Have a Life Teaching

In this episode of Have a Life Teaching, John Schembari speaks with Derek Crager, CEO of Practical AI, about one of the most promising—and often overlooked—applications of artificial intelligence in education: supporting neurodivergent learners.

Drawing on his own experience of being diagnosed later in life with autism, ADHD, and dyslexia, Derek explains how AI can serve as a thinking partner that helps students organize ideas, communicate more clearly, reduce cognitive overload, and build greater independence.

Rather than replacing teachers, AI can strengthen relationships by helping educators better understand how neurodivergent students think and learn.

• Why AI can function as a "thinking partner" for neurodivergent learners
• How students with autism, ADHD, and dyslexia can use AI to organize their thinking
• How AI can translate ideas while preserving a student's authentic voice
• Why voice-based AI may be especially valuable for many neurodivergent learners
• How AI can help students prepare for employment through interview practice, resume development, and communication coaching
• Why prompt engineering isn't just for AI—it can improve communication with people, too

Whether you're new to AI or already experimenting in your classroom, this conversation offers practical ideas for making learning more accessible, personalized, and empowering for every student.

Derel Crager LinkedIn Page

Practical AI Webpage

Music by Aylex

Why do so many school change initiatives disappear after a year or two?

In this episode of Have a Life Teaching, John Schembari talks with Shane Leaning, leadership consultant, author of Change Starts Here, and host of Education Leaders with Shane Leaning, about why traditional approaches to change often fail and how schools can build change that lasts.

Shane challenges the idea that leaders should identify solutions and then seek staff “buy-in.” Instead, meaningful change begins by involving the school community in understanding the challenge itself.

John and Shane explore resonant change: change that lasts over time, becomes embedded in school structures and practices, and is meaningful to the people involved. They discuss why the problem leaders initially identify is often not the real problem, how cross-role “slice teams” can broaden participation, and why trust, psychological safety, effective meetings, and collaborative decision-making are essential to sustainable improvement.

The conversation also examines the difference between urgent and strategic change, the importance of readiness for change, and why schools should build internal capacity rather than automatically look outside for solutions.

In this episode:

• Why “getting buy-in” may be the wrong starting point
• How to investigate challenges before jumping to solutions
• What makes change resonant and sustainable
• How “slice teams” can support collaborative decision-making
• The role of trust and psychological safety
• Why internal capacity matters
• How small successes can prepare communities for larger change

A conversation for principals, district leaders, instructional coaches, teacher leaders, and anyone working to make school improvement last.

Shane Leaning LinkedIn Page

Efraim Lerner LinkedIn Page

Shane Leaning Webpage

Change Starts Here Book

Music by Aylex

This week I'm joined by Dr. Cinde Lock, Head of School at Pickering College and author of Connections, Academics & Purpose, to explore why traditional testing isn't enough and what schools can do instead.

We discuss:

• Why students often forget what they memorize for tests
• The difference between authentic assessment and "doing a fun project"
• How community partnerships create meaningful evidence of learning
• Why alternative assessment can improve—not replace—academic rigor
• How AI makes personalized, competency-based learning more realistic than ever
• Practical ways school leaders can begin implementing authentic assessment one project at a time

If you're interested in project-based learning, competency-based education, or preparing students for an AI-enabled future, this episode offers both a compelling vision and practical next steps.

Dr. Cinde Lock LinkedIn Page

Webpage

Connections, Assessment, and Purpose - Book

What does effective explicit instruction actually look like—and when should teachers move beyond it?

In this episode, Dr. John Schembari sits down with Australian instructional coach Brendan Lee, founder of Knowledge for Teachers, to explore how cognitive science, explicit instruction, and the instructional hierarchy can help educators improve student learning and instructional decision-making.

Brendan shares his own journey from struggling teacher to instructional coach and explains why understanding how learning happens is essential for improving classroom outcomes.

• What explicit instruction is—and what it is not

• Why many lessons fail despite strong planning

• The importance of prerequisite knowledge and retrieval practice

• How to use modeling, guided practice, and checking for understanding effectively

• Why guided practice is where most learning occurs

• The role of feedback in accelerating learning

• How fluency differs from acquisition and why both matter

• When students are ready for independent practice

• The Instructional Hierarchy: Acquisition, Fluency, Generalization, and Adaptation

• Why teachers should differentiate support rather than curriculum

• How understanding learning science can increase teacher efficacy and retention

Explicit instruction is critical when students are learning something new, but it is only the beginning. Effective teaching requires knowing where students are in the learning process and providing the right level of support, practice, feedback, and challenge to help them move from novice to expert.

Brendan Lee Website

Brendan Lee LinkedIn Page

Music by Aylex

Why are boys disciplined more frequently than girls beginning as early as preschool? Why are boys of color disproportionately affected by school discipline? And how can educators support boys in developing healthy, positive masculinity while improving behavior, communication, and leadership skills?

In this episode of the Have a Life Teaching Podcast, host John Schembari sits down with Robert Cooper Jr., founder of Young Men Becoming Men and author of The Authentic Man: Embracing Your Journey.

Drawing from his own experiences growing up without a father figure and his years of mentoring young men, Robert shares practical strategies for helping boys navigate trauma, build self-worth, develop emotional regulation, and become leaders in their schools and communities.

This conversation challenges educators to move beyond behavior management and focus on relationship-building, validation, and understanding the lived experiences of young men.

✅ Why boys are disciplined more frequently than girls beginning in early childhood

✅ The impact of trauma, absent fathers, and lack of validation on young men

✅ Why relationship-building is the foundation of effective teaching

✅ What educators often misunderstand about boys and boys of color

✅ The difference between toxic masculinity and positive masculinity

✅ How schools can create leadership opportunities that empower young men

✅ Practical ways teachers can connect with students in just a few minutes each day

✅ How parents can counter negative social media influences

✅ Why accountability and self-worth must be taught together

✅ Strategies for helping boys develop healthy identities and emotional resilience

• Boys often want to be understood before they are corrected.
• Validation and connection are powerful tools for behavior improvement.
• Leadership is about service, growth, and accountability—not control.
• Young men need opportunities to explore their identities in healthy ways.
• Positive adult relationships can alter the trajectory of a student's life.
• Schools can support boys by embedding relationship-building and social-emotional learning into daily practice.

Robert Cooper Jr. LinkedIn Page

Young Men Becoming Men

Book: The Authentic Man: Embracing Your Journey

Music by Aylex

Rural schools educate nearly one-third of America's public school students, yet they are often underrepresented in national conversations about education policy, innovation, and school improvement.

In this episode of Have a Life Teaching, Dr. John Schembari is joined by Dr. Melissa Sadorf, Executive Director of the National Rural Education Association and author of The Resilient Rural Leader, along with Derek Cantrell, principal of Alleghany Highlands High School and author of Better Together: Two Communities, One School.

Together, they explore the strengths, challenges, and opportunities facing rural schools today.

Topics include:
• Teacher recruitment and retention in rural communities
• School consolidation and community identity
• Grow-your-own teacher programs
• Partnerships with community colleges, businesses, and local organizations
• Broadband access and educational equity
• AI and technology as tools to expand opportunity
• What urban and suburban schools can learn from rural schools
• Why relationships remain the foundation of effective leadership

The conversation highlights an important reality: rural education is not a deficit story. It is a story of resilience, innovation, community partnership, and leaders who consistently find ways to create opportunities for students despite limited resources.

Whether you work in a rural, suburban, or urban setting, this episode offers valuable insights into leadership, trust, community engagement, and the future of education.

Melissa Sadorf LinkedIn

Derek Cantrell LinkedIn

The Resilient Rural Leader Book

Better Together Book

National Rural Education Association

Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

In this episode, John Schembari speaks with Becca Silver about the real causes of resistance in schools and how leaders can respond more effectively.

Becca shares her Catalyst Mindsets framework, explains why resistance is often rooted in unmet needs, and discusses the difference between compliance, buy-in, and ownership.

The conversation explores practical strategies for coaches, principals, and district leaders seeking to build trust, navigate difficult conversations, and create cultures where meaningful change can take hold.

Becca Silver Website

Becca Silver LinkedIn

Book - The Resistance Solution

Music by Aylex

In this episode of Have a Life Teaching, I sit down with Starr Sackstein, Michael McDowell, and Alexandra Laing, co-creators of Actionable Assessment, to unpack one of the most pressing instructional questions teachers face every day:

When some students get it, some don’t, and some are already ahead… what do you do next?

We explore how formative assessment should be less about collecting data and more about making immediate instructional decisions during Tier 1 teaching.

Key takeaways include:
✅ Quick checks for understanding that don’t interrupt lesson flow
✅ How to respond to students below, at, and above readiness levels in the moment
✅ Why differentiation does not have to mean separating students into intervention groups
✅ How visual “instructional snapshots” help teachers choose responsive next moves fast
✅ Why advanced learners deserve extension—not becoming the class tutor
✅ Simple routines that build student metacognition and ownership of learning
✅ How schools can embed responsive teaching through PLCs, coaching, and leadership follow-through

This conversation is a practical look at the intersection of formative assessment, differentiation, MTSS, and instructional coaching—with actionable strategies teachers can use tomorrow.

Starr Sackstein Webpage

Michael McDowell Webpage

Alexandra Liang LinkedIn Page

Book Featured: Actionable Assessment: A Step-by-Step Guide to Responsive Teaching and Student Growth

Music by Aylex

In this episode of Have a Life Teaching, I sit down with Charlotte Dungan, Chief Learning Officer at the Mark Cuban Foundation, to explore what meaningful AI education actually looks like in K-12.

We unpack:
• What effective AI professional learning for teachers should include
• Why AI literacy must go beyond prompts and productivity
• How the Mark Cuban Foundation’s free teacher and student AI bootcamps work
• The connection between AI, CTE, entrepreneurship, and future workforce readiness
• Equity, access, and ensuring rural and underserved students aren’t left behind
• Why teacher agency matters more than overly rigid AI policies
• Practical AI tools for assessment, feedback, classroom conversations, and teacher practice

A standout takeaway: AI should reduce the drudgery so humans can do more of the creative, relational, deeply human work that matters most.

Because schools are not just preparing workers.

We’re preparing citizens.

Charlotte Dungan LinkedIn Page

Mark Cuban Foundation

Music by Aylex

In this episode of Have a Life Teaching, John Schembari speaks with Musical IQ leaders Philip Gillette and James Soler about how music can become a bridge to culture, identity, collaboration, and deeper learning.

The conversation explores how schools can move beyond treating music and the arts as “extras” and instead use them as powerful tools for engagement, systems thinking, interdisciplinary learning, and community building.

Topics include:
• Why music creates belonging and confidence for students
• How Musical IQ uses African and Afro-diaspora music traditions to teach culture and history
• Using drumming, storytelling, and ensemble work to develop student voice and collaboration
• Why “play” is essential for curiosity and learning
• Helping students feel seen through culturally responsive instruction
• The connection between music, memory, and deeper learning
• How arts integration supports systems thinking and interdisciplinary instruction
• Navigating cultural appreciation vs. cultural appropriation in education
• Practical ways schools can integrate music and culture into everyday teaching
• How immersive science experiences through Cosmic IQ connect to the same philosophy of engagement and wonder

One powerful takeaway from the episode:
“If students feel seen, connected, and curious, learning accelerates.”

Listen if you are interested in:
• Student engagement
• Arts integration
• Culturally responsive teaching
• Interdisciplinary learning
• Student voice and agency
• Music education
• Building joyful classrooms
• Global and culturally connected instruction

Musical IQ Website

James Soller LinkedIn Page

Phillip Gilette Website

Music by Aylex