By Joe Vitale and Jamie Wanko
Sandy toes and a great idea: Jamie sets the scene
Three years have passed since the idea we tossed around finally came to life. Sitting in our beach chairs with our toes in the white sand of Surf City on Long Beach Island, we were waxing poetic about the profession we love, the stress it can bring and the solutions we hoped would help.
Just a year prior, my mom had become seriously ill, and I was not ready to go back to work in the fall. How could I balance the stress of managing my classroom, my three children and my sick parent while beginning work in an entirely new school? After 21 years in the same school, I was taking the leap to a new building. How would I be able to balance it all? I wasn’t sure if I could.
For months, the word “balance” was the basis of our many talks. Now, with the seagulls stealing snacks, our kids asking us for ice cream money and the lifeguards whistling at swimmers, it wasn’t a surprise when Joe leaned over in his Tommy Bahama beach chair and declared, “We are going to do the podcast and we are going to call it, ‘The Balancing Act.’”
Right there on the sand, we both knew that there was no going back. We quickly came to an agreement. Fueled by grit and self-confidence, and with absolutely no idea how to tackle this new endeavor, we were going to pursue a passion project that our profession and our families needed in an effort to help as many educators and parents as we possibly could.
The Balancing Act is born: Joe describes the pod
With more than 50 years of collective teaching experience and the desire to put our energy into a new productive project, “The Balancing Act” podcast was born. For years, we had discussed teaching, the art and the science of what it takes to be all you can be inside the classroom, while managing all that exists outside of it.
We are self-professed nerds. Teaching nerds, interest nerds and try-hard nerds. Nerds is a description we adore and take very seriously. Like so many of the best in our field, we believe that better is always possible, tackling problems can and will improve our practice and culture can be influenced, as long as we try. And yet we all know the resilience it takes to confront the events that life throws at us. Our solution to all that ails us is to start a podcast, of course! And that is exactly what we did.
Now, nearly three years later, our two-person team has had its fair share of ups and downs. In November 2025, we spent the day at the NJEA Convention, one of the highlights of our podcasting experience thus far. The glorious day started with listening to an inspirational keynote speech from a personal hero of ours, Malala Yousafzai. Soon after, we set up shop in the large convention hall and spent the rest of the day interviewing New Jersey county and state teachers of the year. We were thrilled with the opportunity to ask educational questions like, “What is your classroom theme song?” and “What is the most important advice you would give to a first-year teacher?”
Share the journey
Over three seasons and nearly 100 episodes, we have interviewed teachers, psychologists, college experts, family drug counselors, media experts and even Jodi Edwards, the beloved co-owner of the New Jersey ice cream shop Nicholas Creamery, who gave us tips on helping teenagers be more employable.
As we continue our journey toward self-growth, reflection and nerdiness, we would love to hear from New Jersey teachers and educators around the world who, like us, seek to learn how to better balance work, stress, parenting, friendships and how to make more time for fun, summer beach trips and laughter.
We welcome current and future listeners. Visit podthebalancingact.com and hope you will give us a like, a listen, a follow or tell a friend. As always, we appreciate you.