A student is struggling. Assignments are missing. Grades are dropping. Eventually, everyone realizes there’s a problem.

But what does a failing grade actually tell us?

In this episode of Our Classroom, Roberto Germán explores what happens when we treat a grade as a diagnosis rather than as information. An F might reflect what a student understands, but it might also reflect missing work, attendance, organization, participation, or other circumstances.

The challenge for educators and families is to get curious without abandoning accountability.

In this episode, we explore:

Roberto also offers four questions educators and families can use when a student is struggling:

What does the student know?
What's missing?
Why is it happening?
What's the repair plan?

A failing grade should create urgency, but urgency doesn't require judgment.

Ultimately, the goal isn't to produce a more accurate F.

The goal is to help the student learn.

A student puts their head down. Another stops completing assignments. Someone else seems completely checked out.

It's easy to call these students "disengaged." But what if the behavior we're seeing isn't the whole story?

In this solo episode of Our Classroom, Roberto Germán challenges educators to get curious before making assumptions about students who appear disconnected from learning.

Using four simple areas, Connection, Access, Relevance, and Agency, Roberto offers a practical framework educators can use to examine the conditions surrounding student engagement.

In this episode:

Why disengagement is an observation, not an explanation

How relationships influence students' willingness to participate

Why struggling students sometimes protect themselves by checking out

How to maintain rigor while increasing access

Why relevance is deeper than making lessons entertaining

How meaningful choices can create greater student ownership

The challenge is simple: choose one student who seems to be disconnecting. Examine Connection, Access, Relevance, and Agency, and change one thing.

Before asking, "What's wrong with this student?" try asking:

"What might this student be communicating, and what can I change?"

Teach in Truth.
Lead with Courage.
Belong to a Community That Gets It.

What happens when a child keeps asking, “Why?”

In this episode of Our Classroom, Roberto Germán sits down with librarian and children’s author Inbal Alon to discuss her picture book, The Whys Get in Trouble.

Through the story of Naomi, a child whose questions don’t always fit neatly into the expectations around her, Inbal invites us to think about what happens when children’s natural curiosity collides with adult expectations for compliance. As Naomi begins to lose her “Whys,” even the world around her seems to lose some of its sparkle.

Together, Roberto and Inbal explore:

This conversation is an invitation to reconsider what we mean when we say we want students to be curious.

Maybe the goal isn't to have all the answers.

Maybe it's to protect the Whys.

What if the most important work we do as educators isn't lesson planning, it's self-reflection?

In this episode of Our Classroom, Roberto Germán sits down with educator, scholar, and author Dr. Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz to discuss her powerful book, The Archaeology of Self. Together, they explore why meaningful teaching begins with looking inward and how self-examination can transform the way we show up for our students.

Rather than focusing on strategies alone, this conversation invites educators to consider the inner work that shapes every interaction, every relationship, and every classroom.

Whether you're a classroom teacher, instructional coach, or school leader, this episode is an invitation to pause, reflect, and continue becoming the educator your students need.

Key Reflection

"The work of transforming our classrooms begins with the work of transforming ourselves."

Artificial intelligence has changed the way we access information, but it hasn't changed the importance of curiosity.

In this solo episode of Our Classroom, Roberto Germán explores why great teaching isn't just about helping students find answers. It's about helping them ask better questions.

In this episode, we discuss:

Why curiosity is one of the most important skills students can develop

How questions deepen learning across every subject

What AI reveals about the future of education

Why classrooms should celebrate thoughtful questions as much as correct answers

How teachers can cultivate lifelong learners

As educators, our goal isn't simply to prepare students for the next test. It's to prepare them for a lifetime of learning.

Key Reflection

"The future doesn't belong to the people with all the answers. It belongs to the people who never stop asking thoughtful questions."

Teach in Truth.
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Belong to a Community That Gets It.

The beginning of a school year is filled with anticipation.

Teachers organize classrooms, prepare lesson plans, establish routines, and think through every detail of the first week. Those things matter but they aren't the only things that matter.

In this solo episode of Our Classroom, Roberto Germán invites educators to look beyond procedures and consider the deeper questions that shape the culture of a classroom long before the first unit is complete.

Rather than offering a checklist for the first week of school, Roberto shares five reflective questions that can influence every interaction, every lesson, and every relationship throughout the year.

What students are learning about themselves in your classroom

Why every student arrives carrying an unseen story

How belonging is built through everyday decisions

The difference between creating compliance and cultivating community

What you hope students will remember long after they've forgotten your lessons

As another school year begins, this episode is a reminder that great teaching isn't only measured by what students know, it's also measured by who they become.

"Long after students forget your syllabus, they'll remember how your classroom made them feel about themselves."

Teach in Truth.
Lead with Courage.
Belong to a Community That Gets It.

Every day, teachers ask students to write.

But how often do we ask them to write the stories that only they can tell?

In this solo episode of Our Classroom, Roberto Germán reflects on a question that emerged while preparing for a workshop on poetry, identity, and place: What stories are we inviting students to preserve?

Too often, writing becomes an exercise in compliance—responding to prompts, meeting standards, or completing assignments. But writing can also become an act of remembering, honoring, and preserving the people, places, and experiences that shape who we are.

In this episode, Roberto explores how educators can move beyond asking students to write about content and begin inviting them to write from their lives.

This conversation is an invitation to rethink writing, not simply as an academic task, but as a way for students to discover themselves and leave something meaningful behind.

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"Our greatest contribution may not be the lessons we teach, but the space we create for students to tell the stories only they can tell."

Teach in Truth.
Lead with Courage.
Belong to a Community That Gets It.

 As educators, we often focus on what we're going to teach. But what if the most important part of teaching happens before we ever step into the classroom?

In this solo episode of Our Classroom, Roberto Germán reflects on preparing for an upcoming workshop with the Sealaska Heritage Institute in Juneau, Alaska. As he revisits his presentation, he realizes that the workshop isn't really about poetry—it's about humility, listening, and honoring the stories that already exist within every community.

Rather than arriving as the expert, Roberto shares why he's choosing to enter as a guest and what that shift has taught him about culturally sustaining teaching, place-based education, and the importance of helping students tell their own stories.

Whether you teach across the country or across the hallway, this episode is an invitation to slow down, listen deeply, and recognize the knowledge students already bring into the classroom.

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Key Reflection

"Before we teach, we should learn. Before we speak, we should listen."

Teach in Truth.
Lead with Courage.
Belong to a Community That Gets It.

What if multilingualism isn't something to overcome—but one of a child's greatest strengths?

In this episode of Our Classroom, Roberto Germán sits down with educator, school leader, and multilingual education advocate Elise Genao to explore the power of translanguaging and why honoring children's full linguistic identities creates stronger learners and more inclusive classrooms.

Drawing from her experience as a teacher, instructional coach, administrator, and consultant, Elise shares how educators can move beyond deficit thinking and embrace language as an asset.

In this conversation, we discuss:

What translanguaging is—and what it is not

Why multilingualism is a strength, not a barrier

Common misconceptions about multilingual learners

Practical classroom strategies that honor students' home languages

The connection between language, identity, and belonging

How school leaders can better support multilingual students and families

Why every educator—not just bilingual teachers—has a role to play

This episode is a reminder that when students are invited to bring all of who they are into the classroom, everyone benefits.

"Students shouldn't have to leave part of themselves at the classroom door in order to learn."

Elise Genao is an educator, instructional leader, and consultant with extensive experience supporting multilingual learners. She is passionate about helping schools create language-rich environments where every child's identity is valued and every language is seen as an asset.

Teach in Truth.
Lead with Courage.
Belong to a Community That Gets It.

How do we teach children to respect others without teaching them to ignore themselves?

In this episode of Our Classroom, Roberto Germán sits down with children's author Caitlin Roeder to discuss her forthcoming picture book, Family Kisses, and the important conversations it invites around family traditions, culture, consent, bodily autonomy, and children's voices.

Together, they explore how adults can help children navigate relationships with confidence, kindness, and self-respect—without asking them to sacrifice who they are.

In this conversation, we discuss:

The inspiration behind Family Kisses

Teaching children about bodily autonomy in age-appropriate ways

Honoring family traditions while respecting personal boundaries

The role trusted adults play in helping children find their voice

Why consent is really about dignity and respect

How picture books create opportunities for meaningful conversations

What educators and families can learn from Mei-Li's story

This episode reminds us that teaching children to honor others should never require them to lose themselves.

"Children can learn to be kind, respectful, and compassionate while also understanding that their voice and their boundaries matter."

Caitlin Roeder is a children's author whose forthcoming picture book, Family Kisses, offers a joyful depiction of family celebration while introducing young readers to ideas of consent, bodily autonomy, and self-advocacy through the story of Mei-Li and her Chinese New Year celebration.

Teach in Truth.
Lead with Courage.
Belong to a Community That Gets It.