Welcome to Chalkboard and Chill!
In this week’s episode, Tom and Larrissa talk through a very normal school day—from early starts and half-term exhaustion to meetings, marking, duties, and the quiet chaos that fills every hour in between.
The episode kicks off with school cake (courtesy of Larrissa’s mum, officially a friend of the pod 🍰) before the pair ease into an honest conversation about morning routines, toddler wake-ups, sock curls, coffee rituals, and the calm-before-the-storm feeling that exists only before the students arrive.
They compare their daily schedules, from car park politics and printer meltdowns to meetings that definitely run longer than promised. Along the way, they reflect on the mental load of teaching: constantly scanning for risk, juggling dozens of decisions at once, and the exhaustion that comes not just from teaching, but from being “on” all day.
Naturally, things spiral into classic Chalkboard & Chill tangents—rain sending students feral, the emotional trauma of an empty printer tray, enrichment clubs that aren’t really breaks, holding your bladder for record-breaking amounts of time, and the strange peace of driving home in complete silence.
They wrap up with their peaks and pits of the week, celebrating mentoring wins and meaningful moments with students, while also acknowledging looming marking piles, teaching outside your specialism, and the pressure that builds as the term rolls on.
A funny, honest, and deeply relatable listen for anyone who’s ever worked in a school—or wondered why teachers are always so tired.
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