Schurtz and Ties: A podcast about education and culture

Cultural Engagement is essential to creating a safe and sound environment, and a safe and sound environment is essential to learning.

In this episode, Kasey and Brian provide strategies for teachers and educational leaders that encourage students to bring in their culture, engage with the culture, and create a holistically safe, secure, and diversly strong culture.

Episodes Referenced:

- Ep. 73: Let them be loud; Let them show up with Dr Curry

- Ep. 55: The Culture Blend with Jerry Jones

- Ep. 81: "Stay a teacher." Wisdom on Behavioral Engagement with Jedd Hafer

Types of Engagement

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From deschooling to the average age shifting to 32 and everywhere in-between. In this episode, Brian and Kasey take a break from the deep-dive of engagement and check in, share their current thoughts and convictions, and wrestle through - as always - how we can best support teachers, encourage students, and improve education.

- Opus Number 1: You can download the song or listen to the This American Life episode.

- Deschooling Society. It is available on Amazon.

"Most learning is not the result of instruction. It is rather the result of unhampered participation in a meaningful setting."

- "Stay in your lane." Healthy cultures have diversity - friction - and more importantly, trust.

"Research reveals that when startups put a premium on culture fit, they're less likely to fail and more likely to go public. But then they grow at slower rates. They start to get stale" (Adam Grant).

- Average age is 32. Not 25. More than ever, education is about teaching how to be good people. The content is just a vessel.

- Be a candle. A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle. But it radically impacts the room.

- The smell of milk: The importance of childhood memories.

"How can I lead you through this?"

This week, we welcome back school mental health expert Charle Peck to discuss Emotional Engagement and how we can best serve, protect, and teach our students in an emotionally secure environment.

In this episode, we wrestle through a variety of questions such as, "How do we create an emotionally secure space?" and "What are some strategies teachers can use to help connect with students and quick and efficient ways?"

As always, Mrs. Peck provides tangible answers that benefit both teachers and administrators.

You can learn more about Charle Peck and reach out to her directly at thrivingeducator.org. You can also purchase her book, Improving School Mental Health: The Thriving School Community Solution.

References:

- The Thriving Educator Podcast: The Loneliness Epidemic

- Only7seconds.com

Types of Engagement

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Social Media is NOT true engagement. It has skewed our perception of connection and continually ignores the rules of social engagement. It has not only changed us all, it has directly impacted our schools and classrooms.

In this episode, Kasey and Brian break down Social Engagement - what it is and what it isn't - and provide tangible ways educators can instantly and intentionally provide a space for students to safely and appropriately socially engage with each other.

- Create shared agreements

- Make it feel like a welcoming community gathering space

- Create opportunities for rich conversations; Demonstrate how to start and end conversations; Demonstrate how to listen well

- Combine structure and choice in who students talk to

Types of Engagement

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Understanding and guiding student behavior is a crucial component to any classroom. Unfortunately, our traditional discipline and behavior management strategies are also primarily based on reaction rather than proactive and purposeful teaching.

In this episode, Brian and Kasey invite Jedd Hafer on the show to discuss Behavioral Engagement and why we need to stop drilling holes in our students' heads and start believing kids are capable.

Jedd Hafer is a lead educational consultant for Ervin Educational Consulting and an expert on classroom and student behavior, and we are thrilled to glean a bit of his wisdom.

Thank you for hanging out with us, and please, if you have any questions or incites, let us know! We are eager to hear from you.

Types of Engagement

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Welcome to the 80s!!! It's hard to believe we've made it this far, but here we are, and what an episode to usher us in!

In this episode, Brian and Kasey define "Physical Engagement," and discuss the importance of classroom

And school environment.

Although we disagree, the following are temporary definitions. Let us know what you think in the survey!

Physical Environment: It is the built and natural environments—and the systemic factors that shape those environments— that interact with each other. It is the stage we set - or have - that impacts our learning.

Physical Movement:Is the act of getting out of their chairs, stretching, walking around the room, stations, writing on the board or walking on treadmills in class.

Physical Engagement:Is the direct connection between the physical movement of an activity and the objective of the lesson.

Types of Engagement

• ​Intellectual-”constructing new knowledge” with high order tasks
• ​Physical-participating purposeful motion and physical activities
• ​Cultural-various cultures feel accepted, the environment does not class with cultures or make particular cultures feel unwelcome. (careful not to just tell the stories of old dead white men) (help students identify lines where personal freedoms and societal ethics converge)
• ​Behavioral-attend school, follow school expectations, do not infringe on the learning and rights of others.
• ​Emotional-feeling good while at school. (Procrastination is a result of avoiding bad feelings. Many students don’t do school work because they don’t feel good doing the work) remember how you made them feel
• ​Social-ethically engage in the community, are welcoming and feel welcomed,

Show Sponsors:Schurtz and Ties is sponsored by PeerDrivenPD, a teacher training platform that brings "candid conversations from some of the best classroom educators in the country." You can "get your training directly from the teachers in the trenches as current classroom teachers guide your professional learning with authentic insights and practical strategies you can try immediately." Check out ⁠⁠⁠PeerDrivenPD.com⁠⁠⁠ for more information, mention Schurtz and Ties, and get 10% off any purchase for one year!⁠⁠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 (Twitter): SchurtzandTiesGmail: [email protected]#DoGreatThings and #KeepKnocking

In a variety of European countries, the expression “red thread” refers to the core idea or theme of something. It is as the “throughline” that allows everything else to make sense.

The "6+1 Types of Engagement" come from episode 68: "Rethinking that which shall not be named." which are:

The Red Threads that tie all types of engagement together are:

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We are back for season three! And we are thrilled to deep dive into new and purposeful topics.

But for now, a summer recap of lessons learned and a conversation of convictions for the coming year, such as:

- Have a plan. Be intentional

- Shed the need to be perfect (Hi Ren)

- Empower the individual; increase responsibility

- Be reliable. Just like Atticus

- Be the best. Just like Shohai Ohtani

- Do what is uncomfortable.

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

X (Twitter): SchurtzandTies

Gmail: [email protected]

#DoGreatThings and #KeepKnocking

Dr. Jim Knight, is the "Founder and Senior Partner of Instructional Coaching Group (ICG)" and "a research associate at the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning. He has spent more than two decades studying professional learning and instructional coaching" (via).

And in this episode, Kasey has the opportunity to sit down and chat with the mind who created the position we now call, "instructional coach." It is a must-listen.

You can learn more about Dr. Knight at his website, Instructional Coaching Group, or read or listen to more of his work, or reach out and ask more questions!

Show Sponsors:

⁠⁠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 (Twitter): SchurtzandTies

Gmail: [email protected]

#DoGreatThings and #KeepKnocking

What truly makes a difference in a school? Is it the little trinkets in the staff lounge? The thank you notes throughout the year? What? And more importantly, how do we know?

In this episode, Brian and Kasey have the opportunity to speak with Dr. Sheri Humphrys and Dr. Kate Syson and talk about practical practices that actually impact school culture and teacher wellbeing.

As Kasey honestly proclaims, this is "one of the best episodes" because it brings "the research and years of practice" and makes sense of it in such a way that everyone can understand and use. And he is absolutely correct.

You can reach out to Dr. Humphrys at [email protected] or Dr Syson at [email protected].

⁠⁠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 (Twitter): SchurtzandTies

Gmail: [email protected]

#DoGreatThings and #KeepKnocking