Anchored in Education

Classroom management—probably the single most important aspect to education. Almost every educator had to take a course in college that was on classroom management. I know I did. I felt pretty confident that I could develop a seating chart, engage my class, create procedures that were fair and consistent.

And then the day came. The day when it was no longer a class, no longer was it an assignment I would be graded on; it was a day when actual students came into my classroom. There was no safety net (i.e., another teacher)—it was me and me alone with 25 six and seven-year old students. It's when I realized how important classroom management truly was.

There are many great resources for honing classroom management skills. But one of my favorites is Classroom Management from the Ground Up. This book takes us through the various stages of classroom management using an easy to visualize house metaphor. And I'm thankful today for co-author Madeline Good taking time out of her busy day to sit down with us and talk more about the book she co-authored with her dad and sister.

After listening, head over to www.escottengland.com to find the show notes and to read more about Madeline.

Much of what we do is either made or ruined by our mindset. Think about it, how often do we convince ourselves that what we're doing is a waste of time? That we aren't making progress. Or that we are only capable of failing. Or quite possibly we are quick to take credit when things go right but point at others when things go wrong. This is what our mentality does to us if we don't have it aligned with positivity.

Thankfully, my guest today recognizes how people are and has been working at getting them to change their mentality. In fact, that is what Kyle Greene calls his book: The Mentality Changer. Kyle wants people to change their mindset so they can begin changing the world. And he is going to share with us today how easy this is to get started.

After listening, head over to www.escottengland.com to find the show notes and to read more about Kyle.

This profession is demanding. That's just one of the reasons why it irritates when someone outside the profession tells me that teachers have it easy. Ha! We all know that 9 out of 10 people who say that wouldn't last a week in our shoes. But I digress.

A major problem with the high demand in this profession is that it becomes to easy to lose sight of what matters most: our health. I'm not just talking physical health, I'm also talking mental health, emotional health, and spiritual health. We must find what we hear people so often talk about called work-life balance.

Work-life balance is hammered into new administrators, but I fell into a major imbalance when I taught first grade. I learned valuable lessons that I still carry with me today. I also make it a mission of mine to make sure other educators are taking care of themselves as well.

To help spread the message this week, I've invited Dr. Jon Bartelt onto Anchored in Education to talk more about educator self-care. Jon is an amazing example of someone who takes care of himself and makes sure that his work life and personal life remain in harmony. I do believe you will find a lot of insight and information by listening to what Jon has to say today.

After listening, head over to www.escottengland.com to find the show notes and to read more about Jon.

When you hear the word GRAMMY, you probably think of the giant music awards ceremony that happens every January. The GRAMMYs are presented by The Recording Academy. And you probably figured this out already, but The Recording Academy cares a lot of promoting music education. And I mean a lot!

How much? Enough that The Recording Academy executives realized they needed something more to promote music education. Conversations began and what grew from that idea is now known as the GRAMMY Music Education Coalition.

Today on Anchored in Education, the inaugural executive director, Dr. Lee Whitmore joins us to talk more about the Coalition. Lee's history and background makes him the perfect candidate to lead the Coalition, as well as share more with all of us.

After listening, head over to www.escottengland.com to find the show notes and to read more about Lee.

The first day of my first year of teaching was exciting. The night before I couldn't sleep as I waited with such high anticipation of what it would be like on that first day. It did not disappoint. And neither did the next day, the next week, the next month. Then came my second year—same thing! I loved the excitement of being an educator.

Fast forward to my time in administration. I still get that same feeling on the first day. And I have never rolled out of bed dreading the day. I truly get excited every chance I get. And I'm not afraid to hide my enthusiasm, but I've never met anyone that I felt shared my same level of excitement. Then I met Bhavna Sharma-Lewis.

I first talked to Bhavna in mid-August as I was finishing up my first day of the new school year, and she was still a few weeks from her start. But she was pumped. And I said, why don't we celebrate the one hundred fifteenth day like we celebrate the first day? She agreed. And then we scheduled a time for her to join me on Anchored in Education to talk about celebrating schools. Every. Single. Day.

After listening, head over to www.escottengland.com to find the show notes and to read more about Bhavna Sharma-Lewis.

Every school district I have been employed with has had a partnership with the American Heart Association. Every year, typically in the spring, students work to raise money for the AHA with a culminating activity of jumping rope or shooting hoops. Even with a name change in the recent years, the Kids Heart Challenge as it is known now has a stronger than ever partnership with schools districts across America is stronger than ever.

But I've always wondered: what is the Kids Heart Challenge really about? Where does all the money raised really go? What other kind of supports and resources are available for classroom teachers? What is this partnership with OPEN all about? And what kind of magical moments are being created with students? These were all questions I had for this episode of Anchored in Education. My guest this week is Jennifer Chaney, Director of the Youth Market in Southern Illinois and Southeast Missouri for the American Heart Association. Jennifer gives us the inside scoop on Kids Heart Challenge.

After listening, head over to www.escottengland.com to find the to read more about Jennifer Chaney as well as find links to the Kids Heart Challenge and the American Heart Association.

Students are the heart of education. Of course that seems to be stating the obvious. Yet, for decades now we have made changes and improvements to education based upon what we as adults felt was needed. Sure, along the way we have said we are going to do what is in the best interest of students. But has anyone ever asked students what their interests even are?

That is what authors Mike Lubelfeld, Nick Polyak, and PJ Caposey set out to do in their book Student Voice: From Invisible to Invaluable. The authors explored including student voice in everything from major construction and renovation projects, to curriculum and policy changes, and even seating student representatives on the Board of Education in an advisory, non-voting role.

This week on Anchored in Education, Mike and PJ join us to talk more about their experiences with including student voice in their districts. We examine key thoughts from the book as we work towards seeing just how simple, yet crucial, adding student voice is to the education process.

After listening, head over to www.escottengland.com to find the to read more about Mike Lubelfeld and PJ Caposey as well as find a link to their book.

Last week David Marquet joined me on Anchored in Education to talk about intent-based leadership. This is the leadership model David used when he took over the USS Santa Fe, which at the time was the worst performing submarine in the entire Navy fleet. David said when he implemented this empowerment among his crew, there was an immediate change in climate. In just a couple of years, the Santa Fe went on to receive the highest inspection grade the Navy has ever given.

I've read David's book Turn the Ship Around, and now I've had the chance to talk to him. I have no doubt that his leader-leader model works much better than a leader-follower model. But I got to thinking, how do we understand more about the positive effects of intent-based leadership? How about taking to some men who served with David on the Santa Fe. That's exactly what we have this week.

Chuck Dunphy and Andy Worshek had the distinct honor of serving on the Santa Fe with David. Andy brings the unique perspective of an officer who served on the Santa Fe before David arrived. He can attest to how bad it really was. Chuck and Andy talk with us this week on how intent-based leadership is for real, it's empowering, and it's refreshing. They talk about how it not only changed their lives aboard a submarine, but how it has continued to impact their personal and professional lives.

After listening, head over to www.escottengland.com to find the to read more about Chuck Dunphy and Andy Worshek as well as find a link to David's book.

L. David Marquet was set to become a captain in the Navy's Pacific submarine fleet. He was assigned to takeover the USS Olympia. He spent nearly a year learning the ins and outs of that submarine. With just weeks before the takeover, he was informed that he would instead take over for the USS Santa Fe—the worst performing submarine in the entire Navy's fleet.

In addition to the Santa Fe being the laughing stock of the fleet, the actual submarine was different than what David had been preparing for. Not even six months into the command he gave an order that was impossible to achieve with the set up the Santa Fe had. But that didn't stop the officer from still ordering the crew member to act. Upon failure to act because it was an impossible command, David realized something: his men had been trained to do whatever he said—even if it was the wrong thing to do. He needed his crew to lead instead of follow.

What came of this was intent-based leadership. And it is for that reason David joins us on Anchored in Education today. If we apply to our schools what David applied to the Santa Fe, we could see magic happen. Sort of like what happened when David created a submarine full of leaders.

Listen to today's episode to find out what happened on the Santa Fe. After listening, head over to www.escottengland.com to find the show notes and to read more about David Marquet.

A couple of months ago Coach Jim Johnson joined Anchored in Education to talk about that miracle night back in 2006 when J-Mac, a senior basketball manager diagnosed with autism, dressed for action and took the floor for Senior Night, proceeding to put on a four minute tutorial on the court finishing the game with 20 points. After the interview, I had the opportunity to talk to Jim for about 30 minutes about his career in the classroom and on the court. I quickly realized over his 30-plus years in education, he had picked up a lot of useful leadership skills and tools that would benefit educators at all levels.

Jim joins us again today to talk about Leadership Lessons from Half Court. We discuss the many valuable lessons including clarifying vision, building trust, creating the edge, effective communication, leading by example, leaving a profit, and servant leadership. We also discuss what he has found to be the six keys to success—keys that he used to structure his book A Coach and A Miracle.

After listening to this week's Anchored in Education episode, head over to www.escottengland.com to find the show notes and to read more about Coach Jim Johnson.