Author: Joan McBean
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Choosing Alignment Over Survival
If protecting your peace feels like rebellion, it may be a sign your workplace is the problem. Teachers often talk about working in toxic environments. But sometimes the environment itself isn’t toxic at all—it’s one or two individuals within it. Even the most meaningful workplace can become unbearable when shaped by unhealthy personalities. Across professions,…
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A Failing Society Begins with a Failed Education System
A society doesn’t fall apart all at once. It erodes slowly – through lowered expectations, blurred accountability, and an education system that confuses access with excellence. I see this erosion every day, and it worries me. Students are now completing semester-long courses in just a few weeks. What should be a process of sustained thinking…
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Teaching in a Time When Teachers Don’t Matter
I recently watched a video on Facebook posted by a friend who is a veteran teacher titled “Things 2025 Taught Me Instead of How to Dougie.” In the video, teenagers danced confidently while she attempted to keep up—clearly outmatched by their rhythm but completely winning in spirit. It made me smile. As the video continued,…
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Confession of a Teacher: The Mental To-Do List That Never Ends
Every teacher carries one- that invisible list that never ends. it lives in our heads, and hums in the background of our daily lives, and follows us long after the final bell rings. This is what it feels like to live inside The Mental To-Do List That Never Ends. There’s a list that lives inside…
Between the Lines 