Welcome back to another episode of Breaking the Fourth Wall of Public Education. On this episode, we discuss the many aspects and experiences of teachers transitioning out of the classroom into new careers. Since 2020, over 600K teachers have left the classroom to pursue other options. This has caused a teacher shortage, which is a teacher retention and recruitment issue brought upon by decades of de-professionalization and malignment of teachers by the media, administrators, and the public at large. Teachers will continue to leave the profession in droves and recruitment of new professionals will continue to decline until these and a plethora of other issues are dealt with by the real culprits of educational demise. These culprits are the politicians that make the rules and the many spinless administrators that do their bidding. The politics of Education will be its own demise. Listen as the truth about public education is peeled back and exposed for all to see.

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Welcome back to an all new episode of Breaking the Fourth Wall of Public Education. This week we discuss book banning in the U.S. Regardless of your opinion on this topic, this episode will surely inform and entertain you. Carla Goldberg is a former teacher in Alaska, who has since moved on to new pastures and is now living in Texas. She has a passion for the topoic of book banning and is quite vocal about the inherent dangers of this ever growing trend in states and school districts across the nation. Join us for a hard look at some statistics and titles of banned books that should be quite shocking to teachers and parents who desire access to education for all.

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Social Promotion has been an issue in puiblic schools since they were formed. However, in our ever increasingly competitive world social promotion is something parents and our communities at large should be more concerned about. Listen as Kevin and David explore this important topic facing education today. In fact, social promotion is a contributor to teacher burnout, lack of job satisfaction, and the growing Teacher Retention Issue that will eventually change the way public schools operate in the future. Thank you for listening and we apprecite your support.
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In this episode, Kevin and David continue to expose the many reasons for the Teacher Retention Issue with a candid discussion about special education with special guest and former teacher, April Maule. April lives in Pennsylvania and taught there for two decades before reinventing herself as a Learning Specialist. April provides real insight into the challenges faced by SPED teachers across the country. She also gives us some real pearls of wisdom in this very lightly edited conversation. Some silly moments and a really natural dynamic between three experienced teachers are awaiting your listening skills, right here on Breaking the Fourth Wall of Public Education..

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In this episode, Kevin and David continue to expose the many reasons for the Teacher Retention Issue with a candid discussion about school scheduling. Your hosts offer some solutions to the issue that will improve outcomes, relieve some anxiety, and create an improved school experience for students and staff alike. Dave contuinues his loud call for Competency Based Education and Kevin solves a scheduling probelm. Join us for another episode where your hosts provide unapologetic proof of the massive U.S. Teacher Retention Issue, which will continue to worsen if those in power keep refusing to give teachers the collective voice they deserve.

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In Part II of our conversation with former teacher turned Learning Specialist, David, Kevin, and Pete discuss the current violence plaguing our public school system. Together, they offer some candid reasons why this upward trend seems to have a life of its own in modern schools. They point out the fact that decades of de-professionalizing teachers has resulted in fewer young peopole choosing education as a career and the mass exodus of experienced teachers fed up with a broken system with leaders unable or unwilling to do the hard work it takes to fix things properly.
The panel discusses accountability, apathy, mismanged resources, administration through fear, the huge differences between secondary and elementary schools (that so many people cannot seem to wrap their head around), and the tax dollars school districts spend each year fixing vandalism and educating students that do not attend their classes. Join us for a realistic discussion using firsthand evidence that proves there is a massive Teacher Retention Issue causing schools across the country to scramble to fill roles very few desire. There is no shortage of teachers, simply a shortage of people willing to do this job. The solutions are obvious to anyone listening to teachers.

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Join our conversation with Pete Mercier as we discuss the recent shooting of a sixth grade teacher that made national news. Pete taught in the school district where this violence occured and offers his unique perspective on the situation. Kevin, David, and Pete discuss school violence, accountabilty, discipline codes, and defend schools administrators who are also stuck in the middle of a systemic failure quickly becoming out of their control. As the Teacher Retention Issue rages on, we begin to touch on some of the solutions to the problem from the perpsective of the people leaving education in droves.... the teachers. Today's panel discusses specific changes to the teacher observation system that empowers all stakeholders, provides honest and helpful feedback, is fair, and will be a huge step forward in retaining and attracting great teachers.

Guest Bio: Pete Mercier was a high school music teacher for 16-years. He is a two-time teacher of the year who left education in 2022 to pursue a career as an Instructional Designer. His passion for creating music lead to a passion for developing learning experiences. Like many teachers, returning from the COVID crisis to the continuing terrible treatment of teachers, Pete decided that his love for his amazing wife and two fantastic boys was more than enough to propel him toward a successful career outside of the classroom.

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Gaslighting teachers and students is one of the leading causes of the systemic Teacher Retention Issue. In this episode, Kevin and David discuss how gaslighting has become normalized within many schools across the country, and how this is one of the most important issues at the heart of the mass exodus of highly qualified teachers from public schools. Funny stories, great examples, and a light-hearted approach to this week's topic of gaslighting is what to expect in this episode of Breaking the Fourth Wall of Public Education.
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Welcome back! David and Kevin discuss school data on this episode of Breaking the Fourth Wall of Public Education. Continuing the expsoure of the Teacher Retention Problem currently plaguing the national public education system, your hosts unpack the concerns most teachers have with school data, particularly how it is used within the system. Teachers are data experts that use their own data every day to inform instruction, to create assessments, and to make important decisons regarding the education of the students they teach. Join Kevin and David as they explore the reason why teachers find school data to be mostly useless in their decsion making, but at the same time gather, analyze, and make decisions using data they collect themselves.

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Kevin and David are back after some health issues interupted production. This week they discuss how absoluelty useless most professional development really is for teachers and school staff. They offer a few suggestions for improving the system ans also dive into a few stories about PD disasters.
Thank you for hanging in there with us while we were gone. We are back with all new episodes for seaon two of Breaking the Fouth Wall of Public Education, where we continue to provide firsthand evidence of the Teacher Retention problem that seems permentantly embeded into the national public education system. This ever-growing teacher retention issue has been discussed and disguised as a teacher shortage in the media and in other public forums.

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