Exploring Education

In education, we play on through all sorts of obstacles and "weather." However, when lightning strikes sometimes the game needs to be called.  

This episode highlights a conversation with Andrea Bittick and Andrew Estrada, our school leaders at Washington Elementary School in RBUSD.   The chat captures the work that teachers and staff have been doing to create a climate and culture where all students feel safe, supported and  connected.  We also discuss the work ahead of us as educators to ensure that all students thrive academically.   

There are many unknowns for the future of education, however one thing  we know for sure is that these school leaders are focused on putting students first. 

This episode captures a conversation with some key players from Adams Middle School in Redondo Beach.  Our guests, Brianne Nakayama, Amber Beach, Kelly Egan and Andrew Estrada, share their thoughts on what is essential for parents to know, as well as a close look at programs and opportunities that will help support students and allow them to find their niche. 

This episode discusses the power of words, and how the stories we read, write, listen to and speak can help all of us understand the world within us and the world around us.  

This episode explores what makes up a Makerspace, the concept of learning through tinkering and problem solving, and how we can set our little engineers up for successful and productive failures. (Oxymoron, right?)  The chat features Jessie Baird and Meleesa Smith, two of our Kindergarten teachers in RBUSD. Within their classroom Makerspace, these educators find the benefits of problem solving, making messes and engaging in productive struggles with their students. 

Check out these resources to dig deeper:

Books for Young Makers

Makerspace at Home

In this interview with Paige Mosqueda, one of our elementary school counselors in RBUSD, we discuss something that weighs many of us down--Stress.  Paige shares 10 tips for managing stress in our chat.  Stick around for the end of this episode where Paige will lead listeners through a guided imagery exercise. 

10 Tips for Managing Stress 

Be a model for your child, practice for just a few minutes a day, and as always--stay patient!  These are some of the essentials for speech and language development listeners will hear about in this chat with Cindy Zink, one of my favorite Speech and Language Pathologists and a famed member of our team at Washington Elementary! 

How are you doing? Do you have what you need? What are you thinking about? Listen to this episode if you are curious about why these simple questions might be the best ones to ask. 

Read the post here on the Exploring Education blog. 

Listen to this episode to hear a chat with Christine Campisi, my favorite librarian.  As we chat you will hear about the concept of thinking about your child's journey as a reader,  how to gain the confidence to honor what appeals to them first before what "level," they are, and why we love Epic Books.  We also talk about the reasons why we should never shy away from a picture book at any age! 

Help your young reader reflect on their book choices by talking about if the texts they are choosing are mirrors, windows or sliding glass doors.