Reflections: A Teacher’s Journey

Snow Day

This is Cecemarie and we are checking in just to see how everyone is doing. Please be safe and make sure you stay warm!

Hope and Reflect

This episode is about reflecting on how to improve after a break and creating a sense of hope for students and teachers so that they can get through the rest of the year. Please check out the Instagram for this podcast: @reflectionsteacherspodcast

Holiday episode

This is a short episode with a holiday message from your host Cecemarie. Happy holidays!!!

Reimagining PD: Practical Tips to Make Training Matter

In this episode the host reflects on professional development for teachers after Thanksgiving, exploring what PD is, its different forms, and why it often feels ineffective.

She discusses the benefits—improved classroom strategies, networking, and renewed teacher satisfaction—alongside common problems like time constraints, recycled content, cost, and information overload.

The episode ends with concrete suggestions for better PD: keep sessions focused and practical, deliver them collaboratively (not accusatorily), follow up with teachers, and invite listeners to share their experiences via Instagram to continue the conversation.

Burnout Alarm: When Calling Out Becomes the Norm

This episode explores workplace burnout, focusing on signs like frequent call-outs, emotional detachment from work, and persistent feelings of ineffectiveness.

Hosts share real experiences, discuss how to recognize when you’re burnt out, and outline practical steps to begin recovery and get support.

From Disruption to Connection: Rebuilding Student Behavior Post-Pandemic

In this episode Cece Marie explores the rise in student behavior challenges since the pandemic, defining behavior as a reflection of students' emotional and social well-being and identifying common patterns: disruptive, withdrawn, aggressive, and procrastinating.

She shares practical classroom strategies—collaborative grouping, movement, relationship-building, clear expectations, time-management supports—and stresses the importance of admin involvement, mental-health resources, and tailoring support to each student.

Listeners are encouraged to reflect on their classroom management, prioritize deeper connections with a few students, and seek support when needed to create a calm, supportive learning environment.

Pivot, Connect, Recover — Teachers’ Pandemic Lessons

In this episode host Cece Marie examines how COVID-19 transformed education — from the sudden shift to virtual learning and rapid tech adoption, to increased focus on mental health, social-emotional learning, and equity. She reflects on teachers' adaptability, the learning gaps that emerged, and how instruction has changed to support students today.

Cece invites listeners to reflect on tools and strategies that endured post-pandemic, offers ideas for prioritizing educator and student well-being, and previews the next episode on how the pandemic affected student behavior.

First Day Fumbles & Fierce Hope: A Teacher's Reflection

In this episode Cecemarie, a teacher with 14 years' experience, reflects on the first day of school—balancing excitement, anxiety, and hope. She shares practical tips for handling mistakes, learning student names, unexpected disruptions (drills, behavior), and the importance of adapting and building rapport. Cecemarie encourages teachers to breathe, embrace challenges, remember why they teach, and previews the next episode on powerful teaching moments.