Episodes

Karen Gross is the author of Breakaway Learners: Strategies for Post-Secondary Success with At-Risk Students. (2017; Teachers College Press -www.tcpress..com) Karen is a higher education consultant based in Washington, DC.  She was the president of Sout...

This is the conclusion of my interview of Katie Garner. If you didn't listen to the first part check it out at episode 178. Katie Garner is the author of Secret Stories. She is an internationally known educational speaker, author, speaker, and literacy...

Katie Garner is the author of Secret Stories - Cracking the Reading Code with the Brain in Mind. She is an internationally known educational speaker, author, and literacy consultant with 25 years of elementary classroom experience. Katie has a passio...

On today's episode, I am talking with Patty Alper the author of Teach to Work: How a Mentor, a Mentee, and a Project Can Close the Skills Gap in America. Our discussion focuses on the concepts within her book - Teach to Work. She shares who the target a...

In this episode, I am talking with Ellen Bernstein about the national TURN report. TURN stands for Teacher Union Reform Network and its stated purpose is "to promote progressive reforms in education and in teacher unions." TURN was founded 20 years ago...

Today, I'm talking with Darya Yegorina. She has developed an app that makes learning fun through books and AR (augmented reality). Not only is it cool to use it's also free. Yep. That's right free. Its all about promoting equality in education. Somet...

Marching Off the Map and the Travel Guide   Andrew McPeak   Today, I am talking with Andrew McPeak who co-wrote Marching Off the Map with Dr. Tim Elmore. Marching Off the Map takes a peek at the "world's newest generation of students (Generation Z) and ...

In this episode I draw to a close the series that began with Episode 165 concerning Primary and Secondary sources of information. I share three reasons why primary sources are important in the classroom, I explain three ways to use primary sources in th...

Jim was born in Dooley County, Georgia in 1923. This is the part 4 of 4. This episode focuses on his early business ventures following WWII and into the 1960's. In this segment listen for Jim to talk about working while at Princeton and graduating with ...

Last week you heard Jim talk about the importance of education in his life. This week Jim talks about his experience in the Navy and his role in World War II. Remember that Jim is a primary source. He is recalling his experience. How could you use his t...

This is part 3 of my interview of Jim Spradley. Today we are talking about his military experience in World War II. Here are some samples from our discussion: How Jim ended up in the Navy. What he was trained to do and where he was eventually dropped in...

This is my reflection on part 2 of my interview with Jim Spradley. If you haven't listened to Part 1, it is episode 166. His focus during this segment of the interview is the importance of school. He wanted to go to school. He talks about the desire to ...

This is part 2 of my interview with Jim Spradley. He was born in 1923 in south Georgia. He is in his 90's. Today we are talking about education and a desire to go to school. Jim mentions books that made an impact on him when he was young. He liked the s...

In episode 165 I talked about the upcoming series of shows that would be focused on my interview with Mr. Jim Spradley. In the first segment of the interview (episode 166), Jim shares his thoughts about growing up in rural Dooly County (south Georgia). ...

Mr. Jim Spradley was born in 1923. He was the child of sharecroppers in Dooly County, Georgia. This is the first part of my interview with Jim. At the time of this interview he was 91 years old. (By the way, one of his dogs was sitting with him on the ...

Do you take time to explain the difference between primary and secondary sources of information to your classes? Do you require the kids to learn to use primary sources not just secondary? Today I will introduce you to the difference between primary a...

Do you give homework? If so, do you know why you give homework? Today's discussion centers around questioning why we give homework.  I talk about 3 great reasons for giving homework and 5 problematic reasons. Additionally, I speak to understanding that ...

Corey Knight is a middle school science teacher in Indiana. He also has created a way for you to get started in using technology in the classroom. Even though he has had offers to leave the classroom (since he knows technology) he has chosen to stay and...

Sargy Letuchy is a teacher in suburban Chicago and he has created a book that will hook you up with excellent graphic organizers to help you get the kids to a greater level of understanding. I like to find tools that are easy for teachers and administra...

John Tibbetts is a 21-year veteran of the US Army and he is now the 2018 Georgia Teacher of the Year.  He served in combat as a tank commander in Desert Storm, was deployed to Turkey in the Iraq War and saw service with NATO headquarters in Afghanistan...

Do you have procedures for the electronic devices that the students use in your classroom? Now I don't mean the cell phones and other technology that the kids bring. I'm talking about the laptops, chromebooks/netbooks, and calculators that you have for ...

Attendance, part 2 - Paying attention and following up. This is a continuation of episode 158 where I talked about the importance of taking attendance. I have seen adults take forever to determine if all kids are in class or not. You do not want it to w...

Taking attendance is very important, but it shouldn't take you more than a minute or two. If it is taking you 5 or more minutes then you may be avoiding starting class.   3 Don'ts in taking attendance: 1. Don't take 5 or more minutes to figure out who ...

The first day and week of school and what you need to do to be ready. Wow! Is it that time already? The first day and week of school are so very important. Kids and teachers, believe it or not, worry about the first day and week. Now some of these conce...