Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education

The Power of Love in Caregiving: Winston Meikle on Connecting With Care Instead of Fear

📝 Episodic Synopsis What happens when caregiving stops being driven by fear and starts being rooted in connection? In this deeply reflective episode of Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down with nurse leader, educator, healthcare innovator, and author Winston Meikle for a conversation that bridges the worlds of healthcare and education through one shared reality: the emotional weight of caring for others. Drawing from more than four decades in nursing and patient advocacy, Winston explores burnout, survival mode, patient-centered care, authenticity, and the emotional toll that helping professions often place on the people within them. Together, Joey and Winston discuss the parallels between hospitals and classrooms, the fear-based systems that shape caregiving professions, and why genuine human connection may be the very thing that protects caregivers from losing themselves. The conversation also dives into Winston’s developing “Power of Love Theory,” energetic presence, trauma, emotional healing, and the importance of remaining authentic in professions that often pressure people to emotionally disconnect. This episode is for educators, nurses, caregivers, leaders, and anyone trying to serve others without abandoning themselves in the process 🔗 Show Links and Resources 📌 Winston Meikle's website [https://poweroflovetheory.com/] 📌 The Power of Love a Nursing Theory: When science meets spirits, A new kind of nurse is born (book by Winston Meikle) [https://www.amazon.com/Power-Love-Nursing-Theory-science/dp/1805587692] 📌 Classroom Narratives podcast segment with Ron Yap [https://rss.com/podcasts/teachertestimony/2781882/]

Teaching with HEART and SOUL: "The Look" That Taught Me to Care, Not Carry

📝 Episode Synopsis In the first installment of the HEART & SOUL series, Dr. Joey Weisler shares the deeply personal story that helped shape the foundation of the HEART framework. Long before he entered a classroom as a teacher, Joey recognized what he calls "the look"—the quiet expression carried by people who simply want to feel visible. Through reflections on a high school friendship, and the loss of the friend to suicide, and the lessons learned from years of trying to help others heal through direct intervention efforts, Joey explores the difference between caring for people and carrying people. Along the way, he examines how empathy can become both a gift and a burden, and why educators need structures that allow them to support students without sacrificing themselves in the process. This episode serves as the emotional origin story behind HEART, offering listeners an invitation to reflect on their own motivations for entering education and challenging the belief that seeing someone's pain automatically makes us responsible for solving it. 🔗 Links and Show Notes 📌 Join HERE for the HEART and SOUL book launch [https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/form/EhQVD5RqQp38EL3ZZB0M?fbclid=IwY2xjawRZ-0JleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFBc1JoNEtQNkIzT3lOejA3c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHkJiV6DI6uEYBES-AXXtj6arUvNT8X580mdFmL-pyrKhCHztb5utFgCDAMfx_aem_K-qy4ogszXnqz7CW-60Ijg] 📌 CLASSROOM NARRATIVES segment: Stepping into the classroom – An introduction to the "Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education" podcast journey with host Joey Weisler [https://rss.com/podcasts/teachertestimony/1661266/] 📌 CLASSROOM NARRATIVES segment: From Disillusionment to Fulfillment: Teaching with the HEART...A Mindset by Dr. Joey Weisler [https://rss.com/podcasts/teachertestimony/2330848/]

Making Moments Matter: Weisler Alumni (Pt. V)-- Growing Up Through Grief, Friendship, and Parkland

📝 Episodic Synopsis In this special “Weisler Alumni” segment of Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education, Dr. Joey Weisler reconnects with Haylie — a former Parkland-area student now studying sociology and higher education at Georgia Southern University. Together, they reflect on growing up in the aftermath of the MSD tragedy, navigating grief during adolescence, and the educators who helped make school feel safe, human, and healing. Haylie opens up about losing her father to glioblastoma during middle school, the friendships that carried her through, and the classroom environments that helped her breathe during difficult seasons of life. From calming writing exercises and stream-of-consciousness journals to the impact of compassionate teachers, this conversation explores what students remember long after the lesson plans are gone. At its heart, this episode is a reminder that sometimes the smallest moments in education — feeling heard, welcomed, and emotionally safe — become the moments students carry forever.

Adjust the Flame: Exploring Anger and Emotional Intelligence in Schools with Dr. Mitch Abrams

📝 Episodic Synopsis ‼️ PROFANITY LANGUAGE ALERT in this episode ‼️ What if anger itself isn’t the problem? In this powerful episode of Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education, Dr. Joey Weisler speaks with psychologist and anger specialist Dr. Mitch Abrams to unpack one of the most misunderstood emotions in education and society. Drawing from his book I’m Not Fcking Angry: Adjust the Flame to Get What You Want and Need*, Dr. Abrams challenges the idea that anger should simply be suppressed or feared. Instead, he explores the critical distinction between anger and aggression, the relationship between trauma and emotional dysregulation, and why emotional intelligence must be intentionally taught—not assumed. Together, Joey and Dr. Abrams examine classroom power dynamics, teacher burnout, school violence, emotional validation, and the hidden psychological realities shaping student behavior. From Parkland to Sandy Hook, from prisons to classrooms, this conversation confronts the difficult truths educators quietly carry while offering practical strategies for emotional regulation and healthier school culture. This episode is not about “staying calm at all costs.” It is about learning how to recognize emotion before it reaches the breaking point—and understanding what happens when people feel unseen for too long 🔗 Show Notes and Resources 📌 I’m Not F*cking Angry!: Adjust the Flame to Get What You Want and Need (Book by Dr. Mitch Abrams) [https://www.amazon.com/Im-Not-cking-Angry-Adjust-ebook/dp/B0FQDNH6K1/ref=sr_1_2?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ggCy8kYl82a9UL2Mc4psV2N333Qsz2Mt_McKn97NTKqreeBYGnNG-_N2SrfeICe6VEX8HuWN-o5dbM2SrPvLdQ.iv4shCdmYzE6UFweJ0RJJ4PiE9l6t3TbaMmiZ_EkzLs&dib_tag=se&qid=1779680784&refinements=p_27%253AMitch+Abrams&s=books&sr=1-2] 📌 Dr. Mitch Abrams website [https://drmitchabrams.com/] 📌 For Dr. Abrams' Beach scene Imagery & Visualization script + PMR Muscle Relaxation Script, please email mitchabramspsyd@gmail.com [mitchabramspsyd@gmail.com]

When Presence Becomes Prevention: School Safety, Trauma, and Educator Voice with Abbey Clements

‼️DISCLAIMER‼️ This segment discusses themes of violence within communities, significantly around Sandy Hook Elementary School (2012). Please take care of yourself while listening. In this deeply moving episode of Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down with Abbey Clements, a second-grade teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School during the tragedy of December 14, 2012. Drawing from the anthology If I Don’t Make It, I Love You, Abbey reflects on survival, grief, educator presence, and the invisible emotional labor teachers carry in the aftermath of collective trauma. Together, Joey and Abbey explore what it means to “show up” for students when there are no perfect words, why educators are often excluded from conversations about school safety, and how teacher advocacy itself can become an act of prevention. The conversation also highlights the work of Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence, the national organization Abbey co-founded alongside Sarah Lerner to amplify educator voices, support impacted communities, and advocate for trauma-informed prevention efforts nationwide. From Sandy Hook to Parkland and beyond, this episode is a powerful reminder that sometimes the most important thing a teacher can do is simply remain present. 🔗 Show Links and Resources 📌 If I Don't Make It, I Love You: Survivors in the Aftermath of School Shootings (anthology edited by Amye Archer and Loren Klineman) [https://www.skyhorsepublishing.com/9781510772960/if-i-dont-make-it-i-love-you/] 📌 Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence [https://www.teachersunify.org/] (also check out their sign-up page here [https://secure.everyaction.com/Swa7LzjeFE2qzi77z9adhQ2]) 📌 Teachers Unify podcast [https://teachersunify.transistor.fm/subscribe] 📌 Classroom Narratives: Sarah Lerner [https://rss.com/podcasts/teachertestimony/1736296/], Paula Reed [https://rss.com/podcasts/teachertestimony/1743687/], Adam Wolfsdorf [https://rss.com/podcasts/teachertestimony/1884071/]