The Parent/Teacher Conference

From classroom supplies, what to do if youre taking your child out of school for vacation ,to gaining information on your child's assignments in the digital age, to advice on smartphones and social media, and encouraging parents as the experts on their child, Coach shares information from a parent and teacher's perspective, that you may or may not agree with, but hopefully will help develo...

Being a first year teacher can be intimidating, even scary. On this episode, Coach shares from his experience as well as from the experience of his buddy who is also a teacher to help new teachers with issues that may not have been addressed in college education classes. Topics include dealing with teachers who are both have toxic positivity & toxic negativity, the importance of watching veter...

A bit of a departure from the typical topics talked about on the podcast, in this episode talks about his recent trip to Cooperstown, shares a bit about what they town and Baseball Hall of Fame is like, and why, after 20 years of visiting at least once a year, it continues to inspire.

A Cornell professor offers 6 reasons why the advocacy group "Moms for Liberty" are extremists. Since his speciality is popular culture, you would think the better question he would answer is how did a grassroots movement of 3 moms from Florida grow to over 100,000 members in 45 states in less than 3 years? Coach looks at what the concerns of the professor are valid, which are garbage, an...

Always remember, an authentic word of encouragement takes little effort on the coach's end, but goes a long way in your athlete's heart. On this episode....As a coach, you always wonder what the coaches of your children will be like. Will they authoritarian or lenient, harsh or encouraging. Coach talks about experiences in his own life as an athlete and coach that will have you thinking ab...

Using The Abolition of Man, by C.S. Lewis, Coach discusses how an opinion based value system leaves us as either too ethereal or animalistic, or as Lewis called it "Men without chests". How we see this in education with the A being the only goal, and cheating and AI are just means to achieving it.

In the past week, a song by country singer Jason Aldean and a strand of the new Florida African American History curriculum created headlines and fueled the fire of division. In this episode, Coach discusses the similarities of the two stories that only seek to expand the divide rather than bringing people to the table to talk. Also, how the teaching of slavery should allow students to understand...

If you have never taken a look, do yourself a favor & go on Youtube and type in Savannah Bananas if you want to see a different style of baseball. Coach shares his opinions about audiobooks and the one he listened to called "Banana Ball" by Jesse Cole, the creator of a new approach to baseball, and the inspiration and encouragement it was for an old teacher like Coach that teachers c...

With the writers and actors on strike, Coach shares why he thinks this may be a long one, and then a few movies from the past that if you missed them as a kid, would be great to watch with your kids now. Included are Something Wicked this Way Comes, Up, Inside/Out, Secondhand Lions, and Cloak and Dagger.

In Game 7, 1986, Failure & Triumph in the Biggest Game of My Life, Ron Darling shares his perspective of getting the opportunity to have a "dare to be great" moment only to fail. What lessons can we learn from the book to share with our children and students as they face heartache & disappointment. How can encourage not to settle for the opportunity or drown in a sea of disappoin...

It is the 25th Anniversary of Coach's Cross-Country honeymoon. On this episode, he shares the place where pictures make it look much bigger than it is, and the one where pictures can never do it justice. A great episode if you are considering taking such a trip, or even to just to have your family experience another part of the United States.

As the United States becomes more filled with people who can be categorize as biracial or multiracial, what does that do to the traditional "boxes" of Black, White, Asian, Hispanic, that people seek to place us into? In his book, Self Portrait in Black and White, Thomas Chatterton Williams challenges whites and blacks to stop looking at these divisions. Coach shares how this book encoura...

Was Ben & Jerry's right? Is the US stolen land or conquered land? Is there a difference? Coach discusses the emptiness of virtue signaling, how he attempts to avoid doing it in school, and how social studies teachers should teach the colonization of America of the land held by Native Americans.

On this book discussion episode, Coach shares the John McWhorter book Woke Racism and it's concerns of the anti-racism approach of people such as Kendi or DeAngelo create barriers to expression and individuality of people rather than encouraging them to being successful. As with McWhorter, there is a concern as an educator of these views, but more importantly, as father's of daughters who...

Should US public schools lean more toward teaching that the US is a land of oppression or opportunity? How can the U.S. bring about unity while not dismissing the diversity found in it's people? What do immigrants from oppressive countries, President Obama, and a filmmaker named Eli Steele have to teach us about the how we should go about teaching our country's history?

Coach finishes up his review of the book "How to Raise an Anti-Racist" by Dr. Kendi discussing problems that the view Kendi offers not only has for the classroom but how it can be detrimental for Coach's multi racial family as well. Coach encourages the listener to take in diverse views that are more than skin deep in considering such views as Anti-Racism, Culturally Responsive Teach...

Coach reviews Dr. Kendi's bool "How to Raise an Anti-Racist" through his experience of being a member of a multi-racial family. In Part 1, he discusses his concerns with the concept and addresses them through a discussion of the opening story of the book.

What is more important the community or individual? A girl dances across the stage and is denied her diploma. Did the school do the right thing? Coach discusses the recent event that occurred at the Philadelphia High School for Girls and shares insights that he learned from his principal's secretary that helped to gain better insight about rules and their enforcement, with examples of what hap...

In this episode, Coach shares thoughts of summer vacation, from defending teachers from attacks to getting summers' off, community building through town sport teams, an audiobook suggestion, summer as learning experience for kids, and concluding how he uses summer vacation to prepare to make his classroom even better for his students. Yeah, it's all over the place, but if you know Coach, y...

Learn one of the most loving words a parent can say to their child on this Father's Day episode. Coach discusses studies that demonstrate the importance of dad's in their children's lives, the role parents need to play as risk evaluators for their children as their minds continue to develop, and shares some of the struggles he had with his Dad that helped make him into the man he is to...

With all the lawn signs up around town, it seems like every grade level gets a graduation ceremony. Some people say it's too much and would like to shrink down the honor. Coach offers some opinions, from concerns of thinking of always celebrating the student, to the important but often neglected part of any graduation, the community who is celebrating the graduates. Some advice for administrat...

On one hand we want to recognize students who have achieved success in academics, athletics, and the arts. However, if our goal is also to shame kids who did not achieve these rewards, then we are are having an award assembly for the wrong reason. Coach talks about the children and parents who don't need the reminders that they're achievements may never be recognized, but are difficult to...

Often teachers are told that students need to read books that speak to them and their experiences, so the classics are tossed away for the latest Newberry Awards winner. Too bad history teachers can't do the same...Or is it so bad? Coach discusses the problems of defining relevance in a small, narrow way of my piece of the world, rather than showing students the wider human experience from the...

Coach discusses a interdisciplinary project he assign his class where they create a Zoo based on a specific biome and culture, and what projects like that can teach our students and adults. How there is no "outside the box" thinking, but really we should be teaching kids to use the limited resources they have to their fullest potential.

Starting with a quote from Prelude to a Kiss, Coach discusses the importance of motherhood, why birthing person can be an offensive term (and one Coach chooses never to use, and that despite people having negative experiences with their mother or not being able to be a mom, a day to celebrate the ideal of motherhood is better than not recognizing it at all.