Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education
byJoseph Weisler
EducationSocietyCulturePersonalJournals
The Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education podcast is a platform dedicated to amplifying the voices of educators, students, and mental health professionals to explore the intersections of trauma, survival, resilience, and transformation in education.Through compelling interviews and personal stories, the podcast serves as a bridge between academic leaders, pre-service teachers, students, and those passionate about educational reform. Our mission is to foster critical conversations that lead to actionable change, promote trauma-informed education, and support educators in their pursuit of meaningful, impactful careers.Follow Us:Instagram: @classroomnarrativespodcastFacebook: Classroom Narratives Podcast
Episodes(40 episodes)
Season 4 - Episode 12
Windows, Mirrors, and the Stories That Save Us with Dr. Katie Egan Cunningham
đEpisode Synopsis In this powerful episode of Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down with literacy scholar and educator Dr. Katie Egan Cunningham to explore how stories shape the human experienceâboth inside and outside the classroom.Together, they examine why stories matter not only as texts but as lived experiences. From novels and playlists to social media and personal memory, stories help young people make sense of the world and themselves. Dr. Cunningham reflects on how literature allows students to see themselves and others through what educators call âwindows and mirrors,â while als...
Published: Mar 25, 2026Duration: 45m 32s
Season 4 - Episode 11
Early Warnings: What Educators Need to Know About Preventing School Violence (with Bruce Liebe)
Episode SynopsisIn this episode of Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education, Dr. Joey Weisler speaks with Bruce Liebe, a retired Illinois State Police officer with over 30 years of law enforcement experience and a longtime instructor in active threat training and tactical response.Together, they explore the intersection between education and preventionâspecifically how educators, administrators, and communities can recognize early warning signs that may indicate a student in distress or at risk of causing harm.Drawing from research, real cases, and decades of field experience, Bruce explains the five phases many active attackers mo...
Published: Mar 18, 2026Duration: 29m 21s
Season 4 - Episode 10
Beyond Behavior: Bev Johns on Advocacy, Trauma, and Supporting Teachers Who Speak Up (Bev Johns)
đ Episode Synopsis (for episode description)In this powerful conversation, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down with nationally recognized special education leader and behavioral consultant Bev Johns, whose four-decade career has helped shape special education law, classroom practice, and behavioral supports across the United States. Bev shares deeply personal storiesâfrom teaching students who were once denied access to school altogether, to advocating for legislation protecting students from harmful disciplinary practices.Together, they explore what happens when behavior is misunderstood, why teachersâ calls for help often go unheard, and how trauma, anxiety, and invisible disabilities manifest in classro...
Published: Mar 11, 2026Duration: 46m 21s
Season 4 - Episode 9
More Than Just a Principal: Servant Leadership, Differentiation, and the Human Side of School Leadership (Robert Hinchcliffe)
đď¸ Episodic Synopsis In this episode of Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education, Dr. Joey Weisler speaks with Principal Robert Hinchcliffeâaward-winning school leader, author of More Than Just Principals, and nationally recognized advocate for human-centered school leadership.Drawing on more than two decades as an elementary school administrator, Hinchcliffe shares what it truly means to lead a school in todayâs climate. He reflects on servant leadership, the emotional complexity of guiding teachers and students, and why visibility, relationships, and trust must come before compliance. He challenges rigid curriculum systems, emphasizing the importance of differentiation, teacher autonomy...
Published: Mar 4, 2026Duration: 57m 40s
Season 4 - Episode 8
From Crisis Response to Proactive Care: Safety, Systems, and Servant Leadership (Part II with Jeremy Brooks)
Episodic SynopsisIn Part II of this conversation with Jeremy Brooks, Classroom Narratives shifts from leadership identity to leadership responsibility â exploring school safety, crisis response, and the systems that support students, educators, and families during difficult moments.Jeremy reflects on guiding school communities through loss, the importance of transparent communication during crises, and the responsibility educators carry in balancing emotional care with professional boundaries. Together, he and Dr. Joey Weisler discuss proactive safety planning, SEL practices across disciplines, and the role of and PBIS frameworks in creating supportive school climates.At the center of...
Published: Feb 25, 2026Duration: 45m 56s
Season 4 - Episode 7
More Than a Title: Leadership Through Service and Presence (Part I with Jeremy Brooks)
Episode SynopsisIn Part I of this two-part conversation, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down with educator, former principal, doctoral researcher, and media host Jeremy Brooks to explore what leadership truly looks like during difficult moments in education.Drawing from his journey from classroom teacher to administrator to founder of Brooks Broadcasting, Jeremy reflects on how leadership is not defined by titles, but by presence, integrity, and service to students and educators. Together, Joey and Jeremy discuss teacher burnout, compassion fatigue, the importance of visible leadership in school communities, and how trauma-informed practices can shape healthier...
Published: Feb 18, 2026Duration: 28m 40s
Season 4 - Episode 6
The Invitation to Play: Building Community Through Storytelling with Rachael Harrington
đ Episode Synopsis In this episode of Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down with storyteller and teaching artist Rachael Harrington to explore how storytelling can rebuild connection, imagination, and community in the aftermath of isolation and disruption.Drawing from her background as a middle school art teacher and illustrator, Rachael shares how the âinvitation to playâ became central to her teaching philosophy and later evolved into her storytelling work with schools, libraries, and families. She reflects on creating Morning Circle during the COVID shutdown, using stories and art-making to provide routine, creativity, and emo...
Published: Feb 11, 2026Duration: 36m 54s
Season 4 - Episode 5
Rising Through the Unknown: Advocacy, Trust, and the Families Schools Donât Always See--with Mark Ingrassia
đ Episodic SynopsisWhat does it really mean to rise when the special education system feels overwhelming, opaque, and emotionally exhausting?In this episode of Classroom Narratives: Healing and Education, Dr. Joey Weisler is joined by Mark Ingrassia, longtime special education advocate, former teacher, parent-coach, and founder of Special Ed Rising: No Parent Left Behind. Together, they explore what families are facing behind the scenesâburnout, fear, withheld information, and the constant pressure to advocate without clear guidance.Mark shares both professional insight and lived experience, offering a compassionate look at why parents need trust...
Published: Feb 4, 2026Duration: 27m 35s
Season 4 - Episode 4
A Conversation With Dr. Adam Wolfsdorf (Pt II): Teaching in the Riptide: Trauma, Authority, and the Ethics of Response in the Classroom
đ§ Episodic SynopsisIn Part II of this conversation, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down again with educator-scholar Dr. Adam Wolfsdorf to examine what happens after disruptionâwhen trauma, authority, and behavior collide in the classroom. Moving beyond theory, this episode focuses on the ethical decisions educators must make in real time: when to intervene, when to pause, and when restraint is the most powerful pedagogical move.Drawing from personal experienceâincluding a formative moment as a Harvard undergraduate, classroom eruptions involving student crisis, and decades of teaching across secondary and higher educationâWolfsdorf interrogates how educa...
Published: Jan 28, 2026Duration: 47m 15s
Season 4 - Episode 3
A Conversation With Dr. Adam Wolfsdorf (Pt I): Teaching in the Riptide: Subversion, Power, and the Moments That Redefine the Classroom
đ§ Episodic SynopsisIn this return conversation (since spring 2025), Dr. Joey Weisler welcomes back Dr. Adam WolfsdorfâEnglish educator, scholar, and author of Teaching in the Riptideâfor a deep exploration of the moments in education that pull teachers off balance and force reckoning, reflection, and growth. Drawing on vivid classroom narratives, Dr. Wolfsdorf introduces the metaphor of the âriptideâ: those unpredictable, disorienting moments that no amount of lesson planning or graduate training can fully prepare educators for.Together, Weisler and Wolfsdorf examine obstructive and constructive subversions, unpacking how power shifts in classrooms when students challenge authority...
Published: Jan 21, 2026Duration: 42m 5s
Season 4 - Episode 2
A Conversation With Christopher S. Mukiibi (Part II): Connection Is the Cure: Burnout, Belonging, and the Future of Teaching
đ Episodic SynopsisIn Part II of this two-part conversation, Dr. Joey Weisler and Christopher S. Mukiibi turn toward the heart of the work: connection, burnout, courage, and the deep human need to feel seen. Chris shares what his burnout research revealed â that connection, not rest alone, is what keeps teachers alive in the work â and how isolation inside classrooms can quietly erode purpose.The conversation explores imposter syndrome, the nervous system in schools, public skepticism toward education, and why many educators still do the work despite misunderstanding or dismissal. Joey and Chris also reflect on the lif...
Published: Jan 14, 2026Duration: 30m 15s
Season 4 - Episode 1
A Conversation With Christopher S. Mukiibi (Part I): Real Learning Beyond Trauma and How Education Helps Us Suffer Less
đ Episodic Synopsis In this powerful conversation, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down with educator, mentor, and creator Christopher S. Mukiibi to explore what real learning actually isâand why education must help students suffer less, not just perform better. Drawing from his own first year of teaching after the pandemic, his âLearning Compassâ framework, and his experiences supporting students living through trauma, Chris speaks candidly about apathy, burnout, literacy, discipline, identity, and the deep human need for connection in schools.Together, Joey and Chris discuss how literacy gives language to pain, how students âact outâ experiences they cannot y...
Published: Jan 7, 2026Duration: 39m 15s
Season 3 - Episode 20
Making Moments Matter: Weisler Alumni (Pt. IV) -- Returning to College After Service: Trauma, Voice, and the Student Experience
đ§ Episodic SynopsisIn this Weisler Alumni segment of Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down with Tom âArmy Reserve Staff Sergeant, communications specialist, husband, and returning college studentâto explore what happens when education becomes a space for recovery rather than survival.Reflecting on his experience growing up in an underfunded rural school system, Tom shares how rigid, checkbox-driven classrooms pushed him away from higher educationâand how the military unexpectedly reintroduced him to learning as a form of leadership, reflection, and meaning-making. Through trauma-informed writing, open classroom design, and mentorship-centered dialogue, Tom descr...
Published: Dec 29, 2025Duration: 12m 43s
Season 3 - Episode 19
Making Moments Matter: Weisler Alumni (Pt. III) âBeyond Survival: Finding Voice and Purpose as a Student in Higher Education (reflection by Dieunise Pacius)
đ§ Episodic Synopsis In this powerful alumni spotlight episode of Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education, Dr. Joey Weisler reconnects with a former student, Dieunise, for an unfiltered conversation about what it truly means to be a student in todayâs education system. From Kâ12 classrooms to college lecture halls, Dieunise reflects on how education has shifted from learning to survivalâand why that shift is failing so many students.As a film and video student navigating an underfunded arts pathway, Dieunise shares the stark contrast between institutional support for STEM students and the isolation experienced by students...
Published: Dec 22, 2025Duration: 18m 59s
Season 3 - Episode 18
Making Moments Matter: Weisler Alumni (Pt. II) âDesigning Classrooms with Voice and Ownership (Florence Shirman)
đ§ Episodic Synopsis In this student-voice segment of Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down with former student Florence Shirman, a neuroscience and behavior major at Florida Atlantic University, to reflect on what learning feels like when education moves beyond grades and toward meaning.Florence speaks candidly about her journey through schoolâfrom early experiences shaped by internal pressure rather than external expectations, to a college classroom where choice, conversation, and community transformed how she engaged with writing and learning. She shares how her semester-long Your Voice, Your Change project allowed her to respo...
Published: Dec 17, 2025Duration: 22m 22s
Season 3 - Episode 17
Where Art Holds the Weight: Restorative Classrooms, Clear Boundaries, and the Role of Art with Dr. Lisa Kay
đ Show Notes In this episode, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down with Dr. Lisa Kayâart therapist, professor, and national leader in art educationâto unpack why classrooms can feel restorative but are not therapy rooms.Dr. Kay breaks down the essential differences between therapeutic spaces and clinical spaces, offers four pillars that make classrooms safer (predictability, flexibility, connection, empowerment), and explains how art-making helps students hold stress, regain control, and express what words canât.She also draws a clear boundary between art facilitation and art therapy, while sharing practical, classroom-ready art practices like âStr...
Published: Dec 10, 2025Duration: 30m 39s
Season 3 - Episode 16
What Literacy Really Looks Likeâin Policy, in Classrooms, and in the Communities Kids Call Home (Dr. Susan B. Neuman)
đ Episodic SynopsisIn this powerful episode, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down with Dr. Susan B. NeumanâNYU Professor of Childhood Education, former U.S. Assistant Secretary for Elementary & Secondary Education, and one of the most influential voices in early literacy. Together they trace the complex landscape of American reading practices, the politicization of literacy, and what it truly takes to build lifelong readers.Dr. Neuman challenges traditional narratives about literacy by reframing it as both a social experience and a community-driven practice, while naming the systemic forces that shape how children learn. From laundromats to groce...
Published: Dec 3, 2025Duration: 35m 58s
Season 3 - Episode 15
From Disillusionment to Fulfillment: Teaching with the HEART...A Mindset by Dr. Joey Weisler
In this deeply personal solo segment, Dr. Joey Weisler traces the journey from his childhood dream of teaching, to the profound disillusionment he faced entering the classroom months after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas tragedy, to the transformation that led him toward resilience, boundary-setting, and wholehearted teaching.Drawing on stories from his first year in the classroom, his doctoral research, and the wisdom of his kindergarten teacher Ms. Lynch, Dr. Weisler introduces The H.E.A.R.T. Mindsetâa trauma-informed, relationship-centered approach rooted in Habits, Engagement, Awareness, Resilience, and Telling Stories.This episode reframes what it...
Published: Nov 19, 2025Duration: 20m 10s
Season 3 - Episode 14
Thrillers, Humanity, and the Classroom: Inside the Mind of Author and Educator Lincoln James
đ Episode SynopsisIn this episode of Classroom Narratives: Healing and Education, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down with author and educator Lincoln James, whose work spans decades, genres, and emotional terrain. Known for his haunting thrillers and his compassionate presence in the classroom, Lincoln shares how his novelsâWe Are Human, Written Just for You, The Vanishing Eight, and moreâexplore the unspoken corners of grief, love, and identity. Together, they unpack how storytelling can be both a survival instinct and an act of healing, and why the same empathy that drives a good novel can transform how we teac...
Published: Nov 12, 2025Duration: 27m 40s
Season 3 - Episode 13
Safe Enough: Redefining Healing, Safety, and Story with Dr. Jamie Marich
đ Episode Synopsis In this deeply reflective episode, Dr. Joey Weisler welcomes Dr. Jamie Marichâtrauma specialist, expressive artist, author of over a dozen books, and founder of the Institute for Creative Mindfulness. Together, they explore how trauma is not a life sentence but an unhealed wound that can mend through care, validation, and creative expression. From the limits of âsafe spaceâ language to the role of belonging, narrative, and authenticity in classrooms, this conversation bridges psychology and pedagogy with heart. Dr. Marichâs lived experience and clinical insight invite us to see healing as both personal and collectiveâ...
Published: Nov 5, 2025Duration: 28m 32s