What does the Department of Education actually do. And can an executive order really eliminate it?

In this Teacher Reality Check, Leah breaks down what the Trump administration’s executive order means for your classroom. Learn the truth about Title I and IDEA funding, DEI changes, and how much federal policy really affects your day-to-day as a teacher.

Perfect for educators who want clear, practical info, minus the panic.

About a month into the school year, routines can feel smooth and students may seem responsible, but that’s often when problems begin. In this episode of If Teachers Ruled the World, Leah Cleary shares common classroom management mistakes teachers make early in the year, why loosening structure too soon backfires, and practical strategies for maintaining classroom routines, preventing burnout, and strengthening relationships with students.

It’s the night before grades are due, and a flood of late work hits your inbox. You’re exhausted, but policy says you have to take it. Sound familiar?

In this episode, Leah shares how to protect your time without sacrificing professionalism. Or your sanity. You’ll hear real stories about saying no to administrators, turning down student requests (even good ones), and drawing the line so you can focus on what matters most: your classroom.

What you’ll learn:

• Simple scripts for saying no politely but firmly

• The difference between boundaries and professional courtesy

• Why protecting classroom time makes you a better team player

• How to handle last-minute work without losing sleep

If you’re already running on empty just weeks into the school year, this conversation is for you. Because if nobody else respects your time, you have to.

English teacher Laura French joins Leah to share a powerful story about a student passed through the system without mastering basic skills. And the impossible position it put her in as his high school teacher. Together, they unpack the pressures of graduation rates, CCRPI scores, and the emotional toll of policies that clash with classroom reality, while imagining what accountability could look like if teachers designed the system themselves.

This month, Leah pulls back the curtain on teacher evaluations. And what she uncovers might surprise you. Whether you’re labeled “effective” may have less to do with your teaching and more to do with your state’s politics.

In this episode:

• How Michigan’s evaluation rules just changed—and why Alabama’s haven’t.

• The research showing teachers control only 1–14% of test scores.

• How union strength shapes evaluation policies.

• Why treating teaching like rocket science gets it all wrong.

Key takeaway: If working with humans is harder than rocket science, maybe teacher evaluations shouldn’t be reduced to a formula.

Leah breaks down the latest policy shifts, the “geographic lottery” of evaluations, and the dangerous lesson we send students when we make test scores entirely a teacher’s responsibility.

Perfect for educators who want to cut through the noise and understand what’s really behind the evaluation game.

We’ve all been there—you design what feels like a brilliant classroom procedure, get excited about how innovative it is, and then… it completely falls apart with real students.

In this month’s tips episode of If Teachers Ruled the World, Leah shares her biggest procedure fails, including an overly complicated digital task card system she was so proud of she started selling it (spoiler: nobody could follow it), and a semester-long annotation project she stubbornly kept going despite knowing it wasn’t working.

🎧 In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How to tell the difference between teenage snark and genuine feedback

• The best questions to ask students for real answers

• When to pivot mid-lesson vs. waiting until the next day

• Why relationships are the foundation for honest feedback

• How to admit your “brilliant” idea flopped—without losing credibility

Leah’s two big takeaways: don’t beat yourself up for trying something new, and don’t spend an entire semester forcing something that’s clearly not working.

If you’ve ever overcomplicated a system or defended a procedure that made everyone miserable, this episode is for you. Sometimes the simplest solutions really are the best ones.

What does it really mean to be “on” for eight hours straight with no break? In this episode of If Teachers Ruled the World, Leah pulls back the curtain on the emotional and invisible labor that makes teaching one of the most misunderstood and demanding professions.

From being a mini-administrator without support staff to carrying student trauma home, she breaks down what most people don’t see:

• Why “free periods” aren’t free at all

• The emotional cost of caring deeply for every student

• The performance of teaching without applause

• The mental health toll of being responsible for young lives every day

Leah shares her own story—honest, raw, and grounded in 25 years of classroom experience—while still holding onto the purpose and love that keep her showing up. This episode is for every teacher who’s ever felt unseen, and for anyone who truly wants to understand what’s happening behind the classroom door.

🎧 Key Topics:

• The emotional exhaustion of being "always on"

• Why planning periods aren’t downtime

• Carrying students' emotional burdens

• Performing with no recognition

• Finding purpose in an unsustainable system

Perfect for: Teachers feeling overwhelmed, family and friends of educators, and anyone who wants to understand the real demands of teaching.

What if one simple policy change could transform education overnight? In this solo episode, veteran teacher Leah Cleary crowns herself Education Secretary of her dream administration and takes on one of the most exhausting realities in education: early school start times.

Picture it — 7:45 AM, first period. Your students look like extras from a zombie movie, surviving on energy drinks and pure willpower. Sound familiar?

In “The 10 AM Revolution,” Leah shares all too real classroom moments (like her infamous alien pyramid test), eye-opening student contrasts between morning and afternoon, and the science behind it all — including why teenage circadian rhythms make 7:30 AM learning nearly impossible.

This isn’t just venting. Leah tackles the real-world pushback — sports, schedules, logistics — and reframes the conversation: What if we stopped teaching kids that exhaustion equals dedication?

🎧 In this episode:

• The science of teenage sleep cycles and circadian rhythms

• The lived reality of teaching half-awake teens

• Common objections (and why they’re worth rethinking)

• Practical solutions for shifting school start times

• How you can be a guest on future episodes

This episode kicks off Leah’s monthly series, If Teachers Ruled the World — bold ideas, real talk, and a little imagination about what schools could be if teachers were in charge.

Whether you're a teacher nodding along, a parent puzzled by your teen’s sleep habits, or an admin ready to rethink the system — this episode might just spark a revolution.

Join the movement. Your circadian rhythm will thank you.