Chris Valli was an outgoing teacher, father, husband, and community man. However, beneath the surface, he was juggling too much: teaching by day, musical theatre by night, a strained marriage, and a growing sense of disconnect within himself. In one moment of exhaustion and reactivity, it all came crashing down. An investigation. Public headlines. A lost job. A lost identity.
Put the Phone Away is about acknowledging one’s failures and growth. It’s a story about presence and what happens when you’re forced to stop scrolling, stop performing, and start healing. Today, Chris is a speaker, writer, partner, and father, and lives in Marlborough, New Zealand.
Put the Phone Away
When New Zealand schoolteacher Chris Valli confiscated a student’s cell phone during class, he never imagined it would cost him his career and ultimately, deregistration. Cast out by the system he once served for 10 years, Chris was left questioning everything he believed about respect, consequenc...
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