059 - Gareth Dale - Classroom to Childrens Author / Private Tutor Part 1

The Pit Pony Podcast - Life After Teaching

In this deeply personal episode, we sit down with Gareth Dale - a teacher from 2005 to 2023 - to explore a story of love, loss, and the emotional toll of showing up in school when life is falling apart behind the scenes.

Gareth takes us through his early teaching journey, the formative years in tough inner-city schools, and the moment his life changed forever with the birth - and tragic loss - of his newborn daughter, Clara.

He opens up about the trauma, the masking, the shock that followed, and the moment writing a school Christmas play helped him find meaning again. We talk about grief that doesn’t follow rules, the safe spaces school can offer (and sometimes can’t), and the emotional weight teachers carry - especially when life outside the classroom shatters.

This is a story about identity, survival, and how creativity became a lifeline.

⚠️ Content warning: this episode discusses baby loss and grief.

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Edited with finesse by our Podcast Super Producer, Mike Roberts of Making Digital Real