New format for episodes. New production. 

It is the new year and we have finally ditched the dumpster fire that was 2020. A lot of people have new year's resolutions at the start of every year. In fact, according to finder.com, about 74% of adults in the US make a new years resolution. The most popular of these resolutions revolve around: health, self-improvement, money, family, love, and/or career. 

So I wanted to take a quick break on the teaching side of things and focus on how we can keep our resolutions. 

So I want to dive into the success and failure rates that I found on discoverhappyhabits.com. After the first week of January, 75% of the people who make a resolution are still successful in sticking with it. After one month, that number drops to only 3 in 5 people. After 6 months, that number drops to 4%. Overall, by the end of the year, about 9% of people feel successful in their resolution goals. 

Why do you think so many people fall short when it comes to their new year's resolution? 

This season, we will continue to explore major topics in education, while we also expand on topics that don’t require you to have the knowledge of benchmarks, standards, and the overall need-to-knows of a classroom.

Before we begin, we would like to give a shoutout to our promotional partners over at Lesson Writer. 

LessonWriter is a website for teachers that creates literacy-focused lessons from any content of choice. Simply copy and paste into the platform, and in moments LessonWriter will analyze the text and generate exercises designed to help students improve comprehension and literacy skills. Check out the free option today at LessonWriter.com. 

So let's dive into our topic of the American grading system. In this episode, I want to answer this question: do you think that the traditional A - F grading system is outdated? But first, context! Matt, explain the A - F grading system to our listeners. 

We will be covering three topics in today’s podcast: 1. The types of reading texts students are accessing today. 2. Should we be teaching literature that does not impact social relevance. And 3. Excerpts and their effectiveness in teaching skills and standards. 

In honor of the presidential election here in the US, we wanted to talk about the true impact a sitting president has on us educators. So I want to break this episode into two parts: the history behind presidents and their impact on education today, and then I want to end with a wishful wishlist of what positive changes we would like to see in the next four years.

We need male teachers because the field is dominated by females (75%). If you Google statistics around this fact, you’ll see an outcry for positive male role models, the need for male influences in student’s lives, and the need to balance “gender inequality.”

But the dilemma comes from the role that male teachers fill. 1) male teachers are treated differently than female teachers in the class and by parents and staff. But, at the same time 2) male teachers are subject to higher scrutiny and extra-judicial circumstances than females.

So on the podcast today, I want to decide if these two claims are true. 

According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, “Surveys show that ninety percent of teens ages 13-17 have used social media. Seventy five percent report having at least one active social media profile, and 51% report visiting a social media site at least daily. Two thirds of teens have their own mobile devices with internet capabilities. On average, teens are online almost nine hours a day, not including time for homework.”

So let’s get this out of the way now: social media is and, for the seeable future, will be a part of our everyday life. That includes in the classroom. So we won’t be discussing whether or not it is a good or bad thing, but rather, what it looks like in the classroom and how we can better steer it in the right direction. 

What are some ways we can avoid this or deal with this when it happens?

Welcome to another new episode of Those Who Can’t Do, a teacher podcast exploring all topics of education. My name is Gina and I am here with my husband, cohost, producer, and editor, Matt. We are also joined by two special guests today as we discuss the choices parents and children ultimately have to make between public, private, and charter schools. 

What is there to say? 

Public schools are cool. 
So are private and charter. But we are here to decide which options benefit which types of students and teachers as we all try to understand what choices must be made in trying to best serve our children.