The Dash

In Episode 173, Rheon Gibson and I talk about how educators are adapting in 2020 and how they incorporate SEL into their curriculum. Rheon briefly shares his past experiences and how he came about influencing the whole school system with SEL as the new school principal. We also talk about his best-selling SEL children’s book, "The Dizz Wizz Series", and how it aims to teach elementary students abo...

Joe Beckman’s passion and purpose are to help reclaim human connection; whether in a school, workshop, or even a conference. In this conversation, we talk about the importance of accepting failure and pushing through. Joe also shares his personal experience about his life changing injury and transitioning to being a human connector he is now. Joe Beckman talks about his book and the 5 phrases ever...

Our kids need more support, in EP 171, we have a conversation with Cody Armstrong, Middle School ELA Teacher, Basketball coach, and SEL Advocate. Cody has a new passion for SEL after emphasizing curriculum early in his teacher Journey but has now made the transition to being his schools SEL Committee Chairman. In this episode we talk about how our Every Decision Counts book study has sparked a new...

“When we take a few moments to pay attention to what we need mentally, emotionally and spiritually then our cups get filled--- Our students really pick-up on our positive energy, they are more open to learning.” – Meredith Newlin Meredith Newlin’s passion and purpose is to help motivate and inspire educators to rediscover and keep their joy for the teaching profession. In this conversation, we tal...

There are millions of strategies (for education), but the number one strategy is to look within.- Lindsay Titus Lindsay Titus is a passionate, influential educator specializing in the field of behavior analysis. She is the founder of Define YOUniversity and in this conversation, we discuss her journey towards becoming an authentic educator and her passion to help others tap into themselves and use...

"You can't teach if you don't have a relationship with your students You have to build a relationship first."- Jasmine Mathis Years of experience teaching different levels of education have given Jasmine Mathis an exceptional perspective on teaching. She has forayed in middle school all the way to college and has had the chance to truly explore different styles of teaching. In this conversation, w...

“The need to focus on Equity and SEL, regardless of social climate is PARAMOUNT.” – Dr. Pauletta Thompson Dr. Pauletta Thompson has been a real superstar in her district, despite their struggles with budget. She has emphasized the need to help her students to continue to progress in their education, implementing strategies and processes to ensure that nobody is left behind. She has also helped the...

"Don’t be afraid to take risks. Everything is just going to keep on changing so we need to learn to cope and learn how we deal and stay positive through unknown times." Dr. Jennifer Baez Jennifer Baez takes an alternative approach to handling her school by taking things that aren’t in education and applying them for everyone to learn and grow stronger as a team. Her approach has come with much suc...

"The big shift is shifting the mindset of an educator or of a teacher from no longer being the deliverer of content rather now being the facilitator of learning." - Jeff Gargas There is always room for improvement, even a little bit every day. This is the goal of the Teach Better Team. Jeff Gargas, cofounder of TeachBetter.com and co-host of the Teach Better Talk! Podcast explains to me the philos...

"The strategies really boil down to relationship-building in the classroom. We have to learn to treat kids as though they're human beings, more so than just students." - Sandra Andrews How About Them Apples? That's the name of Sandra Andrews' program for effective classroom management, which helps teachers learn how to stop problematic behavior before it gets out of hand, making sure that every st...

"We focus so much on academics that we're losing sight of the real problem, and we keep trying to put these students that might be round pegs into square holes." - Richard Trotta This week on The Dash, Richard Trotta, the director of the Center for Citizenship and Social Responsibility, an after-school program that focuses on leadership skills, talks to me about the CCSR, the merits of project-bas...

"It takes a connected family to make a difference in the lives of a population of kids." - Hal Bowman With over 3 decades of experience, Hal Bowman knows when a teacher is a rock star. He started his career as the band director and now consults with teachers nationwide to help them perform their best. We talk about how Hal became a consultant, some of his strategies and beliefs that help him help...

"The kids that are academically the worst and behaviorally the worst - they're the ones that need you the most." - Bill Hoatson With over 30 years of educational experience in economically depressed areas, 7 books, and the Bill Hoatson Voice of Experience Teaching Seminar, Bill Hoatson definitely has some things to teach us about education. Bill stresses the power of praise, relationships, and und...

"My kids know that I've always wanted the best for them, so no matter what if they don't have anybody to believe in them they know that I do." - Charlotte Nichols This week on The Dash, Charlotte Nichols explains to us how the year-round school model works. She also explains her journey through education, how she ended up teaching at a year-round school, and what her favorite part of the education...

"Connection before content. Before anyone tries to teach anything to someone, actually gives them content, we should be focusing on the way that we connect with each other." - Phil Brown Phil Brown of High 5 Adventure Learning Center and host of the Vertical Playpen podcast joins me this week to talk about adventure learning, experiential learning, and using the challenge course as a tool for teac...

"Although you may have a good education, there are those other things that come along with it in order for you to be able to navigate." - Valerie Fields Valerie Fields, Chairman of the Board at Felton Laboratory Charter School, talks to me about the changes in education in South Carolina and the reasons that she has seen that support the need for SEL in schools. She also addresses and dispels some...

"There's only one thing that stops innovation in the classroom: the EGO - of the adult. The adult has to get out of the way and let the kids innovate." How do SEL and robotics work together? When you think of robotics, the words "scripted" and "predictable" come to mind, but Robert Walker knows that in the real world, things are often unscripted and unpredictable - even in fields that may seem oth...

"Developing SEL skills is a process that both students and adults go through to understand and manage emotions, to empathize, to maintain positive relationships, and also make responsible decisions." -Tre Gammage This school year will not be like any other year before it. We're returning to school following a pandemic that has changed the world, and our instruction practices need to follow suit. T...

"We have a mental health crisis in our school systems and we have a stress crisis for our educators and all of the learning is happening within those relationships. So if we disrupt that process and create healthier adults, we can create healthier students, and, ultimately, healthier communities." - Joshua Hendrickson Joshua Hendrickson is committed to improving mental health in our schools to ult...

"Indigenous knowledge is socially collaborative. It involves culture, as well, so we can say that indigenous knowledge is situated in a cultural tradition and within a historical and political context. Therefore when you look at the nature of science you can say that it is also socially and culturally constructed." - Principal Chaks Principal Chaks is the Head of Department at the Thandulwazi Math...

"We need to be exemplary. A teacher should be a special person that practices what they preach." - Thabiso Mathipa Thabiso Mahipa has been teaching since 2015, starting as a pioneer teacher at a rural school and moving to the city in Limpopo after 3 years. He won the National Teacher of the Year Award and has some wonderful classroom management tips, especially since one of his classes has 48 stud...

"In my experience, kids are not "just bad". They're curious." - Andrea McCormick Andrea McCormick is a Founding Assistant Principal at Kipp Change Academy. Although she originally wanted to work in the justice system to help people who have been silenced, she now works as an educator to help people discover their voices before that happens. Andrea talks to me about how Kipp includes SEL for both s...

"It's one thing to have skills, but you've got to know where you're going and you want to go to a good place." - Maurice Elias Maurice Elias started with SEL in 1975, so it's a super special treat to get to talk a pioneer of SEL and Character Development in education. We talk about the importance of the other side of the report card, how to bring out the best in every student, and how to help teac...

"You are ready for it; you're old enough for it; you're smart enough for it. Get out there and take the leap, take the smart risk, and just do it." - Brandon SC Wallace Brandon SC Wallace is an Associate Professor at Montgomery College, a Faculty Associate at Johns Hopkins University, and an Adjunct Professor at Prince George's Community College. If that weren't' enough, he's also a consultant, ad...

"Mindfulness is a really great way to support students in developing these strategies that are going to allow them to manage their emotions and, in a healthy way, get through the ups and downs that just come with being human." - Kailey Lefko Kailey Lefko started her teaching journey as a science teacher and after becoming aware of how mindfulness helped students develop their SEL skills in the cla...