Hello everyone! Saying this year is difficult is an understatement. Administrators, teachers, students and parents are all trying to figure out how to balance their lives within constant disruption and uncertainty. For many, this problem is causing mental health concerns and quality of life struggles. In hopes that we can shed some light—and the importance of—managing mental health, I have brought on Monika, otherwise known as @thecheerteacher on Instagram, to discuss her path through mental health struggles, how she got out of her dark time, and how she is helping her students manage their own mental health for the better. In this episode we touch on: Teaching in a variety of grades The beginning of her work with a mental health focus in the classroom Monika's descent into hating her job because of putting on a "happy face" and her way out of this dark place  Managing time to support student mental needs Modeling how to handle difficult emotions You do not want to miss this one!   This episode is sponsored by Heinemann—the leading publisher of professional books and resources for educators—and their new classroom resource, Math by the Book by Sue O’Connell and colleagues. Math is everywhere—even in great children’s books! Teachers and students love a good story. But those stories can also help elementary students make sense of important mathematical concepts. Math by the Book shows teachers how to use high-quality children’s books to teach grade-specific math skills and content. You’ll find activities, investigations, and teaching strategies…all paired with lists of carefully chosen K-5 literature. So, if you’re looking for a fresh way to bring math teaching to life in your classroom, visit MathByTheBook.com to download a free sample or order a copy. That’s MathByTheBook.com.  

Teach Me, Teacher

#233 Putting Mental Health First with Monika Kuligowska (pt.1)

Hello everyone! Today, educators are under more scrutiny than they have been in many years. Not only are people rallying together to fight what they feel like is Critical Race Theory, but they are also signing laws that prevent certain texts from being taught in schools. Yet, teachers are constantly being told that teaching isn’t political. In part one of our talk, Alfred Shivy Brooks asks, if what is taught is dictated by politicians, how could teaching NOT be political? If school boards are elected, how is teaching not political? In part two we look at what legislation is being passed today to silence educators, and which policies Shivy believes SHOULD be being passed.  Shivy is a high school teacher in Atlanta Georgia, Instagram phenomenon, and is currently running for city council. We dive into these questions and more on this in depth, big idea episode of Teach Me, Teacher. Enjoy.   This episode is sponsored by Heinemann—the leading publisher of professional books and resources for educators—and their new classroom resource, Math by the Book by Sue O’Connell and colleagues. Math is everywhere—even in great children’s books! Teachers and students love a good story. But those stories can also help elementary students make sense of important mathematical concepts. Math by the Book shows teachers how to use high-quality children’s books to teach grade-specific math skills and content. You’ll find activities, investigations, and teaching strategies…all paired with lists of carefully chosen K-5 literature. So, if you’re looking for a fresh way to bring math teaching to life in your classroom, visit MathByTheBook.com to download a free sample or order a copy. That’s MathByTheBook.com.  

#232 Doing What It Takes (Alfred Shivy Brooks pt.2)

Hello everyone! Today, educators are under more scrutiny than they have been in many years. Not only are people rallying together to fight what they feel like is Critical Race Theory, but they are also signing laws that prevent certain texts from being taught in schools. Yet, teachers are constantly being told that teaching isn't political. Alfred Shivy Brooks asks, if what is taught is dictated by politicians, how could teaching NOT be political? If school boards are elected, how is teaching not political? Shivy is a high school teacher in Atlanta Georgia, Instagram phenomenon, and is currently running for city council. We dive into these questions and more on this in depth, big idea episode of Teach Me, Teacher. Enjoy.   This episode is sponsored by Heinemann—the leading publisher of professional books and resources for educators—and their new classroom resource, Math by the Book by Sue O’Connell and colleagues. Math is everywhere—even in great children’s books! Teachers and students love a good story. But those stories can also help elementary students make sense of important mathematical concepts. Math by the Book shows teachers how to use high-quality children’s books to teach grade-specific math skills and content. You'll find activities, investigations, and teaching strategies…all paired with lists of carefully chosen K-5 literature. So, if you’re looking for a fresh way to bring math teaching to life in your classroom, visit MathByTheBook.com to download a free sample or order a copy. That’s MathByTheBook.com.  

#231 Just Shut Up and Teach? with Alfred Shivy Brooks (pt.1)

Hello everyone! The terms antibias and antiracist bring up a lot of opinions and feelings in people. Depending on who you are talking to, this work might be the most important work happening in schools, or the bane on public education as a whole. Never being shy of a large topic, I wanted to discuss this work with one of the leading (and humble) voices in the space and see what it was all about. Luckily, Liz Kleinrock agreed! In part one of our talk, we covered the WHY behind antiracist and antibias work. In this episode, we take a look at what this looks like in context, and how to sustain this work over time.  Liz Kleinrock is an anti-bias anti-racist educator and consultant based in Washington, DC. A transracial adoptee, Liz was born in South Korea and grew up in DC before attending Washington University in St. Louis, MO. After spending a year student teaching a 5th grade class in Watts, Liz joined the founding faculty of a startup school in East Hollywood where she spent seven years teaching 1st through 4th grades. In addition to classroom teaching, Liz also works as an anti-bias anti-racist facilitator for schools, organizations, and companies across the country. Her work has gained national recognition through a documentary short produced by Fluid Film, and media outlets such as CNN, The Washington Post, NPR, and BBC. In 2018, Liz received Teaching Tolerance’s 2018 Award for Excellence in Teaching, and currently serves on the Teaching Tolerance Advisory Board. Liz is proud to share her 2019 TED Talk from “Education Everywhere” on building foundations of equity with young learners, and is working on her first book with Heinemann Publishing. Whether you are a supporter of antiracist and antibias work, or are wary of it, this talk is sure to add to your thinking on the matter.     This episode is sponsored by Heinemann—the leading publisher of professional books and resources for educators—and their professional book, Textured Teaching: A Framework for Culturally Sustaining Practices by Lorena Escoto Germán. With Culturally Sustaining Practice as its foundation, Textured Teaching helps secondary teachers stop wondering and guessing how to implement teaching and learning that leads to social justice.  Lorena Germán shares her framework for creating a classroom environment that is highly rigorous and engaging, and that reflects the core traits of Textured Teaching: student-driven and community-centered, interdisciplinary, experiential, and flexible.  The actionable strategies Lorena uses to bring Textured Teaching values to life illuminate what is possible when we welcome all types of texts, all types of voices, and all forms of expression into the classroom. Learn more about how to become a culturally sustaining educator. Visit Heinemann.com to download a sample from Textured Teaching.

#230 ABAR in Practice (Liz Kleinrock pt.2)

Hello everyone! The terms antibias and antiracist bring up a lot of opinions and feelings in people. Depending on who you are talking to, this work might be the most important work happening in schools, or the bane on public education as a whole. Never being shy of a large topic, I wanted to discuss this work with one of the leading (and humble) voices in the space and see what it was all about. Luckily, Liz Kleinrock agreed! Liz Kleinrock is an anti-bias anti-racist educator and consultant based in Washington, DC. A transracial adoptee, Liz was born in South Korea and grew up in DC before attending Washington University in St. Louis, MO. After spending a year student teaching a 5th grade class in Watts, Liz joined the founding faculty of a startup school in East Hollywood where she spent seven years teaching 1st through 4th grades. In addition to classroom teaching, Liz also works as an anti-bias anti-racist facilitator for schools, organizations, and companies across the country. Her work has gained national recognition through a documentary short produced by Fluid Film, and media outlets such as CNN, The Washington Post, NPR, and BBC. In 2018, Liz received Teaching Tolerance's 2018 Award for Excellence in Teaching, and currently serves on the Teaching Tolerance Advisory Board. Liz is proud to share her 2019 TED Talk from "Education Everywhere" on building foundations of equity with young learners, and is working on her first book with Heinemann Publishing. In part one of our talk, we cover the WHY behind antiracist and antibias work. We discuss common misconceptions, as well as address the concerns many have about having this work in schools. Liz details her perspective, and supports her take on why people shouldn't fear this work in the classroom.  Whether you are a supporter of antiracist and antibias work, or are wary of it, this talk is sure to add to your thinking on the matter.     This episode is sponsored by Heinemann—the leading publisher of professional books and resources for educators—and their professional book, Textured Teaching: A Framework for Culturally Sustaining Practices by Lorena Escoto Germán. With Culturally Sustaining Practice as its foundation, Textured Teaching helps secondary teachers stop wondering and guessing how to implement teaching and learning that leads to social justice.  Lorena Germán shares her framework for creating a classroom environment that is highly rigorous and engaging, and that reflects the core traits of Textured Teaching: student-driven and community-centered, interdisciplinary, experiential, and flexible.  The actionable strategies Lorena uses to bring Textured Teaching values to life illuminate what is possible when we welcome all types of texts, all types of voices, and all forms of expression into the classroom. Learn more about how to become a culturally sustaining educator. Visit Heinemann.com to download a sample from Textured Teaching.

#229 Discussing Antibias and Antiracist Work with Liz Kleinrock (Pt.1)

Hello everyone! In part 1 with Selena, we discussed how the war about what schools should look like in a world driven by Covid is still waging, and many have called for “a return to normal.” While this might seem wise on first glance, many educators are asking if returning to normal is what we should be striving for. They ask if normal was good enough. They wonder if we should be pushing for something greater, using the knowledge Covid has brought to us to change schools for the better—forever. In part 2, we dive even deeper into what normal really means, and how we can start to evolve into something better for the communities we serve. In this episode we discuss common core, traditional teaching, and how communities, when under-served for too long, have no choice but to pave their own way.  Selena Carrion, a New York based educator, is a passionate supporter of educators everywhere.     This episode is sponsored by Heinemann—the leading publisher of professional books and resources for educators—and their professional book, Textured Teaching: A Framework for Culturally Sustaining Practices by Lorena Escoto Germán. With Culturally Sustaining Practice as its foundation, Textured Teaching helps secondary teachers stop wondering and guessing how to implement teaching and learning that leads to social justice.  Lorena Germán shares her framework for creating a classroom environment that is highly rigorous and engaging, and that reflects the core traits of Textured Teaching: student-driven and community-centered, interdisciplinary, experiential, and flexible.  The actionable strategies Lorena uses to bring Textured Teaching values to life illuminate what is possible when we welcome all types of texts, all types of voices, and all forms of expression into the classroom. Learn more about how to become a culturally sustaining educator. Visit Heinemann.com to download a sample from Textured Teaching.

#228 From Normal to Next (Selena Carrion pt.2)

Hello everyone! The war about what schools should look like in a world driven by Covid is still waging, and many have called for "a return to normal." While this might seem wise on first glance, many educators are asking if returning to normal is what we should be striving for. They ask if normal was good enough. They wonder if we should be pushing for something greater, using the knowledge Covid has brought to us to change schools for the better—forever. Selena Carrion, a New York based educator, has a lot to say on the subject. In this episode, we discuss how Covid has changed schools, how the education system has failed to serve many students, and what returning to normal really means in public education.     This episode is sponsored by Heinemann—the leading publisher of professional books and resources for educators—and their professional book, Textured Teaching: A Framework for Culturally Sustaining Practices by Lorena Escoto Germán. With Culturally Sustaining Practice as its foundation, Textured Teaching helps secondary teachers stop wondering and guessing how to implement teaching and learning that leads to social justice.  Lorena Germán shares her framework for creating a classroom environment that is highly rigorous and engaging, and that reflects the core traits of Textured Teaching: student-driven and community-centered, interdisciplinary, experiential, and flexible.  The actionable strategies Lorena uses to bring Textured Teaching values to life illuminate what is possible when we welcome all types of texts, all types of voices, and all forms of expression into the classroom. Learn more about how to become a culturally sustaining educator. Visit Heinemann.com to download a sample from Textured Teaching.

#227 What Does Return to Normal Really Mean? with Selena Carrion (pt.1)

Hello everyone! One of my any promises for season 6 of the podcast was to bring on teachers who teach subjects outside of the core bunch. Today, we are doing just that! Laura Truebenbach is a high school Spanish teacher in Texas, and has a lot of insights about how Covid changed how she taught, how she overcame those obstacles, and the importance of supporting students as they learn a new language. Regardless of if you are a second language teacher or not, there are so many nuggets of advice and insight into the world of teaching high school. I learned a lot, and I know you will too!   This episode is sponsored by Heinemann—the leading publisher of professional books and resources for educators—and by their new book Teaching Writing in Small Groups by Jennifer Serravallo. Everyone’s turning to groups in this unique school year so they can teach more efficiently and spread the learning further. Jen shows you how to make the most of small groups. She gives you seven different options that help meet any students’ needs. Like strategy groups, guided writing, writing clubs, and more. She provides writing progressions to help you decide which students to group and why. There’s even video that demonstrates Jen’s teaching in a variety of classrooms. If you don’t have Teaching Writing in Small Groups, head on over to Heinemann.com to read a sample chapter. Find out what you’re missing and order yourself a copy today.   Planbook has been the established leader in online lesson planning since 2010, offering collaborative lesson sharing, flexible administrator access, and even student view tools for just $15 a year. Using Planbook, educators can build customized school years, classes, and lessons 100% online, directly inputting class materials and up-to-date standards from all over the world. Enter code “TeachMe” (one word, no space) at sign up to join over 800,000 Planbook teachers today and get your first year for only $5!

#226 Teaching High School Spanish with Laura Truebenbach

Hello everyone! As school doors re-open, close, and vacillate under the pressure of the pandemic, one inescapable fact is that our children are feeling anxiety, grief, and trauma on higher levels than we've seen, possibly in our lifetime. Because of this, it has never been more important for educators to be mindful of the lives students are currently living, and how we can help improve their mental states. To guide on in this act of compassion, I have brought on Krista St-Germain. She is a mom, grief expert, and life coach for widowed moms and host of the Widowed Moms Podcast. When her husband was killed by a drunk driver in 2016, Krista’s life was completely and unexpectedly flipped upside down. After therapy helped her unfurl from the fetal position, Krista discovered Life Coaching, Post Traumatic Growth and learned the tools she needed to move forward and create a future she could get excited about. Now she coaches and teaches other widows so they can love life again, too. In this episode we discuss: What grief is and how it manifests differently Nuances with trauma The role schools play in supporting students who are experiencing trauma or grief The myths around grief   This episode is sponsored by Heinemann—the leading publisher of professional books and resources for educators—and by their new book Teaching Writing in Small Groups by Jennifer Serravallo. Everyone’s turning to groups in this unique school year so they can teach more efficiently and spread the learning further. Jen shows you how to make the most of small groups. She gives you seven different options that help meet any students’ needs. Like strategy groups, guided writing, writing clubs, and more. She provides writing progressions to help you decide which students to group and why. There’s even video that demonstrates Jen’s teaching in a variety of classrooms. If you don’t have Teaching Writing in Small Groups, head on over to Heinemann.com to read a sample chapter. Find out what you’re missing and order yourself a copy today.   Planbook has been the established leader in online lesson planning since 2010, offering collaborative lesson sharing, flexible administrator access, and even student view tools for just $15 a year. Using Planbook, educators can build customized school years, classes, and lessons 100% online, directly inputting class materials and up-to-date standards from all over the world. Enter code “TeachMe” (one word, no space) at sign up to join over 800,000 Planbook teachers today and get your first year for only $5!

#225 Supporting Students Through Grief and Trauma with Krista St-Germain

Hello everyone! Today we are seeing more and more people discuss education. While this is good in many ways, it is also leading to multiple groups accidentally—and in some cases, purposefully—misusing terms embedded inside of quality pedagogy. Words and phrases such as equity and social emotional learning are now feared and demonized in many circles. Other circles simply want to know what it’s all about. If you missed part one of this talk, click here.  Lorena Germán is the author of the upcoming book Textured Teaching: A Framework for Culturally Sustaining Practices. Lorena Germán is a Dominican American educator focused on anti-racist and antibias work in education. She’s a cofounder of the groups #DisruptTexts, and Multicultural Classroom. She is the director of pedagogy at EduColor and is also the chair of National Council of Teachers of English’s Committee Against Racism and Bias in the Teaching of English. In this discussion, we cover Social justice, and what it looks like in the classroom The power of narratives Facts about how education has and continues to fail many communities ENJOY! (PS: I believe the last 10 minutes of Lorena's closing thoughts are some of the best of the show. Don't miss it!)   This episode is sponsored by Heinemann—the leading publisher of professional books and resources for educators—and by their new book Teaching Writing in Small Groups by Jennifer Serravallo. Everyone’s turning to groups in this unique school year so they can teach more efficiently and spread the learning further. Jen shows you how to make the most of small groups. She gives you seven different options that help meet any students’ needs. Like strategy groups, guided writing, writing clubs, and more. She provides writing progressions to help you decide which students to group and why. There’s even video that demonstrates Jen’s teaching in a variety of classrooms. If you don’t have Teaching Writing in Small Groups, head on over to Heinemann.com to read a sample chapter. Find out what you’re missing and order yourself a copy today.   Planbook has been the established leader in online lesson planning since 2010, offering collaborative lesson sharing, flexible administrator access, and even student view tools for just $15 a year. Using Planbook, educators can build customized school years, classes, and lessons 100% online, directly inputting class materials and up-to-date standards from all over the world. Enter code “TeachMe” (one word, no space) at sign up to join over 800,000 Planbook teachers today and get your first year for only $5!

#224 Textured Teaching (Lorena Germán pt.2)

Hello everyone! Welcome to season 6 of the podcast! Today we are seeing more and more people discuss education. While this is good in many ways, it is also leading to multiple groups accidentally—and in some cases, purposefully—misusing terms embedded inside of quality pedagogy. Words and phrases such as equity and social emotional learning are now feared and demonized in many circles. Other circles simply want to know what it's all about. Luckily, we are speaking with and diving in deep with none other than Lorena Germán, author of the upcoming book Textured Teaching: A Framework for Culturally Sustaining Practices. Lorena Germán is a Dominican American educator focused on anti-racist and antibias work in education. She's a cofounder of the groups #DisruptTexts, and Multicultural Classroom. She is the director of pedagogy at EduColor and is also the chair of National Council of Teachers of English's Committee Against Racism and Bias in the Teaching of English. In this discussion, we cover What culturally sustaining practice is The molasses of terms being thrown irresponsibly and methodically CRT and the misinformation around it The power of narratives and the disrupting of them   ENJOY!     This episode is sponsored by Heinemann—the leading publisher of professional books and resources for educators—and by their new book Teaching Writing in Small Groups by Jennifer Serravallo. Everyone’s turning to groups in this unique school year so they can teach more efficiently and spread the learning further. Jen shows you how to make the most of small groups. She gives you seven different options that help meet any students’ needs. Like strategy groups, guided writing, writing clubs, and more. She provides writing progressions to help you decide which students to group and why. There’s even video that demonstrates Jen’s teaching in a variety of classrooms. If you don’t have Teaching Writing in Small Groups, head on over to Heinemann.com to read a sample chapter. Find out what you’re missing and order yourself a copy today.   Planbook has been the established leader in online lesson planning since 2010, offering collaborative lesson sharing, flexible administrator access, and even student view tools for just $15 a year. Using Planbook, educators can build customized school years, classes, and lessons 100% online, directly inputting class materials and up-to-date standards from all over the world. Enter code “TeachMe” (one word, no space) at sign up to join over 800,000 Planbook teachers today and get your first year for only $5!  

#223 Culturally Sustaining Practice with Lorena Germán

Hello everyone! Welcome to the season 6 intro episode. Today, I'm going to discuss the new theme music (per tradition), and dive into some of the ideas that are shaping this season to be the biggest and most relevant yet. I touch on: Going back to the basics of the podcast, while at the same time pushing forward Bringing the community closer together Combating the war against public education And much, much more.   This episode is sponsored by Heinemann—the leading publisher of professional books and resources for educators—and by their new book Teaching Writing in Small Groups by Jennifer Serravallo. Everyone’s turning to groups in this unique school year so they can teach more efficiently and spread the learning further. Jen shows you how to make the most of small groups. She gives you seven different options that help meet any students’ needs. Like strategy groups, guided writing, writing clubs, and more. She provides writing progressions to help you decide which students to group and why. There’s even video that demonstrates Jen’s teaching in a variety of classrooms. If you don’t have Teaching Writing in Small Groups, head on over to Heinemann.com to read a sample chapter. Find out what you’re missing and order yourself a copy today.   Planbook has been the established leader in online lesson planning since 2010, offering collaborative lesson sharing, flexible administrator access, and even student view tools for just $15 a year. Using Planbook, educators can build customized school years, classes, and lessons 100% online, directly inputting class materials and up-to-date standards from all over the world. Enter code "TeachMe" (one word, no space) at sign up to join over 800,000 Planbook teachers today and get your first year for only $5!  

Moving Forward Together — Season 6 Intro

Hello everyone! This episode is an introduction to my second podcast, Craft & Draft! This is pulled from episode 40 of that show (our most popular episode to date) all about starting the year in reading and writing workshop. If you are en English teacher and want more topics directly focused on reading and writing, go check out the show if you enjoy this one! Here is the blurb for the episode: It’s now time to think about next year.  A huge question a — How should I set up my workshop? Pam explains the principles that she uses to set up her first day of workshop.  She wants her students to read and write on the first day of school. She shares her first day’s lesson that will get her students excited about the year and models workshop expectations for her students. Jacob will have new students this next year, so he will change up how he begins the year. He shares how he likes to utilize texts that will elicit great responses from his students. He likes to get students into authentic writing as soon as possible using the Craft & Draft Books. Join Jacob and Pam as they respond to a request from a listener. If you have a question or a topic you want them to address, Jacob and Pam invites you to submit questions or topics on the Craft & Draft website.     This episode is sponsored by Heinemann and their book, Leading Literate Lives. What stories make you who you are? How have your experiences shaped you as a learner? Who are you as a reader and writer? Exploring your history as a learner can help you reflect on your teaching practices and make instructional decisions that positively impact student learning. In Leading Literate Lives, Stephanie outlines a framework for reading and writing that makes a direct connection between reflection and classroom practice. In each chapter you will find concrete ideas, tools, and activities for reading and writing to help move you from teacher reflection to instruction. For every specific reflection Stephanie will show you how to put the same idea into practice in your classroom, with the goal of helping you and your students: build and cultivate habits that make reading and writing a priority make space and create opportunities in your lives and classrooms to do what real readers and writers do explore and embrace your reading and writing identities find and create thriving communities filled with inspiration and support, where the reading and writing lives of every member are shared and celebrated. Fueled with the understandings that come from leading a literate life, you can learn to embrace reflective practices that bring greater intention and joy to your classrooms and schools.

#222 How to Begin the Year in Reading and Writing Workshop — Craft & Draft

Hello everyone, and welcome to a special 2 part episode of Teach Me, Teacher. The intro you are hearing (reading) now is exactly the same on both episodes titled, Critical Race Talk. This is due to the nature and ties of the conversations you will hear, and also the reasoning behind why I am putting out this content at all on this podcast. To start, I believe in discourse and the dismantling of echo chambers. While anyone with time on their hands or a history with Teach Me, Teacher can verify my political and social leanings tend to be towards what Americans call “the left,” — I do not deny this— I do not subscribe to any one ideology or framework. As an educator and academic, I pride the search for truth above all else, even when such truth may challenge my own beliefs about the world and its institutions. Essentially, I consider myself politically homeless. I do not find my political identity within strict party lines, rather, I listen to as many good intentioned sides and sources as I can, and decide how I will act accordingly. With that said, Teach Me, Teacher is first and foremost a “best practices” podcast. It is designed from the ground up to be a no-nonsense approach to professional development for educators— and its success and reach, I believe, is because of my commitment to this vision of what PD can be for teachers and administrators. However, best practices cannot be achieved without addressing the larger issues surrounding education and our communities. Teaching does not happen in a vacuum. Indeed, it touches nearly every aspect of life—how many professions can say that? — and with such a burden, comes the responsibility to contend with more than just academics. The sterilization of teaching into just being about standards, mastery, and skills, ignores the vast amounts nuanced factors that make such important aspects of teaching possible in the first place. In other words, what we believe directly affects how we act and teach. To ignore the human aspect of teaching in this way is to ignore what teaching is entirely. The following podcast, and its counterpart, which are both named the same, minus the guest involved, primarily deal with the controversial topic of Critical Race Theory and its association with public schools. Both episodes touch on various other factors and examine the issue through different lenses, but I believe they both offer nuance to the discussion that simply isn’t happening in most circles today. These episodes are not meant to be set up as combatants, which is why they are separated. Rather, I am presenting them as different lenses on the same subject. As the interviewer, I tried to be as non-biased as possible. I tied similar questions to each interview, but I also allowed for each guest to bring their own unique expertise to the discussion. I constructed each discussion around each guests’ unique platform and what they talk about. Whether this is an effective way to address this issue, will ultimately be up to you, the listener. I’m sure there are faults I cannot see, and lines of questioning I did not capitalize on, but these discussions are real discussions between people who care about education. The only editing present are quality adjustments and deletions of technical problems caused by recording over Zoom. Everything else has been untouched. As a quick side note: the only edit I would like to add here is about the data I talked about with Robinson in terms of pass rates based on race. It can be easily misunderstood because of how I said it, so I want to clarify that when I discuss the differing percentages student groups in Texas must hit to be considered proficient, I am referring to their groups as a whole, not individual pass rates. Moving on, I was upfront to each guest about the nature of how I would release these, so there is no gotcha imbedded into the release of these episodes. I respect both Professor Jarvis Givens and Calvin Robinson greatly.

#221 Critical Race Talk with Calvin Robinson

Hello everyone, and welcome to a special 2 part episode of Teach Me, Teacher. The intro you are hearing (reading) now is exactly the same on both episodes titled, Critical Race Talk. This is due to the nature and ties of the conversations you will hear, and also the reasoning behind why I am putting out this content at all on this podcast.  To start, I believe in discourse and the dismantling of echo chambers. While anyone with time on their hands or a history with Teach Me, Teacher can verify my political and social leanings tend to be towards what Americans call “the left,” — I do not deny this— I do not subscribe to any one ideology or framework. As an educator and academic, I pride the search for truth above all else, even when such truth may challenge my own beliefs about the world and its institutions. Essentially, I consider myself politically homeless. I do not find my political identity within strict party lines, rather, I listen to as many good intentioned sides and sources as I can, and decide how I will act accordingly.  With that said, Teach Me, Teacher is first and foremost a “best practices” podcast. It is designed from the ground up to be a no-nonsense approach to professional development for educators— and its success and reach, I believe, is because of my commitment to this vision of what PD can be for teachers and administrators. However, best practices cannot be achieved without addressing the larger issues surrounding education and our communities. Teaching does not happen in a vacuum. Indeed, it touches nearly every aspect of life—how many professions can say that? — and with such a burden, comes the responsibility to contend with more than just academics. The sterilization of teaching into just being about standards, mastery, and skills, ignores the vast amounts nuanced factors that make such important aspects of teaching possible in the first place. In other words, what we believe directly affects how we act and teach. To ignore the human aspect of teaching in this way is to ignore what teaching is entirely.  The following podcast, and its counterpart, which are both named the same, minus the guest involved, primarily deal with the controversial topic of Critical Race Theory and its association with public schools. Both episodes touch on various other factors and examine the issue through different lenses, but I believe they both offer nuance to the discussion that simply isn’t happening in most circles today. These episodes are not meant to be set up as combatants, which is why they are separated. Rather, I am presenting them as different lenses on the same subject.  As the interviewer, I tried to be as non-biased as possible. I tied similar questions to each interview, but I also allowed for each guest to bring their own unique expertise to the discussion. I constructed each discussion around each guests’ unique platform and what they talk about.  Whether this is an effective way to address this issue, will ultimately be up to you, the listener. I’m sure there are faults I cannot see, and lines of questioning I did not capitalize on, but these discussions are real discussions between people who care about education. The only editing present are quality adjustments and deletions of technical problems caused by recording over Zoom. Everything else has been untouched.  As a quick side note: the only edit I would like to add here is about the data I talked about with Robinson in terms of pass rates based on race. It can be easily misunderstood because of how I said it, so I want to clarify that when I discuss the differing percentages student groups in Texas must hit to be considered proficient, I am referring to their groups as a whole, not individual pass rates.  Moving on, I was upfront to each guest about the nature of how I would release these, so there is no gotcha imbedded into the release of these episodes. I respect both Professor Jarvis Givens and Calvin Robinson greatly.

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Teach Me, Teacher

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