Fully Charged

Take a peek into the Fine Arts program at Benjamin Franklin High school through the eyes of two students, Dexter Cruz and Emily Cook. They are actively involved. Dexter recently hosted our talent contest, Franklin's Got Talent. He and Emily have been in our recent musicals, too! How do they juggle their extracurricular life and academics? What keeps them fully charged, so to speak? In this po...

Math is one of those subjects that you get, or it makes your eyes roll. But wait! Listen to how math teacher, Mrs. Karly Chasteen puts it. And wait, there's more - listen to what Bo Smith , a senior at Benjamin Franklin High School says about how his career plans have been launched. Almost literally! Math, says Mrs. Chasteen was 'static' until calculus came along. In fact she admits it seemed bori...

Schools are opening everywhere around us. But there is more to education, says coach Todd Cook, than the bells and whistles of a school. "We're giving students a success map," he says. It sets us apart, and defines what we call the Charger Way. In this podcast Trinity Wright and Mr. Cook discuss what educating the whole person means. "Why can't school choice mean a parent could take a student to t...

It's a lot to manage this thing called Time. Not just as adults but as teenagers. Especially when transitioning into 'school mode' from 'summer mode.' That juggling act called Time-Life Balance is a work in progress. Between sports practice, making TikToks, and homework....  In this episode host, Trinity Wright talks to Jim Bryant who teaches 12th grade Government and Economics. They share th...

Everyone has a definition of 'happiness' - and we may not all agree to them. But what could 'Felicitas' involve, in a way that makes sense? In this podcast we talk about why we often need guardrails, not simply to restrict our freedoms, but to keep us responsible, even while we are in the 'Don't worry, be happy' mood.   There's a push by the 'Me-Me-Me' culture is seldom fulfilling. And t...

This may be an unusual topic for a school podcast. But it's time we addressed that uncomfortable topic: Conflict. How do we handle it? We call it the anti-Will Smith method, if you recall the altercation between Chris Rock and Will Smith at the recent Oscars.  " So I'm a student, and I'm in my class, and my teacher does something that makes me upset. What do I do?" There are two common respon...

How do we eliminate that 'negative charge' around us, and practice positivity? In this podcast, hosts Ms. Christina Dressel and Ms. Trinity Wight talk about the challenges we all face at school, and in life, and how we might diffuse those charges.  They should know. This show is called Fully Charged for a reason!

Sometimes people say what's on their mind when frustrated. They need to emote in the moment and say things that, in hindsight, shouldn't have been said. Easier said than done, right? Everyone experiences ranting in some form or another.  In this episode Ms. Dressel and Ms. Wright talk about an experience on a flight. Not exactly air rage, but something close to it. Once the temperature of the...

Leadership comes under many labels. Courage. Authority. Daring to be different. Breaking the mold. In this episode of Fully Charged, Trinity Wright introduces us to someone who at a very young age demonstrated 'spiritual authority - or Auctoritas - when the odds were against her. Listen to how Elizabeth Eckford chose to attend school, despite the angry protests outside her school.  Eckford we...

On this first episode of 'Fully Charged,' a 10-minute podcast about student achievement, hosts Christina Dressel and Trinity Wright talk about what it wholesomeness and health (the virtue of ' Salubritas ') means. With anecdotes from real student experiences, and an event both hosts experienced on a flight, they discuss how to cope with mental health and other struggles.