On today's episode I am speaking with Stephanie Bacon. Stephanie is a passionate and fun-loving human who wants to share the freedom of a life authentically lived with all who are yearning for peace and connection. Her path includes 20+ years as an educator, 18 years of mothering, a Master's degree in curriculum and instruction, academic coaching certification, a stint as the teacher's union president, a divorce (there should be a certification for this), and several drafts of a rewrite on her life. She is currently finishing her PhD by researching the impact of teacher emotional and relational health and authenticity on teacher and student relationships.  As a teacher, she is dedicated to reducing friction (work loads, to-do lists, external demands) for educators, so they allow their unique gifts to be the driver of dynamic and deep learning. Stephanie knows that kids need social and emotional learning in addition to academic growth to take advantage of what this world has to offer them, but that learning starts with a teacher who is emotionally healthy and relationally skillful. She believes in the power of humans, young and old, to use their creativity to solve our most challenging problems when they are free from the efforts of shape-shifting to meet the expectations of others.