Worth Work Podcast

This episode offers a profound look at the transition back to the classroom, exploring the nuanced feelings and thoughts that come with resuming educational responsibilities after such a significant event. Key Highlights: Desmond's Dilemma: A Teacher's Crossroads: Peek into Desmond's inner world as he grapples with tough decisions about his teaching career. How does an educator reconcile personal...

Welcome to 'Worth Work: The Strike Work 3', it's Jesse, the Imaginer here, going solo in this episode to share some vital insights from the Portland Association of Teachers Strike. Today, we're deep in the heart of the strike, facing some tough realities regarding the recent decision Portland Public School Management about our health insurance. I'll share clips from today's rally to help us align...

Welcome back to 'Worth Work: The Strike Work 2'. I'm Desmond Spann, joined by Jesse Gardner, and today, November 15th, marks day 10 of the Portland Association of Teachers Strike. In this episode, we explore the emotional highs and lows of the strike, from the strong sense of community among educators to the looming uncertainties and fears. We delve into the recent negotiations, the complexities o...

Welcome back to 'Worth Work: The Strike Work 1'. I'm Desmond Spann, and it's been a while since we last connected through this podcast. After a hiatus of one year, we're reigniting this platform due to the unprecedented and historic nature of the Portland Association of Teachers Strike. As we enter Day 9 of this groundbreaking event, I find myself deeply immersed in the challenges and triumphs of...

In this episode Jesse interviews Desmond about his upgrading practices to stop using grades to have power over students but create a classroom culture increase learning through enriching classroom experiences. Desmond talks about the joyful mess of this process and in this short bonus episode there are many gems. So many gems we had to contemplate in silence and not lay down our usual freestyle at...

Welcome! This episode invites listeners into the heart of Worth Work: story telling and practices that help us tell our stories from our depths. Desmond shares triggering experience of racism at the school he works at. The practices Desmond is immersed in help him navigate the experience, feel it deeply and authentically express himself. Take this story in like you're sipping a special beverage. 0...

As the school year rolls into its start, this episode is a reminder that human connection transfers real learning to students. Enjoy this episode. More show notes on the way. https://worthworkpodcast.substack.com/

Today, in Portland Public Schools, we start planning for the year. It's a great time to think about our systems. So enjoy this episode. It's one of my favorites. -Desmond Show Notes: 03:05- Desmond- "The book I pull from heavily is Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows ... and Systems Thinking for Social Change by David Peter Stroh " 03:36 Desmond- "Thats when the lightbulb went off, Oh! that's w...

Worth Work in full effect. This episode focuses on the relationship of power in our teaching profession in individuals and in the system. What do we gain when we give up power? How can we shift the culture so power is more evenly distributed? A real gem in this episode is around the 30:10 mark hear a story from from a few years from students (now in college) about how they were able to shift the p...

In this episode of the Worth Work podcast the quest begins with the question: Why are teachers leaving the profession? Enter these fifty three minutes and twenty three seconds where Jesse and Desmond have a conversation and contemplate the heart of the matter. The invitation that emerges from their conversation; Worth Work is a way of being, a beneficial way to expand our humanity. Deeply knowing...

This episode of the Worth Work podcast Desmond and Jesse investigate the importance of inner work for creating racial justice in ourselves and our school communities. Desmond shares the background about where the name of this podcast; Worth Work- came from. To summarize briefly- the process of liberating ourselves from ubiquitousness of shame begins by claiming our inherent worth that comes from s...

Racial Identity In this episode, we explore the work of racial Identity, and our discussion reveals Desmond's resistance to this episode. Jesse shares a nutshell version of his racial autobiography as a white man. We are working not to get cookies for doing the right thing. We are doing this work to be more fully human. The paradigm is shifting, balance is coming, and shame wants to stop us from t...

Defining Equity In this episode, we explore a dynamic definition of equity, and our discussion springboards from a collage of quotes from our colleagues. Join us as we build off our first episode about the artform of teaching and use an artful lens to get into the nitty-gritty of racial equity. The paradigm is shifting, balance is coming, and shame wants to stop us from the full embrace. We all ha...

The Art of Teaching Summary: Welcome to our first Worth Work podcast! This episode we focus on seeing the vocation of teaching as an art form. Using this podcast as a canvas we paint with quotes, clips from empathy interviews of colleagues, a guided meditation, storytelling, insights, and end with a freestyle rap using the key words and phrases of this episode. Our hope is to bring infectious ener...