SUMMARY

We are re-releasing this conversation with Rockwall ISD leader Dr. Shanon Zais because late October can feel like a grind for educators. This is the moment when stamina dips, the calendar is packed, and a reset matters. Shanon offers embodied, practical wisdom on rest, boundaries, and community care that lands differently right now. On re-listen, we also reflect on why this message is urgent, including Chris’s honest update about navigating breast cancer and the reminder that you do not have to, and cannot, do this work alone.

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Shanon distills four core values, take care of yourself and each other, be professional, plan for success, and have fun. She shows what this looks like in real life, PLC time inside the workday, quiet spaces for nervous system resets, and her 36-marbles practice that keeps each week intentional. The throughline is simple, rested adults drive healthy schools.

If you listened the first time, listen again, new lines will jump out. If this is your first time, welcome, we are glad you are here!

CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction and Context of the Re-release
02:59 The Importance of Rest and Well-being in Education
06:03 Shannon Zeiss: A Leader's Journey and Philosophy
08:55 Community and Support: The Power of Togetherness
11:37 Core Values and Their Impact on School Culture
14:45 The Role of Fun and Connection in Education
17:58 The Significance of Intentional Leadership
20:41 The 36 Marbles: A Visual Representation of Time
23:30 Final Thoughts and Reflections on Leadership and Rest

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SUMMARY

What would it look like for your calendar to reflect your deepest values, not just your obligations? In this powerful follow-up to Part 1, Michelle Kinder shares 10 practical attention management practices that support mental health and nervous system regulation. From reframing to-do lists to breaking up with notifications, each practice offers a small shift that can spark real change. Whether you’re overwhelmed, overstretched, or just ready for more peace, this episode offers simple ways to live more aligned with what matters most.

CHAPTERS

00:00 – Introduction & Radical Hope Recap

02:10 – Practice 1: Calendar Your Values

06:30 – Practice 2: Single Task in Small Blocks

10:30 – Practice 3: Automate What Drains & Sustains You

14:30 – Practice 4: Master To-Do + Done-for-the-Day Lists

18:30 – Practice 5: Unsubscribe Relentlessly + Offline Emailing

22:30 – Practice 6: Break Up with Notifications

25:30 – Practice 7: Practice a Positive No

28:00 – Practice 8: Memento Mori (Remember You Will Die)

30:00 – Practice 9: Build Tech-Free Rituals

32:00 – Practice 10: Attention as Generosity

35:00 – Final Reflections & Listener Invitation

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SUMMARY

This one feels like a deep breath. Sharon Bradley lets us into the story that made her an educator, teaching her brother what school hadn’t, and how that love widened into a career of pulling kids in instead of pushing them out. She shows us why “take care of the big people so they can take care of the little people” isn’t a slogan; it’s a strategy.

We talk about practical care for adults (the kind that actually fits in a school day), her S.E.L.F. check-in, Start, Experiment, Let go, Finish, and the moment a stage-three cancer diagnosis at 36 made “health is wealth” non-negotiable. Sharon names the boundary work, the permission leaders must give, and the simple changes (leave on time, ask stay-interview questions, build community care) that make classrooms calmer and lives lighter. If you’re running on fumes, this conversation is a hug and a nudge: you are allowed to be well, and when you are, everyone in your care benefits.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction to the Podcast and Guest
02:48 Sharon Bradley's Journey in Education
05:47 The Importance of Social-Emotional Learning
08:56 Supporting Educators' Well-Being
11:54 Creating a Supportive Environment for Students and Staff
14:40 The Impact of Personal Health on Professional Life
17:27 The Role of Community in Education
20:48 Practical Strategies for Educators
23:46 The Power of Pause and Reflection
26:37 Stay Interviews and Teacher Retention
29:33 Final Thoughts and Conclusion

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SUMMARY

In Radical Hope: Attention Management for Mental Health (Part 1), Michelle Kinder explores how the way we direct our attention shapes not only our inner world but also our relationships, choices, and sense of meaning. Drawing from research, lived practice, and the book Indistractable, Michelle reframes attention management away from productivity hacks and toward well-being.

Through powerful metaphors, like the flashlight that illuminates what we choose to notice, she shows how even small shifts in focus can reduce anxiety, restore energy, and bring us closer to the life we want. Listeners will learn how traction versus distraction is defined by alignment with our deepest values, why time management is often really pain management, and how simple discernment questions can help us right-size what deserves our attention.

This episode is an invitation to reclaim our focus as an act of radical hope. By choosing where we shine our mental flashlight, we gain agency in our responses, open space for connection, and ripple out more presence to our students, colleagues, and communities

CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction to Attention Management for Mental Health
05:04 Understanding Traction vs. Distraction
10:49 The Role of Internal and External Triggers
17:22 Pre-Commitments and Structuring Attention
22:40 Shifting from Problem-Focused to Outcome-Focused
30:52 The Power of Attention Filters
38:31 Radical Hope and the Choice of Attention

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SUMMARY:

The way you see students today can change a trajectory tomorrow.

In this episode of Oxygen for Educators, 2023 National Teacher of the Year Rebecka Peterson sits down with Michelle to talk about choosing the good without slipping into toxic positivity. Rebecka shares how listening to understand, not to be understood, changed her teaching and her students’ outcomes. She tells the story of her “one good thing” practice that trained her brain to notice what is working, then create more of it. From there, we dig into why principals set the tone for an entire building, why teachers quite literally hold our democracy, and why front-loading connection is not a luxury - It is the work.

Practical takeaways you can use today

• Front-load connection. The time comes back to you a hundred times over.

• Train your attention. Capture one good thing each day to rewire what you notice.

• When the world feels big, get small. Focus on who is right in front of you.

• Hold a yes and mindset. Hard work, and meaningful work.

• Tell your story to students, then schedule 5–15 minute student story slots.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Finding the Good in Challenging Times
02:55 Introducing Rebecca Peterson: A Teacher's Journey
06:00 The Impact of Personal Stories in Education
08:47 The Role of Relationships in Student Success
11:42 The Power of Listening and Understanding
14:52 Transformative Experiences as a Teacher of the Year
17:50 The Importance of High-Quality Educators
20:47 Navigating Trauma in Education
23:26 Empathy and Democracy in Education
26:28 The Practice of Noticing the Good
29:20 The Yes And Profession: Balancing Challenges and Purpose
32:21 Closing Thoughts: Gratitude and Hope for Educators

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SUMMARY:

In this Oxygen for Educators Radical Hope episode, Michelle Kinder gets practical about “coping flexibility,” the everyday skill of noticing when your go-to strategy is no longer serving you, then choosing a better fit for this moment. Educators already live flexibly in classrooms, yet many of us go rigid with our own wellbeing. Michelle names the two big lanes of coping, problem focused and emotion focused, and shows how to choose between them with less judgment and more curiosity. You will try a brief nervous system check-in, then learn four simple practices, Awareness Pause, Strategy Swap, Coping Playlist, and Opposite Day experiment. This is not a magic fix, it is a kind, doable way to suffer less, model resilience for students, and keep moving with hope.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Flexibility beats perfection, notice what helps right now, not what used to help.

• Match the tool to the moment, problem focused when you can act, emotion focused when you cannot.

• Run the flexibility sequence, assess, select, monitor, then adjust.

• Try the four practices, Awareness Pause, Strategy Swap, Coping Playlist, Opposite Day experiment.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Understanding Coping Flexibility
02:49 The Two Types of Coping Strategies
05:58 The Importance of Monitoring and Adjusting
08:32 Coping Flexibility and the Nervous System
10:54 Inner Dialogue and Coping Flexibility
13:54 Practical Strategies for Coping Flexibility
17:28 Self-Care vs. Self-Blame
20:03 The Wisdom of Coping Flexibility

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SUMMARY

In this episode of Oxygen for Educators, Claudia Vega, former Dallas principal and founder of Whose Books and ARCO, walks us through building a true reading culture in Oak Cliff. She connects book deserts to historic redlining, then shows what access, representation, and a welcoming space can unlock for families. We talk gatekeeping, community surveys, and curation that lets people feel seen. The takeaway for educators is simple and doable, notice what fuels you, what drains you, and make small, steady edits to protect your humanity while you serve. Along the way, Claudia offers a model for campus leaders too, treat your classroom or school as a community hub, not just a compliance machine. ARCO has already gifted 5,000+ books and hosted 170+ low-cost events. This is equity, practiced daily.

CHAPTERS

00:00 The Hero Complex in Education
02:42 Claudia Vega's Journey from Educator to Entrepreneur
05:15 Building a Reading Culture in Communities
08:35 The Importance of Access to Books
11:36 Creating a Community Space for Literature
14:15 Addressing Historical Inequities in Access to Literature
17:28 The Role of Nonprofits in Promoting Literacy
20:17 Transforming Relationships with Reading
23:33 The Emotional Impact of Representation in Literature
26:21 Navigating Challenges in the Book Industry
29:19 Finding Purpose Beyond Traditional Roles
32:14 The Power of Community in Education
35:11 Hope and Resilience in the Face of Adversity
38:18 Creating Space for Self-Care in Education
41:14 The Impact of Small Actions on Community Change
44:18 Advice for Educators Facing Burnout
47:19 The Balance Between Personal and Professional Identity
50:11 The Journey of Self-Discovery and Reflection
53:05 The Importance of Listening to Inner Voices
56:06 Celebrating Community Achievements
58:55 The Future of Literacy and Community Engagement

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SUMMARY

Educators are carrying more than ever, and in the middle of all that noise, the inner critic often shouts the loudest. In this episode of the Radical Hope Series, Michelle Kinder offers practical, light-lift ways to quiet that critic and tune into a steadier guide, the inner mentor.

With relatable stories, examples pulled straight from the classroom, and strategies from Tara Mohr (Playing Big), Richard Schwartz (No Bad Parts), and Jay Early & Bonnie Weiss (Freedom from Your Inner Critic), Michelle shows how to:

• Spot and name the critic’s different disguises (from perfectionist to guilt tripper).

• Create distance and compassion instead of being overtaken by self-judgment.

• Call on the calm, grounded wisdom of your inner mentor, even in the middle of a busy school day.

This conversation is about moving from exhaustion to steadiness, from fear to freedom, and remembering that you already carry the wisdom you need. It’s not about silencing the critic, but choosing a truer voice so you can keep showing up, for yourself and for your students.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Understanding the Inner Critic and Inner Mentor
05:57 The Role of the Inner Mentor
10:45 Practicing Connection with the Inner Mentor
16:42 Types of Inner Critics

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