Reach. Teach. Talk. With Nat Damon

Michael G. Thompson, Ph.D., is a renowned psychologist, author, and consultant specializing in children and families. Supervising psychologist at Belmont Hill School, he has worked with over 700 schools worldwide. Dr. Thompson co-authored the New York Times bestseller Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys and authored several acclaimed books, including Homesick and Happy and The Pressured Child. A frequent media guest, he has appeared on The Today Show and NPR, and hosted PBS's Raising Cain. Based in Arlington, MA, he is married to Dr. Theresa McNally, with two children and three grandchildren.

Reach Teach Talk focuses its 42nd  podcast episode on the upcoming film, “A Case for Love”, and explores how it brings school and family communities together.

What is "unselfish love"?  During the darkest days of the Global Pandemic, filmmaker Brian Ide (President, Grace-Based Films) set off on a nationwide quest for the answer to that question. The result is the brilliant documentary film, "A Case for Love"; a collection of 14 stories about ordinary people doing extraordinary things, and with a throughline focused on the teachings of Bishop Michael Curry. Nat talks with Brian about how this is a perfect film to screen for middle school and high school students, parent groups, and communities of all types. Because the world needs more unselfish love...and "A Case for Love" is a perfect place to find it.

www.acaseforlovemovie.com

Director Brian Ide has worked in the entertainment industry for over 20 years, initially as a paid actor, then producer, and eventually journeyed in to the world of directing. “A Case for Love” is his fifth film, and premier feature-length documentary.  

After producing and directing the feature film “This Day Forward,” Brian traveled the U.S. presenting the film in churches, theaters, and community centers while discussing the film’s message and experiencing its impact on audiences. Following that tour, the Lutheran Church of Australia called him to their communities to do the same. 50 pages of responses to that tour are available on the film’s website.

Prior to founding Grace-Based Films, Brian directed “Clear Lake, WI” and the recent faith-based short film, “Reconcile”, which has been viewed and used in 47 different countries.

A three-time national judge for the Polly Bond Awards, he has spoken to colleges, faith centers, and film programs nationwide about the intersection of film and faith.

Brian is the son of an ELCA Lutheran pastor-father and devout Catholic mother. He is the husband to a lifelong Episcopalian who is drawn to stories that focus on what unites us rather than what divides.

The mission of Grace-Based Films is to tell compelling stories, through film, that meet 21st Century audiences exactly where they are in the messiness of life, emboldening them and reminding them that none of us are alone.

Three years after the great pivot into remote teaching due to the Pandemic, teachers are now facing a technology revolution in the classroom once more. ChatGPT is changing the way students write, research, study and think. The AI technology impacts the way teachers are designing, assigning, and grading assessments. Yet the advent of ChatGPT has created in many situations a cat and mouse game that no one wants to play - particularly as we still struggle to form trusting bonds in the classroom. Join us for a deep look into the impact of AI in the classroom as it stands today, and learn strategies to help integrate ChatGPT smoothly into you classroom.

Spencer Burrows is the 11th Grade Dean at Pacific Ridge School in Carlsbad, California, as well as Teach Plus of California policy fellow and Coro Lead LA alumnus. Burrows serves as education adjunct faculty at National University and on the Board of Directors of TEACH Public Schools in South Los Angeles. Two recent articles that Spencer has written appeared in Chalkbeat and Education Week.

Three years after the great pivot into remote teaching due to the Pandemic, teachers are now facing a technology revolution in the classroom once more. ChatGPT, released to the world in January of 2023, is changing the way students write, research, study and think.  The AI technology impacts the way teachers are designing, assigning, and grading assessments. Yet the advent of ChatGPT has created in many situations a cat and mouse game that no one wants to play — particularly as we still struggle to form trusting bonds in the classroom. Join us for a deep look into the impact of AI in the classroom as it stands today, and learn strategies to help integrate ChatGPT smoothly into your classroom. You may well decide that this new technology actually serves as a boost to your instructional delivery. Or not. Yet if one thing is certain, ChatGPT is here to stay.

We are thrilled to celebrate our 40th episode by hosting Father Gregory Boyle, Jesuit priest and founder of Homeboy Industries, based in Los Angeles and influential around the world. In this teaching and mentor-focused conversation, Father Greg speaks with Nat about the transcendent power of relational wholeness at Homeboy and in our classrooms. Belief, Hope and Love are its mainstays.

France did this back in 2019…why can’t we? Buxton School, a co-ed boarding school in Williamstown, MA, introduced the 2022-23 academic year with a new smartphone policy: No smartphones allowed. After the Wall Street Journal spotlighted the impact of this policy on campus life, Nat sat down with Associate Head of School John Kalapos, to speak about the relational impact on all members of the Buxton community. What resulted is an instructive case study on the decision to eliminate the influence of smartphones in the classroom and on campus — 24/7 — at a boarding school.

Benjamin Zander, conductor of the Boston Philharmonic and co-author of the book, “The Art of Possibility”, and an infamous TED Talk speaks about the essentialness of positivity in the classroom (and the classroom of life). Music is in all our hearts. Mr. Zander makes a beautiful case for it in this immersive conversation.

Join Nat and South African author, speaker and social entrepreneur Craig Wilkinson (www.fatheranation.co.za) as they discuss the crucial role men play in the lives of their youth and society. For anyone working with or raising boys in this day and age, their conversation will provide exploration and strategies on how to cultivate positive masculinity in today’s world.

What happens to boys as they become young men in today’s culture? How has the pandemic impacted the way boys perceive the world, and their place in it? How can we best guide our boys to become the young men they truly wish to be? Find the answers to these questions and many more in this timely conversation with Dr. Judy Chu, renowned lecturer on boys’ psychosocial behavior and author of the book, “When Boys become Boys”.

Nat's conversation is with Mr. Mike Erwin, co-founder of The Positivity Project, a nationwide program designed to empower our youngest generation through hope and possibility. Drawing from his experience from tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, Mr. Erwin applies themes of collaboration, community, and teamwork into his organization. We conclude with a focus on the status of young men today.

How does our relationship to the environment help or hinder our ability to flourish in school and in life? Finland-based author, journalist, and Helsinki’s greatest ambassador, Katja Pantzar, joins us for a fascinating (and ice-cold!) deep-dive into the Finnish concept of Sisu (pronounced “See-Sue”), which centers around self-reliance, determination, and harmony with one’s outside world.