Inside the classroom—and the system—that no syllabus prepares you for
Special to Legacy Magazine
“A lawyer cannot do what he or she does, a doctor, an architect—anybody—without first having had that foundation from a teacher,” said Mr. Douse, M.Ed., a veteran educator who has taught English and Language Arts (ELA) for more than 16 years.
Douse’s journey into education wasn’t a straight line. After a career in journalism—and a heated confrontation with a publisher—he left the newsroom behind to pursue a more meaningful path in the classroom. The decision, rooted in a love of language, allowed him to teach students how to find their voices and value their own words.
Now, as the author of “The New K-12 Teachers’ Playbook: Real Game for Surviving Education,” Douse offers early-career teachers what many leadership programs and traditional certification tracks often overlook: honest, experience-based insight into the social, emotional, and political realities of today’s schools.
A graduate of St. Thomas University’s Educational Leadership program, Douse brings both instructional expertise and systems-level understanding to his writing. The book bridges the gap between theory and practice—between what new teachers hear in training and what they face in the classroom.
“Some people want to be a teacher, despite what society says,” he explained. “Education is not dead. Real teachers show up every day. Real students show up every day. What’s dead is the respect for the profession.”
Rather than focus on that lack of respect, Douse urges new educators to ground their practice in compassion, self-awareness, and intentional classroom culture.
“Everything you learned in school goes out the door when you go into that classroom because now you’ve got 150 kids coming from 150 different households—and they’re bringing their worlds into yours. It’s your job to say, ‘Hey, this is my world.’”
At the heart of his philosophy is a call for authenticity—not bravado.
“A lot of new teachers think they have to come in being mean. You don’t have to be mean—be you.”
Still, authenticity alone isn’t enough. As a mentor, Douse encourages teachers to establish boundaries and build what he calls an “emotional shield”—a professional identity that protects against burnout, reactive politics, and emotional overexposure.
“Some parents will come in and say, ‘I’m going to call the district on you.’ Some kids will say, ‘I hate you’ or ‘I’m going to get you fired.’ If you don’t have a boundary, you’ll take it personally. That’s where the avatar comes in—it protects you emotionally.”
In addition to supporting classroom management and relationship-building, The New K-12 Teachers’ Playbook challenges new educators to recognize the broader institutional dynamics at play. Douse doesn’t sugarcoat the system. He exposes it.
“You have to be yourself first. Then, you have to understand that education is a business—like any other. It’s a numbers game. It’s full of politics. I wrote this book to show you how to play the game and move through it without losing yourself.”
For educational leaders, this kind of thinking is critical. Supporting new teachers isn’t just about giving them strategies—it’s about preparing them for a system that doesn’t always prioritize their well-being. Books like Douse’s provide a necessary bridge between coursework and real-world survival.
Available July 30 at www.badteacher.store, The New K-12 Teachers’ Playbook is essential reading for new teachers, instructional coaches, and leadership programs seeking to equip educators with the skills and resilience they will need.
