The Brian Mendler Show

Kindergarten teacher Gina Venancio discusses her journey from a new teacher who found herself crying in a closet thinking about quitting to learning how to change her mindset so she stopped taking it so personally.  She realized that her kids were not doing the behavior on purpose to cause her distress.  It was simply not about her!

The key to stopping unwanted behaviors is to focus on why the behavior is happening in the first place.  Gina has narrowed it down to two main reasons kids misbehave.  Kids are trying to access something or avoid something. She explains how she uses a simple post-it note system that helps her identify the why behind the behavior.

Lastly, Gina and Brian discuss the importance of being willing to cancel planned lessons to teach skills that are needed at that moment in time.

@brianmendler

@teachingwithheart

I interview my friend, Stephanie Levy, whose infectious personality helps to make her a great teacher.  She discusses how relationships are the key to her and her school’s success.  She is never afraid to have fun and even shares with us a math rap she created for her students.  We discuss how behavior is just a means of communication and what matters is finding the root causes for the behavior.  Most importantly, Stephanie says you have to “wipe the slate clean” with every student, every day!

A fascinating discussion about the growth of Esports with educator Phil Harrington. He discusses how and why he set up his school’s first esports team and the new popular computer science classes focused on the esports industry.  Did you know that colleges are giving out scholarships to high school students for esports?  Want to learn how to get kids engaged in school, then this podcast is a must listen.

I visit with Kinder teacher, author and educational consultant, Kayla Dornfeld, as she discusses her and her husband’s two year journey to become pregnant.  After 5 failed attempts, she describes the joy of her newborn daughter and how her faith and students helped her through the dark times.  Being able to share her story and vulnerability with her students allowed them to help her with each failed attempt and form those crucial connections with her students.

Twitter & Instagram @BrianMendler, @topdogteaching

A few days ago I posted that my son’s 4th grade teacher was leaving the profession. He loves her and was devastated when he heard. I sat down with her to understand why she chose to leave and what the last few days were like for her. Keep the tissues close by. This was an emotional one. We love you Miss Griffith and will always be appreciative of the 3 months you gave our son.

Kindergarten teacher, teacher coach & entrepreneur Andriana Zarovska joins me for this super fun episode.  We talk about Heart Centered Discipline, all things connection & relationships.  Check out her instagram @the_active_educator.

Twitter & Instagram @brianmendler

Imagine building relationships so strong that your students visit your sick father in the hospital.  In this episode my friend, Sara Soehlke, joins me to talk about what she does to build connection with her students.  She also gets personal & opens up about her battle with weight & losing over 100 pounds.  This was an awesome episode.  Hope you enjoy!

In this episode Black History Teacher & Tik Tok star Ernest Crim joins me.  This man is super inspirational & has a ton of awesome ideas for motivating uninterested kids.  We discuss the viral video of racism he & his wife endured at a cultural festival in Chicago a few years ago.  He talks about his childhood and watching his educator mom constantly helping those in need.  We also discuss the power of the internet & how his growth on Tik Tok has exploded.

This week I am joined by Shane Saeed. She is the author of the brand new #edu release, Be the Flame. She gives awesome ideas for gaining feedback from students.  We discuss leaning into discomfort and how pushing through it makes us better and stronger.  We also talk about connection and relationships being the foundation for great content instruction.  She’s a teacher, teacher coach, author and social media influencer (@fantasticallyfourth).

The Brian Mendler Show is back in your life! New episodes will drop Monday or every other Monday.  In the first episode I fly solo, talking about our move to Florida and the first five weeks of school for my own children.  

This year will feature dynamic interviews with Educators from across all parts of the profession.  From para professionals to Superintendents, everyone has a story. I will also answer your “challenging kid” questions.  

Be sure to rate, review, subscribe and download every episode.  I appreciate all of you 

See you soon until then I say “Peace, I’m outta here.”