What if your students were living their own version of Severance? In this episode, I explore how science fiction can illuminate the hidden architecture of our classrooms — starting with the unsettling parallels between the world of Severance and the way students split their authentic thinking from academic performance.

From AI-written essays to the quiet grief of “bleed-through moments,” this is a look into cognitive residue, compartmentalized learning, and what it takes to build a classroom that resists separation and invites wholeness.

"Back in the day, (before COVID) students could actually focus..." Every teacher has heard it. Many of us have said it.

But what if our fears about "kids these days" are hiding something deeper - something the we as teachers haven't been ready to talk about that speaks to something real and urgent in education?

Let's talk about what's really at stake.

Flash sale - https://english-classroom-architect.thrivecart.com/ducks-in-a-row-bundle/

In 1996, Michael Johnson won two Olympic golds by training less intensely than his competitors. Weird, right?

Explore how the counterintuitive concept of 'sub-maximal' training—focusing on sustainability over constant maximum effort—might be the key to teaching excellence without burnout.

This episode challenges everything you think you know about peak performance in the classroom.

Resources Mentioned:

• Energy Aligned Guide: https://english-classroom-architect.thrivecart.com/energy-aligned-teaching-guide/