A calm classroom with students on task is what we all want. In this discussion, two teachers, two psychologists, and a school superintendent unanimously agree that current events outside of the classroom are impacting our ability to reach and teach our students.  What follows is a  refreshingly honest and insightful discussion about what it takes to create a calm climate for learning during exceptionally stressful times.  The result is a practical guide for every educator and school leader. Follow on Twitter: @LDamour @pfagell  @JYooBrannon @KFelicello  @Jonharper70bd ..read more

Illinois’s largest elementary school district has an exceptionally positive school culture and the receipts to prove it. In this episode, we talk with the superintendent about the step-by-step process they used to build theirs, based on the Happiness Advantage. Stanford University researchers placed this school district in the top two percent of all schools in America in student growth. Follow on Twitter: @sparvell @MicrosoftEDU @bamradionetwork @Jonharper70bd @drf4331 @Andy_DuRoss Related Resources MicrosoftEDU: K12 Blueprint – Learning Next As the superintendent of the largest elementary sch ..read more

The emerging emotional science is clear, we often oversimplify how we discuss the emotional experience of teaching and the emotional inner life of teachers. In this episode, we explore two models that reframe what we often simplistically label as burnout and offer a new lens for discussing what those of us who teach are experiencing right now and what we need as we look to the school year ahead. Follow on Twitter: @JYooBrannon @kevinleichtman @bamradionetwork @jonHarper70bd Dr. James L. Floman is an Associate Research Scientist at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. He received his PhD ..read more

The four-day school week is not known, but the speed at which schools are adopting the model is breathtaking. Largely driven by the difficulty in attracting and retaining teachers, school districts are making the leap at increasingly rapid rates. In this episode we ask, what do teachers and school leaders need to consider ahead of time to be prepared? Follow on Twitter: @sgthomas1973 @bamradionetwork @jonharper70bd @DocSig @askpang Dr. Robert Sigrist currently serves as the Assistant Superintendent of Business and Operations for the St. Joseph School District in St. Jo ..read more

We invited the authors of three books written to teach us how to talk with people we disagree with on just about everything. Each shared with us their framework for navigating difficult discussions with difficult people in school, at work, and in life. This episode is the first in a series aimed and learning how to talk about those sensitive social, cultural, and civic issues we simply can’t ignore. This informed and candid discussion left us with a roadmap for the episodes ahead on everything from mask mandates, to transgender issues, race relations, growing incivility, and threats to our dem ..read more

Across the nation, at all levels, educators are reporting a rise in troublesome student behaviors. The list of causes is wide and deep, but the first professionals expected to manage student behavior are classroom teachers. This episode takes an unvarnished look at the new genre of student behavior challenges and how some educators are handling them. Follow on Twitter: @jaimedonally@JorgeDoesPBL @bamradionetwork @jonharper70bd @msdarasavage Dara Laws Savage is a 26-year educator from the great state of Delaware. She has served on numerous local, regional, and state committees, and has been Tea ..read more

In this episode, we pause to examine the seemingly endless minor and high-stakes decisions that we need to make in our classrooms every day. Listen in as we identify ways to manage the decision fatigue that some feel. Follow on Twitter: @katyfarber @Non_Toxic_Kids @dubioseducator @drchriscip @Jonharper70bd @bamradionetwork Dr. Katy Farber is a classroom educator and writer from Vermont. She has written and co-authored several books about education, including Why Great Teachers Quit and How We Might Solve the Exodus (Corwin Press). Faige Meller taught for 38 years at the same school “The Center ..read more

There’s so much we urgently need to talk about, mask mandates, transgender issues, race relations, growing incivility, threats to our democracy, but so little we can safely discuss in mixed company. Increasingly, what starts out as a cordial and benign conversation can get weird quickly. In this second episode, we talk about why the way we often manage difficult conversations is no longer sustainable and how to identify the right people with whom we can talk through the difficult cultural, social, and political discussions that are becoming more unavoidable. Tony Pingitore is a father, husband ..read more

There’s so much we urgently need to talk about, mask mandates, transgender issues, race relations, growing incivility, threats to our democracy, but so little we can safely discuss in mixed company. Increasingly, what starts out as a cordial and benign conversation can get weird quickly. In this second episode, we talk about why the way we often manage difficult conversations is no longer sustainable and how to identify the right people with whom we can talk through the difficult cultural, social, and political discussions that are becoming more unavoidable. Tony Pingitore is a father, husband ..read more

As we all push through another exceptionally challenging school year, we pause to talk about proven ways to sustain our emotional energy and resilience. Join us as we separate what works from what doesn’t. Follow on Twitter: @brightmorningtm @a_rebora @ascd @ILascd @MASCD @iowaASCD @TXASCD @ASCDConf @scASCD @bamradionetwork @jonharper70bd Elena Aguilar, a widely known expert on instructional coaching, is the president of Bright Morning Consulting, a speaker and presenter, and the author of several influential education books, including Coaching for Equity and Onward: Cultivating Resilience in ..read more