Tiny Pep Talks for Teachers Bite-Size Encouragement for the Classroom

By: Paula Skaggs, Josh Linden

Published by Quirk Books, 2026-04-07

Two comedians offer hilarious encouragement for all the tiny heroic acts that teachers perform every day.

Teachers are constantly handing out reassurance, support, and inspiration. But who’s boosting them through their everyday challenges—like waking a sleeping student, paying for supplies out of pocket, or fighting with the copy machine again? Frankly, sometimes an apple isn’t enough!

Comedians Paula Skaggs and Josh Linden are here to give teachers their due, with a hilarious compendium of over 75 pep talks for all the mundane struggles of the classroom. Let them cheerlead the beloved teachers in your life through those tough times at work:

• You don’t get the students’ references and now you feel old!
• Someone microwaved something gross in the teacher’s lounge!
• A parent has strong opinions about their kid’s grade!
• It’s 9 p.m. and you still haven’t planned tomorrow’s lesson!
• Oops! You looked at your paycheck!
• And more low-stakes but all-consuming situations inside and outside of school!

A teacher’s support lasts for a lifetime. Let them know someone’s rooting for them, too—and give them the belly laugh they probably need.