreat portal. Pick and choose whatever you'd like to do, in any order you want.
You basically get to design your weekend retreat, with my resources there to guide you through activities and spark inspiration.
Here's how it works:
Sign up for FREE to join The Reset At-Home retreat from June 26-28. All the content releases over that weekend, and is removed on Sunday night at midnight PT. I want you to actually prioritize your own wellbeing: mark your calendar, and carve out time for YOU.
If you want to keep all the resources permanently, opt in for the $29 Anytime Access pass. You can take your own retreat whenever it's convenient, and do mini resets during the school year. Additional bonus practices and resources will drop on Monday for those who get the Forever Access Pass.
One more thing. If you have a teacher friend who's running on fumes right now, send this this ep, or the link to sign up: https://courses.truthforteachers.com/courses/reset
Better yet, plan to do The Reset together! Hang out at your friend's house in your comfiest loungewear, pick some of the activities to experience, have a healthy lunch, maybe even take a nap on the couch before diving back in for a final restorative session before dinner. You can make this at-home retreat anything you want it to be!
Join us for The Reset HERE
If you'd also like an in-person retreat, I've got two of them happening this summer (June 12-14 in eastern PA, and 24-26 July in the Asheville/Charlotte NC area). And, there's a Labor Day weekend retreat and fall restorative retreat I'm holding for everyone (not specifically teachers, so you can bring a non-teacher friend or partner). ​Get all the details about in-person retreats HERE.

Most of us are walking around in a low-grade state of fight-or-flight all the time, and we don't even realize it. It looks like the tight jaw in the morning, the exhaustion that doesn't lead to sleep, or the feeling of being on edge even on a good day. 
These are signs of a nervous system that never got the signal that it's safe to come down.
In this episode, I'm sharing a lesson from my new free video course called Everything is Terrible: An Anxiety Toolkit for the Age of Doomscrolling. It's a five-lesson toolkit for people who care deeply about the world and are quietly exhausted by the weight of it. Each lesson is a standalone tool you can use when you need it.
This episode shares an excerpt from one of these lessons, covering:
-What's actually happening in your body when you're stuck in fight-or-flight
-How to manually activate your parasympathetic nervous system even when the external world is still chaotic
-Two specific breathing techniques you can use anywhere to send your body the "all clear" signal
-Grounding phrases for when your body has settled but your brain is still spinning.
Check out the full Everything is Terrible toolkit FREE on my Substack.
You can also:
Read the blog post for this episode
Learn about upcoming teacher retreats
Join The Reset, a free at-home nervous system reset retreat June 26-28