Brave New Teaching: A Podcast for High School and Middle School Teachers

If you’ve ever hit May and thought, “Wait... what even happened this school year?” this team meeting is for you. I’m walking you through a simple but powerful reflection process to help you look back on your curriculum, classroom systems, and personal boundaries before summer. Together, we’ll identify what worked, what drained your energy, what needs to change, and what’s worth tackling now, over...

You might want your planner, a highlighter, and maybe your teacher bestie for this one, because we're not limping our way to summer...we’re finishing strong! In this team meeting episode, I’m walking you through exactly how I plan the end of the school year, starting with real instructional days, mapping out the non-negotiable musts, and then making space for the wants. I’m also sharing a sur...

Feeling a little feisty about classroom norms? Amanda here, flying solo this week to share three teaching hills I’ll gladly die on, from why reading Shakespeare cover to cover needs a rethink, to celebrating meaningful student milestones, to why vertical curriculum alignment matters more than ever. It’s honest, thought-provoking, and all in the name of better teaching! Resources: BNT University Wa...

The end of April always feels like everything is happening at once. I’m in the middle of dress rehearsals for Guys and Dolls , and with multiple performances stacked back-to-back, I found myself thinking a lot about what it actually takes to pull something like this off with 80+ students. Somewhere between cue lines and costume changes, I started noticing a bigger pattern I couldn’t ignore: the wa...

If the end of the school year feels like everything is speeding up while your energy is running low, you are absolutely not alone in that. I’m in it right now with state testing, post–spring break exhaustion, musical rehearsals ramping up, and students just trying to make it to summer. Instead of pushing through at full speed, I’m leaning into a very intentional mindset for these final eight weeks...

Spring break has us finally catching our breath, and in this episode we’re leaning into what it looks like to bring more ease and joy back into our classrooms when everything feels heavy. Instead of trying to do more, we’re sharing a simple shift: bringing “grandma hobbies” into the classroom! These are low-prep, hands-on activities that get students creating, talking, and using their hands again....

Okay but… are we really talking about robot teachers right now?! Because when I first saw that headline, I laughed, fully assuming it was an early April Fool’s joke. And then I realized… oh, we’re being serious. In this episode, I walk through my very real 7 stages of grief after hearing robots might be stepping into education, from laughing it off to spiraling to getting genuinely fired up, and w...

Some days the classroom feels completely out of your control, and honestly, sometimes it is. In this solo pep talk, I focus on what we can control, from navigating student anxiety during course selection season to unpacking how post-COVID habits are impacting their coping skills. I share real conversations I’m having with students about goals and trade-offs, along with how I’m balancing my own pri...

In this week’s team meeting, we share what we’ve been reading and swap book recommendations (and a few that didn’t quite land). Then we dive into an Edutopia reel about being a “warm demander” in the classroom, exploring how to hold students to high expectations while building strong, respectful relationships. We break down what this actually looks like in real moments, plus share tips that you ca...

Ever feel like every headline about teaching is trying to make you panic? That was the reaction this week when reading The Atlantic  article claiming teachers should stop meeting students where they are . We unpack what it really means, share recent reads, and highlight classroom and library projects. Check out the article, and see what conversations it sparks in your own teaching! Resources: Atla...

🔗 Grab our FREE 100% Engagement Listening Guide to get even more out of this episode! What if 100% engagement isn’t about doing more, but about choosing differently? After two episodes with the authors of 100% Engagement , this is our real classroom debrief. We share what happened when we actually tried the strategies, from reworking Book Snaps to spark better conversations to adapting a musical...

What do you do when last period feels like it’s dragging and everyone, including you, is running on fumes? In part two of our conversation with Brian Sztabnik and Susan Barber, we share quick, high-energy strategies to reset the room, from Top Chef–inspired build challenges to two-sentence horror stories and poetry puzzles that get students moving and thinking fast.  We also talk meme projects for...

🔗  Grab our FREE 100% Engagement Listening Guide to get even more out of this episode! Ever feel inspired by great teaching ideas, but they never quite make it into real lessons? In this episode, we kick off a special 3-part series with Brian Sztabnik and Susan Barber, co-authors of 100% Engagement , to share practical, doable ways to boost participation, collaboration, and authentic engagement -...

Super Bowl weekend is here, and while the game is fun, we’re really here for the commercials, and how to teach them well! In this team meeting, we share book talk and a clear plan for tackling Super Bowl commercial analysis. You’ll hear practical, classroom-ready steps using tools like the Four Reading Realms and SPACE CAT to help students have stronger conversations, deeper analysis, and way more...

Resistant readers are often reacting to confusion, not a lack of ability, and that’s exactly where the Four Reading Realms come in! In this episode, we walk through a framework Amanda developed to clarify the purpose behind different reading tasks, helping students understand what kind of thinking is required and why it matters. By separating reading into intentional realms (focused on identity, p...

What if our obsession with data is actually distracting us from the real work? In this team meeting, we dig into how a “data first” or “book first” approach can miss the human side of learning and why culture and engagement have to come first. We look ahead to what teaching needs to look like in 2026, sharing a conversation-first planning workflow that starts with what students actually care about...

Are you absolutely crawling through January molasses, too? I know I am! In this week’s Team BNT meeting we’re talking honestly about what happens when tired, overwhelmed students are trying (and failing) to keep everything in their heads as finals approach. I share simple, repeatable routines that help students reduce anxiety, take control of their time, and build real classroom community.  We als...

New year, new team meeting, and it’s Amanda behind the mic kicking off 2026 with what’s been on my mind lately. In this episode, I share updates from my move into an elementary school library role, why curated is my word of the year, and how that mindset is shaping everything from my home to my business. We also talk reading goals, audiobooks, and how my feelings about reading numbers have shifted...

If you’re limping toward break and just trying to survive the week, this episode is a quick, honest team meeting and much-needed reality check. I reflect on how teaching has shifted since 2020, how AI and technology are changing our classrooms, and why many old strategies no longer work. This isn’t about changing everything now, but about planting seeds for a future shift and giving yourself permi...

If your algorithm has also been screaming “screens are ruining humanity!” at you lately, then you’re right at home with us in this week’s team meeting. We break down the tech panic, talk about why students are tech comfortable but not tech fluent, and shift the focus back to building real human skills through creativity and play. From improv to pantomime, we’re exploring simple, screen-free ways t...

Screens are running the show, and we need to talk about it! Phones, Chromebooks, AI - they’re everywhere, and they’re changing how students focus, work, and just be . I (it's Marie!) break down two articles, one on how kids think we can get them off their phones, and another on how screen time is shaping education. From chaos during unstructured time to AI cheating popping up everywhere, it’s...

In this week's  Brave New Teaching team meeting, Marie's going a bit off-script with an idea that has been bouncing around her head the last couple weeks about how to get students to engage with reading and the literacy epidemic that is plaguing society at large (it's a lot, we know...). Is the secret to getting students reading actually in just getting them to try things they are r...

Consider this your official invite to our Brave New Teaching team meeting! We’re catching you up on life, sharing what’s happening in our classrooms and libraries, and digging into why fun and whimsy are essential for bringing joy back to reading. We talk about the real challenges of getting students excited about books, our evolving thoughts on “gamifying” reading, and the gimmicks (or whimsy!) t...

Think you’ve seen all the dystopia books out there? Think again! In part three of our “Teaching Dystopia” series, we share hidden gems, fresh picks, and classics, from middle grade survival stories to YA novels exploring climate change and government control. We highlight favorites like Alone and Station Eleven , plus TV and movie options like The Simpsons and Fringe to spark discussion and critic...

Have you ever felt like dystopia is the genre that just keeps on giving? In part two of our dystopia series, we focus on the essential skills that make these texts come alive in your classroom, showing why depth beats covering everything superficially. We explore how teaching students to notice author moves like juxtaposition helps them analyze tension, themes, and contrasts, keeping analysis at t...