Teaching With Jillian Starr Podcast

I am so excited to welcome Liz Kleinrock from Teach and Transform onto the Podcast.  After ten years of teaching, Liz has recently moved into the role of professional development educator, supporting schools and districts to support their anti-bias and anti-racism work.  In this episode, Liz breaks down ABAR work, highlights the ways our schools fall into the trap of performative allyship, and exposes forms of gatekeeping within our classrooms, schools and districts.  Her words are POWERFUL, and I so enjoyed the editing process of this episode because it meant that I could listen to her words over and over again.  Each time I got to pull back another layer and begin to digest it, so feel free to do what I did and listen to this episode more than once.  Liz does such a wonderful job of breaking this topic down, and supporting us as we engage in this anti-bias, anti-racist work.  I can’t wait for you to have a listen!    Liz Kleinrock: @teachandtransform www.teachandtransform.org

Today we get to soak in the wisdom of Christy Meurer of The Financially Fit Teacher. I will admit, financial planning is not something not that is in my wheel house… so I avoid it!  Can you relate?  Well, that’s exactly why I wanted to have her on the podcast! Christy comes with a wealth of knowledge about teaching AND financial planning, and she is ready to arm you with information to EMPOWER you to make the most of your situation and plan for the future YOU want!  

I want to make sure it’s clear that this episode is for EVERYONE.  Whether you are struggling with infertility or not, this episode is for you.  For those of you who have never experienced infertility, I hope this episode will make you a better friend, family member, and colleague to someone struggling with infertility (and know that most likely, you will never know are struggling).  For those with whom I share the struggles with infertility, I hope to leave you with the feeling of being seen, loved, and to know that you are not alone.  With all my heart, thank you for being here for today’s episode. https://www.facebook.com/groups/TeachingWithInfertility

Morning Meeting is easily the most important part of our school day.  It is the time when my students are welcomed into their classroom, they have an opportunity to preview their day, engage in shared reading, build community, and learn about one another.  Responsive Classroom emphasizes the need for students to feel safe, valued, and respected before they can be expected to engage in any academic tasks.  Morning meeting is the key to making that happen!  Find out how to make the most out of your morning meeting, how to get creative if you have limited time to give to this model, and hear answers to some of your most frequent questions.  Morning meeting is the best way I have found to support my struggling scholars, prevent bullying, and build critical social and emotional skills!  Listen in to find out all of the details!

Heidi Rose from The Zero Waste Classroom joins me on the podcast today to talk about the carbon footprint of our classrooms. She gives us actionable steps to take in our classrooms, and does so while speaking great truth to our climate crisis. Together we'll dive into the very real statistics behind our climate crisis, and Heidi will support us on this emotional journey to understanding our carbon footprint, the privileges we hold as we look at this global crisis from a social justice lens, and often the guilt we feel from not knowing.  Heidi is going to walk us through ALL of this today.  I know it's a tall order, but she DELIVERS! Sometimes, things like climate change feel so BIG, and the idea that teachers (who are often already made to feel so small) can have an impact is such an important message!  

Colleen Wilkinson of Trauma Informed Montessori joins me on today’s episode. Colleen discusses trauma-informed teaching, but more specifically she discusses educational trauma. She helps listeners understand what it is, and how we can avoid inflicting educational trauma on our students by planning and selecting our back-to-school activities through a trauma-informed lens. This episode will leave you with SO MUCH to think about as your prepare for back-to-school. You’re not going to want to miss it!

Let's talk about Flexible Seating. It has become a popular trend over the past few years. Like many trends, there is the potential for a lot of good. However, when the WHY behind the practice is lost, the practice can become problematic. In this episode we are going to put the focus back on the WHY, tease out the do's and don'ts of implementing flexible seating, and understand how to build a community of reflective learners. Are you ready to dive in?

What do you mean your students walk in to an empty classroom? I get asked this every time someone sees my classroom the day before school begins. Today we're going to talk about how to setup your classroom with your student's needs at the center, while also managing to take the pressure off of teachers as they head back to school! Listen in as we talk about classroom decor, layout, and what needs to be considered before you begin your classroom setup this year!

Today we are talking about two of my favorite things: Teaching and Social Media.  I love our online teaching community.  I love filling my feed with inspiring educators who help me reflect on my practice, push me outside of my comfort zone, and help me feel connected in an otherwise isolating profession.  While I have experienced countless benefits from our online teaching community, it's also to reflect on HOW we are using these platforms, and discuss some important guidelines that we should all understand.  We are going to talk about best practices, take a serious look at FERPA (The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) to make sure we're all in compliance, and discuss some of the ethical issues around using school hours to create content.  I hope you will join in the important conversation as our teaching community continues to grow, in order to keep our students, schools, and our jobs safe.

Paul Emerich France joins the podcast to help us rethink personalized learning. He helps debunk many of the myths of personalized learning, shares tips about how and when we should be integrating technology, and helps paint a picture of what personalized learning ideally looks like in the classroom (and that is ACTUALLY attainable for teachers).

Whether you are preparing for your first interview, switching grade levels, moving schools, or changing districts, this episode is for you. I am breaking down 10 MUST-DO tips to nail your next interview and help you get one step closer to your dream job!    

Matt Halpern and I open up a personal conversation about life with ADD and ADHD, in hopes that our transparency can support all of you teachers. We dive into how this diagnosis presents differently in each of us, describe our experiences with medications and their side-effects, share tools that have worked for us (and now work for our students), and highlight some BIG takeaways we hope teachers can bring back to their classrooms.

How should I organize my classroom library? It's a question I get asked A LOT, so this episode is breaking it all down. Listen in for tips on how to organize your classroom library, how to make it an inviting space for your students, and how to help fund your classroom library. We'll also dig into the need for text that provide mirrors and windows for your students, and how to help your students select books without putting restrictions on what they can read. You're not going to want to miss it!

In order for students to learn, they must first feel safe, valued and respected. In this episode we are going to take a close look at 10 different ways you can create a safe learning environment for all of the learners in your classrooms.

Are you struggling to find a work-life balance? Teaching is HARD, and if we're not careful, we can find ourselves on the fast track to burning out. Teacher self-care advocate, Sarah Forst, is the incredible mind behind the brand The Designer Teacher, and the founder of the self-care subscription box, The Teacher Care Crate. Today I get to pick Sarah’s brain about all things self-care, why it’s a critical investment for teachers, and learn how to make time for it in our busy teacher schedules.

Let's take a look at rewards in the classroom.  We're going to dig deep into the role rewards play in classroom management strategies.  We're highlighting 5 common forms of rewards in the classroom, discuss some of the potential negative consequences to these strategies, and then offer some possible teaching alternatives. 

Welcome to the first episode of Teaching With Jillian Starr, a podcast created to open up discussions about all things teaching.  In this episode, I will be diving into my experience as a struggling student, and how my learning experiences shaped me as a teacher.  My goal is to help you understand the lens that I look through when discussing different topics on this podcast!