Overthrowing Education

This is the first totally new episode in about 10 months. What could get me to put aside my other work to make sure this episode gets out? Only something as important as the death of critical thinking in our education system and how it has especially played out this school year of 2023-24 would make me drop everything to make sure to get this out.   Please open your mind and heart while listening to this episode.  I want to thank Distant Cousins, one of my favorite bands, for their incredible music that opens and closes my show. Give them a listen! Want to get in touch with me?  IG: @batsheva.frankel X: @batshevafrankel website: batshevafrankel.com

In this encore of the 4th episode in the series on AI in education, my guest, Matt Miller and I discuss the issues we need to consider as well as some very practical ideas for using ChatGPT and other really cool AI in our classes. Matt has been digging deep into this subject and brings so much wisdom and insight into our conversation. Matt shares some great resources to explore in the links below. And he also plays a fun version of The 5-Minute Game Show called “ChatGPT, Google or Me?” I’d like to thank my awesome guest Matt Miller and my fauxmercial helpers including my award-winning Voice Actor friend, Eli Schiff as the announcer and Jakey Schiff, Yossie and Tuvia Frankel. This is a great time to buy any burned-out or otherwise deserving teacher friend or colleague some Overthrowing Education Swag. Or buy some for yourself. You totally deserve it!   Links and Resources: ChatGPT, Chatbots and Artificial Intelligence in Education Tons of great resources and classes: DitchThatTextbook.com Get on Matt’s email list to get all kinds of amazing resources: DitchThatTextbook.com/join Classroom videos to use in class TODAY:  Teachflix This project provides you with research-based teaching practices you can use in class tomorrow to save time AND teach better: EfficienTEACH.com

This encore episode is a favorite of mine, but maybe I'm just partial. Here is the description from the original version: Is it possible that Robots/AI will replace teachers someday? II first examined this question in an episode in early 2020. My guests said no, but my son, 14 at the time, predicted much of what we are seeing now with the explosion of growth in Artificial Intelligence. So, I brought my son, now almost 18,  back on the show to give his reflections on his past predictions and update us again. Is it inevitable that teachers will become obsolete? What can we do to make sure that we, as real live educators, are irreplaceable?  What do you think? What do your students think? Let me know on the platform formerly known as Twitter @overthrowinged.  I want to thank Tuvia for indulging me and coming back on with his updated reflections, and a special shout out to the amazing voice over artist Eli Schiff for playing the male teacher and Robo-Helper on the fauxmercial. I also want to thank all the teachers who originally let me know what tasks they dread that they would love to outsource to a robot which were reflected in Robo-Helper  Make someone’s day with cool Overthrowing Education swag!  

This encore episode is the second part of my early exploration of AI in education. Here is the description of this episode from January, 2023: If you haven’t yet listened to the first in this AI in Education series, episode 89, you might want to do that first. It’s not essential but it does give some background that feeds this episode’s discussion. In that episode, I mention some excellent essays by super prolific author and culture writer Stephen Marche. And now Stephen is my special guest on the show today. He is a font of information and a lot of fun to talk with. Among many other aspects, we discussed some great things we can do with AI in our lessons, along with other potential benefits. Additionally, we addressed how AI will affect homework, tests, and essays in many subjects. We also get into the scary potential for increasing inequity in the education system. And I asked a really important question on many educators’ minds – Can AI write lesson plans for us? Speaking of AI writing things for us, I decided to see what would happen when I asked ChatGPT to write my fauxmercial. And I really did give it the first and second prompt that were described in today’s fauxmercial, and those really were the responses it gave me. The rest of it I wrote and performed along with Yossie Frankel as the announcer, Tuvia Frankel as the first AI response and Robin Glickstein as the second AI response. After sort of co-writing with ChatGPT, I was really happy to co-write The 5-Minute Game Show with an actual person – Eve Hirschman. It was a lot more fun. Spoiler: Stephen aced his game show. I believe that educators everywhere should be hearing what Stephen has to say, so please share this episode with every educator you know. @stephenmarche on the platform formerly known as Twitter Find Stephen’s essays, novels, non-fiction books, appearances and more at www.stephenmarche.com  

This episode was orginally recorded in November of 2022, just as we were hearing about ChatGPT and AI in education. Many of us were wondering what will happen to the way we teach and the way students learn. This is the first part of my exploration about AI in Education. My views on it, my concerns, my hopes have all changed many times over the last year and 1/2. It's interesting to go back and see how far we've come. Here is my original description of the episode: There has been an explosion of handwringing among educators and academics, and cheers from students about the strides and easy accessibility of Artificial Intelligence that will probably change the entire nature of how we educate. What can we expect? How do we adapt?  Can anything good come out of this? This is just the first in a series of examinations of this incredibly important topic that will certainly affect every aspect of education at least from middle school through higher education. On this episode it’s just me and AI. We even had fun playing The 5-Minute Game Show! Well, at least I did. I can’t speak for my friendly AI. I want to especially thank Tuvia Frankel for clueing me in to the importance of dealing with this issue right away, and for writing the fauxmercial! Resources and Links: Various great essays on AI by Stephen Marche in The Atlantic The End of High-School English by Daniel Herman in The Atlantic The Brilliance and Weirdness of ChatGPT by Kevin Roose in The New York Times

I've been taking a break from publishing new episodes since mid-August, and now I have a special announcement! 

My awesome guest on this encore episode is educator, author, and lovely, charming human being Lindsay Portnoy who joins me today to talk about why playing games, and playing in general are the best way to learn and how to incorporate games and play into any subject or grade. Lindsay has so many inspiring and wise approaches to education and we really geek out together on this favorite topic for both of us. As for the 5-Minute game show, Lindsay racks up lots of imaginary points as she slays it! Thank you so much to Lyndsay Portnoy and also to Yossie Frankel, the deep voice that joined me on the Edu-game-arama fauxmercial. Resources: www.lindsayportnoy.com  Game On? Brain On!   Designed to Learn The episode that Lindsay mentions that has the singing game show, featuring the amazing voice of Barbara Heller: Kevin Stoller: Why Kids Hate Math and How to Fix it. The episode with Micaela Blie’s hilarious story about the Oregon Trail game she played with her students: Jon Cassie: Game-Based Learning Batsheva’s workshop on Deeper Learning Games (and other workshops): https://www.newlensed.com/workshops

What is a fauxmerical? It's a commercial parody with fake educational products we wish were real. They come towards the beginning of every episode. What is an encore? It means I've played it before, in this case 12/22. What is 12/22? A year I was relieved was almost over, until experiencing 12/23, that is. This last year was so awful that I'm nostalgic about 2022. Go figure. Anyway, now, I really need to laugh. I hope you enjoys these as much as we enjoyed making them. Special thanks to all the voice artists who contributed to not only these fauxmercials, but all of them from the last 4 years.

Jump into the Overthrowing Education archives with me in this encore episode! On this episode, Zaynab Baalbaki joins me. She is a passionate educator who is truly working on and supporting others in overthrowing education and creating amazing and equitable learning spaces joins. She talks about an incredible public school, Escuela Verde, where she worked in and I also talk about Qualia: The School for Deeper Learning, another example of education at its best. We also discuss how more traditional schools and districts can start slowly to incorporate elements of both these and other transformative schools into their learning spaces. Don’t forget to listen to The 5-Minute Game Show at the end of the interview, not only because it’s fun, but also because we drop more good ideas and some cool facts about Wisconsin. Lastly, astute listeners will notice that the fauxmercial in this episode is related to the one from the previous episode. I had so much fun with Jake Miller from the last episode, I asked him to help me again with the fauxmercial for this episode. Special thanks to my guest Zaynab Baalbaki, and my terrific voice actors who joined me on today’s fauxmercial, Jake Miller who hosts the Educational Duct Tape podcast and Tuvia Frankel who is always a good sport. Links and Resources: Contact: zbaalbaki@gmail.com Twitter: @zbaalbaki Escuela Verde Qualia: The School for Deeper Learning  Teacher Powered | Ambassador Wisconsin Resource Center for Charter Schools | Charter School Consultant  Wisconsin Association for Environmental Education | JEDI Committee

Jump into the Overthrowing Education archives with me in this encore episode! In this episode, veteran educator and podcast host Charles Williams and I have a great conversation about the work we need to do to create true equity in education and the importance of challenging our current narratives. We also talk about problematic intrinsic biases that we all have and how to change them. Even though the topics we discuss are serious and important, along with all the practical ideas, we do get very silly (and not just on The 5-Minute Game Show, although he slays his food themed game show!). Special thanks to Charles and to my fauxmercial helpers Yossie Frankel and the wonderfully talented Linda Korn for writing and singing the original Paradigm Shifters jingle that I borrowed. Important Links and Resources: CW Consulting Service The Counter Narrative Podcast Inside the Principal's Office Podcast Twitter: @_cwconsulting School Rubric Team  Code Breaker

Jump into the Overthrowing Education archives with me in this encore episode! Long-time educator Jared Magee, from the very cool The Winchendon School, shares what Impact Learning is, why it’s important, and how to make it happen for all educators. Jared and I discuss ways to take what he has learned from his experiences there and mine working for another non-traditional school, Arete Preparatory Academy , and apply them to other, more traditional school situations. Special thanks to guest Jared Magee, and also Yossie Frankel for joining me on today’s fauxmercial! Check out all of things we spoke about on this episode: The school's website The Winchendon School A (literal) product of ColLABs The Little Elf Cutter from Mr. Bryan Perla Prose's (Jared’s podcast) Official Website Prose @Mr.JaredMagee¸ @winchendon_brooklyn @MrJaredMagee

Even before the extreme challenges of pandemic teaching, my guest, Amber Harper of The Burned-In Teacher Podcast was a valuable resource for helping with the very real problem of teacher burn-out that affects most teachers even multiple times in a career. But now, with everything educators have been through trying to teach in 2020, Amber’s Burned-In Teacher approach is a true remedy where she gives solid tools and advice on what to do when you’re feeling burnt-out. And then Amber plays a fun The 5-Minute Game Show, where the clues are Haikus. Thank you so much to my wonderful guest, Amber Harper, and to my fauxmercial actors Dr. Shindale Seale, who has been an In the Trenches guest on past episodes, and of course, my husband, Yossie Frankel Links for Amber: www.burnedinteacher.com www.burnedinteacher.com/burnoutquiz Twitter, IG @burnedinteacher Facebook: facebook.com/burnedinteacher support@burnedinteacher.com Shows we love that we mentioned: The Great British Baking Show Sugar Rush The Kids Baking Championship Project Runway Nailed It

Jump into the Overthrowing Education archives with me in this encore episode! This episode explores why kids hate math and what we can do about it featuring a conversation with John Bianchette of Mathnasium from January 2020 with a recent additional talk to reflect the radical changes that have taken place since then.   In the Trenches, I trace my journey from hating math as a student and defining myself as “I’m not a math person” in adulthood to finally realizing that I actually enjoy math because of the math teachers at Areté Preparatory Academy. I’ll share some of their tips and tools that transform students, too.   Also, The 5-Minute Game Show features a musical parody game you won’t want to miss. It features amazing voice impressionist and artist Barbara Heller. Today’s Fauxmercial, Math-o-matic, features Yossie, Tuvia and me. www.mathnasium.com https://www.mathnasium.com/mathnasium-at-home    https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-bianchette-52404a40/  https://www.facebook.com/mathnasium   https://twitter.com/mathnasium https://www.instagram.com/mathnasium/

  Jump into the Overthrowing Education archives with me in this encore episode! Engaging educator, author and speaker Antero Garcia discusses how cell phones and games can be used effectively in a class, as well as other important issues surrounding cell use, games and technology. And then Antero nails The 5-Minute Game Show! The fauxmerical parody, “TAC vs. Worksheet” starts us off and we finish with students from St. Mary’s High School in Owen Sound, Ontario sharing the ideas they came up with after analyzing an “anti-cell phone for teens” article on the In the Trenches segment. Special thanks to Antero, Anna, Max, Eamon, Rachel and Laura Honegger Big thanks to the fauxmercial stars, Ben Elterman as TAC and Spencer Krull as Worksheet. And the fauxmercial music used is called Kat and Tanner by Twin Musicom which is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Artist: http://www.twinmusicom.org/

  Jump into the Overthrowing Education archives with me in this encore episode! Blended Learning expert, Catlin Tucker converses with me about the why’s and how’s of Blended Learning. Then we play The 5-Minute Game Show Flippin’ Fictional Schools. Our In The Trenches segment features some food for thought from Rabbi Doctor Reb Mimi Feigelson. Then we honor a few teachers in Teacher Shout Outs. More special thanks to Catlin Tucker, Reb Mimi, our announcer, Yossie Frankel and Distant Cousins for our theme song. Our Fauxmercial sponsor is “Blend It” - and special thanks to Linda Korn - composer, vocalist and musical director of the spot, and Amy Ritz and Karen Holender for the wonderful vocals!  

  Jump into the Overthrowing Education archives with me in this encore episode!   We start with a conversation filled with practical tools about games and gamification with educator, author and expert Jon Cassie of Game Level Learn and Qulia: The School for Deeper Learning. Then play along as Jon is subjected to The Five Minute Game Show where he has to determine whether the unusual games describes are Fact or Fantasy. Special Thanks to our guests Jon Cassie and Micaela Blie (and check out a great interview with her on our episode, “From Blah to Hazzah”). Our Edu-Gamerama Fauxmercial actors are , Yossie Frankel (Also our announcer) and Batsheva Frankel. And thanks to the wonderful band Distant Cousins for our theme song, Raise it Up.

This is kind of a bittersweet episode for me. I was blessed to get the job of my dreams, and I couldn’t be happier, but it means I’ll be wrapping things up for this podcast. After 4 amazing years, this will be my last new episode.  I’m going to give everyone a chance to catch up by rereleasing older episodes. I’ve been thinking about what I would want to say in this last episode. What are some magical words of wisdom I can leave you with?  Then I decided that the best way to end this run is to chat with the person who helped me start the podcast and continued to sponsor and support it for the last 4 years, Jim Hahn. In this conversation we talk about our “origin story”, how education has changed for better and for worse during this time, how long it takes a bowl of Cheetos to burn and a lot more. I feel so lucky to have had this opportunity to chat with over 120 incredible educators, students, and parents in these last 4 years. I’ve learned so much from all of them, and I’ve made some friendships that I truly cherish. I’ve also given away a lot of mugs!! I’ve been embraced by the “edupodster” community who are just the best, and I feel grateful that this show is part of the Education Podcast Network. I’m so thankful for all the talented voice actors who’ve helped me with my fauxmercials including Eli Schiff, Barbara Heller, Jill Moray, Spencer Krull, Ben Elterman, Karen Hollender, most of the Bookstein family, and my family Rivi, Tuvia and my awesome husband, announcer, and the builder of my recording booth, Yossie Frankel. And also those that helped write and produce some of the fauxmercials like Joshua Silverstein, Ben Talsma, Noah King and Eve Hirschman. And for my musical helpers Linda Leah Korn, Robby Helperin, Casey Arillaga and Barbara Heller, and for my theme music – Raise it Up, I thank the wonderful Distant Cousins. I really want to thank you, the listeners for sharing this continuing journey in bettering education for our students! Please stay in touch with me at Batsheva@overthrowingeducation.com I’d love to hear from you. And this is a great time to get your Overthrowing Education swag. Who knows, maybe one day those mugs will become a collector’s item.

In this episode, my guest, Crystal Frommert, and I have a great conversation about something that challenges new and veteran teachers alike: How to have better conversations with our students’ parents and/or guardians in order to make connections and ensure collaboration that will really enhance our work with their kids. I love learning new things from my guests, and I certainly got some tips and ideas from Crystal that I wish I had known earlier. But it’s never too late! And if you love Ted Lasso as much as Crystal and I do, you’ll have a blast playing my Ted Lasso themed The 5-Minute Game Show! I want to thank my special guest, Crystal Frommert and my fauxmercial helper today, Yossie Frankel. Please make sure to subscribe to and review Overthrowing Education if you haven’t already.   Links and Resources: www.crystalfrommert.com When Calling Parents Isn’t Your Calling Find Crystal on LinkedIn, Twitter, and now Threads You can now find me on BlueSky @BatshevaFrankel Teaching Like Ted Lasso Podcast Lots of great essays from Crystal on Edutopia

After a long, tough school year, I figured we could all use a good laugh. In this encore interview in Episode 45 from April of 2021, I interview the one and only Mr. D, Joe Dombrowski the educator and comedian who performs around the country and whose videos have gone viral. We talk about the importance of using humor when teaching, and how to do it, even if you don’t think you’re funny. I also share a taste of how I recently used humor to connect with students. This is the perfect summer episode: Learn a little something and laugh a lot. I want to thank my special guest, Joe Dombrowski, and my fellow education podcasters who helped with my fauxmercial today: Charles Williams, Host of The Counter Narrative Podcast, and Shane Lawrence of The Ed Podcast and Unprofessional Development, and of course, Yossie Frankel. I can watch this a million times and still laugh: https://youtu.be/RwnBAHtc1D0 Joe’s first appearance on Ellen: https://youtu.be/SqoJMbLRNjc See more of Joe’s great video’s and listen to his podcast: https://www.mrdtimes3.com/ Find Joe on Twitter: @MrDtimes3

My guest today, passionate educator and prolific author Connie Hamilton, is returning for her 3rd time. Her first visit was in Episode 53: Asking and Getting Students to Ask Great Questions, one of the most episodes so far. Another popular visit was in Episode 53 when I had Connie and Starr Sackstein talking about hacking homework. Today, however, I chatted with Connie about her new book Hacking Group Work. She shares wisdom and really practical ideas and tools for all teachers. I’m a veteran educator of over 25 years, and you can hear in the interview that I learned a lot from her!   Connie also shares her smarts on the 5-Minute Game Show!  It’s a great one to play along with and yell out answers to in your car, or wherever you listen. I want to give special thanks to Connie Hamilton and the super talented Eli Schiff for helping me with the Great Group Dynamics fauxmercial. If you haven’t already, please subscribe and rate and review this podcast to help others find it so that we can all make education as great as possible and actually change what’s possible! Links and Resources: Twitter: @conniehamilton website: conniehamilton.org