Hiding In Plain Sight Podcast

An interview with Brian Baker on preparing students for the AI age Show Description: Episode 43 of “Hiding in Plain Sight” features an in-depth interview with Brian Baker, an educator and digital literacy expert. The episode explores the challenges and opportunities of teaching digital, media, and AI literacy in schools. The conversation covers the importance of explicit instruction, the risks of...

Dr. Clayton Cook is the Chief Development Officer at CharacterStrong. He is also an implementation scientist, psychologist, and former paraprofessional and middle school math teacher. Dr. Cook has spent the past 15 years working in partnership with school systems across the country to support the implementation of effective practices that promote better and more equitable outcomes for students. He...

Over the weekend, our family decided to replace our dining room table. Like most people these days, I turned to an online marketplace to sell our old table. I used Facebook Marketplace and priced the table low to attract interest. Lacking inspiration, I labelled it, “Dining room table with 2 leaves.” Within 30 minutes, I started to get messages from potential buyers seeking information on its dime...

Our 3 kids returned to their schools this week, along with 55 million students and more than 3.8 million teachers. As many parents will attest, this is a celebratory moment, not to be taken for granted after the COVID-19 closures. So, as educators set up their classrooms and schedules for the next 9 months, I wanted to take a pulse of what’s happening inside and outside schools. Not to rain on any...

Share data showing the fields we work or play on are not level. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit eoinbastable.substack.com

Brad Fortier joined me for a Q&A about using improvisation to solve problems on and off stage, to reveal truths about ourselves, and to build community in the most unlikely of places. I first met Brad when I was a student in an improv class he was teaching. He was an engaging teacher and skilled performer who made hopping onto a stage and telling a 45-minute story with no props or lines seem effor...

Dr. Rhonda Nese “Let’s cut to the chase” is how Dr. Rhonda Nese approaches pressing problems facing schools today. Dr. Nese has spent decades supporting classrooms, schools, and districts as a school psychologist and educational researcher improving student-teacher relationships, enhancing equity in school discipline practice, and adapting school-wide behavioral supports to be more culturally resp...

Dear HIPSters: I’m very glad to be back after a wonderful break and time with my family. Welcome to new subscribers. Your support means a lot to me. As always, I appreciate hearing readers’ thoughts, reflections, or ideas. As a new school year launches here in Portland, OR and as we hit the final stretch of summer, I wanted to highlight a few good things. I hope to make this a regular practice and...

This episode of the HIPS podcast and blog explores the science behind envy and what it can teach us. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit eoinbastable.substack.com

There have been at least 40 diocesan policies on gender identity & gender-affirming care issued over the past two years by Catholic church leaders across the U.S. These policies have exposed deep rifts in schools & communities making it challenging for parents, students, educators, and clergy to engage meaningfully in dialogue about how to support LGBTQ+ youth & families served by Catholic schools...

Quinn & Finley Mulligan's new movie, Apes Together Strong, tells a riveting story of how retail investors waged a battle against Wall Street heavyweights in January 2021. After pitching the idea of creating a movie on the GameStop “short squeeze” from the Apes’ perspective, Quinn and Finley got a clear message — “ Yes, please make this movie! ” and also received thousands of dollars from Apes acro...

An interview with Adam F.C. Fletcher on his newest book, Steps to Youth Leadership in Modern Times . The interview starts with Adam talking about his earliest memories growing up in Omaha, Nebraska, and then, traces his 30-year journey (and counting) exploring many aspects of youth development work. In our conversation, Adam shares some key concepts from his new book, explores common pitfalls that...

Last week when I picked up my son from school, I watched him play tetherball with some friends. He loves the game. He wound up his 10-year-old body like a catapult and hit a yellow ball on a rope as hard as he could toward his opponent. The ball (attached to an 8 ft piece of rope) took off and shot around the pole in an elliptical orbit narrowly missing the kid’s face across from him. The ball spu...

Morning to-do list: * Make coffee * Balance civil rights of students with workforce development for Oregon * Get 3 major education bills passed * Respond to xxx emails * Breathe, it’s 10 a.m. I spoke again with Democratic Senator Sara Gesler-Blouin, pictured here seated at her desk in the State Capitol in Salem, Oregon. Above, I imagined what her morning to-do list may look like during Oregon’s 82...

When Thomas C. O’Leary opened a small Irish pub in 2016 in Portland, Oregon called T.C. O’Leary’s he didn’t expect to see his dream crushed on St. Patrick’s Day, March 2020 as COVID-19 restrictions shuttered all bars and restaurants. Badly shaken, Tom refused to give up on his customers. He relied on his acting chops (having starred in an Irish soap opera), a keen sense of humor, and the steadfast...

About a year ago, I became aware of a troubling trend in public schools nearby where I live here in Portland, OR. Oregon students were getting sent home for reasons that were not always clear or getting placed on shortened schedules that ran only a few hours a day without parent or caregiver consent. In a prior role I held in a local school district, I saw students getting put on abbreviated day s...

I had the opportunity yesterday to spend time learning from Sheri Byrne-Haber , an expert on the fields of disability and accessibility in business and education. Although I’ve thought a lot about accessibility and inclusion in schools or classrooms where I have worked, I haven’t given much thought to accessibility at a McDonald’s drive-through, when online shopping, or when sharing work or ideas...

As school boards have become battlegrounds for curricula reform, racial justice, and book bans, it was surprising to learn how few students serve as school board and youth council representatives today. Students express their opinions about their educational experiences through posts on social media or by engaging in larger-scale actions such as school walkouts . But, behind the scenes in district...

I first met Jay Schnoor a few years ago and immediately knew he would be making waves in the field of virtual reality and education (I reached out to get his take on using VR for teacher professional development ). Today, he leads VEDX Solutions , a VR-focused education company based in Bend, Oregon. I also recently tried on a pair of Meta Quest 2 Goggles for myself (more about this in the audio!)...

“Should I stay or should I go? If I go, there will be trouble, And if I stay it will be double. So come on and let me know.” – The Clash For as long as I have been around K-12 education, I’ve heard the grim statistic that half of U.S. teachers leave the profession after 5 years. Although some data suggest it may be closer to 17%, it still means we lose about 1 in 5 teachers annually. The Clash lyr...