Good Kids Don't Happen By Accident

I've known Dana Schenle for more than 25 years. We started teaching at Riverview around the same time, and over the years we've become much more than coworkers—we've become friends and family.Dana is an outstanding third-grade teacher and an incredible mom. She's also someone I've turned to countless times when I had a student who was struggling because she has a remarkable ability to see the child behind the behavior.In this conversation, we talk about the teacher who inspired Dana to become an educator, building meaningful relationships with students, what children remember about the adults in their lives, the importance of parent-teacher partnerships, and what Dana learned as a mother when her daughter struggled with anxiety.And near the end, I ask Dana what she hopes her students remember about her.Her answer is simple:"That I cared about them."Because kids don't just remember what we teach them.They remember that we cared.🎙️ Good Kids Don't Happen By Accident with Coach Steve❤️ Keep believing in your kids, because they're still becoming.Take care.

Season 2, Episode 2 — Mary AndrejkoFor Episode 2 of Season 2, I sit down with someone I've known since she was nine years old—my former student, basketball player, babysitter, teammate, and now one of my best friends, Mary Andrejko.Mary and I talk about growing up, playing sports, becoming a parent, and the lessons she's carrying from her childhood into raising her four-year-old daughter.We talk about being teachable, accountability, learning from failure, the importance of a village, putting down our phones, and making time for the people who matter most.And, of course, we share some pretty funny stories from the many obstacle-course races we've done together over the years. 😂Sometimes the best conversations don't feel like interviews at all.I hope you enjoy this one as much as I enjoyed recording it.Good kids don't happen by accident.

Season 2 is here!For the first season of Good Kids Don't Happen By Accident, Coach Steve shared stories and lessons from nearly three decades of teaching, coaching, parenting, and working with kids.Season 2 is a little different. This season, Steve is sitting down with people who have spent their lives helping young people grow—and there's no better person to begin with than longtime teaching partner and friend Shawn Ogrodowski.Steve and Shawn worked side-by-side for many years, becoming the longest-running sixth-grade team in their school's history. In this conversation, they talk about what really helps children succeed—not just in school, but in life.They discuss the partnership between parents, teachers, and children, handling disagreements, anxiety, resilience, being present with your kids, the importance of listening, and what Shawn has learned from decades of teaching.There's also plenty of laughter—including the story of the infamous stuffed squirrel. 😂And toward the end, Steve and Shawn remember the man who brought them together: their former principal and friend, Gary Winkler, and the simple message he lived by:Work hard and be nice.Some lessons are worth passing on.Because good kids don't happen by accident. They're built through expectations, encouragement, accountability, and adults who never stop believing in who they can become.❤️ Keep believing in your kids, because they're still becoming.🎙️ Good Kids Don't Happen By Accident with Coach Steve#GoodKidsDontHappenByAccident #CoachSteve #Parenting #RaisingKids #Education

After nearly three decades of watching children grow up as a teacher—and raising two boys of my own—I've come to believe that parenting isn't about raising perfect children.It's about helping them become good human beings.In the Season 1 finale of Good Kids Don't Happen By Accident, we take a step back and look at the bigger picture.We've talked throughout this season about accountability, excuses, friendships, mindset, humility, encouragement, and so much more. But underneath all of those lessons is one important question:Who am I helping my child become?In this episode, I talk about the long game of parenting—why our children eventually need to learn to stand on their own, why we sometimes have to let them struggle instead of rescuing them, and why the grades, trophies, mistakes, and disappointments may not matter nearly as much as the person our children ultimately become.I also get personal and talk about my own mistakes as a parent, because none of us gets this right all the time. Our children don't need perfect parents. They need parents who keep showing up, keep teaching, keep listening, hold them accountable, and remind them that they are deeply loved.And perhaps the most important lesson of all:Your voice eventually becomes your child's inner voice.So what do you want that voice to say?As we close Season 1, I hope you'll keep believing in your children—even when they struggle, fail, make mistakes, or disappoint you.Because they're still becoming.And so are we.Thank you for joining me for Season 1 of Good Kids Don't Happen By Accident. I'll see you in Season 2.

Episode 9: One of the Greatest Gifts You Can Give Your ChildWhat's one of the greatest gifts you can give your child?It's not money.It's not trophies.It's not a new toy.It's giving them the confidence that one mistake, one bad day, or one disappointing performance will never change how much they're loved.In this episode, Coach Steve shares a personal story about his oldest son's heartbreaking disqualification at a championship swim meet and the parenting lesson that came from that moment.You'll learn:Why children need emotional safety to grow.The difference between high expectations and conditional love.How your response to your child's failures shapes their confidence.Why children should never have to wonder if they've lost your love after making a mistake.Because children don't just remember their successes.They remember how the people they love most responded when things didn't go as planned.Because good kids don't happen by accident. They're built through expectations, encouragement, accountability, and adults who never stop believing in who they can become.