There is nothing easy about life in the United States right now, and being an educator holds an increasing weight and tension. Education, as an institution, is facing an existential crisis and without the certainty that education itself still matters, what can give us certainty? What can we believe in that matters, regardless of our status or position in our institutions?

Acknowledging our fear and its connection to kindness matter. That moment of recognition, of understanding that we all have known fear, presents us with many choices. What we choose in those moments of distress matters, and is a reflection of who we are in that moment, perhaps beyond. Join me for a short talk on the moments that exist between fear and kindness.

References

amb's IG reading (August 20 2024)

Butler, O. (1993). Parable of the Sower. Seven Stories Press. NY.

Daniels, E. (2022). Building a trauma-responsive educational practice: Lessons from a corrections classroom. Routledge. NY.

Keltner, D. (2024). Awe: The new science of everyday wonder and how it can transform your life. Penguin Books.

Show Notes

theme music: composed and performed by Alden Zac (here, here, here) thanks friend!

editing & production: emareena (who is relieved this is mostly listenable)

logo: emareena, who loves Galactica very much

website: galacticcow.com and, occasionally, on the blog

For our season's final episode, I wanted to bring as many of our episode themes together as possible. To make it even more interesting, the conversation takes place outside of education – as an institution – almost entirely. But so many of our concepts for this season show up – kindness, accountability and restorative processes, where public love shows up, trauma responsivity, generosity, creativity and risk taking, and maternal health. As an educator, I am always curious about how ideas make their way into everyday living, and this conversation offers many glimpses into how that can happen.

References

Visible mending info: https://www.goingzerowaste.com/blog/visible-mending/

Show Notes

theme music: composed and performed by Alden Zac (here, here, here) thanks friend!

editing & production: emareena (who is relieved this is mostly listenable)

logo: emareena, who loves Galactica very much

website: galacticcow.com and, occasionally, on the blog

I sometimes think that if I look inside the workings of truly outstanding teachers I will always find their wildly creative twin secretly pulling the levers! That more people in academia are not strongly encouraged to not only pursue their creative interests but bring that creativity into their classrooms and scholarship kind of blows my mind. If you are one of those academics with a tiny creative secretly running things from a chamber in your brain, this episode is for you!

References

Find Dr. Hunte: here and here

Film/Theatre: Push: Black Mamas Changing the Culture of Birth and Sista in the Brotherhood

Her research on maternal health disparities for women of color, and her role in launching the Healthy Birth Initiative

Oregon's Momnibus bill, more detail here

Show Notes

theme music: composed and performed by Alden Zac (here, here, here) thanks friend!

editing & production: emareena (who is relieved this is mostly listenable)

logo: emareena, who loves Galactica very much

website: galacticcow.com and, occasionally, on the blog

If you've ever been afraid of math, this episode is for you! Also, if you are a math or art teacher, this episode is for you too!! My guest this week and I had a conversation that turned out to be one of my personal favorites, partly because I spontaneously burst into math! I can't believe I just typed that sentence but it is true, and it was called for and I stand by my conclusions 😊

Math is such a tremendous pain point for so many people, would it surprise you to learn that it has that in common with art? Join us for this week's conversation, and maybe math will start to feel a little less scary ♥

Show Notes

theme music: composed and performed by Alden Zac (here, here, here) thanks friend!

editing & production: emareena (who is relieved this is mostly listenable)

logo: emareena, who loves Galactica very much

website: galacticcow.com and, occasionally, on the blog.

I write and talk extensively about the impacts of trauma on learning, educational trauma, and how trauma-responsivity in teachers can provide a counter to the impacts, and interrupt cycles of harm. I learned these things largely through my own practice, and applying research and observation, but hearing how other people interpret and apply this work is a full-on blessing from the Universe.

There are many things teachers do instinctively that are helpful with regard to trauma, but we have also all been through and witnessed educational harm. Our own educational journey is usually where we learned our default habits, reactions, and behaviors whether we enjoyed that journey or not. This episode's guests and I have a warm and loving conversation about kindness, trust, and how experiencing those things for ourselves brings home how important it is to offer them to students.

References

Building a Trauma-Responsive Educational Practice: Lessons from a Corrections Classroom (Daniels, 2022)

Galactic Cow, S2E1 with Dr. Cate Denial - Kindness, Learning, and Higher Ed

Jenn Brazleton, on the interwebs

Show Notes

theme music: composed and performed by Alden Zac (here, here, here) thanks friend!

editing & production: emareena (who is relieved this is mostly listenable)

logo: emareena, who loves Galactica very much

website: galacticcow.com and, occasionally, on the blog

Prentis Hemphill and Ancestor Andrea Gibson both talked often about how the more difficult the world feels, the more we need to let ourselves soften. As an educator, it is not easy to know what softeness means, especially in the challenging times we face. I think often of generosity, and what it means to be a generous teacher, how we practice generosity in the act of teaching. This week's conversation takes us into a discussion of the art of improv as one pathway into generosity, and you are invited join us on the journey ♥

References

Contact Brad! Www.bradfortier.com and Brad on LinkedIn

Brad's Publications

Longform Improvisation: Collaboration, Comedy, and Communion; LAP publishing, 2010

A Culture of Play: Essays on the Origins, Applications, and Effects of Improvised Theatre; Lulu Publishing; 2012

"Creating a Spontaneous Village: Community from Play"; Applied Improvisation - Leading, Collaborating, and Creating Beyond the Theatre; Dudeck, Theresa Robbins & McClure, Caitlin Editors. Bloomsbury; 2018

Books Mentioned

"Group Genius" (R. Keith Sawyer)

"Freeplay" (Stephen Nachmanovitch) on my shelf!

"Awe" by (Dacher Keltner) also on my shelf!

Show Notes

theme music: composed and performed by Alden Zac (here, here, here) thanks friend!

editing & production: emareena (who is relieved this is mostly listenable)

logo: emareena, who loves Galactica very much

website: galacticcow.com and, occasionally, on the blog

Facing all the ways our systems are struggling and failing can feel like a whirlpool of rage, grief, and confusion. Finding some point of stability that we can use to orient ourselves is imperative, especially as we seek our common humanity. In the face of egregious and flagrant violations of our dignity and autonomy, a conversation about accountability may seem like a fantasy, but it is sorely needed.

Taking time to reflect on who we want to be in these moments of darkness, and how we hold ourselves to that vision is a necessity. Imagining what accountability could look like, how it could change our relationships and learning, is an invitation as we seek to build something new and different. We invite you into a conversation about learning, relationships, education, and accountability, and to dream of what might be.

References

Sidney Morgan, owner of Red Sea Road Consulting LLC

adrienne maree brown on the difference in restorative/transformative justice

Davis, Dr. Fania. The Little Book of Race and Restorative Justice.

Eds. Beyond Survival.

Eds. Colorizing Restorative Justice.

Zehr, Howard. Changing Lenses (25th ed).

Show Notes

theme music: composed and performed by Alden Zac (here, here, here) thanks friend!

editing & production: emareena (who is relieved this is mostly listenable)

logo: emareena, who loves Galactica very much

website: galacticcow.com and, occasionally, on the blog

If you are an educator, chances are things are feeling pretty grim. And honestly, the educational landscape IS bleak right now, but don't lose hope - this is the time for us to put our imaginations into overdrive and consider what comes next. In this episode, Dr. Pui-Yan Lam joins me to pull on some of last season's conversational threads about love in education, and what the presence of love in the classroom means. Join us for a deep discussion about love in education, what the absence of love has created, and how love as a common good might change education.

Daniels, Em (2022) Building a Trauma-Responsive Educational Practice: Lessons from a Corrections Classroom

Galactic Cow Season 1, Ep 5: Embodied Love in Teaching

Living as a Writer: Public Love in Education, Part 1

Extending Ourselves: Public Love in Education, Part 2

Show Notes

theme music: composed and performed by Alden Zac (here, here, here) thanks friend!

editing & production: emareena (who is relieved this is mostly listenable)

logo: emareena, who loves Galactica very much

website: galacticcow.com and, occasionally, on the blog

Seeking or offering kindness in higher ed can feel, at best, incredibly risky. But for those of us feeling despondent about teaching and learning in such unkind spaces, Dr. Cate Denial has words of wisdom and encouragement. Kindness is a missing element in almost every area of higher ed, but turning toward each other, imagining and creating different experiences of teaching and learning, is one way we counter that unkindness.

References

• Dr. Cate Denial, A Pedagogy of Kindness (2024)
• adrienne maree brown, Emergent Strategy (2017) and Holding Change (2021)
• Alok Menon
• Prentis Hemphill, What It Takes to Heal (2025)
• Monash report

Show Notes

theme music: composed and performed by Alden (here, here, here) thanks friend!

editing & production: emareena (who is relieved this is mostly listenable)

logo: emareena, who loves Galactica very much

website: galacticcow.com and occasionally here

If you are interested in our relationship to learning, and how that relationship impacts our lives, and humanity as a whole, this is the podcast for you!

This season, emareena hosts a series of educators and practitioners in talking about our relationship with learning, and how it impacts our lives. The conversations dig into so many juicy questions, including "What is generosity in teaching?" "What are trauma-responsive principles in education?" "Why does accountability matter for educators?" "What is the most difficult aspect of practicing kindness in higher ed?" "Why is higher ed is such an unkind place?"

What are your thoughts on these questions? What questions do you have about our relationship to learning? How it impacts who we are as humans? Let me know in the comments and I'll pick a few to talk about later in the season. As always, Galactica and I will be dreaming with you in the stars.