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Your College Bound Kid | Scholarships, Admission, & Financial Aid Strategies
In this episode you will hear: Mark shares a story from a meeting he had with a mom in Orange County, CA. Mark talks about the dispute Harvard University is currently facing. Mark interviews John Pollard, Dean of Admissions of Franke Honors College at the University of Arizona, Understanding Franke Honors College, Part 1 of 2 Preview ² Friends, you are going to see why Honors colleges and public John explains how Franke is distinctive from other Honors colleges ² John talks about the Honors Village ² John talks about a unique dual degree program Franke offers ² Dr. Pollard tells us about two unique minors that Franke offers ² John talks about early assurance programs that Franke has with their med school and with their vet school ² John tells us about the unique peer to peer mentoring program called Path that 400 students participate in ² John tells us about some more unique programs that will be rolled out over the next few years ² John talks about how Franke handles Gen Ed courses in ² John talks about how Franke uniquely gets students involved in research ² John talks about unique scholarships for Franke and their unique study abroad offerings ² John talks about the 25-million-dollar gift that Bill Franke gave to help Franke ² John tells how The University of Arizona is different from Arizona State University ² John tells us how Franke is different from Barrett, which is Arizona State's Honors college ² John talks about the admission criteria for getting into Franke ² John talks about the 3 different pathways to get into Franke Speakpipe.com/YCBK is our method if you want to ask a question and we will be prioritizing all questions sent in via Speakpipe. Unfortunately, we will NOT answer questions on the podcast anymore that are emailed in. If you want us to answer a question on the podcast, please use speakpipe.com/YCBK. We feel hearing from our listeners in their own voices adds to the community feel of our podcast. You can also use this for many other purposes: 1) Send us constructive criticism about how we can improve our podcast 2) Share an encouraging word about something you like about an episode or the podcast in general 3) Share a topic or an article you would like us to address 4) Share a speaker you want us to interview 5) Leave positive feedback for one of our interviewees. We will send your verbal feedback directly to them and I can almost assure you, your positive feedback will make their day. To sign up to receive Your College-Bound Kid PLUS, our new monthly admissions newsletter, delivered directly to your email once a month, just go to yourcollegeboundkid.com, and you will see the sign-up popup. We will include many of the hot topics being discussed on college campuses. Check out our new blog. We write timely and insightful articles on college admissions: On X for our podcast: https://twitter.com/YCBKpodcast 1. To access our transcripts, click: https://yourcollegeboundkid.com/category/transcripts/ 2. Find the specific episode transcripts for the one you want to search and click the link 3. Find the magnifying glass icon in blue (search feature) and click it 4. Enter whatever word you want to search. I.e. Loans 5. Every word in that episode when the words loans are used, will be highlighted in yellow with a timestamps 6. Click the word highlighted in yellow and the player will play the episode from that starting point 7. You can also download the entire podcast as a transcript We would be honored if you will pass this podcast episode on to others who you feel will benefit from the content in YCBK. Please subscribe to our podcast. It really helps us move up in Apple's search feature so others can find our podcast. If you enjoy our podcast, would you please do us a favor and share our podcast both verbally and on social media? We would be most grateful! If you want to help more people find Your College-Bound Kid, please make sure you follow our podcast. You will also get instant notifications as soon as each episode goes live. Check out the college admissions books Mark recommends: Check out the college websites Mark recommends: If you want to have some input about what you like and what you recommend, we change about our podcast, please complete our Podcast survey; here is the link: If you want a college consultation with Mark or Lisa or Lynda, just text Mark at 404-664-4340 or email Lisa at or Lynda at Lynda@schoolmatch4u.com. All we ask is that you review their services and pricing on their website before the complimentary session; here is link to their services with transparent pricing: https://schoolmatch4u.com/services/compare-packages/
In this podcast interview, the speakers will discuss and uncover the partnership between Buchanan Ingersoll and NetDocuments (PatternBuilder Max) and the implementation process. Moderator: Nancy Griffing, President 3545 Consulting - Global Speakers: Scott M. Angelo, Chief Information Officer, BIPC Jared L. Gullbergh, Director - Shared IT Services and Information Governance, BIPC Michael Hill - Director of Product Marketing, NetDocuments
Discover how legal departments are leveraging Generative AI to streamline workflows and enhance efficiencies. This podcast will dive into the use cases and practical applications, compliance concerns, and risk management strategies for in-house legal departments deploying AI. Uncover what it takes to harness GenAI's potential while navigating ethical and legal challenges. Moderators: Matthew Kohel - Partner, Saul Ewing LLP Leah Leyendecker - Partner, Saul Ewing LLP Speakers: Mayura Iyer Noordyke - Trademark Counsel for Global IP, Medtronic Travis Zimbelman - Strategic Advisor and Freelance Consultant
In this episode of Digication Scholars Conversations, host Jeff Yan continues the conversation with Devon Thomas Jones and Thomas Murray from the University of Arizona.Devon and Tom are Course Directors for University 301, General Education Portfolio, and University 101, Introduction to General Education Experience, respectively.They discuss the value of General Education courses, the intentional design behind these programs, and their impact on students' personal and professional growth.Tune in to understand the critical role of effective communication, critical thinking, ethical information usage, and valuing differences in higher education.Learn how these skills are essential for success in any career and everyday life, and discover the backstory of the significant General Education refresh at the University of Arizona.Visit https://ge.arizona.edu/univ-hub/univ-curriculum for more information about our guests' courses, including syllabi, course readers, and other resources.For more information about this podcast, please visit our podcast website using the link below: https://bit.ly/3MfBqboListen on Apple Podcasts using the link below: https://apple.co/3OkFVEnFollow us on Social Media!Twitter: https://bit.ly/3M9J7QtFacebook: https://bit.ly/3OgnIYwInstagram: https://bit.ly/3Mjm4D8Please visit our website at https://bit.ly/3IgGVFP
Welcome to the latest episode of Digication Scholars Conversations with your host, Jeff Yan, in an engaging dialogue with Devon Thomas Jones and Thomas Murray from the University of Arizona.Devon and Tom discuss their course directors' roles and passion for helping students find value in General Education. Learn how their innovative courses foster critical thinking, effective communication, and the lifelong skills necessary for personal and professional growth.For more information about this podcast, please visit our podcast website using the link below: https://bit.ly/3MfBqboListen on Apple Podcasts using the link below: https://apple.co/3OkFVEnFollow us on Social Media!Twitter: https://bit.ly/3M9J7QtFacebook: https://bit.ly/3OgnIYwInstagram: https://bit.ly/3Mjm4D8Please visit our website at https://bit.ly/3IgGVFP
Gene D was a very popular AA speaker in his day. This is Gene speaking at the Great Topics meeting on the topic, Why They Return to Drinking. This was recorded in December of 1974 at an unknown place, it is an excellent quality recording for that old, but it does end a bit abruptly. AA International Update: All the conference reserved hotels are sold out, over 22,000 people have already registered. Efforts are being made to find additional hotel space, some room is still available in the university dorms (your best deal). I added a hotel zone map to the event listing with a link to a more detailed pdf. At the moment you would be lucky to find a hotel close to the venue for under $600 per night with most well above 1k. If you look an hour+ from downtown your still in the $3-400.ish range, if you are thinking of going book sooner rather than later. Details: https://scast.us/intup Support Sober Cast: https://sobercast.com/donate Email: sobercast@gmail.com Event List: https://scast.us/event Roundup, retreat, convention or workshop coming up? List the event on the Sober Cast website. Visit the link above and look for "Submit Your Event" in the blue box. Sober Cast has 2700+ episodes available, visit SoberCast.com to access all the episodes where you can easily find topics or specific speakers using tags or search. https://sobercast.com
Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message!We are talking about Ancestry today. Our guest is Maya Jasanoff who is the Coolidge Professor of History at Harvard University's History Department.Maya's teaching and research extend from the history of the British Empire to global history. She is the author of three prize-winning books. The Dawn Watch examines the dynamics of modern globalization through the life and times of the novelist Joseph Conrad. Her other books are Liberty's Exiles: American Loyalists in the Revolutionary World and her first book, Edge of Empire explores British expansion in India and Egypt through the lives of art collectors. She is currently working on a book about the human preoccupation with ancestry.In addition to classes on imperial history, she teaches a multidisciplinary Gen Ed course on the topic of "Ancestry: Where Do We Come From and Why Do We Care?". In 2015 Jasanoff was named a Harvard College Professor for excellence in undergraduate teaching. From 2019 to 2022, she is a part-time Visiting Professor at Ahmedabad University in India, where she has been helping launch new curricula in the liberal arts.Jasanoff has been a Guggenheim Fellow (2013), a fellow at the New York Public Library's Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers, a Kluge Chair at the Library of Congress, and a member of the Institute for Advanced Study. She has participated in several BBC documentaries, and her essays and reviews regularly appear in publications including The New York Review of Books, The Guardian, The New Yorker and The New York Times.We will be talking about:The history of ancestryCaste systems in IndiaHerder and the Idea of a NationImmigrant nationsBards as knowledge keepersRace as a factor for resource allocationAffirmative Action university admissionGenerational privilege and dispossessionTransatlantic slave tradeLet's go back to our roots!Web: www.whereshallwemeet.xyzTwitter: @whrshallwemeetInstagram: @whrshallwemeet
In today's episode, I chat with Ashley Lutz. who shares strategies and advice for school counselors on working with special education students and collaborating with special education teachers. Ashley has been working in Special Education for 12 years. She was a middle school self-contained teacher for 7 years working with students with intellectual disabilities and did 4 years as a special education inclusion teacher in an elementary setting. In 2022, she switched roles to be an Early Childhood Special Education teacher (ECSE). Outside of the classroom, Ashley is married with 3 kids; an 8 year old and 6 year old twins. When she is not running after her littles, she enjoys workouts, putting her toes in the sand, reading, and drinking lots of coffee! Some Highlights include: Strategies for counselors to support special education students, such as building rapport with families, providing sensory input, and using fidget toys or puzzles to help students open up. Co-teaching models for counselors to work with special education teachers, including team teaching and station rotations. The importance of validating emotions and supporting teachers' mental health, with suggestions for counselors to offer a safe space for teachers to vent and regulate their emotions. The value of early intervention and open communication between educators and parents to address mental health concerns in students. Resources mentioned: Join my school counselor membership IMPACT here! If you are enjoying School Counseling Simplified please follow and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts! Connect with Rachel: TpT Store Blog Instagram Facebook Page Facebook Group Pinterest Youtube More About School Counseling Simplified: School Counseling Simplified is a podcast offering easy to implement strategies for busy school counselors. The host, Rachel Davis from Bright Futures Counseling, shares tips and tricks she has learned from her years of experience as a school counselor both in the US and at an international school in Costa Rica. You can listen to School Counseling Simplified on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and more!
Gene D. (pseudonym) is a 20+ year US Navy veteran who served on five classes of submarines during his military career where he attained a senior NCO rank. In 1992 he had a Near Death Experience in which he received information downloads from the celestial realm about how Earth is run by dark forces, and also enhanced abilities such as remote viewing. He soon after retired from the US Navy and has ever since been researching anomalous phenomenon and exposing the elite groups, both human and extraterrestrial, secretly running our planet. In his first Exopolitics Today interview, Gene D. discusses his naval background and a detailed paper he wrote about the history of Deep Underground Military Bases (DUMBs), and the key figures involved in revealing the truth. He is optimistic that despite the long control global elites (Deep State) have had over our planet using DUMBs and other extraterrestrial-related resources, the truth is being slowly revealed through the great awakening that is happening in the US and around our planet. Gene D. website is https://www.genedecode.org/ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/exopoliticstoday/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/exopoliticstoday/support
In episode 153 of the Lecture Breakers podcast, Stephanie Kratz joins us to discuss how she is transforming assessment and grading in her introductory and general education courses. She wants to focus on students' learning, not just a number or letter grade. But what does this look like? How does it work? Stephanie takes us into her journey using alternative assessments inspired by the grading for growth movement. She shares what works, what doesn't work, and what she's still thinking about as she continues to redefine what assessment looks like and what learning means in her courses. Get the show notes: https://barbihoneycutt.com/LB153
Kate and Jared interview Lisa Wall, the districts Mild/Moderate K-12 & School Support Director. She gives advice for general education teachers in supporting special education students in the classroom.
Welcome to the My Adventures in ESL Podcast! I want to encourage you to take the time to explore the podcast and my website My Adventures in ESL. In this week's episode, I will share strategies on how you can support general ed teachers in supporting Recently Arrived English Learners in their classroom. Links Mentioned in the Episode: My Adventures in ESL Store Close Read Club (Monthly Curriculum) Diversity Books Reading List
Welcome to the Sped Prep Academy Podcast! In this engaging episode of our "Ask Us Anything Series," Paul and I give practical tips on behavior management and effective collaboration with general education teachers in an inclusive setting. Tune in as we navigate these crucial aspects of special education and share our firsthand experiences.Episode Highlights:Handling Challenging Behaviors in the Resource Room:Taking a step back to understand the underlying reasons for a student's behavior.Utilizing tools like a sand timer to allow time for calming down.Developing and implementing a consistent classroom behavior system.Using privileges and rewards as positive reinforcement.Collaboration with General Education Teachers:The role of open communication in fostering successful collaboration.Clearly defining the roles of special education and general education teachers.The benefits of attending professional development sessions together.How laughing together can build camaraderieStay tuned for more insights and strategies in our "Ask Us Anything Series." Your questions and experiences help shape this community, and we're here to support you every step of the way in your special education journey.Click here to submit your question to be answered on air.The Sped Teacher Summit is the world's Biggest Special Education Conference and it's completely free. Serious learning, PD certificates, exclusive giveaways, and a whole lot of fun! I'm also thrilled to let you know that I'll be presenting at this event…all about navigating leadership and overcoming the “I Don't Know How to Be a Boss” Mentality. To join the SPED Summit, go to Sped Summit.com Follow JenniferInstagramTPT
Welcome to the My Adventures in ESL Podcast! I encourage you to take the time to explore the podcast and my website My Adventures in ESL. In this episode, you will: Learn strategies to share with general education teachers Ways you can support Language Learners in the general education Do you want to plan and look for lessons for your Language Learners every week? I have the perfect option for you! Join my monthly lesson planning club “The Close Read Club”. Each month you will have access to lesson plans that are ready to print and go! Click here to learn more or go to myadventuresinesl.com/closereadclub.
Gene D from Campbell CA became sober in 1950. He is speaking sometime in 1983 this recording was called A Little Bit Alcoholic, Im not sure if that was the topic or the name of the group he was speaking at. Repost from 2019. Email: sobercast@gmail.com Support Sober Cast: https://sobercast.com/donate AA Events: I just added an event to the list happening at the Jackpot Ranch in Verde Arizona and it looks to be a very fun one at the end of October. Details here https://scast.us/verd AA Event List: https://scast.us/events If you have an AA roundup, retreat, convention or workshop coming up, we would be happy to give you a shout out here on the podcast and list the event on the Sober Cast website. Visit the link above and look for "Submit Your Event" in the blue box. Sober Cast has 2300+ episodes available, visit SoberCast.com to access all the episodes where you can easily find topics or specific speakers using tags or search. https://sobercast.com
In this segment of the Sped Teacher Small Talk, we explore the often-underestimated importance of fostering strong relationships between special education and general education teachers. With actionable advice and real-life experiences, we dive into how this collaboration can lead to tremendous student growth.Topics Discussed:The Power Dynamic: Although you are the expert in all things special education and should have confidence in your role, you should not hold that knowledge hostageActionable Steps for Collaboration: The importance of time management and communication in preparing for Individual Education Plan (IEP) meetings.Legal Requirements and Expectations: Ensuring Gen Ed teachers are included in the IEP process with ample time to prepare, aligning with the same notice given to parents.Value of Gen Ed Teacher's Input: Discussing why general education teachers are invaluable to the IEP process and to students' overall educational experience.Providing Resources: The necessity of equipping Gen Ed teachers with the tools, resources, and professional development they need.Real-world Impact: Examples of how effective collaboration can lead to significant student growth and the stress of not having a good working relationship can take a toll on your mental healthChanging Perspectives: The call for special education teachers to view Gen Ed teachers as essential, collaborative partners rather than legal obligations.Conclusion:It's so important to understand that both parties (sped and gen ed) each bring unique skills and perspectives to the table. When both parties collaborate effectively, not only do students with IEPs benefit, but the entire classroom environment improves and the overall school culture improves.Get the Writing IEP Impact Statements GROWING BUNDLE! and become a rockstar at crafting the perfect impact statements for your students today! Follow JenniferInstagramTPT
Ed Michel Talks: Accountability and jurisdiction of the OIG / Details of OIG's annual work plan and reports Kaare Talks: Labor Day storms and flooding / Retention ponds! Retention ponds! Retention ponds! / Brian Kelly's comments on LSU academics / Impact of Jimmy Buffett / Jeff Landry using donor's private jet for campaign
Kaityn Avila grew up in a small town in northern California. Her interest in music lead her to play in her high school band and think what life beyond high school could be. Encouraged by her older brother, she attended UC San Diego where she found community, supportive mentors, and a passion for writing. Avila shares what it is like to be a first generation student, how she found her academic path, and her journey to graduate school. Series: "Education Channel" [Education] [Show ID: 38623]
Kaityn Avila grew up in a small town in northern California. Her interest in music lead her to play in her high school band and think what life beyond high school could be. Encouraged by her older brother, she attended UC San Diego where she found community, supportive mentors, and a passion for writing. Avila shares what it is like to be a first generation student, how she found her academic path, and her journey to graduate school. Series: "Education Channel" [Education] [Show ID: 38623]
Kaityn Avila grew up in a small town in northern California. Her interest in music lead her to play in her high school band and think what life beyond high school could be. Encouraged by her older brother, she attended UC San Diego where she found community, supportive mentors, and a passion for writing. Avila shares what it is like to be a first generation student, how she found her academic path, and her journey to graduate school. Series: "Education Channel" [Education] [Show ID: 38623]
Kaityn Avila grew up in a small town in northern California. Her interest in music lead her to play in her high school band and think what life beyond high school could be. Encouraged by her older brother, she attended UC San Diego where she found community, supportive mentors, and a passion for writing. Avila shares what it is like to be a first generation student, how she found her academic path, and her journey to graduate school. Series: "Education Channel" [Education] [Show ID: 38623]
General education is a gateway to identity and becoming, a pathway to self-discovery and growth for students. However, gen ed courses have more frequently been viewed as checkboxes to quickly complete. But those who are passionate about and understand the long-term investment of gen ed, developing students into graduates who contribute back by going and making a difference in the world, are recommitting - working, partnering, and coming together.Reforming gen ed to ensure students can see themselves in the curriculum and incorporating it into minor studies provides meaningful, transformative, life changing experiences. Dr. Stephen Biscotte, president of AGLS and assistant provost for undergraduate education at Virginia Tech, speaks with us about the importance of gen ed, its reform, and the impact it has on the educated future of our nation.Join us as we discuss: Transforming understanding of gen ed and accreditationDelivering on what's important for studentsFinding passions and embracing transformation
It's not often that we get to hear directly from general education teachers about what they want from us, how we can support them and get ideas about how to work collaboratively together...but today's guest shares all that and MORE!In today's episode, I'm joined by Johanna Kuiper, a middle school math teacher from Oregon who is on a mission to engage students academically and help them deeply understand and love math.Listen in as we discuss the importance of inclusion and accommodations in middle school math, and how these tips can be beneficial at any level. We also chat aboutHow to support students' unique needs and learning stylesDifferent types of accommodations, including instructional accommodations, seating, and assessmentCollaborating with special education teachers or paraprofessionals who provide inclusion servicesWhat support general education teachers need from their special education staffCommon challenges faced when providing accommodationsPractical tips on how to manage this workload with fidelityBe sure to check out our guest Johanna Kuiper's Instagram account @misskuiper and website at https://misskuipersclassroom.com/podcast/ for more information on engaging students in math and additional resources.Writing individual impact statements based on a student's unique disability and needs can be a big struggle AND a big time suck.! And in case you haven't noticed...extra time is not something you have a lot of. My IEP Impact Statements Growing Bundle will give you the resources you need to make writing impact statements a breeze. Follow JenniferInstagramTPT
On this episode of the DefAero Report Daily Podcast, sponsored by Bell, Maj. Gen. Ed Thomas, USAF, the commander of the US Air Force Recruiting Command, discusses what makes America's newest generation tick, the challenges in attracting them to military service in a society where fewer Americans service in uniform and how that all impacts recruiting, the difficulties of retaining talent whether on the active-duty force or transitioning them to Reserve or Air National Guard units, how a new generation is helping change the force, and how the military services are cooperating closely despite competing intensely for talent with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian.
On today's episode Conner and Paul talk a whole lot about A.I. They also talk about a new way to take Gen-Ed classes online, discuss the Zombie vs. Vampire matchup, and talk about the Mystery Bunch (yes, the one with Shaggy and Scooby).
Kings and Queens, it's no longer I that lives but Christ that lives through me. Please read Galatians 2:20 NIV and GW (God's Word) version to read about the this verse. Once we take the revelation of what Jesus did, that we are the “many” that were reborn in Him, then we would walk in only His Truth, Life, and Blessings. Please Read Romans 8:29. As you Listen to Podcast message, I pray you grab ahold of the revelation of who We are In Earth.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Fort Hays State University president Tisa Mason and chief communications officer Scott Cason share details of the upcoming FHSU Media Tour. Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy. James Bell Fort Hays State University will kick off their media tour next week from the university president Tisa Mason stops by along with chief communications officer Scott Cason to talk about that and more on this episode of the Post Podcast. Tisa Mason Last year, when we went out and we talked to people, we realized so much more value was developing working relationships with member of the media, even at the Kansas Board of Regents. Now I see some of the people I talked to last year, I have those relationships. So that is really great. And of course, always sharing information on Fort Hays impact in Kansas and beyond, is one of the great joys. And, you know, it's something we have to work hard on, quite honestly, we have to draw attention to us. And that's not part of our culture, we tend to be more modest. But we've got a lot to be proud of. And it's it's really a privilege to be able to tell that story. And we always we learned a lot last year going out and seeing how media consolidation and how that is impacting communities. And, and the the, it just was incredible to hear stories of what's going on, especially in the smaller rural communities. But even in the urban institutions, the consolidation and what that means and trying to find somebody open to even have a conversation with or going into newspaper and seeing that they're printing the newspapers for a large area because everything's consolidated. So we're always excited about identifying opportunities for also our experts, our faculty that are doing extraordinary work, to assist in news reporting. So when we get to have those relationships, then we connect everyone together. And that makes us better. James Bell Yeah, truly. Now, let's talk about some specifics. I think you're kicking this thing off pretty locally right here. Oh, goodness. Oh, less than a week, isn't it? Tisa Mason Yes. Yes. And always we start right here in this studio. James Bell Oh, is this the first one? This is the first one. Let's call this a warm up. Because as everybody knows, I'm not shy to say that I'm not a professional broadcaster. I just kind of hear doing the radio thing. The case kickoff. Exactly. But we're gonna be in Great Bend, McPherson, Pratt, and then kicking down into Oklahoma. The business Oh, next week. Tisa Mason Yeah, that's just Monday. Well, that's just James Bell Monday. Yes. Oh, my goodness. You're gonna be dreads a lot of road time. Are you gonna be flying those spots? Tisa Mason No, we are driving driving it. Oh, yeah. The real American experience. We're getting in that car and we're driving from community to community. James Bell Very cool. Very cool. Man. You're I mean, you're hitting everywhere. You're getting down to the Wichita, Kansas City. You mentioned you're popping up to Nebraska, McCook, Nebraska looks like and then of course, dodge sitting gods in the Garden City. Those are always really fun, aren't they? Tisa Mason Yes, we love that. And we love that in Garden City. We have our Higher Education Learning Center there as well, which we've had for decades to help tell the higher education story first and the Fort Hays story second, and really trying to drive people to understand the value of why a higher education post K 12 is really important today. Scott Cason And two of those stops, the one in pride and the one in Garden City will highlight our partnerships with the local community colleges there. James Bell Go Pratt, I don't know if you guys know this. I was actually I'm a I'm a proud alum. I went to community college there. And before I came to four days, and really they are the ones that steered me this way. I had never been to Hayes before. Well, before enrolling, to be honest. Tisa Mason No, for decades, we were among the first to do the articulation agreement. And we have always valued our Community College and our tech partnerships. We've done some really unique things with them. And we think that's really important. So yeah, go Pratt, and shout out to all the rest of the community and tech colleges in Kansas. Love it. James Bell So let's talk some specifics about what you're going to be talking about on these media, media tours. You know, I think it's no secret. There's since the pandemic, there's been a lot of changes, we've seen what's going on in Emporia and you know, kind of trying to rebalance these things. And, you know, I wonder if you want to talk about how that's going to be part of those conversations and how this strategic plan is going to be brought up as you guys are out and about. Tisa Mason So of course we're aligned with the Kansas Board of Regents strategic plan on building a future and theirs is built on family you know, and affordability which is something that we are the star at and continue to drive forward. Because access is the first thing that you need to go to coloriages is the ability to open that door and we have flown it open for decades, you know businesses and how we create jobs and provide a talent pipeline, particularly since the pandemic hiring employees is an every call conversation in every community. And so how we continue to fuel that and provide an educated talent pipeline is really important. And then economic prosperity. How are we driving? How are we making an economic impact in communities? How are we bringing value with all kinds of outreach centers that we do in communities. And so that's really important, that's tied to our strategic plan as well. Then, of course, we at Fort Hays talk a lot about academic excellence, because that's really important. Our value is not just about our low price point, but it's also about the high quality. And so we're constantly investing and professional opportunity for our faculty, encourage their dialogue with business industry, so that we're keeping all that connected. And then resources and infrastructure, look anywhere across the state of Kansas, and you will find the best buildings and experiences at Fort Hays State University. James Bell Absolutely. And you know, what I like about kind of the strategic plan is, is your guys's vision of growth and how to actually accomplish that. And one of the things we've talked about previously in the segment is the the I don't remember the name of the plan, but basically the in state tuition that's offered across seven or eight states. Yeah, the 1313 states Oh, I was under pending. Yep. Tisa Mason We call it our 13 state regional tuition, program. And we're really excited. Of course, we don't have final numbers yet, because we're still waiting till the end of the month to get those. But early indicators with our first year out, is sending us really strong success in Colorado and Oklahoma, as first place winners for increasing those students. I've had I've had fun talking to are in states or out of state students from those 13 states last night at a dinner in my house with our VIP students. And we had a couple of students from Texas, like, how did you like that discount on your tuition this year? And they're like, We loved it. We're so excited. Thank you. So that was really fun. James Bell That's very cool. And you know, it really I think that helps probably in the community and global engagement piece as well, because you're getting people and folks, students from a larger geographic region, which then I think is going to just feed into the I don't know the stature, maybe a Fort Hays crossed the Midwest. Tisa Mason Yeah. And more importantly, we know when since that program is only for on campus students, we know when students come to Fort Hays, and then they do internships and practicums in the community, they're most likely to stay in Kansas. And that feeds the talent pipeline. So it's Win win, it's win for the students. It's win for the university and for our community in our state. James Bell Yeah. And there's lots of different ways I think you're going to be talking about on this tour, right about specifically some areas where the impact is very noticeable, like, for example, K through 12. Education, I think we're a huge driver of teachers out and across Kansas and beyond, right? Tisa Mason Yes. And really important. I think, over we've had about 200 students in teacher ed, every year, over 85% of them end up teaching in Kansas, and around half of those are in western Kansas, and often in rural areas. And that's something we work hard. And I know our nursing program. Also, if you're going to go to Fort Hays, you're going to do some practicums and some experiences in rural hospitals, because we want you to know that and understand that we really want to incentivize and encourage people to stay in rural Kansas. Yeah, James Bell yeah. I love that. And you mentioned at the top of the program here, the difficulty in hiring, and I think that is especially true in these rural school districts where, you know, you've got to pull in people that maybe aren't native to the area and are kind of questioning like, why would I live in this little town over anywhere else that I can live? And I think that's gonna help but to social workers, also a big important part of this, right? Tisa Mason Yeah. And they have been one of our strategic enrollment planning fancy word to say, how are we going to grow? And that's where we've put some of our dollars because we know the community needs social workers in many areas. And it's been a huge winner for us. Since its inception in 2015. We have expanded from 100 undergraduates to over 300. The Masters of Social Work, which is brand new to us had inaugural class of 52 students and grew to 85 students in just one year. And now a has a waiting list. Wow. We're really excited about the placements. Just last year and 21. The department placed over 90 students in clinics and other social service areas in 24 Kansas communities with 90% of that, or about 90% of those placements in rural areas. Again, really focusing on serving rural Kansas. We have about a hunt There needs students enrolled in practicum field experiences right now. And we're just really excited with our success and with the growth. James Bell Yeah, that's, that's awesome. This is another thing that I keep hearing about that I think is a really probably impacting a lot of people in ways that they don't understand or they don't know maybe don't understand, but don't necessarily see in their day to day lives. And that's the criminal justice program here. And the Regional de escalation Center, which you guys have been a huge part of getting set up. And I believe that's, that's up and running now. Right? Tisa Mason It is. And another shout out to Senator Moran, who helped us with some of the funding, we received $2.75 million in federal funding to fuel the center. We're doing all kinds of training both online and in person. We have delivered 20 programs to agencies in Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado. And right now, law enforcement agencies in Kansas, Nebraska and Florida, are scheduled to start completing online training created by Fort Hays and our fantastic teaching Innovation and Learning Technologies Group that can take learning to a new level online. James Bell Yeah, I love that. And then there's one other one we want to talk about. And this is this one is something I love. I think it's so cool. And it's been you know, I think it's becoming more and more prevalent. We saw the story even last year here in Hays, cybersecurity, you got some big achievements out of the Institute and technology department there, right? Yeah, infirm. Tisa Mason Informatics is the academic department. And we were so blessed by the legislature with half a million dollars and dedicated funding to create what we're calling the cyber Institute and technology incubator. So we're just ramping up right now. The first thing you're going to see here is the development of some really cool micro internships. So our students can go in sometimes I'm like, virtually, and sometimes in reality, physical body, and they can go into small businesses, small and medium sized businesses can lose their whole business with a cyber attack. So our students can go in and do web security evaluation, security vulnerability reports, clean up data for businesses, these smaller businesses don't have the resources that the large industries do. And so that's really important for us to make sure that we are supporting the grocers and other businesses, and the small area. So software testing and compliance of reports, this is going to be a great opportunity for our students to get hands on learning and training. And work on those soft skills as well. As well as support the small and medium sized businesses will be also then kicking off in years two and three incubators specifically to grow more businesses that can help small businesses and medium sized businesses with these issues in partnership with our outstanding Small Business Development Center throughout the state. So it's going to have I think, deep ramifications. And I'm so grateful for our faculty and informatics, who are leading this charge. James Bell Yeah, love that. All of these things, I think, you know, they're going to be really continuing to impact the folks out here in western Kansas and beyond. And I'm, I bet it really is just so exciting to go out and share more of these details with those, especially those young folks, as they're considering, like, what am I doing with my future? Where can I go and cybersecurity I think is in particular one of those areas that there's just unlimited potential out there in the field. Tisa Mason Yeah, we're actually having some exploratory conversations on we do a lot of Gen Ed, concurrent credit in high school so that they can take college bearing credit courses while they're in high school and informatics. We'd like to get a little bit into working with some of the high schools and partnerships so that the students can start getting college bearing credit in this in this information computer science area. James Bell Very cool. Get head start in the future. Yeah, love it. When the other last thoughts before we go, Tisa Mason I just want to say it's such a joy to be in this community. Our freshmen and our students have returned on campus today are high energy, they're loving haze, they're loving the campus. And I want to thank everybody who's coming out to our volleyball games, our basketball basketball is started but soccer and football and thank you everyone for being part of our community as we are a part of yours.
Is the reported history of the Commander-in-Chief of the Thirteen Colonies the truth? Was he killed on the battlefield or was it something different? Here's a closer look at the events that turned the tides of the French & Indian War.
Anne Zachry 0:00 Welcome to "Making Special Education Actually Work," an online publication presented in blog in podcast form by KPS4Parents. As an added benefit to our subscribers and visitors to our site, we're making podcast versions of our text-only blog articles so that you can get the information you need on the go by downloading and listening at your convenience. We also occasionally conduct discussions with guest speakers via our podcast and transcribe the audio into text for our followers who prefer to read the content on our blog. Where the use of visual aids legal citations and references to other websites are used to better illustrate our points and help you understand the information, these tools appear in the text-only portion of the blog post of which this podcast is a part. You will hear a distinctive sound [bell sound] during this podcast whenever reference is made to content that includes a link to another article, website, or download. Please refer back to the original blog article to access these resources. Anne Zachry 0:58 Today is March 31 2022. This post in podcast is titled, "Interview of George Bailey, president of ZPods." In this podcast, which was originally recorded on March 23 2022, George and I discuss the impact of sleep disorders and related conditions that interfere with children's access to education and the research being done into his company's sleep solutions for children with autism, sensory integration disorders, insomnia, anxiety, and other disorders that can negatively impact their sleep quality. George Bailey 1:29 Hi, I'm George Bailey, and I'm president of ZPods. We're a startup in St. Louis, and we are developing sensory-friendly beds for autistic children and others who have severe sleep problems that are caused by sensory issues. So, our goal is to help out as many of these kids as possible. We enjoy it … and, uh, yeah. Anne Zachry 1:54 That's very cool. And I know that when I was emailing with you guys back and forth, when we were coordinating all of this, you know, my first question was what kind of peer reviewed research do you have behind what you're doing? Are you doing any kind of studies? And, I understand that, not only are you … because you were just telling me that you've got a regional center here in California that's already funded your product for one of its consumers, and they're not going to just jump on something unless there's evidence to back it up. But I know that you guys are also participating in some evidence … some studies and whatnot to collect the hard data that speaks to not just whether or not it's effective, but what makes it effective. How is it effective? And what is the science that underpins what it is that you're doing? And so I was hoping to get more information about that from you guys, in terms of what's … what's the research currently being done on the efficacy of your solution? George Bailey 2:44 It's such a good question. And, you know, I was just telling somebody earlier that one of the reasons why it took us a while to get around to really focusing on autism … we were thinking about, like, you know, "Where we should go?" … is because when people would tell us, you know, look at autism, early on, as we were trying to find an application for sleep pods that were great. We were bringing it from China, I balked at it. I'm a father of five. And I have two kids on the spectrum. And I thought like, "Ah, come on guys," … like, parents of autistic children get all sorts of stuff. Anne Zachry 3:19 Oh, yeah, for sure. George Bailey 3:20 … business. Yeah. I don't want business on playing on people's hopes and stuff like that. And so I, initially when I approached him, and said, "Okay, I want to take this serious, because we're getting that feedback that says we should do this." But I started talking to experts, and with parents of autistic children, and interacting with autistic children of my own. And the feedback was a resounding, "Please try it." And I think that … so, I'm going to answer your question two parts: I think that there's an intuitive evidence and I think that there's going to be actual evidence and the intuitive of evidence is kind of based on all of our collective experience. Anne Zachry 3:59 Right, the anecdotal data. Yeah. George Bailey 4:00 Yeah, yeah. There's some heavy anecdotal evidence that's seems to say, like, these children really value … they have the same needs as if … in that there's, kind of, like, one type. Anne Zachry 4:11 Right. There's no monoliths, but, yeah, kids with similar needs. Yeah. George Bailey 4:15 Yeah. These kids tend to love sleeping in the closet, under the bed, up against the wall, and … there's something that's like it. And there was enough there for us to see, so there was something there. But, all of the things that, kind of, come together out of this bed, it was not built for kid's processing, initially. It was just, like, an enclosure with some LED lights and some fans and a mirror, and all of those elements, when combined together, seemed to form this really fantastic environment. And if you were to take any one of those things, separately … study this out and find some interesting things. Like for example, when you enclose somebody, then you give them darkness … well, darkness is heavily prescribed for good sleep hygiene. Anne Zachry 5:06 Right. George Bailey 5:06 … darker or something like that. It's separate, but the enclosure itself provides almost like a sensory … Anne Zachry 5:12 Right. George Bailey 5:13 And, then, LED lights, you know, again, heavily used in the sensory, or special needs community … Anne Zachry 5:22 Right. George Bailey 5:22 Heavily used. And so all of these things … Now, where we're at with clinical trials is that we've been in touch with the folks at the Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders. Anne Zachry 5:27 Um-hmm. George Bailey 5:37 The lead clinician for this project is going to be Dr. Christina McCrae, who is published widely on autism and sleep, and that was a must. We needed somebody to do … to ask the right questions … Anne Zachry 5:48 Right. George Bailey 5:49 … not do what we say. I am trying my best to remove myself from the academic questions as much as possible to just, kind of, stand back and let them do their work. Anne Zachry 6:01 Right. George Bailey 6:01 Because, it needs an honest assessment. That was my stance from the beginning, is that, if were going to go into this, here's how we're going to look at it: We're going to find out what's true. And what's true may not be as flattering as what we'd like, or maybe it'll be moreso. Maybe it will be better than, you know … maybe we're not being optimistic enough? I don't know. Anne Zachry 6:20 Right. George Bailey 6:21 … but if we learned that "X" works … and we will continue to do facts … Anne Zachry 6:25 Exactly! George Bailey 6:26 … if we can say, if we learned that, "Y" doesn't, then we will also chalk that up to success and say we're going to stop doing "Y." And if we learned that we should probably … there's an implication here that we should be trying "Z," then we're going to start pursuing that. We're not … Anne Zachry 6:43 Right. George Bailey 6:43 … because I think that it requires that kind of mentality to really test this out. So … Anne Zachry 6:49 Well, yeah. I mean, any kind of solution requires that kind of mentality. That's just common sense. Which, you know, we also call scientific method. George Bailey 6:59 It's hard to do this in our community. When you're an entrepreneur, you're hustling and you're getting out there. You're constantly … you just gotta, you know, sell, sell, sell, and you got to pitch your brand, bla bla bla. But you got to break out of that sometimes and just listen to what is being told to you. Anne Zachry 7:19 Right. George Bailey 7:19 And sometimes even … sometimes that's hard, but you put your heart and your mind to it and your … and your money, as well. It's very difficult, but at the same time, if you listen, then the rewards in terms of, kind of, like, personal satisfaction that you are doing right by the people that you're trying to serve … Pretty tremendous! Anne Zachry 7:40 Yeah, and I have to agree with that. Well, and what you're making me think of is that the psychology of sales and marketing is the exact same science as the psychology of good instruction. It's … it's all the same thing. George Bailey 7:52 Yes! Anne Zachry 7:53 It's all the same thing. And so, what you're doing is … when you're doing … there's the, you know, the snake oil salesman, kind of, "I'm going to sell ice cubes to Eskimos and get people to part with their money for things they don't need." But then you also have consultative sales, which is responsible sales, where you're actually … you're not out there selling, you know, product features, you're out there selling solutions to people's problems. And you're … you're approaching it from the standpoint of, "What is your situation and do I have something that will help you?" And if you do, then what you're really doing is you're not selling the product, you're selling the solution, and the product just happens to be the means to that end. And that's a more authentic thing. And you build relationships with people. And it requires you to listen to what their needs actually are. And this is what they've been, you know, all these sales classes, they have people take, this as the message, and this is what you're doing. But it's also exactly the same thing as when you're trying to identify an IEP solution for a kid. You've got to pay attention to what's going on with the kid as a unique individual and match the solution to the actual need. And so there really is no difference between consultative selling and IEP development when you're talking about matching solution to need. And … George Bailey 9:11 I love that perspective. And, you know, it's interesting, because I found myself in a few situations where I've actually explicitly told the parent, "I don't think we're a good fit for you." And I feel like … it may feel like a, kind of, short-term security to be able to say, like, "Yay!" You know, "We sold another bed." Anne Zachry 9:30 Right. George Bailey 9:31 But, it's a long term hurt on the brand. If you really are trying to establish yourself, it's like, we don't make scientific claims. No matter what, here's the crazy thing. It's like no matter how many times I say that we are not making medical claims … Anne Zachry 9:48 Right. George Bailey 9:48 … there will be parents who read onto what we're our saying medical claims … George Bailey 9:53 Right. George Bailey 9:53 … because hope springs eternal and they're looking for a solution and this sleeplessness … sleeplessness of their child is causing them genuine distress. Anne Zachry 10:05 Right. George Bailey 10:06 When a child's not sleeping with the entire family has suffered. Anne Zachry 10:09 Exactly! George Bailey 10:11 And so you have to be really careful to kind of repeat that again and again. But at the same time, there's the kind of the other interest … is that you also want to make sure that you get it out there, because you rely on those early adopters who are like, really like, they'll take a risk. Anne Zachry 10:28 Right. George Bailey 10:28 I love those people. I am not an early adopter, okay, I wasn't on Facebook until 2011. I'm the last kid on the block buy the new thing. But the early adopters, one of the things whether they succeed or fail with your solution, they give you information, that it's very valuable, you have to respect that … Anne Zachry 10:52 Absolutely! George Bailey 10:53 … going back to your sales mentality, I think you're right, I don't think that it's always true. I've seen salespeople, huge tricks of the trade that I personally find to be manipulative … Anne Zachry 11:07 Right. George Bailey 11:07 … but I used to be a foreign language instructor … Anne Zachry 11:12 Hmmm. George Bailey 11:12 … for nine years. And it was really fun. I loved that time in my life, where I got to teach, and there was always, kind of, the part of explanation. Anne Zachry 11:24 Yep. George Bailey 11:25 You know, where you had to learn to, kind of … and a lot of the explanation that I did was kind of fun, it's a little bit off topic, but you know, I taught Mandarin Chinese, first year. And that was very fun. And, the way that we would explain things … we were told by the teacher that we worked with, I was a teacher's assistant that also taught courses, you're not going to use English to teach Chinese, you're going to use Chinese to teach Chinese. Anne Zachry 11:49 Right. George Bailey 11:50 So, there was a lot of need to be able to be empathetic with my audience. When I was looking at 20 of my students saying, "Wǒ" (我) which is the Chinese word for "I" or "me," that I'd have to see, are they really getting it? And I think that with the art of sales, you have to really listen to people. Anne Zachry 12:10 Yeah. George Bailey 12:11 And the better you are at listening to people and their needs, I think the better you're going to convey, like, that … that you really care and that you're ready to solve a problem and not just, like, you know, get … sell snake oil. Anne Zachry 12:24 Right. Well, again, I relate it back to … everything back to IEPs, because if you think about the IEP process, it's the same thing. You can't write an IEP, an individualized program of instruction for somebody, unless you listen to what their needs actually are. There's not a one size fits all. That's called Gen Ed. George Bailey 12:45 Yes, yes. Anne Zachry 12:46 You know, and, and so, you know, general education is the assembly line. And special ed is the custom shop. George Bailey 12:55 You know, I really agree. We've worked with some IEP experts with my oldest son, Joseph. And I was always really touched. When I felt like they were taking the time to listen to me. And when they were really looking at my son and his specific needs, and so that's, you know, it's a labor of love. And it's really critical to look at each child as an individual. Anne Zachry 13:20 And, it's required by law for that reason. George Bailey 13:23 Yeah. Anne Zachry 13:26 So yeah, so I mean, I realize there's overlap, you know, all these processes and procedures that everybody's using … it's interesting that no matter what outcome you're trying to achieve, very often there's a similar formula to how you make it happen. And there's always a needs assessment. And then there's a matching of solutions and need. George Bailey 13:44 A situational analysis. Anne Zachry 13:45 Yeah. And so, I mean, it's, again, you know, it's common sense, otherwise known as scientific method. But, well, this is very interesting. So what, what kinds of … what kinds of responses have you gotten from the families who are using the ZPods? George Bailey 14:02 So, we've got both the responses that have been highly favorable, and some that have been like, "Meh," you know, but even with that, what we've never gotten .. what we've never heard from a single parent is, "My child does not like your bed." We may have gotten responses like, "Your assembly instructions need some real clarity and they're very inconvenient," like, you know, we've gotten that … Anne Zachry 14:25 Right. Technical stuff. George Bailey 14:27 … from the parents, but the one universal is, "Our kids love, love your bed." And then we've had another set of children where it's like, minimalist a fact that they love it; they use it as a chill space. Right? Anne Zachry 14:40 Right. George Bailey 14:41 And then we've had a very large number of parents and again, I hesitate to get the numbers. I'll give you what numbers I can, to be as, kind of, precise as possible. And we've worked between … with between 60 and 70 families, okay. And that number is always increasing and that there's been a very high degree of customer satisfaction and a consistent feedback from families like, "Wow, my kid's doing things that I've never seen the kid do before," We've had, for example, one of my favorites was Dawson, a six-year-old boy, who, after a week of sleeping in our bed, the … first of all, the immediate result was that his sleep jumped from roughly two or three hours a night to about eight hours at the very least. Anne Zachry 15:28 Praise God! That by itself is worth it. George Bailey 15:30 Yes, that by itself is already worth it. But then, the, kind of, double validation came a week later, when the school teacher for Dawson pinned down the mother and said, "What are you guys doing different?" Because that was unsolicited. Anne Zachry 15:49 Right. George Bailey 15:50 One of the things we have to be really careful about as we study this is that parents who take the time and the trouble to purchase one of our beds have a bias towards believing that they made a good decision. Anne Zachry 16:03 Right. George Bailey 16:05 And, I don't want to manipulate that. We want them to be happy, naturally. We want them to feel like they made a good decision. But I also acknowledge that bias that they have. So, when it comes to the third parties that come in and say, "Wow, I've seen some really, really great improvement," … but we've seen that a fairly large number of cases where we'll have like an OT say to parents, "This bed has been a game-changer," things like that. Anne Zachry 16:32 Right. George Bailey 16:33 And, in Dawson's case for the teacher to come up without knowing that there was a change in his sleep, but just saying, "This kid is more alert, more focused." And, incidentally, in his particular case, there was talked amongst the parents about the possibility of institutionalizing him. Anne Zachry 16:50 Right. George Bailey 16:50 Because it was that bad. Anne Zachry 16:52 Yeah. George Bailey 16:53 And, Dawson's not a bad kid. We know that. But, anybody who is under-slept so severely is going to have severe behavioral problems. Anne Zachry 17:05 Right. George Bailey 17:06 Sleep has incredible value for for the brain, for the body, you know, for cognition. it's just … Anne Zachry 17:14 … it's neurologically necessary. George Bailey 17:17 Yeah. Anne Zachry 17:17 And it's a … it's part of human survival. You have to go through that or you will … it will make you literally ill. And … George Bailey 17:25 And it sounds kind of funny, like trying to sell sleep. We're not selling sleep, per se; it's that we're selling something that we hope will cause more sleep. But it's almost a little bit kind of funny to hear myself, like, "Aww, now I've become one of those sleep preachers!" I keep reading these books about sleep, and I'm, like, these guys are all … dealing with sleep and saying the same thing. It's almost like talking about water. Anne Zachry 17:48 Right. George Bailey 17:49 "Did you ever see the rejuvenative powers of water? It's incredible!" Anne Zachry 17:56 I know you … you really have hit on a very fundamental, visceral, survival-level kind of need that sadly enough in our society is neglected. And, you know, and you're … you're looking at, "Okay, how do we address this fundamental survival need, and these individuals who are struggling with this who … and are compromised?" And so I think that … I mean, I'm always excited to see new stuff. And anecdotal evidence is always a sign that, okay, we need to look into this a little bit more deeply to see, you know, what makes us you know, for real, so I'm always happy to hear that, you know, with stuff like this, the early adopters are like, "Oh, no, this seems to be doing a thing." And all of it makes sense. I mean, logically, and intuitively, you're right, it all logically makes sense. But it's still going to be interesting to see what kind of research data comes from it and you know, … maybe some grad school student will latch on to it and want to write a paper or something. You just never know, and so … George Bailey 18:54 And, that's what we're encouraging constantly. It's that we want it to be subjected to scrutiny, empirical data, empirical study and and we also want to urge all companies out there that are trying to provide a solution for the autism community to find ways to get at third parties that are impartial to come in, because you only stand to gain … Anne Zachry 19:19 Right. George Bailey 19:20 … you may not hear what you think you hear; you may not hear what you want to hear, but you are going to hear what is going to be beneficial. Anne Zachry 19:28 Right. Once you know what you're working with, you can say, "Okay, well this is what I know I can do and I'm gonna stay in my lane and do only that," you know? "I'm not gonna try and be everything to everybody," and there's … there's a lot of value in that … George Bailey 19:49 And, we don't want that, either. You know, there's this temptation to kind of overplay it, like, "Hey, you know this is going to do "X" and "Y" for the kid's autism," but you don't know, it's gonna be different for every kid, and it's going to … whatever your child needs is going to be a very large combination of things. We are one part of a very, very complex puzzle of sleep … Anne Zachry 20:03 Right. George Bailey 20:04 There are physiological components to it, you know, some people can't sleep because like internal parts of how they function. Anne Zachry 20:13 Right. George Bailey 20:13 Others that they're … it's just a matter of really good sleep hygiene. Some have a more selective sleep hygiene, which is kind of where we play … Anne Zachry 20:20 Um-hmm. George Bailey 20:22 … where they really need the aspect of enclosure, I don't need to be enclosed in something to feel safe. Anne Zachry 20:30 Right. George Bailey 20:31 You know? Then again, I like being enclosed in my home, in my bedroom. You know? And then in my wife's there. Those are some of the things that add to my own personal satisfaction … Anne Zachry 20:42 Right. George Bailey 20:43 … where I can calm down and initiate sleep. But some kids, they just thrive on … George Bailey 20:50 And, you're making me … the word "proximity" pops into my head, where … proximity to the wall, you know? How close are the walls to me? As … you know, if you're … if you feel safe within your house, you're still within a structure. But if that feels too spacious, and you need to have the walls closer to your physical presence to really feel that … that enclosed feeling, then I … then, yeah, that would, to me, say that some individuals need the walls in closer proximity to their physical beings than others. And, it again goes to everybody falls on a spectrum of some kind in every aspect of development one way or another. And that's … this is just the one that you happen to be dealing with. And … George Bailey 21:37 Yeah, some kids, actually … so our bed, it fits a twin size mattress; it's about three feet tall on the inside. It's pretty big I can I can sit up, I can kneel down and I'm barely touching my head. Anne Zachry 21:51 Right. George Bailey 21:52 So some kids feel comfortable in that, and they feel it. And I'm wondering, this is now I'm, kind of, theorizing that I wonder if this would fall under the proprioceptive sense. You know, where you can kind of sense that closeness to something without it being a touch sensation. Anne Zachry 22:10 Yeah, because proprioception is like your the sensation of your body moving through space. And, yeah, and pressure and those kinds of things. Well, and I'm wondering if you're enclosed inside of the pod, how much of it is air pressure? And if there's an inner ear vestibular piece to it as well? George Bailey 22:29 Yes, yes. Anne Zachry 22:30 That's curious. George Bailey 22:31 … really comfortable, that other people feel like all they need around them are the warehouse walls of a Costco. Anne Zachry 22:37 Right. George Bailey 22:38 You know, something very large, they're fine with that, you know? So … Anne Zachry 22:43 Well, and it makes you think of our kids on the spectrum that struggle with personal space, and getting all up in people's faces, and they don't understand that other people have a personal bubble, and you need to step back a few. George Bailey 22:54 Oh, that's a great comparison! Anne Zachry 22:55 And I'm wondering how much of that is inter played with what you're dealing with? That'd be an interesting line of inquiry to explore. George Bailey 23:01 Yeah. Anne Zachry 23:03 Yeah. Well, you know what I'm thinking of to is here in California, which I know is unique, because not most states don't have anything if any other states do. I've not heard of any other states that have it. But here in California, the Department of Education operates what they call Diagnostic Centers. And there's three of them. There's one up in Northern California in Fremont. There's one in the central part of the state in Fresno. And then there's another one down in LA for … that covers Southern California. And what they do is they're … they're funded out of the State's federal special ed dollars and state special ed dollars, skimmed off the top, and then all the rest goes to the public schools. And so what Diagnostic Center does is they conduct evaluations of students who their local education agencies are having a heck of a time, even going through all the normal assessment procedures, trying to figure out what to do for these kids. And what they do, it's an on-site thing where they … the family will go and the State will put them up in a hotel and give them coupons to, like, Soup Plantation, you'll never want to eat there again by the time you're done … and, and you stay there for like three or four days while your child is being evaluated by all of these "ologists" in this facility, while you as a parent are sitting on the other side of the one way glass watching the whole thing. And you're getting interviewed and they're just like turning, you know, your whole world inside out to get a handle on what's going on with this kid. And I'm wondering if Diagnostic Centers wouldn't benefit from having something like this to test with those kids who have those kinds of issues. George Bailey 24:34 That is such a great question. Well, first of all, let me say that California has a fond place in my heart. I was born and raised in Hayward … Anne Zachry 24:42 Oh, right on. George Bailey 24:51 … so not too far from your Fremont Diagnostic Center. And, you know, In-and-Out Burger, I don't know if you've ever been there … Anne Zachry 24:51 Oh yeah. George Bailey 24:52 Best hamburgers in the West. Great place. But to your point, that's actually … I don't know if we've toyed with that specific idea. I love that a lot. One of the things we have toyed with that we're working on right now, it's hard to get started to get … we're very … we were three years old as a company, Anne Zachry 25:11 Oh, you're babies. Yeah. George Bailey 25:12 Yeah, we're babies. We're two years old working within the autism community. Anne Zachry 25:16 Got it. George Bailey 25:18 But one of the things we'd love to see happen is we would like to get more Airbnbs to use these … Anne Zachry 25:25 Ohhh! George Bailey 25:25 … just depending on what kind of family it is. Well, then the point is that it's kind of like if you go to the mattress store, and the guy says, "Well, try the mattress out, see how you like it." Well, you're gonna sit on the end, and kind of push it down with your hands. You don't know what you're doing. It's kind of like, "How do I know if this is good?" And then he'll tell you, "You gotta lie down." Anne Zachry 25:46 Yeah. George Bailey 25:47 So we're trying to take it to the next level with our idea of putting these in Airbnbs because then it's like getting inside the bed. We're pretty good at assessing, we've had a number of kids come by St. Louis, just to try it out, get inside, and they love it. It's pretty automatic. And they'll close themselves in without being asked to do so. It was actually my son, when he did that. And then lie down. And I didn't know what he was doing in there. I gave him five minutes alone, just kind of waiting. And then I was just like losing my patience. And I opened the door. And there he is on his back with his hands behind his head. Very chill, very relaxed. And that led me to like, "Okay." That was one of my earlier signals were onto something. The point is that I could observe that for five or 10 minutes. Or I could do it overnight… Anne Zachry 26:36 Right. George Bailey 26:37 … with a lot more confidence. Anne Zachry 26:40 It's like an opportunity to try it out. You know, that's interesting that you would say that, because separate from what we do in special education, I have a whole other program that we run that's devoted to sustainable living and food security. George Bailey 26:53 Yeah? Oh, that's great! Anne Zachry 26:53 And yeah, and so it's all evidence based instruction. It's the Learn & Grow Educational Series. But what we're looking to do is build these Learning Centers where people can come and stay in a sustainably built structure, with grey-water recapturing and composting toilets, and all these things that sounds scary, but really aren't and try it out for a few days … George Bailey 27:00 … would love this, what you're doing by the way! Anne Zachry 27:15 Yeah, and … George Bailey 27:15 … very much into this! Anne Zachry 27:17 … our ultimate goal is to at some point in time … what's the point of convincing people to live this way, if there's no place where they can go live this way? George Bailey 27:25 Yes! Anne Zachry 27:25 … is we also want to be able to do affordable housing that's sustainably built with all of these same technologies. And so that if they go and they … they do a trial through Airbnb, at one of our Learning Centers that we are looking to build in the future, that they go, "Oh, I can deal with this. This isn't gross. This is still really bougie. I can handle this," you know, then they … they can … there's a place for them to go buy into a home that has all of those things. Because right now, it's all the DIYers who are doing that, and not everybody wants to build their own sustainable house. Lots of people just want to go buy a house and move in and be done with it. And but there's no sustainably built homes in neighborhoods like that. And so it's the same concept of, if you go and try it out first, and then realize, "Hey, this is cool," and you see benefits from it, then you're, like, ready to approach it for real and incorporate it into your actual lifestyle. And so I think that that's something you are doing that's in common with what I'm doing in this other program I have. And that there, there's a lot of value of having that Airbnb Experience out there for people to try things that are new. It's something that I don't think Airbnb realized when they first started that they were going to create. George Bailey 28:34 Yes. Anne Zachry 28:35 But it's you know, there's now all of these places, and now they have Experiences. In fact, our Learn & Grow Educational Series, we actually do classes (and tours) through Airbnb Experiences. For one thing, it's a lot more affordable to do it that way for us because Airbnb will insure all of the events that we conduct for up to a million dollars per event. George Bailey 28:55 Oh wow, yeah! Anne Zachry 28:56 And so that means I'm not having to go down and get a certificate of insurance every time I'm conducting a class. And the owner of the property where I'm doing my classes is like, "Oh, thank God, I'm not going to have to file a homeowner's claim if somebody trips and," you know, "sprains an ankle while they're walking through the driveway or something." There's all of these advantages to using Airbnb to create these novel experiences that people can test out for just a few days without having to change their whole living experience. And then if they decide, "Oh, this was worth it," okay. It is like a living test. And I think that's … that's huge. I think there's a lot of value in that. So that's exciting. I think that that's a smart way to go. George Bailey 29:36 And it's something … it's something that we hope to get started as soon as possible. I know that maybe some of your listeners are thinking, "Oh, where can I do this?" It's still in process. I mean, we're still looking for people to kind of try it out. We may have something in Indiana, but not … certainly not in California right now. But what's interesting to me about it is that on a broader topical discussion rather than just autism, it goes to show that we have shifted our purchasing behavior dramatically since the advent of the Internet, and Amazon has really changed. Anne Zachry 30:07 Huge. Yeah. George Bailey 30:08 It's big because, like, we think, for example … we used to think, "Well, what would the brick and mortar store look like for our operation?" And pretty soon after that, we concluded that there is no brick and mortar store for us. Anne Zachry 30:22 Right. George Bailey 30:22 That's not to say that brick and mortar is dead. I'm actually a big fan of brick and mortar. I love getting out there. I love being around people. I love walking around. I don't want to buy everything I have on online and then cloister myself. Anne Zachry 30:35 Right. George Bailey 30:37 But, that being said, this specifically, it's just, it's a big product. And it has … you're going to consider it more like a buy like a car… Anne Zachry 30:48 Right. George Bailey 30:48 … which can be which can't be bought at the store. Anne Zachry 30:51 Right. Yeah, it's not an impulse buy. Yeah. George Bailey 30:54 Yeah, it's not an impulse … Thank you. That's basically it. Nice, Anne. Yes! Anne Zachry 30:59 … that, and, yeah. So, because it takes that consultation planning and forethought and thinking, yeah, it's not really a retail-oriented kind of thing where you would just have like, the ZPod Store. I can see like, if you had a ZPod section of a mattress store or something. But I can also see, you know, literature in developmental centers and regional center offices, you know, and things like that, where it would be something that, like you said, you're not doing a medical model. So it's not necessarily something that would be prescribed. But, you know, like an assistive technology evaluation, when you have kids who are in a special ed, who you're trying to find out what technologies will give them access to education. Well, what if the issue is sleep? Could that be part of an assistive technology evaluation? And if that's the case … George Bailey 31:51 Now that being said, I'm really excited you brought that one up because I was I was just about to bring it up. Assistive technology programs … if you have an assistive technology program nearby, like, ask them about us. And the reason why is because we're actually currently I mean, literally currently reaching out to all of them. Because we didn't really even know they existed. I was not sophisticated enough with special needs community that really understand what these things were … Anne Zachry 32:20 Right. George Bailey 32:20 … but it's a program that's been around since the 80s … Anne Zachry 32:24 Um-hmmm. George Bailey 32:24 … and every state has one. And all of a sudden, out of nowhere, last year, the director for the Assistive Technology program for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, reached out to us. And these guys, they set the standard. Anne Zachry 32:40 Yeah. George Bailey 32:41 They're actually the best in the United States. And this guy, the director, really wonderful gentleman, Tom Mercier reached out to me, I think he's retired now, but Tom said, it's, like, you know, "Some parents are really trying to get me to look at this, and I just want to take a look." And we were like, "Sure!" you know. We set them up with one of our beds, they tried it out with the family. It was really amazing success for this family, to the point where Tom and his team approved for their field operators to be able to recommend the bed. Anne Zachry 33:13 See in this … yeah? George Bailey 33:14 I'll end with saying, now we're reaching out to every single one of them, just to educate them. And they are a great place where, if they do keep these products in stock, and then allow people to try them out to find if it's suitable. Anne Zachry 33:31 Right. Well, and you're making me think of so many things. So, when you're talking about an assistive technology evaluation, trial and error is the only way to know if the tech is going to meet the individual's needs. So it doesn't matter how much peer reviewed research you have about, you know, this group of subjects in a study. How does that relate to Bob over here who needs this particular problem solved? Is it going to work for Bob, you know? And so … so you have, you know, you … you end up with a study where, you know, N=1, you've only got one subject, and … when you're doing an evaluation … And you're doing individualized planning, and whether you're talking about special education, or developmental services, whether it's through a state DDS or they outsource it to regional centers, it varies from state to state, or you're talking about the Department of Rehabilitation, which is to employment what special ed is to education. And you're talking about 18 and older now and adults with disabilities and if sleep deprivation is an issue that prevents them from holding down a job, is this an accommodation that department of rehab might have to buy somebody to keep them employable? And so there's all and it's, it's all individualized planning, everybody gets an individualized plan of something, some kind. So if it's Regional Center, it's an individualized program plan - an IPP. If it's special ed, it's an Individualized Educational Program - IEP. If it's Department of Rehab, it has an Individualized Plan for Employment - IPE. But they all start with that "I." And it's always coming down to the assessment of that individual person of, "What are your unique needs, and how can we meet them?" And when you're doing AT evaluations, again, it's trial and error of, "Let's try this tech with you and see if you benefit from it." Then, really the bottom line, that's the only thing that works in an AT eval. And that's just as scientifically valid as a-million-and-one research studies about a bunch of random people that doesn't have anything to do with the one person you're trying to serve. So I think that if you connect with all of these publicly funded agencies and have to do individualized programming, then your support data is going to come from the instance-by-instance individual assessments of, you know, how many of these individuals benefited from this tech? And what was it about them that made it useful for them? What do they share in common in terms of needs? And what do they share in common in terms of effects? And, then you get your aggregate data from that, but you got to have enough individuals served that way. But I think that might be an interesting way to go. Because you don't already have to have the published research to necessarily back you up. If you've got, I mean, where you're at right now is sufficient, and the fact that you've already got a regional center here in California funding this for someone, and you've got these AT assessors from … from, you know, around the country, taking a serious hard look at this from a developmental standpoint. I think that's huge. And that's very compelling. George Bailey 36:35 Oh, I feel very, very fortunate. And the thing, I know, a couple of points to hit number one, our parents are the secret sauce. Anne Zachry 36:43 Yep. George Bailey 36:43 They work so hard. Anne Zachry 36:45 Yep. George Bailey 36:45 And they make it happen. Like, we're where we've had successes, really, primarily, because the parents pushed for this, they see what we're doing, they see the value, they have to do the sales, you know, to these institutions. Anne Zachry 36:58 And they have to enforce the laws with these institutions. I mean, all of these … George Bailey 37:03 Yes, enforce the law. I love that. Anne Zachry 37:04 … all of these … the parents are the enforcement arm of all of these civil rights laws that protect individuals with disabilities. It's usually the family that has to go to bat for an individual who can't go to bat for themselves. And, and so you, you've got the way the laws are written, is that, you know, and this is democracy: Of the people, for the people, by the people. So the way the laws are written is the people are supposed to be able to … you know, advocate for themselves using these systems. Now, how effective that is, is a whole nother conversation. But the way the system is created, it's … it's on … the burden is on the family … George Bailey 37:39 Yes, absolutely. Anne Zachry 37:41 … to drive the process. And these, these programs exist for their benefit, but they're supposed to go seek them out and avail themselves of these programs and say here are their needs that need to be met, what do you got, and then when they come to … come with a unique issue that the system doesn't already have a, you know, a canned solution for, and they're required to innovate, these institutions are not built for innovation. They're built for bureaucracy. And so if the burden then falls on the parents shoulders, they go, "Well, wait a minute," you know? "You're here to serve us," you know? "That's we pay taxes, and we've already paid for this stuff. So what are you gonna do with the money you've already been given?" And so, you know, it really is … it does fall on the shoulders of the parents, and not just because they're the secret sauce. It's because they have to be. You know, it's how the system is set up. George Bailey 38:31 As much as I know that there are people out there … my son's, you know … people who teach him and mentor him and stuff like that. Love him. Take care of him. Anne Zachry 38:43 Right. George Bailey 38:43 But none of them … none of them love him like I love him. Anne Zachry 38:46 Right. George Bailey 38:48 So you have to fight to be that advocate, but you bring up another interesting point earlier, that just really jumped out to me that is that, on the one hand, you're totally right, that, you know, what is right for one individual may not be another and yet, we still have a big need for clinical trials … Anne Zachry 39:06 Yep. George Bailey 39:06 … for these broader statements. So that we can at least know what could be predicted to work. In other words, those individual assessments if you have to start from scratch every single time, because you don't have any big picture data … Anne Zachry 39:19 Right. George Bailey 39:20 … and it's very hard for you to be able to say, "Okay, this is what's gonna work," or, "We should even try this." Because every single time that you revisit … you visit an individual, you have to start from scratch … Anne Zachry 39:32 Right. George Bailey 39:32 So, big picture, you know, clinical Data, allows us to be able to predict. Anne Zachry 39:37 Right. George Bailey 39:38 This study says that 80%, 70%, 90% of people with this condition are going to respond positively to this. Anne Zachry 39:47 Exactly, it helps you narrow down the field of what to try. Yeah. George Bailey 39:51 Yeah. At the same time, on the individual level, if your child … turns out that your child gets a full 10 hours of sleep, which is probably what they should be getting at the age of five to 18, or whatever the number is, right? Anne Zachry 40:08 Um-hmmm. George Bailey 40:08 Ten hours of sleep, they get that because they bounce the ball 10 times before they go to bed. They're good. Guess what? if that works for your kid, rock on. Anne Zachry 40:16 Right. George Bailey 40:17 I love that. And I love the individualized approach. So there really is value in both sides of that. Anne Zachry 40:23 Absolutely. George Bailey 40:25 And then on the other side, one thing that I wanted to add is that, you know, we have these individual customers. Our goal right now as a startup is, how do we early on establish a pattern of gathering data that can tell us more about each of these individuals, and then the aggregate, so that we know with greater certainty, what is still … what is going on what is helping, what is not helping? And I think that it's very important, you know, I would really urge all startups, anybody in this space, do clinical trials. Anne Zachry 41:00 Yeah. George Bailey 41:01 Expose yourself to that. And also do everything you can to get constant customer feedback, because they're always going to tell you ways that you can improve … Anne Zachry 41:11 Right. George Bailey 41:12 … and some can be more shy about it than others but you've got plenty who are just, like, "I'm going to tell you my mind. I don't like this part of your product, but I do like this," and you will improve. Anne Zachry 41:21 Right. George Bailey 41:21 Some of our best improvements came because, you know, I got told by a very frank parent, "I don't like this." Anne Zachry 41:28 Right. George Bailey 41:29 And, I was really grateful, because then we took those things and immediately said, "We have some changes to make." Anne Zachry 41:34 Well, in your … I was gonna say you're making me think of how it could be done, because how you could get that data, because if you do the individual assessments where you're matching product to unique individual need, and now you've got 50 individuals who have this in their IEP, or their IPP, or their IPE, whatever. All of those documents are goal-driven. So, whenever you do any kind of individualized planning, first, you have to figure out what it is you're trying to make happen. And then you write a measurable annual goal to that need. So if the goal is is we want Bobby to sleep at least eight hours a night for a full month straight, then that's your annual goal, that by the end of this year, Bobby is going to be able to sleep the, you know, at least eight hours a night for a month straight. And the progress … being made towards that goal is going to automatically generate data if the goal has been legitimately written … if it really has been written in a measurable manner. And so you've got all of these individuals with all of these goals that speak to sleep, and this is the solution that they're attempting to meet that goal, the data collection is naturally going to speak to the degree to which the device is helping or not. And then when you get enough people who have these devices as part of their individualized plans, and you've got this progress towards goal data being collected in terms of how efficacious it is, then you can take all of these multiple individualized reports, and then turn it into a report of aggregate data where you say, "Okay, well, out of the 50 people where we had on these individualized plans, 25% of them have this issue and responded this way versus this or …" you know what I'm saying? So you're taking the individualized data, and piling it all together to create a body of aggregate data that can then be analyzed. And so you're taking advantage of both sides of that coin to get valid data. And … and it's performance based. It's not hypothetical. So that's what I was thinking … George Bailey 43:37 That's one thing that really, I love. And that is, I want to emphasize to you on the terms that what, folks in the IEP, what I would love is that, I'm going to speak a little bit, because I'm not the IEP expert, okay? Anne Zachry 43:56 Right. George Bailey 43:57 But, the thing that I hope that a lot of IEPs take away from this is that, of all of the aspects of a child's life we're talking about, this is a pretty critical one. Anne Zachry 44:08 Yep. George Bailey 44:08 I'm not saying it's the most important because I think that each of us in our specialties, we're all vying for attention, we're all trying to, "Well, we're the most important because we're sleep and that's 1/3 of your life," and "We're the most important because we're broccoli, and if you don't eat broccoli, you'll get cancer!" All of us are competing, but I am here to say that sleep is a critical component of your IEP. Anne Zachry 44:33 Yeah. George Bailey 44:33 And, if it's going great, that's wonderful, but it should be visited. And that … that's a hard to find in a professional, in the sense that they at least have to have some fundamental understanding both of its benefits, and maybe some kind of surface recommendations that they can make, at least getting out the gate to, kind of, let's … let's take care of some of the things that could be the problem. Let's find out, for example, your child … Is it dark enough when they're sleeping? Is it too noisy? Are you watching television until 11 o'clock at night with your child exposed to screens? These types of questions help us to eliminate as factors, possible causes … Anne Zachry 45:17 Right. George Bailey 45:18 … what is driving the loss of sleep, and you need to have at least a fundamental, basic understanding of what could be getting in the way of sleep. Now, of course, at that point, you always want to have a good "sleep go-to"; somebody that you go to, "Okay, you know, I'm out of it, I'm out of my depth, I recommend targeting this institution with sleep centers," … Anne Zachry 45:40 Right. George Bailey 45:39 … or something like that. And even then, though, I'll tell you that I get a lot, a lot of phone calls from parents who said, the sleep center's, like, given up. Anne Zachry 45:48 Yeah. George Bailey 45:49 They just don't know what to do with this kid. Because this kid defies their kind of expectations for what should be helping the child to get better sleep. Anne Zachry 45:59 Well, and I would think the sleep centers would want to test your product as well to see if … especially when they're running into a situation like that. That that should be part of the testing milleu. George Bailey 46:07 Yeah. Well, this is all the more reason for in-depth clinical trials, to be able to put in front of them, because they will correctly come to us and say, "We expect you to have data." Anne Zachry 46:19 Right. George Bailey 46:20 And I expect that from them. I think that that is good. Now, if they're so inflexible as to not be helping at all, especially when we already have the pretty heavy anecdotal evidence … Anne Zachry 46:32 Right. George Bailey 46:33 … that this is something that should be taken seriously, the aspect of that concept of enclosure, that I think would be kind of negative. But I do expect them to have an academic interest in what it is we're doing. Anne Zachry 46:47 I would think they'd be wanting to … helping you do the studies. That they would want to get in on and get published. I mean … George Bailey 46:52 Oh, yeah. The reality, though, behind studies that we should all here bear in mind is that no matter what you do, you're going to be spending money. Anne Zachry 46:54 Right. George Bailey 47:02 And so, for example, investors and startups, they don't actually like to spend money on stuff. If you go to investors and say, "I want to raise capital, this amount of capital, $200,000, or whatever it is, is going to go towards a clinical trial." Anne Zachry 47:18 Right. George Bailey 47:18 They'll say, "Come back to us, once you've done the clinical trial." Anne Zachry 47:21 Yeah, it's the same way with nonprofits. It's like, "We'll give you a grant, if you can show what you've done with the grants you've gotten in the past." I'm like, "Well, now, somebody's got to be the first one, here." George Bailey 47:33 Yeah, so you have to look for people who are very invested, not just financial returns, that you may be able to provide, but the outcome that they actually love the story that you have … Anne Zachry 47:47 Right. George Bailey 47:48 … what you're trying to create. And so that's where, you know, I agree with you that I would love to have more sleep centers, try our beds to figure out how effective they are. And not just that the tried numerous aspects. It's not like, the bed's are effective or ineffective. That's not really … Anne Zachry 48:05 Right. It's like, how are they effective? And what areas? Yeah. George Bailey 48:09 Yeah, yeah. Or, what about the scent? Is the smell of the space affecting anything? What about the temperature? And so there's so many variables. We do have the, kind of, virtue of being able to isolate those variables and create some constants that are not really, as easily achieved in normal experimentation. I actually had a really good conversation with Temple Grandin about this, an the thing that she said, that just blew my mind, I would not have been the one to think of this, she's very … Anne Zachry 48:43 Oh, her brain is just something else. Yeah. George Bailey 48:45 It's really amazing. The thing that she told me … she says, "Every kid who sleeps in your bed, the same sheets, the same mattress …" and then she laid it out, like, "This is what it's gonna look like," It's just like, "Oh, my gosh!" I immediately ran to my pencil and I'm just writing stuff down, going "Thank you! Thank you!" She's so … Anne Zachry 49:12 Yeah, the trial is … it's not comparable if everybody's not experiencing it under the exact same conditions. You can't compare one person's experience to another unless it's all identical. Yeah, that's the thing about clinical trials. George Bailey 49:24 And it was really refreshing to get her perspective on that. I feel she's very generous with her time. Anne Zachry 49:31 She is. George Bailey 49:33 And so that's one of the things that I like about events is that we can isolate a lot of factors like, look at, okay, so this is one of the things we're trying to get people to think about as we look at this as a solution is that, imagine every autistic child in the United States and adult. Now, imagine all of their different living situations. Some of them have big rooms, small rooms, most of them probably small rooms, you know, because we're not all wealthy… Anne Zachry 50:03 Right. George Bailey 50:05 … you know? Even the room, the shape of the room, the lighting in the room, the proximity to the city, some sleep right next to the train tracks … Anne Zachry 50:12 Right. George Bailey 50:12 … and so to be able to isolate, their kind of like, the … the ideal is really hard to do. And I like the idea that we're working towards that. And that we … were kind of, let's give a consistent and predictable environment in which to control for other variables. And then we can start really isolating different variables in a quantifiable way that may be causing some of the more serious issues that we're seeing. Anne Zachry 50:44 Totally makes sense. Well, so we're coming up now on … it looks like almost 50 minutes George Bailey 50:51 It's been … every bit, it's been fun. Anne Zachry 50:57 I know, this has all been, like, enthralling. So um, but I know that not everybody's gonna want to listen for like, hours and hours. So I think the big question that people are gonna have after listening to all of this and going, "Well, that sounds really cool. How much does it cost?" So what is the price point that … that parents if they're interested in looking into this, what are they looking at, you know, in terms of cost? I mean, even if a parent were to lay out money for this, there's a possibility it could be reimbursed by any of these agencies that have an obligation to their kids. So … but it's going to require, you know, proof of purchase and all that kind of stuff. I mean, what kind of price tag? George Bailey 51:33 So we've got the bed, as I've said, covered in states like Massachusetts, Missouri, Minnesota, Ohio, California, and Kansas, and we're gonna keep on working on that. Anne Zachry 51:42 Good. George Bailey 51:43 We're happy to kind of advise parents on how we think that can be best accomplished. They come out in June, the new version, because we sold out all of … all of our China inventory. Anne Zachry 51:55 Wow. George Bailey 51:55 We have a new Made-in-the-USA version that has upgrades all based on what we heard from parents. Anne Zachry 52:01 That's so cool. George Bailey 52:02 So the new one will cost $5,000, retail. That being said, the first 288, that we're going to be selling are going to be $2,800 each, and that shipping included on those 288. Anne Zachry 52:14 Okay. George Bailey 52:16 So we're going to cover the shipping on that. The reason why we want to get these out and want to get people experienced … I was gonna say that, we do have financing and such, but the fact of the matter is that if you are invested in trying this for your child, we are invested in finding a solution. We have been very fortunate to get some really great guidance on how to get these things funded, we really want to share that with people. Our website is zpodsforsleep.com. Anne Zachry 52:48 Right on. George Bailey 52:50 Feel free to reach out to us because we are so invested in these kids, and we just want to help in any way that we can. Anne Zachry 52:58 Well, that's really exciting. And all that being said, I mean, for me as a … as an advocate, someone who goes in and helps families advocate for these kinds of solutions for their children, you know, this is something that we regularly do. It's like, "This is cost-prohibitive for this family. It's not like we're asking for a $2.99 app, you know. This is this is an outlay of cash that is a necessary accommodation for this particular individual." Then, you know, I know that I can go … these are the kinds of things that I go to agencies for and say, "Look, you know, if it was something easy and out of pocket that this family could do, but this is this is an expenditure. And this is what these public resources are for." I'm really excited. I'm going to be looking on your website to see what you've already got up there in that regard … of how parents can go advocate for themselves to get these things. But I would also want our listeners to know that if you already have an advocate or an attorney that you're working with, and this is something you think might be appropriate, you would want to involve that person in the conversation as well. Because, they may know, you know, how the system works a little bit better in terms of rules and regulations to help you navigate those sharky waters and overcome whatever objections people might have. Because the agencies don't want to spend that kind of money either. And they're going to come back and say, "Oh," you know, "… you just want us to fly your kid to Hawaii and swim with the dolphins." And you know, it's like, "Look, dolphin therapy might be effective, but does it … does my kid needed to learn how to read? No." And so, you know, there's, you know, … I'm not, you know, I'm not the person who's going to go there and try and pitch some, you know, crazy, ridiculously expensive solution just because, you know. We're not trying to help people milk the system for things that are not what the system was designed for. But in an instance like this where, like you were talking about the one child who was on the verge of institutionalization, well, now you're talking about least … George Bailey 54:48 Yeah. Anne Zachry 54:48 … least restrictive environment, that in all of these programs, the … the commitment is to try and keep people in as non-segregated of a setting as possible, and to keep them as integrated with the rest of society as much as you can. And, you know … and also, when you're looking at it from a budgetary standpoint, which costs less? A one-time expenditure of five grand, or $8500 a month for a residential treatment facility, and to accomplish the same outcome? And so for those kids who are in that unique boat, I think that this is a serious conversation to be had. Because how many residential placements could be prevented by making the home environment more suitable? When you're talking about … it's really about ecological control. And all if for the … in the absence of ecological control, you're going to pack this kid off someplace and separate them from their support system and their family. You know that … that's never the best idea. And that's always the last resort. So if there's another layer of intervention that can come before that, that can prevent it, that's always important for everybody in the … in these lines of work to understand and know about … that this could be something that the agencies understand this is far less expensive than what the alternative is for some of these individuals. And it certainly is far more compliant and less segregationist. And so for everybody involved it's a better solution, if that's the case. And so I think that this is something that other advocates and attorneys need to be paying attention to as well, that this is something they could potentially be asking for if it suits the need. And if so, only an individualized assessments going to answer that question. And … George Bailey 55:03 And I would be happy to talk with any of those attorneys formulating strategy sessions. It's kind of our joy, to be able to help. It is funny, but I'll leave you with one last story. I know that we've talked a long time … about two months ago, I was helping a mother and I was in a hearing. I was not allowed to speak. They were asking about, kind of, like … they're looking for any sort of other low-cost, you know, a solution and this mom had tried everything. Anne Zachry 56:52 Right. George Bailey 56:54 Finally, the, kind of, opposing counsel, or whatever you want to call him there, was saying, "Well, this is … it's just changing their environment. That's all that they're doing. Why not change the room?" Like, "You can get … the room doesn't need to be that …" Something like that. I was just thunderstruck … Anne Zachry 57:11 Yeah. George Bailey 57:12 … by what I was hearing. I was like, "You're literally advocating that this woman move rather than just paying for the cost of the bed?" Anne Zachry 57:19 Right. Oh, yeah. It's like, "How can …" All the things I see. The stories I could tell, trust me. I mean, that's like the tip of the iceberg. And, and it always comes back down to, "We don't want to …" It's a "not out of my budget" mentality. George Bailey 57:36 Yes! Anne Zachry 57:37 It's not out of my budget mentality. You're … George Bailey 57:39 Very short sighted. Anne Zachry 57:41 … very short sighted. I mean, these are the same kinds of people who would rather criminalize a behavior and stick a kid in juvenile hall than pay for a BCBA to come in and provide a behavior program. And it's like, well, you know, "Even though it's going to cost the taxpaying public 10 times as much with, like, far more abysmal results to put them in the juvenile justice system, at least that's like coming out of my budget." And it's like, "What? You're gonna go home and pay taxes for that? Do you not understand this coming out of your personal budget?" And it's just the lack of wisdom. And so it's like, how did you get this job? You and I are encountering some similar issues just coming at it from a different perspective. And it this has been a very enlightening conversation, this has given me a lot of things to think about. I'm going
Patty: So we're here talking Deondre Smiles about Indigenous geographies. And I took like grade 10 geography that was the extent of my geography training, which means I learned about glacial movement and labeling rivers and all of that stuff. But I mean, first off, just the idea of Indigenous geographies from a land bank perspective is really interesting. Because colonial borders are one thing biozones are another thing. And so it's just seemed like a real this really fascinating topic that I know almost nothing about. So why don't you introduce yourself? Explain a little bit about your work and then and then we'll get into kind of what what we mean when we're talking about Indigenous geography.Deondre: Sure, I'd be happy to. So my name is Dr. Deondre Smiles. I use he him pronouns as well as the Ojibwemowin general pronoun win. I am a citizen of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, I'm of Ojibwe, Black, and settler ancestry is specifically Swedish. On my mother's side, my mother was Ojibwe and Swedish. My father was African American man from Oklahoma. And so I am currently an assistant professor of geography at the University of Victoria. I'm out on the west coast of BC, Canada. Some other interesting facts about me, I'm originally from Minneapolis, did a did a bachelor's degree in geography at a tiny little State University that probably noticed nobody's heard of in Minnesota, I did a master's degree in global Indigenous Studies at the University of Minnesota and did a PhD in geography at Ohio State where I also did a postdoc for a year as a, as a history postdoc. Well, they're kind of interesting things about me, I tend to not think of myself as a super interesting person. So usually, I'm at a loss about this. I also, also sometimes, trying to talk about myself is really hard, but that's perfectly alright.Probably the coolest thing about me are probably, you know, the people surrounding me right? Married to a wonderful woman for almost two years now we have a cat so um, that's probably what I'm, besides posting a lot of things about Indigenous geographies, on Twitter. I'm also well known for posting photos of my cat um, quite often. So I do that. I live out in Victoria. Most of the time, I'm actually talking to you tonight from Columbus, Ohio, where my wife is still here doing a doctoral degree at OSU. Back for our reading break, and doing some doing some other kind of appointment type of things. Avid musician. Yeah, that's pretty much that's pretty much me in a nutshell.I mean, obviously, there'll be far much more that we'll talk about here in this interview. But specifically when it comes to Indigenous geographies, because that's what I really describe myself is, my interests in that work are multifaceted, to say the least. And so there's kind of a couple of key strands of my work that I really have drawn upon. And the first one is what we would call critical Indigenous geographies, right? Like bringing the way that Indigenous peoples engage with space and place into conversations with power and race and economics and capitalism and colonialism and all these things. The other strand is what what we would call in the United States like tribal cultural resource preservation, probably north of the border in Canada would be you'd probably use a term of, you know, Indigenous resource management or a cultural resource management.And so a lot of my work over the last, oh, six years of my, my education and in my academic career have been focusing on the ways that tribal nations in the US and First Nations in Canada and Indigenous nations around the world have found very creative and unique ways to protect on cultural sites such as burial grounds against development and disturbance. That's been that was the focal point of my dissertation. And what I'm doing now at UVic is bringing in some of my other interests that such as science and technology studies, political ecology, or the studies of how politics and power engage with the natural environment. In an Indigenous research ethics in exploring the ways that these Indigenous nations are now using the lessons that they learn from defending the dead and applying that to more than human relatives such as you know, the land, water animals, plants, especially in an era of anthropogenic climate crisis that it seems like we as Western global northern society seem to have the throttle down, like at full in our hurdling ourselves straight into this.And I think it's important with that where you see a lot of discourse nowadays about oh, well, the world is ending we need to look at you know, colonizing space. And you know, what are we going to do when the world ends, and I draw upon really, really awesome scholars like Kyle White, and other Indigenous scholars, especially a lot of Indigenous women and Two Spirit and queer thinkers that say, well, Indigenous peoples have already lived through the apocalypse, right? Like we have already seen, the apocalypse happened on our lands, and in the ways that colonialism and capitalism seeks to sever us from those connections. And so maybe if folks actually listened to Indigenous peoples, we might be able to offer something about how we can deal with Apocalypse, and how it's not necessarily the end of the world, but maybe an opportunity for us to reframe how we are in relation with the world.And so that's the work that I do. I'm starting up a lab, a geography lab at UVic. In that regard, we call ourselves the Geographic Indigenous Futures lab, or GIF lab for short. While I say we have labs, mainly me right now, but I'm recruiting graduate students to work with me and work in the lab. So, if you're an Indigenous student who's really interested in space and place, and you want to go get a master's in geography, I'll make sure to drop my contact information here with the host some definitely come talk to me, I'm recruiting for fall 2022. Now, so I'll leave it there. Because otherwise I could do the time honored Ojibwe tradition of kind of going on and on and talking for a while, but we have, I'm sure you'd have some some questions you want to throw my way. And I'd love to just have a conversation with both of you. So thank you for having me.Kerry: You know, it's interesting, I just left the shores of BC. On Saturday, I was on the west side, visiting my family, my daughters out there. And the one thing that I will say about being in BC, especially in the Vancouver area, we were right in Burnaby. North Vancouver, like we were around places there is that you you pick up, the land speaks you know, there's there is no doubt that there is a sense about the space of BC that feels old and nurtured and loved. And that energy, that space of being in that can only have been curated by those who have known and understood this land.And interestingly enough, I was I was there spending time with my granddaughter. And I you know, Halloween was coming up. And she mentioned the idea of a zombie apocalypse. And so I thought it was so funny when you mentioned how we understand the land because what I had turned to her and said Is she was like, what if there's a zombie apocalypse Nanny. And I said to her, let me tell you something. We are people of Indigenous and of color. We've been there and done that. We don't, no nothing about the apocalypse is gonna sway us. And so she looked at me and she was like, Wow, is that true? And I said, look at where we are. This land is eons old, it has existed before us, and it will exist after us. And there are some of us that do understand this space.So with that, Deondre. My question for you is, are we listening anymore? Do you believe and it sounds like you know, I kind of feel that you may go this way that the the ears are now right, to truly hear the voices that are have always been an understood meaning out.Deondre: So yeah, that's a really, really great question. Kerry, I think that we are definitely in a position where the ears are more open than they were probably a generation or two ago. I mean, one of the things that I deal with as an Indigenous geographer is still this, this this overarching kind of thought that well, you know, why do you study Indigenous geography? You know, are there Indigenous people left? I think about in my PhD program, being at a departmental happy hour. Having fellow grad students decided that I was going to be the person to try to sharpen their theoretical claws on and say, you know, why do you do Indigenous geographies? Didn't didn't colonialism win? And I'm you know, I'm like, well, it didn't because I'm standing here right in front of you right now, you know, right likeBut, you know, these are the things that we have to deal with. I think that in the current political climate that we find ourselves here in North America, particularly, I think that people are starting to realize that Indigenous peoples have a lot to say about how to live in relation with the environment. And it's becoming more than the romanticized “Oh, yes, Indigenous peoples are these like, you know, very deeply spiritual folks that are out there, you know, living in community with the, with the, with the animals and things like that,” you know, this very kind of pseudo spiritual environmentalist BS that really infantilizes Indigenous peoples and kind of places us as part of, of the environment.And what they're starting to realize is, oh, no Indigenous peoples have, you know, these really complex systems of environmental stewardship, um in particular, some that my colleagues do really, really great work on, you know, ecologies of fire management and stewardship, or lands, you know, stewardship, that are based upon, you know, long standing, you know, worldviews and ontologies and epistemologies that have predated colonization, right.Um, you know, in particular, in BC, you know, having just dealt with the, you know, these massive fires that burned across the province this summer, I had a pyro geographer, who's from a tribe in California, come into my class just a couple of weeks ago. And he talked about fire. And he said, yet when I go around, and I talk to people about fire, for example, right, their first inclination is like, fire in forest and fire in the environment is bad, right? Like, you don't want wildfires and things like that. He says, No, if you actually do it, right, and you actually do do it properly, and you don't just you know, it isn't just some out of control fire, but it's done with an eye on the ecosystem and things like that, based on these cultural values that other tribal nations have have thought about, you can find that fire is like a really beneficial thing, for example, and it blew my students minds.I think the obstacle that we are facing right now, though, with this kind of opening of the ears, it's not that people aren't willing to listen, what we oftentimes have to deal with is that we still have to deal with ideas of theft of Indigenous knowledge, for example. So right now, I think we're kind of we go in and out of this, this framework where settler academics and settler policymakers, governmental leaders, like all of a sudden, you know, and I've noticed this in Canada, more than the United States, right? Where all of a sudden, it's really fashionable to be down with Indigenous issues, right? Where it's like, you know, oh, yes, we actually want to listen to you. But the type of listening that they do is based upon Okay, so how can I use this knowledge to help further my career? How can I use this knowledge to take it and I can use it to get grant funding or I can use it to get accolades that don't go back, that don't trickle down to the communities that did this, right. How can I listen? In the case of some academics, how can I listen so that I can use it against them and kind of shoot back at them? Oh, well, you know, your, your forms of knowledge are not scientifically rigorous, right? Like, you have to think about the science.I think the challenge is going to be actually listening and mastering the art of listening without preconceived thoughts about how you're going to respond and how you're going to act. Right, right, listening and actually taking what people have to say in mind. And you know, not thinking, Oh, well, I'm just going to listen and then I'm going to get a word in after that, but thinking okay, maybe I might have to sit with what they've said, especially if it's things that make people uncomfortable, I think we as as Western, a Western quote, Western global northern society are really, really quite bad at sitting with discomfort, like, we it's something that we want to get rid of. And a lot of times that discomfort is what you have to sit with. And that's actually where true growth kind of comes out of right? When you deal with those. Those awkward moments or the moments where you kind of feel like how the community is kind of taking me to task here, right? Like, I think we all kind of know that. Right?Like, I think about, I think about the times when my mother like you know that this strong Anishinaabekwe definitely let me know what's up. I mean, she she raised me with tough love sometimes. And you know, when I was a kid, I was like, Oh, this doesn't feel really good. And now that I'm still, you know, I just turned 31 this year, and I still feel like I'm still pretty, you know, I still have so much left to left to learn in life. I'm like, I'm really glad she did that. Because those are the moments we're actually kind of through and kind of learn things right. And so I think that that's going to be the next step for listening is you know, you listen not to capitalize or to exploit you don't listen just for you know, your kind of ego’s sake, but you actually listen and you almost towards a point where you kind of pass the mic to these communities to these Indigenous peoples and you allow them to start kind of guiding the conversations going forward.Patty: I wanted to start with your essay on George Floyd. Yes, just because it's it's an interesting way of thinking about Indigenous geographies and urban spaces, because we think of Indigenous places, we always think of rural spaces. So, you know, so I kind of wanted to start there, it's an urban space, it's a way of thinking about the way that the state acts on our bodies. And then you had another essay about autopsy. And those two put to those two reading one after the other was kind of really interesting things in my brain. Just because they and then the last one about radio just just seems like a nice place. It feels like life. Plus, it's kind of what Kerry and I do. It's not really radio, but it's independent Indigenous media. So yeah, so that George Floyd piece was really, I didn't realize that you were actually from, from Minneapolis.Deondre: Yep. Born, born and raised for the first few years of my life. As a matter of fact, the the apartments that I spent the probably the longest time in in South Minneapolis is about four blocks north of where George Floyd was murdered. One of those things and so I remember you know, the little convenience store, Cup Foods that he was killed in front of I remember that is a little kid passing by that. And I know that intersection quite well.And in kind of another another sort of panel that I talked about, about this, I was like, it's actually quite funny kind of taking a look at that apartment, because in 1994, right, my, my single mother was able to afford the rent in that apartments, I mean, we were, we were pretty poor, right? I think there was one bedroom and so I got the bedroom and my mom and then my dad when he was around, slept on an air mattress in the living room. And we were lucky enough that we were right next to Powder Horn Park, which is a major center for South Minneapolis as far as like recreation and things like that. I took a look at that apartment now. I can't, I can't figure we paid more than probably 500 or 600 bucks a month for it back then in the early 90s. And now it's it's pushing like $2,000 a month. And there's like a laundry list of all these requirements, right? That you have to make so much of this income and you can't do this and you can't do that. And I'm like, man, it's some shitty ass apartment in South Minneapolis. Right? And you're, you're acting like this is like, you know, a condo in Vancouver or something like that, because it now it's across from a park. And, you know, all of a sudden, you know, Minneapolis is now cool, again to folks to live in, right?You know, it's like I grew up in Minneapolis in the mid 90s. Like, we were like the most kind of like Wonder Bread like Midwestern city. I mean, it was cold all the time. And Minneapolis was not cool back then. I mean, it was cool for a lot of reasons, right? But kind of dominant society kind of us as “oh that Midwestern city.” And then, you know, around the time, unfortunately, I think like when Prince passed away and things like that, all of a sudden people are like, oh, yeah, Minneapolis might actually be a really kind of trendy place. And now you see that gentrification, but that's all kind of an aside of just kind of the changes that have happened. But yeah, my family's my family. My grandmother moved her kids down from the rez, from Leech Lake in the 19, late 1960s, early 1970s. And they've there's been members of my family that have lived in Minneapolis ever since. So if you have any, any viewers or listeners from South Minneapolis, we have many generations of South Highschool Tiger alumni in my family. So yeah.Kerry: I love thatPatty: To build on what you said, you talked about gentrification, you talk about the way certain places are framed as safe and dangerous. Depending on how the dominant society sees them, right, because there are neighborhoods, so we know how to live in them. And then even is like, you know, Ibram Kendi talks about this. And in one of his books, that even though he was from a neighborhood that the dominant culture may have thought was dangerous. He thought it was safe, and it was this other neighborhood …Kerry: And that is such an interesting sentiment everywhere we go. Because, once again, taking it back to being in BC last week. What I thought was fascinating is that parts of Burnaby in BC is, or parts of Burnaby are considered not necessarily the best areas. And when I drove through what vague, what's considered the hood in Burnaby, I was I just couldn't fathom this. That most a lot of those places had Land Rovers and Mercedes Benz outside, even though in the lot, you know, like outside in everybody's driveways, there was nothing that would have been like the stereotypical markers of what we would consider a hood. And so for me, what it really created in my space was this, this, you know, taking an inner look at how we take these perceptions of what we do call hood, versus what the reality is. And so I think it fits really well into the question that you're asking Patty, this idea of how, you know, the bigger culture can create these ideas or these lines, these red lines that make certain areas supposedly distasteful? I could not, I'm talking beautiful, you know, houses on a couple of acres, neighborhoods, it just it made no sense to me. But this was considered the hood. Couple of shootings that happened and all kinds of things. Very interesting demographic or way of thinking about it.Deondre: It really is, in terms of Minneapolis, right? I mean, in my lifetime, I've seen neighborhoods that were used to be considered gritty becomes suddenly these really hip places, right. For example, northeast Minneapolis, or as, as a lot of kind of hipsters like to call it nordeast Minneapolis. I mean, back in the 1990s, right, this was kind of an industrial neighborhood, kind of gritty, really blue collar. You know, there's nothing sexy about northeast Minneapolis. You know, fast forward 20 years now you have craft breweries and yoga studios, and places where you can buy kombucha and things like that, and now everybody wants to live over there.You know, the kind of the biggest thing when I talk about the Twin City is that people, they shake their heads, even in Minnesota, when I talked about it is, I always I always kind of bring up on like it during the era of Jim Crow segregation in the south, the worst segregation in the United States often was not in cities like Birmingham, or Atlanta, or Charlotte or places like that. The worst segregation, oftentimes were in cities like Minneapolis and St. Paul, because it had that veneer of being in the north, where, you know, the North fought against slavery in the Civil War, and kind of the, you know, the American mythos. And, you know, the North with, you know, through the Great Migration and things like that the North was viewed as this is by white Americans is like, Oh, yes, see, we're opening our doors to these Black Americans from the south.They would get to the north to find racist covenants in real estate deeds, and redlining, and things like that. You know, one of the biggest, the biggest proponents of segregation in the United States was Robert Moses right? One of these great urban planners that we hold up as I looked at all these things he did in New York City. Well, what he did in New York City, and other cities is designed highways to run right through Black neighborhoods and to divide white neighborhoods from Black neighborhoods. Right? It was like the 20th century version of the railroad tracks like the other side of the freeway. In St. Paul, in particular, the Rondo neighborhood, probably one of the most vibrant Black neighborhoods in Minnesota. found itself under under the under the bulldozer in the 1960s. When they decided, well, interstate 94 Need to go someplace, we're going to build it right through the middle of this neighborhood. There's nothing left of Rondo besides some street signs saying where it was, um,And so yeah, it, you know, North Minneapolis, which is probably you know, the area of Minneapolis that is identified the most with Blackness and also has this reputation of all this, that's where all the shootings happen, right. You don't want to be in North Minneapolis. I'm like, Well, you know, what, what happened was that, you know, these processes of segregation and things like that ended up instigating race riots, right. And then White Minneapolitans kind of said, well, we're moving out to the suburbs because North Minneapolis used to be one of the wealthiest areas of the city and then after these race riots that were caused by you know, neglect and all of these in all these different things white Miinesotans white, Minnesota said Okay, so we're gonna move out to these new suburbs and leave Black Mineapolitans in North Minneapolis, which then became kind of economically segregated and left and left largely to its its own plan kind of obsolescence right anytime. You know, though, the city will be really quick to take any credit for like any kind of, you know, major positive developments in North Minneapolis saying, oh, yeah, you see, Minneapolis is super diverse, super welcoming city and a lot of times is like no, that happens at a community to grassroots level,right.It's the kind of a funny story that I think I told in the article is around you know, around the time of the protests right, in Minneapolis or on the police precincts you you see it you saw a lot of folks from rural Minnesota in the suburbs, kind of jump on Facebook and say Oh, see, look how it look at those, look at those, quote, thugs rioting down there, right? Like, that's why that's why I'll never go to Minneapolis even though you know, these are the kind of folks that go to country music concerts at the baseball stadium, like once a year, and then like, leave and don't come to the city otherwise, and it's it, but that drives the dominant narrative, right?So people, my mother lives in North Minneapolis, and people are like, Isn't she like, you know, isn't she like, scared of living there? Like, isn't that dangerous? I'm like, No, it's not dangerous, right? It's like any other big city like you, you go there, you you, you handle your business. Um, you know, it's, you know, I can if I wanted to go, if I'll put it this way, right, it's like, you, if you go looking for trouble, trouble is going to find you. And it's going to find you, whether that's in North Minneapolis, or that's in 50th and France, which is like the fanciest neighborhood in Minneapolis, right southwest Minneapolis. But it just comes down to kind of the ways that you know, white settlers, quite honestly kind of paint these kind of narratives.Kind of one example that I don't think I talked about in that paper is, you know, the fact that Minneapolis is Dakota land. And when they talked about renaming Lake Calhoun Bde Maka Ska. It was it was kind of that moment, for the first time where people kind of saw how much masks could come off in then this moment, right. You had these people that live next to the lake, that was, you know, it's called Lake Calhoun. And it was named after a politician who was a major proponent of the system of slavery in the United States and help to, you know, support it and strengthen it in the in the early 1800s. You saw people kind of coming out saying, Why, why do we really need to rename this? Right? Why do we need to re rename it to Bde Maka Ska. Stop focusing, oh, it's gonna bring down our property values, right like that, that time honored, like, you know, dog whistle for oh, it's going to it's, you know, if it's viewed as anything other than white American, it's gonna, it's gonna hurt us.And people are like, wow, those people are being are being like, super racist. And folks like me are saying, those are the same people that that would be, you know, flying pride flags out in front of their house and having, you know, Black Lives Matter signs in their front yards, and saying, like, everyone is welcome here. You know, because they are in a neighborhood where they don't have to confront diversity, right? Diversity is something that is far away from them. And they're like, Oh, yes, it can stay over there. Like, we'll support it, but we wouldn't actually want it coming into our neighborhood.And then when you know, something as simple as a name change, you know, is threatening enough to them that they can be like, Oh, well, you know, if that's going to bring down the neighborhood, we don't want that. And so, I think kind of the whole kind of saga. And really what I tried to kind of attest to in this is that, well, you know, this really kind of ripped away kind of that veneer of the North, in the minds of a lot of people's being this really kind of a non-racist place, right? I'm like, it's just as racist as the South. And that if we understand that, and we and we think about those kinds of geographies of race as being something that is nationwide versus just, you know, just focused on the South, then we can actually really understand quite honestly kind of how fucked it is in the United States for a lot of folks and how we can really take concrete steps to try to push back against that, just like the the people that went out there on the streets in Minneapolis, I'm really, really tried to do Minneapolis and many other cities as well.Kerry: In it, when I think about, you know, all of what you just said, You're it what comes to mind, I think about this whole year I've been I've been spending some time doing some reflection on like cycles. How I see things cycling in and cycling out, right. And I really feel when you mentioned that pulling back the curtain like that idea of the veneer being stripped away. I think that's very profound. Ove, over the last couple of years, I think we've all had to go internally, and and or you can't gaze at the scenery, and not recognize that there is much that is not what it seems and as much as we may have settled in some complacencies about the way that we have viewed the relationships that we have with each other or that we've even had with the land because nobody can say that Mother Earth is not saying something back to us now.You know, what you started with a sense of we must listen, we must pull it back and really be willing to see it for all the dirt and grime that exists. And it, Are we ready now to add some soap and water hopefully it's environmentally sound and start to wipe away. Start to wipe away at some of this dirtiness that exists. And with that, like what? Where do you Where do we fit as people who, who may have this different viewpoint? Because we've been mired in some of that grime for a long time. Where do you think we can move ourselves? Or show up? You know, we're normally the ones that do we come with the grit? You know, what did they call the, you know, the Mr. Clean Magic, magic chalks or whatever we normally come in to do that deep cleaning. When do you think we fit in for that?Deondre: So yeah, so so people, so people like us, right, that are used to really kind of doing that deep cleaning, and kind of, you know, doing that kind of labor. I think that I really points to the next generation of really badass, Indigenous and Black and other, you know, scholars of color, activists of color, community members of color. You know, I feel like with every succeeding generation, we say, you know, we're aren't we're becoming more visible and we're become we're, we're ending up in places that we were not intended to be right.I think about as an Indigenous geographer. I think about 20 years ago, you would not see any of us in tenure track positions in institutions, I think, maybe, you know, I think for Black geographers that are better doing equally, if not more badass work, they would be the same thing, right? I think that you wouldn't see us it might be one or two in some vision, you know, very forward thinking visionary kind of departments. But you know, in my own departments, where I feel very, very fortunate to be it took a decade to do an Indigenous hire, right. And there they are so happy to have one but you know, we geography in particular, like we can be such a such a kind of a backwards kind of looking discipline and where we're constantly kind of tied to the past and kind of still trying to maneuver how to bring bring geography into the present.And you know, when that when those conversations happen, I'm like, Well, what does the future of geography look like I always kind of say, look to like the Black, the Indigenous and the other scholars of color, especially the ones from the Global South, right? They are the ones, we are the ones I try not to use weeks, I'm like, it's gonna be all these people that are in school right now that are going to really use the work that we've done as a launching pad to really do some really, truly exciting things. And I think that happens outside of academia as well. You know, the saying that often gets put in, you know, you see it on memes on Facebook, and you also see it on Twitter a lot, you know, you know, these Indigenous students, these Indigenous children are, you know, quote our ancestors, wildest dreams. I'm like, you know, it might sound kind of hokey, but I'm like, that's actually really super tricky, right? It's the truth,Kerry: hey, I have a bought my T shirt yet, but I so want one, I so want one because that state saying being our ancestors’ wildest dreams is the truth. And you touch something that I think is so important, and I just wanted to spend maybe a second here is, you know, Deondre, tell us what brought you to geography. And you know why, I was speaking to my husband recently. And we were talking about, you know, some of the rappers that are existing like the King Vons of the world, and, you know, some of the spaces where, you know, we've seen Black folk show up in what has been our traditional ways out of being, and yet you said something to me that I thought was so profound when you mentioned that, you know, being a Black geographer, has been, you know, you're trailblazing in certain ways.You're, you're creating and showing up in ways that you may not have been able to before. And I think that message is so important. For those of us coming up, though, not us. I'm a little more seasoned, but those coming up like my grandchildren's generations coming up, to recognize that there are these opportunities that you don't got to be in the NBA, and, you know, a mumble rapper, to be able to show some semblance of success. Could you tell us a little bit about how you did it? What brought you there? You know, cuz geography, you know what, it’s geography?Deondre: So that's a great that's a great question. Sorry, to sorry to interrupt. There I am. Yeah, I resonate with that. There's a lot of really, really good basketball players in my family. Actually, I was not one of them, I was a swimmer in high school, actually. So I've always kind of been that person that's kind of kind of walked a bit of a different path. And so there's two people, well, really one person and then a community that I really want to credit with kind of inspiring me to take the path that I that I've taken and so the first one is, is my mother.So why I really like geography is my mother from a very early age. She, she was always really big on education, it was something that she she felt very strongly about. You know, one of the things that she would do when I was in high school is she said, there was no question of like, Oh, what am I going to do when I when I graduate high school? She's like, No, you're going to college, right? You're, you're going to go to college. And so she would wake me up every morning. And she would say, like, oh, you know, good morning, kid who's going to go to college, right.But that, the framework of that started when I was two or three years old, and she would bring me to the library in South Minneapolis, right. And I would check out books and I would read the newspaper on my, I was reading from a super early age. And I would get maps, right, I also would like look at maps. And I really, really enjoyed maps, because it was always it was always really fun to look at them. And imagine that I was going places, right, like tracing the roads and kind of thinking, what would it be like to go here? What's this place like, it really inspired a curiosity about different places.You know, growing up in growing up, as we did, you know, I didn't really get a lot of opportunities to travel. But when we did, I always really enjoyed it. I remember we went out to went out to an Indigenous march in Colorado Springs in like the mid-1990s right about, you know, honoring treaty rights and things like that. And I really, really loved it. Um, I remember having my map kind of tracing the path that we were taking and learning, you know, seeing the new cities on street signs and things like that. Um, and it's just something that I always kind of picked up because of that, because she exposed me to it at an early age. I found that geography classes in elementary and middle school in high school, were the classes that I got easy A's in right? Um, the one story that I often tell on Twitter is, I almost got into trouble in high school because I wrote a paper about South Africa, and I had researched it so thoroughly that the teacher thought I plagiarized it, it was like, it was miles beyond what a high schooler would write, was expected to write. And so it was one of those things when it came time to go to college. You know, it wasn't, you know, it wasn't a question of, if I was going to college, it was like, Okay, where are you going to college? Because like, my mom wasn't gonna, wasn't gonna just let me not go.But also, you know, when I thought about the majors, right, I was immediately like, Nope, I'm going, I'm going into geography. That was actually the big determining factor in where I applied to school. I was like, does it have a geography program? If it doesn't? I'm not, I'm not applying here. If it does, then then I am. And so that was, that was what led me to it.And then when I got to school, I kind of thought, Well, what do I want to do with a geography degree? And I kind of thought, well, maybe I want to do like land surveying, or maybe I want to be a cartographer. But the American Indian Center at my school, we would do this yearly Spring Break service trip, and we would go out, they had a relationship with the Northern Cheyenne Nation in Montana, and we would go out there. And so the year that I went, we went out there. And they took us on a tour of the communities.And they told us a story of the Northern Cheyenne people. And one of the big stories, big, big parts of their history is they said, Well, we our homeland is here in Montana, in the mountains. And these foothills, we were relocated down to the Great Plains by the US during, you know, the era of of treaty making and treaty breaking and relocation and things like that. And they said, Well, what we did is we we loved our homeland so much that we, you know, we as a people took off and fled back to Montana, and the US military chased them. And there was a there was a series of military conflicts, right, like the Battle of the Little Bighorn of the battle Greasy Grass happened not very far from the Northern Cheyenne homeland. And it was kind of part of the history and they said, We, you know, because of the resistance and the bravery that we, we showed up, the US decided that they would allow us to stay here in our homelands.And they talked about, you know, having conflicts over resource extraction, that, you know, companies want to come in and mine coal on the reservation. And they they've said, Well, we as a community have, you know, a lot of us have are the feeling that we would rather live in our homelands and be and be poor, and be economically disadvantaged, versus allow them to basically tear our land apart for any kind of short term, like economic gain. And it kind of was something that really inspired me and I was like, This is a story. This is a story about a story about a love for a place love for land rights.And I was like, well, geography is about space and place, but we often don't bring the emotion into it. We don't, we don't bring these Indigenous perspectives. And so that pretty much was like okay, so I want to bring Indigenous perspectives into geography. And then, you know, pretty much any hope for me to do any kind of other type of geography was pretty much on me down the drain at that point, and that's really kind of led me on the the the work that I do to the present day,Kerry: A couple of things I have to say, first of all, I know your mom has got to be proud of you. Your mom has got to be so proud of you. You know, you you're just an exemplary young man. And and I know that as a grandmother as a mother, I could be totally doing the ups for you. So that's first.Second is what I really love about your story and your retelling of it, is how you followed your passion. I think it's so important to point out that every one of us, I think, as you take your journey, we have something that is a spark, and, and really tapping into what that interest is. And then following that space, is the key to your freedom, it is the key to being able to be and living in your best space. And I know this is a little aside, but to me, it almost is about a geography. Because even our personal journeys is marked with a path, it's marked with a set of markers that allow us to be in our highest space. And so, life imitates our passions and our arts.Patty: Yeah, no, I love I love that because that's clear in you know, kind of in the papers that you write the the layering over, of Indigenous perspective on on this space. And I was just because that was the advice that I gave to my kids, you know, if you're going to go to university study something you love, if we're, if you're going to spend that money, study something you love, because there are careers and opportunities and things that you don't even know exist right now. And they will either they will cross your path, as you walk it you know, as as as you get there like Mariame Kaba, when she talks about abolition, you know, we walk this path of abolition and the opportunities, possibilities that we don't even know about, well, you know, we will build the world we want by walking this path.But I also want to remember that not everybody has the ability to do that. Right? That there's, I mean, privilege might be the wrong word. But opportunity. There's also you know, there's also certain necessities, right? Sometimes, you know, people may have obligations or things that, you know, so we also need to think about creating this world where people can follow their passions in this beautiful way. Because like I was making the world a better place when we can do this, when we're not getting our soul sucked out of us. Because we have to do this thing that pays the bills.And that's, I think, where this generational stuff comes in, you know, the Deondre, you had talked about, you know, what are the you know, are the children of today kind of being our ancestors’ wildest dreams? Because I think about that, whenever I go to powow, my favorite thing, about pow wow? You know, and I don't know, Kerry, maybe, maybe the parallel is, you know, watching watching people play spades, I don't know, when the old ones are dancing with the young ones. And I look at the old ones and I think you remember, when this was illegal, when our ceremonies were illegal, when, you know, when you sang hymns in church to cover up the organizing that was happening in the basement, because our gatherings unless we were gathering in church, it was illegal, you know, we weren't allowed to gather together. But the young ones, they don't know that world. Right? So my generation, kind of the sandwich generation, we have the trauma from our parents, and then the push through of our generation of trying to, you know, blaze this path or make this path even possible.You know, and then, you know, Deondre, you are the next generation, I'm afraid because I'm 56. So your generation behind me, you know, kind of emerging into these possibilities. And then these ones who are coming next, they don't even know, this is all just normal to them. Being able to be an Indigenous geographer, and to layer Indigenous realities over these colonial spaces that are themselves layered over Indigenous reality. So there's just that's just really cool to me.And we've kind of gone off of my plan for the conversation which is like totally fine. That's that's a much better conversations. But I do want to end with your with your piece about listening to native radio, just because that's just so hopeful and beautiful talk and it made me think of Smoke Signals. Have you ever seen the movie Smoke Signals? I'm dating myself now. He starts off with a good day to be Indigenous, It’s A Good day to be an Indian. So, what prompted this article about listening to native radio as, as an Indigenous geographer to think about Native radio? Because I loved it.Deondre: So that is an awesome question. And it actually speaks to the importance that I place on working with people from different academic backgrounds is me and thinking about things in a different way. I think a lot of times in the spaces that I that I'm in, I get this reputation as somebody that thinks a little bit outside the box, where it's always people are always like, well, that's not that's not possible. And I'm like, well, that's not possible, if you think about it in the way that you're thinking about it. But you know, how can we make it possible.And so in my master's degree, I was really, it was a wonderful interdisciplinary degree. My, the program director of that of the Master of Liberal Studies program at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, which is what it's, it's kind of shifted to something else now. But he was a rhetorician. And he does a lot of Media Studies things. And so he was really good, or he's really good at at many things. Back then probably the thing he was the best at was irritating me because he would always ask, well, what is geography? And I tell him all these things, and I would say, Well, you know, it's really wide, wide, ranging and multifaceted. And you'd be like, Well, if that's the case, then is there really such a thing as geography, right? If geography can do everything, then what is geography? And I'm like, no, no, we have disciplinary boundaries.And of course, now I really kind of come around to the thinking of like, Yeah, we actually really don't have for a, for a field that really focuses on maps and political spaces and things like that, you know, among other things, we are, we really have rather porous boundaries, and we're always in the risk of kind of like, falling away from each other, which, you know, maybe that's what geography might do in the next few generations is maybe we might turn into something else as we, which, you know, may or may not be a bad thing.But anyways, because of his interest in rhetoric, he had me do a lot of media related stuff. And so one of the projects that I did was I there's this television show produced by the PBS affiliate in Duluth, called Native Reports, um probably one of the best television shows out there about Native American and Indigenous culture. Um, you can actually watch it on on YouTube, if you live away from Duluth, which I'm assuming 99% of the of the listeners and viewers probably do. But he had me analyze that. And so I watched like, two seasons of Native Report. And I went through and I was like, here's all the things they talk about, here's the geographic locations, here's all these things. And I did that for a project paper.And then I started kind of a sequel to it where I'm like, Okay, so there's, there's the Indigenous radio stations as well. And I kind of want to kind of, and those, those things are more accessible on those, they've been around a lot longer than these television shows. So so let's see what they do. And I kind of started the project. And then I moved on to other things. And I graduated with my master's and I kind of left it alone. And then we fast forward, you know, three years after I get my master's, you know, this old, this old mentor and program director is like, Hey, I'm pulling together this special issue on listening, your radio piece is basically really close to being ready for publication, you should put it out. And so I sat down, and I kind of, I did more content analysis. And so I actually listened to a bunch of tribal radio stations in Minnesota, I spent like, half a summer doing that just sitting there when I was doing work, listening to the radio is like a really kind of it was really a really relaxing form of data collection, it kind of brought me back to being a little kid listening to you know, listening to the radio when I was growing up, right, I actually I did that I didn't watch a whole lot of TV, but I listened to talk radio a lot and things like that.And so I listened. And I was like, you know, what kind of music are they playing? What kinds of messages are they saying Are there are any kind of geographical references, all these things. And by the time I got done with with listening and looking at reports about things, I took a look and I'm like, Man, this is actually a really, really good paper that ties together geography and community, right kind of saying, here's the ways that these radio stations can foster a sense of community and foster a sense of connection between Indigenous and non-Indigenous listeners. And so I submitted it. To my surprise, they got accepted, right? That was like my second ever published article.But you know that paper, I really felt that as like, this is a really, really good way of talking about how community can be formed in some some of the most everyday kind of ways and how things as mundane as weather reports, or public service announcements, or even just the basic news can really tie people together in these really kind of enduring ways. And so it's one of my, it was one of my favorite articles to write. And I'm really glad that I'm glad that it's still picking up traction, right? I never imagined two years after writing that, that I'd be, I'd be talking about it on a on a major, you know, on a major program about some, you know, Indigenous issues and things like that. SoKerry: The ties that we create, when we allow ourselves to just go into our own spaces, and I, I, I'm really, really loving all parts of this conversations, even the parts we veered off on, because I think what I'm really going to walk away from this conversation with is how deeply we are tied to our passions. Like we we can create these unique medicines, these unique ways of, of looking at some of these enormous problems or what feels like they are enormous problems, when we come in it come at it from these unique perspectives. And with an open mind and our creative hearts. That's what's really going to tap away at some of these problems that exists. So thank you, Deondre for being such a reminder of that space. You're right, that thinking out of the box. That's your superpower, I would agree with you. It's definitely a superpower. And we're into those here. We're into those here.Patty: Yeah, that was that was really neat. Because when I when we think about it, because we think sometimes, you know, but you know how great social media is. And it is I mean, that's how I connect with you know, there’s so many, that's how I found you found each other on Twitter, and I find so many interesting people that way. But these are corporations, right? Like, they're corporations with algorithms, and they exist to make money. And the fact that, you know, my husband and I were just talking about this a few weeks ago, you know, he's talking about Google, and how Google, you know, just gives all this stuff away for free, you know, with the maps and the searching and everything and I’m like, that's right. Because if you're not paying for the product, guess what, you are the product. So there's limits to you know, kind of how great social media and these things can be.And we were talking about, you know, so we were just talking about, you know, how we form connections. And then, you know, looking at your paper, it's, it's these, these smaller, independent things that we do, because we've got like national radio and national this and national that, but it's these small local connections and, you know, in podcasts to you, because we form kind of smaller communities, and we're talking to each other. Right. So we're not as like, like, there's no code switching. I'm not concerned about my white audience. And what my white, I'm always surprised that white people listen to this. Because I'm not concerned about their feelings. I'm not concerned, I'm concerned about having Indigenous conversations about Indigenous things. I'm concerned about listening, you know, to Black voices, and to Afro Indigenous voices, because that's a world that I don't walk in, that's not my worldview, I need to listen and I need to cede power when necessary. You know, I need to pay attention to when I don't know things, and be willing, be willing to listen to that.So. So that reminder that these things, these, you know, native radios, and zines and podcasts and all of these ways that we communicate amongst ourselves, how important these things are. Because we live in diaspora, right? We have a homeland here on this continent, but we still but we're still in diaspora I do not live, it's a 24 hour drive. And I'm still in Ontario. If I want to go home, I drive for 24 hours, I'm still in Ontario, I'm going up and around Lake Superior. I don't live at home. I'm connected to them through various ways. And I'm connected to that geography through various ways. So thank you, thank you for this conversation and reminding us that geography isn't what I thought it was in grade 10. It's not labeling that some coloring rivers blue, it's …Kerry: Longitude and latitude, that’s what I remember.Patty: it's, it's our lives, our lives, our connection to each other into place. And that's really beautiful. And thank you, thank you so much.Deondre: It's, it's absolutely my pleasure. Yes. As a matter of fact, the experiences that you talk about, I mean, we I get, I get so many students that talk about like, Oh, I didn't know that geography could be all these things because the way that that you're taught it in grade school is such a limited kind of way. And that's where sometimes I kind of push. And I say, hey, we, you know, in geography, we're like, why is it that so many students come to us from other other departments? Right? It's like geography is one of those great majors in the university that it's, it's something that people kind of come to, there's very few people like me that come into come into college or university thinking, Oh, I'm going to do geography. A lot of times they happen to take a class for their Gen Ed's, or things like that. And they say, Oh, hey, this is actually really, really cool.And I and that's when I kind of pointed on … we need to be bringing this perspective, to a holistic kind of viewpoint, we're right away. And in elementary school, and we're teaching children about maps and things like that. We're also teaching them about the ways that geography is really tied to our everyday kind of lives. Right? That's what that's one of the big themes of every single class that I teach is I say, well, geography is not some abstract thing that you kind of put away and you don't deal with it.I mean, there's, you know, in particular, when I teach a world regional geography, which I'll be doing again, this spring at UVic, I do an assignment where I say, Okay, I want you to tell me your daily routine, right? Where do you go? What you know, when you commute to school? What routes do you take, what buses do you take? Do you drive? What route do you take to your campus? Like, where do you go to eat? Where do you go to shop? Where do you go, you know, when you're hanging out with your friends, if you're taking, you know, taking somebody out on a date, if you're going for a swim when you're doing all these things, and I tell them start writing that down? Let's make a map of your daily life. And I'm like, That's geography right there. It is not like What's the capital of BC? Or what latitude is Valparaiso, Chile on, right, it is how do you relate to space in place?And I think that if we do that, um, you know, people are going to well, more people will come around to geography, but also, I think that may be some of the horror story that I hear so much are people in their high school geography classes or elementary school geography classes. My wife has told me some of her is actually, actually she's a she's an audiologist. So she's about as far away from geography as you possibly can be, except I'm always one that's like, oh, no, we can do things that are audiology and geography, I think of a good colleague of mine, um, Arianaa Planey, at the University of North Carolina, and badass Black geographer who she's in a, she's in a public health program. Now, she's done things related to, you know, geographic access to audiologists and things like that. And so, like, Hey, we're pretty much everywhere. Right? Geographers have fingers in pretty much every single academic pie that's out there. You just gotta, you just gotta know where to find us and kind of look for our hallmarks of who we are and in what we're doing. So yeah ..Kerry: I really appreciate this for the creativity of it. You know, sometimes when you think about, you know, being an academic or being in a space of puts us in a box, and you know, staying in that, you know, curvature of that well, there's not a curvature, keeping it in the perimeter of that box. This conversation, lets us know that everything can be in the flow. And I like that rhyming. So I'm going to stop right there, Deondre, and say, Thank you so much thank you for all that you brought to the show. I appreciate you so much.Deondre: Thank you very much. It's been an honor and a pleasure. Hence, you know, I can't even believe that we've been talking for an hour. It's like, I feel like we've just been going for ten minutes.Patty: I know, these hours go by so fast.Kerry: They do.Patty: Alright, well, thanks again. And yeah, I guess you're on the list to come back.Kerry: Right. You know, what I was really thinking I would love to have you back with the our archaeologist and let's have a conversation about how, you know, geography may have shifted and changed and what has happened in the spaces of those I would kind of be interested …Patty: Do you mean Paulette? Paulette Steeves. You knew Paulette right?Kerry: Yes Paulette.Deaondre: Paulette yup.Patty: Because yeah, cuz we had Paulette and then last time we chatted was with Keolu Fox and You've done work with Keolu, like these three know each other so .. we’ll figure something out. We gotta go. It was lovely talking to you. See you on twitter!Deondre: Yes, this was a great time, thankyou very much, I look forward to the next time I get to see you all. Kerry: Good byePatty Good byeDeondre: Good bye This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit medicinefortheresistance.substack.com
In today's lesson plan, we bring you a Gen Ed that everyone has to take to get their BS in BS: Roommate Etiquette 101. Gerald joins the podcast to spill the beans on some of the Golden Rules for Roommates that the BS in BS hosts broke during college. Listen to find out how to avoid those rookie mistakes. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
In her own words: I am a wife, mother to one amazing daughter, and a fully trained human to a Chihuahua. I am a certified special education teacher and have been a special educator for 30 years. I now work as a special education consultant, Master IEP Coach® and am a member of the Master IEP Coach® Network. I've worked in the United States and England. During my career I developed my own behavior modification system that worked with all my students, which equates to hundreds of students. I am the author of “Those Who ‘Can't…' Teach”, a video podcast host of #nolimits and “Friday with Fran”. I am making the world better for all, one IEP at a time. Today we ask her about IEP's, the behavior modification system she's developed, what led her to educating and consulting, and her experience thus far. Enjoy! In this episode Peter and Shelley Kenow discuss: 2:10 - Intro and welcome Shelley! 3:30 - What called you to work in Special Education? 7:09 - What are the basics, what is the overview of the behavior modification system you've implemented? 8:12 - On the different ways to ‘listen' for behaviors 11:18 - On the concept of what ‘other' people find appropriate; who makes those ‘rules'? 13:00 - Learning how everyone has their own uniquely wonderful lens 13:44 - How are things for the neurodivergent in Europe/What was your experience like? 16:37- How can people find more about you and what you're doing? www.shelleykenow.com on LinkedIN YouTube @shelleykenowiep on INSTA @ShelleyKenowIEPconsultant on Facebook and via email: shelley@shelleykenow.com 17:22 - Thank you Shelley! Guys, as always, we are here for you and we love the responses and the notes that we get from you; so please continue to do that! Tell us who you want to hear on the podcast, anything at all; we'd love to know. Leave us a review on any of the places you get your podcasts, and if you ever need our help I'm www.petershankman.com and you can reach out anytime via peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterNormal on all of the socials. It really helps when you drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven't already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! 17:53 - Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits — TRANSCRIPT: I want to thank you for listening and for subscribing to Faster Than Normal! I also want to tell you that if you're listening to this one, you probably listened to other episodes as well. Because of you all, we are the number one ADHD podcast on the internet!! And if you like us, you can sponsor an episode! Head over to https://rally.io/creator/SHANK/ It is a lot cheaper than you think. You'll reach... about 25k to 30,000 people in an episode and get your name out there, get your brand out there, your company out there, or just say thanks for all the interviews! We've brought you over 230 interviews of CEOs, celebrities, musicians, all kinds of rock stars all around the world from Tony Robbins, Seth Godin, Keith Krach from DocuSign, Danny Meyer, we've had Rachel Cotton, we've had the band Shinedown, right? Tons and tons of interviews, and we keep bringing in new ones every week so head over to https://rally.io/creator/SHANK/ make it yours, we'd love to have you, thanks so much for listening! Now to this week's episode, we hope you enjoy it! — Hey, everyone. Welcome to another episode of Faster Than Normal. Today's an interesting day. It is the day before I leave for Paris. Um, another international trip coming up, which is normally not that big of a deal, but I am dealing with the joy of COVID testing in multiple cities, in multiple places. So I am currently talking to you, uh, with a stick up my nose. I'm about to put it into a little home test and see what kind of results we get. So that being said, who are we talking to here? We're visiting with Shelley Kenow. And I hope I pronounced that right. She's an education consultant. Today's concept is going to be all about education. We're going to talk about ADD ADHD and education. Shelley is a wife, a mother to an amazing daughter, and a fully trained human to a Chihuahua. I love that. She's a certified special ed teacher. She's been a special educator for over 30 years, working as a special education consultant now, and a master IEP coach. She's worked in both in the US and England and during her career, she's developed her own behavior modification system that works with hundreds of students. She's the author of “Those Who ‘Can't…' Teach” and she does video podcasting and makes the world better for all one IEP at a time. Welcome! How are you doing? Thank you, Peter. I'm doing well. And I'm sorry to hear that you have a stick up your nose. Well, it's no longer there now it's in a little device and I'm going to wait 15 minutes and see to get again. For whatever reason I don't have COVID, you know, I gotta tell ya. I two and a half years almost. I was, I was in China when, when Wuhan, I was a thousand miles south when the virus was discovered. And, uh, I was, I went back to Asia three times before they, before. Uh, a thing and I was all over the world. I was in a Peloton class with 60 journalists from around the world, uh, in studio, um, the morning that everything was shut down in New York city. So the fact that I didn't never got it is just a lottery, but it's pretty crazy, but I hope that was a safe as well. Tell us what got you into special ed that's that's a, yeah, that's not something you do for the money. So you must have really loved, loved what you do and still love what you do. Tell us about your background and your history and, and sort of how that started. Yeah, no, certainly didn't get into it for the money and didn't get out of it because of the money. Um, I, when I was nine years old, I knew I wanted to be a teacher, but I wanted to teach students in the general education population and wanted nothing to do with special education students, because I didn't think that I was capable or that I had the right stuff, whatever that is, uh, in order to, to really be a good educator for those who had disabilities, um, throughout my, from the time I was nine, until I decided, yes, I'm going into special education, which was around the age of 25, I had that thought of, oh, you should teach special education. And I thought, Nope, Nope. That's not the path I'm supposed to take. That's not what I'm going to do. Um, I didn't have anyone in my family that had any disabilities. I didn't have friends that had any. And so I really didn't have any experience with anybody and your audience. Can't tell probably by my voice and you can't see me, but I'm 51 years old. So this was, you know, I was growing up in the time when the law was just coming into practice and things were just starting to change as far as kids with special education needs. And yet I never saw anybody with special education needs. Um, it wasn't until I was, um, Much older that I realized there had been a classroom down the hall from me when I was in third grade. That's where the special education kids were. We didn't see them, they didn't have lunch with us. Um, you know, the, the whole idea of inclusion at that time was non-existent right. And so I just really had no idea. Well, then the Lord put me in jobs where I was working with kids who had different needs. And I didn't realize that they were the ones who were considered special education, because I didn't know they had an IEP or an individualized educational program if somebody doesn't know what that is and, um, and I absolutely fell in love. And the thing that really shifted for me was a position that I had when we lived in England and I worked with kindergartners who had IEP's and two of them had major behavioral issues that, um, we were able to address and help them. And I saw such a significant change from the beginning of the school year to once we, um, put a behavior intervention plan in place and were able to help these little guys, that was it. That was the final thing for me, where I just said, I've got to do this. This is absolutely what I love and I'm passionate about. And then for the next. I don't even know how many years, um, started working with special education, finished up my degree to be able to do that, then had my own classroom develop this behavior modification system where it really is something that applies at every age. Um, but because I was teacher, I used it with my students. I might've used it on my husband, but don't tell him I said that. Um, hehe, and I, I just absolutely every student that I worked with, it worked, it worked in varying degrees. It works with kiddos in individual settings, in small group settings, and in large group settings, it was used at one of the school districts where I worked with whole class General education students. And it was parts of it, not all of it, but it was able to, to, uh, show progresses in there as well. So talk, talk a little bit about it. So, you know, for an ADHD and sort of, sort of ADD perspective, what are the, what are the basics, give us the overview. So the idea, the first main point of it is having a relationship with the student. Now that doesn't mean that you take them out for ice cream or that you, you know, do anything outside or, or even anything big. It's just a matter of letting the person know that you really do care about them. You really do want what's best for them. And having that understanding goes a long way and how much trust the person will give you in order for you to be able to walk alongside them and help them figure out, okay, why are you having this behavior? What is this behavior communicating? All behaviors are communication. So what are you trying to communicate? And when you're talking about younger children, especially, they don't often know what their bodies are trying to communicate. Um, and. Or what their behaviors are trying to communicate. It often comes out through body, um, behaviors, you know, they're, they're fidgety there.. and it could be that their body just needs movement, that could truly be what they're trying to communicate. Instead of saying, look, you know, you need to sit still or you need to sit in a desk or you need to, um, stop paying attention to everything and only focus on the teacher, understanding that some of those things are just how their body is built is what we need to know, and we need to get the person to know that about themselves as well. So walking, alongside, figuring out what the behaviors are, trying to communicate, adapting what we are doing as the person walking alongside and helping the person, um, who's exhibiting the behaviors, possibly find what they need in order to be able to safely and appropriately exhibit whatever behaviors that they have, um, you know, for somebody who has maybe ADHD, that they need a lot of movement, maybe it's getting them some sort of resistance bands on their desks or that they can hold, or, um, if it's something that, uh, you know, as far as being able to focus, um, giving them some sort of a fidget or, um, some sort of other sensory input that will maybe give them what they're looking for. I'm not a huge proponent.. I don't, I don't automatically go to medicine, but medicine is also something that can help and, you know, so just trying to figure out all of those nuances of, okay, there's a person, and usually we don't pay attention to behaviors that we want; we only pay attention to the unwanted behaviors. So figuring out how somebody can express what they need to say in a way that society ‘approves' and that is ‘socially acceptable' and safe..and that's really the biggest one, um, for that person. And then when they have that time, when they do misbehave, rules are there. We have to have rules. And one of the other things that I say is you have to be consistent, with exceptions. So what I mean by that is when a rule is broken, the rule is broken; there has to be a consequence. However, that consequence doesn't have to be the same thing every single time. and it doesn't have to be the same consequence for every single person it's having that relationship and knowing like, okay, why did this child misbehave again, going back to the behaviors or communication, what is going on? That you know, is this something that they really had control over? Did they not get enough sleep? Is there trouble at home? Do they not understand the material that we're covering? Um, what is it that is controlling that behavior and then determining like, okay, look, yes, you broke the rule. Yes, you need to have a consequence, but maybe instead of jumping all the way to the most severe consequence, we just give you a mild one this time, but you have to have a consequence because you did disobeyed the rules. Brings up an interesting question, you know, the concept of, um, you, you mentioned doing things that other people find appropriate. Right? Right. Um, you know, w w who's who's drawing those rules, who's making those rules for what is and what isn't appropriate, you know, God knows. I am not. Uh, when you think about me, you don't necessarily think appropriate, uh, all the time, right. So, you know, what, what defines those rules as appropriate. And, and, and, uh, I guess, I guess I asked that question because I've always thought the concept of telling a kid you're not appropriate in a lot of ways, because I mean, not all the time, but sometimes can equate to you're different than everyone else, right? And you have to find that difference between being inappropriate by society standards and then just being different, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Absolutely. No, absolutely. Like you talk about, you know, it's ‘a superpower. Um, especially ADD and ADHD, that is a major super power. People who have that, you can multitask. And that's a thing that I can't do, um, to be perfectly honest, but who determines if it's appropriate or not? That's kind of why I use the word wanted and unwanted because a classroom teacher determines what behaviors they can tolerate and what behaviors they can't and what behaviors they want and what behaviors they don't want. Parents, we do the same thing and every person who is applying that ‘appropriate or wanted' views things differently. And so that's the other thing is like, okay, you know, kind of getting the, the broad overview of quote unquote, socially acceptable norms, as far as behavior goes, But also being able to embrace exactly what you said. Like I'm, me and I am a wonderful person the way I am. And if some person has a problem with my, my behaviors, then that's as much on them, because their behavior is communicating something also. So learning, you know, that, hey, everybody's gonna look at you with a little bit different lens; that doesn't change who you are in your wonderfulness, that's on them and how they're dealing with their own wonderfulness, and how those two things interact with each other. No question about very, very cool. So this has been implemented in school districts. Is that what, how, when did you live in Europe and, and what's the, is there a different mindset, um, over there in terms of kids who are different? Um, I know that in Asia, it's, it's huge. It's a huge difference compared to America. What's it like in Europe? When we lived in England, it was in the middle nineties. My husband was military at the time. And so we lived on a military base. Uh, it just so happened that prior to us moving onto the base, we lived, um, on the economy as they call it. And there was a school basically in our backyard. So I volunteered at that school and they do have at that time. And I don't know if it's still that way today. They had a very different approach as to, it was much more individualized in the Gen Ed setting. Um, people were working on the same subjects, but they were working maybe on slightly different levels within those subjects. So they might all be learning the same concept, but as far as how much practice they did or the exact level of that concept, um, which is very different than the United States classrooms that I've been in because we are all, well, here we go. We have 25 people in here. We're all getting the same lesson. We're all getting the same assignment. We're all getting the same test, and you all have to just deal with it. Um, so at, at that time, And again, I can't speak to it today, but it did seem much more individualized, much more, um, what we have here in the states that I have seen that is kind of like this are Montessori schools, where they really work with the child's abilities and interests and let them kind of move at their own pace, but not exactly. I was a Montessori kid until Junior High, so I get it. And so the other thing that I found really appealing about the schools that I volunteered in there were that they were year round schools. So you had more breaks, built in to the system, they still attended the same number of days per school year, or maybe, you know, maybe five or six different, but, uh, one way or the other, but the fact that they had those breaks so that the students could absorb what they had learned, give their brains that break and then.. they retained the information so much better because of that. And that's actually more where the science goes as far as having learning opportunities is you need the little breaks. You need to have stuff repeated and taught different ways. Multiple times. We don't do that here in the states. We like to just say, okay, here you go, here's the new skill. All right. That's on Monday on Friday. We're going to test. Okay. Next Monday, we're doing a different skill. All right, for.. and just lather rinse repeat. And that isn't necessarily well, it isn't, period, the best way to do it, according to Science. No, that makes sense. That makes a lot of sense. Actually tell us about, um, tell us like last question really, is how can people find more about you and about what you're doing and where can they look you up and where can they learn more about it? [www.shelleykenow.com on LinkedIN YouTube @shelleykenowiep on INSTA @ShelleyKenowIEPconsultant on Facebook and via email: shelley@shelleykenow.com] so they, I feel like I'm everywhere, Peter. Um, I'm on LinkedIn. I'm on Facebook. I'm on YouTube. I'm on Instagram. I have a website which is Shelleykenow.com and, um, that's S H E L L E Y K E N O w.com. Um, Parents teachers admins trying to help everyone. As you said at the beginning, make the world better for all one IEP. By helping everyone really collaborate and understand the student and writing an appropriate, and not what the law says is appropriate, which is why I use that word, um, IEP for each individual student. Great interview. Great stuff. Very, very interesting. I learned a lot today. Thank you Shelley, for taking the time. I appreciate it. Absolutely. Peter, thank you for having me! Guys you're listening to Faster Than Normal. I'm not going to say, you know what I'm going to say, but if you're looking, if we're always looking for new guests, if you know anyone who might be a guest or you want to be one yourself, like is just shoot me an email, Peter@shankman.com. We would love to have you, uh, ADHD is a gift. We all know that I'm going to go use that gift, and I think I'm going to go do a couple of hundred laps, that'll help. So have a wonderful day! Everyone, thank you for listening. We will see you next week with a brand new interview. Stay tuned. Stay safe. Stay healthy. Guys. You've listened to Faster Than Normal. If you like what you heard, drop us a review. If you have a guest, uh, Emma came to us by a suggestion so that it does work! So if you have a suggestion, pick anyone you want to. Let us know, and we will get them.. we will work our butts off to get them on the podcast. Um, you can find me at shankman.com and @petershankman on all the socials. Our producer is Steven Byrom, he does an amazing job, give him a shout. [thanks Peter! I'm for hire! @stevenbyrom on Twitter and also via www.byroMMusic.com We will see you next week with a brand new interview. Thank you for listening. And remember that any form of neuro-diversity is different. Different is good. It is a gift. It is not a curse. We will see you next week. Thanks for listening. — Credits: You've been listening to the Faster Than Normal podcast. We're available on iTunes, Stitcher and Google play and of course at www.FasterThanNormal.com I'm your host, Peter Shankman and you can find me at petershankman.com and @petershankman on all of the socials. If you like what you've heard, why not head over to your favorite podcast platform of choice and leave us a review, come more people who leave positive reviews, the more the podcast has shown, and the more people we can help understand that ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Opening and closing themes were composed and produced by Steven Byrom who also produces this podcast, and the opening introduction was recorded by Bernie Wagenblast. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next week!
Part 2 of 2 – The story of British Intelligence Officer T.E. Lawrence and his efforts to unite the factions of the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman's during the first world war come to the silver screen. Tune in as Chris talks crazy casting, Peter O'Toole, & scenery chewing as “I Saw It On Linden Street” covers Lawrence of Arabia – Part II: The Epic. Join us! Check us out at www.LSCEP.com Subscribe, Like, & Review. Follow Us on Twitter @LsceP & on Instagram @ lsce_podcast Works Cited Primary Sources: Lawrence, T.E. The Seven Pillars of Heaven: A Triumph. New York: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1926. Secondary Sources: Anderson, Scott. Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle East. New York: Doubleday, 2013. Curtis III, Carl C. “David Lean's Lawrence: “Only Flesh and Blood.” Literature Film Quarterly. Vol. 40, no. 4, (2012) pp 274-287. Crowther, Bosley. (December 17, 1962) “Screen: A Desert Warfare Spectacle: Lawrence of Arabia Opens in New York.” The New York Times. Accessed 12/16/21 https://www.nytimes.com/1962/12/17/archives/screen-a-desert-warfare-spectaclelawrence-of-arabia-opens-in-new.html Karsh, Efraim & Inari Karsh. “Myth in the Desert, or Not the Great Arab Revolt” Middle Eastern Studies. Vol. 33, No. 2. (1997) pp. 267-312. Korda, Michael. Hero: The Life and Legend of Lawrence of Arabia. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2010. Lawrence of Arabia. DVD. Directed by David Lean. Culver City: Columbia Pictures. 2000 Macfie, Alexander Lyon. "Representations of Lawrence of Arabia." Journal of Postcolonial Writing. Vol.43, no. 1 (2007): 77-87. Making of Lawrence of Arabia. DVD. Directed by Laurent Bouzereau. Culver City: Columbia Pictures. 2000. Mousa, Suleiman. T.E. Lawrence: An Arab View. London, Oxford University Press, 1966. Phillips, Gene D. (2006). Beyond the Epic: The Life & Films of David Lean. Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky. Said, Edward W. Orientalism. New York: Vintage Books, 1979. Staff. Film Reviews: Lawrence of Arabia. Variety. December 18th, 1962. Accessed 12/18/21 https://variety.com/1962/film/reviews/lawrence-of-arabia-2-1200420236/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lsce/message
• I just wanted to take a minute and share the last few episodes have been incredible, listening to Kevin Reese Sr talk about his award and all the major happenings at New Bern High School in North Carolina, along with the tech twins who are business and marketing and educators who have turned entrepreneurs. They have a lot of great things going on, then we did a deep dive into the rich history of Ellen Swallow Richards, our foundation for family and consumer sciences education. I am so grateful for the knowledge from Joyce Miles. We then listened to Rachel Grabowski chat about Special Education in the Gen Ed classroom in episode 67. Rachel shares many amazing tools, tips and tricks that she's giving us to better meet the needs to all of our students, regardless of abilities. Then finally, Chelsey Farias, who happens to be my co-teacher who I share a classroom with during first period and second period. Chelsey talked about being a new teacher, and building cultural opportunities in the FCS classroom. For those of you who have listened to episode 66 and hearing her excitement and enthusiasm for starting off the new school year, let me just tell you, she is thriving and she's doing amazing work. I am so grateful to be able to partner with her and watch her flourish as a new teacher (00:31)• I'm teaching interior design 1 & 2, financial literacy and maybe mental health and counseling sometimes this school year, but I just came up with PBL assignment on the fly the other day. For those of us who are not educators or not familiar with certain acronyms within the education field, PBL stands for 'project-based learning'. This is a hands-on activity for students to engage in for my interior design class, as we're just finishing up our principles and elements of design unit. I've gone and turn this activity into a interactive lap book. It's interactive, not digital. We love our digital interactive notebooks, but no, this is an actual hands-on book that students are creating, and I'm really excited to see what student's create. I will share this assignment on my website where you'll be able to download from free. I want you to use it, so if you have interior design and you're looking for an activity that meets standard and content along with buying you a little more time for a reprieve...Well, I got the stuff for you (2:26)• Students are given a manila folder that you would have for your file cabinet, students are then instructed to fold it into thirds, so it becomes a mini presentation board for them. On the front for the title, I'm just gonna walk you through this assignment, so you have your front cover, so the book is folded and closed up with that title showing. For the title, students will write "what are the elements and principles of design" including their first and last name, and of course, what class period they're in. They have to include pictures of those elements of design that represents space, color, shape, form, value, texture and line, so students can draw a trace, use magazine cut-outs in. Or, if they have a colored printer at home or something, they can print those images out and I put that down as 10 points, then the title is done and they get to color it and make it as creative as possible. (3:39)• Students will be focusing on the Elements of Design: color, value, form, value, texture, and shape. Students are including the definition and what are four benefits to each of those design elements. For example, when it comes to color, what are four benefits to color? 1. You are able to change the mood of a room... Great, there's a benefit. What's another benefit to color? 2. Color can also help reduce stress and anxiety, 3. Color can improve your sleep, and 4. it could improve focus. These are all areas of how various color can impact good design, so they're writing that down and then they include a picture of the color wheel where they draw or something along those lines, and have some sort of interactive 3-d element jumping out at us when we're looking at it, then finally on the inside right side panel of their presentation folder, they will focus on line and texture, and again, they're always including that definition first of what line is... Or texture, or any of those elements, they're including the definition first and then moving on to adding the four benefits to each of those designs. (7:06)• My students are also lacking on their digital interactive notebooks... I love the digital interactive notebook as a teaching tool and pacer and I love but students are struggling staying engaged so, I'm trying to apply the hands-on projects and not making the digital interactive notebooks count so much, because I noticed within the last few weeks as we wrapped up our color theory unit, when we were doing our water coloring and creating their own color wheels and drawing, everyone was so relaxed. Students loved it. I was able to put them in pods where they were working together, and students who don't normally ever even talk to one another, all of a sudden, this lively conversation came about so organic and natural. It was amazing. And so that's what I'm trying to re-create but staying safe as we are still observing covid protocols. So, we start off doing individual work with our digital interactive notebooks, and then we come together for a big project, and then quiz. (9:04)CONNECT WITH BARBARA:• FCS Podcast: https://fcspodcast.com• FCS Tips: https://www.fcstips.com• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ConnectFCSed• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ConnectFCSed• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/connectfcsed• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/connectfcsedWHEN DOES IT AIR…OCTOBER 6th, 2021
Episode 55: How to Make the Move from Gen Ed to SpedToday's guest is Bristol Bale. Bristol is a colleague and friend of mine from the district where we teach. Bristol was the 2019 Teacher of the year for her school, has also served as grade level chair and worked to create science and math curriculum for the district. She serves as head of the science fair for the district, and is the girl's wrestling coach for Liberal High School.Bristol began her teaching career as an elementary teacher and we worked together for several years where she was always one of our go-to homeroom teachers for our resource students. And the reason we always wanted to place our students in her classroom is because she truly has a heart for students who struggle more than others. She developed strong relationships with our students and we could always depend on her to follow the accommodations and modifications that were put into the IEP but she also went above and beyond...figuring out ways the child learned best in her classroom, implementing flexible seating for them before it was very popular and basically just being a great support to the special education staff.Now Bristol serves our district as a special education teacher, having completed her endorsement this past year. We get to work together on a whole different level and although we don't teach within the same school, I have no doubt that Bristol will see success within her new role.So I wanted to have her on the show today to talk about making the transition from being a general education teacher to being a special education teacher and have her walk us through how she made the decision to change, the process she had to go through and the ups and downs of her decision.Bristol shares with us...What made her decide to make the transition to special educationThe process she had to go through to get your special education credentialsThe biggest challenges with the moveHer biggest wins and how it has totally been worth itRecommendations for someone who is considering making the move from gen ed to spedMentioned in the Show...Ultimate Guide to Training ParaprofessionalsSped Prep Academy. com
This edWeb podcast is sponsored by Ripple Effects.The webinar recording can be accessed here.Listen to two of the next generation of female education leaders as they share how they have leveraged innovative policies, platforms, and programs to create trauma-informed schools and districts, and effectively support students' SEL and mental health. In this edWeb podcast, the presenters share:How to implement trauma-informed SEL across MTSS tiers so that it addresses each student's unique barriers to learningHow to leverage new platforms and policies to reach and help more students and their familiesHow to bring an equity lens to trauma-informed SEL work—in both urban and rural environmentsWhy, how, and which digital SEL tools motivate and engage students to ensure efficacy and sustainabilityWhat students' self-direction in their mental health and SEL learning looks like and how it builds student agencySchool and district administrators, teachers and school support staff learn concrete steps they can take to ensure their schools and districts are trauma informed across tiers, and that their students' SEL and mental health are meaningfully supported as they continue to grapple with the challenges and repercussions of COVID-19. This edWeb podcast is of interest to preK-12 school and district leaders, teachers, school counselors and social workers, federal program coordinators, and those involved in supporting student mental and behavioral health. Ripple Effects Proven effective SEL & Mental Health Digital Programs for preK-12 students and staff
• I am going into my seventh year teaching, and I started off as an intervention specialist, mild moderate, which means I was in the inclusion setting. So you're an inclusion teacher, going into the Gen ED classes, elaborating with the Gen teacher, so those are the students that are given the opportunity to be with their typical peers in the educational setting. So I did that for five years at the middle school and high school level, battled it, and an opportunity came in front of me to transition into Family and Consumer Sciences, I really wanted to bridge the gap between intervention specialists and Gen ED teachers and still be able to advocate for my students. So I took a leap with the support of my principal, my administrator, he's awesome. So, I jumped into Family and Consumer Sciences. (1:23)• Once you get to that high school level or above at age 14, there is a section, Section Five of the IEP that focuses on transitions and future planning. And what do we do as Family and Consumer Science teachers, right? That's where you're touching on those independent living skills and helping them explore what is life going to be like after college. A lot of the students that we see, especially those ones from the resource room, they're not necessarily going to go to a college or university, they're working with independent skills, they can go and be in the school until they're age 21, until they age out. (4:49)• Special education, so that relationship in that bridge between intervention specialists and Gen ED teachers is so important. Which is, again, one of the reasons why I love Family and Consumer Sciences, so I can be that support to the Special Education teachers in my building, because it's hard. Our intervention specialists have insane case load numbers, work loads that are just completely unrealistic, but they're doing their best and to meet the needs of our students. There's gotta be that collaboration and those communication pieces between us to make sure that we give those students the services that they deserve. (11:25)• So, one thing that I would really like to share is the importance of modifying different assessment for your Special Ed population giving the same test, and I'm not talking like if you do an A-B version because you mix up the numbers, that's not a modified task, right? Modify means that you change it to meet students needs and to measure what exactly you are hoping that they are able to master it from what you're teaching them, right? Because when we have resource room students in our classroom, we are not expecting them to be able to convert different types of measurements, right? But, being able to identify and measuring up versus a dry measuring cup or what one cup looks like versus a tablespoon looks like, that's more realistic for them. So, making sure that you do that and again, collaborating with that intervention specialist because that's going to help them, and I know from being in that Special Ed, I would get these tests the day before the period that these students were supposed to take them. (15:34)• Okay, so I have my students, they bring them into my foods classroom for the very first time. I break them up into groups of four. So in my home, my home kitchens, I have a home-style kitchen, six units in my classroom, and we're only able to have up to 24 students safely in our class. It's kind of an ice breaker, but also an assessment, because we've talked about the different measurements and the different tools that we have in the classroom. Then they bring them over into the culinary kitchens, they then are broken up in two groups of four, they all go into the kitchen and go through all of the drawers and everything, they come back after, I don't know, five minutes of looking around, seeing where everything is. And then, I may get a race where they then have to take everything out of the kitchen and put it on top of the counter, and then I put them in a line of four for each of the groups, and each of them are, they have to put one draw away the correct way. So let's say Susie has the top drawer because there are four doors, Susie as the top. Terese has to run, find where these special items are for that particular draw and put it away, and then she has to run back tag, and then the second person goes and does the second drawer and does the same thing, tags for the third and forth. They're getting used to where the tools all belong, but also they're learning how to identify... Tell me, how can I improve that? (23:46)CONNECT WITH BARBARA:• FCS Podcast: https://fcspodcast.com• FCS Tips: https://www.fcstips.com• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ConnectFCSed• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Scully6Files• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/connectfcsed• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/connectfcsedCONNECT WITH RACHEL:• Facebook: Rachel smachel• Instagram: @mrs.g_isdabomb• Twitter: @TheMrsGrabowski#ohiosneweducators #ohea #ONE #inclusion #crestwooddevils #everykid #facsteacherWHEN DOES IT AIR…SEPTEMBER 01, 2021
Join us as our guests, Faith and Hey Mr., tell us what it is like to teach a "special," including some of the treatment they receive from those of us in the core subjects (yes, I apologized).We also get to hear Mr. E. exercise his right to whine about the end of summer-and yes, he is entitled! Please subscribe, rate, and review us, and spread the word about the pod to your fellow educators (or anyone else)! And feel free to reach out with ideas, suggestions, and of course...words of affirmation! Find us at: Email: WTBOTTCast@gmail.com FB: Will This Be On The Test? Teacher Pod Instagram: WTBOTTCast Twitter: Will This Be On The Test? (Teacher Pod) Reddit: r/WTBOTT_Teacher_Pod Website: www.willthisbeonthetest.podbean.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO9hAtR0tB33lO5od4GSUbg
In this episode of "Supporting Students at Home and in School" teacher Nancy Hernandez shares what inspired her to move from being a teacher assistant to a classroom teacher. She highlights the reasons why students may act out and how to address some of those behaviors. Nancy describes the differences of teaching before and during COVID and the importance of building relationships with parents. This is a great podcast for inspiring teachers, new teachers and all educators who enjoy relating to their colleagues in the field of education! About Nancy Hernandez: - BA In Early Education and Speech & Communications - Masters in TESOL - Masters in Bilingual Education - Certified in 6th Grade Bilingual, Gen Ed, and Special Education MUSIC Look to Listen to Learn By Lisa Navarra & Maryann Buonaspina - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074CLC98K/... Train My Brain By Lisa Navarra & Maryann Buonaspina - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074CGR87B/... This podcast is presented by Lisa Navarra, Owner of Child Behavior Consulting, LLC. You Can Follow Us On: - www.facebook.com/ChildBehaviorConsulting - twitter.com/LNavarraCBC - www.linkedin.com/company/64563206/ - www.instagram.com/childbehaviorconsulting/ - www.youtube.com/channel/UCWwCxj-Aq469... - https://soundcloud.com/studentsuccess... - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... - https://open.spotify.com/show/60vi5zx...
Welcome to an important episode that features Brittany Brunell, Co-founder of EveryDaySpeech. In this episode we learn about EveryDaySpeech's origin story and their journey with social emotional learning. Brittany shares about the features and functions that EDS has to offer in their completely digital SEL curriculum (games, video modeling, interactive-avatar social games, evidenced based content). In this episode, EDS gifts Common Ground listeners 25% off with a promo code. In addition, EDS has given Common Ground 5 free annual memberships to raffle off in the Common Ground Resource Page on Facebook. Come learning more about a curriculum that can impact both Sped and Gen Ed in your building! https://everydayspeech.com/"Everyday Speech is a social-emotional learning platform. We empower teachers with video-modeling curriculums to nurture the fundamental strategies and skills that all students need to maximize potential towards a healthier, happier, and fulfilling future." -EDS
Hi Everyone! In this short trailer we are simply introducing ourselves, Gen Ed, and Wave Learning Festival
Thank you for listening! If you know someone who could benefit from this information please share this podcast with them! ------------------------------------------------ The Work Awesome Podcast - Ep 02 | Questions to Ask in an Interview One of the biggest mistakes an interviewee makes is not asking the right questions. In this episode, we'll talk about questions an interviewee should ask and questions that have stuck out to hiring managers in the past. ------------------------------------------------ Video Edition: https://youtu.be/ONGRuW6207I ------------------------------------------------ Want more? Head over to the Work Awesome Blog to read about more tips and tricks to nail your next virtual interview: https://medium.com/work-awesome-blog ------------------------------------------------ Host: Ian W. - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianwolbert/ Guests: Sarah A. - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-beth-aaron-mba-phr-9b961a126/ Meghan R. - https://www.linkedin.com/in/meghan-ridgell-a0992017a/ Gene D. - https://www.linkedin.com/in/gene-daniels-691814149/ ------------------------------------------------ Be one of the first to sign up for the Work Awesome email list: http://eepurl.com/gq787f ------------------------------------------------ Join my community on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ianwolbert Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianwolbert/ Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ianwolbert Follow for new content weekly!
As SPED teachers, do you feel that sometime we get the short end of the stick when it comes to different learning opportunities? Part 1 of a multi- part series.
Gene D. from Calistoga CA