Teach, Parent, Repeat

How to Survive and Thrive as a Teacher-Parent

By Emma Derainne

$39.95

Teaching has always been demanding. But somewhere between the staffroom and the school run, the lesson plans and the bedtime routine, it became something else entirely: relentless.

Teach, Parent, Repeat says what teachers are thinking but are rarely allowed to say out loud: that the emotional labour is enormous, the expectations are contradictory and the line between who you are at work and who you are at home stopped existing a long time ago.

Written by teacher, researcher and mother Emma Derainne, this is an honest, warm and wickedly funny survival guide for educators who still care deeply – and are quietly wondering how long they can keep going at this pace. Through sharp personal storytelling and grounded research, Teach, Parent, Repeat names the invisible load, challenges the myth of endless holidays and offers something genuinely rare: permission to set boundaries, lead with humanity and fall in love with teaching again – on your own terms.

Also available via Amazon Kindle and iBooks

ISBN: 9781923403765

Size: 234 x 156 mm

Black & white, 158 pages

Published: May 2026

About the author: Emma Derainne

Emma Derainne is a passionate educator with over 20 years of experience in Early Childhood and Primary Education, having taught in Australia, Asia, and Europe. In 2024, Emma is completing her third postgraduate degree, a Master of Philosophy from the University of Queensland, focusing on the meaning teachers attribute to school gardens. Currently, she is embarking on a cross-disciplinary PhD project emphasising the intersection of education, health, and sciences to enhance children's overall vitality and well-being. A First-Generation graduate from a rural community, Emma’s empathy and compassion for her students are evident in her role as Program Coordinator for Early Childhood Education and Food and Nutrition Sciences at Federation Online. Emma, a mother to two boys, draws inspiration from her personal and professional life to think deeply about what school gardens really mean, how we can use them, and how they can be symbols of our communities.

Praise/Testimonials

Emma’s book is about all the things we ‘wear’ as teachers – that we try to talk to each other about, but cannot air. Recommended for professionals and parents. I laughed, I cried, I raised my eyebrows.
Lara Tzafaris, Enterprise Manager, CSIRO (and former teacher)

Emma explores the impossible emotional labour required by educators to regulate, nurture and stabilise 30 children by day, and then do a second unpaid shift overnight at home.
Lauren Woodlands, Senior Research Fellow – Education Faculty, Queensland University of Technology

This book will help you draw a line between who you are as a teacher and who you are as a person. By bringing personal experience and academic research into the conversation, this book will help you juggle competing priorities and survive the five-year hurdle and beyond.
Steven Kolber, teacher and researcher, Top 50 Global Teacher Prize finalist