Stumbling Through Work

Circle Time w/ Shanell Townsend

• Jerek Hough • Season 3 • Episode 25

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Ever been “voluntold” to fix the room everyone avoids while the favorite gets a trophy? We invited Chanel Townsend—educator, coach, and relentless advocate—to unpack how to walk into a chaotic toddler classroom, keep the peace, and still raise the bar. Her approach is all signal, no swagger: weave descriptive language into circle time, make effective visuals unavoidable, and let strong practice become the culture rather than the exception.

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SPEAKER_00:

Welcome to Stumbling Through Work Where Educators Figure Shit Out. The podcast for educators and anyone who ever walked into their program and said, Nope, not today. I'm your host, Jared Huff, here to unpack the wild stories, broken systems, and to call out the chaos. Let's get into it. Hey team, welcome to another episode of Stumbling Through Work where Educators Figure Shit Out. Today we are having circle time with Chanel Townsend. So Chanel has been an educator for about 17 years, teaching and working with children from birth through high school. With two bachelor's degrees in ECE and psychology, she is working on her master's degree in educational leadership while still advocating for children through literacy and development. As a wife and mother of three, she writes children's series, which she is still working on, and enjoys retail therapy. And with that being said, let's welcome Chanel to the podcast.

SPEAKER_01:

Hello, hello. So glad to be here.

SPEAKER_00:

You notice how I said you're still working on your series because it's unpublished, but you're still working on it.

SPEAKER_01:

So yes, very unpublished.

SPEAKER_00:

We'll get there. We'll get there.

SPEAKER_01:

We will.

unknown:

We will.

SPEAKER_00:

So one of the things we like to do is get to know our guests. So I'm gonna ask you a few questions and you just give me a yes or no. Are you always late?

SPEAKER_01:

No.

SPEAKER_00:

Do you like reading?

SPEAKER_01:

Yes.

SPEAKER_00:

Are you a morning person?

SPEAKER_01:

Yes.

SPEAKER_00:

Um, have you seen Bad Teacher?

SPEAKER_01:

I I I think, but no.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh girl, you need to go back and revisit.

unknown:

Okay.

SPEAKER_00:

It's it's it's a it's a terrible gym.

unknown:

Okay.

SPEAKER_00:

It's a horrible movie and it's great.

SPEAKER_01:

I get it.

SPEAKER_00:

Um do you get eight hours of sleep a night?

SPEAKER_01:

No.

SPEAKER_00:

Do you have a side hustle?

SPEAKER_01:

Yes.

SPEAKER_00:

I think we all have side hustles.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, we do have to.

SPEAKER_00:

Do you like Mondays?

SPEAKER_01:

Yes.

SPEAKER_00:

Do you watch Abbott Elementary?

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely, yes.

SPEAKER_00:

Do you do you drink three coffees a day?

SPEAKER_01:

No.

SPEAKER_00:

And do you like your co-workers?

SPEAKER_01:

I love my co-workers, yes.

SPEAKER_00:

I love that. I love when people come on and just like, I love the people that I work with. I think we've all been through some traumatic events and situations where we did, I'm not gonna say hate, but we totally disliked our coworkers at one point.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00:

But when we find, you know, that special thing, it it's it's it's amazing.

SPEAKER_01:

It is.

SPEAKER_00:

As you know, we love questions. So here is today's asking for a friend.

unknown:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

So my director came up with this marvelous idea to move me from my 18 to 24 month class, which is a toddlers, which I've been in for two years. I normally wouldn't be opposed to this, but she moved me to the classroom that everyone hates. Nobody says it out loud, but the class and teacher is a mess, and mess is all capitalized. Her kids often graduate to my class being severely behind and milestones due to her work ethic with the kids. That lead teacher works uh with 12 to 18 month olds, and those babies basically are in boot camp. They sit against the wall with one toy each during drop-off, go outside for most of the morning time, two to three hours, because she doesn't implement the lesson plan, and they only do art on Fridays. I'm on art on holidays, sorry. But somehow she won Teacher of the Year. It's kids on her art wall that are now three years old. Goes to show how much things are updated in there. So now it's my job to fix her classroom, and again, I wouldn't be opposed to this if she didn't basically throw away all of the things I made for her classroom: cubby tags, birthday boards, job boards, etc. I found it shoved in a drawer with the tr in with the trash bags and cleaning supplies. I hate to be looked at as insubordinate, but it's heading that way. I tried to explain this to my director, but I think favoritism is being played in this situation. It's no way she's allowed to get away with this much, and they expect me to just fix the class and start implementing lesson plans or activities while she still does nothing as always. I don't know if I'm being petty or blowing it out of proportion, but I'm so unhappy.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, that's rough.

SPEAKER_00:

It is.

SPEAKER_01:

That's rough, you know, and I think that we have all, if we have, if you've worked in early childhood enough, we have all been in a situation where we have felt underappreciated and where we have felt just kind of um sometimes thrown in, literally, literally just thrown in. And I think that in my younger days of teaching, when I started teaching early education, I probably would have had that same attitude towards this situation. Like, you know, this woman doesn't obviously respect me. She doesn't, you know, she threw the stuff away that I did create for the class, you know, um, her class comes in, her class will come into my class, you know, behind, you know, and now I need to, you know, now I need to go in there. And so what I would say to her is see it as an opportunity of growth and leadership for yourself. Um, uh for me being a coach, there are times where I it can be talking to a teacher, uh, coaching a teacher, and I can immediately hear some leadership skills and qualities coming out. And so I would use this as we're not gonna think about what the director's mind is set on. We're not gonna think about what the other teachers in the teachers in the classroom's mind is set on. I'm gonna focus on myself and what I'm gonna gain from this. And I am gonna go in there with a very much of a leadership mindset. And I am, I I might go in there and you know, you can't take over anybody's room because that's also gonna cause issues. So I would, you know, maybe say something like, you know, I'm so glad, you know, to be in here with you. And um I think together that we can really work together. Um, I have some great ideas I love to share with you. The teacher may say, Oh, well, I think everything runs fine, you know, and I I think everything runs good. So if you can just help me wash the tables and, you know, um sweep sweep the floor and you know, you know, and and she may suggest that I would very slowly start to throw my thing and ideas in there. Like, you know, if it's in the middle of circle time and the lead teachers, you know, teaching, I throw in as I could some, you know, descriptive feedback, giving them some vocabulary. I throw it, I would just kind of throw my things in there and slowly start to make them part of the class. And I don't want to say be force, force of do it, do it forcingly, but um just kind of throw it in there. And then the name tags that you find in the trash say, oh, I don't know how these got in there. I I get I'm sure I'm sure they got in there by mistake. I'm gonna put them back up because now you're in the class together, so it's a little easier to throw them in the trash or put them to the side when this woman's not in my class, but now she's back in my classroom. That would be blatant disrespect. And I find that people aren't that bold.

SPEAKER_00:

You know, uh my issue with this is I'm blaming the director. What does coming in her class and fixing fixing it mean?

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00:

So please clarify with the like was there a conversation? Because I'm looking at it from you know, from old teacher, we'll call her old teacher. I'm looking at it from old teacher's perspective of if you didn't have this conversation with me and this lady just appeared in my class, absolutely, I would feel some type of way, and I would just be like, if she can get her, she can get out because there's no conversation happening.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely, and so and because of that conversation not happening, it's gonna immediately cause some kind of a rift without even anything, without anything, any kind of conversation, because the director was not up front, did not talk to the old teacher, like you said. I I agree.

SPEAKER_00:

But I want to say kudos for going outside. I mean, they may just be running. First off, who is watching this? How do you not see these kids outside for two to three hours? Three hours, but if they're doing like actual learning, which I am a big fan of outside learning, yes, I'm I'm here, I'm here for it.

SPEAKER_01:

And that's why I didn't necessarily speak on it because I did a lot of outside teaching myself. Um, a lot I bring the classroom outside. And so I but again, maybe coming in, like how we say we give children tomorrow's a new day. We're not gonna think about anything you did today. Tomorrow, when you come into class, we're gonna have a better day, a new day. And so I think maybe having that same mindset with that teacher, like, okay, I know her, I've done these things, and she shoved them to the side with and let me just say throwing that stuff in the trash, you want to fight those fighting words.

SPEAKER_00:

She's trying to get it. She trying to get some trying to get some pepper put in her uh Pepsi. Y'all don't do that. Just put a little salt in her Pepsi because that is fighting. I'm like, you do my.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, I'm not gonna lie, I would feel real disrespected. That's why for me, I'd be like, I these might, I think these got put in here on accident. Because, see, that's what I noticed. Like, people will do things and they're very uh what's the word? Um oh what's the word passive aggressive? But when you actually come to them with things, people get really timid. In my experience, they do, they do, you know. I don't feel like I intimidate people, but in my experience, all there's a lot of passive aggressiveness going on. But then when it's when it's confronted, you know, we get a little sheepish.

SPEAKER_00:

Because I'll be like, uh, you know, just so you know, I'll put these tags up just so you know. I just want to make sure that you knew that they were there. Thanks. Well, thank you for that asking for a friend, and on that note, we'll be right back. All right. Okay, quick break. If you're a teacher or a director who's currently stumbling through work, and I mean that literally, figuratively or spiritually, you need to check out our new merch. We've got shirts that say exactly what you want to say in staff meetings, what you want to say to parents, mugs for caffeine that hold your entire personality together, and gear so you can walk into the building already announcing, Nope, I don't have time for this today, without even opening your mouth. These are perfect for the classroom, the office, or the car where you sit for 12 minutes pretending you're going to quit. Again, grab your shirts, your mugs, and your survival merch at abbreviatedlearning.com because if you're gonna stumble through work anyway, you might as well look good doing it. Okay, we are back with our guest, Miss Chanel. So, one of the things about circle time is to show different perspectives in the early childhood field. So, for you, who are you in this circus? What do you do? And what made you become an educator?

SPEAKER_01:

So, I in this circus, um, I am a coach for early um education teachers, and I also train early education teachers. Um so I am kind of that support. I I see myself personally, like that's what I would be on paper, but I feel like I am just a support. I when I go into the center, I am there to support the center. Even if I'm just there to teach coach two teachers, I'm there to support the director, I'm there to support other teachers if I if I'm able to. I just want to kind of be that beacon for them.

SPEAKER_00:

What made you stay after 17 years? You're still doing this. Why?

SPEAKER_01:

I love it with all of my heart. I love it. I don't even, you know, you're supposed to say, Oh, I'm a wife, mother, teacher. I'm more like I'm a teacher, I'm an educator. Oh yeah, I have kids too. Oh yeah, I'm married.

SPEAKER_00:

What do you think is the hardest part of your job that people outside of ECE don't understand?

SPEAKER_01:

The emotional um stress that it carries. Um you I I feel like I'm an empath at times and I feel so much. I feel when the teachers are heavy, I feel when the kids come in heavy, I feel when the director's heavy, and I just I just take all of it in because I understand it. And um it's just that, you know, mentally, it's a mentally exhausting role for sure.

SPEAKER_00:

It definitely can be. And on the flip side of that, what's part of the job that excites you the most?

SPEAKER_01:

It's different every day.

SPEAKER_00:

That is true. That is definitely true.

SPEAKER_01:

It's different every single day. It's a different, it's so different. If you're a teacher, if you're a coach, a director, it doesn't matter. Your your job is different every day, and I just love it.

SPEAKER_00:

So, what I have to ask this question what is your funniest? I'm not paid enough for this shit moment that you can remember.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh my goodness. Um, I would have to say, oh, there's so many. So and I to give my little stint in middle school, because middle school is not for the week, okay? Let me just put that out there. And I remember I was um teaching a sixth grade remedial reading class. And um I would also um coach uh the dance team. And there were just, you know, I was younger and these little eighth-grade boys are full of hormones, full of hormones. And so I was dating my husband at the time. And um, he would come up there and they'd be like, Miss Brewer, who the F is that in? Oh, um, excuse me. And he would come up there, they would be mad dogging him.

SPEAKER_00:

I don't know.

SPEAKER_01:

They would be really like trying to fight my future husband, like just looking at him crazy. And I was like, let me get and they would just talk crazy again. I would talk crazy with them. I think that's why we had a great connection, but still, they didn't pay me enough for that shit. I had to get out of middle school quick.

SPEAKER_00:

Now that actually brings up a really good question. Um, because I've been in the boat too of working K through 12. How do you enjoy early childhood compared to the K through 12 situations?

SPEAKER_01:

Um I uh early childhood has my heart. That is my heart. The teachers, the students, the even the eager beaver parents. Um, I call them eager beavers because everything is just so, oh, and I just, oh, you know, and then so I just um it just has my heart. And I think for me, I do love the elementary, age, middle, high school. I do love all of the babies. I do, but I just feel like early education, you just get them at those we call them critical years. And I know that I care about them so much and their well-being and their and their life and their successes. I know me personally, if your child has if I've taught your child, I'm gonna pour everything into them because they're just like sponges. And I if I can put the right inf the right stuff in there, I can just do a little bit to assist them, you know, with their with their life ahead.

SPEAKER_00:

What can't you do because the system isn't funded?

SPEAKER_01:

Wait, I had to I had to I had to pause, sorry. What can't I do? Um, I can't do a lot. Um there are programs that um are closing and and are are running out of funds because um our current situation, you know, and there's just so much that we need like, for example, you know, I would love to be able to get the three-year-olds kind of back into the mix, you know, in Nevada and be able to allow them to be able to go to school um like pre-K. And I feel like, you know, it's it it's it's it's this bridge that we've had this gap in for so long where when they get to kindergarten, they're just not coming in prepared and giving them that extra three-year-old, that year of preschool to go to school for free, it just benefits literally them for the most part, but it'll benefit you know every system. Thank you. It'll benefit the system. So, you know, with that with that money not being available or getting pulled or whatever, I feel like specifically for me, that is a you know, huge loss.

SPEAKER_00:

How would your job change if child if childcare was treated like a real infrastructure?

SPEAKER_01:

I think that my job would be similar. I think that um for me and what my role is, I think that I would just have more teachers. I think instead of only coaching two or three teachers, you know, a day, five teachers a week, kind of thing, I would be teaching maybe 12. You know, we would we would be benefiting more more children and more teachers and more schools. And so I think that if we treated early education with respect, um again, it would it would just it would help the entire system. I think I would just be busier. And I also feel like I'd be on a a bigger um platform, if you will. Um, maybe a lot of us in these leadership roles would be on bigger platforms and be more respected if our field was really more respected.

SPEAKER_00:

Definitely. What unrealistic demands do you feel the system places on education with zero support?

SPEAKER_01:

Raising children. They they they they I mean, like we they I I just I just sometimes wish a person could just watch a YouTube video of a teacher from beginning to the end of a day. You know, just be in the classroom and see how much learning is done. It's so unfortunate that they think we're sitting in there playing with these kids, like playing with them, just not providing any education, not providing any structure, not giving them a routine, not building their confidence, not mothering them and doctoring them. I mean, it's this I could go on, you know, and I feel like it's such an it's such an unfortunate situation that you know we're just not given that that respect again. There are that our R E S P C T. We're not given that, you know, and so I think that for me that would be probably the biggest downfall.

SPEAKER_00:

I definitely understand that. Um, that was a lot. Yeah. And um, we'll be right back after this break. So, are you an educator watching everyone else get promoted, watching everyone else get raises, or even get the recognition for things you've literally have been doing forever? That's why we offer educational career development coaching designed for teachers, directors, and leaders who want to move up, earn more, and actually get the credit for the work they do. We work on interviews, resumes, salary negotiation, leadership confidence, communication skills, and how to stop letting your admin gaslight you into believing you're not ready yet. You are ready. You just need the strategy. Book your session at abbreviatedlearning.com and start moving towards the title, salary, and respect you deserve. Because stumbling through work is funny, but stumbling through your career is not. Okay, and we are back with our guest, Miss Chanel. So here's a staff appreciation. How would you feel on the receiving end of this? Ask the staff member to share positive things about other staff members. These can include things done at school to help a student or another staff member, or things done outside of school. For example, congratulations on winning the community tennis tournament, or thank you for helping my develop. Oh, excuse me, thank you for helping me develop a lesson. Or I know Sally put in a lot of time and effort to help Juan pass, you know, his final grade, whatever it may be. You may have to start the ball rolling by offering up a call in the act first. This is a way to offer a simple thank you or recognition for their support.

SPEAKER_01:

Um, it's nice, it's a very nice gesture. Um, and I absolutely believe that there are people who we all have different love languages, and I think that there are people who absolutely need to be celebrated and feel that appreciation and maybe see it written. Um I would I would be okay with it.

SPEAKER_00:

Um it feels like you want it to say something else.

SPEAKER_01:

I don't even know if I would want to say something else. I just I just think that I don't need those things.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh no, I totally get that. I think um one of the things I did like about it, and I'm I'm very I'm not the best pleasantry person. That's just I'm not built that way. That's why I surround myself with people that can do it, because I'm just not that person. But what I find impactful for this example, usually you'll get those from your supervisor, your boss, your team lead, or something. Yes. But what's impactful is it's from other staff members. And I think that's awesome. So the staff can see the other staff. That changes it.

SPEAKER_01:

Peer to peer, absolutely, because now you're recognizing each other. And so I I I agree. I agree. And I again I I was in a position at a company where we did something very similar, um, where it was the same thing like peer-to-peer, and we post it like on a bulletin board and the person could walk by and like see, you know, you walk by every day and people could see their name and say, Oh, Chanel, well, I loved how you did this. And the person would put their name, or they didn't have to. Um, and so I did, and again, like I liked it, but I think for me, it became to where it was often. And again, not that it's bad to have it often, but it was almost like it was just like robotic. Like we were just leaving things, like, oh, I love the way you held the elevator door open for me this morning, you know. And so it was like it was it just became, you know, things that we were doing all the time versus like I noticed this one amazing thing you did here and there. You know, you know what I'm trying to say. I think it kind of got worn out a little bit.

SPEAKER_00:

But that was no, I'm with you 1000%. You know, we were together the other day, and um, you know, we were talking about you know, the concept of love languages came up, and I think that's an important topic, right? Because I, though I do enjoy words of affirmation, I do enjoy those things. Some things are just annoying, right? That would annoy me after the first time. It was like, all right, oh cute, thanks, or whatever, but it irritates me. I'm like, you can keep this shit out of it. But for some people, it may need it, but yes, and that's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_01:

Some people, when they walk by, they were like, Oh my gosh, did you see? And so that's what I'm saying. Some people and I and I love that. Like, I just that's what I mean.

SPEAKER_00:

Like, it's not, you know, just letting people know I don't need certificates and all that, so do not do that for me. I don't need it.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I'm I'm the same. I don't, I don't need it all. I don't need it all. My reward is in the work, and I know that that's a really boring way to look at things, but you know what?

SPEAKER_00:

I I'm kind of that way too.

SPEAKER_01:

So when you see it all come together, that's the satisfaction of what I did that, yes, yes.

SPEAKER_00:

So, um, for that one, I give it a grade. I like to grade them, I give it a strong C.

SPEAKER_01:

It's not my favorite, but yeah, and I was gonna say B minus. So that's yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

We see we're seeing the same thing. And on that note, guys, we'll be right back. You know that moment in your day. The one when you stop, stare into the fluorescent lights, and think, There has to be a better way than whatever nonsense way we're doing right now. The best practice series is that better way. Because these books, they're short, they're friendly, they're written in plain English, and not that education jargon sprinkled with fairy dust language. Hand them to your team and say, Please just do it like this so I don't lose my last good nerve. We've got guides on tours, policies, communication, safety, programming, and all the daily madness nobody warns you about. And the best part, your team will get it, families will feel the difference, and you get to breathe like a normal human again. Grab your copies at abbreviatedlearning.com or just risk another week of someone asking, wait, what's that procedure again? Okay, team, we are back with Miss Chanel. So, what's something that keeps you motivated?

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, so my first one thing I want to say of myself.

SPEAKER_00:

Um I love it.

SPEAKER_01:

Um I definitely um I feel like I um I have I've had a mindset change, you know, in the past five years or so, and um I have to be my biggest fan. And so I um do a lot to keep myself motivated. I do a lot of vision boards and a lot of um self-affirmation and whatnot. Um, but then I would say for sure, like my my children, my babies, like I really want them to, I want to continue and continue and continue to show that I can grow. Um so they know that they can continue. Right. You know, and never stop.

SPEAKER_00:

And so what's a moment that positively changed your life?

SPEAKER_01:

Um I would say probably a couple a couple. The um last two I just lost. They were my parents in the past two years. So that definitely definitely had a lot to do with kind of my mindset change. But the biggest one for me was in 2020. I um was like patient zero. I got COVID in March 2020, and my health changed. It just wow, it tanked. It tanked. I was in the hospital uh 72 times from 2020 to 2023. Uh yeah, I was sick. I was sick. I um was on a feeding tube. Um, I ended up getting cancer in 2022. It was it was a lot, and so I witnessed because I would be put in the hospital a lot, and I remember the hospital I was hospitals I would go to, they even knew me. I mean, I was even, I mean, it's almost like I had a stay there, um, like an actual whole like I had a hotel stay there, but um I saw a lot of death. And so they put me on the floor with very critical patients because they weren't for sure what I had going on, and so the critical patients were much older than me. And so I would see them kind of walking slow on their little canes and walkers and fussing at the nurses, and then the next day I'd be like, What happened to Mr. Such and such? Oh, he passed. You know, I'd be like, Oh, what happened to oh he passed. And so I just would around so much death, you know, and I just had, yeah, it just, you know, I just went through a lot, you know, in those few years, and then you know, after that, I lost my parents. And so I think for me, it just, you know, you just grow from those things. You can either let them bring you down, and you can, you know, let them, you know, keep put keep you in this state of depression, or you can rise from those things because I know that's what my parents would want me to do.

SPEAKER_00:

And how does that impact your work?

SPEAKER_01:

Um, I think it makes me love and empathize even more. Um, because I've always been very much like a leader, I feel like, for people, even if I didn't put myself in that role, I've kind of always just been put in that role in any situation, really, really any social situation or anything. And so I felt like I was letting a lot of people down when I was getting sick. So a lot of people didn't realize that I was really going through what I was going through. And even like my family, because I've always been the super mom. Like I do it, I do it all. And so I think that even for them, when I finally did have to let it all out, they were like, Whoa, we didn't even realize you felt any of this, you know. And so um I think for me, just being always transparent now, always open, you know, but still making very strong boundaries, letting no be a one-sentence word. And I think that for me, it just allows me to kind of even feed that same energy um to my teachers. So I think I pour that into teachers when they're complaining about stuff or you know, something so petty. And so I'm like, look, but you but this is out of everything, this is this is one minor thing. How can what can we fix? Like, let's let's let's not complain without a solution. So what can we do? Let's not leave here without a solution. And so I think that's kind of what put me into that mindset. Like, if you have a problem, fix it. Don't continue to say you don't feel good, don't continue to say you don't have this. What are you gonna do?

SPEAKER_00:

So yeah, what what could ECE leaders do today that would help the field?

SPEAKER_01:

I think just stand up and advocate and just don't forget where you come from. You know, I think I see a lot of leaders where we've all some of us have been in this preschool classroom, we've been down in, we've been in there, we've know what it's like to have a child vomit and pee and pick it up all by ourselves, and then kids over here still need snack, and then over here he's about to fall off of a block tower. I mean, like we've been there, and so I feel like we get into these leadership roles and we forget what it's like to be down in there, you know, and um get in there and spend some time and you know, advocate for your teachers, advocate, you know, because the more respect we advocate for them, the more respect we're gonna get for ourselves, and really just kind of like it's time where we have to start using our voices, our types, typing, emailing. It's time that we kind of just stand up for education, ECE, more so.

SPEAKER_00:

So what do lawmakers not understand uh about your day?

SPEAKER_01:

They don't understand the tireless energy that we we just give. And even we have depleted it, we're still giving, like we're literally pouring from an empty container, you know, and I don't think that they understand, you know, that these children, their lives are on the line, you know. We talk about the pipeline to prison all the time, and I don't think that's like they don't understand, like, okay, so there's there's this crime, and then there's these criminals that are committing crimes, and then there's you know, children who are not graduating, and there's there's this, you know, read before three, where you know, there's children that are not reading before three. But it's like, then where do you think it starts? Like, like I just like we we continue to talk about these things that are happening with older children and all younger adults, but where do you think it all starts? Like, if like pick up a book and read Vykotsky, pick up a book and read something about Erickson, like really look into Maslow's hierarchy of needs, like really use your brain to think about how how this is a complete domino effect. And if we can fix this one group subgroup of education, which is ECE, then imagine you know how much just um I mean, I can't even imagine I mean, I don't even I just don't think we're all using the same brain.

SPEAKER_00:

Like so much. What boundaries do you have to set just to survive?

SPEAKER_01:

I just I just have to learn to say no. And when I when I say no, I say no, or really a sorry, not sorry type of boundary, like where I am now finally saying what it is and being very indifferent about what I'm saying and sorry, but I'm not sorry. And so I think for me that sounds like a weird boundary, but um just you know, my time for me. You know, I never got my hair done, never used to get my nails done. It was my husband and my children, my husband and my children, and repeat, and then other people's children. So there was never any time for me, but I make time for me because there's only one me. So good.

SPEAKER_00:

And I'm sorry that we have to take a quick break, but we'll be right back.

unknown:

Okay.

SPEAKER_00:

Listen, if your center or program is currently held together by tape, caffeine, and vibes, you might need consulting, and that's where abbreviated learning comes in. We work with childcare centers, studios, and youth programs that are doing their absolute best while simultaneously drowning in staffing issues, quality, enrollment gaps, and with that one parent who emails 14 times a day. We help you streamline your systems, fix the operational chaos, train your teachers, and get the program functioning like you're not just winging it every morning at 6 a.m. Whether you need policies, tours, staff development, or someone to just look at your program and say, Okay, here's how we unjanky this. We're here for you. Visit abbreviatedlearning.com to book consulting for your center or program because stumbling through work is funny on the podcast, but not in real life. All right, team, I want to thank our guest, Miss Chanel, for having circle time with us here at Stumbling Through Work. So we're wrapping up. So this is your call to action. So one thing is if you could stand in front of lawmakers for 60 seconds, what would you say?

SPEAKER_01:

Please come and spend some time in an early education classroom and see what goes on inside these rooms, spend a week in the classroom, listen to the teachers, really listen, take some notes, take it back to your your people, and really, really think about based on what we see and what we've heard, how can we stop this domino effect of this pipeline to preschool illiterateness?

SPEAKER_00:

What change do you want listeners to push for after hearing this episode?

SPEAKER_01:

I would just like listeners to pause and really listen to your gut when you hear about situations um as it pertains to ECE, budget being cut for classroom funding and whatnot, really take a pause and think about what can I do? It will take it'll take you five minutes to email your congresspeople, your senators. Like it'll take you, you know, just you know, just really support in any way you can to um, you know, be able to, you know, get earn some respect in EC. Get us the money we deserve.

SPEAKER_00:

Is there anything else you want us to know?

SPEAKER_01:

Nope, I think I've talked to people here often enough. That's my toolbox.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I want to thank you so much for being with us today. And that's all that we have for this episode. And other than that, we will talk to y'all later. All right, bye.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you. Bye.

SPEAKER_00:

All right, that's another episode of Stumbling Through Work where educators figure shit out. If today made you laugh, think, or just say, Wow, that's my life.

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Jerek Hough

Host