Teach Me, Teacher

Hello everyone! Writefully Empowered is HERE! It's my second book, all about creating a writing workshop that empowers young people to be their best and write pieces they care about.

In this episode, I talk with my co-host of Craft & Draft (my paused second podcast) about her experience with reading the book, what her takeaways are, and what other educators might find useful in it too.

This episode previously aired when the book was released.

You can get the book here.

Hello everyone! If you have listened to the podcast for a significant amount of time, you have probably heard me talk about how my son is autistic. It has been a journey, for sure, but something that has been helpful along the way has been all of the great educators who have supported him and his needs.

With that said, I couldn't be more excited to bring my talk with Melinda Arnost to you. She is the author of the upcoming book, Empowering Inclusion, and a passionate educator.

Melinda is exactly the kind of educator we love to have on Teach Me, Teacher: passionate, innovative, and deeply in love with the work it takes to serve all students.

This episode originally appeared as episode #184 of the podcast

In this episode, we sit down with Tinsley Galyean—co-founder of Curious Learning and author of the forthcoming book REFRAME: How Curiosity & Literacy Can Redefine Us—to challenge everything we think we know about technology, kids, and learning. As debates rage over screen time, AI, and the impact of digital tools on child development, Galyean offers a powerful counter-narrative: what if technology, used intentionally, could become one of the most transformative forces in global childhood literacy?

Drawing on fieldwork across Ethiopia, India, Bangladesh, South Africa, and beyond, Tinsley reveals how low-cost smartphones and child-driven learning apps are helping children learn to read in their mother tongue—even in communities with no formal schooling. We explore why curiosity is the secret engine of learning, how tech can support (not replace) human connection, and why it's time to reexamine the role technology can and should play in childhood literacy.

If you're an educator, parent, or leader searching for evidence-based insights on technology and kids, digital learning, or the future of literacy, this conversation will expand your thinking and push you to reframe what's possible.

In this episode, we sit down with Tinsley Galyean—co-founder of Curious Learning and author of the forthcoming book REFRAME: How Curiosity & Literacy Can Redefine Us—to challenge everything we think we know about technology, kids, and learning. As debates rage over screen time, AI, and the impact of digital tools on child development, Galyean offers a powerful counter-narrative: what if technology, used intentionally, could become one of the most transformative forces in global childhood literacy?

Drawing on fieldwork across Ethiopia, India, Bangladesh, South Africa, and beyond, Tinsley reveals how low-cost smartphones and child-driven learning apps are helping children learn to read in their mother tongue—even in communities with no formal schooling. We explore why curiosity is the secret engine of learning, how tech can support (not replace) human connection, and why it's time to reexamine the role technology can and should play in childhood literacy.

If you're an educator, parent, or leader searching for evidence-based insights on technology and kids, digital learning, or the future of literacy, this conversation will expand your thinking and push you to reframe what's possible.

Hello everyone and happy Thanksgiving break! We will be back to our regular scheduled programming next week, but for our off week, let's revisit one of the top minds in education to look at reading and writing practices that actually work in secondary classrooms.

NOTE: This episode featured a giveaway that has already been honored.

If you're in ELA, you probably know who Penny Kittle is. If you don't know who she is, you're in for a treat, regardless if you teach ELA or another subject.

In this episode, Penny and I discuss her new book (co-written with Kelly Gallagher), 180 Days, and how we can better our literacy practices and deepen the learning of our students. We hit on:

• Beliefs that drive teaching decisions
• Why teaching a LOVE for reading and writing is paramount
• The power of modeling
• The need for conferencing with students

…and much much more.

Enjoy the show.

Don't forget to subscribe and review the show on iTunes!

This week, we're back with Part 3 of my conversation with Ken Williams — and we're pushing even deeper into what real leadership looks like when the excuses are stripped away.

If you missed Part 2, make sure you catch up first.

In this installment, we go beyond the question of whether teachers matter and dig into the systems, habits, and mindsets that either amplify teacher expertise or quietly suffocate it. Because here's the truth far too many leaders avoid: You can't claim to believe in teachers while building a school that doesn't trust them.

We talk about how some schools unintentionally create environments where demographics set the narrative, expectations shrink, and teacher talent is overshadowed by fear, compliance, or "initiatives" that don't move the needle. And we explore the opposite—what it looks like when leaders actively remove barriers, create clarity, and build cultures where teachers are empowered to be the experts they were hired to be.

This episode gets into:

• Why "context" can't become a convenient excuse for low accountability

• How leaders can shift from managing teachers to developing them

• What high-functioning schools do differently — no matter the zip code

• The mindsets that help leaders create conditions where every teacher can succeed

• Why student demographics must never determine adult expectations

Ken pulls no punches as we examine what it really takes for leaders to support teachers in any school, with any students, under any circumstances. This is the deeper work — the work that transforms schools from the inside out.

If you're ready to move past rhetoric and toward real leadership that elevates teacher expertise, this is the episode.

Learn more about Ken's work at Unfold the Soul and check out his book Ruthless Equity.

This week, I sit down with Ken Williams — educator, speaker, author of Ruthless Equity, and founder of Unfold the Soul — to dig into a question that hits the core of what schools are becoming: Do teachers still matter?

If you missed part 1, click here.

In far too many places, we've slipped into treating demographics like destiny. Schools get so wrapped up in predicting outcomes based on factors kids can't control that teachers end up feeling obsolete before they even step into the room. When we assume what students can't do, we quietly remove the people who can change everything: the teachers.

If we actually want better schools, we have to treat teachers like the experts they are and let them do what only they can do. Because kids from every background and every circumstance can learn when we trust and empower the people closest to them.

Ken brings his trademark clarity and candor as we dig into how schools can rebuild belief in teachers and what leaders must do to support that shift. It's real, it's challenging, and it's the kind of conversation that refuses to settle for easy answers.

Learn more about Ken's work at Unfold the Soul and check out his book Ruthless Equity.

This week, I sit down with Ken Williams, educator, speaker, and author of Ruthless Equity and founder of Unfold the Soul, to wrestle with one of the toughest questions in education today: Do teachers still matter?

In too many schools, leadership decisions, policies, and even cultural norms seem to have already decided what kids can and cannot do — leaving teachers feeling like their impact is secondary. But if we truly believe teachers matter (and we say we do), why don't our practices reflect that belief?

Ken brings his signature honesty and insight as we unpack how schools can reclaim belief in the power of teachers — and what leaders must do to support them. This conversation is real, challenging, and deeply necessary for anyone who refuses to accept mediocrity in education.

Learn more about Ken's work at Unfold the Soul and check out his book Ruthless Equity.

High school kids are tough to reach… but maybe that's the fun part.

In this episode, we're talking about engagement that actually works—finding that ONE thing that makes your lessons hit different. Maybe it's a wild outfit. A totally new lesson design. A classroom setup that surprises them. Something weird, bold, or uniquely you.

Because when you make it your own… that's when kids connect. That's when it sticks.

Listen now on Teach Me, Teacher — where passion meets practice, and every classroom becomes a story worth telling.

Hello everyone!

This week I'm joined by Carrie Jackson, the incredible principal of Allen High School in Texas — and someone I've had the privilege of working alongside in my career.

Carrie embodies what it means to lead with humility, compassion, and care. In our conversation, we dig deep into what real leadership looks like — not the kind that leans on authority or power, but the kind that sees people first.

We talk about the difference between power and influence, and how the best leaders earn trust and respect not through force, but through consistency, empathy, and a genuine commitment to the people they serve.

It's a reminder that leadership isn't about control — it's about connection.