EPISODES & TRANSCRIPTIONS
Sept. 3, 2024
Season Two Premiere! - And We're Back! Season 2 Episode 1
Drumroll please… we are now a weekly podcast! Joe and Jamie are back with big news… they are now dropping weekly episodes. Summer has come to a close, and the hosts are ready to explore new topics with fantastic guests. Join the Balancing Act...
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Aug. 20, 2024
Best of Season 1: Host Picks - Episode 28
In our final best of episode of the summer, we look back at the important topics that we discussed during season 1. These 4 clips speak to our passion, our life, and what drives us as educators. Get a glimpse of some of the struggles that...
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Aug. 6, 2024
Best of Season 1: Parenting Advice - Episode 27
On this best of episode from Season 1, let’s look back with our hosts as they listen to some of Season One's top guests as they talk about how to parent, how to help parents, and how they strive to guide their own children in this ever changing...
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July 23, 2024
Best of Season 1: New Teacher Advice - Episode 26
Episode 26 Best of Season One Let’s rewind the year and check out bits and pieces of the best of the best with Jessica Hawk, Tyler Tarver and Andrea Forcum. Our episode will highight some of the great advice they have for first year...
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July 9, 2024
Season One Finale: Summer…She is finally here! Episode 25
Let’s talk about how to recharge the batteries, because teachers are solar powered! Listen as Joe and Jamie reflect on the first season of The Balancing Act podcast, and how much the discussions informed and influenced the hosts' lives. Special...
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June 25, 2024
An Interview with M.C. Reckognize: Mrs. Phyllis Reckhow - Episode 24
Steps away from her final year of teaching we meet to talk to the formidable and beloved bestie-buddy of our co-host Jamie. Call her Reckie, Reckless, MC Reckognize, or Phyllis, the long time “student favorite” language arts teacher sits with us...
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June 11, 2024
Closing out the Year with a Skibbidy - Episode 23
Let’s look back at the good, the bad, and the “skibbidy” of the 23-24 school year. Self reflection, exit surveys, and a giant thumbs up from students means that the summer is heading this way. Join in and hear what worked, what didn’t and what...
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May 28, 2024
Empathy, Sympathy and Adulting - Episode 22
The pod is back to update listeners about some of the ongoing family struggles that have continued throughout the course of the school year. In this heart to heart listen as our hosts share the ongoing difficulties that led to the development of the...
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May 14, 2024
Tuh Tuh Tuh Teacher Face, Jessica Hawk - Episode 21
On this episode of The Balancing Act, we happily welcome influencer Jessica Hawk as she shares her 32 years of wisdom and experience inside and out of her New Jersey classroom. On her self proclaimed victory tour, Jessica is approaching retirement...
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April 30, 2024
We are “ALL IN” with Gian Paul Gonzalez - Episode 20
Credited with inspiring the New York Giants towards their winning season, former teacher and current motivational speaker, Gian Paul Gonzalez, sits down with us for an end of the school year pep talk. Hailing from Union City, New Jersey, Gian Paul is...
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April 16, 2024
Dear parents, we need YOUR support… Part II with Katie Schneider - Episode 19
We welcome teacher and author Katie Schneider this week to discuss her extremely potent and thought provoking “viral” letter written to parents. Shared by so many across the country over many social media platforms, Katie brings her point of view...
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April 2, 2024
Dear parents, we need YOUR support...Part I - Episode 18
Spring Break is heading our way and the hosts are ready to party like it's 1999 in Cancun, Mexico. Or maybe they are just ready for some couch time. Listen for an honest discussion about what is lacking from the real partners in education, the...
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March 19, 2024
Educator_Andrea: “Advice to the New Teachers, Stolen by the Old Ones” - Episode 17
Viral Instagram and Tik Tok wonder Educator_Andrea joins this week to discuss how to properly support and retain the “good ones”, the teachers who are meant to be in the game for a long time, and how we as seasoned veterans can show them all how...
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March 5, 2024
Parents Just Don't Understand - Episode 16
Can teachers really do their jobs effectively without parental support? Where is the team? Where is the backup system? Where is the empowerment? Join us as we discuss the ever popular and deeply controversial topic that plagues the American education...
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Feb. 20, 2024
bELieve in the Power of Daily Routines: Our talk with Hometown Hero Eric LeGrand - Episode 15
Local hero and beloved business owner Eric LeGrand joins us for a trip down memory lane. Listen as we laugh, learn and enjoy a cup of bELieve, as Eric takes us through his morning routine, nightly pleasures and tips for taking each day as it...
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Feb. 6, 2024
Flipping the Switch - Ms. Brady had Alice and we're on our own. - Episode 14
If Mrs. Brady had Alice, how are we supposed to tackle all of this on our own? Today your hosts tackle the never ending subject of how to flip the switch from teacher to parent and back again. Whether it is helping at homework time with your own kids,...
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Jan. 23, 2024
The Modern Learner: Thirsty for Knowledge or Just Thirsty for Water? - Episode 13
Our hosts are back in action and ready to focus on the new year ahead. Listen for their words of the year and how they plan to put these words to good use in 2024. Jamie and Joe discuss the modern learner and how to attempt to adapt their classrooms...
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Jan. 9, 2024
An Interview with Influencer Nick Ferroni - Episode 12
Join us as we excitedly talk to Nick Ferroni, a teacher advocate working at Union High in Union, New Jersey. Nick was gracious enough to meet with us for a cup of coffee and talk about our favorite topic: teachers. Nick is working with various news...
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Dec. 22, 2023
A Holiday Delight - Curmudgeons Need Not Listen - Episode 11
Jamie and Joe are singing their way towards the New Year with a lighthearted walk through their Christmas favorites. Join the Balancing Act podcast hosts as they share a holiday Would You Rather, discuss their opinions about Snow Days, and recount...
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Dec. 12, 2023
EdcampNJ: The best PD is the teacher down the hall - Episode 10
Join us as we take the pod on the road with our first live recording at EdCamp NJ. Our early November morning began with amazing guests who shared with us their first hand experiences in the field of education. Listen as they share how...
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Nov. 28, 2023
Dr. Tyler Tarver - Episode 9
It’s time to talk about A.I. Uh oh? Or hurry up, and let’s go? An interview with Dr. Tyler Tarver Dr. Tyler Tarver joins us to talk about Artificial Intelligence in the classroom. Dr. Tarver is an enthusiastic educator with background and...
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Nov. 21, 2023
Wake up, show up and grow up! - Episode 8
This week we discuss what it's like to parent your children while parenting your parents. Join us as we discuss our very personal experiences as members of a very difficult club as members of “the sandwich generation.” We will lean into a...
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Oct. 31, 2023
Halloween Episode: Season One - To candy corn or not to candy corn?
Our hosts would like to wish a very Happy Halloween to all of our listeners who celebrate this spooky day inside of and outside of their classrooms. Whether you love or hate this day, it turns up each year to flip the little ones in our lives inside...
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Oct. 16, 2023
Setting our Students up for Success: An Interview with Ann Dolin, CEO Educational Connections
On our first Youtube episode we welcome Ann Dolin, the President of Educational Connections, an online tutoring company that pairs students and their parents with coaches that offer guidance with executive functioning, college preparedness and subject...
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