Episodes #257-263
Episode #257: Rob Martinez
https://outofthetrenches.podbean.com/e/episode-257-dr-rob-martinez/
Dr. Robert A Martinez, is well known as “Resiliency Guy” and “Dr. Rob.” He is a 35-year educator, focuses on issues of #resilience and strives to build environments where children and adults can grow and work in peace. Dr. Martinez has continually focused on improving and expanding educational opportunities for students. He strives to advance understanding of resiliency research for all his employees, students, and their families. He seeks to support all District personnel with advancing their personal and professional skills, knowledge, and expertise in working with children as unique individuals with unlimited capacitiesHe has written a blog for years, published the children’s book “The Story of Sparkle and Shine, Never Forgot,” is a contributing author for “100 No-Nonsense Things that ALL Teachers Should Stop Doing,” He new book, “Lead With Resilience” was published in March 2023. In it, he shares lessons from his life and his “Recipe For Resilience”. Dr. Martinez holds a B.A. in Psychology and an M.A. in Education, both from the University of California, Davis. He is extremely proud to have earned his Educational Doctorate Degree in Educational Leadership and Management with a concentration in Human Resources, from Drexel University. He is available to provide keynotes, consultation, and training on building resilient cultures that create powerful safe places for our children and adults to learn, grow and develop in peace. He believes building resilience in each person, in equitable safe places is of paramount importance.
Trenches story: will make it more personal, young teenager 15 y.o. who was ready to disappear, educators who kept him going to school. Was involved in every extracurricular. He tells it in his book. Edu. saved his life. School was across the street. Dad decided to move. Rob was able to keep @ same school. Got up 4:30 am. School was then 25 miles away. Had a plan of doing it junior & senior yr. Moved schools. More pressure & struggle for him personally. Ran away. Got reconnected at yet another school. Got re-grounded. Kept going. He’s able to support educators, families, and students thru stories.
New book: Published March 1 by Dave Burgess Consulting Recipes for Resilience Can you tell listeners what it’s about? It’s shared in memoir fashion. His story isn’t the most unique. Understand ppl always come w/ stories. Think about lessons more deeply b/c you got. Had ideas about what to share about his life. His mom passed when he was 13. Lessons she shared were important to him. Rob & his brother talked about resilience. Frame ideas while talking about his life, to give examples to other educators, build resolve to change things. It’s not a program- yet a process. [While the book focuses on how educators can positively impact young students—especially at-risk youth in challenging environments—Martinez also encourages adopting these resilience principles beyond the classroom and school district into all our relationships, businesses, and local communities, ultimately improving society as a whole. In doing so, we might manifest a more hopeful, humanistic world for ourselves and future generations, where ideals like love, empathy, support, and safety become not just aspirations but lived reality.] Talk to me about the writing process. Years in the making. Spoke about what educators can do to create the impacts of resilience. He knew Dave Burgess from before 9-10 yrs ago, he’s a member of Association of California School Administrators (ACSA), got Dave to come speak to administrators. Brought him to speak to teachers as well. He said start writing, putting it down. Rob started working with Shelly. He wrote through the pandemic. Publishing process was 9-12 months. Commitment. How did you take the plunge to write book? There was value in it. If you want uncommon results, you want to give an uncommon experience, Burgess says. Almost fell victim to perfection. Focus on essential elements, ways to think things thru. It’s great for PD.
“The Story of Sparkle and Shine”- self-published book he put out over 5 yrs ago. About how 1 person can make a difference, playful story. He’d had a dream. He saw a book in his head. Story of Sparkle and how he spreads positive actions with kind, loving encounters. They started tracking positivity. Got to laptop & wrote out his story. Has read the book to Kindergarten classes or 150 admin. Simple lessons of ppl creating difference.
Writing for #100StopSeries: Wrote chapters for each of the 3 (teachers, administrators, parents). Chapter he wrote for admin was “Know when it’s time to leave”. It was about his own experience, not loving what he was doing, had retirement paperwork in. Found new gig. Loves his new gig. System is doing dynamic things for kids. Admin have to have commitment that it’s not going to be easy. 8-9 months later, left an admin. position, was ready to retire. Got into a position, wasn’t great. Had to re-read his chapter. Stepped away.
Work in HR- how has that differed from the district leadership roles (as st. sup) you have held? He was a school psych for ½ of career, so many of them are inundated w/ testing kids. He built interventions. Helped him through roles of helping ppl be better. Does that administratively. Challenge in HR finding ppl. We have to carry them through. District is 15K students. Does a lot of recruiting this time of year. East of San Fran. Can talk about how he goes about what opportunities they have, how candidates can serve st’s. He wants new hires to call him up about how to want to stay. They have more $ to pay new teachers. Wellness centers @ elementary schools. Expanding restorative practices.
You seem to have a good work/life balance, take many trips w/ your wife. What tips would you give busy leaders who are looking for a better work/life balance? Focused choice to not continue long hrs. Wife was a 25 yr teacher, retired 2020. Fell into teaching throughout college. Wanted to be a vet. Worked in a high poverty school. She took her physical fitness to heart, became personal trainer 2 yrs before she retired. Used her science background to do that. She keeps Rob young. Have been together 42 yrs, married 35. Rob’s a different person than when principal w/ 80 hr workweeks. He doesn’t always have to be person to solve problem. They didn’t want to get trapped in a work-cycle. Even if it’s local, they do long hikes. Attended wine & seafood festival in MX. Going on cruise soon. He simplifies it for teachers who are committed, he wants them to be healthy. His district wants ppl to stay, be happy in district.
Out of everything? sometimes the simple moments can make a dramatic difference. He saw a parent from 18 yrs ago recently. Student became a guide in managing P.E.-his talents lay there. He’s working @ the HS Rob worked at as community resource officer. He took care of business @ the time. Rob had little to do w/ it. We may never see Thanks.
Where can ppl find you online? Lead With Resilience (wordpress.com)-blogs, not updated since Feb. ‘21. Uses Twitter a lot, IG, LinkedIn, FB @resiliencyguy Hasn’t returned to it b/c he’s done a lot with other writing. Dave Burgess, book study for his book coming out. dbincbooks.com Reach out to Rob via email (insert in notes).
View this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/4I01NiUhfpY
Episode #258: Rachel Carrillo-Fairchild
https://www.podbean.com/ep/pb-9bdda-149385d
Rachel Carrillo-Fairchild Rachel is a partner consultant with The Core Collaborative. Rachel brings with her 30 years of education experience. She has been a classroom teacher, mathematics coach, and resource teacher as well as a school leader. Rachel has designed and implemented district-wide staff learning in the areas of English Language Development, working with struggling learners, standards-based education, and Assessment IS learning. She has presented at national conferences such as ASCD, is the author of How to Reach and Teach English Language Learners, and a contributing author to Amplify Learner Voice through Culturally Responsive Assessment. Rachel’s 30 years in education and ability to engage and lead education professionals makes her a perfect fit as a partner consultant with The Core Collaborative.
Rachel earned her bachelors from Occidental College in Los Angeles, California and her Masters in Educational Administration and Administrative Services Credential from Point Loma University in San Diego, California.
Trenches story: She was the oldest, can talk about challenges in early adulthood being a member of 2 worlds, it’s about her identity as Spa-speaking Rachel vs. English-speaking. (Spa vs. English) when 14 y.o. her 19 y.o. brother died of leukemia. She gets a lot of qu’s from teachers about continuing to use Spanish at home. She was born here, started as a student w/ only knowledge of Spanish.
Teachers checked in on her. Lent a helping hand. T’s need to be reminded of impact they have on stud’s. Had been accepted to several univ’s. She did very poorly through HS. In dark place. Went to jr college for 2 yrs, got up scores. Parents were lowly educated father got 6 gr. edu, mother 2nd gr. She had t’s who helped her along, who knew her brother, family. P. E. teacher, principal, helped. Challenging time, struggled around 14-15. Community college then transferred to Occidental College. Encouraged her & brothers that education is the way out. Constant theme.
Talk about the design and implementation district-wide staff learning thru Core Collaborative: She does work in every state. Majority of her work is how she helps ELD teachers with MLLs. Brings in her experience of being an Engl language learner. Do we have clarity around what they’re expected to do? Why they are MLs? Give them clarity around ACCESS scores/lang. acquisition. we want to engage our st’s more? Partner with them to know where they are with ACCESS Scores to not be stagnant or languish in their English learning.
Talk about your contributing chapter in Amplify Learner Voice through Culturally Responsive Assessment: For example, if you’re a WIDA state, how do we turn the Can-Do descriptors into self & peer assessment. See models, read about different scenarios. St’s who can track their own success. Disengaged st’s become engaged. School is something I do w/ my peers. PBL, give kids choice to demonstrate learning. Takes her down grading path, if something needs to be fixed, give them to opportunity to resubmit work. Have awareness of assets st has, instead of the gaps? Start your teaching from there- honor what st bring w/ them. Give MLs sense of confidence. What does the st have solidly in place? Even she was guilty of assuming students’ levels in English. We need to celebrate what they know from home country. What do they bring w/ them? Can they show what they know in primary language?
Was approached by Josey-Bass about how to Reach/Teach ELLs & Common Formative Assessments for ELLs,they approached her at ASCD. It’s about the changing population, demographic. She believes it’s universes’ way of putting her in right direction. As a teacher, had started doing PD, applied to present at natl. conferences. Was doing a session on MLL strategies. It got her thinking “maybe I could write a book on this topic”. Approached it from the domains of language. Ask kids to listen, speak, read and write every day. How do I get MLLs to demonstrate their learning? Assessing the content, how to differentiate their assessments? Where am I formatively? ACCESS only comes 1x/year. How can we make adjustments?
Upcoming speaking engagements? Has worked with BOCES in CO, annual conference sessions with them around MLLs. Efficacy of Lang. Learners-are they getting a little taste about what it means to be successful? They need opportunities to build efficacy. How do we keep MLLs from throwing in the towel?
We are currently planning sessions during the 23-24 school year in Hawaii, COSA (Oregon), Michigan, Idaho and SAANYS (New York State) but those dates are still being confirmed. Putting in proposal for ASCD.
She also presented the same session in Alaska this past January, at CISC (Curriculum and Instruction Steering Committee for the California County of Superintendents) in February, and at the Utah Instructional Leadership Conference in March.
Discuss the bulk of Core Collaborative– It’s a group of teachers, fmr admin. North star-student empowerment. Connie Hamilton, PA Bloomberg, etc. Amazing panel of thought leaders. Self-empowered learners, how do we hook st’s into the learning? Boils down to clarity. It’s about st’s being in the driver’s seat when it comes to their learning, why am I learning xyz. They can be about to say “I’m there/not there yet”. She’s proud of where kids ARE taking ownership of their own learning. She wants MLs to be able to pass ACCESS, take ownership of the test. They’re all about student efficacy, self-empowerment. Culturally responsive assessment, criticality. How does that experience help me grow/become a better learner? If we can come up w/ models of success, we can share with st’s about what the expectations are. Partnering w/ teachers/teams on how to do this. We often hear a great idea & overwhelm ourselves. Take small steps. Start w/ 1 thing. Take 1 unit at a time. The students’ learning should feed teachers’ learning.
Out of everything: podcast title gets her thinking about James Nottingham’s Learning Pit. We need to have perseverance to get out of the pit. We need to view ourselves as learners/teachers. Podcast title gives up permission to admit we’re grappling w/ this. this is tough! It’s ok to be in the trench! Come up w/ one small thing/change we can make! Don’t have to solve it all at once! May take 1,3,5 yrs. Pick something you’re really passionate about, give it a try.
Where can ppl find you online? https://twitter.com/RachelELAuthor https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-carrillo-fairchild-4284b618/ Twitter/IG@ RachelELauthor FB:RachelELauthor YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@CoreCollaborative
View this episide on YouTube: https://youtu.be/l_kl9oprSXQ
Episode #259: Dr. Jerod Philipps
Episode #259: Dr. Jerod Philipps | The Out of the Trenches Podcast (podbean.com)
Dr. Jerod Philipps, Sr. is a Principal at the elementary level in Delaware. He stepped into this role halfway through June 2021 after being the Assistant Principal at the same school since July 2018. In early February ‘23, he accepted the role of principal at his current school, David E. Robinson Elementary, Magnolia, DE. Jerod is passionate about developing positive public relations between the district, school, students, parents and the overall community.
Trench story: Leadership journey-2014-16, was a dean 2 yrs, then AP. Had some discipline and culture. Applied to 95 positions, 25 interviews just to get an AP job. Participation in Voxer chats, etc. Still has a voice mail from Salome Thomas EL-1m40s voice mail encouraging him to not give up. Ppl think his job comes easy-he got told “no” so many x’s. He takes his job very seriously. Was AP from 2016-21.
Finished Doctorate at Capella University in November 2020- focused on improving PD by improving teacher voice. Looked at what t’s were getting through districts, looked at Twitter & Voxer chats. Was already a member of certain Voxer groups. Teachers saved transcripts for him. Looked at a 10–11-week timeframe. Felt like his EdD helped him in terms of looking @ research. Different pieces of research & marry that with reality.
Work as a principal in DE? Mention Joe Jones & TJ Vari’s work. We could talk about the lack of admin self-choosing outside PD, or reading books. Personalized PD. If Jerod ever became sup, he’d want to ask about conferences ppl go to. Leaders who they follow, which ideas they implement. He doesn’t preach personalized PD to ppl-not yet @ his current school, drops nuggets of what others said @ staff mtg. Jones & Vari did a support network 2x’s month for newer leaders. Work also w/ Principal El. These online platforms can help someone feel like a problem is smaller- it helps you see outside the box. He doesn’t have a lot of original bones in his body-uses resources from everyone. He met author (and previous podcast guest) Dennis Matthew who did a virtual at his previous school.
Why and when did you start your podcast The Squad Builder podcast and what’s it’s mission? When he first became a principal-he’s different- not the typical principal. Outside the box thinker. Builds a team that doesn’t have to be micromanaged. Podcast is about reducing teacher shortage. College freshmen & soph with undeclared majors. How can educators build & strengthen our teams. He found a quote from Mark Abraham- “school leaders, don’t be afraid to think outside the box when it comes to finding candidates”. We need to make schools more interesting to work @. He’s a family-oriented leader. He trusts if staff have a family emergency. When you’re building a team-it’s about being who you say you are.
Out of everything? we’ll all have our trenches experience- learn as much as possible, ppl shouldn’t know it was your trenches until much later-don’t wear it.
Where can ppl find you online? @japhilipps0722 IG @drjaphillps0722
LinkedIn or FB: Jerod Philipps Sr. Listen to Squad Builder podcast (http://tun.in/tvVBjr).
View this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/lPFvEPcmTpU
Episode #260: Rhonda Roos, Ph.D
https://outofthetrenches.podbean.com/e/episode-260-rhonda-roos/
Rhonda J. Roos, PhD is an educational consultant coaching principals, district leaders, and administrative teams in the complex and ever-challenging work of leading schools. She is a former assistant superintendent in New Albany, Indiana where she led curricular improvement, aligning those efforts with the district’s progress in becoming a professional learning community. Rhonda has been an educator since 1983 serving as a guidance counselor, English teacher, middle school principal, and district administrator. She has taught graduate courses on leadership at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany, Indiana and Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky.
Rhonda served on the leadership team of the Indiana Principal Leadership Institute and is a regular keynote speaker. Honors include the 2010 Indiana Middle School Principal of the Year, 2011 Solution Tree “Redefining Excellence District Award” and the 2015 Indiana University Southeast Educator of the Year. Rhonda’s book, published by Solution Tree, is titled The Deliberate & Courageous Principal. Rhonda’s dissertation, "An Examination of Principals in Effective High-Poverty Middle Schools with High Achievement,” was completed in 2014 and she co-authored an article in the NASSP The Bulletin entitled “Brain Compatible Secondary Schools: The Visionary Principal’s Role.”
Dr. Roos received a bachelor’s degree in English from Eastern Kentucky University, a master’s degree in counseling from Western Kentucky University, her administrative license through the Experiential Program for Preparing School Principals (EPPSP) from Butler University and her EdS and doctorate from Indiana State University.
Rhonda lives in Louisville, Ky. with her husband Vic. They share five children and four fabulous granddaughters. Rhonda loves baking cookies and cakes, practicing pilates and yoga, spending lots of time with family, reading, sitting in the quiet, and walking in the park next to their home in St. Matthews.
Trench story: first and largest one as a principal, she thought she was ready. Became so overwhelmed. MS of 900 kids. Pink legal pad notes. Items would come up. Things were a mess. Univ. program trained her to be around st. learning. Felt like she had no time to get into cR. Got out looking at 72 items on pad. Started calling them systems. Running list. Couldn’t fix them all. Chose 8-9/semester. Had all systems strengthened by 2-3 yrs. Was able to quit feeling of being busy all the time. In schools she’s in now, she says you can feel if systems are in place. There’s a calmness, efficiency. Those leaders don’t say “I’m too busy”. Build the systems to get back to real stuff. Tina Bougren-decision fatigue.
Transition from DOS at Middle School to consultant: Started in Jan. 2017. Was a big step to leave. Had done her Ph.d. Looked a high poverty/high achievement- 80%+ in ELA & math. Advisor was Todd Whitacher. If you want school to hit 80%, find out what the other principals are doing. They were following the PLC model-deep & consistent. Friends wanted her to share w/ them. She struggled entire time she was a principal with imposter syndrome. Spent years questioning herself. Solution Tree reached out 2 yrs ago. Started consulting in Dec. of 2017. Went to different schools in Kentucky & Indiana. Ppl said it needed to be in a book. Early 21 started with Solution Tree. Was a 2 yr process. Her work can be with the principal, their assistants & their team. Solution Tree came up with framework. Talks about accountability, trust, equal jobs sharing. Does 4-5 days on site, sometimes virtual. 1 day w/ principal on site, rest could be virtual. Ask principal “are you good to the people working in your school”? Even “veteran” principals reach out. Self-assessment. “Am I acting in a way that ppl would want to work in this school”? ST can buy a set of books for the team, then she does virtual consulting. (could do for TRMS-share w/ Quiana when out)
Some of the session topics you present on (book is on): Rhonda works with individual principals or district administrative teams in strengthening the 5 Deliberate Actions Represents PLC model. Do we clarify work for ppl, look @ 1 semester at a time. Building a strong guiding coalition. Time-how are you using staff’s schedules? Also, leading effective meetings. She hopes book is different b/c she talks about 5 Courageous Skills of leaders. Many leaders can be condescending, or be nice but not hold ppl accountable. Build trust, handle conflict, holding ppl accountable, positive leading mode. Take time to reflect. Works w/ schools from all over U.S.- schools reach out to Solution Tree. Does an initial zoom to assess needs.
VIRTUAL AUTHOR PRINCIPAL COHORT SERIES (starts again in July and January ‘24): only takes 5 principals. Tries to keep @ same level-like elementary. Stays in cohort for 5 months, 1 action and 1 skill. 5 session/5 months. She shares reproducibles, powerpoints. Vision for upcoming school year. Playbook for 1 semester at a time. Then meets 1-on-1. She’s intentionally kept it tighter. Say “you have to be there”. The one in July is a MS cohort. The cohorts are good for colleagues who’d like to connect with other level principals across country. They use her book as the foundation for the work. If a district orders 15-20 books, she’ll give a preview session.
Out of everything? you can do this work. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, underappreciated, yes, you can. Leaders can do it, hone in on specific actions.
Where can ppl find you online? www.rhondaroos.com rhonda.bluebird@gmail.com SolutionTree- put in The Deliberate and Courageous Principal. Solution Tree can connect
Twitter @drrhondaroos
View this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/0YgQS3vfEA0
Episode #261: Dr. Matthew Woods
https://outofthetrenches.podbean.com/e/episode-261-dr-matthew-woods/
Dr. Matthew Woods has served for more than 12 years assisting students, educators, and schools in a variety of roles. His professional experience includes being a high school social studies teacher, a middle and high school assistant principal, a middle school principal, a director of student support services, an adjunct professor, and a field instructor for student-teachers. Additionally, Dr. Woods hosts an education podcast, Leading Out The Woods, and is the author of Digital PD for Educators, and the children’s book series, I Wanna Be…
Dr. Woods’s leadership and innovative approaches have brought him recognition from numerous organizations, including ASCD (Emerging Leaders Class of 2021) and the LG Happiness League. He earned a B.S. in History and Social Studies from Ferrum College, an M.Ed. in Educational Leadership and Administration from Virginia Tech, a graduate certificate in Education Law and Policy and an Educational Specialist in Middle Grades Education from the University of Georgia, and an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and Administration from Radford University.
Trench story: When he was AP, there was an after-school event situation. A parent got called up to present an award. Parent started talking about a teacher demeaningly. Caught ppl off guard. Everyone in auditorium was shocked. Thought he needed to do the right thing. First time he dealt w/ a situation where you thought of politics behind it.
Talk about your current role as director of student support services: jack of all trades. Liaison to law enforcement. Truancy, expelling officer. District lead for counselors, point of contact for athletics, crisis/safely, etc. If you’re watching a football game sitting in booth coordinating it. Lots of districts combine it w/ sped dept. Keeps him sharp when it comes to “crazy” calls. He tried to be proactive.
Talk about your book Digital PD for Educators,published in March. Dr. Samantha Fes(?) co-author came from premise of helping educators understand how to use digital spaces for PD. Fear is when you don’t know how to utilize it. Everything you do now is in a digital space. Book is like a workbook. Could use a podcast for PD.
Talk about children’s book series I wanna be, which came out of you writing to represent bi-racial children. 7 different books w/ various occupations. Stars his son Hilton. Difficult to find books that represent biracial kids. Got under his skin. Wife ordered a “do it yourself” book. Dude in book they made didn’t look like him. Great fdb. Kids can see themselves & others. Has linked up w/ an artist who illustrates. Pic of him & son.
What is LG Happiness League? An award he got related to SEL work. Got selected with a stipend with his picture in Times Square- 4 or 5 selected. LG had selected a variety of educators across country. Picture w/ superhero cape.
Why did you start your podcast Leading Out The Woods? He’s from SW Virginia, so bad grammar on his part. Podcast is his way to disconnect. On a variety of topics edu are struggling with. He knew a lot of influencers before and got started w/ podcast. Scheduled way to much early on. Is at episode #90, going on 2 yrs. releases every 2 wks.
Out of everything? stay encouraged, know you’re making a difference. Always stay true to yourself. True to your compass.
Where can ppl find you online? Twitter: @woodfromawoods
FB: Leading Out The Woods headshot on bio doc
Website: www.leadingoutthewoods.com has a master course as well.
View this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ZfsyjVcpiX4
Episode #262: Elijah Carbajal
https://outofthetrenches.podbean.com/e/episode-262-elijah-carbajal/
Elijah Carbajal is a teacher who followed in the footsteps of teachers in his family. He has served as an educator in the state of New Mexico since 2014 and is currently a Title I Reading Interventionist. He is the author of the book A Place They Love and the host of The Shut Up and Teach Podcast. Elijah works hard to make school and his classroom a place that students love! He loves to spend time with his wife, Tracey (an educator, artist and entrepreneur) and his cat, Nala.
Trenches story: recent, 21/22 school year. Hard transition back into classroom routine. COVID made it difficult for him to do what he needed to do. Things in his personal life caused anxiety. Asked self if he should keep teaching. Took advice, what he’d given to others in his book. Transitioned to a diff role. Found another position in same district. Got an email from someone in the district who got a copy of his book-it was the teacher who took over his previous job.
Walk me through the writing/publishing process of your book: A Place They Love Elijah: In it, he shares some of the ways that teachers can make learning fun and meaningful, ways to connect with students outside of the classroom, what educators can do to make students feel safe, being your best for students, and more. He has idea for the book because he was blogging. Title came through blog theme. Right after Teach Better ‘19. “Make school fun”. Wife Tracy gave him encouragement. School needs to be a place they love. Compiled some of the blogs. Expanded on blogs in a few chapters. Talks about being an engaged teacher. Edumatch was 2nd place he pitched, right before pandemic. Waited a year. Pitched again & was picked up. Sarah had read the book. His personal writing process took a bit longer than mine. He got comments from Mandy Froehlich also. Added & took out some chapters. Had majority written. Thought of it as him being the artist, publisher being the producer. His book launched 1st day of TB ‘22. He did speak on the branded classroom at Teach Better ‘22. NM educators are starting to see more book, powerful educational PD.
Why the pirate theme? Theme is a nod to Teach Like a pirate. He branded his CR & made it the pirate room.
He has an episode where he pays tribute to Dave Burgess. Met Dave in 2019 at Teach Better. His pirate only came out 1x/year when he was teaching biographies. Has pirate boat, not just a theme. He uses pirate language, “batten down the hatches”. Changed up flexible seating & group names. “Captain’s table”, pirate boat area to sit. Calls kids “smelly pirates”. “Need all hands on deck”-clean up. Prizes-pirate treasures. When he started as a reading interventionist, he heard a kid say “this is a CR for kids who don’t know how to read”. So then he branded his CR. For interventions, he teaches 1,3,5. Sometimes 1 on 1.
What got you started with the The Shut Up and Teach Podcast? wanted to transition from blogging into podcasting. Needed to reflect on who he was. Started recording on his phone. Guests were phone calls. Started as reflections-2 sides of Shut of and Teach coin. Put aside thing that’s distracting you from being present for students. Other side- let’s be better than we were yesterday. Put aside bad practices. The podcast episodes all started as short reflections. Is trying to do a theme for the month.
You blog pretty often on your website. What inspires you to write (some recent are on flowers-poetry or sports-bball). Hasn’t been blogging for TB for while. Usually related to something he’s learning. “Old mindsets die hard”. When you have the wrong mindset, you speak ill about it. His blog post was written in a poem. Gets inspiration from other educators.
Wife & him are starting EduCouple podcast-will interview married educators. Currently in the middle of planning. Platform is ready, such as intros & outros. They met by him teaching 4th gr and he was art teacher. Taught in same school 3 yrs.
Upcoming speaking engagements? Had a presentation in June, district level principals conference. Will be getting into schools within his district. Will be able to sell merch, set up a booth. Trying to see what works for schedule. Will submit a proposal geared around his book-he offers PD on it as well. (Disclaimer: We discussed the Teach Better ’23 Conference, which was cancelled shortly after recording this episode).
Out of everything? school should be a place kids love to be at. Learning is just 1 reason. Some kids only play or see friends @ school. Focus on teaching the whole child.
Where can ppl find you online? www.shutupandteachedu.com podcast,access to book, has merch connected to both podcasts. Twitter, IG, TicTok @carbaeli @elijahcarbal on Fb
View this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/4wgAcbIYwF4
Episode #263: Jason Reagin
https://outofthetrenches.podbean.com/e/episode263-jason-reagin/
Jason Reagin is the host of Design Cast, MYP Coordinator and MS Curriculum Coach who has been in education for 25 years; 19 years of which in IB schools. The majority of my career has been overseas in international schools. It is this international experience that has sparked my excitement in curriculum implementation & leadership. With a passion for curriculum it is no surprise that my ultimate goal is to further my experience in curriculum and instructional development within international schools.
Since 2008, I have been a trainer of IB Educators and I have participated in IB Educator Network sponsored events worldwide. I conduct IB workshops, consult for candidate MYP schools, and serve as a visiting team member and leader for IB school visits. To date, I have participated in over 90 IB related events, in over 15 countries.
Trench story: bulk of experience in intl. schools. Crawling out was in U.S. public schools. Taught tech ed. Found that altho st’s enjoyed class, writing was heavy, didn’t behave. Shifted his focus. St’s gathered evidence in non-traditional ways. Video, voice recording, new at the time. Spoke to some more experienced ppl. Still using many of these “out of the box” ways.
Teaching internationally-first t job was HS in Atlanta, went to FRL high %. Found ppwork & other things overwhelming. Wanted to be around st’s and develop them. Found couldn’t sustain it. Heard ad on NPR about teaching Engl. in China. Was supposed to be there 1 yr. Has been in China for over a decade now, off and on since ‘99. China brought in educators from all over U.S to teach English, went to univ. in Beijing. Things very different than now. Returned to U.S. a few more yrs. Wife is from there, saw lady in staff room & was smitten. Intl. t’s left when SARS came. Was in Korea for 5 yrs before that. Taught 5 yrs in the U.S. before going. Started IB in 2003. Both public/private (IB) schools. Last school was in Savannah, GA (MYP/IB). Moved to U.S. to have kids. Moved to China to have sons learn Chinese. Now back in Beijing. Is currently MYP coordinator, Western Academy of Beijing-full continuum IB School- prek-12. Most embassy students come. Mostly intl. students. Executives’ kids from Universal Park. There’s also a Swiss school on campus. After 4-5th grade, kids can go to other schools. Staff is from all over the world. He coaches t’s, PBL.His campus is contextualized to the Chinese culture. School is English-medium school. 50 lang. spoken on campus. He does speak some Chinese. MS sons speak Chinese/English.Value of translanguaging/MLL. Learning a language is dynamic & fluid. No punitive behavior for speaking other languages.
Involvement w/ TBT & podcast start-his podcast is on the Chinese podcast service. Is at #110, has slowed down. Wife is still in Korea teaching, he’s home alone w/ sons. Still editing episodes he recorded during the Chinese lockdown. His background is design edu-in college he did tv/radio.He was able to get on radio in China for taxi drivers learning Engl.-taught ppl idioms. He teaches podcasting w/ students. In 2017 he started his podcast (episode every 6 months or so)-wanted to give back.Stayed connected to ppl when COVID hit. Guests are STEAM/design connected. PPl on who were edu who now work for Adobe.
Is on Code Breaker podcast network. Does have ideas a book on innovation-type spaces. Maybe easier to create online course. Crowdsourcing. Has hosted a few Twitter chats for them. His speaking engagements in Asia & Middle East have to do w/ IB. Wants to do more travel in ‘24. Talks on TB talk about PBL, pockets of what IB does.
Out of everything? he talks to a lot of ppl who want to work intl. It’s easier to do than you think. Can do it a few yrs.
Where can ppl find you online? https://twitter.com/diskon4no uses zaap bio/diskon4no Twitter @designcast
IG: @discon4no
FB: https://www.facebook.com/WJasonReagin
Website: https://zaap.bio/diskon4no
Design Cast podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/design-cast-podcast
View this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/eh4Ek9e7ePI