Teach Me, Teacher

Hello everyone! Last week, I talked with Adam Welcome about what it takes to lead in today's environment, and today we pivot the discussion a bit and discuss what teachers deserve, and how we should all raise our voices to tell the story of REAL education. Adam has been an elementary school teacher, Elementary Principal, Director of Innovation for a district with 35,000 students and enjoys pushing...

Hello everyone! During times of uncertainty, turmoil, and change, leadership is needed more than ever. To discuss what it takes to lead a school, I brought on Adam Welcome, one of the premier leaders of our current educational world. Adam has been an elementary school teacher, Elementary Principal, Director of Innovation for a district with 35,000 students and enjoys pushing the envelope to always...

Hello everyone! In this episode, I am continuing on delivering my promise to talk special education on the podcast with Ashley Granados, but in part two we dive into what serving our students looks like during remote learning. In this episode, we discuss what's really important right now with school, why compassion is needed now more than ever, and why it's ok to admit this all kind of suck (but t...

Hello everyone! I have FINALLY delivered on my promise to talk about special education, and to do so, I brought on one of my FAVORITE special needs teachers, Ashley Granados. Ashley's insight into the lives of special needs students, what they need, and how schools are succeeding (and failing) at being advocated for them, is top tier. Plus, she's just great to listen to. If you want to learn how t...

Hello everyone! I hope all is well with you, and you're ready to discuss writing instruction! I have brought on one of my favorite educators in the literacy space, Martin Brandt, to discuss his book Between the Commas, and how to use writing instruction that WORKS! Last week, we discussed: That writing is more than just responses to questions and essays How to achieve sentence focus The power of w...

Hello everyone! I hope you are ready for some AMAZING content today, because I have brought on one of my favorite educators in the literacy space, Martin Brandt, to discuss his book Between the Commas, and how to use writing instruction that WORKS! In this talk, we discuss: That writing is more than just responses to questions and essays How to achieve sentence focus The power of writing instructi...

Hello everyone! Last week, I recorded the first ever LIVE episode of Teach Me, Teacher! I gave away books, interacted with the audience, and talked about teaching while under quarantine. The live audience seemed to really enjoy coming together and being a part of the show, so I hope you enjoy this as a podcast. In this episode, you'll hear a lot about my perspective on how to approach certain aspe...

Hello everyone! I am SO EXCITED about this week. Why? Because even in the face of great adversity, there are so many districts pushing to keep learning going, and so many teachers working to create a temporary "new normal" for their students. Hopefully, this episode keeps you inspired and keeps you pushing to be your best—and it should, because we are talking about what the best teacher profession...

Hello everyone! Today we are asking the question, Why Can't Public Schools Look Like That? with none other than the great Kevin Butler! If you don't know who Kevin is, you are missing out, because he is a wealth of inspiration for what schools CAN BE. In his work at an independent school, he continuously models ideas, lessons, and teaching practices, that are next level and completely inspiring. I...

Hello everyone! I teased the "morning meeting" discussion last week, and it is here this week! If you want to spice yours up, learn what they are, or just listen to a great talk, this episode is for you! You might know Megan as @sparkles_and_pompoms on Instagram, where she is always smiling, dressing up as characters, or transforming her room into something amazing. In this episode, we talk about:...

Hello everyone! It is that time of year when everything can start feeling...dull. I mean, with testing, meetings, and everything else that pops up in February and March, our classes can start to feel a little less than exciting. But does it have to be that way? Not if Megan Siclare has anything to say about it! You might know Megan as @sparkles_and_pompoms on Instagram, where she is always smiling...

Hello everyone! Today, I am continuing my talk with Jonathan Alsheimer, and his view on what NEXT LEVEL TEACHING is all about. This episode is filled with ideas, thoughts, beliefs, and stories that are guaranteed to get you fired up to do the work you do, and to reach to new levels in your classroom. Jonathan is hands down one of the educators to pay attention to in 2020 (and beyond). He is the un...

Hello everyone! Today, we are going all out with PURE INSPIRATION for you with my friend Jonathan Alsheimer. Every bit of this episode is filled with ideas, thoughts, beliefs, and stories that are guaranteed to get you fired up to do the work you do. Jonathan is hands down one of the educators to pay attention to in 2020 (and beyond). He is the unorthodox, energetic, and entertaining middle school...

Hello everyone! Today we are continuing our talk with the fantastic Jenn Kleiber about culturally responsive teaching, but we are diving DEEP into practices, professional learning, and even how to set and manage goals for students to learn and grow. Jenn Kleiber, is the author of Building a Bridge From "I Can't" to "I DID!": Creating Independent Learners Through Culturally Responsive Teaching, and...

Hello everyone! If you have been in teaching for a little while, you have probably heard the term "culturally responsive teaching," at least a dozen times. If you're like me, you probably leave trainings on the matter more confused than before. Because of this, I brought on one of my favorite people and colleagues, Jenn Kleiber, author of Building a Bridge From "I Can't" to "I DID!": Creating Inde...

Hello everyone! Today, I am continuing my talk with Chris Pombonyo, and it is FILLED with ideas, inspiration, and perspective on why we should all stop bashing teachers for doing their jobs their way, when their way is working for them and their students. Other topics we discuss: Why watching other teachers teach is a practice we should all incorporate. Why counting down the days for break in fron...

Hello everyone! I hope you're ready for an energy filled inspirational episode, because today Chris Pombonyo is on the podcast! Chris is a teacher, coach, the creative director of Get Your Teach On, and all around ball of inspiration. His dedication to his craft, and his drive to help teachers embrace their passions is phenomenal. In this episode, we discuss:  Why doing so many different things in...

Hello everyone! Last week, I sat down with the amazing Korey Collins and talked all about graphic novels, test prep, and the limits of BASAL reading programs. This week, I continue my talk with him and dive even deeper into what reading workshop looks like at the Ron Clark Academy! Korey Collins is a certified reading specialist and reading teacher at the Ron Clark Academy, and he brings the inspi...

Hello everyone! You all know that I love talking reading workshop and Ron Clark Academy, and for this episode I got to do both! Korey Collins is a certified reading specialist and reading teacher at the Ron Clark Academy, and he brings the inspiration and heat for our discussion today. In this episode, we cover: Korey's evolution as a teacher How test prep is NOT backed by research Why BASAL readi...

Hello everyone! We did it... we made it to the last Monday of 2019, and it is kind of unreal. It's time to look ahead, plan for what we want to achieve, and begin the new decade with energy and positivity. Now, I don't know about you, but I love new beginnings. I love Sunday, because of what Monday has in store, and I love the end of the year because of what the new year has in store. There is jus...

Hello everyone! Coming off the major release of my spoken word poem THESE KIDS, where I say the line, "I'm tired of hearing ABOUT these kids, I want to hear from them..." I decided to do just that on this episode of the Teach Me, Teacher podcast. I sat down with one of my school's top students and discussed with her what it was really like to be an 8th grader. Along with this, we covered: Do phone...

Hello everyone! Literacy Essentials by Regie Routman (Stenhouse 2018) is by far one of the most influential books I've read in my teaching career. It's a book I turn to weekly for advice, insight, and encouragement in my work to bring authentic literacy to my students.  So when I was given a chance to talk to Regie herself, I knew I couldn't pass up the opportunity. In part 1 of the podcast, we do...

Hello everyone! Literacy Essentials by Regie Routman (Stenhouse 2018) is by far one of the most influential books I've read in my teaching career. It's a book I turn to weekly for advice, insight, and encouragement in my work to bring authentic literacy to my students.  So when I was given a chance to talk to Regie herself, I knew I couldn't pass up the opportunity. In part 1 of the podcast, we do...

Hello everyone! Literacy Essentials by Regie Routman is by far one of the most influential books I've read in my teaching career. It's a book I turn to weekly for advice, insight, and encouragement in my work to bring authentic literacy to my students.  So when I was given a chance to talk to Regie herself, I knew I couldn't pass up the opportunity. To my delight, Regie is just as honest and passi...

Hello everyone! It's time to talk about where we go now as educators. We live in a world of gun violence, quick fixes, and with communities that would rather see education fail than succeed. So, what do we do? We addressed some of this in part 1 of this series, but now we are going to talk about the rest. This is an honest conversation between Emily from @teachingsaveslives on Instagram, and mysel...