Teach Me, Teacher

Hello everyone! Today, we are diving even deeper into teacher self-care with part two of my talk with Dr. Woodly! This is by far the MOST REQUESTED TOPIC of the show, and I'm extremely happy to bring it to you today. If you missed part 1, click here. Teachers are stressed. Overworked. Guilty for working too much. Guilty for taking time for themselves. Worried they aren't going to survive the next...

Hello everyone! Today, we are diving deep into teacher self-care. This is by far the MOST REQUESTED TOPIC of the show, and I'm extremely happy to bring it to you today. Teachers are stressed. Overworked. Guilty for working too much. Guilty for taking time for themselves. Worried they aren't going to survive the next week, let alone this one. What to do? What about teacher self-care? I partnered wi...

Hello everyone! I can't possibly be more excited to bring you part 2 of this episode with Ron Clark Academy cofounder, Kim Bearden! In part 1, we really hit on the staff portion of effective communication. In this half of our conversation, we hit on the classroom, and how to support effective communication between the teacher and students. Both of us share stories from our past and current lives a...

Hello everyone! I can't possibly be more excited to bring you this episode with Ron Clark Academy cofounder, Kim Bearden! If you've listened to the podcast for any amount of time, you know how passionate I am about the work everyone at RCA does, and it was an absolute pleasure to be able to record this episode for you all. In this two part series, we discuss the principles of effective communicati...

Hello everyone! Today, we are discussing why teachers should be modeling themselves as readers AND writers, with one of my favorite Young Adult authors, Brendan Kiely. Brendan Kiely is The New York Times bestselling author of All American Boys (with Jason Reynolds), Tradition, The Last True Love Story, and The Gospel of Winter, and together, we discuss why modeling being a reader and writer can be...

Hello everyone! Today, we are discussing why teens need diverse fiction, with one of my favorite Young Adult authors, Brendan Kiely. Brendan Kiely is The New York Times bestselling author of All American Boys (with Jason Reynolds), Tradition, The Last True Love Story, and The Gospel of Winter, and together, we discuss the power fiction can have in our student's lives, and why we should make our li...

Hello everyone! Today we are taking part in part 2 of our Ron Clark Academy Reflection with @abubblyclassroom, otherwise known as Brianna Johnson. Brianna has become one of my friends over on Instagram, and I got a chance to sit down with her for an hour to discuss her trip to The Ron Clark Academy! We recorded this episode all the way back during the summer, and I'm amazed at how much of our conv...

Hello everyone! Today we are taking part in a Ron Clark Academy Reflection with @abubblyclassroom, otherwise known as Brianna Johnson. Brianna has become one of my friends over on Instagram, and I got a chance to sit down with her for an hour to discuss her trip to The Ron Clark Academy! We recorded this episode all the way back during the summer, and I'm amazed at how much of our conversation con...

Hello everyone! Today I have on Matthew Kay, the author of the AMAZING book, Not Light, But Fire, and we are continuing our discussion about how and why we should all step up and lead meaningful race conversations in our classrooms. It matters, now more than ever, especially if you're an educator in America. Teach Me, Teacher has never shied away from controversial or hard topics. This is a fact I...

Hello everyone! Today I have on Matthew Kay, the author of the AMAZING book, Not Light, But Fire, and we are discussing how we can all step up and lead meaningful race conversations in our classrooms.  Teach Me, Teacher has never shied away from controversial or hard topics. This is a fact I'm extremely proud of in the work of the show. We took on Betsy DeVos all the way back in season 1. We discu...

Hello everyone! Today we are discussing Sparks in the Dark: Lessons, Ideas and Strategies to Illuminate the Reading and Writing Lives in All of Us, a wonderful book and resource for teachers who want to ignite the fire that keeps their students' reading and writing lives rich and rewarding. In part one of this episode, Travis Crowder and Todd Nesloney discussed the beliefs that formed the book Spa...

Hello everyone! Today we are discussing Sparks in the Dark: Lessons, Ideas and Strategies to Illuminate the Reading and Writing Lives in All of Us, a wonderful book and resource for teachers who want to ignite the fire that keeps their students' reading and writing lives rich and rewarding. In part one of this episode, Travis Crowder and Todd Nesloney discuss the beliefs that formed the book Spark...

Hello everyone! I am so excited to bring back DeAnna Morgan for part 2 (you can listen to part 1 here) to discuss why we should all be practicing what we preach and modeling the behavior and actions we want to see in our students, as well as hitting on the WHY behind what we do. DeAnna opens up in part 2 of our discussion about a powerful moment she had with a student, and it's truly inspiring.  T...

Hello everyone! I am so excited to bring you DeAnna Morgan of Instagram fame to discuss why we should all be practicing what we preach and modeling the behavior and actions we want to see in our students. This is a timely and passionate episode, and one of my personal favorites. Overall, this is the core of great advice for teachers. We can't be lazy and bored and expect our students not to be. We...

Hello everyone! In part 2 with Monica Genta, we continue our discussion about amazingly small, but powerful ways, to take your class to the next level, and we are also discussing her amazing 21 day challenge for educators! I love Monica's advice in this episode because it's advice everyone can take to heart. It's broad enough we can all learn from her, and deep enough that it will bring meaningful...

Hello everyone! I've brought on Monica Genta to help us spice up our classrooms and bring our lessons to the next level! I love Monica's advice in this episode because it's advice everyone can take to heart. It's broad enough we can all learn from her, and deep enough that it will bring meaningful change to our lessons and practices. Monica is the author of two books, Game Changers and 180 Days of...

Hello everyone! Today, we are learning how to learn with Barbara Oakley PhD, and giving away some FREE BOOKS! Barbara Oakley is an amazing advocate for learners of all ages, and has put together an amazing piece of work along side her partner on the project, Terrence Sejnowski, PhD. This book is all about understanding the brain and how it processes and remembers information, and putting it in a w...

Hello everyone! Today, we are learning how to learn with Barbara Oakley PhD, and giving away some FREE BOOKS! Barbara Oakley is an amazing advocate for learners of all ages, and has put together an amazing piece of work along side her partner on the project, Terrence Sejnowski, PhD. This book is all about understanding the brain and how it processes and remembers information, and putting it in a w...

Hello everyone! You asked, so I delivered! If you're a new teacher, this episode is for you! I gathered my best advice, as well as some great advice from my friends over on Instagram, Megan Medina of Beauty, Brains, and Other Things, and Rachel Fairchild of Chalk and Coffee, to help you in your new year. This is your crash course! Make sure to take some great notes, and continue to dive into the b...

Hello everyone! Today, we are continuing our talking about social justice in our classrooms! Megan Forbes, otherwise known as @toocoolformiddleschool on Instagram and Youtube , brings the heat again and helps us not only understand why we need social justice, but what it looks like in the classroom. In this episode, we discuss: That education is political, but it doesn't have to be partisan How to...

Hello everyone! Today, we are talking about social justice in our classrooms! To discuss, I brought on the amazing Megan Forbes, otherwise known as @toocoolformiddleschool on Instagram and Youtube ! In this episode, we discuss: Misconceptions about social justice What social justice is and isn't The difference between political and partisan Why we should all try to understand the power of social j...

Hello everyone! It's time for part two with Penny Kittle! We continue talking about 180 Days,  as well as: What do you do in a conference with a student? What are the other kids doing? How do you know if your student is becoming a better reader and writer? Are digital lexile programs good assessment data for our students? What is good assessment data? And much, much, more! You do not want to miss...

Hello everyone! Welcome to season 3. I am overly excited to bring this episode with Penny Kittle to you. If you're in ELA, you probably know who Penny Kittle is. If you don't know who she is, you're in for a treat, regardless if you teach ELA or another subject. In this episode, Penny and I discuss her new book (co-written with Kelly Gallagher), 180 Days, and how we can better our literacy practic...

Hello everyone. I'm leaving the classroom.

Hello everyone! Today, I have the pleasure of bringing you one of the most important episodes of the show, and the season 2 finale! If you missed part one, listen here.  Danny Steele is a fantastic principal, writer, and speaker, and someone I've followed for a long time. I brought him on to talk about culture and empowering teachers and students, but we ended up talking about so much more. In thi...