Drivetime Diaries

A routine around the world - parents sitting with their childen at the kitchen table trying to finish math assignments. I got an SOS text from my wife one day this week while I was still at school asking for help on a word problem from our kid's Algebra assignment. Seriously, this problem was devilishly hard for no reason. She was feeling frustrated, so was our kid, and they both needed valida...

Do you share your goals with the people closest to you or do you keep them to yourself to keep from letting others down? Recently I had someone close to me who just completed a year of totally changing their morning and evening routine and I was a little disappointed they hadn't shared with me that they were working toward that goal because I wanted to encourage them! They said they didn't share b...

I was able to kick into high gear planning for next semester and I am incredibly excited! A lot of that has to do with the planning partners I've opened myself up to this semester. How well do you collaborate in your practice?

Meta (Facebook) just launched a new chatbot inside of FB messages, so I asked it for a podcast episode and it suggested ASMR.

I made pancakes as a class incentive - what happens when Mr. Baker bakes? A year ago I started doing "class points" as whole-group incentives for students' collective positive behaviors and following directions as a part of the district-wide emphasis on the 4-step "no-nonsense nurturer" model. I had not decided at the beginning of this school year if I was going to continue...

I started messing around in German recently in Duolingo and have really been enjoying it, but what am I really learning so far I basically know please thank you bread water and wine plus a couple others... Are we actually learning from Duolingo or is this just another thing we occupy ourselves with on our phones? My wife has a story that affirms the power of Duo - listen for her testimony using it...

Do we still each other this question? "What kind of music do you like?" What does your answer to that question say about you? Let me know what you think!

I was surprised recently by one of my kids skills and it almost felt like it was a secret talent but I should have known better after thinking about it and observing things that he does really well so that had me also thinking about my students what secret talents do my students have that I just don't know about yet but I haven't created an environment to discover those but I do know that any orga...

What level of diversity, equity, and/or inclusion (DEI) is necessary for it be authentic or meaningful, rather than paying lipservice to the idea or virtue signaling to others? Does it even matter? Is SOME effort better than NONE? Viewing a teacher's recent IG reel of them putting up Christmas decorations in their classroom had me wondering if they missed the point. Let me know what you think!...

One of the most asked personal questions in my classroom this year - what is a "kingdom worker"? I was introduced to the term for the first time at a student conference this summer from an organization called, CIY, and have since adopted the moniker. In this episode, we'll talk about the definition as it comes from the CIY website, and also on the comments ChatGPT came up with when I...

Should Mondays be so bad?? Here me out!

Merriam-Webster has published their 2023 "word of the year" - AUTHENTIC. That's a big word for this podcast, too!

I had an astute student tell me after school that my class must have been stressful that day because my hair was sticking up like I'd run my hand through it lots of times. It was an interesting observation and had me thinking about how various levels of stress (or lack thereof) manifest in me physically. What about you? Let me know what you think! IG: ⁠⁠@drivetimediary⁠⁠ ⁠⁠@mrcbaker4math⁠⁠ X: ⁠⁠ch...

I don't think I intend to always challenge "the way we do things," but as a tell my kids at home, the way things happen is the reality, whether we intend it. So... what do I do with that? How do I keep myself lead-able and collaborating on the team while using my gifts to look forward? Let me know what you think! IG: ⁠⁠@drivetimediary⁠⁠ ⁠⁠@mrcbaker4math⁠⁠ X: ⁠⁠chuckcbaker⁠

We've been going through the model prayer that Jesus teaches his disciples in the gospel account of Matthew, and so I've just been thinking about that a lot more the past week and wanted to do some bonus episodes sharing how I reflect on that model prayer and how I think about my mission teaching being a kingdom worker and how I get ready for the school day

If you identify in a public space as a Christian, it's pretty inevitable that when you make a mistake or have a bad day, someone will be thinking (or say outloud), "You shouldn't act like, that. I thought you were a Christian!" What do you do then? Today's episode reflects on my most recent encounter with that situation. It's easy following Jesus at church , but things ca...

On this episode, I interviewed fellow educator and life-long co-sympathizer, my sister, Jennifer Bearden. Jen is a 23 year veteran elementary teacher - ALL in the same school! After much persuasion that I would be nice, I was able to coerce her to allow me to interview her for the podcast! Jen shares her story of being influenced to become a teacher, what she geeks over to stay interested in the j...

Listening to the news on the way to school recently, it was reported that teaching hirings are up 16% over the last four years in Illinois! That seems like great news, but how did they do it? Without being able to research it while driving, my assumption is that they have strong avenues to alternative certification in Illinois. What's more important, that someone went through a traditional 4 y...

Thinking this morning about times I've had friends leave organizations or I've felt lonely myself because there was no one "like me". Some of us are gifted in building bridges and making space for others, some are less gifted, but it's the work were called to nonetheless. if you're an only today...hold on. #2 needs you there to be a friend for the next one.

Happy Veteran's Day in the U.S.! I have mini-US, Navy, and Marine Corps flags in my classroom, so kids often ask if I was in the military, and I always have to sort of dodge the question because its a bit complicated in my opinion. Here's the story why. Along with that, my parents' stories as veterans helps informs my own, so I would have been remiss to not get them on the episode talk...

Are you intentional about where and how you consume your media and news? I had a conversation on Friday night with a friend (and fan of the pod) about an app he had just started using to make sure that he wasn't just consuming liberal or conservative news perspectives. It's important how and why we consume our media - what's your favorite news or media app? Does it matter to you if it...

I was asked recently if I am a "hardcore" Christian... the way most people would think about it, yes, probably! I am deeply devoted to following Jesus and putting Christ first in all aspects of my life. But do I think that's "hardcore"? No, I don't. I think that's what Jesus tells us to do if we are going to follow him. In this episode: What makes me a "hardcor...

I was a proud member of the roll-out-the-door crew for a LONG time, but part of my parenting journey has been finding the joy of time in the morning before kids get up/the day begins. What about you?

Some people might say...it doesn't matter what I have to say about diversity, equity, and inclusion because I do not share much intersectionality with basically any "marginalized" groups. So, if that's you, this episode might not be for you. However, I am of the opinion that everyone should be knowledgeable about diversity, equity and inclusion if we are ever going to meet the go...

Parent-Teacher Conferences 2023 are done! I used it to make a connection, but are there many things more ridiculous than bragging to native Spanish speaker that you have a 150 day streak on Duolingo?! 🤡 PT conferences are a key component to the public schools social contract I talk about a lot on here, so how your school welcomes families in, facilitates your visit and gives you valuable informat...