"You have to have a real person that connecting with the kids whose making it real ... they have all these things going on inside of them and you need that adult who recognizes that and is working with them on that."

- Steven Miletto

Steven Miletto of the Teaching Learning Leading K12 podcast joins me to talk about personalized learning, changes he's noticed in education throughout his career, and the importance of giving your all in anything you do. A love of history and a dislike for the way he was taught inspired Steven to make education better for others, including continuing to learn himself so he can keep serving his students to the best of his ability.

You can find Steven on Twitter @SRMiletto

01:25 - Starting a podcast about education is time well-spent

06:15 - Reflecting on changes in education

08:00 - Why is there such a shortage of teachers and what makes a great teacher?

12:35 - Personalized learning in the classroom is about more than just test scores

16:45 - The mission of Teaching Learning Leading K12

19:00 - You have to put in the time and effort for anything to happen

20:00 - Strive to be better than "just okay"

"I figured out what gift I was born with and when you can touch on that you never work a day in your life."

Allison Dankner is a Family Behaviorist and Literacy Specialist that is committed to empowering families to work together successfully. She helped open two schools, one public and one charter, and talks with me about the differences between the two and the factors that lead to student success. She taught in the classroom for 7 years and now works privately with children and their patents to help their students build skills such as self-regulation and self-esteem.

You can find Allison at allisoncd.com

02:20 - Everything is about the kids: A comparison of the openings of two different schools

05:55 - How the different structures affected the students

08:10 - Focusing on children and allowing flexibility prompts growth in our students

11:00 - Necessity guides instruction

15:02 - Work with your heart and soul

19:00 - Allison's strategy to helping children self-regulate and raise their own self-esteem

26:15 - Why is it important for kids to know the rules?

"Communicating does not mean as the adult you do all the talking and the child is supposed to listen. At some point, the adults need to stop and listen to the children."

- Erica Wortherly

Erica's teaching career started when she volunteered in her children's classrooms. She then taught full-time for 7 years while earning her Master's Degree in Social Work, and continues to work with schools and educators today. Today she uses her background to help teachers learn communication and self-care skills that ultimately benefit both student and educator.

You can find Erica at https://ericanwortherly.com/ and on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

01:30 - How Erica's Masters in Social Work helps her ask different questions to enable her to build better relationships with students

07:50 - Educational solutions need strategies to go with them

10:45 - You need to communicate with honesty to solve challenges alongside leadership

14:00 - How are you balancing your work and home lives?

16:00 - SEL is just as important for the staff as it is for the students

19:25 - Erica's advice about self-care for educators

"How can I teach, not only other people's children but my own child, about the world and their impact in the world if I've never taken that leap of faith and stepped out into the world to see exactly how my own experiences, whether personal or educational, can impact someone else."

- Tyree Simmons

Tyree Simmons is originally from Brooklyn, NY and has taught in Maryland, Georgia, Abu Dhabi and Dubai - truly showing us what it means to be a global citizen. Tyree uses his experience to give back to others through The Four Foundation, which he started with his daughter, and the book he wrote with 9 others "Going Global: The Life Changing Experiences of 10 Courageous Black Men".

01:40 - Bridging gaps in education

05:00 - Remember that teaching is a privilege

07:15 - Gaining experience to be a better teacher

08:55 - What it's like going to teach in another country

14:20 - Global competency: what it means to be a global citizen

16:45 - SEL and fostering the growth of the whole child no matter where you teach

20:00 - The opportunities that Tyree had to give back: co-writing a book and starting a non-profit

22:45 - Continuing the dialogue of equity to help children grow and learn together

"There is no perfect school, there is no perfect school system, there is no perfect teacher or school leader, but it's because we're all human and in our humanity there are imperfections. But I believe in those imperfections that's what makes us great because it requires us to lean and depend on each other."

- Dr. Maisha Rounds

Dr. Maisha Rounds started in South Carolina and is now a turnaround specialist Boston Public Schools at the Michael J. Perkins Elementary School. She's worked with teachers, students, parents, and community partners to employ SEL strategies that have made her students successful and closed opportunity gaps within her school district. She talks to me about the importance of community, how having her own children has given her a more complete picture of the public education system, and the 3 signature practices that her school and the community partners all engage in to help students succeed.

You can learn all about Michael J. Perkins Elementary School at http://www.michaeljperkinsschool.org/

You can follow Maisha Rounds at http://www.allgodschildren.co/

02:30 - What is a turnaround specialist?

06:00 - Experiencing the full spectrum of the education system

11:00 - How community partners can help our students and teachers succeed

14:40 - SEL successes

23:30 - 3 signature practices that everyone can use every day to ensure student success

26:15 - Maisha's goals for her students

"Your purpose and the things that fulfill you is tied to whatever you do with excellence and ease."

- Brittany Sherell

Brittany Sherell is a special education teacher, certified happiness coach, and the author of "The Fulfillment Factor". She specializes in helping women discover what's missing in their lives, and puts that practice into her own life while teaching. We talk about releasing expectations, developing the person behind the profession, and how teachers (and any other professionals) are better at what they do when they feel that they are fulfilling their purpose.

You can find Brittany at [brittanysherell.com](http://brittanysherell.com) and @BritannySherell on both Facebook and Instagram

If you'd like to receive 2 newsletters a month from me and purchase your copy of Every Decision Counts, please go to [tregammage.com](http://tregammage.com).

02:10 - There's more to being a teacher than teaching

03:15 - Don't lose yourself in your work

04:40 - Tips for teacher self-care and finding what fulfills you

08:00 - Embrace the evolution of your purpose

12:30 - Releasing the notion of how you're "supposed" to teach

16:45 - Develop the person behind the profession

EP 142 College Is Possible with Antonio McFarland by Tre' Gammage

"Teaching is an art form and it does start... with people and relationships."- Ayodele Harrison

Ayodele has worked in education for 20 years, with 16 of them being in the classroom. His company, CommunityBuild Ventures, LLC focuses on building equity in schools by engaging the community and team-building within those communities. We talk about how to build equity in schools, the importance of learning your students' names, and what he's doing through BMEs to help develop black male educators in our education system.

02:00 - What's in a name?

05:55 - What is equity-centered school improvement?

13:00 - Teaching is an art form that starts with relationships

18:00 - Why aren't there more black males in education?

25:00 - Where are people talking about education?

"Every single time that you can save a young man or a young woman and you can convince them that going this path is better than the path that you may have already been on."

- Lloyd Knight

This is Lloyd Knight's third episode as a guest on The Dash, and the conversations just get better every time. Lloyd just released his book "I'm Blessed!: My Life Story Told Through Mentorship" (available on Amazon) and we talk about a few of the stories in the book, the people who helped him achieve so much in life, and how restorative justice, SEL, and equity in schools all help shape our students.

03:00 - Finding your potential with the proper motivation

06:00 - God puts people in your life for a reason

09:20 - Helping students pay it forward

12:30 - Bonus story that's not included in Lloyd's new book

19:05 - Finding your "why" and how it can change

26:00 - Restorative justice practices and supporting documents

32:55 - How does SEL support equity in schools?

37:00 - Be genuine with your students

41:00 - The positive impact of restoring equity in your schools

"I'm asking for a balance: that we balance the supports that we offer our kids, we balance the way that we organize our schools so that we have a balanced person who is graduating from our schools and participating in society."

- David Adams

David Adams is the Director of Social Emotional learning for the Urban Assembly, as selection of 23 schools in New York City. He's also on the Board of Directors for CASEL, which you've heard me talk about many times on The Dash. David talks with me about how SEL has become recognized in education, what we still need to do, and how educators can help improve the social and economic mobility in their communities through teaching SEL principles.

05:00 - The importance of SEL

07:15 - Expansion of SEL awareness and what still needs to happen

10:45 - What do we need to teach our students about SEL?

15:00 - What educators can do to improve the social and economic mobility of their own communities

19:50 - How the Urban Assembly supports SEL in schools

26:00 - What is the role of public education in society?