
Episode 402: Monday Mindset: Margin for Magic
From Teaching Middle School ELA by Caitlin Mitchell
April 13, 2026 · 11 min · Season 2 · Episode 402
About this episode
This episode discusses the internal struggles teachers face and emphasizes the importance of recognizing that they are not alone in their challenges.
You can look fine on the outside and still feel alone on the inside and that gap can get painfully wide when you’re a teacher expected to carry everyone else. Today’s Monday Mindset is a short reset built around a simple truth: you’re not the only one quietly struggling, even if it looks like everyone else has it figured out. We start with the idea of “three hearts” the self the world sees, the self close people see, and the self only you see and why the hidden parts of us can become the home...
Topics covered
- mindset
- teacher struggles
- self-perception
Keywords
- self
- three hearts
- mental health
More episodes of Teaching Middle School ELA
- Episode 404: Tips for Using Your Prep Period to Grade (Instead of Plan) · April 21, 2026 · 26 min
- Episode 403: The Feedback Framework That Cuts Grading Time in Half · April 14, 2026 · 18 min
- Episode 401: Graphic Group Essays: A Writing Assignment Your Students Will Actually Like · April 7, 2026 · 14 min
- Episode 400: A Simple Hack for Helping Students Find the Main Idea in Informational Text · March 31, 2026 · 11 min
- Episode 399: Monday Mindset: The One Thing That Makes the End of the Year So Much Harder Than It Has to Be · March 30, 2026 · 6 min
- Episode 398: Why Students Don't Apply Grammar in Their Writing — And How to Fix It Part 2 · March 26, 2026 · 11 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Teaching Middle School ELA podcast page.