Teach Me, Teacher

Hello everyone! Today, it is my pleasure to bring you part 2 of our episode with Joe Dombrowski, otherwise known as Mr. D, to discuss the revolution in education, and how and why you need to be a part of it. If you missed part 1, you can find it here. The world of education is changing, and Joe asks us a simple question in this episode...do we want to join him? What follows is a series of reflections on Joe's success after coming from his humble beginnings, and how his past fuels his present decisions. You can hear his passion in his voice when he talks about his first few years as an educator, and this shines even more when he discusses why he tries to do as much as possible for new teachers. In short, we need every passionate soul in the classroom. We lose too many great teachers before they ever find their groove, and many of the factors that drive these educators out can be prevented. Because of this, Joe has started The Mr. Dombrowski First Year Teacher Scholarship, which provides support to new, title 1 educators by stocking up their classroom with the funds and supplies they need to provide exceptional instruction to their students. As a fundraising effort, they have partnered with BookCameo which allows him to give you a personalized shout out! Check it out, and enjoy the show. Don't forget to subscribe and review the show on iTunes! Mr. D rose to fame after his video pranking his students went viral, and Ellen brought him on her show. Since then, he has spoken all around the world, and is a featured speaker at Get Your Teach On.

Hello everyone! Today, it is my pleasure to bring you Joe Dombrowski, otherwise known as Mr. D, to discuss the revolution in education, and how and why you need to be a part of it. Mr. D rose to fame after his video pranking his students went viral, and Ellen brought him on her show. Since then, he has spoken all around the world, is a featured speaker at Get Your Teach On, and he's the most aggravated ranter against Mother Nature I've ever heard. If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen my series of videos about what I see as the next NECESSITY in education. Mainly, that teachers and educators of all positions need to be branding themselves online via social media. This theory of mine has been fueled by watching the revolution happening in education on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, but it's also something that hits home in a variety of ways for me personally, as I see how much I can help my own students by becoming a bigger brand. The more people I reach, the more I can help my students and local community. Throughout the episode, Joe repeatedly demonstrates why you need to be on social media and networking with other teachers. He talks about how his online community has served as his "digital PLC," how it allows his teaching to cross boarders, how he's been able to fund his classroom, and how it quite truly changed his life forever. Joe doesn't think EVERY teacher needs to be a social media personality or brand, but he does think every teacher needs to be on and connecting with other teachers. Personally, I feel a little more strongly than Mr. D about why teachers should be branding their own style, personality, and classroom. I speak strongly about doing it, and I think if you want to be relevant or make a difference in education in the coming years, it's a must. Though, I understand why many people don't want to. To each his own, I suppose, but I imagine most of my audience sees why they need to be out there and showing their work to others... There is no better place to learn, adapt, engage, and help others than to be on social media and networking with other educators. If you truly want to be where the action is, and be a part of the revolution in education, then you need to be on social media, branding yourself, and rising to the new levels great educators all over the world are already setting for the rest of us. I could go on and on about why you should be on social media, and how you could be using it to fundamentally change your classroom, school, and life forever, but I'll let Mr. D do that. Enjoy! Don't forget to subscribe and review the show on iTunes! PS: Make sure to check out The Mr. Dombrowski First Year Teacher Scholarship, which provides support to new, title 1 educators by stocking up their classroom with the funds and supplies they need to provide exceptional instruction to their students. As a fundraising effort, they have partnered with BookCameo which allows him to give you a personalized shout out! Check it out!

Hello everyone! Today, it is my pleasure to bring back Josie Bensko, otherwise known as @MANIACSINTHEMIDDLE , for PART 2 of the episode, to discuss how she gets her kids moving, how she thinks about her lesson plans, and a little bit about the power of INSTAGRAM. I just can't say enough about this episode (which is proven, if you listen to my ending ramble about it). Josie is absolutely amazing, and deserves everything that comes her way. Personally, this talk changed a lot about how I'm going about using social media to empower and inform my practices. I think it will help you do the same. Let me know what you get from this episode! My inbox is always open for you guys. Enjoy! Don't forget to subscribe and review the show on iTunes!

Hello everyone! Today, it is my pleasure to bring you Josie Bensko, otherwise known as @MANIACSINTHEMIDDLE , to discuss how she gets her kids moving to foster that much needed student engagement. If you're not on Instagram, or just haven't come across her yet, you're missing out. Josie is one of my favorite teachers to watch. Her energy and her style of teaching is inspiring, but it's her ability to get kids to learn through experiences that really get me. More and more, educators are realizing that talking at kids isn't the way to get them to learn. The problem is though (and this was true for me too), we don't always know how to make the shift from direct teaching only, to letting kids learn through discovery, movement, and inquiry. If this sounds like you, this episode is the perfect tool. Josie's honesty about what she does, why she does it, and why it works for her students, is applicable to all of our classrooms, and something that shouldn't be ignored by anyone. Enjoy! Don't forget to subscribe and review the show on iTunes!