150 episodes listed below
What male educators carry behind the face they show students.
unMASKing with Male Educators talks with teachers, a school social worker, a breathwork instructor and advocates for men in education about what they carry through the school day. The conversations center on one image, the face shown to students and what sits behind it, and they close with an invitation to share a mask anonymously at MillionMask.org.
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unMASKing with Male Educators is an interview show about the emotional lives of men who work in schools. It is more interested in the adult at the front of the room than in the lesson on the board. The intro names the problem plainly: men are a small minority of K-12 educators, the job can get lonely, and male students get a disproportionate share of discipline. From there, the conversations get personal. The mask is the organizing idea. Guests say what face they wear on campus and what it hides, and their answers are specific. Justin Martinez, a Bay Area high school social worker and assistant baseball coach, has what the show calls the 'crown mask': mentor, role model and steady presence, holding grief, counter-transference and a quiet fear of not being able to save everyone. He also offers a metaphor worth keeping. He can walk a young person to the door and hand over the keys, but that person has to open it. That conversation also covers what school wellness teams do day to day, and why students need room to re-regulate rather than simply be punished. Curtis Valentine founded Real Men Teach, a movement to recruit and retain men of color in education, and he gives the sharpest reason the mask matters: claiming to be fine when he is not would make him a bad mentor. Other guests take the idea in new directions. Jason Biehl, a social justice history teacher, anti-racist facilitator and author, calls discomfort one of the more productive emotions in his growth and healing. He also notes that an honest post online can cost him a follower. Shalin Desai is a director of the Art of Living Foundation who teaches breathwork. He argues that change comes more easily from a calm mind than an agitated one, and he passes along an image of anger that should last no longer than a line drawn on water. In the Alexander Kopelman conversation, talk of drawing shows how quickly people assume they are being graded, and how some adults will not sketch even a simple face. The host is not exempt. A solo entry, '57 Pounds: Healing Myself While Fighting for Our Young People', describes a shift from food as comfort and community to food as health, with a clear refusal to preach about anyone else's plate. The tone is warm and sincere, more like a talk between colleagues who trust each other than a lecture. Conversations regularly close with host and guest having shared their masks publicly, plus an invitation to make one anonymously at MillionMask.org. As the host describes it, that project aims to help a million people see that there is more to them than anyone can tell by looking. A listener gets company, a few practical tools like breathwork, and words for things that usually go unsaid in a staff room.
Made for: Suits a male teacher, coach or school social worker who feels isolated on staff and wants to hear peers talk openly about stress, grief and staying steady for students. It also fits anyone working on support for boys and young men in schools.
What sets it apart: The show focuses on the educator's own emotional life rather than classroom technique. Its recurring mask exercise has guests name the front they present and what lies beneath it, and it is tied to an anonymous mask-sharing project at MillionMask.org.
Only 23% of K-12 educators in America are male, a gender gap that has serious ramifications for male students - who often face DISPROPORTIONATE disciplinary action.This podcast is for male educators who want to embody a necessary change in schools, via healthy social-emotional outcomes. Come away with actionable lesson plans, relatable stories, and a renewed purpose. The US Surgeon General says the mental health of our youth is the "crisis of our time." Male educators are uniquely positioned to address this - because real men teach.Join our community: "Advocates for Young Men" at Skool.com
Based on 5 episodes we listened to · August 2026
Guest interviews pairing concrete recruitment and racial-identity conversations with practical stress tools for male K-12 educators doing social-emotional work.
unMASKing with Male Educators pulls Education toward a specific, underserved seat: the K-12 male teacher doing social-emotional work in his own classroom.
You can keep the blazer; this is where male educators admit the mask gets heavy.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A grounded conversation about helping young people and adults create without fear of getting it wrong.
Alexander Kopelman keeps the focus on a simple but useful idea: what changes when children and adults are invited to make art without grades, judgment, or one right answer.
A candid education conversation about white discomfort, belonging, and helping young men before crisis defines the work.
Discomfort gives the episode its center as Jason Beal considers the emotional work adults ask young men to take on. He links white men’s struggles with whiteness, patriarchy, vulnerability, and responsibility to a deeper need for belonging, honest reflection, and spaces where…
Curtis Valentine's story connects male educator retention to the support needed beyond classroom confidence.
Curtis Valentine gives a familiar expectation a clear human weight: male educators are often asked to bring confidence into the classroom while keeping the strain out of sight.
Breathwork meets the pressure of school life, where calm has to hold up against irritation, stress, and responsibility.
Shalin Desai brings breathwork into the pressure of school life, where educators are expected to stay present while irritation, stress, anger, and frustration keep rising.
A detox update turns into a grounded reflection on teaching, sacrifice, and advocacy.
A male educator's ongoing detox update opens into a candid reflection on health, work, and the way advocacy often sits inside everyday choices. The host returns to a 30-day group detox with Dr.
Australian teaching, examined from the classroom outward.
Student-driven science, made classroom-real.
Practical ESL teaching, beyond the lesson plan.
Practical momentum for modern FCS educators.
Staffroom honesty for better education.
This episode discusses building emotionally safe classrooms for male students, featuring Carlos Moreno on teacher masks, work-life balance, diversity, and community-based learning.
A podcast for male educators discussing how to create emotionally safe classrooms and schools for male students, featuring an interview with teacher Trevor Slater.
The host apologizes for missing episodes due to team transitions and introduces a guest who leads a nonprofit supporting children through art.
A podcast for male educators discussing how to create emotionally safe classrooms and schools for male students, featuring an interview with a social justice teacher about discomfort, truth-telling, and what young men need.
An interview with Curtis Valentine, founder of Real Men Teach, discussing the challenges and support systems for male educators, especially men of color, and strategies to recruit and retain them.
This episode features Shalin Desai discussing breathwork and emotional regulation tools for male educators to create calm, safe classrooms.
A podcast for male educators discussing how to create emotionally safe classrooms and schools for male students, with a personal update on a detox journey.
A podcast for male educators discussing how to create emotionally safe classrooms and support male students' social-emotional needs.
The host discusses the importance of male educators supporting young men in schools and shares insights from a retreat.
A male educator discusses his teaching philosophy, mentorship programs, and strategies for creating emotionally safe classrooms for male students.