Ms. Riley: Coffee, Compassion, and the Power of Empathy (10/6/25)

It’s Maestro Monday on the Zebra Morning Show, and this week’s guest is Ms. Riley, one of NBHS’s English teachers and a returning member of the Zebra Nation faculty. From her love of Chock Full o’ Nuts coffee and nostalgic jingles to her reflections on teaching juniors, Ms. Riley shares her journey in education and what makes Year 2 feel even more rewarding.The conversation dives into her experiences teaching everything from middle school to a psychiatric hospital classroom, and how she brings those lessons on emotional intelligence and empathy into her 11th-grade English class today. She also discusses the importance of mastering reading comprehension for the state GPA test and how understanding the “main idea” is key to success in and out of the classroom. The episode closes with her heartfelt advice for students: practice empathy and remember that everyone’s just doing their best.-----Submit a shout out: ⁠https://forms.gle/xUhbEC2WU92pewSi9⁠Send us a voicemail: ⁠https://zebrapodcastnetwork.com/shoutout⁠Connect with the Zebra Podcast NetworkX: ⁠https://twitter.com/zebrapodcastnet⁠Instagram: ⁠https://instagram.com/zebrapodcastnet⁠TikTok: https://tiktok.com/zebrapodcastnetYouTube: ⁠http://zebrapodcastnetwork.com/youtube⁠Twitch: ⁠http://zebrapodcastnetwork.com/twitch⁠Website: ⁠http://zebrapodcastnetwork.com