On this episode I sit down with Lisa Toebben, a Special Ed. Teacher, Coach, & one of my all around favorite people to discuss her two most important classroom expectations, allow others to learn and no trash talking of self or others! Lisa explains how “going on kid time” and letting go of perfection have helped her reduce stress and anxiety allowing greater success with students. “In the special education world, you have to move at the pace of your students rather than the pace of the curriculum, which is set by someone else outside of your classroom.”   Her anxiety got the better of her in 2017 to the point she thought about quitting.  She decided to do a reset and now follows these rules that helped her feel better physically and mentally. No dairy No gluten No alcohol No sugar Healthy caffeine intake Daily exercise We discuss our shared passion for working with difficult kids and fitness.  Enjoy!

I sat down with Dr. Shaun Woodly, award-winning educator and University professor, to discuss his mantra, Teach, Hustle, Inspire. We take a deep dive into what really motivates our students. The feeling of being connected to their work, connected to each other and connected to the teacher is the difference maker.  Furthermore, when our students feel that they are seen, valued and heard we have provided them with an environment where intrinsic motivation can persevere.  So often as educators we use bribes/rewards or punishments to force motivation because we don’t know what else to do, but these strategies often work against us.  Unless you are handing out red Starbursts, then Dr. Woodly is all in!

This week I sat down with Josh Stamper, a Training and Development Specialist at Teach Better Team, Podcaster, & Author of Aspire to Lead!  Josh and I talk about how school wasn’t always a great place for him and how a counselor told him he wouldn’t amount to anything.  This lit a fire in him to do what he needed to do to get into college. He eventually found his way back to education through his love of sports and art. As a young administrator, he used his experiences and training from being a foster parent, to create action relationship teams designed to help change the school’s culture.  As a leader he tried to always say “Yes” first to his teachers to encourage them to try new things.  He wasn’t afraid of failure, he encouraged it, because we learn way more from failure than success!  Josh and his wife have now adopted 4 amazing children that they were fostering.  

This week I sit down with Rae Hughart, the CXO for the Teach Better Team, Former Executive Director of the Association of Illinois Middle-Grade Schools, TEDx Speaker, and Educator.  Rae explains that as a new teacher she was struggling to find the time to develop those crucial relationships with her students.  She was looking for a way to change from a content delivery teacher to more of a facilitator.  Once she made this change, she had time to build those relationships. In turn, her students were able to see the purpose and relevance of the assignments and therefore, had more investment in their own learning. After being inducted into The Illinois State University Hall of Fame in 2017, Rae was awarded the 2018 First Place Henry Ford Teacher Innovator Award for her innovative educational impact through the Teach Further Model.  Rae is also the author of “Teachers Deserve It” and “Teach Better” books.

Limits, Love & High Expectations  This is one I looked forward to for a long time.  Kim Bearden is the cofounder and executive director of the Ron Clark Academy, arguably the most famous school in the world. With a career spanning 36 years, Kim previously served as teacher, curriculum director, school board member, staff development trainer, and middle-school principal.  She is also author of several books including Fight Song!   Discover what makes the Ron Clark Academy a one-of-a-kind school.  We discuss the state of education and what needs to happen to help recruit more teachers into the profession.   Lastly, we discuss what kids need to be successful…limits, love and high expectations! We apologize for the echo that can be heard on Kim Bearden’s audio.