Mr. Maxwell

I’m a burnt cookie

Today I wanted to talk/ rant a bit about Grades, Studying, and Children’s Mental Health in today’s K-12 Education system. As a teacher and as a parent, one’s of the things I fail to remember is that the journey through our k-12 education system is not an easy road. It’s thought being a kid. While there may be more conveniences than every before, the problems some children face are less about exter...

“Why do you want us to be involved in art?”- 5th grade student As a teacher I have always been a big proponent of the arts. Instead of bright academic posters about word usage, grammar, history facts or whatever I usually have some kind of artwork up in my classroom. I have invested in gallery wrapped prints and framed artwork to display in my rooms. When teaching history I often encourage my stud...

I have always been different, and throughout my life I have had to deal with everything from so-called “friendly” teasing to outright bullying for not being manly enough, not black enough, not grown up enough, not normal enough for those around me. Then, when at age 39 I was diagnosed autistic, I began to understand why I am the way I am. Over the last couple years I have been on a journey, one wh...

Let’s sit down, drink some matcha (or other beverage of your choice) and do some Q&A.

I have had a lot of requests to read The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe, so today we are doing a poetry reading. I hope that you enjoy!

I recently did a TikTok of a tutorial where I showed how I made made a book clutch. I figured not a lot of people would be interested in the video, so instead of trying to be all polished and put-together I just shared my authentic and rather chaotic method of making things. I even referred to myself as a “chaotic creative”. The response was far more enthusiastic than I could have ever imagined. T...

My second year of teaching, while getting ready to go on a field trip I collapsed. My blood pressure was in the 200s over 120-something and I quickly found myself in an ambulance heading towards the hospital. This was the beginning of years of mysterious health crises that resulted in me receiving two important diagnoses: Systemic Lupus Erythematousis and Autism. This week I wanted to share my dia...

Lately I have noticed an increase in YouTube videos where people show their morning and evening routines. Part of this is because I am obsessed with routines, I have come to love creating routines for the recurring tasks in my life. Grab some tea or coffee and sit with me as we talk about routines, what they are and how they impact our lives, productivity and creativity.

I recently stumbled across a paper I wrote while pursuing my masters in education in which I had to develop my own philosophy of education. I thought I would share parts of it with you, as this paper truly embodies who I believe I am as an educator, and continues to drive why and how I do what I do in the classroom.

This week I have been thinking about the Power and Importance of Rest I had to relearn this lesson the hard way last Monday. I have been working full time again, and I was not resting enough the previous weekend and I spent the night in pain, and by morning I was exhausted and hurting. So I had to spend the day in bed. As I lay in bed, I began thinking about the importance of rest, and why I canno...

Let’s have coffee together and answer some random TikTok questions.

Recently I was talking with some friends of mine who are engaged about Marraige, and the lessons I’ve learned from being in a 20+ year relationship (friends 1 year, dating 3 years and married 16.5 years). These lessons are built around my 5 philosophies, and while I can articulate these lessons, they are ones I have to relearn more times than I care to admit. Even after all this time I am still le...

Now that school is going back I wanted to share a few thoughts about why I believe that caring for my students mental health takes top priority for me as a teacher. I also share some insights into how I care for the mental health of my students, my own children and myself as an educator.

Heard a story where Warren Buffet helped his pilot with setting goals for his life. I began to think about my list of 17 things I want to accomplish in life. What if I truly focus on just what is in front of me? What if I focus on my top five and use that as a filter for how I spend my time? Here are my top five: 1–Family: being a good husband and dad 2–Teaching: helping others to live meaningful...

One of my favorite YouTubers is Casey Neistat, he is one of my heroes when it comes to creativity. I have been mildly obsessed with his work lately, and I have been studying his vlogs and watching recordings of his talks to try and learn what makes him great. One thing I learned is that audacity plays a large role in how he does what he does and he shares who he is with the world.

In a world in desperate need of hope, are we waiting to elect the right person to play the role of savior? Are we hoping that our favorite content creators are going to start a movement that will change our world? Or are we doing what we can to make our own little corner of the world a little bit better? These are the things that are running around in my head lately. I have realized that while I c...

Let’s pour a cup of tea (or coffee) and talk. I was looking at the TikTok questions, and thought, this would be a great activity to do with a friend, to get to know them better. So I thought that we could do this today, let’s imagine that we are enjoying a cup of tea or coffee together and give you a chance to get to know me better.

This week I wanted to talk about my new weekend rest routine, and how I set aside time on Sunday to get ready for the next week.

So in case you didn’t know, I am attempting to write a novel, which is progressing at a glacial case. The story is about Franklin, an autistic young man who, in an attempt to make the world a better place becomes a hero, though many will see him as a villain. Today I wanted to share a reading from this work in progress, I hope you like it.

T.W.: Reference to suicide and drug overdoses. A friend once asked me why we often assume the worst in life. I talk about what I believe are some historic reasons for fear, as well as some modern day problems that cause us to believe the worst. For the sake of time I do not cover every reason for fear or concern. Grab a cup of tea and join me as I ramble about this topic.

Today I wanted to revisit the subject of unmasking by going over an episode that I posted last July. I talk about the movie Luca, and reflect on how it made me think about my own journey and the masks I am tempted to wear as an autistic adult living with a chronic illness. I talk about why I sometimes choose to mask, and why I am trying to mask less as time goes on.

Today I am taking a moment to reflect on the past year by going through an After Action Review. Birthdays are a great time to reflect on your life’s progress. Join me as I walk through this.

In this episode I am building on my thoughts around GPS devices and how I teach/ parent. I originally talked about this in a TikTok post, and wanted to add more thoughts to it and reflect on the different responses I received.

If you could have any superpower, what would you choose? What if you had the power to make people feel seen and heard? That is the inspiration for a story I am working on. While it is a rough draft, I hope that you enjoy it. Thank you to my Patreon supporters for sponsoring this episode, if you want to help support my podcast, please consider becoming a Patreon supporter at patreon.com/mr_maxwell1...