The Ripple Effect: Helping Teachers Thrive – Empowering Educators Through Self-Care

Giving Ourselves Grace We tell other people to give themselves grace—but how often do we offer that same grace to ourselves? In this solo episode, Aimée explores the grace teachers need, too: the inner critic, perfectionism, the pressure to do everything, accepting our limits, boundaries, accountability, and compassion for the people we are still becoming. Grace isn't about lowering our standards or pretending our choices don't matter. It's about learning to take responsibility without turning every mistake into evidence that something is wrong with us. Pasted markdown What if we could be accountable for who we are becoming without being cruel to who we are today? Continue the Reflection Visit The Ripple Effect for episode resources and the accompanying Professional Development Reflection Guide: The Ripple Effect: Helping Teachers Thrive The way we care for ourselves creates ripples far beyond us. 🌐 Connect with Us Website: www.therippleeffect.io Instagram: @rippleeffect.teachers Facebook: The Ripple Effect Podcast Linktree: linktr.ee/rippleeffect.teachers ⚠️ Disclaimer The content shared on The Ripple Effect: Helping Teachers Thrive is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for therapy, counseling, medical advice, or mental health treatment. If you or someone you know is in crisis, please contact a licensed mental health professional or call 911 immediately. Always seek the guidance of a qualified provider with any questions you may have regarding your mental or emotional health.

Awareness, the Unseen Struggle, and the Space Before We React with Dr. Scott Cohen What if the behavior we see is only part of the story? In this episode of The Ripple Effect: Helping Teachers Thrive, Aimée Donoho is joined by Dr. Scott Cohen, a physician who spent more than three decades caring for children and families and whose work now focuses on ADHD and lifestyle health. Together, they explore Awareness from both sides of the classroom: what may be happening beneath a student's behavior—and what may be happening within the educator who is responding to it. Scott shares how challenging behavior can sometimes reflect an unsolved problem a young person may not yet understand or know how to communicate. The conversation then turns toward the educator: What happens to our patience, attention, and ability to remain curious when we are tired, hungry, stressed, or overwhelmed? Aimée and Scott explore the space between reaction and response, along with the often-overlooked roles of sleep, nourishment, movement, and restorative practices in educator well-being. This isn't about asking teachers to diagnose their students—or giving educators another wellness checklist. It's an invitation to notice: what is happening within us, what we may not see in someone else, and what becomes possible when we create just a little more space before we respond. And the conversation closes with a question at the heart of The Ripple Effect: Who was the teacher who made you feel seen? About Dr. Scott Cohen Dr. Scott Cohen is a physician with more than three decades of experience in pediatrics. His current work focuses on ADHD and lifestyle health, supporting children, teens, and families through everyday foundations of well-being including nutrition, restorative sleep, physical activity, meditation, and other lifestyle practices. In your conversation, he describes his current work as coaching families of children and teenagers with ADHD. For teachers who are also parents, Scott's work may offer additional resources for understanding and supporting children and teens with ADHD. Learn more about Dr. Cohen and his work: Lifestyle Health Consultants Continue the Reflection Visit The Ripple Effect for episode resources and the accompanying Professional Development Reflection Guide: The Ripple Effect: Helping Teachers Thrive The way we care for ourselves creates ripples far beyond us. 🌐 Connect with Us Website: www.therippleeffect.io Instagram: @rippleeffect.teachers Facebook: The Ripple Effect Podcast Linktree: linktr.ee/rippleeffect.teachers ⚠️ Disclaimer The content shared on The Ripple Effect: Helping Teachers Thrive is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for therapy, counseling, medical advice, or mental health treatment. If you or someone you know is in crisis, please contact a licensed mental health professional or call 911 immediately. Always seek the guidance of a qualified provider with any questions you may have regarding your mental or emotional health.

Welcome to Season Two of The Ripple Effect: Helping Teachers Thrive. We begin with Awareness—and one simple question: How am I showing up? Educators are extraordinary at noticing others. We notice the student who is unusually quiet, the colleague who seems overwhelmed, and the subtle shifts in a classroom before anyone says a word. But how often do we turn that same attention toward ourselves? In this solo episode, Aimée explores awareness as the place where growth begins. She reflects on the difference between functioning and truly being well, the signals our bodies and emotions give us, and the small space awareness can create between reaction and response. And within that space is something powerful: choice. We may not be able to choose what happens around us, but greater awareness can help us become more intentional about how we respond—and how we want to show up. As a new school year begins, this episode is an invitation to notice without judgment, listen with curiosity, and consider two questions: How am I showing up? How do I want to show up? Because awareness isn’t something we simply teach our students. It’s something we can practice alongside them. That’s the ripple. References & Resources Tammy Helfrich - “How You Show Up” A reflection on intentionality and how we choose to show up in our lives. Read “How You Show Up” Daniel J. Siegel - Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation Awareness, reflection, and our capacity to observe our internal experiences. Richard J. Davidson & Sharon Begley - The Emotional Life of Your Brain Emotional patterns and the brain’s capacity for change. 🌐 Connect with Us Website: www.therippleeffect.io Instagram: @rippleeffect.teachers Facebook: The Ripple Effect Podcast Linktree: linktr.ee/rippleeffect.teachers ⚠️ Disclaimer The content shared on The Ripple Effect: Helping Teachers Thrive is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for therapy, counseling, medical advice, or mental health treatment. If you or someone you know is in crisis, please contact a licensed mental health professional or call 911 immediately. Always seek the guidance of a qualified provider with any questions you may have regarding your mental or emotional health.

As the school year comes to a close, this episode offers a moment to pause, reflect, and honor what we’ve carried. This is not a recap. It’s a space to acknowledge the time, energy, and care we’ve given—often in ways that go unseen. Together, we reflect on: • the moments that mattered • the emotional labor educators carry • self-regulation and repair • releasing what no longer needs to be held • and stepping into summer with intention, restoration, and care This episode also explores the importance of unplugging from productivity, reconnecting with joy, and remembering that rest is not something we earn—it is something we need. Because maybe the goal is not to return in August more efficient… but more connected to ourselves. Thank you for showing up this season. And thank you for the work you continue to do with such care. 📚 Resources Mentioned: My Wellness Verse Truth for Teachers by Angela Watson 🌐 Connect with Us Website: www.therippleeffect.io Instagram: @rippleeffect.teachers Facebook: The Ripple Effect Podcast Linktree: linktr.ee/rippleeffect.teachers ⚠️ Disclaimer The content shared on The Ripple Effect: Helping Teachers Thrive is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for therapy, counseling, medical advice, or mental health treatment. If you or someone you know is in crisis, please contact a licensed mental health professional or call 911 immediately. Always seek the guidance of a qualified provider with any questions you may have regarding your mental or emotional health.

April can be a complex time for educators. The energy of the beginning of the year has faded, and the end is not quite in reach. In this episode of The Ripple Effect: Helping Teachers Thrive, Aimee is joined by therapist, educator, and author Dr. Lorraine Freedle for a conversation on sustaining meaning in helping professions. Together, they explore: What it means to take the long view of care How creativity and identity evolve over time The connection between exhaustion and transformation The powerful idea that creation and destruction can exist at the same time Through the story of the 2018 Kīlauea eruption, Lorraine offers a powerful reframe: that even in moments of fatigue, uncertainty, and disruption, something meaningful may still be unfolding. This episode is an invitation to pause, reflect, and reconnect with what sustains you. Resources & Links 📖 When a Goddess Erupts by Lorraine Freedle 🎥 Fire and Sand: Healing in the Wake of the 2018 Kīlauea Eruptio 🌐 Lorraine Freedle Website Reflection Question What is being born in your life right now? 🌐 Connect with Us Website: www.therippleeffect.io Instagram: @rippleeffect.teachers Facebook: The Ripple Effect Podcast Linktree: linktr.ee/rippleeffect.teachers ⚠️ Disclaimer The content shared on The Ripple Effect: Helping Teachers Thrive is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for therapy, counseling, medical advice, or mental health treatment. If you or someone you know is in crisis, please contact a licensed mental health professional or call 911 immediately. Always seek the guidance of a qualified provider with any questions you may have regarding your mental or emotional health.