unMASKing with Male Educators: Creating Emotionally Safe Classrooms & Schools for Male Students

What if learning was just about creating beautiful things? This is the essence of project-based learning. It’s not easy, but we believe that this ethos is essential in order to reach the 21st-century learner. So, what does it take to run a PBL classroom? How do you get students to buy into PBL projects? It’s not easy, and it requires you to view the teaching profession as an art form and expressio...

Will the Department of Education really be dissolved with Donald Trump set to take office? It’s been a whirlwind of emotions and struggle for educators these past few years, between distance learning, deteriorating attention spans, Chat GPT, inflation, the politicization of every piece of curriculum… - am I missing anything? This episode is a reflection on the past election and upcoming presidency...

There are countless times as an educator where you have to communicate your vision to an outsider. What comes to mind when you read this? Are you a teacher communicating with a parent? A principal making your case to district leaders? A literacy coach presenting to major stakeholders in your school community? I recently went to Exchange 24, a conference in DC with all the movers and shakers, hoste...

The secret to teaching is… There is no secret? That’s a common cliche these days that I disagree with. Secrets are real. But I think the main idea of this cliche is that secrets often don’t unlock the superpower you think they will. Sometimes the secret is that teaching is a lot harder than you think it will be going into it. It’s harder, more complicated, and it thrives in the gray areas of life....

What percentage of your student body claims they are in a good place, but deep down, they feel like they can’t share their true feelings? My TED Talk answers this question - using data from the school site where I began my teaching career - and talks about a time when I went to get a gun. If I had pulled the trigger, I would have thrown my entire life away... (0:00) Class in session; my history wi...

We’ve all had that amazing lesson plan that we were so excited to teach. And when we finally got to teach it, it fell apart within the first 30 seconds. So what went wrong? I'm riding solo today, with my individual takeaways from a conversation with educator, administrator, headmaster, director… Dr. Ray Swann. Check out my conversation with this veteran educator in episode 3 . In this episode, you...

Teachers, tell me if this sounds familiar: When you first start teaching, it’s survival mode. Next thing you know you’re barking orders, becoming the disciplinarian. It’s natural, instinctual, understandable. But in order to avoid the trap we all fall for, especially with this new generation of students, we need to do what’s counterintuitive - what some would call “wasting units and falling behind...

All it took was three months… I haven’t been able to shake the story of freshman Jose Zamora, of Santa Clara High School. What happened to him is exactly what this podcast seeks to prevent. In this episode, you’ll learn: What do statistics about bullying and suicide say about our male students Specific routines and systems you can implement to make students feel more welcome at school and in your...

This is the story of a man who sacrificed two-thirds of his annual salary to become a teacher… You might be the ONLY male educator at your school site, quite an isolating experience. So in order to keep the classroom as invigorating as you imagined it would be when you first answered the call to teach, we need to share stories and reconnect with our why. We present to you, Vladimir Puvača. Listen...

This is essential listening, especially for first-year educators. To be honest, the first year will have you questioning your career choices. So this episode is packed with advice and tips to keep you connected with your male students in ways that make teaching sustainable. In Ray’s words, BEFORE you do anything, tend to the soil, the garden that is your classroom. AND tend to your own personal ga...

Here’s a dirty little secret: Every educator, even the master teachers, are struggling to keep their students attentive and engaged. And research shows our male students are paying the heaviest price for it. In the era of the smartphone, how do we combat decreased attention spans? Design. In this episode, we cover How to redesign schools to keep pace with a rapidly changing world How teachers can...

Only 23% of K-12 educators in America are male. As a male at your school site, it gets lonely. And just think about the ramifications of this gender gap for your male students - walking the halls daily, acting out, and experiencing disproportionate levels of discipline - male students who just want to feel understood. Sound familiar? This is a show for male educators - male educators who want to b...

Have you ever felt ISOLATED at your school? Whether it be socially? Over a particular issue? Approach? In your own classroom? Any honest individual will answer YES to this question. It’s human! Once we acknowledge our shared humanity as teachers, staff, and students, the faster we can build a safe culture and climate at our school site. In this episode, we cover The gender demographics for educato...

The new chapter of the podcast, TALKING TO TEACHERS, begins on November 5th, 2024. Meanwhile, we’ll be IN THE LAB creating it! Plus, learn more about our upcoming Young Men’s Conference, on November 16th, 2024. Topics include: getting in fights at school, self-talk, negative self-talk, our Young Men’s conference (0:00) Welcome (1:00) Getting in fights, and me being “the best (or worst) of the bad...

*APOLOGIES FOR SOME OF THE AUDIO TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES In this episode, Ashanti is joined by Camren Stepter, a college student from Kentucky State University with aspirations of becoming an educator and eventually a principal. Camren's journey is deeply rooted in community service, volunteering, and mentoring youth, driven by his passion for making a positive impact on future generations. Topics...

Expressing sadness over the events that took place at Apalachee High School last week. Topics include: Apalachee High School, school shootings, Colt Gray, Colin Gray, Ricky Pearsall, Union Square San Francisco, parents being charged for children’s actions during school shootings, bodycam footage of Colin Gray, school shooting data, the Second Amendment (0:00) Welcome (2:00) Honoring the victims of...

In this episode, Ashanti sits down with Matt Melvin, the author of "Bullied Behind Bars: A Gay Christian Trump Supporter Goes to Prison." In this book, Matt shares his unique and deeply personal journey and delves into how his identity as a gay Christian and his political beliefs shaped his experiences while incarcerated. (0:00) Welcome (8:55) Matt introduces himself (10:00) Front of Ashanti's mas...

On our 4-year anniversary, we make some big announcements on where the podcast is headed. We’re taking off the mask of education! Topics include: Project 2025, Department of Education, Dr. Seuss, smartphones, phone addiction, educator-focused podcasts, healthy masculinity in schools, finding our podcast niche, AI, artificial intelligence, dial-up internet, and more (0:00) Welcome (2:40) Focusing m...

This episode originally aired on February 1st, 2022. “It turns out the fastest way to experience resonance is through laughter… One of the things that I show in my workshops with teachers is let’s invest in moments of resonance, invest in moments of play… These games put us in a mindful state right away, in a state where we’re aware of the other person. And so right away it’s an entry point into j...

This episode originally aired on November 28, 2023. “As much as people think I’m in my dad’s shadow, in many ways I live my life to NOT be like him. And even though my dad was a psychologist, I always felt like he wasn’t terribly emotional.” - Matt Englar-Carlson Ever Forward Club’s Ashanti Branch is joined by Dr. Matt Englar-Carlson. Matt is a professor of counseling and the director of the Cente...

This episode originally aired on June 25, 2024. Donofriend, or Donovan Taylor Hall, joins Ashanti Branch, a master educator with 20+ years of experience in schools, to talk about what they are reflecting on as educators and what they’re seeing in the halls of modern-day schools. Donovan is an experienced teacher and positive youth development expert who travels around the country speaking at schoo...

“I can’t light a fire under young people. But I can help them find their fire, and then I can feed it. That’s my goal as a mentor.” - Jordan Bowman Jordan Bowman is the Executive Director of Journeymen, a nonprofit mentoring teenage boys to become men of integrity. Jordan is passionate about fostering connection and compassion, focusing on self-awareness and emotional intelligence. He designs and...

“There was a point where I woke up on my birthday and I could not breathe. And every time I took a breath, it felt like I was having a heart attack. I went to the hospital, and they could not figure out what it was…” - Ryan Rigoli In this episode, Ashanti welcomes Ryan Rigoli, a Spiritual Coach & Teacher, Musician, and Monk with Celebrating Life Ministries. Ryan shares his journey of profound...

“Medical students are seen through a lens that a lot of people in our society are not. And it is unfortunate. You take the most neurotic people you could possibly imagine. You stick them all in one room and you've got future physicians.” - John Feldkamp John Feldkamp, a medical student and co-president of his class at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, is passionate about pediatrics...

In this episode of "Face to Face," Wenceslao welcomes Demarco, an 8th grader, star athlete, and member of the Ever Forward Club. Demarco is a bit nervous but ready to take on the world of high school in the Bay Area. Listen in as they discuss friendship, boundaries, sports, bullying, and how to balance life as a teen in 2024. Topics include: baseball, setting boundaries, understanding/em...