Rachel Hinesly is the host of the podcast, feel your feels, a podcast by a teen for teens or anyone who wants to feel and know that what they are going through is real and valid. She shares her experiences with you and the coping skills she has learned through them.

On This Episode:

• Rachel shares why relationships were so vital to her as a student growing up.
• Learn how Rachel began educating her educators.
• Find out how teachers can empower their students.
• Kevin and Rachel discuss how students can feel the stresses of teachers.
• Hear how COVID impacted Rachel’s senior year.

Key Takeaways:

1. No significant learning occurs without a significant relationship.
2. Try not to listen with your brain – listen with your heart.
3. There need to be wellness checks for both teachers and students.

Tweetable Quotes:

• Whenever you see someone else struggling – it doesn’t matter how or why – you should always ask them what they need.
• Everybody needs something different.
• It’s important to know that we are not alone.
• If you’re not okay, your students won’t be okay.

Rachel Hinesly

https://open.spotify.com/show/2NpZOhjUrRdpBlqnVMXvUZ?si=K0OS2IE8TESCiqpfVNPvaA

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Seen on The Ellen Show and NBC Nightly News, educator, speaker, and author Michael Bonner has taken to more than 100 education conference, school district meeting and leadership development stages across the U.S. & Canada to share his "lessons learned" from teaching in a Title I school with children that experience high levels of trauma and adverse situations. His candid, enthusiastic seminars challenge listeners to create diverse, inclusive education plans "where students can see themselves within the lessons and assessments" as a means to increase student success rates. He empowers his audiences to build genuine relationships with their students because "you can't demand a withdrawal from someone you have never invested in."

Administrators and educators alike leave Mr. Bonner's presence ready to make an impact that affects eternity. Mr. Bonner is consistently seen as a visionary leader who strives to create a positive mindset among all of his students. His students come to class each day with diverse backgrounds, strengths, needs, and challenges. Therefore, he identifies strategies to ensure their growth socially, emotionally, academically, and psychologically. Due to his educational approach, students leave more hopeful, challenged, inspired, and forever a part of Bonnerville.

Today, Mr. Bonner lives in Atlanta, Ga. where he is beginning a new educational journey as a fourth and sixth grade English teacher at the famed Ron Clark Academy. You can learn more about Michael Bonner at michaellbonner.com and follow him on Instagram at @michaelbonner_

On This Episode:

• Learn how to keep a strong connection with your students.
• Find out what it’s like for Michael to be a “famous” educator.
• Kevin discusses how to connect with kids in the digital age.
• Discover how to EFFECTIVELY build relationships with any person regardless of race, culture, sexual orientation or other traits.

Key Takeaways:

1. Always keep the children first. It can be sensed if you don’t.
2. Be ready to evolve as a teacher.
3. The highest form of learning is doing.

Tweetable Quotes:

Michael Bonner:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8PfeJcKCZhggzmJcwmva9Q

instagram.com/michaelbonner

https://twitter.com/MichaelBonner_

https://michaellbonner.com/

Recommended Resource:

Culturally Responsive Teaching

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Jonathan Brown is a program manager for AVID for Higher Education. As a former high school AVID student from Killeen ISD, Jonathan has experienced the roles of an AVID student, tutor, and one of the first AVID instructors in higher education. While attending college, Jonathan traveled the U.S. as a motivational speaker, sharing his experience as an AVID student and how it opened doors of opportunity to his future. In 2009, Jonathan began working with the University of Texas of the Permian Basin to develop an AVID First-Year Seminar, in which students learned how to navigate college and grow their critical thinking skills. As a teaching assistant at the freshman seminars, Jonathan used his AVID experience to show students and instructors how to use the AVID strategies he implemented when he was in college. After getting his degree from UTPB, Jonathan became the university’s AVID Liaison, later joining AVID Center itself.

On This Episode:

• Find out how Jonathan encourages people to learn through reflecting on situations.
• Discover how to become more empathetic.
• Hear how the experience of foster care can affect educational development.
• Jonathan share a personal story about how a teacher helped him develop the skills he needed to become a success.
• Hear how one teacher literally saved Jonathan’s life.

Jonathan’s Tips For Teachers:

1. Learning happens in the reflection.
2. Stay in conflict and learn how to navigate it.
3. Just when you think you can’t do anymore - dig deeper.

Tweetable Quotes:

Jonathan Brown:

• twitter.com/JGBspeaks
• [email protected]
• 254.415.9069

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On This Episode:

• Kevin reflects on an experience he had discipling a student and the misconceptions he recognizes looking back.
• Find out why administrators are essentially just “water movers.”
• Learn the importance of teachers building strong relationships with their students first before passing kids off to administrators.

Key Takeaways:

• We need to reflect on our implementation of exclusionary consequences.
• Discipline is like water. Discipline flows through the whole school building down through classrooms, down to the central office, and that’s where the water is collected. A good teacher should only be letting a trickle of water out.
• Expectations lead to disappointment.

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Mia Ortiz is a 7th grader from the Dallas Fort-Worth area. Two years ago, Mia stood in front of 1,000 educators to talk about the power of connection from the student voice. Last year, she hosted breakout sessions. On this episode, Kevin and his co-founder Denise, sit down with Mia to see what students need to feel valued, seen, and heard.

On This Episode:

• Hear how Mia is coping with lockdown during COVID-19.
• Learn how TikTok is influencing students and how Mia wishes teachers would learn from it in this time of virtual classrooms.
• Mia and Kevin discuss how students and teachers can build a system of trust with each other.
• Mia reflects on speaking from the stage to over 1,000 educators.

Mia’s Tips For Teachers:

1. Don’t just focus on being a teacher, try being a friend.
2. Teachers have to exemplify confidence if they want children to exemplify confidence.
3. Don’t be afraid to be accountable.

Tweetable Quotes:

• “You can’t use a 1990 playbook in the year 2020.”
• “Teachers, if you don’t connect with us, why should we content with you.”
• “People shouldn’t underestimate the power of human connection – whether virtual or in person.”
• “Every human being wants to feel valued, seen, and heard.”

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Maureen Palaoro comes from the Oregon City School District, with 24 years of special education teaching in the classroom. She provides routines, relationships, regulations and breaks down the brain research behind them.

On This Episode:

• Find out how to use GTKY to build connections with your students.
• Maureen discusses how teachers can address differing behaviors.
• Kevin explains how administrators can empower their teachers to connect with students.

Key Takeaways:

• Be able to see the differences and similarities between each other.
• Don’t rush through connection.
• Set a foundation of trust in order for the work to be able to start building relationships

Tweetable Quotes:

• “When we get anxiety, we get rigid.”

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Our schools are experiencing an unprecedented shift. Student loneliness is at an all-time high, while self worth and belonging are at all-time lows. And the culprit is a lack of human connection.

Over the last 15+ years Joe Beckman has spoken in educational settings all over the world with one simple mission… to reclaim human connection.

Whether it’s a middle school in Minneapolis, a professional development workshop in Montana, or an international conference in Malaysia…people are craving connection.

It’s only when we stop and slow down, separate from our screens, and truly listen to each other’s stories, that we can course correct, and give our youth the best chance to leave their mark on this world.

On This Episode:

• Joe shares how he has become the human connector.
• Learn how to connect with others.
• Hear how Joe got interested in music.
• Kevin shares about the incredible pep rally he put together for his school.
• Discover how to connect with students without seeming like you’re trying too hard.
• Joe shares the importance of teachers supporting teachers.

Key Takeaways:

1. Done is better than perfect.
2. Self-awareness is incredibly important.
3. Focus on sustainability of message.

Four categories to connect on:

F – Family

O– Occupation

R – Recreation

D – Dreams

Tweetable Quotes:

• “It takes a lot of courage to try things out and put yourself out there in a real vulnerable way.”
• “As an administrator, it is not only your responsibility to give the tools to your teachers to connect with your students, you have to model it."

Joe Beckman:

https://joebeckman.com/

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Your host, Kevin Curtis, introduces the Relationship Centered Learning Podcast.