Carla Shalaby, a former public school teacher who trains educators at the University of Michigan’s School of Education, offers new ways for teachers to think about classroom management.

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This episode was reported by Nimah Gobir. MindShift is produced by Ki Sung, Nimah Gobir and Kara Newhouse. Seth Samuel is our sound designer. Additional support from Chris Hambrick, Jen Chien, Ethan Toven- Lindsey and Holly Kernan.

The pandemic has revealed that teachers have been doing more than just teaching students academics. Long before COVID-19 school closures, teachers were storing snacks in their desk drawer for the occasional hungry student or keeping their classroom open to kids during lunch. While many schools do not have systems in place to support teachers’ often invisible work, the community school model provides some strategies to lighten the load on schools and their educators. California is investing big in the model and the rest of the country is watching to see how it plays out.

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Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by donating!

This episode was reported by Nimah Gobir. MindShift is produced by Ki Sung, Nimah Gobir, Jessica Plazcek and Katrina Schwartz. Seth Samuel is our sound designer. Additional support from Kyana Moghadam, Jen Chien, Gerald Fermin, Ethan Lindsey and Holly Kernan.

What do schools and teachers need to know when they have students whose home language is not the one spoken at school? We look at ways teachers can guard against loss of heritage languages, ways to support outside the classroom, and how to keep families involved at school. Plus, how these strategies can help English language learners thrive in the classroom.

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Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by donating!

This episode was reported by Kyana Moghadam. MindShift is produced by Ki Sung, Nimah Gobir, Jessica Plazcek and Katrina Schwartz. Seth Samuel is our sound designer. Additional support from Olivia Allen-Price, Jen Chien, Gerald Fermin, Ethan Lindsey and Holly Kernan.

Across the country, teachers are seeing angry kids. With students returning to in-person learning, there has been an uptick in disruptive behavior, fighting and frustration. Educators are taking the brunt of it with 6 in 10 teachers reporting they've experienced physical violence or verbal aggression since the pandemic. Experts point to regression, lack of socialization, and trauma caused from navigating COVID-19 as reasons students are acting out. While there are no quick fixes, teachers and students alike may find answers in a multi-tiered system of support model and restorative justice practices, which focus on improving school culture as a precursor to addressing challenging behavior.

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Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by donating!

This episode was reported by Nimah Gobir. MindShift is produced by Ki Sung, Nimah Gobir, Jessica Plazcek and Katrina Schwartz. Seth Samuel is our sound designer. Additional support from Kyana Moghadam, Jen Chien, Gerald Fermin, Ethan Lindsey and Holly Kernan.

A growing body of research shows when kids are between 10-12 their brains go through an explosive period of development that makes them susceptible to influence, for better or worse. Experts call it the "age of opportunity" because what happens during this time can lead a child towards greatness, but it can also introduce intractable bad habits. Parents get plenty of advice on how to deal with teens, but little when it comes to tweens. Schools also play an important role in shaping adolescent minds by cultivating positive experiences. We talk with psychologists and a Middle School Teacher of the Year about how to make the most of growth at this age.

This episode was reported by Ki Sung. The MindShift podcast is produced by Nimah Gobir, Ki Sung, Jessical Plazcek, Katrina Schwartz and Seth Samuel. Additional support from Kyana Moghadam, Jen Chien, Erika Kelly and Gerald Fermin.

Remote learning was far from ideal, but it did open the door for schools to approach the school day day in new ways. We explore the research on teen sleep and what that means for school start times, as well as the promise and peril of the four day school week. Research shows shortening the school week doesn’t necessarily improve student outcomes, but it may alleviate teacher burnout. Finally, we look at the history of the school bell, how it shapes learning and whether it’s time for the final toll. 

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During remote learning, students had to use virtual proctoring tools to take their tests online. These apps and software can be as extreme as using artificial intelligence to track a students eye movements and keystrokes or as simple as a lockdown browser that prevents students from accessing other pages during the test. Students and caregivers have raised concerns about school pressures, racial bias, privacy and mental health. The rise of these tools and their defects brings up some bigger questions too: Where does trusting students come in? Is it time to change the way schools test altogether?

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What do students really need in order to learn? MindShift is where teachers, parents and caregivers can discover solutions for raising our kids in the modern era. Hear from educators and experts creating pathways for students to flourish. The first episode of an all new season drops Tuesday, July 19.

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Today, we’re looking at a huge problem in education: teacher shortages. Across the US, schools are struggling to fill teaching roles. Large numbers of teachers are quitting after only a short time on the job, and 9 out of 10 teachers hired are replacing a teacher who has left the profession. The high turnover means more classrooms are run by beginner teachers, substitute teachers, emergency teachers and teachers from new, for-profit teacher training companies. This story is an excerpt from the four-part series, “Who Wants to Be a Teacher” from the Educate podcast at APM Reports.

To listen to the full series visit the Who Want to Be a Teacher project page:

https://www.apmreports.org/episode/2021/07/28/who-wants-to-be-a-teacher

After reflecting in isolation, millions of adults got fed up and voluntarily quit their jobs in record numbers, and teenagers have also been ready for a change. But what does that look like? Today on MindShift, we’re talking to Caroline Smith about the great resignation and what that looks like for schools.