Schurtz and Ties: A podcast about education and culture

Emotions are complex. For leaders, they’re even more so.
Left unfiltered, they can become dangerous—for both the leader and the people they lead.
Over-filtered, they create distance—leaders risk becoming hollow, disconnected versions of themselves.

In this episode, with the wisdom and clarity of Jennifer Abrams, we explore a framework that helps leaders navigate that tension with intention. Together, we examine what it looks like to show up emotionally in ways that are authentic and responsible—ways that strengthen trust instead of eroding it, and offer humanity without causing harm.

We wrestle with essential questions every leader must consider:
Is the emotion I’m expressing professionally sound?
Does it offer helpful context or does it risk becoming emotionally polluting?
Is this emotion clarifying, grounding, or inadvertently damaging?

This episode invites leaders to step into the complicated middle space—where emotion isn’t avoided or unleashed, but stewarded. Where humanity and leadership can coexist.

Social Media:

Youtube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@SchurtzTies⁠⁠⁠⁠

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠SchurtzTies⁠⁠⁠⁠

Show Sponsors:Schurtz and Ties is a proud partner with ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TeachBetter.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠:

“The Teach Better Podcast Network is dedicated to supporting the entire school ecosystem through in-depth conversations around topics you care about. Covering a variety of areas in education, each podcast aims to support educators in creating and maintaining a progressive, student-focused classroom.”

We’d love to hear your thoughts or ideas for future episodes:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

#DoGreatThings | #KeepKnocking

Public education is living in a strange moment. Polls show trust and confidence in our K–12 system at an all-time low — a record 26% of Americans believe schools are headed in the right direction. And yet every day, inside classrooms across the country, teachers are pouring themselves into kids with everything they’ve got.

In this episode, we sit inside that tension: why the public perception has dipped so sharply, what stories are being told about schools, and what realities are actually unfolding inside them.

We also explore the deep and often unspoken ocean between people and curriculum. On one shore sits content: standards, pacing guides, expectations, academic rigor. On the other shore stand the humans: students carrying invisible weight, teachers navigating burnout, leaders trying to steer ships in choppy waters.

Joined by Dr. Polikoff, a professor at the University of Southern California whose expertise includes K-12 education policy, curriculum, standards, accountability and survey research methods, we wrestle with the why behind the public’s dissatisfaction and, more importantly, what can be done. We discuss what schools can control, what they should rethink, and how leaders might rebuild trust through clarity, connection, and communication.

If you’ve ever felt caught in the riptide between doing what the curriculum demands and what a student needs in that moment, or if you’ve wondered how we restore faith in public education, this conversation aims to offer both candor and hope.

Social Media:

Youtube: ⁠⁠⁠@SchurtzTies⁠⁠⁠

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠SchurtzTies⁠⁠⁠

Show Sponsors:Schurtz and Ties is a proud partner with ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TeachBetter.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠:

“The Teach Better Podcast Network is dedicated to supporting the entire school ecosystem through in-depth conversations around topics you care about. Covering a variety of areas in education, each podcast aims to support educators in creating and maintaining a progressive, student-focused classroom.”

We’d love to hear your thoughts or ideas for future episodes:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

#DoGreatThings | #KeepKnocking

Most of our go-to strategies work because—well—they work for most kids. But every educator knows the moment when a trusted approach suddenly falls flat. So what do we do when the strategy that helps 90% of students leaves the other 10% untouched?

In this Schurtz Short, Brian and Kasey dive into that exact dilemma. In just twenty minutes, they unpack why even our most proven practices don’t work for everyone, explore how to rethink and modify support, and offer real, practical ways to reach the students who need us most.

A quick hit. A big question. Tangible solutions. Just the way we like it.

Social Media:

Youtube: ⁠⁠⁠@SchurtzTies⁠⁠⁠

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠SchurtzTies⁠⁠⁠

Show Sponsors:Schurtz and Ties is a proud partner with ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TeachBetter.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠:

“The Teach Better Podcast Network is dedicated to supporting the entire school ecosystem through in-depth conversations around topics you care about. Covering a variety of areas in education, each podcast aims to support educators in creating and maintaining a progressive, student-focused classroom.”

We’d love to hear your thoughts or ideas for future episodes:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

#DoGreatThings | #KeepKnocking

In this follow-up conversation with international consultant and author Jennifer Abrams, we go deeper than strategies and surface-level “tips” for conflict resolution. This episode is about the inner work—the courage, humility, and self-awareness required to engage in the hard conversations we’d often rather avoid.

Building on our earlier episode (Ep. 102, “Successfully Navigating Hard Conversations”), Jennifer pushes us to look inward before we look outward. Together, we explore:

• The role of identity—how culture, race, gender, and lived experience shape the way conflict shows up

• Honoring what’s in the room—the emotions, histories, and immediate needs we often rush past

• Developing a language of empathy that allows us to stay grounded while still being honest

• The discipline of making space for discomfort

• Why “being professional” means tending to our inner being, not suppressing it

This is one of those episodes that refuses to stay abstract. Jennifer challenges us—as educators, leaders, and humans—to recognize our own triggers, interrogate our assumptions, and build the internal muscles required for meaningful dialogue.

If you work with people (and yes, that’s all of us), this episode will stretch you in the best way

Social Media:

Youtube: ⁠⁠@SchurtzTies⁠⁠

Instagram: ⁠⁠SchurtzTies⁠⁠

Show Sponsors:Schurtz and Ties is a proud partner with ⁠⁠⁠⁠TeachBetter.com⁠⁠⁠⁠:

“The Teach Better Podcast Network is dedicated to supporting the entire school ecosystem through in-depth conversations around topics you care about. Covering a variety of areas in education, each podcast aims to support educators in creating and maintaining a progressive, student-focused classroom.”

We’d love to hear your thoughts or ideas for future episodes:

⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠

#DoGreatThings | #KeepKnocking

Welcome to the first Schurtz Short — a behind-the-scenes look at how Brian and Kasey actually do the work. These mini episodes pull back the curtain on real-time problem solving, where ideas are messy, honest, and alive.

In this short, the two tackle a familiar challenge: how to make professional development meaningful, efficient, and energizing for staff. No scripts. No perfect answers. Just two educators thinking out loud — pushing, questioning, and refining as they go.

Because sometimes the best learning happens when you let people hear the struggle.

Is it a skill issue—or a will issue? And should we treat every behavior like it’s a skill that can be taught?

In this episode, Brian and Kasey dive into the heart of classroom management and motivation—exploring why so many conflicts stem from responding too quickly, how pacing guides can get in the way of meaningful teaching, and whether reward charts actually help or just distract from the real work.

Together, they unpack what it means to truly understand behavior, slow down our reactions, and respond in ways that make a lasting difference for kids.

Social Media:

Youtube: ⁠@SchurtzTies⁠

Instagram: ⁠SchurtzTies⁠

Show Sponsors:Schurtz and Ties is a proud partner with ⁠⁠⁠TeachBetter.com⁠⁠⁠:

“The Teach Better Podcast Network is dedicated to supporting the entire school ecosystem through in-depth conversations around topics you care about. Covering a variety of areas in education, each podcast aims to support educators in creating and maintaining a progressive, student-focused classroom.”

We’d love to hear your thoughts or ideas for future episodes:

⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠

#DoGreatThings | #KeepKnocking

In 1969, psychologist Philip Zimbardo left two identical cars in two very different neighborhoods—one in the Bronx, one in Palo Alto.
Both looked abandoned. Within hours, one was destroyed. The other sat untouched—until Zimbardo himself broke a single window. Then, predictably, the destruction began there too.

It became known as the Broken Window Theory—the idea that when we let small signs of disorder go unchecked, bigger problems follow. It’s a study that’s often been used to justify zero-tolerance approaches: punish every behavior, enforce every rule, no exceptions.

But here’s where we push back.

Because while Zimbardo’s study reminds us not to ignore the “broken windows” in our schools—the disrespect, the apathy, the small cracks in culture—it also reminds us that punishment alone doesn’t repair anything.

This week on Schurtz and Ties, we talk about the real takeaway:

Everything needs to be addressed, but not everything needs a consequence.

We’ll explore how leaders and teachers can respond to “broken window behavior” without breaking people in the process—how to repair, not retaliate; how to build culture through accountability and care.

We also share practical systems and strategies that help:

• What to do when small behaviors start to spread.

• How to balance grace and structure.

• How to create a culture where students and staff feel both safe and responsible.

Because the goal isn’t control.
It’s culture.
And culture grows best when we address the cracks—before they spread—without shattering the glass.

Social Media:

Youtube: @SchurtzTies

Instagram: SchurtzTies

Show Sponsors:Schurtz and Ties is a proud partner with ⁠⁠TeachBetter.com⁠⁠:

“The Teach Better Podcast Network is dedicated to supporting the entire school ecosystem through in-depth conversations around topics you care about. Covering a variety of areas in education, each podcast aims to support educators in creating and maintaining a progressive, student-focused classroom.”

We’d love to hear your thoughts or ideas for future episodes:

⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

#DoGreatThings | #KeepKnocking

Why does it sometimes feel like teachers and administrators are on opposite sides of the same mission? Why is there friction when we all want the same thing? To do what's best for kids - for people - and to do it well!

Because we're human. Because we're complicated.

In this episode, Brian and Kasey dig into the roots of that divide—the misunderstandings, pressures, and assumptions that quietly build walls between the front office and the classroom. Through honest conversation and personal stories, they explore what happens when both sides pause long enough to listen, assume good intent, and remember that everyone showed up for the same reason.

Because when teachers and administrators work together, schools don’t just function better—they feel better.

Show Sponsors:Schurtz and Ties is a proud partner with ⁠TeachBetter.com⁠:

“The Teach Better Podcast Network is dedicated to supporting the entire school ecosystem through in-depth conversations around topics you care about. Covering a variety of areas in education, each podcast aims to support educators in creating and maintaining a progressive, student-focused classroom.”

We’d love to hear your thoughts or ideas for future episodes:📘 X: ⁠@SchurtzandTies⁠📧 ⁠[email protected]⁠

#DoGreatThings | #KeepKnocking

Education, like the NFL Combine, is flooded with data. Numbers, charts, metrics, and measures. And too often, we focus on the wrong ones.

Somewhere along the way, our obsession with data turned into overcomplication—wasted time, poor decisions, and distraction from what matters most.

Can your students think deeply?
Can they communicate clearly?
If so, they’ll be okay.
It’s that simple.

The same goes for us. Are you above or below the line of healthy, productive thinking? Call it what it is. Name it. That simple act gives you the power to pause—and to choose differently.

In our effort to do what’s best for kids—and to be the best for those we serve—we often make things harder than they need to be. In this episode, Brian and Kasey remind us all that sometimes the best thing we can do is step back, simplify, and focus on what really matters.

Because sometimes, what’s best for all… is keeping it simple.

References:

• Above the Line Thinking — Brené Brown

Show Sponsors:
Schurtz and Ties is a proud partner with TeachBetter.com:

“The Teach Better Podcast Network is dedicated to supporting the entire school ecosystem through in-depth conversations around topics you care about. Covering a variety of areas in education, each podcast aims to support educators in creating and maintaining a progressive, student-focused classroom.”

We’d love to hear your thoughts or ideas for future episodes:
📘 X: @SchurtzandTies
📧 [email protected]

#DoGreatThings | #KeepKnocking

Sometimes, it’s not the big decisions that break a school’s culture — it’s the quiet ones. The rolled eyes in the hallway. The half-hearted “sure” in a staff meeting. The slow erosion that happens when we stop believing the best about each other.

In this episode, we sit down with Darron Pepperd — educator, author, and founder of Road to Awesome — to talk about the subtle, often invisible ways school culture can start to slip.

If you’ve ever wondered why morale feels low even when everyone “agrees” things are fine, this episode will feel uncomfortably familiar — and deeply hopeful.

You can discover more or reach out to Darron at his website, where you can listen to his podcast, purchase his book, and learn more about the AWESOME things he and his team are doing.

Show Sponsors: Schurtz and Ties is a proud partner with⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TeachBetter.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: "The Teach Better Podcast Network is dedicated to supporting the entire school ecosystem through in-depth conversations around topics you care about. Covering a variety of areas in education, each podcast aims to support educators in the field toward creating and maintaining a progressive, student-focused classroom."

Please reach out and let us know your thoughts or share a topic:

X: @SchurtzandTies

Gmail: [email protected]

#DoGreatThings and #KeepKnocking