Unlock Your Teaching Potential
Are you overwhelmed by the constant demands of teaching, wondering if you’ll ever feel balanced again? Do you feel like your identity as an educator has overshadowed the person you once were? Are you craving a way to rediscover your passion and purpose, not just in the classroom but in your life?
Welcome to Unlock Your Teaching Potential, your permission slip to hit the brakes, recharge, and reignite your joy for teaching and living.
I’m Dr. Jen Rafferty, a former music teacher, author, TEDX speaker, mom of 2, and founder of Empowered Educator. I’ve been where you are, navigating the burnout, the exhaustion, and the struggle to find time for yourself especially when life gets lifey. But I also know there’s another way, a path to thriving both as an educator and a human being.
This podcast is where we ditch the old ideas of what you “should” be doing and discover actionable steps to create a life you love. Each week, I’ll guide you through short, impactful episodes created to empower you with tangible tools to reclaim your energy, prioritize your well-being, and transform the way you show up for yourself, your students, and your family.
Together, we’ll rewrite the narrative of being in education from selfless superhero to becoming an empowered educator, one step at a time. Whether it’s embracing mindfulness, setting boundaries, or rediscovering what lights you up, you’ll leave each episode with strategies to help you lead a healthier, and more joyful life...which in turn will allow you to show up as your best self for your students and school communities.
If you’re ready to fuel your soul as an educator, this is the podcast for you!
So it’s time to recharge, refocus, and unlock your teaching potential! Our kids need you.
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 32 minutes
- Episodes
- 100
- Years Active
- 2021 - 2025
Welcome to Season 2 of Take Notes with Jen Rafferty!
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Hello, everyone!
I know when you went into education, you had a passion for shaping young minds, creating community, and so much vision for how your work wo…
Leadership and Advocacy with NAfME president elect, Scott Sheehan
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Scott Sheehan is the current NAfME National President-Elect.A nationally recognized advocate and leader for the advancement of music education, Scott is the…
Full STEAM Ahead - The BlairFinch Project
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On this week’s podcast I spoke with Abigail Blair and Kathryn Finch who are elementary school music teachers in the suburbs of Chicago and coauthors of Full…
Reflecting on the Literature - Cultural Competence in the Music Room
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On this week’s episode I talk with Randy Ward who started his career as a professional cello player for a number of orchestras throughout the southwest Unit…
Teacher Feature - David Knott
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David Knott is a professional percussionist, educational leadership advocate, and professional conductor. He currently serves as a member of the instrumenta…
Social Emotional Artistic Learning (SEAL) with Elizabeth Peterson
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Elizabeth Peterson has devoted her life to education and to reaching out to other teachers who want to remain inspired. A former music teacher and current …
Teacher Feature Renee Duncan
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Dr. Renee Duncan talks about methodologies, pedagogies and theories outside of music education to better inform how we teach music to our students. Dr. Dun…
Discover Your Musical DNA with Guy Michel, the Cello Assassin
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Guy Michel is a marital artist and well-known professional cellist. He began his music career at the age of 5 in his native country, Haiti. He believes that…
STEM to STEAM ~ Music & Space Rockets
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Laurie Orth's book, Rocket Recorder: Volume One is an innovative music workbook for recorder students that combines the contrasting disciplines of music wit…
Diversity, Equity, Access, Inclusion and Belonging with Dr. Derrick Fox
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Dr. Derrick Fox is the Director of Choral Activities and Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. He launched The Derrick Fox Chora…
Learning Design & Cognitive Neuroscience with Lauren Waldman
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Diving into the science of the brain Lauren Waldman became her own best case study and learning experiment. Through her challenging, emotional and victoriou…
The Power of Play in Education with Dina Bolan
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Dina Bolan is a third-grade teacher from NJ and a fierce advocate for playful education beyond the early childhood years. She is the creator of Club in a Cr…
Ethics in Music Education with Allison Russo
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Educator, consultant, and writer Allison Russo has over 10 years’ experience bringing issues of equity and ethics to light in the world of arts education. H…
Teacher Feature Josh Emanuel
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Josh Emanuel is a music educator, percussionist, music technology specialist, and composer from Suffern, NY. He received his B.M. in music education from th…
Learning and the Brain with Veerle Ponnet
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Veerle Ponnet is currently the Academic Director for Dusemond Study Programmes in the UK. Her vision and expertise draws on insights from the world of neuro…
Spotlight on the Give a Note Foundation
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Beth Slusher, CEO of the Give a Note Foundation, and Juliana Lee, Strategic Development Director knows what it takes to be an awesome music education. The …
Mind the Gap - Traditional and Non Traditional Music Education
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I met Beth Slusher and Juliana Lee from the Give a Note foundation and after some passionate and heartfelt conversations about music education, they asked m…
Teacher Feature Theresa Hoover
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Theresa Hoover is a music educator, speaker, and writer. She is an advocate for student voice in the music room and works to empower students throughout the…
Innovation and Music Education with Lourenço Dias Amador
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This week on Take Notes, I had the pleasure of talking with Lourenço Dias Amador about neuroscience and music education. Lourenço is a PhD student at the Un…
What's Your Why?
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It's the pilot episode of Take Notes! Dig deep and uncover your why - your reason for teaching. This will be your identity for who you are as an educator, a…