ClarksRoom

I sit down with two new middle schoolers and listen to what they are excited about, what they are nervous about, their advice to 5th graders and advice for parents of new middle schoolers.

They also give props to their 5th-grade teachers Mrs. Brunnmeier and Mrs. Hoyt.

ClarksRoom has some changes coming to the podcast over the summer. I get to chat with guests like Mike Lawrence, Keith Westman, Bill Selak, Sally Hoyt, Brent Coley, Pam Gildersleeve-Hernandez, Eric Patnoudes and more. Also, you can check out the new patreon site at Patreon.com/clarksroom

Sometimes we need to stop over-thinking things and just get into the fight! Thinking before doing is usually a good thing, but sometimes it can lead to paralysis by analysis.

Sometimes we can take lessons from mother nature, sometimes in the form of cute little monkeys. In this episode, I talk about how we are fine with what we have until we look at what someone else has. This is dangerous for our own mental health and for our relationships.

A carcast thought on conferences as I am on my way to Fall Cue.

A quick thought during my drive home on grading and the missing piece of pedagogy.

Something new on ClarksRoom. A podcast series on my drive…A CARcast. A little thought about your 5.

I jump way up onto a tall soapbox about how we can fail our tweens when it comes to smartphones and social media. This is an extremely important topic we do not talk about much. I hope I do not offend you if you disagree with me, but as parents, we need to be parents more and friends less in this area. A couple great tools are the Disney Circle and the Teen Safe organization.

My short thoughts on how to use and not use social media as an educator. Looking to @thebradmontague on Twitter for a great example of what to do.

This is episode 2 of a 3 part series on how to navigate social media as an educator and parent.