Busted Pencils

Coach K, Civic Media’s own Jimmie Kaska, joins Dr. Tim to review how Wisconsin schools fared in the election. While we bemoan our loses at the national level and what that may mean for education, we celebrate Wisconsin’s overwhelming support for our public schools. As Jimmie writes, Wisconsin school districts overwhelmingly passed both operational and facilities requests. This is huge! Wisconsinites across the state showed up and said “we care about public schools and we’ll pay more for them!” And in the midst of processing a huge national loss, these bright spots matter. So for 20 minutes, enjoy the wins, and enjoy an update on school sports as 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! To learn more about the show and 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 is in session, Pencil Busters. Just a week after Trump won re-election, we brace ourselves for the onslaught of attacks on public education. Trump has a video laying out his 10-point plan to reform this country’s education. Among the points: return school prayer, make hiring and firing decisions based on political loyalty, and funnel public school money to private schools through vouchers. Oh, and eliminate the Federal Department of Education. What will that mean, and how can we be prepared? Tim and Producer Jess break it down.

On the matter of school prayer, check out The Satanic Temple. They do good work!

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! To learn more about the show and 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!

Once more, Donald Trump is President-elect of the United States. On the campaign trail, he made broad promises to dismantle the federal Department of Education. He threatened to weaponize accreditation programs and to withhold federal funds for schools that teach “woke” ideologies. So what may be the consequences on k-12 and higher education in the United States for the next four years? We can’t be sure. Of one thing we are absolutely certain: we will be here, busting pencils, at every turn. We will continue to advocate for public education. After all, this is where so many of us first engage in democracy. We refuse to crumble in the face of these political defeats. The next four years may get dark. And we’ll be here to kindle light.

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! To learn more about the show and 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!

Our Educated Educators are back for more education! Both Tim and Johnny are back in school, learning from experts to improve their learning and teaching. And just who are these experts? Well, they’re our friends at ACUE- the Association for College and University Educators. Tim- it should surprise no one- is focused on learning about AI in the classroom with short modules. Johnny is earning his ACUE certification in classroom management with a cohort of peers.

ACUE is more than an incredible association for educated educators, they’re a partner of BustED Pencils! You can benefit from our partnership by using promo code BUSTEDPENCILS20 for 20% off any and all of their fully leaded educational materials!

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! To learn more about the show and 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!

Here at BustED Pencils, we know that the so-called “extra”-curriculars are ESSENTIAL curricula. And our guest today, newly initiated Pencil Buster Brent Wilkinson knows it too! Brent earned his undergrad degree from Harvard College and his MBA from Harvard Business. While in undergrad, he played for Harvard’s football team. He’s here today to bust some myths in addition to pencils, starting with the notion that a student athlete “takes a spot” from a more qualified student at an elite university. It’s just not true! As Dr. Johnny explains from his own experience as a university coach, a student athlete is first and foremost a STUDENT. With that settled, let’s dig into why these activities deserve recognition as ESSENTIAL rather than EXTRA curricular. Well, Brent puts it simply. Engagement in these activities teaches young people how to be part of something bigger and greater than themselves. And that’s darn important.

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! To learn more about the show and 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!

The 2024 General Election is TOMORROW. In deep purple Ohio and Wisconsin, Tim and Jess are feeling the stress. Johnny, in reliably blue Washington reports less… AAAAAH… than Dr. Slekar and Producer Jess.

Regardless, of the election stress, we still have trending news for Homeroom this week! First, check your ballots for measures regarding education, many school districts will have them! Next, as we reported last week, guidelines for AI use in classrooms lag behind actual AI use by students and faculty. Well, the Federal Department of Education now provides some structure!

For a one-stop shop to check your voter registration, find your polling location, and practice voting with a sample ballot, go to myvote.wi.gov. Make a plan to vote and fulfill your CIVIC duty!

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! To learn more about the show and 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!

They’re educated educators. They’re amplified. That’s right- we’ve got BustED Pencils and Educators Amplified, back in the saddle!

We are mere days away from the end of this electoral season. Here in beautifully purple, swing-state Wisconsin, tensions run high. Teacher Hallie and Teacher Joanna of Educators Amplified urge us to take care in these moments. As much stress as we feel, we know tools to regulate ourselves and help calm our loved ones. And remember folks- sometimes the best answer to that tension is to- as Michelle Obama instructs- DO SOMETHING!

For a one-stop shop to check your voter registration, find your polling location, and practice voting with a sample ballot, go to myvote.wi.gov. Make a plan to vote and fulfill your CIVIC duty!

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! To learn more about the show and 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!

Coach K, Civic Media’s own Jimmie Kaska, joins Dr. Johnny to chop up school referenda. By November 5th’s election, nearly half of Wisconsin’s school districts will have gone to referendum to secure funding. We’ve talked plenty on BustED Pencils about school referenda and the struggles for schools to secure enough funding to keep the lights on. And as we’ll keep saying, it is equally vital to maintain funding for the “extra”curricular school offerings. Coach K puts it very simply: funding on a referenda that goes to athletics yields community good.

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! To learn more about the show and 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!

Pamela Sackett, founder of Emotion Literacy Advocates, earns her Pencil Busting credentials! She comes to us as a fully leaded educator focused on helping young people develop emotion literacy. Pamela sees too much focus in traditional Social Emotional Learning methods on behavior management- not on true regulation, which comes from knowing our emotions. Instead, Pamela advocates for emotion literacy- a deep understanding of our emotions and how they affect usl. Over her career, Pamela has developed resources to help young people develop their emotion literacy including one handy book- I Can: Twelve Ways to Witness the Heart.

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! To learn more about the show and 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!

Welcome to another week of BustED Pencils! In this homeroom, artificial intelligence is back in the news. As AI advances at a mind-boggling rate, many teachers lag behind their students in mastery of the tools. Recall from our episode with Marc Watkins how AI’s rapid development presents a unique change in how we interact with information. Well, then we need to alter how we train teachers to include AI. Because right now, teachers aren’t receiving the AI training they need. And schools lack policies to address AI in classrooms, leading to tricky lawsuits.

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! To learn more about the show and 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!