#EduCrush

Breana Jacques and Shannon Finnegan are two "engagement guides" at the Collaborative Lab School in Minneapolis with a fascinating mission: to empower students to reinvent school. What principles do students think school should follow? What do they think should be assessed? How do they want to feel? They join Natalie to share the story of how they've shared power with students as co-designers of school and are rewriting the narrative of education.

Show Notes:

· Introduction to Breana and Shannon, two "engagement guides" at the Collaborative Lab School. (7:30)

· How reimagining the role of a teacher is energizing and rehumanizing. (12:00)

· What students want when they are empowered to co-design school. (19:30)

· The co-design journey that led to the Collaborative Lab School. (29:00)

· Co-designing an assessment system grounded in competencies. (36:45)

· The barriers that folks are facing in traditional contexts that keep them from sharing power and co-designing with students. (49:00)

· The purpose of education. (60:00)

Empowerment Ecosystem Summit website: https://sites.google.com/view/empowermentecosystemsummit/home

Breana & Shannon's podcast, The Loop: https://thelooppodcast.weebly.com/

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Email: [email protected]

Jill on Twitter: @engler_jill

Alex on Twitter: @MrAlexNoel

Natalie on Twitter: @natabasso

Podcast on Twitter: @educrushpod

Podcast on Instagram: @educrushpod

Throughout history, we have told the story of girls as precious eggs and boys as kept princes. However, as we begin to explore gender identity as a spectrum rather than a binary, it's time to update this narrative and that begins with interrogating the scripts we perform when talking to students. Author, speaker and gender awareness coach, Jason Ablin, joins Natalie to unpack this gender equation in schools and uncover how it is impacting literacy and numeracy achievement.

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Email: [email protected]

Jason's new book "The Gender Equation: How to Create Equity and Fairness for All Students" is out now!

Show Notes:

· Introducing Jason Ablin. (5:00)

· Jason's first move as a new principal to remove the gender barriers to learning. (8:00)

· The origin story for Jason's passion in gender-related issues. (14:00)

· How students and teacher respond to each other in ways that uphold gender bias. (19:30)

· Girls as "precious eggs" and boys as "kept princes." (28:45)

· An academic rationale for taking gender issues seriously in school. (32:15)

· A first step for a leader looking to tackle gender bias in their school. (44:30)

· The purpose of education. (49:45)

Dave Conrad is the Community Engagement Program Director at a Non-Profit organization called the Mustard Seed. They are an organization that specializes in providing aid to people around Canada who are facing homelessness. On this episode, Dave and Alex explore what life could be like for students who could be experiencing homelessness and the importance of dignity and person first language.

Alex on Twitter: @MrAlexNoel

Natalie on Twitter: @natabasso

Podcast on Twitter: @educrushpod

Podcast on Instagram: @educrushpod

Show Notes:

Introduction [09:17]

What leads students into experiencing homelessness [01:39]

Things teachers can look for [10:56]

School communities can provide support [16:08]

The discomfort of showing others dignity [20:24]

Students benefit from volunteering [24:38]

Talking to students about homelessness [26:57]

The purpose of education [32:42]

Significant quotes:

"I think the key to it is, we need to see people for more than their experience they're going through right now. We need to see people for more than how they are presenting right now" 17:23

"I think first and foremost we need to be treating people with dignity, building relationships out of that place, and then there are practical supports that can come into that, but it all needs to come out of a place of relationship." 18:10

Links Mentioned:

Homelesshub.ca

A public narrative is a framework to help us craft a story that inspires others to take action. In this "coaching call" episode, Natalie walks Alex through the creation of his own public narrative for a cause he is passionate about.

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Email: [email protected]

Show Notes:

• Unpacking the "public narrative" framework as designed by Marshall Ganz. (3:30)
• Clarifying the story of now and a specific call to action. (13:20)
• Finding empathy with high school teachers in the story of us. (32:45)
• Bringing it home with the story of self to make it personal. (40:30)
• Episode takeaways and a call to action. (1:06)

Apply to the Empowerment Ecosystem --> https://calendly.com/natabasso/60-minute-meeting

On this week's episode, Alex explores his own thoughts and history around discrimination.

Alex on Twitter: @MrAlexNoel

Natalie on Twitter: @natabasso

Podcast on Twitter: @educrushpod

Podcast on Instagram: @educrushpod

Links Mentioned:

https://twitter.com/lyricalpitbull

Stories are a powerful tool for liberation when we see ourselves in a character that demonstrates ingenuity and creativity on their quest for freedom. In particular, the stories of rebel Black communities can inspire our youth today when they are told alongside stories that describe historical violence and oppression. Dr. Crystal Menzies is a qualitative researcher and entrepreneur on a mission to uncover the hidden history of Black folks. She joins Natalie to tell the story of Maroon communities and how she is likewise on a quest to discover liberated spaces outside of the limitations of schools and organizations.

Show Notes:

• Crystal's journey in the education system as a student and a teacher. (10:15)
• The mission that Crystal embarked on to tell a different story about the history of Black folks. (15:00)
• The lack of integrity in organizations who are equity-seeking that led Crystal to seek liberation outside of the system. (23:30)
• What are Maroon communities? (28:00)
• Poor white folks often allied with Maroon communities. (34:00)
• Challenging the "poor unfortunate souls" narratives to unearth joy. (39:35)
• Unlearning the unattainable standards of grind culture, like a false sense of urgency, as an act of personal liberation. (45:30)
• Reimagining education through the lens of relationships with self, others, and the land. (50:50)
• The purpose of education is to co-construct a healthy relationship with our youth. (56:45)

Apply for the Empowerment Ecosystem: https://forms.gle/TD6ediiZzz3d49ti8

The website for Crystal's company, EmancipatED: www.emancipatededucation.com

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Email: [email protected]

On this week's episode we discuss speech pathology and the profound impact that it can have on students' education and their future. Alex Henderson shares her insights, expertise, and optimism!

Alex on Twitter: @MrAlexNoel

Natalie on Twitter: @natabasso

Podcast on Twitter: @educrushpod

Podcast on Instagram: @educrushpod

Show Notes:

Define speech pathology [04:05]

Speech pathology in schools [09:19]

Speech problems that interfere with learning [12:17]

Supporting skill development [16:42]

Spotting language disorders [29:51]

Tools for development [32:53]

The purpose of education [36:29]

Significant quotes:

"Any kid can learn to be a communicator, it might not look like everybody else, but everyone can learn to communicate." 31:38

Links Mentioned:

Project core

http://www.project-core.com/communication-systems/

Six months ago, Natalie quit her job to unleash her entrepreneurial spirit on a mission to reimagine education. Now, she's back with an update about the Empowerment Ecosystem, an online program that provides the community, coaching, and tools for change agents to build an empowering assessment system. She's joined by three founding members, Lynette Earle, Kyle Webb, and Danelle Almaraz, who share their experiences in the ecosystem.

Ready to make REAL change? Book a 45-minute call with Natalie to see if the Empowerment Ecosystem is a fit for you: https://calendly.com/natabasso/60-minute-meeting

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Email: [email protected]

Show Notes:

• The backstory of becoming an entrepreneur and creating the Empowerment Ecosystem. (1:18)
• What drew three founding members of the Empowerment Ecosystem, Lynnette Earle, Danelle Almaraz and Kyle Webb, into the program. (15:22)
• How community, the "high-yield, low-prep" practical activities, and tools to handle difficult conversations have been the most impactful parts of the experience. (20:12)
• Exciting ways that Lynnette, Danelle, and Kyle are taking up this work in their different contexts. (26:12)
• Lessons learned about change leadership while building an empowering assessment system. (36:12)
• Advice for people on the fence about investing in themselves and joining the ecosystem. (41:20)
• The purpose of education. (47:10)

On this episode of #Educrush, Alex talks to a Planner named Srimal Ranasinghe who believes whole heartedly that one of the keys to students thriving is looking at the spaces that we all spend time in. Listen while they discuss why it's important and what it may look like to design spaces with health and engagement in mind.

Alex on Twitter: @MrAlexNoel

Natalie on Twitter: @natabasso

Podcast on Twitter: @educrushpod

Podcast on Instagram: @educrushpod

Show Notes:

Intro [00:40]

Today's Guest [05:17]

What does a planner do [05:43]

The importance of urban planning for students [10:15]

Useful, Safe, Comfortable and Interesting spaces 16:20

Well laid out neighbourhoods [21:31]

Schools taking action [33:53]

Planning for equity [41:36]

The purpose of education [50:17]

Significant quotes:

"There's four factors that spaces need to be… useful, safe, comfortable and interesting." [16:43]

"When you step out on the streets, how much of the street is taken up by asphalt automobile space vs spaces that are designated and welcoming to pedestrians and other forms of mobility?"[29:05]

"Can you actually imagine a different way of being in your community, and the community actually looking a different way?" [36:22]

"Can we start looking at some of those foundational issues and making tweaks so that we can set up all schools for success in the longer term?" [40:54]

"Talking about equity, It's a question of "Can we design our spaces in a way that it welcomes the most vulnerable people"" [46:00]

Links Mentioned: