Teachers of All Kinds

Episode 013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDx2uyfe6z4

Dr. JaNay Brown-Wood is an award-winning author and educator. She completed her PhD from the School of Education at UC Davis and is a professor at California State University, Sacramento. You can connect with JaNay at www.janaybrownwood.com and find her on Facebook or Twitter.

In this episode we discuss:

-Early Childhood Education (ECE)

-What is hands-on learning?

-How hands-on looks in older grades

-Student Voice: Choice in learning

-Teacher Creativity

-Worksheets vs. Manipulatives

-The variability of resources and COVID’s effect 

-What comes first: Spelling or Sentences?

-Polarization in Literacy education methods

-Math Practices vs. Standards

-Why JaNay got into the field of Education

-Audiobooks as a tool or a crutch

-JaNay’s published works 

-The melding of writing and educating

-Alternative math systems besides base-10

-JK Rowling’s new book Ickabog

-Learning Styles

-The stigma around admitting a problem with literacy

Episode 012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjuOLyY7a0k

Dr. Desiree Alexander is an award-winning educator who has been in the educational field since 2002. She is the Founder CEO of Educator Alexander Consulting, LLC, and the Regional Director of North Louisiana for the Associated Professional Educators of Louisiana. Dr. Alexander is lifetime certified in Louisiana in Secondary English Education, and holds a Doctorate in Education with a concentration in Educational Leadership from Lamar University. You can connect with her at educatoralexander.com, on Twitter at educatoralex, or on other social media platforms (including youtube) at EducatorAlexander.

 

In this episode we discuss:

-Hurricanes and Fires in 2020

-The variety of definitions of hybrid education

-The push for in-person instruction

-Reopening the economy vs. COVID

-The stagnant state of Education

-How Virtual School helps learners

-How the Virtual Option is here to stay

-The problem with school as a safe haven for students

-Picking the issue of the day

-Politics in everything

-Introversion vs. extroversion

-Hood’s online class format

-Social interaction in 40-minute classes

-Having a purpose for technology

-One-on-one meetings with students

-Desiree’s sticker story

-Dave Stuart Jr.’s record-keeping

-No faking it in teaching

-Whether Desiree is in the Middle School or High School camp

-Difference between 8th and 9th graders

-Desiree as a Librarian/Auntie

-Graphic Novels as “Real” reading

-The tech requirements of being a librarian

-The Myth of the Superhero teacher

-The culture of overworking

-Type A personalities

-Tech boundaries

-What Desiree’s watching now on Netflix

Alanna Malloy is a professor, researcher, and teacher coach in Wisconsin. She will soon earn a PhD in Urban Education. Alanna and her sister co-host the podcast Reclaiming Wanderlust, which merges their passions of DJing and holistic health and wellness. You can find Alanna on instagram at anomalysoul.

 

In this episode we discuss:

-Alanna’s PhD program in Urban Education

-Student choice and student voice

-A concrete example of culturally responsive pedagogy

-One benefit of COVID for education

-Accommodations for students

-Restorative Justice vs. Zero Tolerance 

-Effects of the teacher shortage 

-How Mrs. Hood only has 84 students at an 8-period school

-How Mrs. Hood gamifies her lessons

-Class discussions during distance learning

-The National Writing Project and Action Research

-Something Alanna researched before it was cool

-Home groups vs. random groups

-High School Freshman compared to Juniors/Seniors

-How Alanna’s young son is handling quarantine

-The Milwaukee Domes

-Clifton’s Strengthsfinder

-How Alanna got in trouble in elementary school

-The barrier of a low GPA

-Making assumptions

-Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

-Orig3n DNA test

-Alanna’s journaling habits

-The Artist’s Way & Morning Pages

-Getting it right the first time

Dr. Bisola Neil is a mom of two children under 3, a product of and fierce advocate for urban public schools as well as an expert educational consultant.  She holds a Ph.D. in Urban Education specializing in Policy and Mathematics Education from the Graduate Center at CUNY.  Dr. Neil is also a licensed 7-12 Math Teacher, a licensed School District Leader, and a licensed Life Coach. You can find out more about Dr. Neil and about B. Neil Solutions, a Boutique Educational Concierge Firm, at https://www.bneilsolutions.com.

 

In this episode we discuss:

-What Dr. Neil enjoyed about K12 ed

-Dr. Neil’s favorite grade to teach and why

-Status in groups, Identity markers 

-One con of identifying as smart

-Different ways of being “smart”

-Social Justice in Education

-Cutting School: The Segrenomics of American Education, a book by Noliwe Rooks

-How Parenting connects to Teaching

-How Dr. Neil’s dissertation required her to learn more about statistics

-Why the US Census is so valuable

-What courses Mrs. Hood is teaching this fall

-Real world math problems and data literacy

-Dr. Neil’s research surrounding black math teachers

-The number of certified black math teachers in the US

-The ratio of educators of color to white educators, and some reasons why this ratio exists

-Black professionals as role models

-Why Affinity Spaces are important

-The Silver Linings of Covid

-Buddhism

-What new administrators should focus on

-Dr. Neil’s core values

-Mrs. Hood’s journey with anti-racism 

-The Flint water crisis in math class

-How to be an anti-racist math teacher (without Social Justice units)

-When students really start learning Algebra (Hint: It’s way earlier than you think)

-Dr. Neil’s current top skill, and what she’s trying to get better at

-Dr. Neil’s favorite stand up comedians

Angelica Lima is the owner of VivaPhonics, https://vivaphonics.com/, a reading intervention program, and previously taught Bilingual Education and English as Second Language.

 

In this episode we discuss:

-Why Angelica got a degree in Criminal Justice

-How she shifted to education

-Bilingual education

-The stereotype of bilingual students

-Parental involvement outside of homework help

-Incorporating Latino culture and materials into lessons

-Reading Intervention

-How google came in handy

-The National Right to Read Foundation

-The stigma against Drill and kill

-”Practice makes perfect”

-Why memorizing sight words are bad

-Why Angelica is seeking another degree

-Speech Language Pathology

-How tutoring differs from the classroom

-Resources at VivaPhonics.com 

-Angelica’s dogs (both rescues)

-What keeps Angelica up at night

-How Viva Phonics utilizes writers

Kim Lepre is the host of The Teachers Need Teachers Podcast, https://teachersneedteachers.com/, helping beginning teachers navigate their new field. She taught band for 10 years, and has been teaching English Language Arts for almost a decade.

 

In this episode we discuss:

-New teachers and the Imposter Syndrome

-Student Rapport

-Mentorship for new teachers

-Providing Syllabi for families

-Mentorship for teachers new to a building 

-Why Kim had to reset her classes midyear

-Teaching Band versus English Language Arts

-Kim’s shift away from teaching Band

-Why Kim identifies as a Middle School teacher

-Distance Learning 2.0 for fall 2020

-The Evolved Teacher’s advice for online classrooms

-Edpuzzle as a resource

-Student privacy on video

-The Teachers Need Teachers podcast

-One of Mrs. Hood’s past weaknesses as a teacher

-Parent Contact and Remind.com

-Kim’s interest in Reiki 

-Religion and politics in Education

-The instant rapport of teachers doing Tik-Tok

-The Cult of Pedagogy podcast and website

-Twitter as a resource for teachers

Carla Rivera-Cruz is the founder and CEO of EDpiphany, https://www.edpiphany.com/, a company focused on professional development for educators. She is the host of the EDpiphany podcast, and is currently on a mission to open an after hours teachers lounge. 

 

In this episode we discuss:

-Schools going online for Fall 2020

-Social Distancing in schools

-Educators responsible for fixing social problems

-Substitute teaching

-Social Work 

-The Teach for America program

-San Diego, CA vs. Florida 

-Carla’s powerful impact while on the School Board

-“F” grades meaning the failure of Adults

-Poverty as a scapegoat

-How to stop perpetuating negative mindsets

-Carla’s Teachers Lounge 

-Bypassing the red tape of PD

-Virtual EDUpreneurs Mixer

-How to build authentic relationships

-How parenting has affected Carla’s goals

-Clifton’s Strengthfinder

-Switching from your own worst Critic to Affirmative language

Hello friends, I’m Mrs. Hood, and welcome to Teachers of All Kinds! TAK is a podcast where we teachers can benefit one another, by sharing our unique experiences as individuals, who also happen to be teachers. Through conversation, you’ll discover how compelling and inspirational each one of our stories truly is.  Sometimes, the focus will be on talking shop, or on personal growth, while other times you may hear more about the destination, or attaining pragmatic results in the classroom. You should know that I am passionate about creating space for interesting, insightful discussion, connecting with other educators, and most of all, enjoying the unpredictable discovery that comes from being authentic and just talking to each other. Different opinions, perspectives, and experiences, are all vital to me personally.  I want our fellow teachers to share in this vitality by being entertained, and at times, learn something that might favorably assist their practice. My goal for each guest, is to provide the chance to be themselves, and to tell people what they care passionately about - in a conversational style, as uplifting as it is revealing. Your time is valuable. Thank you for spending some of it listening to Teachers of All Kinds. I’m Mrs. Hood, and I’ll see you next time, on TAK.

Eric is an instructional leader with over 20 years of experience as both a classroom teacher and an administrator. In addition, Eric owns an educational consulting firm, E to B Concepts, Inc., http://www.etobconcepts.com/.

In this episode we discuss:

Eric’s philosophy of teaching and learning

Social-emotional learning, including the CALM room

Utilizing volunteers and community partnerships in the school

Building student-teacher relationships

The “Don’t smile until Christmas” mentality

The stigma against Common Core, and how the CCSM emphasizes conceptual understanding

Creating Mathematicians, not technicians nor magicians

Why you should not give students the answer to their math question

How child development relates to teaching math

Teachers becoming elementary teachers to escape math

Why we should departmentalize elementary schools

Mathematical Mindsets by Jo Boaler

How no one will ever admit they can’t read well, but everyone will always admit they’re not good at math

Steve Jobs and his cult like approach with Apple 

COVID-19 and students returning in the fall 

Teachers who are burned out

The three types of math teachers 

How student-teaching falls short, and how it should change

Chris Hamilton is a high school English and Drama teacher in Washington state.