The Broken Copier

In January 2021, Nick Covington was a social studies teacher in Iowa fully-immersed in his classroom and students. Successful, purposeful, and thriving. A year later, after being swept up into the culture war against educators and facing targeting and harassment for doing his job, he handed in his resignation later in February 2022.

Once he finished out that school year, Nick moved into his position as a leader of the non-profit he cofounded, The Human Restoration Project—an organization doing the increasingly-important work of moving towards an education system that centers the humanity of all-involved, but most especially students.

In today’s conversation, Nick shares about his experience in the classroom, his exit from it, and why he is more resolute than ever about the importance of and hope within the work he is doing now. (Seriously: if this is your first time hearing about it, go check it out!)

Links to check out from the conversation:

* HumanRestorationProject.org

* Third Coast Learning Collaborative

* “Current Events Do Not Belong in History Class” (the original Medium post detailing Nick’s experience leaving the classroom)

Also: how do you feel as a teacher right now in this current moment? Feel free to answer in the comments or, if you’re inspired, to leave an audio message via Fanlist that we may respond to on a future episode?

Finally, thanks, as always, to: Alberto Lugo, one of Jim’s former students, for writing and recording original intro music; Tom Csatari for allowing us to use his band’s recording of “Woodstock” from their 2020 album, Garden; and Courtney Milavec for graphic design.

Find Tom’s work at uncivilizedtom.com, and on Instagram @banduncivilized.

Find Alberto’s work at djsynchro.weebly.com, and on Instagram @djsynchro.

Email us here: [email protected].

Thanks for listening (and tell your friends)!

The little solutions in the classroom can often create big impacts for the classroom—and today’s Kicking The Copier is very much one of those examples: a simple question you can begin occasionally including as a teacher to better support students in the way they deserve to be supported.

As always, thanks to: Alberto Lugo, one of Jim’s former students, for contributing their music to The Broken Copier podcast—and also Tom Csatari for allowing us to use his band’s recording of “Woodstock” from their 2020 album, Garden; and Courtney Milavec for graphic design.

* Find Tom’s work at uncivilizedtom.com, and on Instagram @banduncivilized.

* Find Alberto’s work at djsynchro.weebly.com, and on Instagram @djsynchro.

* Email thoughts and feedback to [email protected], too!

Thanks for listening, and take care of yourselves as educators. Especially right now.

The idea of “100% engagement” is a loaded one in education, particularly when it comes to the expectations and implications for the classroom. Adrian Neibauer tackled this idea with conviction but more importantly humility in a recent post on his Substack called “The Scary Teacher”—and he was generous enough to hop back on The Broken Copier to expand on this reflection and discuss his views on the idea of “100% engagement” more broadly, particularly when it comes to how teachers should move in their classrooms.

For more of Adrian’s writing, check out Adrian’s Newsletter. Plus, a few other resources from the conversation:

* “The 100% Participation Myth” by Trevor Muir

* Teach Like a Champion blog on 100% by Doug Lemov

* Teach Like a Champion video on 100%

What do you think about 100%? Feel free to answer in the comments or, if you’re inspired, to leave an audio message via Fanlist that we may respond to on a future episode? (note: Adrian is one a multiple guests now who first jumped into The Broken Copier via that Fanlist link!)

Finally, thanks, as always, to:

Alberto Lugo, one of Jim’s former students, for writing and recording original intro music; Tom Csatari for allowing us to use his band’s recording of “Woodstock” from their 2020 album, Garden; and Courtney Milavec for graphic design.

Find Tom’s work at uncivilizedtom.com, and on Instagram @banduncivilized.

Find Alberto’s work at djsynchro.weebly.com, and on Instagram @djsynchro.

Email us here: [email protected].

Thanks for listening (and tell your friends)!

Today’s conversation is with Courtney Eddleman and Don Sturm, two educators who have been an integral part of an ongoing, district-wide partnership with MagicSchool AI. Rather than asking teachers to navigate this potential paradigm shift with AI on their own, Courtney and Don share a much-different experience that is taking place right now in their school district—including the feedback they have received from teachers and students alike.

If you’re curious about learning more beyond this conversation, Courtney and Don went into further detail in a series for their podcast Through the Educational Looking Glass—so that’s a great place to explore further if you’re intrigued! You can also reach out to Don here and can find both Courtney and Don on BlueSky.

(Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments as well!)

Thanks, as always, to:

Alberto Lugo, one of Jim’s former students, for writing and recording original intro music; Tom Csatari for allowing us to use his band’s recording of “Woodstock” from their 2020 album, Garden; and Courtney Milavec for graphic design.

Find Tom’s work at uncivilizedtom.com, and on Instagram @banduncivilized.

Find Alberto’s work at djsynchro.weebly.com, and on Instagram @djsynchro.

Email us here with feedback or any other questions as well: [email protected].

Thanks for listening (and tell your friends)!

Today’s conversation features John Warner, author of the new book More Than Words: How to Think About Writing in the Age of AI—a book that explores how ChatGPT and other large language models force us to reconsider what writing means in education and, more broadly, in society overall. (Also: this conversation ends with one of our favorite ever shout-out’s to a former teacher since starting this podcast—so make sure not to miss it!)

You can follow more of John’s writing at either of his Substack newsletters, Engaged Education or The Biblioracle Recommends; additionally, if you’re looking to learn more his ideas about how to improve writing in the classroom, you definitely should check out his two previous books, too: Why They Can’t Write and The Writer’s Practice.

Thanks, as always, to:

Alberto Lugo, one of Jim’s former students, for writing and recording original intro music; Tom Csatari for allowing us to use his band’s recording of “Woodstock” from their 2020 album, Garden; and Courtney Milavec for graphic design.

Find Tom’s work at uncivilizedtom.com, and on Instagram @banduncivilized.

Find Alberto’s work at djsynchro.weebly.com, and on Instagram @djsynchro.

Email us here with feedback or any other questions as well: [email protected].

Thanks for listening (and tell your friends)!

Sometimes our Kicking The Copier episodes are more teacher-centered in terms of habits and strategies—but today is very much the opposite: a specific, student-centered strategy that you can use tomorrow in the classroom, if you want!

(Seriously: Marcus uses this pretty much every day in some sort of way, no matter the class. Try it out!)

As always, thanks to: Alberto Lugo, one of Jim’s former students, for contributing their music to The Broken Copier podcast—and also Tom Csatari for allowing us to use his band’s recording of “Woodstock” from their 2020 album, Garden; and Courtney Milavec for graphic design.

* Find Tom’s work at uncivilizedtom.com, and on Instagram @banduncivilized.

* Find Alberto’s work at djsynchro.weebly.com, and on Instagram @djsynchro.

* Email thoughts and feedback to [email protected], too!

Thanks for listening, and take care of yourselves as we move into this second half of the school year!

For our 16th Kicking The Copier episode—our continuing series focused on specific mindsets and strategies that can be helpful for teachers and educators—Marcus shared about a ritual that he has come to find considerable value in each year as a teacher—and why he believes finding and leaning into rituals as a teacher can be incredibly affirming and restorative especially within the grind of a school year.

As is noted in the episode, please don’t hesitate to reply in the comments to share your own ritual, too, and what it means to you—or to record a reflection at fanlist.com/brokencopier, if you feel inspired. (Maybe it’ll end up in a future show!)

As always, thanks to: Alberto Lugo, one of Jim’s former students, for contributing their music to The Broken Copier podcast—and also Tom Csatari for allowing us to use his band’s recording of “Woodstock” from their 2020 album, Garden; and Courtney Milavec for graphic design.

* Find Tom’s work at uncivilizedtom.com, and on Instagram @banduncivilized.

* Find Alberto’s work at djsynchro.weebly.com, and on Instagram @djsynchro.

* Email thoughts and feedback to [email protected], too!

Thanks for listening, and take care of yourselves as we move into this second half of the school year!

After their months-long, slow-read journey through Becoming an Everyday Changemaker, Adrian Neibauer joined Marcus in this episode to talk with the author, Alex Shevrin Venet, about this transformative book she has written for educators. In this conversation, Alex shares her intentions behind the book and responds to both Adrian and Marcus’s questions at end of their respective reading journeys through it.

To learn more about Alex’s work, you’re encouraged to check out her website www.unconditionallearning.org—and if you’re interested in this book we’ve spent so much time with, here’s a link of where you can get your own copy!

Also, two resources from the conversation we promised to include in the notes:

* On Trauma-Gatekeeping: “If Everything Is Trauma…”

* “Banishing “Siberia” and Student Seclusion: Leading Trauma-Informed Systems Change in a Rural School”

Finally, remember that you can follow Adrian’s work at his Substack, too!

Thanks, as always, to:

Alberto Lugo, one of Jim’s former students, for writing and recording original intro music; Tom Csatari for allowing us to use his band’s recording of “Woodstock” from their 2020 album, Garden; and Courtney Milavec for graphic design.

Find Tom’s work at uncivilizedtom.com, and on Instagram @banduncivilized.

Find Alberto’s work at djsynchro.weebly.com, and on Instagram @djsynchro.

Email us here with feedback or any other questions as well: [email protected].

Thanks for listening (and tell your friends)!

For the last Broken Copier episode of 2024, Marcus was able to speak with Jireh Keys, an early-career elementary school teacher in Fordyce, Arkansas—who also just happens to have been a freshman back in the first English class Marcus ever taught back in 2012.

In this conversation, Jireh shares about her path into the classroom, the experience of returning to teach in the community that raised her, and all the meaning she has found in her new identity as a teacher.

(And yes, you can imagine Marcus smiling wide this entire conversation as he listened to his former student talk about absolutely thriving in the classroom as a teacher herself!)

Thanks, as always, to:

Alberto Lugo, one of Jim’s former students, for writing and recording original intro music; Tom Csatari for allowing us to use his band’s recording of “Woodstock” from their 2020 album, Garden; and Courtney Milavec for graphic design.

Find Tom’s work at uncivilizedtom.com, and on Instagram @banduncivilized.

Find Alberto’s work at djsynchro.weebly.com, and on Instagram @djsynchro.

Email us here with feedback or any other questions as well: [email protected].

Thanks for listening (and tell your friends)!

Marcus and Jim sit down to talk (again) about AI, since it looks like it’s not going away. Jim shares what he’s doing with AI in his planning and feedback process as a teacher. Marcus shares his hesitations and frustrations around AI in education more broadly. Some agreement, some disagreement—and a conversation that both felt was worth having.

Two writers referenced in the conversation:

* Marc Watkins: Rhetorica Substack

* John Warner: The Biblioracle Recommends Substack

As always we’d love to hear your thoughts! You can leave us an audio message for the next episode:

fanlist.com/brokencopier

Want to be a guest on the podcast? Click here to sign up. We may be delayed in our responses, but we definitely want to start inviting more teachers to come on & share their stories.

Finally, thanks, as always, to:

Alberto Lugo, one of Jim’s former students, for writing and recording original intro music; Tom Csatari for allowing us to use his band’s recording of “Woodstock” from their 2020 album, Garden; and Courtney Milavec for graphic design.

Find Tom’s work at uncivilizedtom.com, and on Instagram @banduncivilized.

Find Alberto’s work at djsynchro.weebly.com, and on Instagram @djsynchro.

Email us here: [email protected].

Thanks for listening (and tell your friends)!