Anchored in Education

Have you ever been teaching a lesson or a unit and about halfway through you realize that your best laid plans derailed somewhere along the way? Don't worry, we've all been there. At least I know I have been there as a teacher, as a principal, as a superintendent, and as a college professor.

Thankfully, we never set our plans in concrete, opting instead to allow flexibility to make midcourse corrections if and when necessary. My guest today, Meredith Wendel, is going to guide us through how we can effectively make midcourse corrections to help students get a solid grasp on the content being taught. She provides us with strategies and examples so we can begin honing our skills as teaching captains navigating the high seas of effective teaching and learning.

After listening to today's episode, head over to my website www.escottengland.com and click on the Podcast tab to read more about Meredith.

There is a saying that says all good things are worth working for. That is what is supposed to keep us going when we encounter roadblocks and challenges along our way. But what if I told you that struggling is a good thing? As long as the struggle is productive.

Productive struggle is something that we should all encounter, but moreover, productive struggle is something that we should all embrace. Afterall, when we experience productive struggle that means we are making grounds at getting to our goal. My guest today, Peg Grafwallner, would agree. Peg is the author of Not Yet...And That's OK: How Productive Struggle Fosters Student Learning. She joins us today to talk more about the not yet mindset and the productive struggle including strategies in how to boost student engagement and learning.

After listening to today's episode, head over to my website www.escottengland.com and click on the Podcast tab to read more about Peg.

Writing is something we have to do all the time regardless of what we do in life. I mean, writing a grocery list is technically writing. Writing a thoughtful message in a greeting card is writing. Yet, so many of us will be quick to say that we are not a writer. Why is that? Maybe something from our school experience has put a bad taste in our mouth? Quite possibly we have never learned the true power of writing, keeping instead our written creativity harnessed.

Writing is a part of my every day, no avoiding it. From writing episodes, to interview questions, to articles for publication, writing is a part of my life. And yet, I can find myself so frustrated so often. Thankfully, writer and educator Julie Bogart developed a program over 20 years ago that allow parents and children in a homeschool setting embrace the creativty that we are teeming with but sometime unsure of how to express it.

Join us today as Julie talks more about the program and how we all, regardless of our school setting, can learn strategies to take our expression to the next level. After listening, head over to www.escottengland.com to read out more about Julie.

I have always stood by my phrase that everyone and everything are anchored in education at the end of the day. Which is exactly how I get my hands on a book called Getting to Good Riddance: A No-Bullsh*t Breakup Survival Guide and immediately see how I can relate what I'm reading to breaking up with a bad boss, a bad organization, or a bad habit. I know, because I've been there.

Author Jodie Eckleberry-Hunt returns to Anhored in Education to talk about her book Getting to Good Riddance and how we can in fact apply this into our professional breakups as well. After listening, head over to www.escottengland.com to read out more about Jodie.

If you would have told me 10 years ago that two people would come along and completely re-write some longstanding rules of baseball I would have said...nothing. I wouldn't have been able to get words out because I would have been laughing. Which is probably a good thing because I would have had to eat those words. Emily Cole, owner of the Savannah Bananas, along with her husband Jesse, have in just a few short years turned their summer collegiate team into a global, world traveling baseball sensation. And they did it with you and me, the fans, in mind first.

As a longtime fan of our Nation's pasttime, I will be the first to admit that going to a convential baseball game is not typically high on my list. And the reasons for that are the exact reasons Emily and Jesse created key new rules. But I wanted to talk to Emily on how they came about their idea and made it a success. I want to see if we can tap into those same principles to re-imagine education. Join us for a conversation today on what I call, the banana effect.

After listening, head over to www.escottengland.com to find out more about Emily.

We've all hear it before: students saying they aren't good at something. We might especially hear them say they're not good at writing or reading. Of course this is a problem, but it becomes more of your problem when you're their teacher. You know you will never move the needle if you don't get them out of the mindset that they can't do something. Of course, identifying the problem is often easier than identifying the solution.

Thankfully, my guest today experienced this problem and then worked with her students to find a solution. Stephanie Farley was a middle school ELA teacher when she first took a look at her own practices and what she could change to help foster growth in her students. In this episode, Stephanie will share how mindset, positive emotions, and better assessment strategies led to tremendous growth of her students.

After listening, head over to www.escottengland.com to get a link to and read more about Stephanie.

If you've never been a part of a school action plan that lacked substance, then this episode is probably not for you. However, if you've been a part of, or better yet, you've created a vague school action plan, then this is YOUR episode. I have no reservations telling you that I've had vagueness in school action plans. Although if you would have asked me at the time, I would have told you it was as good as gold. But if we can be honest and take the blinders off, then we will see that we are more talk than action.

Thankfully, my guest today is Chris Briggs-Hale, and he, too, has created vague school action plans. More importantly, he recognized it and fixed it. Today Chris joins Anchored in Education to discuss his experienes and gives us tips on how to avoid similar mistakes.

After listening, head over to www.escottengland.com to get a link to and read more about Chris.

We talk a lot about STEAM programs in our schools. There are a lot of great resources and programs out there for schools to utilize. But what about the STEAM that is right in front of us every day? I could name a variety of every day experiences that are teeming with Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics. But the first thing that stands out to me? NASCAR!

Babette Huitt and Melissa Stirewalt, the program directors of the STEAM program at Charlotte Motor Speedway, join Anchored in Education today to discuss more about their program. Now in their eleventh year of existence, the STEAM program offers year round experiences to students in the many different areas of STEAM and NASCAR. Twice a year the CMS STEAM program hosts a STEAM Expo with 50 different stations, competitions, and other experiences for students.

After listening, head over to www.escottengland.com to get a link to and read more about the CMS STEAM program.

The role of the assistant principal is critical to the success of a school. Which makes the fact that we do not have any formal preparation program to help those who step into the role be the most successful version of themselves as an assistant principal. Too often we are not clear with how the assistant principal can best support the whole school. Now, we are blessed with a resource that will help change this.

Author and educator Ryan Donlan joins Anchored in Education this week to discuss his book All Other Duties as Assigned: The Assistant Principal's Critical Role in Supporting Schools Inside and Out. Ryan uses the highest quality research paired with some of the best practical strategies to create a comprehensive guide for assistant principals. Drawing from his own personal experience as an assistant principal, Ryan discusses best practices in a variety of areas through 10 chapters such as managing time, building a positive school culture and climate, building relationships and capitalizing on teachable moments.

After listening, head over to www.escottengland.com to read more about Ryan as well as find a link to All Other Duties as Assigned as well as other links discussed on today's show..

Discipline has always been an integral part of the education process. That is not the same as saying all discipline practices are effective and contributing to improving student behavior. In fact, many times when we think of discipline, we immediately think of exclusionary practices. After all, this is what we're most familiar with.

My guest today is Andy Jacks, author of the book Discipline Win: Strategies to Improve Behavior, Increase Ownership, and Give Every Student a Chance. Andy draws from his own experiences as a classroom teacher, the work he has done as an administrator, and even his own research he conducted as part of his dissertation to demonstrate that exclusionary practices are not only ineffective but actually hinder students. Join us on Anchored in Education today as we learn more about his book and how we can utilize the strategies he gives us to take a different, more positive and effective, approach to discipline.

After listening, head over to www.escottengland.com to read more about Andy as well as find a link to Discipline Win.