The Thoughtul Teacher Podcast

English teacher and author Matthew R. Kay shares how to build the classroom ecosystem for having meaningful conversations in the classroom, especially conversations about race in America. In this conversation he shares several interventions he uses and discusses how to craft great questions that lead to quality conversations in the classroom.

Matthew Hawn used to be a social studies teacher until he was fired. He had his day in court and won, but instead of being reinstated the school board appealed. In this conversation, Matt shares his story, his thoughts on teaching controversial issues and how the community and particularly his former students have reacted. Despite many setbacks, he continues to be optimistic about the future and his desire to return to the classroom.

Have you ever noticed that tree-lined streets and neighborhoods with lots of trees seem appealing? Have you ever thought that your school or the area around campus could use more trees? Well, it turns out that trees do more than just make things look nice: having a lot of trees on campus and near a school actually improves achievement (yes for real!). In this episode of The Thoughtful Teacher Podcast Albert Garcia shares research that directly connects a fuller tree canopy with improved student achievement and he tells why planting trees is one the strategies for student success. 

Most teachers know that the physical space in schools and classrooms matter for student learning, health and wellness. But often teachers are using guesswork when they make decisions about physical spaces that are conducive to learning. Design consultant Bill Browning and architect Jim Determan are practitioners and researchers on biophilic design. In this conversation they share the research on how to create spaces that support student learning and wellness and share ideas for educators to turn their own physical spaces into learning spaces.

In this conversation, self-described "bad student" Jerry Kolber shares insights from his work producing kid friendly media and how good storytelling can help teachers connect with students. Jerry is co-founder of Atomic Entertainment which produces kid-friendly programming like Brain Games and the podcast Who Smarted.

Dr. Maggie Brodkerick shares her past experiences as a music teacher and her current work as a professor to tell how teachers can create a culture of caring in their classrooms-while also maintaining academic rigor. Many students are sometimes not connected to teachers or other students for a variety of reasons, but teachers can integrate the arts and social emotional learning to reach and engage all students.

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. 

Many times students with serious mental health needs are sent to separate schools or residential placements. In this episode we discuss an alternative-The Therapeutic Inclusion Program with Michael A Murray and Laura Balogh. After developing and implementing The Therapeutic Inclusion Program in their public school they co-authored the recently published book The Therapeutic Inclusion Program: Establishment and Maintenance in Public Schools (published by Routledge) which offers a step by step guide for implementing similar programming in almost any school. In this episode host Scott Lee discusses this program in depth with both authors.

In this conversation Sarah Giddings and Wendy Salcedo-Fierro share their experiences working with students in Teacher-Powered Schools. Teacher Powered Schools are organized intentionally to have a shared, collaborative leadership structure. Both Wendy and Sarah share how their schools are different, how it changes their professional practices and how the student experience is different from more rigidly focused schools.

The conversation continues as Steve Van Bockern and host Scott Lee discuss some examples of what happens, or should be happening in schools. Steve Van Bockern is author of Schools That Matter: Teaching the Mind and Reaching the Heart and is co-author with Larry Brendtro and Martin Brokenleg of Reclaiming Youth at Risk: Futures of Promise. Listen in this conversation that provides a positive challenge to the status quo in many schools!

Schools can create a culture where students are challenged academically while also supporting the well-being of all students. In this conversation host Scott Lee and Steve Van Bockern discuss how the needs of students can be met without sacrificing academics. Steve Van Bockern is author of Schools That Matter: Teaching the Mind and Reaching the Heart and is co-author with Larry Brendtro and Martin Brokenleg of Reclaiming Youth at Risk: Futures of Promise. Listen in this conversation that provides a positive challenge to the status quo in many schools!

In this conversation Scott Lee and Brantley Turner discuss Brantley's experiences as an administrator in shared Sino-US school and how her work shapes her beliefs in the importance of challenging assumptions and helping students become global citizens.

Host Scott Lee thanks listeners from around the world for supporting The Thoughtful Teacher Podcast and issues a call to action about the lack of quality mental health services for children and adolescents in the United States.

Teachers are drowning in data and much of this data has little value to inform and improve instruction. Scott and Matthew Courtney discuss how to solve this problem- and do so simply and without wasting valuable time. Matthew Courtney is author of the book Exploratory Data Analysis in the Classroom and he shares how to effectively choose useful data (that teachers are probably already collecting anyway) and manipulate that data to help make real, meaningful instructional decisions. And this can be done without buying any software or taking a class in multivariate statistics: these are accessible processes that any teacher and any team can use and immediately begin developing a culture of instruction that is richly data informed. 

Thoughtful Teacher Podcast host Scott Lee explores the problem with the growing trend of retaining 3rd grade students for a full year using state testing scores. This commentary considers some of the problems with using state tests in this way, policy considerations and a few ideas for what could be done differently.

Scott Lee has a wide ranging conversation with author and former teacher and literacy coach Jill Speering. Jill shares insights from her memoir Rubies in the Rubble: An Educator's Transformation from Pain to Prominence, from Abuse to Absolution. The discussion includes Jill's work as an elementary teacher, district-wide literacy training specialist and school board member. This insightful discussion touches on literacy, teaching for joy (instead of a test) and school board politics. 

Author Isela Arredondo discusses her book about about an absent parent I Will Always Be There and how she works with cancer survivors using jewelry making as a healing activity. She also shares her education experiences from her perspective as a US immigrant. 

This commentary by Thoughtful Teacher Podcast host Scott Lee outlines a vision for meaningful change in how we do schools. Using a historical background we explore the current state of our education systems and what is missing as many schools do not adequately respond to the changes in society that are not reflected in our schools. 

Host Scott Lee offers commentary about what should be assessed in schools. 

Ellen Montgomery returns to The Thoughtful Teacher Podcast to discuss her work in implementing trauma informed programming in the Metro Nashville (Tennessee) Public Schools. We discuss how this student mental health centered initiative helps students who have experienced trauma and Ellen shares some stories about how this work positively supports both students and teachers.

In the second part of our discussion on school safety and de-escalation Amy Muphy, Brian Van Brunt and Scott Lee discuss the public health model for safety and de-escalation, teacher creativity, relationships and get sidetracked a little about films that feature teachers.

School safety and crisis intervention experts Amy Murphy and Brian Van Brunt discuss techniques for classroom crisis de-escalation with host Scott Lee. Amy and Brian recommend a research-based three-pronged approach to preventing or mitigating crisis situations in a classroom setting: clarifying norms for a safe climate, de-escalation, and teamwork. 

Sanford Johnson the Executive Director for Teach Plus Mississippi and host Scott Lee discuss teacher advocacy. Sanford has spent a great deal of his career advocating for education professionals, in this episode he shares his work supporting teacher quality as well as the activities that he and Mississippi Teach Plus Fellows including improving teacher compensation, improving mental health resources and strengthening the teacher pipeline.

In the second part of our discussion with Larry Brendtro we talk about how the latest brain science and social science research continues to demonstrate that youth develop resilience by developing supportive relationships with caring adults. The values that support these relationships are belonging, mastery, responsibility and generosity which are universal values. 

Larry Brentro shares his experiences in his career as a teacher, principal, program director, social worker and professor as he helps illuminate what what effective educators do in classrooms and schools. Larry has authored or co-authored 15 books on topics include teaching and learning, healthy brain development and quality learning environments for students who have been marginalized. He also co-hosts the annual Reclaiming Youth Seminars, which are currently held every summer in Sioux Falls, South Dakota along with his co-authors of the book Reclaiming Youth at Risk: Futures of Promise. Larry and his late wife, Janna who was research editor for his publications, are parents to three adult children and seven grandchildren. Our wide ranging discussion will start with some of Larry's early professional experiences and continue as we discuss why many schools fail to adequately meet the needs of students.

A non-profit Haitian and US based partnership for recycling plastic also has a growing educational mission within Haitian schools. In this episode, guest Blada Desauguste and host Scott Lee discuss this teacher-created education program that operates as part of a plastic recycling program in Haiti. Blada also explains how some short-sighted policy decisions have led to a large plastic waste problem in Haiti and how his organization, Kay (pronounced Kai) Blada Recycling, provides part of the solution. 

Malcolm Gillard and Scott Lee discuss equity issues, restorative practices and creating a positive classroom environment for all students. 

Executive Director of the Tennessee Council for the Social Studies and I discuss recent laws that limit discussion of equity, race, and gender issues by teachers. Tennessee was one of the first of several states have passed such laws. We talk about how this law may affect teachers, particularly social studies teachers, in Tennessee and elsewhere.

In this episode, Jennifer Knowles returns and we dive deeper into mindfulness in schools as we discuss trauma informed mindfulness. Enjoy learning more about how mindfulness is a part of transforming learning and schools.

Our friend Joshua Sneideman returns to discuss his new book Parenting Tweens: Successfully Navigating the Middle School Years. We learn about a useful resource for teachers and parents about this important (and sometimes difficult) developmental time. 

We continue our conversation from last season with Adam Jordan discussing the negative public narratives that professional educators are facing.

Guest Adam Jordan and I discuss some of the exciting events planned for this summer and fall sponsored by the All Y'all Social Justice Collective. After that he and I discuss some of the problems of equity facing the teaching profession.  This part one of two episodes of conversations where we discuss equity issues.  This episode will conclude our spring 2021 series, we will return with the fall series in September and Adam and I will continue our conversation.