In this timely episode of The Language of Behavior, Joshua Stamper and Charle Peck respond to a vulnerable question from an educator: "I'm still overwhelmed and stressed out even after the break. We keep talking about mental health, but where are the solutions?" Drawing on their work with teachers, counselors, social workers, and school psychologists, they name what everyone is feeling too much on the plate, rising student behavior, and a system that keeps taking without giving back and then offer concrete, realistic steps leaders can take now.​

Charlie shares practical ideas like removing tasks instead of adding new initiatives and using staff meeting time for energizing practices such as writing positive notes to families, while Josh unpacks how boundaries, sleep, hydration, movement, and passion projects can restore hope and capacity for educators in the toughest seasons. They also outline a quick, high impact strategy: sending a one question staff survey ("What do you need from me to make your job easier or better?") and actually responding with small, tangible supports from working staplers to mental health referral lists and access to therapies like Accelerated Resolution Therapy.

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FREE The Language of Behavior Book Study Kit: https://thrivingeducator.myflodesk.com/lobbookstudy

Do you have any questions for the podcast? Fill out this quick Google Form: https://forms.gle/u5axHazzuyN5pry76

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About Charle Peck:

Charle Peck is the co-creator of Thriving School Community, a revolutionary program designed for schools to improve mental health. She holds an MS in Education and an MS in Social Work as a 20+ year veteran in education (K-12). As a global keynote speaker, she delivers powerful messages of hope to educators and facilitates meaningful professional development. Charle successfully equips school staff with practical tools to mitigate teacher burnout and the youth mental health crisis providing relief to schools all across the country. Her unique lens as a high school teacher turned clinical therapist specializing in trauma makes her stories relevant and captivating to educators struggling in today’s system. You can purchase her book “Improving School Mental Health: The Thriving School Community Solution” on Amazon and connect with her on X @CharlePeck.

Follow Charle Peck:

1. Website: www.ThrivingEducator.org
2. Twitter: https://twitter.com/CharlePeck
3. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/charlepeckconsulting?mibextid=LQQJ4d
4. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlepeck/
5. Other: charle@thrivibgeducator.org
6. Podcast: Thriving Educator
7. Book: https://www.amazon.com/Improving-School-Mental-Health-Community/dp/B0BTS3MN2P?crid=EIKAGWZ4V006&keywords=charle+peck&qid=1705780803&sprefix=charle+peck%2Caps%2C181&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=aspirewebsite-20&linkId=6456f4f1bc2440be71d094a5d14656a4&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

About Joshua Stamper:

Joshua Stamper is the Director of Innovation for the Teach Better Team, a multifaceted role that encompasses his talents as an author, podcaster, leadership coach, and education keynote speaker. With a rich background as a middle school administrator, classroom art educator, and athletic coach, Joshua brings a wealth of experience to his work in education.

Joshua is passionate about implementing trauma-responsive techniques, exploring...

In this uplifting conversation on The Language of Behavior, Charle Peck sits down with author, consultant, and continuous improvement expert Lainie Rowell to explore how gratitude and intentional noticing can transform stressed-out schools and organizations from the inside out. Lainie introduces her Notice–Evolve–Thrive framework and shares the science-backed reason “notice” is the essential first step in healing, behavior change, and culture work.​

Together, Charle and Lainie unpack practical strategies leaders can use tomorrow, including “bright spots walks” with sticky notes, gratitude emails, and simple rituals that honor often-overlooked staff and students. They dig into why shifting from a deficit lens to a strengths-focused one matters for mental health, and how practices like the praise-to-correction ratio and Gottman’s “bids for connection” shape relationships, resilience, and behavior across a system.​

About Lainie Rowell:

Lainie Rowell is an educator, author, podcaster, and international consultant who specializes in working with other educators to find innovative and sustainable ways to transform teaching and learning. Her areas of expertise include online/blended learning, designing innovative learning experiences, professional learning, and community building.

During her more almost 25 years in education, Lainie has taught elementary, secondary, and higher education. She also served in a district-level leadership position supporting 22,000 students and 1,200 teachers at 33 schools.

As a consultant, Lainie's client list ranges from Fortune 100 companies like Apple and Google to school districts and independent schools. Lainie is a TEDx Speaker with more than 15 years of experience presenting at regional, national, and international conferences including Building Learning Communities (BLC) and the Leadership 3.0 Symposium.

Lainie was a contributor to the 2019 National Standards for Quality Online Teaching and on the 2014 Blended Learning Teacher Competency Framework committee.

Since 2014, Lainie has been a consultant for the Orange County Department of Education's Institute for Leadership Development facilitating professional learning for administrators.

From 2010-2014, Lainie served as the Program Coordinator for Leading Edge Certification, a national certification program in educational technology and curriculum innovation created by an Alliance of nonprofits, universities and educational agencies. She led the creation and curation of all four certifications, Online and Blended Teacher, Administrator, Digital Educator, and Professional Learning Leader.

Lainie is honored to be an Apple Distinguished Educator, Google for Education Certified Trainer, and Google for Education Certified Innovator. She has also been recognized as Teacher of the Year and was featured in OC Family Magazine as one of 10 Teachers Making a Difference. In 2011, she was elected to CUE's Board of...

In this New Year’s episode of The Language of Behavior, Joshua Stamper and Charle Peck tackle a question they hear constantly from educators: “How do I know if behavior is trauma or just manipulation?” Kicking off 2026 with honesty and nuance, they unpack why this either/or framing rarely fits real students and explain a crucial distinction: manipulation is a learned skill, while trauma is a fast, reflexive survival response in the nervous system.​

Charlie explains how trauma and attachment wounds can, over time, create patterns that look manipulative, and why “trauma explains behavior but does not excuse it.” Together, Josh and Charle explore:​

1. How trauma responses show up inconsistently as triggers in the environment change
2. How manipulation shows up as a predictable pattern with a clear payoff
3. Why adults cannot regulate someone else’s nervous system—and what healthy co-regulation actually looks like
4. The critical difference between guilt (“I did something wrong”) and shame (“I am bad”) when helping students repair harm​

They also zoom out to the adult side: how a teacher’s own history with manipulative family members can intensify reactions to students, and why therapy, self-awareness, and regulation skills are leadership tools—not luxuries. Packed with practical language, boundaries-focused strategies, and nervous system-informed insight, this episode is a must-listen for anyone trying to hold both compassion and accountability in schools.

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FREE The Language of Behavior Book Study Kit: https://thrivingeducator.myflodesk.com/lobbookstudy

Do you have any questions for the podcast? Fill out this quick Google Form: https://forms.gle/u5axHazzuyN5pry76

--

About Charle Peck:

Charle Peck is the co-creator of Thriving School Community, a revolutionary program designed for schools to improve mental health. She holds an MS in Education and an MS in Social Work as a 20+ year veteran in education (K-12). As a global keynote speaker, she delivers powerful messages of hope to educators and facilitates meaningful professional development. Charle successfully equips school staff with practical tools to mitigate teacher burnout and the youth mental health crisis providing relief to schools all across the country. Her unique lens as a high school teacher turned clinical therapist specializing in trauma makes her stories relevant and captivating to educators struggling in today’s system. You can purchase her book “Improving School Mental Health: The Thriving School Community Solution” on Amazon and connect with her on X @CharlePeck.

Follow Charle Peck:

1. Website: www.ThrivingEducator.org
2. Twitter: https://twitter.com/CharlePeck
3. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/charlepeckconsulting?mibextid=LQQJ4d
4. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlepeck/
5. Other: charle@thrivibgeducator.org
6. Podcast: Thriving Educator
7. Book:...

In this timely holiday episode of The Language of Behavior, Joshua Stamper and Charle Peck answer a pressing question many educators are asking: “Student behavior is shifting—what can we do differently in the new year?” As schools head into the spring semester and the pressure of state testing ramps up, they unpack why behavior often spikes and how leaders can respond with intention instead of exhaustion.​

Josh and Charle walk listeners through the power of creating a Relationship Action Team (or any grassroots cohort) to move from isolated frustration to collective problem-solving. They outline a guiding question for leaders—Who needs to be on my action team to support clarity, accountability, and regulation?—and explain why adult stability and nervous system regulation are non‑negotiable for any behavior plan. From designing systems that actually work, to revisiting referral processes and behavior matrices, they show how small, diverse teams can challenge “we’ve always done it this way” and build structures that truly support students and staff.​

Perfect for school leaders, coaches, and teacher‑leaders, this episode offers a practical blueprint for using the new year as a launchpad for culture change—so your 2026 behavior plan is more than a wish list.

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FREE The Language of Behavior Book Study Kit: https://thrivingeducator.myflodesk.com/lobbookstudy

Do you have any questions for the podcast? Fill out this quick Google Form: https://forms.gle/u5axHazzuyN5pry76

--

About Charle Peck:

Charle Peck is the co-creator of Thriving School Community, a revolutionary program designed for schools to improve mental health. She holds an MS in Education and an MS in Social Work as a 20+ year veteran in education (K-12). As a global keynote speaker, she delivers powerful messages of hope to educators and facilitates meaningful professional development. Charle successfully equips school staff with practical tools to mitigate teacher burnout and the youth mental health crisis providing relief to schools all across the country. Her unique lens as a high school teacher turned clinical therapist specializing in trauma makes her stories relevant and captivating to educators struggling in today’s system. You can purchase her book “Improving School Mental Health: The Thriving School Community Solution” on Amazon and connect with her on X @CharlePeck.

Follow Charle Peck:

1. Website: www.ThrivingEducator.org
2. Twitter: https://twitter.com/CharlePeck
3. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/charlepeckconsulting?mibextid=LQQJ4d
4. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlepeck/
5. Other: charle@thrivibgeducator.org
6. Podcast: Thriving Educator
7. Book: https://www.amazon.com/Improving-School-Mental-Health-Community/dp/B0BTS3MN2P?crid=EIKAGWZ4V006&keywords=charle+peck&qid=1705780803&sprefix=charle+peck%2Caps%2C181&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=aspirewebsite-20&linkId=6456f4f1bc2440be71d094a5d14656a4&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

About Joshua Stamper:

Joshua Stamper is the Director of Innovation for the Teach Better Team, a multifaceted role that encompasses his talents as an author, podcaster, leadership coach, and education keynote speaker. With a rich background as a middle school administrator, classroom art educator, and athletic coach, Joshua brings a wealth of experience

In this powerful holiday episode of The Language of Behavior, Joshua Stamper and Charlie Peck unpack a question from their educator cohort: How do we respond to people who constantly frustrate us—students, colleagues, or even ourselves? Centering on the concept of social plasticity, they explore how quickly brains jump to fixed labels like “jerk,” “bad student,” or “burnt-out teacher,” and how those snap judgments silently shut the door on curiosity, compassion, and change.​

Charlie shares her unforgettable “Madison” story—a former student she misjudged, only to learn too late about the pain Madison was carrying—and uses it to illustrate why the brain is a “big fat liar” when stress and bias are in charge. Josh brings in a moving example of a veteran teacher who transformed once a principal chose to see beyond the reputation and simply get to know the person behind the behavior. Together, they offer concrete ways to:​

• Notice your own physical stress signals before a hard interaction
• Reframe negative assumptions in the moment to move from reactive to responsive
• Give staff time and space to practice new mental habits that literally rewire the brain
• Use cohort and leadership structures to model this work and create a ripple effect across a whole building or district​

This episode invites educators and leaders to humanize the “Madisons” on their campus—and the one in the mirror—so behavior becomes an opening for connection, not a verdict on character.

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FREE The Language of Behavior Book Study Kit: https://thrivingeducator.myflodesk.com/lobbookstudy

Do you have any questions for the podcast? Fill out this quick Google Form: https://forms.gle/u5axHazzuyN5pry76

--

About Charle Peck:

Charle Peck is the co-creator of Thriving School Community, a revolutionary program designed for schools to improve mental health. She holds an MS in Education and an MS in Social Work as a 20+ year veteran in education (K-12). As a global keynote speaker, she delivers powerful messages of hope to educators and facilitates meaningful professional development. Charle successfully equips school staff with practical tools to mitigate teacher burnout and the youth mental health crisis providing relief to schools all across the country. Her unique lens as a high school teacher turned clinical therapist specializing in trauma makes her stories relevant and captivating to educators struggling in today’s system. You can purchase her book “Improving School Mental Health: The Thriving School Community Solution” on Amazon and connect with her on X @CharlePeck.

Follow Charle Peck:

• Website: www.ThrivingEducator.org
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/CharlePeck
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/charlepeckconsulting?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlepeck/
• Other: charle@thrivibgeducator.org
• Podcast: Thriving Educator
• Book: https://www.amazon.com/Improving-School-Mental-Health-Community/dp/B0BTS3MN2P?crid=EIKAGWZ4V006&keywords=charle+peck&qid=1705780803&sprefix=charle+peck%2Caps%2C181&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=aspirewebsite-20&linkId=6456f4f1bc2440be71d094a5d14656a4&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

About Joshua Stamper:

Joshua Stamper is the Director of Innovation for the Teach Better Team, a multifaceted role that encompasses his talents as an author, podcaster, leadership coach, and education keynote speaker. With a rich background as a middle school administrator, classroom art educator, and athletic coach, Joshua brings a wealth of experience to his work in education.

Joshua is passionate about implementing trauma-responsive techniques, exploring alternative student discipline methods, and promoting healthy leadership habits. He is deeply...

Have you ever wondered how to respond when a parent walks into your office already angry, defensive, or full of ego?

In this episode of The Language of Behavior, Joshua Stamper and Charle Peck shift the focus from student behavior to parent behavior, unpacking what is really happening in those high-intensity encounters and why traditional “holding your ground” often backfires.​

What if the real power move is not “shutting a parent down” but refusing to climb the ladder of conflict with them? Drawing on their behavioral framework and clinical experience, Joshua and Charle explore how environment, nervous system regulation, and fair (rather than unfair) judgment can transform explosive meetings into problem-solving conversations.​

How can leaders set the stage so parents feel less judged and more like true teammates in supporting their kids? You will hear practical strategies such as using neutral spaces, scripting key phrases, naming underlying emotions like fear or embarrassment, inviting trusted allies into the room, and using the “path of possibilities” question set what do you want and what don’t you want to bring parents back from chaos to collaboration.

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FREE The Language of Behavior Book Study Kit: https://thrivingeducator.myflodesk.com/lobbookstudy

Do you have any questions for the podcast? Fill out this quick Google Form: https://forms.gle/u5axHazzuyN5pry76

--

About Charle Peck:

Charle Peck is the co-creator of Thriving School Community, a revolutionary program designed for schools to improve mental health. She holds an MS in Education and an MS in Social Work as a 20+ year veteran in education (K-12). As a global keynote speaker, she delivers powerful messages of hope to educators and facilitates meaningful professional development. Charle successfully equips school staff with practical tools to mitigate teacher burnout and the youth mental health crisis providing relief to schools all across the country. Her unique lens as a high school teacher turned clinical therapist specializing in trauma makes her stories relevant and captivating to educators struggling in today’s system. You can purchase her book “Improving School Mental Health: The Thriving School Community Solution” on Amazon and connect with her on X @CharlePeck.

Follow Charle Peck:

• Website: www.ThrivingEducator.org
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/CharlePeck
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/charlepeckconsulting?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlepeck/
• Other: charle@thrivibgeducator.org
• Podcast: Thriving Educator
• Book: https://www.amazon.com/Improving-School-Mental-Health-Community/dp/B0BTS3MN2P?crid=EIKAGWZ4V006&keywords=charle+peck&qid=1705780803&sprefix=charle+peck%2Caps%2C181&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=aspirewebsite-20&linkId=6456f4f1bc2440be71d094a5d14656a4&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

About Joshua Stamper:

Joshua Stamper is the Director of Innovation for the Teach Better Team, a multifaceted role that encompasses his talents as an author, podcaster, leadership coach, and education keynote speaker. With a rich background as a middle school administrator, classroom art educator, and athletic coach, Joshua brings a wealth of experience to his work in education.

Joshua is passionate about implementing trauma-responsive techniques, exploring alternative student discipline methods, and promoting healthy leadership habits. He is deeply committed to enhancing leadership capacity through self-care practices, ensuring that educators are equipped to lead with empathy and resilience. As the author of The Language of Behavior and Aspire to Lead and host of two popular podcasts, Joshua continues to inspire and empower educators and leaders worldwide.

Follow Joshua...

In this episode of The Language of Behavior, Joshua Stamper and Charle Peck tackle one of the most triggering topics in schools today: student cell phones. Starting with the question “How do cell phones influence student behavior?”, they break down how constant notifications, social media, and late-night scrolling rewire reward pathways, ramp up impulsivity, and strain attention, often showing up as behavior challenges in the classroom.​

Instead of stopping at “cell phones are the problem,” Joshua and Charle walk through their three-part framework, environment, root cause, and intentional response, to help educators move from constant power struggles to structured, realistic use. They share concrete ideas like scheduled cell phone breaks, color-coded norms for when phones are on or off, and student-created agreements that turn devices into tools for reminders, research, and self-regulation rather than pure escape.​

They also dig into the mental health side of 24/7 connectivity, including bullying, sleep disruption, and social pressure, and why banning phones without teaching boundaries may only push students to get sneakier. Throughout the conversation, they emphasize teaching students how their brains work, building intrinsic motivation to “protect their attention,” and advocating for clear, consistent school-wide policies that make classrooms more humane and manageable for both students and staff.

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FREE The Language of Behavior Book Study Kit: https://thrivingeducator.myflodesk.com/lobbookstudy

Do you have any questions for the podcast? Fill out this quick Google Form: https://forms.gle/u5axHazzuyN5pry76

--

About Charle Peck:

Charle Peck is the co-creator of Thriving School Community, a revolutionary program designed for schools to improve mental health. She holds an MS in Education and an MS in Social Work as a 20+ year veteran in education (K-12). As a global keynote speaker, she delivers powerful messages of hope to educators and facilitates meaningful professional development. Charle successfully equips school staff with practical tools to mitigate teacher burnout and the youth mental health crisis providing relief to schools all across the country. Her unique lens as a high school teacher turned clinical therapist specializing in trauma makes her stories relevant and captivating to educators struggling in today’s system. You can purchase her book “Improving School Mental Health: The Thriving School Community Solution” on Amazon and connect with her on X @CharlePeck.

Follow Charle Peck:

• Website: www.ThrivingEducator.org
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/CharlePeck
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/charlepeckconsulting?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlepeck/
• Other: charle@thrivibgeducator.org
• Podcast: Thriving Educator
• Book: https://www.amazon.com/Improving-School-Mental-Health-Community/dp/B0BTS3MN2P?crid=EIKAGWZ4V006&keywords=charle+peck&qid=1705780803&sprefix=charle+peck%2Caps%2C181&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=aspirewebsite-20&linkId=6456f4f1bc2440be71d094a5d14656a4&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

About Joshua Stamper:

Joshua Stamper is the Director of Innovation for the Teach Better Team, a multifaceted role that encompasses his talents as an author, podcaster, leadership coach, and education keynote speaker. With a rich background as a middle school administrator, classroom art educator, and athletic coach, Joshua brings a wealth of experience to his work in education.

Joshua is passionate about implementing trauma-responsive techniques, exploring alternative student discipline methods, and promoting healthy leadership habits. He is deeply committed to enhancing leadership capacity through self-care practices, ensuring that educators...

Have you ever given a simple direction and watched a student suddenly shut down, explode, or spiral into a full meltdown?

In this episode of The Language of Behavior, Joshua Stamper and Charle Peck dig into one of the most urgent questions that came out of a recent McGraw Hill International keynote. Why are so many students reacting so intensely to the smallest requests?

Joshua and Charle explore how today’s students are navigating a perfect storm of chronic stress, disrupted routines, post pandemic anxiety, shifting cultural expectations, and underdeveloped executive functioning. They paint a vivid picture of how these pressures keep kids and adults stuck in a heightened alert state where even minor redirections can feel like threats.

The conversation moves beyond surface level explanations and into the real science of regulation, belonging, and behavioral overwhelm. Listeners will learn practical ways to help students settle their nervous systems at the start of class, how to use empathy and boundaries together, and why proactive routines are essential for preventing blow ups before they even begin.

This episode offers a powerful takeaway for every educator. When students feel embarrassed, unseen, or unsafe, their brains prioritize survival over cooperation. Sometimes the most transformative intervention is not a consequence but a moment of genuine pause, connection, and understanding.

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FREE The Language of Behavior Book Study Kit: https://thrivingeducator.myflodesk.com/lobbookstudy

Do you have any questions for the podcast? Fill out this quick Google Form: https://forms.gle/u5axHazzuyN5pry76

--

About Charle Peck:

Charle Peck is the co-creator of Thriving School Community, a revolutionary program designed for schools to improve mental health. She holds an MS in Education and an MS in Social Work as a 20+ year veteran in education (K-12). As a global keynote speaker, she delivers powerful messages of hope to educators and facilitates meaningful professional development. Charle successfully equips school staff with practical tools to mitigate teacher burnout and the youth mental health crisis providing relief to schools all across the country. Her unique lens as a high school teacher turned clinical therapist specializing in trauma makes her stories relevant and captivating to educators struggling in today’s system. You can purchase her book “Improving School Mental Health: The Thriving School Community Solution” on Amazon and connect with her on X @CharlePeck.

Follow Charle Peck:

• Website: www.ThrivingEducator.org
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/CharlePeck
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/charlepeckconsulting?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlepeck/
• Other: charle@thrivibgeducator.org
• Podcast: Thriving Educator
• Book: https://www.amazon.com/Improving-School-Mental-Health-Community/dp/B0BTS3MN2P?crid=EIKAGWZ4V006&keywords=charle+peck&qid=1705780803&sprefix=charle+peck%2Caps%2C181&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=aspirewebsite-20&linkId=6456f4f1bc2440be71d094a5d14656a4&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

About Joshua Stamper:

Joshua Stamper is the Director of Innovation for the Teach Better Team, a multifaceted role that encompasses his talents as an author, podcaster, leadership coach, and education keynote speaker. With a rich background as a middle school administrator, classroom art educator, and athletic coach, Joshua brings a wealth of experience to his work in education.

Joshua is passionate about implementing trauma-responsive techniques, exploring alternative student discipline methods, and promoting healthy leadership habits. He is deeply committed to enhancing leadership capacity through self-care practices, ensuring that educators are equipped...