Stumbling Through Work

Dr. Jerek Hough
  • 5.0 (11)
  • Society & Culture
  • Updated Semiweekly

Working in education is to stumble through your everyday! We love what we do, but staff, families, policies, regulations and sometimes even the children make us quit everyday then come back the next day. Just remember, you are not in this alone.

  1. Apr 21

    Child Care Is Not Okay

    Send us Fan Mail We break down the newest NAEYC workforce survey data and call out the real reason child care keeps teetering on the edge: the money does not match the expectations. Then we get practical about leadership restraint, parent trust, messy staff conflict, hiring for reliability, and policies that keep you out of legal trouble. Follow me : Website:  https://www.abbreviatedlearning.com Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/abbreviatedlearning Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/abbreviatedlearning

    42 min

  2. Apr 14

    Don’t End Up On The News

    Send us Fan Mail Something is deeply broken when a childcare worker thinks it’s acceptable to punish a crying child with humiliation and confinement. We react to a North Carolina daycare case under investigation and say the quiet part out loud: abuse is abuse, and leadership can’t hide behind “training” or “being overwhelmed.” If you run a center, the real question isn’t only who gets fired. It’s how your environment, supervision, and staff culture either block harm or make room for it.  From there, we shift into the daily leadership habits that decide whether families trust you. If you don’t know children’s and parents’ names, you’re not building relationships, you’re managing transactions. We break down why name recognition changes child behavior, improves emotional safety, and boosts retention, plus a practical system for learning hundreds of names without excuses.  Then it gets messy in the way early childhood education always does: break room talk that a coworker repeats in front of kids, parents hearing “sugar daddy” rumors at pickup, and how to respond without oversharing or feeding gossip. We also talk daycare policies that protect everyone, like diaper requirements for non-potty-trained toddlers, hiring signals that predict chaos, and the employee classification rules that prevent benefits drama and “Brenda” situations.  If you care about daycare safety, childcare leadership, staff training, and real-world center management, hit play. Subscribe, share with a director who needs this, and leave a review so more educators can find the show. Follow me : Website:  https://www.abbreviatedlearning.com Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/abbreviatedlearning Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/abbreviatedlearning

    46 min

  3. Apr 7

    The Government Keeps Changing The Rules And Providers Pay The Price

    Send us Fan Mail They say it’s about fraud, but the numbers don’t match the panic. The federal government is rolling back key Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) rules, pushing child care subsidy payments back toward attendance-based billing and away from enrollment-based payments and advance pay. If you’ve ever tried to run a classroom, a center, or a small family daycare, you already know what that means: a sick kid becomes lost revenue, a vacation becomes a budget hole, and a no-call no-show somehow becomes your financial problem while rent, payroll, and food bills stay the same. I break down why this kind of child care funding whiplash keeps early childhood education unstable, and why child care should be treated like infrastructure instead of a welfare-style program with constantly shifting rules. Then we pivot into the real-world leadership piece that directors actually feel every day: your staff “not communicating” and your parents “being difficult” often points to people leadership, not a staffing problem. Presence matters. Clear, calm communication matters. Building ownership matters, especially if you’re tired of being the bottleneck for every tiny decision. Follow me : Website:  https://www.abbreviatedlearning.com Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/abbreviatedlearning Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/abbreviatedlearning

    37 min

  4. Mar 31

    Are We Building Child Care Systems Or Seats

    Send us Fan Mail NYC is pushing toward universal city-run child care, and depending on who you ask, it’s either a long-overdue lifeline or a wrecking ball aimed at private programs. I’m holding both truths at once: expanding access can change family budgets, boost workforce participation, and bring better early childhood education wages and standards. But if we ignore what makes child care actually run, we’re about to learn the hard way that good intentions don’t operate a system. We break down the real trade-offs behind universal childcare policy: market displacement when “free” enters the room, fewer provider choices over time, and the uncomfortable question of long-term public funding sustainability. Then we get to the point that decides success or failure: childcare infrastructure. Not vibes. Physical space, staffing pipelines, training, coaching, enrollment systems, compliance tracking, leadership capacity, and all the unglamorous operational work that keeps quality from collapsing when scaling up. Follow me : Website:  https://www.abbreviatedlearning.com Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/abbreviatedlearning Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/abbreviatedlearning

    46 min

  5. Mar 24

    Circle Time With Lenny Endsley

    Send us Fan Mail They promised families Disneyland, but too often educators are running a parking lot carnival on max ratio and pure willpower. We sit down for Circle Time with Lenny, a longtime educator with deep early childhood education experience and current middle school perspective, to get brutally honest about what makes childcare centers burn people out and what finally helps teachers breathe again. Follow me : Website:  https://www.abbreviatedlearning.com Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/abbreviatedlearning Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/abbreviatedlearning

    39 min

  6. Mar 17

    Funding Cuts

    Send us Fan Mail Nevada’s early childhood workforce is being asked to do the impossible again: earn more credentials, raise quality, and keep classrooms stable while the state pulls one of the only programs that actually makes college affordable. We dig into the TEACH Early Childhood Scholarship Program and what it really does for childcare teachers, directors, and programs across Nevada’s mixed delivery system. When funding ends July 1 with only a short runway, it’s not a theoretical policy change. It’s educators deciding whether they can stay enrolled, take on debt, or walk away from early childhood education entirely. Follow me : Website:  https://www.abbreviatedlearning.com Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/abbreviatedlearning Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/abbreviatedlearning

    50 min

  7. Mar 3

    Circle Time w/ Trina Richardson

    Send us Fan Mail Trina shares the joy that keeps people going—parents becoming confident advocates, babies flourishing into curious learners, and former students returning as thriving adults—while naming the stress cycles, the full-moon crisis days, and the boundaries leaders need to protect their teams. Follow me : Website:  https://www.abbreviatedlearning.com Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/abbreviatedlearning Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/abbreviatedlearning

    36 min

  8. Feb 17

    Directors Aren’t Doctors; They’re Keeping Centers Open

    Send us Fan Mail Headlines say guidance changed. Our lobby says prove it. We unpack how federal vaccine recommendations collided with state childcare rules and turned drop-off into a debate club—and we give you the exact language to calm the room without playing doctor. This is a guide for directors who need operational stability more than hot takes: documentation that stands up to scrutiny, exemption workflows that don’t wobble, and an outbreak plan ready to send in minutes when measles stops being theoretical and starts being Tuesday. Follow me : Website:  https://www.abbreviatedlearning.com Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/abbreviatedlearning Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/abbreviatedlearning

    43 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
11 Ratings

About

Working in education is to stumble through your everyday! We love what we do, but staff, families, policies, regulations and sometimes even the children make us quit everyday then come back the next day. Just remember, you are not in this alone.

Information

  • Creator
    Dr. Jerek Hough
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    83
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Stumbling Through Work
  • Show Website
    Stumbling Through Work