Middle School Walk & Talk

Middle schoolers are undergoing an incredibly important and significant developmental phase meaning...they're going to make mistakes from time to time.  Phyllis and Joe talk about helping kids come back from mistakes and creating school structures that support students learning from them. They also talk about staff burnout and what administrators and teachers can do to boost morale as the school year ends and recharge over the summer. Finally, they talk about proactive strategies to cultivate a collaborative school community as we think about the year to come. Phyllis and Joe close out this season of Middle School Walk and Talk by invited listeners to join them in Orlando or San Diego for AMLE's Institute for Middle Level Leadership. Learn more: amle.org/leadership

Phyllis and Joe are joined by Jae Lee, a principal in Maryland. Jae shares his own experience as an English learning middle school student whose family had recently immigrant to the United States, and how that informs his approach now as an administrator to creating capacity for empathy within his school community. Jae works from the assumption that all students want to be liked and want to learn and shares practical approaches he's found successful in meeting students where they're at and with what they need.  

Phyllis and Joe are joined by educational psychologist and best-selling author Michele Borba to talk building agency and resiliency with middle schoolers. They share a wealth of simple, easy-to-implement strategies to support students struggling socially and emotionally amid another challenging school year. Michele also offers insights on how educators can partner with parents to amplify the results for kids.  

Special guest Brooklyn Raney joins Joe and Phyllis for this episode to talk about One Trusted Adult, a movement to ensure that every young person has an accessible, boundaried, and caring trusted adult. They discuss why this concept is so important in the middle grades and share resources and strategies to help educators and parents build strong connections and healthy boundaries with middle schoolers. 

Omicron…finding joy at school despite disrupted learning…social media challenges…Phyllis and Joe asked students about some of the challenges schools face right now. As usual, middle school students had a lot of insightful things to say about how educators can best support them, and vise versa.

Joe and Phyllis are joined by special guest Ned Johnson as they discuss how to use our understanding of young adolescents' development to help drive intrinsic motivation, develop executive functioning skills, and promote positive behavior. Ned Johnson is the founder of PrepMatters, a tutoring and educational advising company in Washington, DC, and the co-author with Dr. William Stixrud of What Do You Say? How To Talk With Kids To Build Motivation, Stress Tolerance, and a Happy Home, The Self-Driven Child: The Science and Sense of Giving Your Kids More Control Over Their Lives, and of Conquering the SAT: How Parents Can Help Teens Overcome the Pressure and Succeed.

Delta Variant...devious licks...quarantines, mask policies, and more school closings...a school year that we thought might bring a return to normalcy has instead presented new challenges for school communities. In this episode, Joe and Phyllis set out to normalize the feelings of stress and burnout being felt by educators around the world and talk about strategies they're using to address it in their own lives.  

What do students have to say about how good they're feeling about school - and overall? How can we foster a sense of belonging for all students in our schools? Phillis and Joe chat with Phillip Marcus, Director of Equity, Inclusion, and Wellness at Chappaqua Central School District. The results of their student voice survey showed some surprising trends that have informed their culture building moving forward. 

As we head back to school, Phyllis and Joe are back! Joined by special guest Annie Murphy Paul, they discuss how to empower students to employ their bodies, spaces, and relationships in the service of intelligent thought and learning. Annie offers a few lessons we all can learn to take better advantage of the world outside our brains to improve the way we think and help our brains reach their full potential. Annie is the author of The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain. 

In the last episode of the season, Phyllis and Joe celebrate the end of an unprecedented school year. They talk about how they're wrapping up at their respective schools,  reflections on the past nine months, and plans to recharge for the coming school year. 

Phyllis and Joe enjoy the nice weather as they talk about a range of topics, including:Strategies for effectively transitioning middle schoolers into the summer after this unprecedented year of schoolingWhat are students show us on the surface versus how they're really feeling, and how to support them wholly The impact of burnout and how to finish the year with strength and resiliency 

Special guest Katie Hurley, author of No More Mean Girls, joins Phyllis and Joe as they talk about how to support students who are struggling socially during this year of constant change. 

For students still learning fully virtually, and those with anxiety about returning to the classroom, how can we ease the transition back to in-person school? Phyllis and Joe walk while they talk strategies to help these students effectively return to the classroom. 

Middle school students are hungry to know what's happening in the world around them. Amid the recent violence targeting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the U.S., educators continue to grapple with how to talk about race with students and families. In this episode, Phyllis and Joe discuss the imperative nature of addressing these issues with students and  provide strategies educators can employ to have effective conversations centered around empathy. 

Jessica Lahey, best-selling author of The Gift of Failure, joins Joe and Phyllis as they talk strategies to connect with and engage middle grades students to promote their healthy development. Jessica shares insights from her newest book, The Addiction Inoculation, to help educators understand the roots of substance abuse, identify who is most at risk for addiction, and be empowered with practical steps for prevention. 

Teachers are being vaccinated around the country! This exciting development hopefully points to the return of some pre-COVID normalcy.  But we know that the challenges still loom large as we tackle the emotional, physical, and psychological toll the pandemic has taken on ourselves, our students, and our school communities. In this episode, Joe and Phyllis talk about their own vaccine experiences and how to support our colleagues and our own wellness as we approach the one year mark since school buildings first closed. 

This was  not a normal school week. Educators face the immense challenge of supporting your students as they grapple with yesterday's riots, even as we collectively continue to endure a school year filled with stress and trauma. We know this will not be easy, as you attempt to process an event with students that many of us are still trying to make sense of ourselves. Phyllis and Joe discuss the events of this past week and share their approaches for supporting students and their school communities. 

Students are facing incredible uncertainty and social disruption this school year. Some may be missing friends and experiencing the fear of missing out while learning remotely.  Others who were still adjusting back into in-person learning are returning to virtual setting in the midst of rising cases. Students' sense of loneliness or lack of control can have serious deleterious effects on their social and emotional wellbeing and mental health. Joe and Phyllis talk about these challenges and strategies they've employed to help students and faculty identify and manage these emotions. 

During a divisive election, it can be challenging to approach this and other political topics with students. Hosts Joe Mazza and Phyllis Fagell discuss strategies to help students process this event, digest information effectively, and develop media literacy skills.