Meet Prathibha Madigapola | Educator and Advocate

We had the good fortune of connecting with Prathibha Madigapola and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Prathibha, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?

I think the idea of work-life balance isn’t actually as great as it sounds. Work-life balance is something that I had heard for a very long time and tried to implement as much as possible, especially when I was a classroom teacher. Focusing on building a work-life balance became more difficult as I got older, mostly because it stopped making sense to me. My passion for teaching never wavered from year 1 to year 8[when I left] in the classroom – what changed was my life. I got married, bought a house, and adopted two amazing dogs – I didn’t want to balance my work and my life; I wanted my life to take priority! I didn’t want to wait until retirement to do the things I wanted to do – I wanted to create space for them now.

Of course, there are tradeoffs when you work for yourself – you can take a day off, but you won’t get paid. When setting up my weekly, monthly, and yearly schedule, I plan all the ways I can work to allow my life to take priority. One way I do this is by scaling up or down to match the naturally busy times of the school year- my experience in the classroom really helped me understand when and how to provide support during those times and create firm timelines for scaling up/down so that I am not overworking myself.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?

I am an Educational Consultant and Tutor with expertise in supporting neurodiverse and neurotypical individuals navigating life transitions. My consulting services at Leaarn with Ms. M. encompass executive functioning support, job coaching, and comprehensive career and educational planning to empower individuals to achieve their goals. Before all this, I was a classroom teacher.

Leaving teaching was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I went into teaching straight out of Grad School at 23 years old – it was my first job and, in some ways, the only thing that I felt qualified to do. I had known for a while that teaching didn’t meet my needs in terms of a career that allowed me to prioritize my life, but I connected so much of my identity to teaching. I also felt that I needed to have a solid plan before leaving because, unlike at 23, I had others depending on me – my husband and I had built a life around both of us having an income; what would it look like if I didn’t make as much? There were so many doubts swirling.

I worked with a job coach. The plan was to stay in the classroom for two more years while building up my tutoring business – I would be tutoring in the afternoons after work and creating a buffer to afford not making as much once I finally left. We started tracking and analyzing our budgets, brainstorming ways to lower our expenses, and saving as much as we could while I looked for contract work for teachers. During this time, I started to experience a variety of health issues, which eventually led to me leaving the classroom in June 2023 – a year earlier than anticipated.

Though my timeline was moved up, I took time over the summer to decompress and relax – there’s a lot of trauma associated with working in a classroom that often gets pushed aside because of how busy teachers are; I spent time processing it. Then came the unknown.

I paid for a few Instagram ads, posted in some local Facebook groups, and got involved in community events. I kept thinking about ways to continue doing things I enjoyed while supporting my business. This is when I started my talking tables – an opportunity to connect with community members and show them what I am good at – teaching science. Each table I have done so far has been centered around a theme (Dynamic Decomposers, Powerful Plants, Spooky Science). Community members of all ages can swing by my table to learn something new in under 5 minutes. Each lesson comes with a personalized coloring sheet that they can use to review what they learned at my table.

I also wanted to emphasize support for neurodiverse individuals, as this is the population I worked with as a classroom teacher. I connected with the regional center and started offering services that individuals in their Self Determination Program could benefit from. 

As I got the word out about my business, it began to grow, and my services began to expand – I went from calling myself a tutor to an educational consultant and helping not just K-12 students but also adults in community college and professionals looking to make life transitions. I work 20- 25 hours a week and love every minute of the work I do and even more so the time I have to enjoy my life outside of work.

I think the biggest lesson I have learned is not to be afraid to try things out – I am getting better at taking the ideas floating in the clouds above my head and having them touch down on Earth.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?

Apart from my time in college, I’ve lived most of my life in the San Fernando Valley. One of my favorite parts of Los Angeles is Exposition Park – I could probably spend two days there between NHMLA, The California Science Center, and BMO stadium! Here’s my perfect 7-day LA itinerary.

Day 1 – The Valley

• Breakfast at Sweetbutter Kitchen, which is also a popular filming spot for one of my favorite shows, RHOBH
• Spend the day at The Japanese Garden – it’s fascinating that it is all maintained with reclaimed water,  and Sepulveda Basin Wetlands- right next door to the gardens. I love that we have these greenspaces amongst the concrete of LA.
• Picnic Lunch
• Dinner at Aquachiles Sushi – this is one of the most unique fusion restaurants I have eaten at – they take sushi and combine it with Mexican flavors using a variety of sauces – my favorite is their SASS ROLL.

Day 2 – Exposition Park

• Grab breakfast at Yonder Coffee
• A day at the Natural History Museum(so many gems from my homeland of Sri Lanka!)
• Late Lunch/Early Dinner at the Fields

Day 3 – Exposition Park

• Grab breakfast at Republic of Pie and take the Metro to Exposition Park
• A day at the California Science Center(my favorite is the Ecosystems exhibit because of my background in Ecology) and walk through the Rose Gardens
• Lunch from the fruit/food vendors in the Rose Garden
• Watch an LAFC game at BMO Stadium
• Dinner – a bacon-wrapped hotdog from one of the carts(must try!)

Day 4 – Frogtown

• Breakfast at La Colombe
• Walk the river at Lewis MacAdams Riverfront Park (Formerly Marsh Park)
• Lunch at Spokes Bicycle Cafe
• Spa time at Quantum Clinic – this space is so tranquil
• Dinner and drinks at Frogtown Brewery

Day 5 – La Brea

• Homemade breakfast
• A day at La Brea Tarpits and LACMA
• Lunch at Trejo’s Tacos
• Downtime at the Grove
• Dinner and dancing at Clifton’s Cafeteria – such a unique venue

Day 6

• Spend the morning at home- I think I have kept them pretty busy for most of the week
• Go on the Warner Brothers Studio tour – touristy but a must if the friend is from a small town
• Late Lunch/Early dinner at City Walk

Day 7 – Griffith Park

• A day at the LA ZOO (if in the winter – I would go in the afternoon for Zoo Lights) 
• picnic foods and snacks all-day
• Finish of the day at Griffith Observatory.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?

My family is a driving force in everything I do; their unwavering belief in me pushes me forward. I especially want to thank my husband, Taylor, for being my biggest cheerleader.

Website: www.learnwithmsm.com

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Other: Google Business https://g.page/r/CWw-GuBWMJwAEB0/review

Image Credits
Randy Gist