This week we are delighted to have a long-time listener and friend of the podcast joining us for a conversation: master educator, Al Bandstra. Al teaches 6th grade at Sioux Center Christian School, and has written substantially about effective classroom management. His forthcoming book is about what he calls “infectious behaviors,” and this conversation is all about what Christian educators can do to address the challenges of individuals and groups that aren’t behaving as we hope and expect they will. We share a variety of stories we’ve experienced, and Al shared with us from his ongoing research and exploration of ways he has found success to address challenging behaviors and broken relationships. If you have ever had a student–or group of students–that has been a challenge for you, we are confident that you’ll find both stories of solidarity as well as words of encouragement here about classroom culture, appropriate authority for teachers, and even acknowledging our own humanity.