Relate Then Educate Podcast

Erin & Rick got to meet and have a wonderful chat with Dr. Heather Michel. She is a former teacher turned consultant and coach for teachers of color and districts/schools in service of TOC retention. She is focused on teachers incorporating mental health strategies into their careers. You can follow Dr. Michel @teachersofcolor_matter where she posts daily affirmations and more excellent content.

Erin & Rick got to have such a a wonderful chat with Shelly Swisher, of Mesa, AZ. (Come back to Oklahoma, Shelly!!) Shelly’s story is featured in the “Relate, then Educate” book and you don’t want to miss that! She shares her powerful path to get into education and how she continues to create a classroom culture for her high schoolers that is relationship-centered and promotes authenticity in the...

Erin & Rick got to sit and chat with Adam Welcome. #mradamwelcome is a former elementary teacher and principal, turned author and speaker. He’s also an avid marathon runner! Adam brings everything back to the heart of why we do what we do and points to the importance, urgency, and honor it is to teach kids. Our kids deserve the best versions of us as teachers. Website: https://www.mradamwelcome.co...

Erin & Rick sat down with Sarah Yost and Dr. Carla Kolodey. Sarah and Carla work at Byck Elementary in Louisville, KY. They are devoted to doing their best by their teachers so that they may stay in the profession. Their school’s viewpoint is that all students and all teachers are “imperfect AND capable of greatness”. Fully human. It was a pleasure getting to meet and speak with Sarah and Carla an...

Another IN PERSON episode! Rick and Erin got to meet and chat with Teri Overton, a retired 4th grade teacher of over 30 years! 4th grade is where her heart and passion lie. Teri shares the importance of taking the time to listen to our students so that we may form deep, genuine, trusting bonds. She also shares about the difficult changes that lead her to rethink staying in the classroom. Thank you...

At The Spring Shift 2023, Erin & Rick sat down with two teacher buddies, Rickey Myers & Leslie Nelson. Rickey & Leslie teach middle school and clearly love what they do. They tell us about the teachers who inspired them to become teachers themselves and discuss how being relationship-driven in our classrooms is where the magic lies.

At The Spring Shift 2023, Erin & Rick got to sit down with Derrick Sier. Derrick is huge on building connections through relationship-driven approaches, whether it be with students or anyone he encounters. He inspires people to move, act, and share the love.

At OSDE’s 2022 Winter Conference, Erin & Rick got to sit down with Dr. Kyle Reynolds. Kyle is a hometown educator! He attended the same school district in which he taught and now is the superintendent. That’s devotion!

Erin & Rick got to meet and have a chat with Patrick Cook-Deegan. Patrick is a former teacher and the founder and CEO of Wayfinder, a K-12 SEL program. Patrick’s passion is working with students to identify and discover their purpose so they may truly thrive! He’s seen huge ripple effects by using SEL to support educators in establishing a healthy and thriving school culture. We take the journey f...

Rick and Erin got to sit down IN PERSON with Molly Gillispie, a phenomenal OK public school teacher. Molly teaches 5th grade and calls it her “sweet spot”. 5th graders are an interesting bunch- they’re amusing, full of challenges, grown up (but are still very much kids), able to have deep talks, can share in big and small laughs, and are just a lot of fun. Molly shares some fantastic relationship-...

At the OSDE’s 2022 MTSS Winter Conference, we spoke to Amanda Sellers about her role as Director of School Climate at the Oklahoma State Dept. of Education. Amanda and her team offer trauma-informed assistance to schools. Together, they work to identify any existing issues and then decide on a game plan. They really focus on an “it takes all of us” approach.

Erin & Rick got to sit down with Peter Greene to talk all about vouchers and merit-based pay. Hot topics! Peter is a 39-year educator and is now a senior contributor at Forbes, blogs at Curmudgucation, and is Midwest Regional Fellow with The Progressive. We discuss the wonderful thing that is public education and how vouchers are a threatening our public schools. We also talk about what teachers a...

What a fun chat! Erin & Rick sat down with Director of Education at the University of Arkansas, Dr. Jennifer Beasley. We got to meet during #loveteaching Week! “Teaching is the profession that teaches all the other professions”. Jennifer teaches and supports future teachers and loves getting to do it! We discussed the current climate of teacher education and what our incoming teaching are experien...

Erin & Rick got to chat with Dr. Matt Rhoads. It is always so special to connect with educators across the country who share the same heart for teachers and that’s exactly what happened when we talked to Matt! Matt does it all- author, podcaster, consultant, EdTech Lecturer & Integrationist, Instructional Leader, Teacher Candidate Supervisor, and Doctoral Dissertation Chair. He lives and breathes...

At the OSDE’s 2022 MTSS Winter Conference, we spoke about Alt. Ed with Missy Corn & Michelle Butler. They shared their hearts and love for working with students in Alternative Education. They helped us identify some of our preconceived notions and beautifully explained the purpose of of what they do in their Alt. Ed. classrooms. What a gift they are - they work to provide a place where their stude...

At the OSDE’s 2022 MTSS Winter Conference, we spoke to Nhandi Johnson and Kyndal Wilson. Nhandi & Kyndal are public middle school teachers who are at the beginning of their careers and who are killing it! They teach their middle schoolers through love and respect as they help their students define their futures.

New teachers and future teachers!! You do NOT want to miss this conversation. Erin & Rick sit down with Dr. Casey Jakubowski & Dr. Sam Fecich who wrote, along with 2 other authors, “Crush It from the Start: 50 Tips for New Teachers”. We discuss some awesome tools and tricks from the book that can help teachers as they’re starting out their careers. Casey and Sam were a blast to get to have on the...

Erin and Rick got to have a chat with fellow Oklahoma educator, Jordann Hardin. After heartbreak, Jordann connected with Start Healing Together and, together, they worked to get proper language incorporated into her district’s bereavement policies for pregnancy loss. And now, teachers in her district who may unfortunately need this bereavement leave are more supported to do so thanks to Jordann’s...

At the OSDE’s 2022 MTSS Winter Conference, we spoke to Dr. Greg Hudnall from @HopeSquad . Hope Squad is a school-based peer-to-peer suicide prevention program that trains students to perform intentional outreach with fellow students. We so enjoyed meeting Dr. Hudnall and hearing about his vision in creating Hope Squad and how wonderfully it has helped so many students across the country. https://h...

At the OSDE’s 2022 MTSS Winter Conference, we spoke to Heather Graham. Heather is the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in her district. She tells us how how she works with her schools to identify issues and then walks alongside her schools to solve those identified problems.

We were in the company of greatness! Erin and Rick got to chat with the one, the only 2022 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year… Rebecka Peterson!! She told about her inspiring passion project she is working on this year in her role as Teacher of the Year. It’s good, y’all! Rebecka is masterful at advocating for and elevating both the students she’s taught throughout the years, and now the teachers she’s...

At the OSDE’s 2022 MTSS Winter Conference, we spoke to Sarah Kirk. Sarah is full of school counselor love and she tells you all about it in our wonderful chat with her.

The day after our big Teachers Night Out event, Erin & Rick sat down with 2 of our speakers and the inspirations behind the event, Amy Crawford & Rob Miller. We talk about everything from Amy & Rob’s time in the classroom to how our big event went and everything in between! Amy and Rob are both fantastic examples of leaders in our education system. They show their genuine love and respect to each...

Erin & Rick got to chat with their good friends, Jess & Cheryl. Jess Jernegan and Cheryl Wilkinson are both former teachers who now work administratively for Bixby Public Schools. They are big-time supporters of teachers and work tirelessly to establish and build a strong school culture in their district. We got to hear how they work hard to make sure their teachers are well taken care of, support...

Such a great chat! Erin and Rick were able to meet and have a wonderful conversation with JENA NELSON. Jena is running for Oklahoma’s State Superintendent. She has been an educator for 17 years and shares her experience, priorities, and vision with us. This lady is passionate about teachers, students, communities, and education! She’s the real deal and she shows us why Oklahoma educators support h...