10 Minute Teacher Podcast with Cool Cat Teacher

What students achieve is tied to whether they feel valued — and the same is true for the teachers who serve them. In this Motivational Monday conversation, coach and author Debbie Simões (founder of Best Questers, co-author of High Five to Thrive) shows teachers how valuing students transforms a classroom, even on the hardest days.
Drawing on years in inner-city classrooms, Debbie shares how to see past a child's behavior to the person of value underneath, how to communicate to connect instead of to correct, and how to be a "hope agent" for yourself and your colleagues in a season of burnout and teacher shortages.
In this episode, you'll learn:
Why "communicate to connect" changes how kids respond to correction
The difference between behavior-based praise and identity-based praise
How to respond when a student is at their worst
What it means to be a "hope agent" when your own tank is low
The mantra that can transform a school: people of value who value people and add value to them
Full show notes and resources: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e950
If this episode encouraged you, share it with a teacher friend and rate the show wherever you're listening.

Summer reading for teachers — 11 books I've highlighted over 6,800 times and keep coming back to. This Significant Saturday special is my personal summer list for educators and lifelong learners, spanning AI ethics, productivity, faith, and the classroom-management classics I hand every first-year teacher.
In this episode, you'll learn:
Why The Age of AI by Jason Thacker belongs at the top of a Christian educator's list
The one big-picture idea from The Future Is Faster Than You Think that brings hope about technology
Which books to reach for when you're feeling burned out or overwhelmed
The productivity and knowledge-management book that changed how Vicki organizes ideas
The two classroom-management classics worth giving every new teacher
Pick just one or two — you don't have to read them all. Choose what speaks to where you are right now.
Full list with links to every book: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e949
If this list pointed you to your next read, leave a rating or review wherever you're listening, and share it with a teacher friend who needs a good book this summer.

Adobe Express and Canva are packed with AI tools that save teachers hours — Amy Storer shares the features her teachers love most.
Innovative learning specialist Amy Storer (Montgomery ISD, TX) walks through the AI-powered tools inside Adobe Express and Canva that teachers and students are getting most excited about — from studio-style student podcasts to interactive games you can build without writing a line of code. She also shares a favorite bonus tool for creating step-by-step how-to guides, and closes with a word of encouragement for any teacher feeling buried by "all the things."
In this episode, you'll learn:
How Adobe Express's Create a Podcast and one-click Enhance make student podcasting simple
Why Animate a Character is an easy win for your youngest learners and GT projects
How Canva Code lets you build interactive, self-grading activities with no coding
A hidden Canva presentation timer and how Scribe turns clicks into a how-to guide
Amy's "pick one tool" philosophy for teachers who feel overwhelmed
Full show notes and links: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e948
If this one gave you an idea you can use, share it with a teacher friend who could use a time-saver.

Teacher burnout isn't weakness — it's disconnection. Michelle Singh shares how teachers can reconnect, set boundaries, and feel fulfilled again.
Michelle Singh — National Board Certified Teacher, founder of The Restful Teacher, and CEO of LCT-E Learning Solutions — spent more than 20 years in the classroom and district leadership before her own burnout forced a change. In this honest conversation with Vicki Davis, she offers teachers a path back to the work they love.
In this episode, you'll learn:
Why teacher disengagement is an "iceberg" with far more below the surface
How to serve from fulfillment instead of sacrifice
The power of starting with acknowledgement
How to build a support team so you're not doing it alone
The "clarity audit" — a simple self-reflection tool you can try this week
Why writing down small wins carries you through the hard days
Full show notes and resources: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e947
Share this episode with a teacher friend who needs the encouragement.

Why do we have to prove we're human in the age of AI? STEM educator and AI coach Brandie Wright shares the real story behind her ISTE main-stage talk on sparking curiosity — and why the presence of a teacher still matters.
When Vicki first heard Brandie's story on the ISTE main stage, she wasn't sure the student was real — that's how believable AI-generated stories have become. This Wonderful Classroom Wednesday conversation is about curiosity, human connection, and the artisanship of teaching in an age when a kid alone with a screen simply isn't enough.
In this episode, you'll learn:
How "crew" — school-family grouping — builds the relationships that spark curiosity
Why one student calls the whiteboard marker "magical"
What teachers misunderstand about where AI's believable stories actually come from
Why small classes and real human connection matter more than ever
Three quick ways to spark curiosity in your own classroom
Full show notes: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e946
If this episode encouraged you, leave a review wherever you're listening and share it with a teacher friend.