An Unconventional Teacher

"...we all learn better through a lens of joy." - Gahmya Drummond-Bey

Season 1 of An Unconventional Teacher comes to an incredible finish with this inspiring and motivating interview with Gahmya Drummond-Bey, "The World's Teacher". 

Gahmya is an award-winning curriculum writer and learning expert who has taught in over 30 countries and helped to redesign curriculum in over 20 countries. She has been a nominee for the Global Teacher Prize three times, speaks 5 languages, and is an international selling author. 

Oh, did we mention this is her 3rd pandemic in her career? 

After serving in the Peace Corps in Turkmenistan, Gahmya moved to South Korea to learn from her students how to teach. This was her graduate program, she says. Quickly, Gahmya found her problem to solve: education around the world. 

Currently, she is based in Malaysia right now, continually dedicating herself to "spreading healthy transformative education to kids and teens around the world" (https://www.evolvedteacher.com/my-vision). 

Here are a few more links to Gahmya's incredible work:

Evolved Teacher (Founder & CEO) 

Ted Talk: "Teaching Kids to Find Their Mission"

Ted Talk: "How has hunger motivated her toward her purpose?"

Kid Youniversity (Founder and CEO)

Affirmations for kids

Children's Book: "The Life of Ideas" (Author)

Episode Highlight Quotes:

"If I would put 8+ years into being a doctor, why not do that into being a great teacher?!"

"There is something that we all bring that we all bring in different cultures all around the globe that could be so amazing if we can put them together."

"Children naturally love to learn; so it's all about the way that you approach it."

"...we all learn better through a lens of joy."

"Teachers...Invest in yourself....When you feel happy and fulfilled, that definitely emanates throughout the spaces and throughout your classroom as well."

Support An Unconventional Teacher - A pay-if-forward project

Please consider becoming one of our patrons of our show through Patreon. 

Thank you to Ryan, Steve, Amber, and Clark for being our wonderful Patrons since the beginning!

Podcast Credits:

An Unconventional Teacher Founder & Host: Jon Hinthorne

Podcast Editor and Producer: Jon Hinthorne 

Official Website

An Unconventional Teacher Social Media

Media Designers:  Nina Telthorst & Gracie Bonwich

"My mission is to create an environment where all students feel they belong. I will continue my efforts each day to be an educator who makes a difference for equity and social justice." Nicole Butler-Hooton

Episode 19 features one of the kindest, most selfless, talented, and foreword thinking educators in our country, Nicole Butler-Hooton. 

In 2021 he earned the most prestigious award of Oregon Teacher of the Year. Nicole is a much-loved 2nd Grade Teacher at Irving Elementary School in Eugene, Oregon with over 14 years of experience in the classroom. 

Nicole is doing so much to advance thinking in Oregon and beyond on equity as it relates to anti-colonial education. As an indigenous woman herself, she is investing a lot of time and energy into supporting other indigenous educators around the country. 

Furthermore, Nicole has become an amazing sounding board for many folks (including myself) and quite frankly has become a friend throughout this whole process of interviewing and releasing this episode.

Episode Highlight Quotes:

"Thinking about the framework for anti-racist or anti-bias education...that is something that is a passion of mine."

"Knowing our students is more than just teaching what's in the book. In order to teach, we have to know our students....our students are our framework for teaching."

"Being an unconventional teacher means, to me, teaching with your heart and finding where your joy is, and where your passion is."

"Being vulnerable and open minded with this profession can really go the extra mile for parents and students."

"Another thing that I think is really important in our work that we're doing is to know that we're not the expert at all things. And it's ok to showcase that to our students. It's ok to ask for help."

"Not all opinions are equal. Some opinions are oppressive."

Links to Nicole's Projects/Groups Affiliations:

Sapsik'ʷałá Teacher Education Program

Oregon Indian Education Association

University of Oregon Elementary Education, Western Regional Educator's Network (WREN) Affinity Planning Team

Support An Unconventional Teacher - A pay-if-forward project

Please consider becoming one of our patrons of our show through Patreon. Thank you to Ryan, Steve, Amber, and Clark for being our wonderful Patrons since the beginning!

Podcast Credits:

An Unconventional Teacher Founder & Host: Jon Hinthorne

Podcast Editor and Producer: Jon Hinthorne 

Official Website

An Unconventional Teacher Social Media

Media Designers:  Nina Telthorst & Gracie Bonwich

"How am I ensuring that there is beauty in my classroom, and peace in my classroom, and balance in my classroom." - Lynette Stant 

Lynette Stant, 2020 Arizona Teacher of the Year and the first indigenous woman to earn that extraordinary honor, is our extraordinary and unconventional guest of part 1 of our 3-part Season 1 Finale. 

Lynette, or Mrs. Stant as her 38 students lovingly call her, is Navajo (Diné) and believes one of her primary roles as an educator is to be a mirror for her students as they see themselves and their culture reflected in her. She teaches at Salt River Elementary in the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. Like most dedicated educators, she often works many hours past the last bell and focuses her countless, selfless hours of service to her students and community on being a voice for equitable education for her students.  Beyond that, she hopes to be a voice for all Arizona students living in rural areas and on Native American reservations. 

In one previous interview with Lynette, she notes that it is remarkable we are in this situation in the first place because the 19th century education system for indigenous peoples was all about assimilation. That is certainly not the case today thanks in part to educators like Lynette who work day in and day out to change the narrative of how Native peoples are discussed/treated in education.

Episode Highlight Quotes: 

"Our indigenous students do so much just to have to just be present in the classroom. Whether that's getting in a horse-drawn wagon and then running part of the way and then getting in another wagon to be at school...it hasn't changed, you know, since then." 

"In the midst of this pandemic, the inequities have definitely been spotlighted on marginalized communities." 

"I've actually met students who are literally trying to sign in to class from a cell phone on top of a mesa because that's where they can catch cell service....but my students face the same inequities, you know that big digital divide." 

"It is not a secret that COVID has ravished indigenous nations across our country because the infrastructure wasn't even established for good health care at that time ." 

"Some of our kids come to school just needing us to nurture them. They need that socio-emotional connection to us." 

Support An Unconventional Teacher - A pay-if-forward project 

Please consider becoming one of our patrons of our show through Patreon or through PayPal. Thank you!

Podcast Credits:

An Unconventional Teacher Founder & Host: Jon Hinthorne

Podcast Editor and Producer: Jon Hinthorne 

Official Website

An Unconventional Teacher Social Media

Media Designers:  Nina Telthorst & Gracie Bonwich

Don Doehla, our guest on Episode 17 of An Unconventional Teacher, is a king among kings when it comes to language teachers and a pioneer of the Project Based Language Learning methodology. His passion for making the subject of world language learning shines through everything he does and this episode is a window into that! 

Don recently retired from being a classroom French teacher of 35+ years in northern California. His last school where he spent more than a decade was Vintage High School in Napa, CA. Early on in his life, he connected with his teachers who took him under his wing and supported him to attend and graduate from University of California Berkeley.

Beyond teaching, Don has always believed in paying it forward (hence why he is a perfect guest on our show)! He is a Co-Director at the Berkeley World Language Project as well as the Director of the California World Language Summer Seminar. 

His work also stretched to being a Facilitator for Edutopia.org as well as a Moderator for #LangChat on Twitter. 

Here is Don's Project-Based Language-Learning website as everyone is encouraged to go there for tips, articles, and a wealth of knowledge.

Episode Highlights:

“I really connected with my teachers in High School...She (my French teacher) encouraged me to go to Berkeley.” - Don Doehla

"I found that doing an inquiry based approach engaged students so that the apathy tended to go away. Kids were more interested, more engaged, because they had more control over what they were doing, and what they wanted to explore and learn." - Don Doehla

"You have to love kids. An then, once they know that, then you can teach them anything, especially when you give them the opportunity to have control over it in their own way." - Don Doehla

Support An Unconventional Teacher - A pay-if-forward project

Please consider becoming one of our patrons of our show through Patreon or through PayPal. Thank you!

Podcast Credits:

An Unconventional Teacher Founder & Host: Jon Hinthorne

Podcast Editor and Producer: Jon Hinthorne 

Official Website

An Unconventional Teacher Blog

An Unconventional Teacher Social Media

Website and Media Designers: Nina Telthorst and Gracie Bonwich

Brian Riordan is the featured unconventional educator on this exciting episode of An Unconventional Teacher. Brian is a high school Spanish teacher in Howell, Michigan, focused on engaging his students in comprehensible Spanish language experiences and having fun while doing so. 

Partway through Brian's career as a teacher, he realized he needed to make a change and received empowering trainings from podcasts and online resources to move his class from grammar and worksheet-focused lessons to more engaging, "Comprehensible Input" strategies. These included using leveled reading for fun, music videos, and engaging brain breaks.  Now, his class is much more exciting and his students are enjoying their learning much more.  

Brian's website and blog is worth a look as well and can be found at https://proferiordan.wordpress.com/.  

Episode Highlight Quotes:  

"I used to think that being that rigorous, traditional teacher was maybe what I was built to do." - Brian Riordan 

"Teach with joy!...Once I realized that everything I need to do is coming from a place of joy, it just makes everything so much better." - Brian Riordan 

"I always throw my lesson plan book away at the end of the year and try to start fresh every year." - Brian Riordan 

"Just taking a chance. Being brave. Making courageous decisions and saying, 'I'm going to completely change things up. Throw out all my old notes, all sweet, beautiful grammar powerpoints that I had....and ever since then, our participation in our program is up and kids feel more successful." - Brian Riordan 

Support An Unconventional Teacher - A pay-if-forward project

Please consider becoming one of our patrons of our show through Patreon or through PayPal. Thank you!

Podcast Credits:

An Unconventional Teacher Founder & Host: Jon Hinthorne

Podcast Editor and Producer: Jon Hinthorne 

Official Website

An Unconventional Teacher Blog

An Unconventional Teacher Social Media

Website and Media Designers: Nina Telthorst and Gracie Bonwich

Kristen Wolf, aka “La Loba Lista”, sits down with the host of An Unconventional Teacher to explore how she became such an unconventional educator and why it matters so much to ditch the traditional ways and usher in newer, more exciting, and enriching ways to learn and teach. Kristen teaches at an incredible school called the Bozeman Field School in Bozeman, Montana. 

Kristen is a dynamic educator and presenter. Her background as a Montessori & Spanish teacher has led her to understand the process of language acquisition and human development in profound ways. Kristen thrives when creating a community with her classes. La Loba Lista’s (the ready/ clever Wolf) teaching style is engaging, holistic and supported by language acquisition research.  

Kristen recently earned the distinction of Montana Language Teacher of the Year in 2019, as decided by the Montana Association of Language Teachers (MALT). Currently, Kristen loves working with high schoolers at Bozeman Field School in an experiential based program; training teachers with CI Liftoff; teaching elementary age and adult students and supporting language coaches at the World Language Initiative- MT, where she is the founding teacher. She has recently been elected to represent Montana in the PNCFL (Pacific NW Council for Languages) and is now a member of the MALT board.  She encourages you to come participate in or observe a class, online or in person. Recently published EdSurge Article.

Episode Highlights: 

1) Kristen shares how she did not fit the typical student mold herself and often was bored and misunderstood as a student. 

2) She shares how she connects her experiences as a student to empower her and propel her as an educator now to pay it forward and be/do better. 

3) She tells an inspiring story of connecting with a very difficult student and receiving a heartfelt appreciation email after connecting with him and showing him the world of languages and other cultures can be amazing.

Support An Unconventional Teacher - A pay-if-forward project

Please consider becoming one of our patrons of our show through Patreon or through PayPal. Thank you!

Podcast Credits:

An Unconventional Teacher Founder & Host: Jon Hinthorne

Podcast Editor and Producer: Jon Hinthorne 

Official Website

An Unconventional Teacher Blog

An Unconventional Teacher Social Media

Website and Media Designers: Nina Telthorst and Gracie Bonwich

The host of An Unconventional Teacher, Jon Hinthorne, sits down with middle school science educator, curriculum writer, and department head, Jamie Carota. Jamie comes from a family of educators and teaches at the Don Callejon K-8 School in Santa Clara, CA. She has a wealth of knowledge and experience related to teaching science, assessment, and helping other educators think in more equitable terms in relation to their grading systems. 

Jon and Jamie also discuss the exciting and innovative methods that make her an unconventional teacher. 

>Jamie shares that she demands that each student turn in at least something, because with something they can move forward together. 

>She encourages them to revise their work and tells them that their first attempt is not and should not be their last. 

>She also connects in meaningful ways with each of her students by writing each of them a note around the holidays telling them individualized things on what she appreciates about them. 

This episode is not one to miss and is definitely worth a listen! 

Please share this episode and leave our podcast a review if you enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed producing it for you. 

Episode Highlight Quotes:

"I'm really passionate about giving kids opportunities, and multiple opportunities. I try to pull myself, my ego, my biases, out of the way of their learning or growing."

"I feel like I'm working against years of someone telling them (students) there is only one right answer, or you are defined by your grade, or they're going to be punished for taking a risk...." 

"The first try doesn't mean that it's the only try." 

- Jamie Carota

Support An Unconventional Teacher - A pay-if-forward project

Please consider becoming one of our patrons of our show through Patreon or through PayPal. Thank you!

Podcast Credits:

An Unconventional Teacher Founder & Host: Jon Hinthorne

Podcast Editor and Producer: Jon Hinthorne 

Official Website

An Unconventional Teacher Blog

An Unconventional Teacher Social Media

Website and Media Designers: Nina Telthorst and Gracie Bonwich

Episode Production Note: This episode was recorded using Zoom on a day when the internet was a bit spotty. We did our best to make the audio as clear and fluid as possible, but a few unstable audio spots still remain.

"Acknowledge and appreciate not only who we are, but also who we are capable of being." - Aquaus Kelley

Episode 13 of An Unconventional Teacher features an incredible educator, human, and entrepreneur, Aquaus (Uh Kway Us) Kelly. Instagram: @aquaus 

Aquaus strives to create authentic and meaningful learning experiences with his 5th grade students and community at the Roosevelt Elementary School in New Brunswick, New Jersey. 

Beyond teaching, Uh Kway Us is the Founder of A Lovers Ambition Lifestyle Group that focuses on brand development and social change agency as well as the Founder of We Love Hub City, a community engagement initiative aimed at promoting positivity through curating local culture and lifestyle to bridge the gab between business, community culture, education and government for his home city of New Brunswick, New Jersey.

What strikes us most about Aquaus is his authenticity both as a person, educator, and entrepreneur.

His YouTube channel and other social media is full of creativity and proof that taking risks in the classroom pays off in the end!

Support An Unconventional Teacher - A pay-if-forward project

Please consider becoming one of our patrons of our show through Patreon or through PayPal. Thank you!

Podcast Credits:

An Unconventional Teacher Founder & Host: Jon Hinthorne

Podcast Editor and Producer: Jon Hinthorne 

Official Website

An Unconventional Teacher Blog

An Unconventional Teacher Social Media

Website and Media Designers: Nina Telthorst and Gracie Bonwich

Episode Production Note: This episode was recorded using Zoom on a day when the internet was a bit spotty. We did our best to make the audio as clear and fluid as possible, but a few unstable audio spots still remain.

"When I say flush the format, I really mean it's not just one teacher in a classroom on an island all day long. It's this constant flow of information and energy through all of the modalities that we teach. And I think that's really where the magic happens." - Rachel Freeman

Episode 12 of An Unconventional Teacher features a truly unconventional special education teacher and entrepreneur, Rachel Freemen. Rachel is a dual certified special education and elementary education teacher with a masters degree in curriculum and instruction. She also has a certificate in trauma informed practices for children and adolescents.

She strives to create meaningful educational experiences for students with trauma histories.

She is the owner of Safe Space Teaching whose motto is: "Equal parts Do and Feel."

She has worked in fully inclusive classrooms and self-contained environments. Rachel’s current role is as the special education teacher for a behavioral and emotional support program for students with trauma and behavioral difficulties. Her passion is creating a safe space where all students feel comfortable to take risks. Rachel loves connecting with other teachers and supporting their paths to incorporating trauma supportive care into their classrooms.

Episode Highlights

1) Rachel shares how she is inspired by including her students and their families as they work to support each of them.

2) Rachel shares how she throws out the old playbook in the SPED world and ushers in a holistic approach to things.

3) Rachel tells an inspirational story where she advocated for a student's needs and did it in contention with a fellow teacher at her school.

Support An Unconventional Teacher - A pay-if-forward project

Please consider becoming one of our patrons of our show through Patreon or through PayPal. Thank you!

Podcast Credits:

Host: Jon Hinthorne

Podcast Editor and Producer: Jon Hinthorne 

Official Website

An Unconventional Teacher Social Media

Website and Media Designers: Nina Telthorst and Gracie Bonwich

Episode Production Note: This episode was recorded using Zoom on a day when the internet was a bit spotty. We did our best to make the audio as clear and fluid as possible, but a few unstable audio spots still remain.

"I want them (students) to be good, empathetic, honest, and socially responsible individuals....Those are the skills that build a better society and maybe build a better person." - Patrick William James Lynch

Patrick William James Lynch is a dynamic and successful 3rd grade teacher at the Charter School of Morgan Hill in Morgan Hill, California. He leads with love and puts socio-emotional learning at the heart of his work as a teacher leader. This exciting episode highlights a bit of what makes Patrick an unconventional educator. 

Patrick shares in this episode that teaching was not always his dream job, but he now considers it to be so! He began his education career as an instructional aid, where he worked 1-1 with students needing a bit more support. His success with that led him into the classroom where he has not looked back. He works at CSMH which is a highly successful project based learning and parent engagement school. The support of the parents and surrounding community truly benefit teachers like Patrick and visa versa. 

Patrick Lynch began his work at CSMH as an Instructional Aide in 2012. He earned his B.A. in Psychology at John F. Kennedy University and his Multiple Subject CLAD credential through CSU Monterey Bay. He has volunteered for the Special Olympics and the Pacific Autism Center for Education for many years.

Lastly, Patrick is a highly talented blues musician in the Bay Area and his music can be found at his Official Billy James Blue Website here. 

Episode Highlights:

-Socio-Emotional Learning Focused: Patrick tells his parents at the start that establishing trust with and loving his students comes before academics.

-Project Based Learning: Patrick believes in seizing the organic learning opportunities that pop up so often yet are missed often because of scheduling and curriculum restrictions.

-Project Based Learning and Team Oriented: Patrick tells a story of his grade-level team changing their project they had done consistently for years to something newer and better and online. This risk paid off greatly!

Support An Unconventional Teacher - A pay-if-forward project

Please consider becoming one of our patrons of our show through Patreon or through PayPal. Thank you!

Podcast Credits:

Host: Jon Hinthorne

Podcast Editor and Producer: Jon Hinthorne 

Official Website

An Unconventional Teacher Social Media

Website and Media Designers: Nina Telthorst and Gracie Bonwich

Episode Production Note: This episode was recorded using Zoom on a day when the internet was a bit spotty. We did our best to make the audio as clear and fluid as possible, but a few unstable audio spots still remain.