Teachers on Fire

TRAVIS JORDAN is a husband, father of four, superintendent, education commissioner, speaker, aspiring author, conformity breaker, and status quo shaker. How’s that for disruption in education? In our conversation, Travis shares a tragic story from his learning community, explaining how the passing of one student has forever impacted him and put the focus on connections over content. “This is not a...

TARA MARTIN is an educator, administrator, coach, and speaker. She’s also the founder of #BookSnaps, the @DBC_Inc Media & Communications Director, and author of Be REAL: Educate from the Heart . In our conversation, Tara shares about a tragedy that struck her family during her very first year of teaching, and describes the difficult journey and surprising breakthroughs that followed as a resul...

KELLY CROY is a committed husband, father of four girls, educator, speaker, Apple Distinguished Educator author of Along Came a Leader and the producer of The Wired Educator podcast. Follow Kelly on Twitter @KellyCroy and @WiredEducator, and visit his blog at https://wirededucator.com/. In our conversation, Kelly discusses the keys to effective leadership, explains why iPads make such fantastic cr...

KEVIN O’SHEA is a primary teacher currently in Beijing, China who will be moving to a school in Shenzhen, China in the fall. Kevin is a big fan of nature, outdoor education, inquiry, and photography. He’s also the producer of the Just Japan Podcast and the new Making Better Teachers Podcast. In our conversation, Kevin recalls the time he assigned differentiated work to his students - only to exper...

KAREN CASWELL is a 4th grade teacher in Australia. Her favorite themes in education include relationships, reading, kindness, and global connections. She’s also an Apple Certified Teacher, Seesaw Ambassador, and the founder of #TLAPdownunder! Follow Karen on Twitter @kcasw1 and visit her blog at https://www.karencaswell.com/ . In our conversation, Karen recalls a crisis of disillusionment which th...

AARON BLACKWELDER is a high school English teacher and golf coach at Woodland Public Schools in Woodland, Washington. He’s the founder of the Teachers Going Gradeless website and Twitter chat @TG2Chat and #TG2Chat. He’s also a father, husband, autism advocate, Google Certified Educator, and he’s loving life!  Follow Aaron on Twitter @AaronSBlackwel1 and visit his blogs at mrblackwelder.wordpr...

ADAM WELCOME is a former teacher, principal, and director of innovation. He’s also a recognized education leader, speaker, and the author of Kids Deserve It and Run Like a Pirate . Follow Adam on Twitter @MrAdamWelcome . In our conversation, Adam recalls the disillusionment he once felt when he realized that colleagues weren’t prepared to sacrifice to put their learners first. He explains how this...

KALI SLUSSER is an instructional coach, fitness obsessor, and kombucha fanatic! She is also a wife of a fellow teacher and a mom of three. Connect with Kali on Twitter @KaliSlusser and follow her ongoing reviews of the DBC books with Greg Moffitt at https://readlikeapirate.wordpress.com/ . In our conversation, Kali recalls the moment when her identity as an educator was shaken and she considered c...

ANNICK RAUCH is a Grade 1 French immersion teacher in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. She’s a loving mom to 4 boys and wife to the man who allows her to do it all! Her passions in education include growth mindset, global collaboration, and all things innovation. You can follow her on Twitter @AnnickRauch and visit her blog at http://www.annickrauch.ca/ . In our conversation, Annick recalls a challengi...

SUSAN JACHYMIAK is a 4th grade teacher in Orland Park, IL. She’s a rookie this year, and she’s clearly on fire! Follow her on Twitter @MsJachymiak and visit her blog at http://msjachymiak.weebly.com . In our conversation, Susan recalls a couple of unfamiliar challenges she was forced to figure out at the outset of her very first teaching position. She describes the thinking behind the #NewTeacherJ...

RAE HUGHART is a middle school Math teacher, educational consultant, Director of Training & Development for the Teach Better Team, and a co-host for the Teach Better Talk Podcast - and if you haven’t given Teach Better Talk a listen, you need to! Connect with Rae on Twitter AND Instagram @RaeHughart , and check out her course offerings and resources at TeachBetter.com . In our conversation, Ra...

TISHA RICHMOND is a Technology Integration Specialist serving 19 schools in Medford, Oregon. She’s also a speaker and author of Make Learning Magical: Transform Your Teaching and Create Unforgettable Experiences in Your Classroom .  In our conversation, Tisha recalls her professional tipping point: just as doubt and discouragement prompted her to think of leaving the profession, she encounter...

ROSE PILLAY is an education leader and curriculum consultant for the Catholic Independent Schools of the Vancouver Archdiocese. Her One Word for 2019 is SMILE, and Rose keeps educators inspired on her mission to serve, support, and celebrate growth and relationships. Buckle up for this interview! Her colleagues call her a girl on fire, and you’ll understand why when you hear her passion and commit...

 AJ JULIANI is a dad, a sought-after speaker, and prolific author of several education books, including The PBL Playbook , Empower and Launch. He is a recognized authority on design thinking, genius hour, growth mindset, IBL, PBL, and all things innovation in education. Read more from AJ at http://ajjuliani.com/ and follow him on Twitter @AJJuliani. In our conversation, AJ recalls his profess...

MIKE PAUL is a middle school math teacher, edtech leader, Google Certified Innovator, and the co-founder of Edcamp Kentucky. Follow Mike on Twitter @mikepaul and check out his blog at https://pikemalltech.com/ . In our conversation, Mike recalls the disappointment he felt when he first realized that not every education leader is in education for the right reasons. He gets into the ways that tech t...

DR. BRAD GUSTAFSON is a National Distinguished Principal, best-selling author, and speaker. He is also a Digital Innovation in Learning Award winner and a member of the National School Boards Association "20 to Watch." Brad recently released a new book that is making a stir: Reclaiming Our Calling: Hold on to the Heart, Mind, and Hope of Education. Find out more about his work at www. BradGustafso...

DR. ERIK YOUNGMAN has been a first grade teacher, assistant principal, and principal. Today, he’s the director of curriculum, instruction, and assessment for the Libertyville School District in the Greater Chicago Area. He advocates for continuous learning, feedback, growth mindset, metacognition, innovation, and visible learning. Follow Dr. Erik on Twitter @Erik_Youngman . In our conversation, Dr...

DR. SARAH THOMAS is a regional technology coordinator in Maryland and serves as affiliate faculty at Loyola University. In 2014, Sarah founded the EduMatch Project, and she has spoken and presented at numerous conferences since. Find out more about Sarah and her work at https://www.sarahjanethomas.com and follow her on Twitter at @sarahdateechur . In our conversation, Sarah recalls the challenges...

 KATE LINDQUIST is the founder of PeaceLoveArt, which is all about “Enriching heARTS thru self expression and soul connection.” With a Master’s degree in Education, Kate is a passionate educator, artist, consultant, speaker, and contributor to @DisruptEDTV. Follow Kate on Twitter and Instagram @heARTISTatWORK. In our conversation, Kate talks about the frustration of teaching in learning envir...

 JENNIFER CASA-TODD is a mom, wife, teacher librarian, speaker, a coordinator for Google Educator Groups of Ontario, an ISTE Librarians leader, and an @ONedSschat advisor. She is also the author of Social LEADia: Moving Students from Digital Citizenship to Digital Leadership . Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @JCasaTodd . In our conversation, Jennifer recalls the tremendous challenge of ba...

GREG MOFFITT is a dad, husband, and the principal at Winters Elementary School in Winters, California. He’s also a doctoral student at UC Davis and a big education geek. Greg has set the audacious goal of reading through all of the books from Dave Burgess Consulting in 2019, and you can catch his reflections and reviews (along with those from teammate Kali Slusser) at http://readlikeapirate.wordpr...

BETH HOUF is a mom, middle school principal, passionate leader & learner, and forever teacher. She’s also the co-author of Lead Like a PIRATE: Make School Amazing for Your Students and Staff . Interact with her on Twitter @BethHouf and engage with ideas from her book at #LeadLAP. In our conversation, Beth recalls how pressure-packed early years in a principal position almost turned her off fro...

CHRIS CHAPPOTIN is the principal at Steam Middle School in Burleson, TX. He’s a husband, father, Engage 2 Learn Coach, certified Google educator, and big sports fan. He’s also a bit of a rapper as well! Follow Chris: On Twitter at https://twitter.com/Chris_Chappotin On Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/chris_chappotin/ On YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/user/frankginley Watch his district’...

AJ BIANCO is a husband, father of two boys, aspiring leader, and middle school teacher at Harrington Park School in Bergen County, NJ. A fan of the flipped classroom and blended learning, AJ is also a co-host of another great education podcast called Podcast PD. Follow AJ online here: TW: https://twitter.com/AJBianco IG: https://www.instagram.com/ajbianco/ Podcast PD: https://podcastpd.com/ In our...

DR. SAMANTHA FECICH is a former special education teacher and now a professor at Grove City College in Pennsylvania. She’s also a mom, edtech innovator, and most recently, the author of Edumagic: A Guide for Pre-Service Teachers (https://amzn.to/2U47UtD). Follow Dr. Sam online here: TW: https://twitter.com/SFecich IG: https://www.instagram.com/sfecich/ Website: https://www.sfecich.com/ In our conv...