Teachers on Fire

MICHAEL DREZEK is a Technology Integration Specialist for the Lake Shore Central School District in upstate New York. Michael is in his 15th year as an educator and is the host of the Quest 4 Edlightenment podcast. He is a former teacher of the year and has earned too many accolades to list here! Find out more about Michael’s innovative work with technology in education at https://michaeldrezek.co...

ARI FLEWELLING is a staff development specialist at Riverside Unified School District in Riverside, California. A former high school English teacher, Ari holds a Master’s degree in Education Technology and is a Google Certified Trainer and Innovator. She can often be found sharing her knowledge at EdTechTeam events. Ari’s Twitter profile says “Cool on the internet. Even cooler IRL,” which should t...

JON HARPER is an Assistant Principal at Sandy Hill Elementary School in Cambridge, Maryland. He’s the smooth-sounding voice of the My Bad Podcast & Co-Host of the Teachers Aid podcast. Follow Jon online here: TW: https://twitter.com/Jonharper70bd IG: https://www.instagram.com/jonharper70/ Blog: https://jonharper.blog/ The My Bad Podcast: https://www.bamradionetwork.com/my-bad/ The Teachers Aid Pod...

DR. TODD SCHMIDT is the principal of Harbor View Elementary School in Corona del Mar, CA. Follow Todd on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/tsschmidty and catch his thoughts on education at http://tsschmidty.blogspot.com/. In our conversation, Todd recalls the challenges he faced around entering administration and describes his ongoing journey with Shiny Object Syndrome. He discusses his commitment to...

JEFF KUBIAK is the principal of Nelda Mundy Elementary School in Fairfield, CA. Follow Jeff on Twitter @jeffreykubiak and catch his blog posts at http://principalkubiak.blogspot.com/. In our conversation, Jeff recalls feeling so broken and unsupported as a rookie teacher that he left education entirely. He describes the strategies he is following to build school culture, and explains why he is so...

CURTIS WIEBE is an elementary school teacher in Surrey, BC, Canada. He’s interested in the ways that technology augments learning, boosts creativity, and creates new opportunities for learners. Follow Curtis on Twitter https://twitter.com/DivisionW and see his work at https://mrwiebesclass.weebly.com/. In our conversation, Curtis identifies the key to bringing about positive changes in schools and...

You might know Paul Stevens-Fulbrook better on Instagram as @TeacherofSci. Paul is a father of five and head of Year 7 and 8 Science at his school in the UK. He writes at teacherofsci.com with the mission of “supporting teachers’ lives through strategy, wellbeing and extra income.” In our conversation here, Paul explains why it’s critical for teachers to remain true to who they really are, even -...

MANDY FROEHLICH is the Director of Innovation & Technology for the Ripon Area School District in Ripon, WI. She is a blogger, speaker, and co-host on the @bamradionetwork’s Teacher's Aid podcast. She is also the author of The Fire Within: Lessons from Defeat That Have Inspired a Passion for Learning (https://amzn.to/2EdqBH4) and the soon-to-be-released Divergent EDU. In our conversation, Mandy rec...

BETHANY PETTY is a teacher, coffee fanatic, and 2017 EdTech Digest School Leader Finalist. She writes about thoughtful uses of technology in education at http://usingeducationaltechnology.com/ and is also the author of Illuminate: Technology Enhanced Learning (https://amzn.to/2DGx6lz). In our conversation, Bethany recalls the challenges around teaching students not much younger than her. She discu...

COLBY SHARP is a husband, father of five, fifth grade teacher, avid reader and book reviewer, runner, and self-proclaimed nerd. He is the author of The Creativity Project: An Awesometastic Story Collection (https://amzn.to/2zpzGZf) and 2018’s Game Changer!: Book Access for All Kids (https://amzn.to/2QTtsqX). In our conversation, Colby recalls the discouragement of a harsh professional evaluation a...

CRAIG KEMP is a head of Digital Learning and Innovation, teacher of teachers, blogger, workshop facilitator, and speaker. Although he hails from New Zealand and now calls Singapore home, Craig is truly a global force for innovation in education. In our conversation, recalls the challenge of rebuilding a school community after the tragic loss of a student. He describes how his current role constant...

KIMBERLY SNODGRASS is a 7th grade ELA teacher. She advocates for creative thinking, BookSnaps, Sketchnotes, Edu GIFS, and other creative ways for students to represent their learning. In our conversation, Kim recalls the challenge of beginning a high school teaching assignment with a lot of preparation required and next to no experience in education. She credits this period with allowing her to le...

KATELYNN GIORDANO is a sixth grade language arts teacher in Sugar Grove, IL. You can find more of her insights on learning, reading, and writing at https://curriculumcoffee.com/ - a written shot of espresso for educators. Katelynn recalls the time early in her career when a veteran colleague told her not to speak during faculty meetings. Part of her recovery from that discouraging blow involved mo...

JARROD DUMAS is an assistant principal at Oak Hill Middle School in Sabattus, Maine. He recently published Unlocking Excellence: A Guide to Becoming an Extraordinary Educator. Check it out at https://amzn.to/2woY9Lh. In our conversation, Jarrod recalls a great story about how his own sarcasm once cost him in the classroom. He shares about the heart and message of his book and discusses the sources...

JOSHUA STAMPER is an assistant principal, husband, father, blogger, and graphic artist in Frisco, TX. He’s also the host of Aspire: The Leadership Development Podcast. You’ll find his writing at https://joshstamper.blogspot.com/. In our conversation, Josh discusses the mission and vision of his podcast on leadership in education, Aspire. He tells us why he’s excited about the incredible changes th...

DAVID McFARLAND is a high school IB humanities teacher at Pacific Academy in Surrey, BC, Canada. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MrMcFteaches. In our conversation, David talks about how “We don’t even know you!” challenged him to rethink the importance of building relationships with his students. He describes some of his passions in education today: helping students navigate knowledge...

JAMIE OSBORNE is a middle school teacher-librarian in Richmond, BC, Canada. She writes at https://thebiblioz.wordpress.com/ and recently published her first episode of The Biblioz podcast for teacher librarians. In our conversation, Jamie addresses the challenges of moving students from an unhealthy focus on grades to the uninhibited freedom of failure-free learning. She explains why she enjoys he...

JAROD BORMANN is an advocate for educator empowerment, a tech integration specialist, adjunct professor, learning designer, speaker, blogger, and the author of a new book, Professionally Driven: Empower Every Educator To Redefine PD. In our conversation, Jarod talks about the need to redefine and reimagine PD with three main features at the core: 1 growth mindset, 2 intrinsic motivation, and 3 sus...

KRISTIN HUNDT is a devoted wife and mother of four boys, a 6th grade teacher, lifelong learner, and global citizen. Her passions include genius hour, project-based learning, the outdoor classroom, the 40 book challenge, and student voice. In our conversation, Kristin talks about her drive to provide good reading materials for her students. An engaged reader herself, she advocates for student voice...

CJ REYNOLDS is better known by his YouTube channel, Real Rap with Reynolds, where he talks teaching, relationships, and life. As a passionate educator and creator, his two truths in teaching are #1 Relationships Are King, and #2 It's Only Ever About the Students. In this episode, CJ recalls the fatigue he faced as a rookie teacher and discusses the importance of learning to say no to some things....

JOHN SOWASH is an educator, freelancer, presenter, husband, and dad. He is also the author of The Chromebook Classroom, which you can check out at http://chrmbook.com. In this conversation, John describes how a dead end in his high school context launched him into the business of teaching teachers - a true passion. You’ll hear him explain why the Chromebook is so much more than just a web browser...

DAN JONES is a 7th and 8th Grade Social Studies Teacher in Mansfield, OH. He is the K-12 Editor for Flipped Learning Review Magazine and the author of Flipped 3.0 Project Based Learning: An Insanely Simple Guide. In this conversation, Dan tells us about the time his passion for teaching died and he almost quit the profession entirely. Instead, he Googled “new and innovative teaching practices” and...

Andi McNair is a keynote speaker and trainer specializing in edtech, genius hour, and innovation in education. She is also the co-founder of #makeithappenEDU and the author of Genius Hour: Passion Projects that Ignite Innovation and Student Inquiry. In this conversation, Andi describes the low moment in her classroom that changed it all for her - when she realized her learners were completely dise...

Joy Kirr is a 7th Grade ELA teacher in Elk Grove, Illinois. She writes at http://geniushour.blogspot.com/ and in 2017 published Shift This!: How to Implement Gradual Changes for MASSIVE Impact in Your Classroom. In this conversation, Joy takes us to a moment when a parent criticized her publicly with “Genius Hour is crazy - and all the parents think so!” She shares what she learned from that exper...

Sarah Johnson is an author, speaker, and consultant in the areas of instructional leadership and personal-professional balance. With experience as an English teacher and principal, she likes to laugh, sing, and makes a habit of running every day. She is a co-author of Balance Like a Pirate: Going Beyond Work-Life Balance to Ignite Passion and Thrive as an Educator. Her mission? Helping Educators T...