Daily Inspiration: Meet Matt Jones and Zo Johnson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Jones and Zo Johnson.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Both of us have been doing stand up comedy and acting for a while. We got into education by accident. We kind of fell in love with helping kids, but we quickly saw how toxic this job was. We saw teachers burning out and a lot of our comedy became about that topic. We never thought in a million years we would be talking about teaching online, but here we are. It’s a crazy field. It’s harder than anything we’ve ever done. Zo runs after school programs and produces junior broadway plays. Matt is a public school classroom teacher and teaches drama.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s been anything but smooth. When you enter the classroom you have such a heart for kids. After a while you try to hold it together in the classroom, and you have very little support in there. It’s always the teacher’s fault. We both do drama. The challenging part is it’s organized chaos in the classroom. It can quickly turn into backyard wrestling. You’re trying to teach someone’s kid how to deliver lines in a scene and two kids are doing chuck norris spin kicks in the back.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We both have worked in the industry for some time. The majority of our lives have been about acting and comedy so we started teaching these techniques to kids. It sounds like a touching hallmark story, but once you get in the classroom you realize it’s 40 kids sometimes, it’s just you, and you’re not really equipped to handle everything that is thrown at you. The reality of education is not a 100 minute teaching biopic…it’s the person who wants to leave, but feels stuck. We started a podcast called the teacher’s lounge where we talked about burning out in education after only working in it for a few years. Teachers began to write us, dm us, and tell us their horror stories. At first teachers were turning in from America, but now it’s becoming a global conversation. Educators are fed up. They are starving to be heard and it feels like no one cares about them. Our goal is to bring laughter to these people. I don’t think the public realizes how impossible it has become to be a teacher in today’s climate.

So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
You can tune in to our podcast, but we would love to perform for your school, meeting, or corporate event. We bring a hilarious show, but we also bring awareness to what is happening without a Pollyanna coating.

Pricing:

• $2000 for a comedy show plus room and board

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @theteachersloungelive
• Facebook: @theteachersloungelive
• Youtube: @theteachersloungelive