96. Compassion Is Not Soft — It's Survival (The Science Teachers Need to Hear)

100. How I Built a Student Study Chatbot with EdCafe AI

How I Built a Student Study Chatbot with EdCafe AI Most teachers I talk to feel overwhelmed by AI tools — not because they don't want to use them, but because there are too many, they change constantly, and you can't tell which ones are actually worth your time. My approach: slow down and get really good at one tool. This video is about EdCafe AI — specifically the chatbot feature — and how I used it to create a personalized, interactive study partner for my 8th-grade science students. I'm talking about uploading a Quizlet study stack, setting the bot up with instructions, letting students interact with it independently, and then seeing everything from the teacher side — including flags when students get off track. Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/nBsbRumf9gY?si=DWvu_tBImg76mtr8 [https://youtu.be/nBsbRumf9gY?si=DWvu_tBImg76mtr8] It's one of those tools that actually does what it promises. In this video: - Why I stopped jumping between AI tools (and what changed) - A walkthrough of EdCafe's chatbot setup — instructions, capabilities, knowledge upload - How I used it for 8th-grade science final exam prep - What the student experience looks like (quiz → reteach → quiz again) - What teachers see on the back end, including engagement reports and flags - The capability I haven't tried yet that might be a game-changer for ESL classrooms If you're a teacher trying to figure out where AI actually fits in your classroom without adding to your workload — this one's for you. 🔗 Try EdCafe AI (affiliate link — I earn a small commission, which supports Why Edify): https://www.edcafe.ai/?via=whyedify [https://www.edcafe.ai/?via=whyedify] 📬 Free weekly newsletter for teachers — every Wednesday: https://www.jeremyajorgensen.com/newsletter/ [https://www.jeremyajorgensen.com/newsletter/] 🎙️ Why Edify Podcast: [https://rss.com/podcasts/why-edify/ [https://rss.com/podcasts/why-edify/] Excellence Without Exhaustion: A STRONG Framework Guide for Teachers Who Refuse to Choose Between Great and Okay - https://ko-fi.com/s/19f75cd680 [https://ko-fi.com/s/19f75cd680] Support my work: https://ko-fi.com/whyedify [https://ko-fi.com/whyedify] Affiliate disclosure: The EdCafe link above is an affiliate link. If you sign up through it, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend tools I actually use. Get Involved: 🛍️ Shop the Why Edify Amazon storefront — stuff I actually use and recommend (affiliate link, small commission to me at no cost to you): https://www.amazon.com/shop/whyedify-jeremyjorgensen [https://www.amazon.com/shop/whyedify-jeremyjorgensen] 🤝 Connect with Jeremy: https://linktr.ee/whyedify [https://linktr.ee/whyedify] 👕 Shop Why Edify Gear: https://www.bonfire.com/store/why-edify/ [https://www.bonfire.com/store/why-edify/]

99. What Makes a Good Cookie? A STRONG Teacher Report on Traditions, Perfectionism & Gratitude

What Makes a Good Cookie? A STRONG Teacher Report on Traditions, Perfectionism & Gratitude What makes a good cookie? Stick around — the answer might surprise you, and it says something real about how we find meaning in the middle of an ordinary school day. This is a STRONG Teacher Report — me practicing the STRONG Framework out loud, letting the chips fall where they may. No polish. Just practice. In this episode, I'm covering three parts of the framework: S — Successes: Our school's senior celebration tradition, and why rituals matter more than we give them credit for. (Also: my daughter is a senior this year. Bittersweet doesn't quite cover it.) T — Thoughts & Takeaways: The newsletter coming out this week is all about saying no to perfectionism — the N in STRONG. Research shows a perfectionist mindset is directly connected to teacher burnout. We need to talk about this. G — Gratitude: Students who said yes without hesitating. And a birthday cookie that arrived at exactly the right moment. If you're a teacher trying to build resilience without burning out — or just someone who wants to reflect on what's actually going right — this one's for you. 🔔 Subscribe so you don't miss the next STRONG Teacher Report. 📬 Get the STRONG Teacher Newsletter (free, every Wednesday): https://www.jeremyajorgensen.com/newsletter/ [https://www.jeremyajorgensen.com/newsletter/] 🎙️ Find the Why Edify Podcast wherever you listen: [https://rss.com/podcasts/why-edify/ [https://rss.com/podcasts/why-edify/] Why Edify | Excellence without exhaustion. jeremyajorgensen.com [http://jeremyajorgensen.com] 📬 Get Involved: ✉️ Sign up for the Friday Five Newsletter for Teachers: https://www.jeremyajorgensen.com/newsletter [https://www.jeremyajorgensen.com/newsletter] 🛍️ Shop the Why Edify Amazon storefront — stuff I actually use and recommend (affiliate link, small commission to me at no cost to you): https://www.amazon.com/shop/whyedify-jeremyjorgensen [https://www.amazon.com/shop/whyedify-jeremyjorgensen] 💪 Take the 30-Day Educator Challenge (Mind, Body & Spirit): https://bit.ly/3PS4zM7 [https://bit.ly/3PS4zM7] ☕ Support Why Edify: https://buymeacoffee.com/whyedify [https://buymeacoffee.com/whyedify] 🤝 Connect with Jeremy: https://linktr.ee/whyedify [https://linktr.ee/whyedify] 👕 Shop Why Edify Gear: https://www.bonfire.com/store/why-edify/ [https://www.bonfire.com/store/why-edify/]

98. Teacher Gone Wild: GoPro, May Chaos, and Why Messy Is the Point

Teacher Gone Wild: GoPro, May Chaos, and Why Messy Is the Point May is chaotic. The paper piles are real. The emotional roller coaster is real. And honestly? So is the fun — if you let it be. Receive email updates: https://www.jeremyajorgensen.com/newsletter/ [https://www.jeremyajorgensen.com/newsletter/] In this STRONG Teacher Report, I'm giving you a raw, unpolished look at what's going on in my world right now: the newsletter that went out today (small changes, big compounds), a walled classroom chatbot experiment that was one of the most enjoyable things I've done all month, a GoPro that just arrived, and a new series I'm calling Teacher Gone Wild. No script. No polish. Just a teacher in May — doing the work, making the messes, and staying STRONG. What's in this one: - The STRONG Teacher Newsletter: small consistent changes and why they beat big overhauls - May chaos, the emotional reality of the end of the school year, and what actually helps - A classroom chatbot experiment that went surprisingly well (and was also kind of stressful) - The GoPro arrived — adventures incoming (Oregon, Canada, Boulder Junction triathlon) - The N in STRONG: No to perfectionism, for real this time - Why "just hit record" is actually the best strategy 📬 Get Involved: ✉️ Sign up for the Friday Five Newsletter for Teachers: https://www.jeremyajorgensen.com/newsletter [https://www.jeremyajorgensen.com/newsletter] 🛍️ Shop the Why Edify Amazon storefront — stuff I actually use and recommend (affiliate link, small commission to me at no cost to you): https://www.amazon.com/shop/whyedify-jeremyjorgensen [https://www.amazon.com/shop/whyedify-jeremyjorgensen] 💪 Take the 30-Day Educator Challenge (Mind, Body & Spirit): https://bit.ly/3PS4zM7 [https://bit.ly/3PS4zM7] ☕ Support Why Edify: https://buymeacoffee.com/whyedify [https://buymeacoffee.com/whyedify] 🤝 Connect with Jeremy: https://linktr.ee/whyedify [https://linktr.ee/whyedify] 👕 Shop Why Edify Gear: https://www.bonfire.com/store/why-edify/ [https://www.bonfire.com/store/why-edify/]

97. Teachers, Your Attention Is Being Stolen — And You're Letting It Happen

Teachers, Your Attention Is Being Stolen — And You're Letting It Happen Your Attention Is Being Stolen — And You're Letting It Happen | Why Edify What got most of your attention yesterday? Not your time — your actual, focused, present-with-it attention? For many teachers, the honest answer isn't their students. It's the inbox at 7am. A difficult conversation looping in the background all morning. A data report nobody actually asked them to do anything with. Epictetus warned us: "You become what you give your attention to." That's not a productivity slogan. It's a warning. In this episode (week 2 of 4 in the Built From Within series), we get into what's actually competing for your mental bandwidth — and why it's not a personal failing that your attention is scattered. The system is designed to fragment it. Johann Hari spent years documenting this in Stolen Focus. The fix has to be structural, too. But that doesn't mean dramatic overhaul. Five honest, low-friction practices — starting with one question you can ask yourself every single day. 00:00 What Stole Your Attention 00:59 The Gap and Epictetus 01:47 You Become What You Notice 03:10 Why Focus Gets Fragmented 04:46 One Daily Attention Check 05:28 Five Simple Practices 08:03 Curiosity Shapes Who You Are 09:14 Next Episodes and Wrap Up --- 🔗 Links: → Weekly newsletter (free, Wednesdays): https://www.jeremyajorgensen.com/newsletter/ [https://www.jeremyajorgensen.com/newsletter/] → The Provocation: https://www.jeremyajorgensen.com/the-provocation/ [https://www.jeremyajorgensen.com/the-provocation/] --- Why Edify helps teachers be excellent without being exhausted. New episodes weekly. Subscribe so you don't miss Ep. 3 — the hardest conversation in the series. #TeacherWellbeing #TeacherBurnout #Stoicism #WhyEdify #STRONGFramework #Epictetus #TeacherPodcast #TeacherMindset #BuiltFromWithin 📬 Get Involved: ✉️ Sign up for the Friday Five Newsletter for Teachers: https://www.jeremyajorgensen.com/newsletter [https://www.jeremyajorgensen.com/newsletter] 🛍️ Shop the Why Edify Amazon storefront — stuff I actually use and recommend (affiliate link, small commission to me at no cost to you): https://www.amazon.com/shop/whyedify-jeremyjorgensen [https://www.amazon.com/shop/whyedify-jeremyjorgensen] 💪 Take the 30-Day Educator Challenge (Mind, Body & Spirit): https://bit.ly/3PS4zM7 [https://bit.ly/3PS4zM7] ☕ Support Why Edify: https://buymeacoffee.com/whyedify [https://buymeacoffee.com/whyedify] 🤝 Connect with Jeremy: https://linktr.ee/whyedify [https://linktr.ee/whyedify] 👕 Shop Why Edify Gear: https://www.bonfire.com/store/why-edify/ [https://www.bonfire.com/store/why-edify/]

96. Compassion Is Not Soft — It's Survival (The Science Teachers Need to Hear)

Compassion Is Not Soft — It's Survival (The Science Teachers Need to Hear) Check out the STRONG Teachers Core: https://www.jeremyajorgensen.com/strong-teacher-core/ [https://www.jeremyajorgensen.com/strong-teacher-core/] There's a quote from Amanda Gorman that I keep coming back to: "There is no better compass than compassion." Not a destination. Not a cure. A compass — something that orients you when everything else feels like noise. If your week has been loud — the grading, the emails, the meetings that should have been emails — this one's for you. In this episode, I break down the actual science behind compassion: what it does to your body, your students, and your career. Not the poster-in-the-hallway version. The real version — backed by researchers at Berkeley, NYU, the University of Buffalo, and the Max Planck Institute. Here's what surprised me most: the things that feel like they cost you something might be giving something back. In this episode: - Why Darwin was actually making a case for compassion (not just survival of the fittest) - The inflammation research that connects meaning, purpose, and your long-term health - Jonathan Haidt's "elevation effect" — and what it means for the emotional climate of your classroom - A 7-minute practice that changes how connected you feel to the people around you - One simple thing to try before you leave your building today Compassion is always in your circle — even on the hard days. 📬 Get Involved: ✉️ Sign up for the Friday Five Newsletter for Teachers: https://www.jeremyajorgensen.com/newsletter [https://www.jeremyajorgensen.com/newsletter] 🛍️ Shop the Why Edify Amazon storefront — stuff I actually use and recommend (affiliate link, small commission to me at no cost to you): https://www.amazon.com/shop/whyedify-jeremyjorgensen [https://www.amazon.com/shop/whyedify-jeremyjorgensen] 💪 Take the 30-Day Educator Challenge (Mind, Body & Spirit): https://bit.ly/3PS4zM7 [https://bit.ly/3PS4zM7] ☕ Support Why Edify: https://buymeacoffee.com/whyedify [https://buymeacoffee.com/whyedify] 🤝 Connect with Jeremy: https://linktr.ee/whyedify [https://linktr.ee/whyedify] 👕 Shop Why Edify Gear: https://www.bonfire.com/store/why-edify/ [https://www.bonfire.com/store/why-edify/] 🌐 Connect with Jeremy Jorgensen: 👉 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/why_edify/ [https://www.instagram.com/why_edify/] 👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-jorgensen321/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-jorgensen321/] 👉 Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/why-edify.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/why-edify.bsky.social]