Hi Vanessa, 

This time of year, gratitude is everywhere, but for teachers dealing with stress, overwhelm, and burnout, it can feel like one more thing you’re supposed to perform.  I know that my inbox gets full of messages from companies wishing me a Happy Thanksgiving and oh, by the way, here’s a Black Friday sale. 

I offer a different kind of Thanksgiving message.

If you're reading this - still standing, still caring, still trying to do what’s right - you are the kind of person the world needs most.  Even if the system doesn’t always show it. Even if you're exhausted. Even if you're not sure how much longer you can keep going.  For the teachers who have already retired – I am grateful for your service to our nation’s youth.

This isn’t toxic positivity. It’s reverence. For your heart. For your effort. For the grace you extend to others when you barely have any left for yourself.

And for that, I am deeply grateful for you.

I wrapped up my Captain America series of podcasts this week, and here are some of the lessons:

Standing in the Crossfire: When You’re the Only One Still Caring

One of the most heartbreaking things I hear from teachers lately isn’t “I’m overwhelmed.” It’s “I feel like I’m the only one who still cares.”

You look around your campus, your district, and state leadership - and it feels like something important has shifted. You’re still showing up with everything you’ve got… but the system around you feels hollow. Performative. Out of touch. And increasingly hostile to people who lead with heart.

This is what I call being caught in the crossfire. Not between good and evil, but between conflicting values.  You’re caught between the teacher you wanted to be and the one your job now demands you become.

And when no one around you seems to be naming it, that ache grows louder.

The truth is, you're not alone. Many educators are quietly navigating this emotional tension. It’s the weight of caring in a system that punishes compassion. It’s grief for the profession you once loved. It’s moral confusion wrapped in a smile because you still want to do right by your students.

You’re not broken. You’re not behind. You’re just standing in a system that no longer aligns with the truth you carry.  And I know it feels heavy. It’s OK to put that down from time to time and focus on you.

Conscience vs. Compliance: A Question Every Teacher Will Face

At some point in your career, you will be asked to choose.

Not always overtly. Sometimes it will sound like, “This is the way we’ve always done it.” Or, “Just get through the evaluation.” Or, “We can’t make exceptions.”

But underneath those words is a pressure to comply, especially when compliance means silence, surrender, or self-betrayal.

What makes this moment so confusing for teachers is that you’ve been trained to follow rules. You have been trained to be the good one and to be the helper. You have been trained to give without questions, and most teachers are naturally wired to keep the peace.

But what happens when your conscience speaks louder than the checklist? What happens when doing what’s required feels like abandoning the very students you care about?

These are not easy questions. They come with risk. With heartbreak. Sometimes, with career consequences.

But they also come with a hidden gift: Clarity.

Because once you start to notice the tension between who you are and what’s being asked of you, you gain back a powerful thing you may not have felt in a while: agency.

It starts with asking: What would it look like to stop outsourcing your ethics to someone else’s rubric? What would it mean to lead - not just your students - but yourself?

You have a choice. It may not feel like it yet. It may be scary. It may require a plan.

But conscience and compliance don’t have to coexist in tension forever. And if you’re ready to reclaim your voice, I’m here to help you find your way back to it. 

Check out the podcast!

Want to hear more?  Need to catch up on the podcast?
Click the picture to hear more!

Upcoming Excitement!

Keep an eye on this space! Over the next few weeks, I’ve got some holiday gifts coming your way—support, surprises, and small-but-mighty tools to help you reclaim your future. (I’m keeping the details under wraps for now.)

But the best gift you can give yourself right now?

A conversation. A commitment. A leap.

🗓️ Book your free Discovery Call to check out your options:
👉 https://teachersintransition.com/calendar

You don’t have to have it all figured out.
You just have to believe there’s something better out there.

Because sometimes the bravest thing you can do… is take your stand.

And if you need me?
I’m right here—on your left.

I'D LOVE TO CONNECT!

📧 Email me at Vanessa@teachersintransition.com
📱 Leave a voicemail or text at 512-640-9099
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61565671792885
🌐 Website: https://teachersintransition.com

Until Next week, 

Vanessa 

P.S. If you’ve read this far, you’re not done yet. That voice inside you? It’s worth listening to. Let’s have a conversation.