Let's Talk Impulse Control
Designing a Teaching Profession that Actually Works
Photo by: Lauren Mancke on Unsplash
I was talking to an old college friend this weekend. Because we both chose teaching for a career, our conversations almost always revert back to our professional experiences. She shared with me that her district leaders decided to create a series of one-hour “Wellness Workshops” after school on Fridays to improve teacher well-being.
I just laughed. Seriously, what teacher wants to stay after school on a Friday for a school-inspired “wellness” program?
Of course, the intention may be on the right track, but we need to think our decisions through more carefully if we really want to solve the problem. During the course of my career, I have seen schools make many decisions that seemed more reactive and less reflective.
And I wonder, what if we stopped reacting to the crisis in education and started intentionally designing something better?
Let’s be honest. Too many decisions in schools are made on impulse. With pressure mounting, it’s easy to reach for the quick fix. The shiny solution. The consultant. The canned professional development workshop. The doughnuts in the workroom. The band-aid.
But none of that moves us closer to the profession we actually want to create.
Instead, let’s ask these questions:
Are your decisions aligned with your vision of the teaching profession?
Are you choosing based on what you truly want to build?
Or are you just grabbing, reacting, coping?
Because there's a difference between surviving the school year...and consciously building a profession that sustains teachers long-term.
The Whack-a-Mole Strategy Is Failing Us
Right now, most schools are playing whack-a-mole with teacher retention.
Another teacher quits? Let’s throw a perk at it.
Morale’s low? Let’s plan a potluck.
New mandate from the state? Let’s pile it on top.
We’re solving real problems with temporary thinking. And then wondering why nothing changes. We don’t need another workaround. We need a new vision.
What if we started with the future in mind?
What if, instead of fixing, reacting, or rushing…we paused, looked up, and asked:
✳️ What do we want the teaching profession to be—at our school, in our district, in our time?
✳️ Where are the biggest cracks? (financial growth, professional growth, voice, time)
✳️ What small, aligned, intentional step can we take today to move toward a better version?
✳️ How can we make this profession sustainable—without sacrificing quality, joy, or human dignity?
These are not questions we can answer in isolation. This isn’t a principal’s job or a teacher’s job. This is a together job. We need brave, collaborative conversations between school leaders and educators—not about teachers, but with them.
Because if we want to reimagine this profession, we need everyone to be seated at the table. We need ideas. We need a framework. We need solutions.
And if you're ready to be part of that reimagining—I’ve built something for you.
The Profession Reimagined
This isn’t a strategy for saving schools with another initiative.
It’s a practical tool to help you lead real, aligned, vision-centered conversations that start to shift the profession from the inside out.
Whether you’re a classroom teacher or a school leader, this is your invitation to stop reacting—and start intentionally creating.
Grab The Profession Reimagined Here
Let’s not keep building on broken systems. Let’s build something better.
On purpose. With purpose.