What if the secret to real learning has nothing to do with cognition, and everything to do with emotion?

In this episode of unMASKing with Male Educators, Dr. Maurice J. Elias, Rutgers University professor, psychologist, and one of the nation’s leading voices in social-emotional and character development, joins host Ashanti Branch for a powerful conversation about the emotional foundations of learning, teaching, and school culture.

Drawing from 45 years at Rutgers and decades of work in schools around the world, Dr. Elias reveals why classrooms must be places of belonging, purpose, inspiration, and shared humanity. Together, he and Ashanti unpack the masks educators wear: the pressure to be the expert, the expectation to appear confident, and the hidden insecurities and self-doubt beneath the surface. They explore how emotions shape motivation, why students crave mattering, and how educators can build the kind of climate where young people feel seen, valued, and capable of greatness.

This episode dives into the heart of school culture, why it breaks, how it heals, and what happens when educators lead with compassion, curiosity, and purpose.

• The emotional mask of the educator: confidence on the outside, insecurity on the inside

• Why emotional experiences, not cognition, are the true engine of learning

• The crisis of mattering: why kids act out when they can’t matter in positive ways

• How purpose, identity, and belonging fuel motivation and academic success

• Why students must co-create classroom culture and norms

• The power of names, stories, and authentic relationships in the classroom

• What happens when teachers feel called to serve, but systems push them out

• How school climate either nurtures or destroys learning

• Why male educators leave, and why networks of support are essential

  
  

(0:00 ) Welcome & introduction

(0:59 ) Dr. Elias on identity, humility & purpose

(2:00 ) The educator’s mask: confidence vs. self-doubt

(4:00 ) Ashanti on fear of failure and legacy

(6:00 ) Why students choose negative ways to matter

(8:10 ) Purpose, mattering, and motivation

(10:20 ) Why teachers tie their identity to student success

(12:00 ) Creating school climates people want to be in

(13:00 ) What it takes to build emotionally intelligent classrooms

(14:30 ) Co-constructing classroom norms with students

(16:20 ) Humanizing students: names, stories & connection

(17:50 ) Aspirations, index cards & seeing students’ inner worlds

(19:00 ) Why students love meaningful conversations

(26:00 ) The backstory behind greatness: work, purpose, discipline

(28:00 ) Systems issues in education: what schools are getting wrong

(29:30 ) SEL as preparation for democracy

(31:30 ) The emotional labor of teaching

(38:10 ) Why male educators leave the profession

(40:00 ) Networks of support for male teachers

(42:30 ) SEL4CA and a call to community

Connect with Dr. Maurice J. Elias

• SEL Research & Resources – Rutgers Social-Emotional and Character Development Lab

• Emotionally Intelligent Parenting (multi-language editions)

• Reinvigorating Classroom Environments (new release)

• SEL4CA – Statewide SEL Network: SEL4CA.org

Connect with Ashanti Branch:

Instagram:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/branchspeaks/⁠

Facebook:⁠ https://www.facebook.com/BranchSpeaks⁠

Twitter:⁠ https://twitter.com/BranchSpeaks⁠

LinkedIn:⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashantibranch/⁠

Website:⁠ https://www.branchspeaks.com/⁠

Support the podcast and the work of the Ever Forward Club:⁠ https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/branch-speaks/support⁠

Connect with Ever Forward Club:

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#unmaskingwithmaleeducators #millionmaskmovement #takingoffthemask #totm #doace #UNWME #diaryofaconfusededucator #SEL #emotionalintelligence #schoolculture #teacherwellbeing