Schurtz and Ties: A podcast about education and culture

Anchors give us stability and direction when times are tough. In this episode, Kasey and Brian discuss the value of living a life focused on doing GREAT things (Give - Relate - Explore -Analyze - Try), why it matters, and how it looks.

Give:

- "If you’re a taker, you help others strategically, when the benefits to you outweigh the personal costs. If you’re a giver, you might use a different cost-benefit analysis: you help whenever the benefits to others exceed the personal costs . . . if you’re a giver at work, you simply strive to be generous in sharing your time, energy, knowledge, skills, ideas, and connections with other people who can benefit from them.” - Givers and Takers, by Adam Grant

- "The key to finding happiness is to transcend, to find happiness in the simple pleasures, to master the art of just being. When you romanticize the future more than the past, you move forward. But when you romanticize the present, you become free." - The Mountain is You, by Brianna West

- The Energy Bus, by Jon Gordon

Relate:

- You can read the story of Brian's grandma and J.C. and see their beautiful photo here, "Beyond Tolerance."

- "Ignore the words - hear the story."

Explore:

- "The problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete" - Dangers of a Single Story, by Chimamanda Adichie. 

- "I couldn't tell you, honey, I don't know. Where I'm going, but I've got to go. 'Cause every turn reveals some other road. I'm a traveler. . .  When I'm gone, someone else will have to feel this wrong. Someone else will have to sing this song. Someone else will have to sing along." Traveller, by Chris Stapleton

Analyze:

- "An unexamined life is not worth living" - Socrates

- My notebook has remained blank for months; thanks to the light you shower; around me. I have no use; for my pen, which lies; languorously without grief.; Nothing is better than to live; a storyless life that needs; no writing for meaning—; when I am gone, let others say; they lost a happy man; though no one can tell how happy I was." - Missed Time, by Ha Jin

- " . . .The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood . . ." - Man in the Arena, Teddy Roosevelt.

- "In matters of style, swim with the current. In manners of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson

- "There are few choices in life where there are no risks on either side." - Beyond Chaos: Twelve More Rules for Life, by Jordan Peterson

Try:

- "Its the ability to maintain unwavering faith that you can and will prevail in the end, regardless of difficulties" - Good to Great, by Jim Collins

- "When you invent the ship, you invent the shipwreck"

ChatGPT is changing the educational landscape. In this episode, Brian and Kasey argue that this change is not only good for education, it is also needed. Becase of ChatGPT we have an opportunity to shift our focus away from content and towards what truly matters, on the things that will actually change the world . . . the human being stuff. 

You can check out ChatGPT here.

Kasey quotes Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.

"There is something at work in my soul, which I do not understand."

"Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change."

Brian references the book, The End of Education: Redefining the Value of School, by Neil Postman

"Schooling can be about how to make a life, which is quite different from how to make a living."

"There was a time when educators became famous for providing reasons for learning; now they become famous for inventing a method."

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Or send us an email: [email protected] 

Responsibility Centered Discipline (RCD) "has helped educators across North America transform student discipline and improve school climate." In this episode, Brian and Kasey discuss the format of RCD, its potential for impacting behavior, and why it is foundational in strengthening relationships and building the whole child.

For more information, check out:

Website: Givemfive.com

Book: Roadmap to Responsibility The Power of Give 'em Five to Transform Schools

Twitter: @RCDGivemFive

Unpaid Advertisement: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni

In this episode, Brian and Kasey dive deeper into UDL and offer a few tangible ways we can eliminate unnecessary physical and psychological barriers to life. Kasey pushes back on Brian's belief that hard lives create better people. 

Kasey references a blog post he wrote, "And." 

Universal Design for Learning is an attempt to accommodate the needs of all learners by removing unnecessary hurdles. In this episode, Brian and Kasey wrestle with what UDL means for schools, classrooms, and daily living. But they only scratch the surface. Offering suggestions such as living an untimed life, savoring simple moments, and providing opportunities for all students to learn at their own rate and in their own way (link below), this episode sets the stage for a more in-depth and direct conversation of how we can apply UDL in our lives, starting today.

Scaffolded Planning to Differentiate Instruction, by Kasey Schurtz:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eMzOo7peCM_zkMSNx6qmbFSJ3melWXrfCbfp-SIcBZE/edit

This conversation also inspired Brian and his weekly Friday Thought: Look Beyond the Problem. See the People.

In this episode, Kasey and Brian talk through some of their thoughts and convictions from the break. Much like a barstool conversation, their discussion ranges from how we can change our experiences by simply adding mirrors, why not liking someone is very different (and much better) than disliking someone, and why schools should ditch Debate Teams in favor of an Arbitration Team. 

Two Bits of Optimism with Simon Sinek, Brene Brown, and Adam Grant: Part One

This conversation also inspired Brian and his weekly Friday Thought: Elevator Thinking

Brian and Kasey are spending time with their families but will be back releasing weekly episodes the first week of January.  Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

(Part 2) Parents and teachers are on the same side; they both want what is best for the child. However, for a variety of fair and unfair reasons, the gap in understanding seems to be at an all-time high. In this episode, Kasey and Brian acknowledge the stereotypes, discuss potential misunderstandings, and offer solutions of empathy for both sides. Brian opens a can of frustration against one of Maya Angelou's famous quotes.

Brian references the book, Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, by Dan and Chip Heath

Parents and teachers are on the same side; they both want what is best for the child. However, for a variety of fair and unfair reasons, the gap in understanding seems to be at an all-time high. In this episode, Kasey and Brian acknowledge the stereotypes, discuss the misunderstandings, and begin to offer a way where both sides can start drawing closer together through the bridge of empathy. This is a two-parter.

Brian references the book, Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, by Dan and Chip Heath

Sports can teach us a great deal about life, leadership, and community. Most importantly, and if done correctly, it can model how to get the best out of ourselves and those we lead and serve. In this episode, Brian and Kasey discuss the limitations of goals and outcomes, the power of understanding our weaknesses, and wrestle with how best to create a culture that normalizes greatness. Kasey discovers, in real-time, if his daughter makes the freshman basketball team.