The Aaron Jacobs Podcast

42-The Sound of Silence

Teaching has always been an overstimulating job. The constant barrage of questions from students. The hundreds of split second decisions that need to be made every day. The amount of time in front of other people. The amount of time you need to be "ON" as a person. And now...our WORLD is overstimulating. With the propagation of smartphones, many people, adults and children alike, are in a constant state of overstimulation. If you've listened to the podcast before, you may know my story about how the "social and noise overload" from being a high school band director led to a major depression episode, and ultimately, causing me to leave teaching for good. Let me tell you...it is really challenging to teach music when you literally start to resent "sound" in general from overstimulation. And unfortunately, this resulted in some less than stellar interactions with students and colleagues in my last year of teaching. I think teachers, students, and frankly...everyone could do well with more mental health maintenance practices that focus on desaturating yourself from sound, screens and just taking in information. And while I'm not a psychologist or a psychiatrist, I can say there are habits I have now that I consider just as important as my nutrition, fitness and hydration habits that are geared toward my mental health. If you are a teacher and feeling overstimulated, I'd bet you can relate to this week's topic. Take care, and be well. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/25155-anhedonia

41-Adolescence: A Wake Up Call

The hit show Adolescence on Netflix has sparked a TON of conversations, controversies and various interpretations over its true intentions. Even if there is some sort of political bias at play here, there hasn't been a show that I've seen in years that does such a brilliant job at depicting: -The downsides and dangers of young children using social media -The level of cluelessness that a lot of adults have around kids use of technology...even in their own homes No matter what your politics are, to me, this show is a wake up call to draw attention to one of the most serious problems human civilization is facing...the development of the brains of our next generation(s)...and how it is being adversely manipulated through the consumption of social media. And while I agree that there is no putting the "cat back in the bag" as the saying goes... We as adults, teachers, parents...and society at large must take a more active role in guiding the use of the powerful technologies we have recently become so very dependent upon. As always...one short podcast isn't going to solve the world's problems. Just doing my part to keep the conversation going.

40-Cutting Costs

This one is definitely gonna make some people mad. We as public educators and supporters need to try to understand why so many people want to eliminate the Department of Education. I see a ton of education content creators, teachers, influencers, etc. talking about the essential services that the DoE provides. I agree. But I'm also seeing a lot of emotional arguements. And having worked in education for 15 years...some people are only for INCREASING education spending and do not think it is reasonable to cut any spending EVER. Any cut feels like a personal attack to them. Let's see if we can agree on cutting WAY back on this one thing... Administrator salaries. The amount of administration in education at ALL levels AND their salaries as BLOWN UP over the last few decades. And we know the education system isn't any better off. Unlike a lot of arguments I see online...this is not an attack on people. This is a critique of ideas and systems. And no this is not my complete breakdown of the entire issue of the cutting of the Department of Education. But I think it is a very important piece to talk about when it comes to funding education that I do not see enough teachers talking about. Maybe we can have a calm, rational and nuanced discussion...but its the internet so I'm not getting my hopes up.

39-Stop Being Average

Maybe I've woken up on the wrong side of the bed all week lol... If you want to be healthy, you can't be average. Believe me...I would LOVE it if the average in America was healthier. But if you want to change your life, it isn't going to be comfortable or easy. What you need to do can be SIMPLE though. But most people get bored with simple or give up before they see the results they want. Doing a couple of workouts and eating a couple of healthy meals for a couple week isn't gonna cut it. You have to work towards a new lifestyle. But the amount of effort that requires...compared to the average American? It actually surprised ME how simple and easy it is to be above average. So...stop being average. If you're offended by that phrase...good. I hope it pushes you to change yourself for the better.

38-Fat Shaming...has got to stop

Going a bit more unscripted today... One of the guys in my program was starting to feel unwelcome at his current gym. He's been crushing his nutrition and meal prep... But some of the more experienced weight lifters are trying to rush him off his sets and just generally make him feel unwelcome. As someone who didn't grow up being a "sports" kid, wasn't the most popular or athletic... We've GOT to make gyms more welcoming spaces for new people. As a coach...its a tricky balance to help people become problem aware without venturing into projecting feelings of shame. Thats my goal...but I'm sure I fall short of that from time to time. That being said...blatantly pushing people out of a gym because they are still learning what to do is WRONG. Be the person YOU needed when you were first starting to lift weights.