Busted Pencils

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the trajectory all of our lives. Now, five years since the onset of the pandemic, we look at all that we’ve become. So often, we hear the endless clarion call of “learning loss” in education. Rarely do we hear about all of the learning students, teachers, and families gained. Nor do we take time to celebrate and honor how some trajectory shifts stemming from Covid led to spectacular growth and achievement for us personally. So today, we look not only at the loss- which we understand as grief, not some abstract loss of learning- but also at what we gained. For one thing, we gained Dr. Johnny Lupinacci as cohost of BustED Pencils!

At this five-year mark, nearly every publication offers some form of reflective essay. Dr. Johnny shared his thoughts about the lessons gained from the pandemic with the Washington State magazine.

BustED Pencils: Fully Leaded Education Talk is part of Civic Media. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! Go to bustedpencils.com for swag, all of our episodes, and for information on partnering with us! For information on all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows. Join the conversation by calling or texting us at 608-557-8577 to leave a message!

Class, we talk about AI a lot here. Is it good or bad? Well, it’s technology, so it is neither and both depending on the user. But what if we could consider it as *more* than a tool, and far less than a replacement for a teacher? Britni Walz, Instructional Services and Technology Director for CESA4, like Dr. Tim, views proper AI as an assistant. Today, Britni joins us to discuss the exciting work CESA4 is doing to bring AI to rural school districts in Wisconsin. These schools seek ways to engage each of their students according to their needs and interest. As any educated educator knows, that’s a monumental task. Well, what if we pair teachers with an assistant who can build individualized lesson plans for each child based on that student’s needs and interests? That might just work!

As we discuss AI in classrooms more, we need to understand a few things. The first and most important is that AI is ultimately a tool, not a replacement for human engagement. AI grows more capable and nuanced each day, but it’s still a tool. Rather than fearing that AI will replace teachers let’s consider the second thing. Utilizing AI as an assistant has the potential to reinvigorate teachers facing creative burnout and to engage so many students who tune out of lessons that don’t interest them!

BustED Pencils: Fully Leaded Education Talk is part of Civic Media. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! Go to bustedpencils.com for swag, all of our episodes, and for information on partnering with us! For information on all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows. Join the conversation by calling or texting us at 608-557-8577 to leave a message!

Class, welcome to our next season of covering essential curricular activities! We began this weekly segment in fall with First Downs and Friday Night Lights. Then, we transitioned into Free Throws and Face Offs. Now in spring, we introduce Hurdles and Home Runs! You can expect to catch up on the classic spring sports of track and field, lacrosse, baseball, and softball. But spring isn’t just for sports. In this episode, Tim, Johnny, and Jess reminisce on their favorite vernal essentials including model UN, forensics, and theater. We look forward to bringing you highlights of these incredible, necessary components of education!

BustED Pencils: Fully Leaded Education Talk is part of Civic Media. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! Go to bustedpencils.com for swag, all of our episodes, and for information on partnering with us! For information on all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows. Join the conversation by calling or texting us at 608-557-8577 to leave a message!

Class, we are so excited to share that our friend Hallie Newman Schmeling is running for School Board! Teacher Hallie- as we call her around here- and Teacher Joanna are Educators Amplified, a podcast dedicated to raising up the voices of educators. Hallie joins us today to discuss why she chose to run for School Board in the Menomonee Falls district. She sees and hears the needs of teachers, students, and families in her district. With her background as a classroom educator, we know she will truly amplify the educators. Today, she discusses what School Boards actually do and how their decisions shape education in their districts. Hallie’s running to make a positive difference in her community. Learn more and check out her campaign on her official webpage or on Facebook.

If you’re in Hallie’s district, you can vote for her from now until Tuesday April 1st. For all of us here in Wisconsin, the April 1st election will feature choices for Supreme Court Justice and Superintendent of Public Instruction. Check your voter registration and everything on your ballot here. Then make a plan and VOTE by April 1st to amplify your choice!

BustED Pencils: Fully Leaded Education Talk is part of Civic Media. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! Go to bustedpencils.com for swag, all of our episodes, and for information on partnering with us! For information on all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows. Join the conversation by calling or texting us at 608-557-8577 to leave a message!

Class, welcome to another new week! Despite our best efforts at cheer, we’re finding it hard to be all smiles to start this week. And we find that sentiment reflected in our nation’s continually declining happiness index. For the second consecutive year, America ranks at a new low on the World Happiness Report. Why is our happiness declining? Well, when we look around at the uncertainty in the economy, willful denial of climate catastrophe, and lack of investment in the future the answer appears…

Next, the news we’ve been waiting for since November 5th, 2024. President Trump officially ordered the beginning of the end at the federal Department of Education. Dr. Tim and Dr. Johnny address this news as their educated educator selves: with a short civics lesson. By the way, it’s not as if teachers universally adore the federal department. The department needs massive reform to address the needs of students, teachers, and families. But gutting it and leaving states without critical funds only spells harm for many millions of Americans.

BustED Pencils: Fully Leaded Education Talk is part of Civic Media. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! Go to bustedpencils.com for swag, all of our episodes, and for information on partnering with us! For information on all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows. Join the conversation by calling or texting us at 608-557-8577 to leave a message!

Class, welcome to sprinter- that delightful damp windy transition from winter to spring. Chad, host of the WXCO morning show and Civic Media sports broadcaster and Jimmie, Civic Media sports editor, have been two of our favorites for this Friday segment. Today, they bring us a final update on the winter sports and a preview of spring activities. The winter season wrapped with a few location issues that reveal the interconnectedness of these essential activities and local economies. All in all though, this was an excellent season with so much learning for students to carry throughout their lives.

Looking ahead to spring, make sure to keep up with Wisconsin essential activities on Civic Media! Chad broadcasts for the Wausau region WXCO. Richland Center (WRCE), Park Falls (WCQM), and Baraboo (WRPQ) will also broadcast various spring sports. Stay tuned for updates on baseball beginning in just two short weeks! This being Wisconsin, we expect “sprinter” to carry on for a bit and hope for warm sun for our broadcasters diamond-side!

BustED Pencils: Fully Leaded Education Talk is part of Civic Media. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! Go to bustedpencils.com for swag, all of our episodes, and for information on partnering with us! For information on all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows. Join the conversation by calling or texting us at 608-557-8577 to leave a message!

Class, we’ve all experienced terrible trainings, right? Modules drier than a desert and handbooks that leave us bored to tears while not providing any actual knowledge of the company’s methodologies or values? Well, thank goodness for educated workplace educator and brand new Pencil Buster Luis Garcia, co-founder and president of PETE-Personalized Education, Training, and Enrichment! Luis joins us today to discuss the intersection of great training and education.

With co-founder and CTO Jacques Fu, Luis created PETE to answer a few key issues in workforce education and training. First: the need for constantly available and accessible experts. That tends to be a tricky matter when the expert is a human. But with an AI-powered system modeled using those human experts? Well that works just great! Second: a desperate desire for better ways to evaluate learning. Traditional tests are… problematic… for so many reasons, as any educated educator and Pencil Buster knows. Tests almost universally measure how good someone is at taking tests, not at evaluating how well a learner mastered subject matter. Third: desire for individualization to optimize each leaner’s educational experience. So Luis and Jacques came together to build a better system, using the emergent technology to answer all these questions: AI.

BustED Pencils: Fully Leaded Education Talk is part of Civic Media. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! Go to bustedpencils.com for swag, all of our episodes, and for information on partnering with us! For information on all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows. Join the conversation by calling or texting us at 608-557-8577 to leave a message!

Happy Monday Class, let’s bust some pencils! In last week’s homeroom, we covered the lawsuit filed by 8 Attorneys General in opposition to the cancellation of hundreds of millions of dollars in teacher training grants. Now, their efforts in suing pay off- at least temporarily- as a federal judge orders those grants reinstated in the 8 states. This is a temporary measure, but it shows the power of our elected officials fighting in the necessary courts for our students. Do we wish suing wasn’t necessary? Yes, of course. But it is, so we’re damn glad for our Attorneys General!

Next we turn to another pending lawsuit. Last week, the Trump administration proceeded with their first concrete steps to dismantle the federal Department of Education. On just one day, they fired over 1300 employees, reducing the workforce to half its size at the outset of the administration. Now, 21 Attorneys General are suing over the impending harm this will cause to schools. We encourage and wish them well!

BustED Pencils: Fully Leaded Education Talk is part of Civic Media. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! Go to bustedpencils.com for swag, all of our episodes, and for information on partnering with us! For information on all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows. Join the conversation by calling or texting us at 608-557-8577 to leave a message!

What makes something a public good? In short, inclusion and access. It cannot exclude anyone- regardless of background, socioeconomic status, or creed. Dr. Jonathan Gyurko, repeat Pencil Buster, joins us to discuss his recent article on higher education’s status as a non-public good. Although our institutions of higher education- even those that call themselves “public”- aren’t at this moment public goods, but they can be. Making them so will more closely align their missions with democracy, which requires us to include. Inclusion isn’t always easy, but it is necessary and leads to more public good. We can get there by focusing on the incredible work that our schools are already doing. And when we focus on the lived value that graduates gain, we’ll get closer to that goal.

Jonathan is the co-founder and president of ACUE, the Association of College and University Educators, a proud partner of BustED Pencils.

BustED Pencils: Fully Leaded Education Talk is part of Civic Media. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! Go to bustedpencils.com for swag, all of our episodes, and for information on partnering with us! For information on all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows. Join the conversation by calling or texting us at 608-557-8577 to leave a message!

Pencil Busters, we made it through another week! So let’s take some time to reflect on how essential-curricular activities contribute to the “becoming” of young adults. Two weeks ago, we talked with the managers of WSU Hockey’s award-winning social media team. Today, we hear from Kianna Hamer and Katherine Bresani, members of the team who produce incredible video and photography to support the hockey team. Together with Giancarlo Bresani, dedicated WSU parent and supporter of the social media team, Kianna and Katherine created two video series to support the hockey players. Their series “Behind the Bench” provides rarely-seen footage of players and coaches preparing for games. Their other series, “Meet the Players” introduces and humanizes the team members to their school and beyond. The projects create unique mementos at a pivotal period of the players’ lives, preserving these magical moments of them becoming their adult selves.

And it’s not just the players who benefit from the creative endeavors! Kianna and Katherine share how they’ve grown, found their passions, and created enduring connections through their work. They themselves relish in the beauty of becoming, of finding purpose in telling the stories of their team members.

BustED Pencils: Fully Leaded Education Talk is part of Civic Media. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! Go to bustedpencils.com for swag, all of our episodes, and for information on partnering with us! For information on all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows. Join the conversation by calling or texting us at 608-557-8577 to leave a message!