Summary: When EleMANtary co-host Kevin Klein taught Jake Libbis as a high-school student in Perth, Western Australia, he knew Jake was destined for something even better than greatness: goodness. After graduating from high school, Jake coached kids in surf lifesaving and taught English in Cambodian orphanages. He also earned a business management degree from the University of Western Australia, the state’s most prestigious university. What led him from there to teach 5th and 6th graders for the past seven years? And where will the next seven years take him? Tune in to find out!

Bonus features:

• Learn some Aussie lingo
• Listen to wild white cockatoos chatter
• Hear how Jake helped even the toughest kids grow academically and social-emotionally
• Learn how Jake learned how to take care of his own social-emotional needs as a teacher
• Find out how Jake leverages his primary (“elementary” in Australian) school experience to apply for jobs in adult education

Disclaimer: We both had lapel mics on in the café, but mine didn’t pick up as well.

Shout-outs: Shona the Amazing Mentor Teacher of Merriwa Primary, Mikey Long of Mikey Long Music.

Resources mentioned: Good mates, Scarborough Beach

Summary: Mr. Mortenson is the fun, caring teacher you had - or wish you'd had - in elementary school. Hear him relate his journey to elementary teaching and dispense, in his inimitably lighthearted manner, how to achieve the following:

• Learning from mentor teachers (like Uncle Evan)
• Thoroughly enjoying the job ("If you've been teaching for a while and you still feel like you're babysitting, something's not right")
• Floating a family of five as the primary breadwinner
• Building positive relationships with students and parents
• Responding if a student calls you out for farting in class

Disclaimer: Sorry about the mixed audio quality on our mics - not sure what happened to the soundboard.

Shout-outs: Uncle Evan Mortenson; single parents.

Resources mentioned: The Reminder app, Stuart Brown's book Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul

Three hours after the students have left on the last day of school, Shaun and Kevin discuss plans for next year, notes of appreciation for students, and how they used their manliness to help a 1st grade teacher move her kiva to her new school. Also class pets, both living and plush.

Featured teacher strategy: Class notes. As Maya Angelou said, “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Shaun explains how he learned through trial and error to write notes of appreciation that his students truly value.

Shout-outs: Departing 6th grade team lead Madi Hamilton, head custodian Nancy Keele.

As Tolkien famously wrote and EleMANtary co-host Kevin Klein has unwittingly lived, Not all who wander are lost. Hear how Kevin found his home teaching elementary, a journey involving 8 years of college at 3 universities, teen residential treatment centers, Australian chicken processing plants and Catholic schools, taekwondo, obscure Modernist poetry, old-school World Book encyclopedias, and Kip Dynamite.

As the child of two educators, Shaun decided early on that he wanted to be a teacher too. But his road wasn’t easy: in this episode he talks about the academic struggles, financial constraints, and social discouragement he faced from a very young age until well into his teaching career. If a hero is someone who never stops working to overcome challenges, this dude wears a cape.

Join hosts Shaun Brady (a 2nd-generation male elementary teacher!) and Kevin Klein (a convert from college composition and HS English) as they track one of the educational landscape's rarest species: the male elementary teacher. Starting with themselves.

Tim Goodman is a legendary 3rd grade teacher at Saratoga Shores Elementary. In this Part 1 episode, he relates his humble beginnings as a undergraduate prospective dentist and the college job that led him to 20 years of classroom stardom. He also explains how puppets help kids emotional regulation, social skills, and academic content.