Rethinking Learning Podcast

Paul Emerich France teaches third grade and is a National Board Certified Teacher (#NBCT) who contributes to the education conversation regarding personalized learning and social justice education. 

         

Paul helps debunk many of the myths of personalized learning and helps paint a picture of what personalized learning ideally looks like in the classroom. Paul shared about his new book “Reclaiming Personalized Learning: A Pedagogy for Restoring Equity and Humanity in our Classrooms” and provided some tips and strategies. I learned some great ideas from him. Hope you enjoy our conversation!

 

Where you grew up

I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago in a little town called Mount Prospect where friendliness is a way of life. My parents still live in the same house. I have two sisters and an older brother and everyone lives close.  I had a wonderful upbringing, great teachers and great schools where I had the privilege of going to. Then I went to the University of Illinois and did my undergrad in elementary education and my masters at Roosevelt University in reading. I’m nationally board certified. I owe it all to a great family and a great place where I was able to grow up.  

BPLC19 – Keynote: Paul Emerich France

What it was like for you as a student

I was like your rule follower typically on the higher achieving side student. The education system worked well for me, but it wasn’t when I became a teacher. I saw that everyone is not like me and not everyone was like me when I was growing up. It definitely shapes the way I see the classroom now. Education was really built for people who were like me growing up and that was not fair or inclusive. It has heavily impacted how I see my kids and my classroom now, and I try to build an environment that helps kids like me be successful but also helps all kids regardless of their learning preferences are needs so all kids are successful. When I was in college and realized how many life experiences I didn’t have, I learned how to think on my own for the first time. I wish that I would have had what my kids have now. 

“We want our kids to leave school being autonomous, thinking critically, finding things they like to do and that they are interested in, and discovering a purpose in the classroom.”

 

Your journey as a writer

I first started writing on my own blog. I wanted to write a children’s book and was googling about how to become an author. That’s where I found that I needed a blog to build a following to get an agent so I started a blog about 6 and 1/2 years ago called “The Thinking Specialist.” I called it that because of the way I viewed the classroom. I’m not necessarily an expert in one content area but I feel I’m a thinking expert. My job is to teach my kids how to be critical ...

Connie Hamilton Ed.S. is a curriculum director in Saranac, MI and educational consultant working with school districts across the United States. She is a certified trainer in effective classroom questioning, teacher evaluation tools, visible learning and supports teacher learning in the area of literacy.

         

Connie is the co-author of Hacking Homework and is the author of her new book Hacking Questions: 11 Questions to Create a Culture of Inquiry in the Classroom. Hope you enjoy our conversation!

 

Your background 

I grew up in Michigan as an only child for 10 years with my mom. So I grew up with that only child mentality to keep busy and find something to do so I played school. With my stuffed animals all in a row. I would take stacks of old worksheets home and give Big A+s at the top to some and also have struggling learners giving them red Xs. Then I would encourage those who were struggling to do it over. I ended up doing them over also as the teacher and part of the class. I had a lot of time in my room by myself with my stuffed animals playing school. I always knew I wanted to go into education. When I was 9, my mom remarried. When I was 10, my first sister was born and at 14, my second sister was born. My youngest sister was in kindergarten when I left for college.

The Dr. Will Show – Standards-Based Learning with Connie Hamilton, Ed.S.

What it was like when you were a student

I was a pretty good math student and my mom wanted me to capitalize on some of my math skills I had. So I entered Michigan State University as an Aeronautical Engineering major. My heart was always with kids and education, but she really encouraged me to check out that field. I took 2 or 3 calculus classes and thought this was not for me. So I changed my major to education and I didn’t tell my mother for almost a year. So I became a teacher even though my mom discouraged me from education. Sadly, there’s not enough recognition that teachers deserve. Even back then, my mom recognized that teachers work very hard and don’t get enough accolades or perks. She just wanted me to get the benefits for all the hard work I was doing. I’m very proud of what I’ve accomplished. I never thought I would wake up every day and love what I do.

Your journey as an educator

School was really good for me. Some classes were easier than others. My first year as an educator, it was hard for me to relate to struggling students because I never experienced that as a learner myself. I embraced the challenge. When the Rubik’s Cube came out, I was going to fix that thing and would not quit until I had it solved. That idea of  “I don’t get this” when it seemed so clear to me made me reconsider what it meant to be a learner especially those struggling who were in most need of a teacher who kn...

Dr. Marialice B.F.X. Curran has served as an associate professor, middle school teacher, principal and library media specialist. She is a researcher, keynote, international speaker and TEDxYouth speaker. Marialice is a pioneer in digital citizenship and is Founder and Executive Director of the Digital Citizenship Institute.

         

Marialice’s mission is to turn negatives into positives and help to transform participants into designers, creative thinkers, global collaborators, problem solvers, and justice-oriented digital citizens. Enjoy her story and podcast!

Your background and passions

I’m really proud I’m from Boston. My story starts outside of Boston in a town called Winchester. That community has been instilled in me and impacted the choices I’ve made. I moved to Connecticut when I got married and have lived there for the past 14 years. I miss seeing people as I saw in Boston. There are rolling hills, and homes with garages. They click a button and go in their garage and then we never see people as I used to see in Boston.

My dad was a professor at Boston College, and I grew up going to the Campus School with my dad. This is where I truly believe the leading by hand, heart, and mind was modeled for me as a young child. Think you’ll like this influence in my life: http://cs.bc.edu/~gips/EENewsS03.pdf and https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/schools/carroll-school/sites/eagle-eyes.html/

Your Family

My husband, Sean Dee, is also an untraditional learner. He is Deaf and always said that it is not a disability but a serious inconvenience. Our son, Curran Dee, has parents who are role models that are very unique with different gifts and talents. Sean grew up lip reading and on our first blind date, he held onto my every word. I thought this guy really digs me, but I didn’t realize that he has to look at everyone that way. He didn’t learn Sign Language until he was in college and has often commented that sometimes he feels like he doesn’t belong in either the hearing world or the Deaf world.

Curran is the true introvert in our family. He is a fabulous traditional learner who does really well in school. I wish he broke the rules a little bit more, but he does not struggle academically. My husband and I are happy about it but also a little sad because all of our struggles have defined us. I know he’ll have his own struggles different than what we had.

What it was like for you as a student

I went to Winchester Public Schools K-12 and I was a failure as a student. I had parents who believed in me and told me how smart I was and that I could do anything. When you are young,

Tara Linney is a Google Certified Innovator, Mentor, and Trainer, currently working as an EdTech Coach in Paris, France. Tara has a passion for advocacy and equity which is what led her to write the book “Code Equity: Keying Girls into Coding.”

         

I was so fortunate to have met Tara at ISTE in 2018 in person. At that time, she was president of the Global Collaboration PLN where I participated in the scavenger hunt. Tara knows how to make life exciting and fun. Enjoy the post and podcast!

Your background

I grew up as a Coast Guard brat, living in various towns around the U.S. By far, my most favorite place to live as a child was Spring Valley, California. In college, I carried on with the nomadic lifestyle that being a Coast Guard brat brought. Beginning my college experience in North Carolina as an Elementary Education major, before transferring to Florida to switch majors altogether, leading to a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications with a concentration in Public Relations. My background is very diverse, to say the least. I’ve lived in three countries in my life, with the current being France.

EduMatch Special Edition with Tara Linney

Start with the why! Get to know #EduSnap17 Contributing Author @TaraLinney, as she talks about her chapter on Purpose-Based Learning. Check out her work in Volume 1, Chapter 2 in #EduMatch Snapshot in Education. Find out more at https://buff.ly/2D3bjka

What it was like for you as a student

In elementary school, I was a member of the Peace Patrol and was typically the student chosen to show the new students around. From a very young age, I’ve been a very altruistic person, giving resources and time to nonprofits and causes that were in line with my beliefs, like Keep America Beautiful, the American Cancer Society, and feeding the homeless.

As a student, I was very diligent and thorough. I was ranked as “gifted” from a young age and quickly discovered how to learn, unlearn and relearn. Whenever there was a topic or content area that was of interest to me, I would apply it to my personal life activities. The long division became something that I would do on long car rides, setting up my own math problems with a host of random numbers. Poetry is another area that I really took to as a student. I’ve had poems published in anthologies, and was actually scolded by a teacher once in school for writing a poem that was “too mature”….she accused me of not being the author….the matter was settled once she read my other poems.

One thing that has been ingrained in me as a learner, is how to be an advocate. Throughout my life, I’ve watched as my mother advocated for my autistic brother’s academic journey,

Cary Harrod started as an elementary teacher, was a gifted specialist for 19 years and spent 10 years as the instructional technology specialist for Forest Hills School District, Ohio. In 2016, she decided to re-enter the classroom, where it all began and is celebrating her 30th year in education.

         

I worked with Forest Hills School District with Cary Harrod as the lead around 2006 and knew right away that she was a great person to know. We have kept in touch ever since. I definitely had to have a conversation with Cary. Hope you enjoy our conversation!

Where you grew up

I grew up in Bowling Green, OH. A beautiful place to grow up…a small town but made bigger due to the university. My childhood was idyllic; I spent loads of time riding my horse and wandering all over town with friends. My dad was a teacher, my mother a stay-at-home mom. Around my Junior year, our family imploded when my father lost his teaching job. The only thing my father loved more than teaching was his family; unable to secure another teaching job, he spent the rest of his life in a dark cloud, leaving us shattered and lost.

Your family and where you live now

I have been married to Bill for almost 23 years. We have a 21-year-old son, Liam. We live in Cincinnati, OH but recently built a home in Traverse City, MI. We plan to retire there. Friends think we’re crazy for going north, where it’s cold but we love everything about Traverse City…the weather, our view of the deep, blue waters of Lake Michigan and the rich cultural life. Here is a timeline of my life:

Born in Bowling Green, OH.

Moved to Cincinnati in 1988. Began job at Forest Hills School District in 1988.

1988- 1997 3rd and 4th grade

1997 – 2007 Gifted Specialist

2006 – 2016 District Instructional Technology Specialist

2016 – Present 5th Grade ELA/Social Studies teacher

What it was like for you as a student/learner

I loved elementary school. To this day, I can name all seven of my elementary teachers; I carry a piece of each one of them with me and hope to bring those pieces with me when I enter my classroom each day. I was a good student, up until 8th grade where I struggled to understand algebra. I received my first “D” and something was extinguished inside me. I became completely detached from school and learning; it would be years later that I rediscovered a love for learning.

Your journey as a teacher and gifted educator

I love my story. Each step of my journey has led me to this moment in time; the steps, a rich tapestry of experiences, today guide me as I venture through the landscape of personalized learning. With only two years left before I can retire, I often think about how I could simply be coasting to the finish line but i...

Nancy Weinstein, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Mindprint Learning, has an MBA from Harvard Business School with an extensive background in business, including work at Goldman Sachs, The Walt Disney Company Corporate Strategic Planning, Bristol Myers Squibb, and several smaller Internet companies.

         

Nancy recognizes the challenges students face today, from succeeding at school to managing hectic after-school schedules, to dealing with social media. While we can’t put the genie back in the bottle, she knows that teachers and parents can (must!) help students learn to manage these complex demands. She co-authored a new book, The Empowered Student that we talk about in the podcast. So honored to have a conversation with Nancy. Enjoy!

Your background

I grew up in New Jersey and lived in the same house for 18 years before I went to college in Philadelphia. I started dating my husband in college. We went to the same high school but did not date in high school. He is my co-founder of Mindprint Learning and also the co-founder of my two children. After college, I worked on Wall Street in NY for a couple of years. Then I always wanted to live in California, so I took a job at Disney in their corporate strategic planning group in Burbank, CA. I did that for some time and then because my whole family was back east, I moved back. My family lives in New Jersey outside of Princeton.

What was it like for you as a student?

I was a good student and followed the line. Even though I understood things, I was always stressed. I know now working on Mindprint why. I had a good ability to reason but I didn’t have a very good memory. Studying always took me longer than it felt like it should. I believed that if I didn’t study harder than I would forget on the test. It was so stressful. It didn’t need to be that way.

The reason I became an engineer instead of going to medical school is that I didn’t need to memorize anything. In engineering, every test was open book, open note. It was all about problem-solving. Everything in pre-med was about memorizing (or at least that is how I perceived it). So even though I would have loved medicine, I became an engineer instead because it felt less stressful. In hindsight, if someone had just shown me HOW to study better, I would have done what I really wanted to do — not just what I thought was more achievable.

Retention is all about how we make those connections to things that we know so that we can make what we are learning stick.

Consider students studying history. If we begin by discussing what’s going on today in the world, we make it relevant. We show them why they should care. Then we can compare the similarities or differences to events in history. Students will be more engaged and they will remember more beca...

Trevor Bryan is a K-5 Art Teacher in a New Jersey Elementary School who has two core beliefs about the arts. The first is that the arts foster joy and connection, especially when times or topics are tough. And the second is that the arts help us to make meaning of our human experience.

         

Trevor is a teacher, author of The Art of Comprehension and co-founder of Four O’Clock Faculty with Rich Czyz for educators looking to improve learning for themselves and their students. Enjoy Trevor’s journey!

You and your family

I grew up in Glen Rock, New Jersey, which is a small town in the northern part of the state about 20 minutes outside of New York City. I currently live down at the Jersey Shore, close to Asbury Park, which is the town Bruce Springsteen helped to make famous, with my wife Laura, and our two children, Johanna (12) and Owen (7).

We live close to Ocean Grove to which is a national historic town that is about one square mile with more Victorian homes than Cape May. My parents have a summer home there. We’re a bike ride away so we visit them often. We love living down near the beach and enjoy the art and great music scene there along with a bunch of wonderful restaurants.

[Source: https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:ft848r126]

What it was like when you were a student

My school experience was pretty good for the most part. I wasn’t always the best student but I was decent. I was really good at doing my own stuff but not always that great at doing the tasks that I didn’t find too meaningful. I had some wonderful teachers. I had a really rich writing experience in 6th-grade that ties into my work right now. I was probably one of the first students in New Jersey to go through the Writers’ Workshop model. My art education experience was where I had super art teachers with a lot of support. Because we were only 20 minutes outside of New York City, I had a lot of opportunities to see museums and shows on Broadway.

I loved to make things and was always in my basement where I had access to tools and supplies to make stuff. I also built things outside like tree houses, forts, all kinds of stuff. One of the things that have influenced me the most as an art educator is that one of my childhood friends who moved to town in 3rd grade grew up to be a well-known street artist.  As friends from 3rd to 6th grade, we just made things constantly and explored together. Seeing how he saw things and worked as a child and then how he grew up to become a really successful artist has influenced how I approach art education and how I think about creating. His name is Momo and you can learn more about his work at

Tonya Gilchrist is an internationally experienced educator, presenter, consultant, instructional coach, and curriculum specialist. She specializes in amplifying inquiry across reading and writing workshops and effectively utilizing the workshop model in host country languages.

         

Tonya helps schools around the world powerfully launch reading and writing workshops and create balanced literacy programs. She currently resides happily in Tokyo with her husband, a fourth-grade PYP teacher. Hope you enjoy the post below and our conversation!

Growing up

I grew up in Northern Virginia in the Shenandoah Valley which is about an hour from Washington D.C.  

Most of my family was in West Virginia as well as so I grew up around lots of cousins, aunts, and uncles. I have one sister, Tabitha who goes by Tabby and is a few years older than I am. All of my cousins and family were close, and it was wonderful to have that support growing up.

Starting at the age of seven, my sister and I were raised by my father and the one big thing that shaped me was having him be such an important presence in my life. He died when I was just about to graduate from university. That was so hard because he was my dad, my best friend, my minister, and my example of servant leadership that I strive to emulate today. My sister and I are so close and are there for each other.

What it was like when you were a student

I had incredible teachers that inspired me when I was around third grade when I was 9 to become an educator. I had excellent experiences in that sense with supportive and fantastic teachers who were caring in positive cultures. Reflecting back now, I dealt with perfectionist tendencies—a “straight A” student, but still dealing with a need to be “perfect.”  That was challenging for me then and into my adult life because I put so much pressure on myself because of the systemic nature of the school. It meant that to be “good” meant all straight As and doing things perfectly. In other areas of my life, I felt like trying to be perfect left a mark, not necessarily in a positive way. I was always feeling like I’m not quite “good” enough and not being able to embrace my imperfections. That has impacted me now because I don’t want other students to have to feel that pressure. It should be about the process, joy, and curiosity, not the mark you get at the end.

How are we helping to free ourselves and our students from this harmful expectation? The magic happens in our so-called imperfections—that’s where we learn and grow through the exploration. That’s how they are going to discover their genuine, authentic self. That’s what creates a lifelong learner.

Your journey as an educator

Rachelle Dene Poth is a Spanish and STEAM: What’s nExT in Emerging Technology Teacher at Riverview Junior-Senior High School in Oakmont, PA. She is the host of the weekly #formativechat. Rachelle is the President of the ISTE Teacher Education Network and the Communications Chair for the ISTE Mobile Learning Network. Rachelle was selected as the 2017 Outstanding Teacher of the Year by PAECT and by the NSBA as one of the “20 to watch” educators in 2017.

         

Rachelle is the author of three books. And, by the way, she is also an attorney. I’m lucky to know Rachelle virtually and to get a hug and selfie with her at conferences. We did this podcast in February 2019 where there were extreme snowstorms back east and Rachelle was in a hotel room for a conference. I hope you enjoy this post and the podcast.

You and Your family

I am an only child and grew up in North Huntingdon, 30 minutes east of Pittsburgh, PA. When I was growing up my parents worked. Most of the time when they worked, I stayed with my grandfather and grandparents at their farm where they had a large property with fruit, vegetables and underneath was a log cabin. I spent a lot of time by myself because there were no other children in the house to play with. So I passed my time “playing school” or hanging out with my cats.

I’m very thankful for how I was raised because we didn’t have the distractions of technology in the 80s. My parents really emphasized school and studying to be prepared. My grandparents helped me with my work ethic and had me pick strawberries on their farm at 6:30 in the morning. When I think back to all of those times I spent with them, the experiences that I had started to form who I am as a teacher and as a person even before I knew I wanted to go into teaching.

Immerse Your Students in AR/VR

What it was like for you as a student

I did struggle with social studies and my dad would question me on geography. I really had a hard time remembering where things were on a map. My grandmother would quiz me on the state capitals, the times table, and a lot of those basic things growing up. Math was a little bit difficult for me. I didn’t have any struggles in school until the seventh grade when I started to take algebra. Then in ninth grade with geometry. I didn’t know how to study for it. Once I had a handle on that, it improved.

I’m not sure that I was that creative in school. It’s interesting when I think about my memories. Do I actually remember this or is it because I see a picture and formed a memory based on that picture? I’ll find artwork or worksheets that I did in boxes my grandparents saved. It’s interesting to go back and see how I was taught to find out who I was as a student. In seventh grade,

Ira Socol is Senior Provocateur and Learning Environment Specialist at Socol Moran Partners LLC. He is a co-author of Timeless Learning: How Imagination, Observation, and Zero-Based Thinking Change Schools with Pam Moran and Chad Ratliff.  

         

Ira presents nationally and internationally on the need to radically change the four technologies of school – time, the division of students and content, spaces, and information and communication tools – in order to give all students an opportunity to succeed. I was lucky to have a selfie with Ira at SXSW EDU. Enjoy Ira’s journey.

 

Your Background

I started my journey in education in some problematic ways. School was never my favorite thing. Classrooms are not my favorite places. The structure of school never really worked for me. I started out in an urban setting outside the Bronx in New York, the first city north of the Mason-Dixon line to have a Supreme Court desegregation rule. I went to a K-6 elementary school that was a huge place of 1200 students with 5-6 classes that had 30-36 students in each grade level. It was a place where teachers had a lot of independence to try a lot of things.

Even though I didn’t have a particularly good time in that school, I also knew a lot of people were trying to find solutions and new things. I deeply appreciated that and wrote a novel a long time ago that includes part of that in the story. The failures I experienced were not the fault of educators not trying.

The Drool Room https://www.amazon.com/Drool-Room-Ira-Socol/dp/0615165443/

 

What it was like for you as a student

I was lucky enough after middle school to end up in a brilliant alternative high school that was created by some local teachers in New Rochelle, NY. Neil Postman who had had just written Teaching as a Conserving Activity built that then was called a “School without Walls”. There were really no requirements credits, we had to take the NY Regents exams at the end of a required class. Other than that, we were able to learn on our own, with another, with a group. How we got the knowledge base was entirely up to the student. What I learned is that it put a lot of pressure on you. Teachers would say if you don’t want to do it that way, then do it another way. That forces you into a lot of adult thinking and makes you really process things.

This school graduated 99% of its students and sent 95% to four-year colleges. This was way above the other high schools even though it was made up of kids who were failing or because the school was not working for them. Many of the graduates have led pretty successful lives.