Megan Faherty has nearly 20 years of classroom experience at the secondary level. After years of struggling to stay on top of assessment, she made some transformative mindset shifts, and wrote about them for our Truth for Teachers writers collective. She shares: I used to procrastinate on grading anything until there was a deadline (like the end of a grading period or approaching parent conferences). Then I had to sort through my grading folders to list everything I had to grade – and those...
24 days ago • 2 min read
I spent most of my teaching career thinking my job was to get information into kids' heads. And when students couldn't focus or were fidgety or seemed emotionally dysregulated, I thought the solution was better classroom management or clearer expectations and more inclusive accommodations. I never once thought, "Maybe their bodies are trying to tell them something." Recently I talked with Caroline Williams, a science journalist who's spent years researching the mind-body connection, and the...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
As a teacher, I had to be at work at 7:30 a.m. The kids arrived at 7:45 a.m. And if you're like me, you are not realllllllly at your best first thing after waking. Compound that issue with the switch to daylight savings in spring, and you're suddenly going to work in the dark again? No thank you. I would set my alarm for the latest possible second, and then rush around trying to make sure I wasn’t late. Any unexpected interruption or disruption became a big problem. Because I left myself no...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
In November, I launched what's probably the most innovative and powerful resource I've ever attempted to create. It was also the most personal thing I've ever created, because I built it for people like me. Motivation Lab is a coaching app designed around neuroscience and powered by AI, to help you stop fighting against your brain and work with your natural tendencies for getting stuff done. To my delight, over the past few months, hundreds of people have been trying the app out, and the...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
The biggest concern I hear from teachers about AI is around ethics, especially environmental impact. So many teachers feel conflicted about artificial intelligence. They're using it, but they've also feel like it's terrible for the environment, trained on stolen content, taking away jobs, and rotting our brains. And then there's the practical reality: it's 2026, and AI is literally embedded in everything online now. Instagram search. Email filters. Even online bill pay. So ... what are doing...
2 months ago • 3 min read
I've been quietly working on some new projects I want to tell you about. For over 20 years, pretty much everything I've created online has been for educators. And I'm not stopping that--Truth for Teachers isn't going anywhere. But over the years, I've noticed that a lot of what I talk about goes way beyond the classroom: productivity, mindset, how our brains work, navigating burnout, setting boundaries, figuring out what actually matters to you. I keep hearing from folks who share my work...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Our most confident moments come when we're in familiar territory. The uncertain ones are when we're growing, adapting, reaching new students in new ways. View on Instagram I've talked about imposter syndrome as a teacher on the podcast previously. And recently, I was chatting with my former colleague at BrainPOP, Andrew Gardner, about how imposter syndrome shows up now. Andrew has a unique perspective on imposter syndrome, because his worries about not being good enough are deeply intertwined...
3 months ago • 3 min read
"Stick to reading, writing, and arithmetic. Stop pushing your agenda on our kids." If you've been teaching for more than a minute, you already know something doesn't add up about that request. Because there's no such thing as a values-neutral classroom. There never has been. Every time we decide which history gets a full unit and which gets a mini-lesson... Every time we choose whose stories show up in our classroom libraries while others gather dust on shelves... Every time we select which...
3 months ago • 1 min read
On Monday this week, I was in Washington, DC, for the release of research as part of the SAFE AI Companions Task Force. It’s a part of a volunteer effort I’m part of (the EDSAFE AI Alliance). The task force brought together 70+ educators, researchers, policymakers, tech developers, and youth advocates to recommend guidelines for AI companion use in education. Meaning, we have concerns about young people using AI chatbots and other artificial intelligence “companions,” and as leaders in our...
3 months ago • 5 min read