While still a teenager, Sydney Guerette founded a nonprofit where youth run the show solving problems within their communities and promoting mental health. In this conversation Sydney and Scott Lee discuss how she got started on this journey and how educators and caring adults can support youth who are making a difference in their communities.
Amy Richter founder of Music Workshop shares how music education can be transformative experience for students. In this conversation, Amy shares that funding cuts at her children's school meant no more music education. She decided to take action and find a solution by founding the non-profit Music Workshop. Now Music Workshop is available to 6 million students around the world and it is completely free! Listen as Amy shares her story and how how music education impacts students.
This episode features a conversation with Vince Shorb, CEO of the National Financial Educators Council. In this wide-ranging conversation we discuss the problems many K-12 educators face in developing a quality personal finance program at all grade levels and Vince shares his ideas for improving outcomes and implementing serious reform initiatives.
Education researcher and advocate Dr. Nancy E. Bailey shares why educators should be concerned about literacy programs that claim to be based on the "Science of Reading". While there is no consensus on what the term "Science of Reading" means, many reading programs may only meet the literacy needs of some students. In this conversation we discuss what to look for and what issues to be wary of in selecting and using literacy programs in schools.
Our friend James Dittes returns to share his latest experiences with teaching internationally. When we first met James in 2020 he had started an exchange program with his class and a school in Germany. Since our last conversation, James has taken on a new adventure and now teaches English in an international school in Turkey. In this conversation he shares how he approaches teaching in a new country and shares some stories about his classroom.
Hayes Greenfield is a jazz musician, composer, and teaching artist. In this episode he shares the importance of not just music-but sound and how teaching students about sound can enhance social emotional learning and student attention.
Donna Van Natten-the Body Language Dr.- shares her expertise on non-verbal communication and behavioral intentions. A former teacher herself, the conversation focuses on communication skills with students in the classroom.
Lynne Roland, Brain Hopkins, and Raymond Appleberry are educators in the Grand Prairie Independent School District in Texas and Rising Phoenix Consulting. In this episode they share their stories of creating a culture where students develop resilience because of their work implementing restorative practices and cultivate positive relationships based on The Circle of Courage Model.
Sloyd is a 19th century teaching methodology that fell out of favor in the early 20th century in America. Luke Johanson shares how The Sloyd Experience is bringing this highly useful teaching approach back to relevance for students in the 21st century.
Listen to this conversation with science curriculum developer Janneke Petersen shares how she empowers students with Symbiotic Schoolyard. This curriculum helps teachers plant and grow native plants in their schoolyard. This place-based learning initiative is aligned to Next-Gen Science Standards and helps students understand how ecology is local and meaningful in students' everyday lives.
Transgender and non-binary students often do not find inclusive experiences in schools and many teachers do not know where to turn in finding resources and supports. Scott Lee shares a conversation with Vanessa Ford and Rebecca Kling who discuss their book The Advocate Educator’s Handbook: Creating Schools Where Transgender and Non-Binary Students Thrive who discuss issues surrounding supporting students who are struggling with gender inclusion.
Have you ever worried that your students are using an artificial intelligence (AI) program to cheat? To do homework? To do something else dishonest? Join me for this conversation with Jen Roberts as we talk about not only how to prevent academic dishonesty using AI, but actually how to use it in the classroom to actually enhance student writing!
Outdoor learning expert Becca Katz shares the powerful, research based reasons why students perform better when outdoor learning is part of everyday education activity. She also shares about how her non-profit organization provides professional learning opportunities for teachers to make outdoor learning part of their regular teaching.
Thoughtful Teacher Podcast host Scott Lee shares a story about a former student who was in foster care and eventually adopted by his foster parents and how it all happened without using a computer dating service.
Librarian Caroline Mickey says "reading builds empathy" in this conversation about school library censorship. Caroline shares her experiences having a lesson cancelled as the result of an organized campaign falsely claiming that her lesson had inappropriate content about the role of motherhood.
Sue Jones a Trauma Informed Practices Coach in New York shares how using the restorative intervention Life Space Crisis Intervention supports students who have experienced trauma and present with elevated ACE scores.
Equity-focused school leadership is an ongoing, whole-team process for school improvement. In this continuing conversation Mark A Gooden and Scott Lee discuss the ongoing routines and habits of equity focused leadership teams as well as various challenges educators face regarding equity practice.
For schools to truly provide an equitable learning environment, educators and school leaders must understand implicit bias and how implicit bias affects all our interactions with students (and other professional educators). In the first of two episodes Mark Anthony Gooden shares his work and insights into these important and timely issues in a conversation with host Scott Lee.
Host Scott Lee offers this commentary on the implications of the lack of prioritizing civics education in the US.
In this conversation, occupational therapist Michele Morgan shares how she and her colleagues implemented several mental health interventions within her school district's career and technical education (CTE) program. Using evidence-based approaches they developed a relationship-focused, student-centered curriculum model that promotes safety and wellness. This far-ranging conversations share specifics about the program and the positive outcomes for students.