Educator Wellness Podcast · Scanlan Center for School Mental Health, University of Iowa

Speaking the Truth from the Field

·1 hr 15 min·5 clips

Haley says education policy feels disconnected when lawmakers have never worked in schools.

1. The Educator Wellness Podcast episode "Speaking the Truth from the Field" examines educator wellness through Haley Finn's counseling work and Miles Finn's music-education experience. 2. Host Keri Vogelgesang introduces Haley as a psychology master's graduate and first-year middle school counselor at Indianola Middle School after two years at Pleasantville Elementary, and Miles as a sixth-year Indianola High School director. 3. The episode asks how educators can protect student welfare and professional relationships while responding to policy changes, technology-related conflict, and pressure from outside schools. 4. Haley and Miles say their different specialties—school counseling and music education—let them exchange advice rather than compete over pedagogy. 5. Miles says Haley helps him respond when a student experiences a mental-health crisis, while school discussions sometimes continue at home until 10 or 11 p.m. 6. Haley describes show choir, musical theater, dance, and music as outlets after stressful school days and as activities she shares with Miles. 7. The Finns say show choir can involve spring auditions, choreography camp, 9 to 10 months of group work, and performances ending around March. 8. Miles reports more than 120 million views and 1.1 million followers for his viral TikTok videos about choral music and musical theater. 9. Miles and Haley argue that show choir teaches confidence, teamwork, performance skills, and habits that can transfer to job interviews. 10. Haley and Miles discuss Iowa legislation and AEA changes as sources of uncertainty for educators, counselors, service providers, and rural districts. 11. Haley says policy affecting social-emotional learning directly changes school counselors' roles and can make educators feel unheard by lawmakers. 12. She asks how students outside special education will receive mental-health support if services not covered by special education are reduced. 13. The guests describe suicide-prevention training, mental-health resources, trauma-informed schooling, and crisis response as services whose future feels unclear. 14. Miles and Haley say their toddler Rory received about three free AEA home visits when they worried about his communication skills. 15. Haley warns that funding alone may not solve rural access problems if families must drive two hours to Des Moines for service providers. 16. The guests say social media brings cyberbullying, anxiety, body-image concerns, and inappropriate requests or messages into middle school even when incidents begin at home. 17. Miles favors teaching responsible technology use, while Haley emphasizes asking students whether they would say online comments face to face. 18. Keri, Haley, and Miles use the phrase "meeting after the meeting" to describe venting privately instead of addressing disagreements transparently, and they discuss difficult conversations in a reflective interview format. 19. School counselors, music educators, and rural-service advocates will appreciate this discussion of student support and workplace communication. 20. Listeners seeking classroom techniques, policy analysis, or clinical treatment guidance may skip this personal educator conversation.

As heard by us

A grounded look at phones, screens, and why hard conversations still have to happen in person.

The episode looks at phones, screens, and the harder work of speaking plainly face to face. It is at its best when it moves past a simple yes-or-no view of device use and stays with modeling, emotional honesty, and the way people can feel braver behind a screen than they do in…

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Why you'd press play

You want a grounded talk about phones, screens, and harder conversations in school.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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