Latest / Teacher Approved: Elementary Teacher Tips & Strategies / 274. The Overwhelm Buster: 3 Steps to Beat Back-to-School Stress

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274. The Overwhelm Buster: 3 Steps to Beat Back-to-School Stress · Teacher Approved: Elementary Teacher Tips & Strategies

0:00
Heidi: This is episode 274 of Teacher Approved.
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You're listening to Teacher Approved, the podcast helping
0:09
educators elevate what matters and simplify the rest. I'm
0:13
Heidi.
0:13
Emily: And I'm Emily. We're the creators behind Second Story
0:17
Window, where we give research-based and
0:19
teacher-approved strategies that make teaching less stressful and
0:22
more effective. You can check out the show notes and resources
0:25
from each episode at secondstorywindow.net.
0:28
Heidi: We're so glad you're tuning in today. Let's get to
0:31
the show.
0:36
Emily: Hey there! Thanks for joining us today. Today we are
0:40
talking about back to school stress and how to handle it in a
0:43
way that doesn't wreck your body or your budget. Plus, we've got
0:46
a teacher-approved tip for prepping now for inside recess.
0:51
Heidi: But first, let's start with a try it tomorrow, where we
0:54
share a quick win that you can try right away. Emily, what do
0:56
you have for us this week?
0:58
Emily: This week, how about pre-writing one email you know
1:02
that you're going to send several times. So pick a message
1:05
that you type over and over, like your student is missing
1:07
work, or here's a great thing your student did today, emails
1:11
that you know you're going to send, and then save that as a
1:14
template or a draft.
1:16
Heidi: You will be so happy to start off the year with some of
1:19
these already handled for you. But as you go through the year,
1:22
keep a running list of the types of emails you send often, and
1:26
then you can add those to your template library for the future.
1:29
Emily: Yeah, that's going to save you so much time and hassle
1:32
going forward. If you like this idea or anything else we share
1:35
here on the podcast, we would love it if you took a second to
1:37
give us a rating and a kind review on your podcast player.
1:41
Heidi: Now hopefully, as you are listening, you still have lots
1:45
of long summer days ahead of you. But according to the
1:49
calendar, some of you are heading back in the next few
1:52
days.
1:53
Emily: Oh, it's so crazy! That feels way too early to be
1:56
thinking about school. But somehow here we are, and no
1:59
matter where your first day falls in the next six weeks, you
2:02
probably feel that ticking clock.
2:05
Heidi: And for a lot of teachers, that ticking clock
2:07
turns into a very specific kind of panic. You feel the deadline
2:11
coming, and your stomach turns, and you can't sleep at night. So
2:15
you throw yourself into work because doing something feels
2:19
like the only way to make the dread go away.
2:21
Emily: And honestly, action can be an effective antidote to
2:24
anxiety. But this version is what we call panic prepping,
2:28
which means all that effort might be getting you ready for
2:31
the first day.
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Heidi: Or it might not be, because undirected action, which
2:37
is what happens when you're just doing stuff to feel productive,
2:41
can burn through your time and your energy and still leave you
2:44
feeling behind.
2:45
Emily: Oh, and we happen to know this situation very well, don't
2:50
we, Heidi?
2:51
Heidi: Yeah. Well, I know I've told this story before, but
2:54
settle in because we're doing it again. So I got hired for my
2:59
first year teaching internship a month before school started. At
3:04
the time, I was still taking college classes, working as a
3:07
part-time custodian in the middle of a breakup, and living
3:10
with crazy roommates. One of whom, Jade, used to sneak her
3:14
homeless boyfriend into our apartment when I was asleep. The
3:17
school that hired me was 20 minutes away. I had no car, no
3:20
money, and no time to prepare, so I was already stressed to the
3:25
max. But let's add to it.
3:27
Emily: But let's also point out that since you and I both did an
3:30
internship, an internship where we were in our district was you
3:34
had your own class, you were a first year teacher all by
3:37
yourself, but you got paid half a salary.
3:39
Heidi: Yes, I made $813 a month.
3:42
Emily: Oh my gosh, that's crazy!
3:44
Heidi: So on top of all that, school was starting on a
3:50
Wednesday, and the Friday night before, I finished up my last
3:53
final exam, and I flew to San Diego to be a bridesmaid because
3:57
I had agreed to do that before getting hired. I ended up having
4:01
to share a room with seven complete strangers. That meant
4:05
sleeping on the floor in my jeans because, in all the chaos,
4:08
I forgot to pack pajamas. So it was either that or my
4:10
bridesmaid's dress. And by that point, I was just kind of
4:15
clenching my jaw, like it was the only thing holding my life
4:18
together. And then Sunday night, I opened my mouth and my whole
4:22
jaw slid out of place. I still don't understand how it
4:24
happened. So the hotel gave us directions to the ER, but then
4:29
the doctors couldn't reset it because the muscles were so
4:31
locked. It was not a good night. The only upside was that the
4:36
people I was with felt bad for me, so I got to share a bed with
4:39
someone that night instead of sleeping on the floor.
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I wish I could say that was my only back to school stress
4:45
injury, but one year I triggered an ulcer attack the weekend
4:49
before school started. I could barely get out of bed, and my
4:52
room was not set up at all. And then another year, I broke out
4:55
in a very visible rash. The doctor at Urgent Care showed me
4:58
it was just stress, not contagious, so, I guess that's
5:01
something.
5:03
Emily: Yeah, honestly, stress is a lot more than a feeling. It
5:07
showed up in your body, and then it showed up on medical bills,
5:12
like you.
5:13
Heidi: And then, not to mention all of the back to school
5:16
seasons where I was physically fine, thankfully, but mentally a
5:19
wreck. Emily, you know, we did those together, working until
5:23
well after midnight just to get one more thing crossed off my
5:26
list. So when we are talking about managing back to school
5:29
stress in healthy ways, we're not talking about it because it
5:32
sounds nice. We learned the hard way that the cost of not
5:36
managing it is very real.
5:38
Emily: Yeah, we're the cautionary tales here, and I
5:41
wish we could say that we had the perfect solution to
5:44
eliminate all of your back to school stress. If I had a magic
5:46
wand, that's what I would do. But I don't think a real
5:50
solution exists for no stress at all. But if we can't eliminate
5:55
it, our goal is to at least keep it from hijacking your whole
5:58
life.
5:59
Heidi: So today we have got some techniques to help you manage an
6:02
anxiety-filled minute, and then once you're back in control of
6:05
your nervous system, we've got a protocol to help you cut through
6:08
all of the competing noise and figure out which next steps are
6:11
essential.
6:12
Emily: The first thing to do when you find that the stress is
6:15
rising, you know what I'm going to say here: it's time to
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breathe.
6:20
Heidi: It's such common advice that it seems cliche, but this
6:24
really is the key step. Taking control of your breathing
6:27
signals to your nervous system that you are safe. It
6:30
automatically decreases the tension.
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Emily: So when you notice that your shoulders are up to your
6:35
ears and your jaws tight, Heidi looking at you, take a few slow
6:41
breaths where the exhale is longer than the inhale. I find
6:44
that it takes me a few tries before I can manage slowing my
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exhale, but it does work.
6:49
Heidi: That's also the trick I use at night if I'm struggling
6:52
to sleep. What I like about this is that it's really something
6:55
you can do anywhere. If you're laying in bed, or if you're
6:59
labeling supplies and you feel the tightness creeping up, you
7:02
just adjust your breathing, and you can keep going a little
7:05
calmer than you were.
7:07
Emily: Besides breathing, another tool is naming what
7:09
you're feeling. You can just say, "I'm feeling anxious, or
7:12
"I'm feeling sad that summer's ending."
7:15
Heidi: There's something about naming a big feeling that takes
7:18
a little of the power out of it. When it's just like a swirl of
7:22
dread, it runs the show. But when you can say, "Oh, I'm
7:25
feeling nervous about a new grade level," suddenly it's
7:28
something you can get your mind around instead of something
7:30
that's happening to you.
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Emily: And using the words "I feel" instead of "I am" also
7:35
helps tame it because feelings are temporary. If you say "I am
7:38
dreading this" instead of "I feel dread about this," your
7:42
mind locks onto the permanence of that statement. Reminding
7:45
yourself it's a feeling, and feelings are temporary, keeps
7:49
things manageable.
7:51
Heidi: Plus, naming what you're feeling often points you
7:52
straight to the solution. "I'm feeling dread about this," might
7:56
really be, "I don't have my class list yet, and the not
7:58
knowing is eating at me." Now you got somewhere to go with all
8:01
that energy.
8:02
Emily: Right. Breathing and naming are great techniques for
8:05
helping you settle down, but unfortunately, they don't get
8:08
your desk set up. So once you've gotten control of your emotions,
8:11
it's time to get control of the situation.
8:14
Heidi: And that is where our overwhelm buster comes in. It's
8:19
three easy steps that move you from spinning to making
8:22
progress. So let's look at step one: get clear about your
8:26
current headspace.
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Emily: And this feels backwards to a lot of us because when
8:30
you're overwhelmed, the last thing you want to do is slow
8:33
down and check in. We want to attack the list, but you can't
8:36
prioritize anything from inside a tornado. So you need to calm
8:39
the storm first.
8:41
Heidi: To help you with this, we have got a set of reflection
8:43
questions. If you can, try writing down your responses,
8:47
because writing is a great anti-anxiety move. But even if
8:51
you're just thinking about the answers, you're still moving
8:54
toward clarity. So let's start with your body. What are you
8:57
physically feeling right now? Where do you feel that tension
9:00
sitting?
9:02
Emily: And then consider what might be contributing to that
9:04
feeling? Are your physical needs cranking up your emotions? Do
9:08
you need to eat or sleep or move? Maybe what feels like a
9:12
crisis at 4pm is just low blood sugar and a body that's been
9:16
sitting too long.
9:17
Heidi: I feel called out. It's humbling how often "I can't
9:21
handle any of this" is actually "I skipped lunch," so check the
9:26
basics first. And then move to identifying how you want to feel
9:30
and what you need to do in order to feel that way. If you want to
9:34
feel relaxed, what would help you relax?
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Emily: And then zoom all the way out. Is the pressure coming from
9:41
outside of me, or am I the one putting it there? Am I holding
9:44
myself to unrealistic expectations? This is one I
9:47
struggle with because it's easy to think that having high
9:50
standards is a way to maintain control of a situation where you
9:53
don't get a lot of say, but all that does is add to your stress.
9:58
Heidi: The point of this first step in the Overwhelm Buster is
10:01
that when you finish it, you can answer the question underneath
10:04
all of the panic: What is most important right now? And that
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brings us to step two. Now it's time to make your to-do list.
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Emily: This is where a lot of time management advice starts
10:15
and stops. Just write down what you need to do. But a raw list
10:18
of everything can make you feel so much worse because now you're
10:21
responsible for moving a whole mountain. Look at all those
10:24
things you got to do.
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Heidi: And yet getting all of the tasks out of your head is
10:29
still the right first move. When all of those tasks are just
10:33
swirling around up there, your brain keeps pinging you about
10:35
them like alerts. Did I forget something at the store? What
10:38
about that email? I need to remember the laminating.
10:41
Emily: And it turns out your brain is terrible at list
10:44
management, so it won't let go of an open task, and it keeps
10:48
looping in your brain. The moment you write it down, you're
10:51
telling your brain, "Hey, you don't have to remember this. I
10:53
wrote it down."
10:55
Heidi: Then, with everything laid out on paper or in an app,
10:57
if you're a digital planner, the next step is identifying what's
11:01
essential from what's nice to have and what can be dropped
11:03
completely.
11:05
Emily: There just isn't enough time to get it all done, so you
11:07
need a filter for figuring out what matters most. In episode
11:11
270 we gave you a whole system for prioritizing your tasks
11:14
around students' needs. So go back and check that out if you
11:18
want the full details. But if you want a shortcut, think about
11:20
your readiness anchor.
11:22
Heidi: We have talked about readiness anchors before, but
11:25
here's a quick version. Picture yourself walking up to your
11:28
classroom door on that first morning back.
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Emily: And maybe you've been into the school a dozen times
11:34
over the summer. That would be me, or maybe it's your first
11:37
time back. You put your key in the door and you step inside.
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How do you want to feel in that moment? Maybe you want to feel
11:44
prepared or calm or excited. Whatever that feeling is, that's
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your readiness anchor.
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Heidi: The nice thing about a readiness anchor is that it acts
11:53
like a filter. If you want to feel prepared, which tasks will
11:57
build that feeling? If you want to walk in excited, what do you
12:00
need to plan so that you feel excited?
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Emily: So look at your list and flag the tasks that move you
12:06
closer to that first morning feeling. Those are your
12:08
priorities, and everything else is real, but it's secondary.
12:13
Heidi: Now, ideally, in a perfect world, all of your back
12:16
to school prep would be helping you create that feeling. But as
12:19
you know, some tasks are just inevitable. You've got to
12:24
arrange the desks. You've got to send the welcome newsletter. You
12:27
just you can't get away from that.
12:29
Emily: But since you can't get out of those responsibilities,
12:31
your best strategy is to find some way to get into them. Team
12:34
up with a friend. Get yourself a little treat. Do whatever it
12:37
takes to make the tedious feel at least a little bit enjoyable.
12:42
Heidi: So by now you know exactly what needs to get done,
12:44
and you know which tasks need your attention first. This is
12:48
such a huge help in managing back to school overwhelm, but
12:51
it's not quite enough to get you ready on your own. The thing is,
12:55
you actually have to do those tasks.
12:57
Emily: That's always such a bummer. I love making the list,
13:00
but doing the stuff on the list is a whole different beast.
13:04
Heidi: Yeah, that's definitely my downfall. But one way to make
13:07
sure you get things done is to add where and when to each task.
13:12
So it's not just send the welcome email sitting on your
13:15
list forever. It's, send welcome email Thursday afternoon during
13:18
nap time.
13:19
Emily: This is a strategy called implementation intentions. The
13:23
idea is that instead of just holding a task in your head, you
13:26
make a plan for when to do the work. Next time I sit down to
13:29
watch Love Island, I'll fill out the student birthday bags.
13:32
Heidi: The research on this shows that deciding the when and
13:35
the where ahead of time makes you way more likely to actually
13:39
follow through. Your brain doesn't have to relitigate it
13:42
every time because you've already decided.
13:45
Emily: So, organize my classroom library, stays vague forever.
13:48
But Thursday morning at 10, right after swim lessons, I'm
13:51
doing the library. That is the difference between a wish and a
13:55
plan.
13:56
Heidi: Now don't feel like you have to come up with the where
13:58
and the when for your whole task list at once, it would probably
14:01
make you crazy. But take a look at your top three to five
14:04
essential tasks and add when and where you plan to work on each
14:08
of those. And then, as you check things off your list, you can
14:11
add more implementation intentions to the rest of your
14:14
tasks.
14:16
Emily: Okay, step three: you've gotten clear, you've made your
14:19
prioritized list, you've scheduled the big rocks. Step
14:22
three is planning your next steps, and this is where you
14:24
make the whole thing lighter.
14:27
Heidi: So, in this step, start by asking, "What's my biggest
14:30
obstacle right now? and then consider what's available to
14:33
help you lighten the load, or even better, what can you drop
14:37
from your list completely?
14:39
Emily: This is why clarifying your priorities in step two is
14:41
so valuable. Creating custom vinyl for your book bins is a
14:45
fun idea, and it would probably look super cute. But when you're
14:48
in a time crunch, adhesive labels do the same thing in a
14:51
fraction of the time.
14:52
Heidi: Now, if custom vinyl is not your particular roadblock,
14:55
figure out what it is so you can navigate around it. In a
14:58
stressful season, you will have to settle for good enough
15:01
sometimes. That's unavoidable.
15:04
Emily: And when you reach that point, it's better if you decide
15:06
for yourself what falls into the good enough category. That way,
15:09
you make sure you're skipping the low priority tasks like book
15:12
bin labels rather than essential things like setting up for meet
15:15
the teacher.
15:17
Heidi: That's a trap I fell into so often, like every every dang
15:22
year, I would get so caught up in the big idea of what I wanted
15:26
to get done that I frequently pushed important things like
15:30
first day plans to the bottom of my list. Honestly, for the first
15:35
few years of teaching, I did not even start on my first day plans
15:39
until the evening before school started, which, now that I think
15:43
about it, maybe why I was so stressed all the time.
15:44
Emily: It's funny how that works. So you just got to be
15:50
smarter than we were and give your priority tasks your
15:53
priority energy. You can also come back to book bin labels in
15:57
a few weeks if they still matter, but at least you can be
15:59
sure your essentials are all in place first.
16:03
Heidi: Another way to lighten the load is to break big tasks
16:06
into smaller pieces, so it stops feeling like a wall. This idea
16:09
comes from the classic productivity book, Getting
16:12
Things Done by David Allen. He says that we run into trouble
16:15
when we add a whole project to our to-do list because our brain
16:19
tries to take all of that in at once.
16:21
Emily: Yeah, if you see set up classroom on your list, that's
16:24
definitely going to spike your blood pressure every time you
16:26
see it. So instead, break it down into tiny steps.
16:30
Heidi: Maybe the first step is finding out when you're allowed
16:33
back into your room, and then finding out when family or
16:36
friends are available to help you move furniture. Next, maybe
16:40
you want to sketch out a new room layout and measure bulletin
16:42
boards. Those are the kinds of tasks that should be on your
16:45
to-do list, not the big projects.
16:48
Emily: And the bonus of approaching your task this way
16:50
is that you get the satisfaction of crossing lots of little tiny
16:53
things off your list more often, and that's just a mood boost.
16:57
Heidi: So go through your list, break down big projects into
17:00
their subtasks. Figure out what can be skipped, postponed, or
17:04
delegated. Look for shortcuts like buying something you plan
17:07
to make yourself. Try to get this list as lean as possible.
17:12
Emily: And then for your remaining tasks, what can you
17:14
batch? This works well with your implementation intentions. If
17:18
you've got five things that all involve the workroom, do them in
17:21
one trip. If you've got a bunch of little computer tasks, knock
17:24
them out in one sitting instead of scattered across the week.
17:27
Heidi: There's good research about why batching helps. A
17:30
researcher named Sophie Leroy studied what happens when we
17:34
jump between different kinds of tasks, and she identified what
17:37
she calls attention residue. When you switch from one task to
17:41
a totally different one, a piece of your attention stays stuck on
17:45
the first thing, so you're not fully into the new task yet.
17:49
Emily: And then every time you bounce from emailing a parent to
17:52
cutting the lamination to answering a text to setting up
17:55
desks, you're paying a little tax on each switch. Part of your
17:59
brain is still back on the last thing.
18:01
Heidi: And that's why a fragmented afternoon leaves you
18:03
so wiped out, even when you can't point to having
18:07
accomplished very much. It wasn't just the work; it was all
18:10
the switching. So when you batch the similar tasks together,
18:14
you're not just saving steps, you're letting your brain stay
18:17
in one mode for a stretch, and that is way less draining.
18:21
Emily: So now you've trimmed down your to-do list to just the
18:23
essentials. But before you jump in, let's build some positive
18:26
momentum. Take a look at what's left on your list and find
18:29
something small that you could do right now.
18:32
Heidi: This does not have to be a high priority task. The goal
18:34
is just to get a little win right out of the gate, even if
18:37
it's small, to help motivate you to get more things done. Like we
18:41
said at the beginning, action is a really great antidote to
18:45
anxiety. But now you can be certain that the actions you're
18:48
taking are moving you closer to your goals.
18:51
Emily: But we do have one last question to consider before you
18:54
finish planning. Take a minute to ask yourself, what's the most
18:57
loving thing I can do for myself and the people around me right
19:00
now?
19:01
Heidi: Sometimes the answer to that is finish making welcome
19:03
slides so tomorrow's easier, or the answer might be close the
19:07
laptop and go to bed. Either option may be helpful as long as
19:10
it's the right option for you and not something that you're
19:13
defaulting to.
19:15
Emily: Okay, so let's pull all of this together. When that back
19:18
to school panic starts rising, don't just throw yourself at the
19:21
nearest task. First, get clear. Check your body and your
19:26
expectation. Think about what's in your control and what
19:29
actually matters.
19:30
Heidi: And then make your to-do list and sort it against your
19:34
readiness anchor. Flag the tasks that move you toward how you
19:37
want to feel, and decide when and where you will do each one.
19:42
Emily: And then plan your next steps. Let go of what you can.
19:45
Batch, find a quick win, and ask what the kindest next move is.
19:50
The goal is not to finish everything on your list. The
19:53
goal is to walk through the door on the first day feeling the way
19:55
you want to feel without any ER trips in the process.
19:59
Heidi: Too soon, Emily.
20:01
Emily: I think you've had like 25 years to recover from that,
20:04
so I think you're okay.
20:05
Heidi: Well, now I'm hurt that it's been 25 years.
20:10
Emily: Sorry, the truth hurts. If getting ready for the school
20:14
year in a calmer, more intentional way is exactly what
20:17
you're craving, that's the whole heart behind our new book,
20:20
Structure and Spark, comes out very soon, and it's all about
20:23
working with the natural rhythms of the school year instead of
20:26
against them.
20:27
Heidi: You can pre-order it right now, and pre-orders tell
20:30
bookstores that our book is worth recommending to other
20:33
readers. So, if you've been thinking about it, grabbing it
20:36
early makes a real difference to us. So, head to the show notes
20:39
for the link.
20:40
Emily: And if you pre-order, we have some really fun bonuses
20:43
coming your way. So go and fill out the form on
20:48
secondstorywindow.net/book, and we will make sure you get your
20:52
special pre-order bonuses when the book comes out.
20:55
Okay, now for our teacher-approved tip of the
20:58
week, where we share an actionable tip to help you
21:00
elevate what matters and simplify the rest. This week's
21:03
teacher-approved tip is plan now to make inside recess easier.
21:08
Let's hear it, Heidi.
21:09
Heidi: Well, this is one small addition to a list you're
21:12
already making. So when you're putting together your supply
21:14
list for parents, add a coloring book or an activity book to that
21:18
list. That way, on those rainy gray, nobody's going out to
21:21
recess days, you will have something ready to go that isn't
21:24
more screen time.
21:26
Emily: And two things to think through so that it doesn't
21:28
become a headache. First, you need a way to label whose book
21:31
is whose because if one kid picks out a Spider Man coloring
21:34
book, he's gonna expect to get that Spider Man book when it's
21:37
time to color.
21:38
Heidi: Now, of course, kids can always swap books if they
21:40
choose, but you can prevent future arguments by labeling
21:43
things as soon as they come in. And also consider where you're
21:46
going to store these between rainy days, so they're not in
21:49
the way, but they are handy to access when the clouds roll in.
21:52
Emily: And if you teach older kids who might be too cool for
21:55
coloring books, you can adapt this by asking students to bring
21:58
in any activity book. So parents might appreciate it if you
22:01
provide a few examples of the type of thing you're looking
22:04
for, and you can check out what's available at a local
22:06
dollar store to provide some affordable options.
22:10
Heidi: All right, to wrap up the show, we're sharing what we're
22:12
giving extra credit to this week. Emily, what gets your
22:14
extra credit?
22:16
Emily: Well, I'm giving extra credit to our new game of the
22:18
summer, which is Piles. So this is a card game where there are
22:24
sets of laundry on the cards. So you want four cards that are the
22:30
exact same piece of laundry, like a certain, like an ankle
22:33
sock, and they're all different colors, but they're the exact
22:36
same item. And so then while you're playing, you all start
22:40
out with a certain number of piles of cards in front of you
22:44
that are turned face down, and then there's a few cards in the
22:46
middle. And the thing I love about this game is that it
22:50
checks all of my boxes of being super fast to play, and you
22:53
don't have to wait for your turn. So everybody's playing at
22:55
once. Love that so much.
22:57
So the way it works is you turn over one of your piles of cards,
23:00
which has four cards in it, and you look at the cards that are
23:03
available in the middle, and you start trying to make your
23:05
matches. And so then you can turn that back over and pick up
23:07
another pile. You can only have one of your piles in your hand
23:10
at a time, but it goes faster than you would think. You start
23:14
going through, seeing what you have, you trade things into the
23:16
middle, and then trade it back to yourself when you get going.
23:19
And the more people that are playing, the more chaotic it
23:22
gets because we're all scrambling for the stuff in the
23:24
middle at the same time.
23:25
But it is so much fun and so easy to play, and everybody
23:29
loves it. My teen took it to a party tonight. I mean, a going
23:33
away party, not like a party party, but, so you know it's a
23:38
hit if all if all the ages love it so much. And I think one
23:41
great thing about it, if you've got kids that are on the younger
23:44
side, there's no reading involved, and I think it would
23:47
be really easy for even a young kid to pick up, a preschooler
23:51
could probably play this game easily.
23:53
Heidi: Yeah, it really is fun to play. I got drafted for a couple
23:56
rounds, and Emily's 10-year-old blocked me because she figured
23:59
out what I was trying to collect, and then purposely held
24:02
on to that card until the very end.
24:04
Emily: I know she's ruthless.
24:06
Heidi: It's easy to pick up the strategy.
24:09
Emily: And I don't let kids win in my house. Like, if they win
24:12
on their own, fine. But I'm not going easy on them. They have to
24:15
win it honestly.
24:18
Okay, what are you giving extra credit to Heidi?
24:20
Heidi: Well, my extra credit goes to the nonfiction book
24:22
Grandma Gatewood's Walk by Ben Montgomery. This was such a
24:27
fascinating story, and I had never heard about this. And I'm
24:30
going to guess probably most of our listeners haven't either.
24:32
So, in 1955, 67 year old Emma Gatewood told her family that
24:36
she was going on a walk, but she neglected to say that she was
24:40
getting on a plane to fly to Georgia, so she could start
24:43
hiking the Appalachian Trail. She didn't even have a sleeping
24:46
bag. It's the crazy thing. She just had like this tiny, she had
24:49
a tarp and some changes of clothes and some money and some
24:53
like canned food.
24:54
Emily: Oh my gosh!
24:55
Heidi: And along the way, people started noticing this grandma
24:58
walking along this trail. And so she ended up gaining national
25:01
interest everywhere she would stop. There would be reporters
25:05
who wanted to talk to her, and it created this whole mystique
25:08
around the Appalachian Trail. I think that at that point, not
25:12
very many people in the country had heard of it, and she loved
25:15
it so much. She returned several more times. She was the first
25:18
person to hike the full trail two times, and then beat her on
25:21
record and hiked it a third in her 70s.
25:24
Emily: Gosh, that's crazy!
25:25
Heidi: It's wild. So it was very interesting to me, and it made
25:29
me feel that perhaps I'm not living up to my potential. So
25:34
things to think about.
25:35
Emily: Or maybe you're not totally unhinged, like this
25:38
woman sounds like she, a little bit she might have been.
25:40
Heidi: I do not have any any part of my soul that thinks,
25:44
"Yeah, that's a good idea."
25:46
Emily: Oh my gosh, if if I went in the wilderness with just like
25:49
a tarp, I would be dead in two days. I would not last.
25:54
Heidi: Especially in the 50s. It's not like she could call for
25:56
help.
25:57
Emily: No way.
25:58
Heidi: Yeah, bless her. It was quite the story.
26:00
Emily: But it sounds super interesting. I'm gonna have to
26:03
check that.
26:03
Heidi: It was, and the book went really quick because you're just
26:05
like, oh wow, crazy, wild.
26:08
Emily: Love it.
26:10
Heidi: Well, that is it for today's episode. When the back
26:12
to school stress hits, remember to breathe, and then use the
26:15
three steps to clarify your goals and how to reach them.
26:20
We hope you enjoyed this episode of Teacher Approved. I'm Heidi.
26:24
Emily: And I'm Emily. Thank you for listening. Be sure to follow
26:27
or subscribe in your podcast app so that you never miss an
26:30
episode.
26:31
Heidi: You can connect with us and other teachers in the
26:33
Teacher Approved Facebook group. We'll see you here next week.
26:36
Bye for now.
26:37
Emily: Bye.