JON HARPER is an Assistant Principal at Sandy Hill Elementary School in Cambridge, Maryland. He’s the smooth-sounding voice of the My Bad Podcast & Co-Host of the Teachers Aid podcast. Follow Jon online here: TW: https://twitter.com/Jonharper70bd IG: https://www.instagram.com/jonharper70/ Blog: https://jonharper.blog/ The My Bad Podcast: https://www.bamradionetwork.com/my-bad/ The Teachers Aid Podcast: https://www.bamradionetwork.com/teachers-aid/ In our conversation, Jon describes a time in...
Nov 11, 2018•26 min
DR. TODD SCHMIDT is the principal of Harbor View Elementary School in Corona del Mar, CA. Follow Todd on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/tsschmidty and catch his thoughts on education at http://tsschmidty.blogspot.com/. In our conversation, Todd recalls the challenges he faced around entering administration and describes his ongoing journey with Shiny Object Syndrome. He discusses his commitment to fatherhood, the inspiration he takes from #LeadUpChat, and the reasons he’s so passionate about cari...
Nov 05, 2018•33 min
JEFF KUBIAK is the principal of Nelda Mundy Elementary School in Fairfield, CA. Follow Jeff on Twitter @jeffreykubiak and catch his blog posts at http://principalkubiak.blogspot.com/. In our conversation, Jeff recalls feeling so broken and unsupported as a rookie teacher that he left education entirely. He describes the strategies he is following to build school culture, and explains why he is so passionate about the state of education today. He tells us about the personal passions and routines ...
Oct 28, 2018•19 min
CURTIS WIEBE is an elementary school teacher in Surrey, BC, Canada. He’s interested in the ways that technology augments learning, boosts creativity, and creates new opportunities for learners. Follow Curtis on Twitter https://twitter.com/DivisionW and see his work at https://mrwiebesclass.weebly.com/. In our conversation, Curtis identifies the key to bringing about positive changes in schools and structures in education. He describes why he’s passionate about preparing students to find creative...
Oct 21, 2018•21 min
You might know Paul Stevens-Fulbrook better on Instagram as @TeacherofSci. Paul is a father of five and head of Year 7 and 8 Science at his school in the UK. He writes at teacherofsci.com with the mission of “supporting teachers’ lives through strategy, wellbeing and extra income.” In our conversation here, Paul explains why it’s critical for teachers to remain true to who they really are, even - or especially - when they’re in the classroom. He tells us the most exciting opportunity that edtech...
Oct 15, 2018•23 min
MANDY FROEHLICH is the Director of Innovation & Technology for the Ripon Area School District in Ripon, WI. She is a blogger, speaker, and co-host on the @bamradionetwork’s Teacher's Aid podcast. She is also the author of The Fire Within: Lessons from Defeat That Have Inspired a Passion for Learning (https://amzn.to/2EdqBH4) and the soon-to-be-released Divergent EDU. In our conversation, Mandy recalls an experience of discouragement and burnout early in her career, and describes the formula ...
Oct 07, 2018•29 min
BETHANY PETTY is a teacher, coffee fanatic, and 2017 EdTech Digest School Leader Finalist. She writes about thoughtful uses of technology in education at http://usingeducationaltechnology.com/ and is also the author of Illuminate: Technology Enhanced Learning (https://amzn.to/2DGx6lz). In our conversation, Bethany recalls the challenges around teaching students not much younger than her. She discusses the main message of her book, Illuminate, and the ways that her passion for history plays out i...
Sep 30, 2018•16 min
COLBY SHARP is a husband, father of five, fifth grade teacher, avid reader and book reviewer, runner, and self-proclaimed nerd. He is the author of The Creativity Project: An Awesometastic Story Collection (https://amzn.to/2zpzGZf) and 2018’s Game Changer!: Book Access for All Kids (https://amzn.to/2QTtsqX). In our conversation, Colby recalls the discouragement of a harsh professional evaluation and explains how he grew from the experience. He describes the mission and process of The Creativity ...
Sep 23, 2018•24 min
CRAIG KEMP is a head of Digital Learning and Innovation, teacher of teachers, blogger, workshop facilitator, and speaker. Although he hails from New Zealand and now calls Singapore home, Craig is truly a global force for innovation in education. In our conversation, recalls the challenge of rebuilding a school community after the tragic loss of a student. He describes how his current role constantly requires him to look, investigate, and use technology in new ways that improve learning. He tells...
Sep 16, 2018•18 min
KIMBERLY SNODGRASS is a 7th grade ELA teacher. She advocates for creative thinking, BookSnaps, Sketchnotes, Edu GIFS, and other creative ways for students to represent their learning. In our conversation, Kim recalls the challenge of beginning a high school teaching assignment with a lot of preparation required and next to no experience in education. She credits this period with allowing her to learn the art of teaching without preconceived ideas or the pressure of textbook mentality. Kim talks ...
Sep 10, 2018•29 min
KATELYNN GIORDANO is a sixth grade language arts teacher in Sugar Grove, IL. You can find more of her insights on learning, reading, and writing at https://curriculumcoffee.com/ - a written shot of espresso for educators. Katelynn recalls the time early in her career when a veteran colleague told her not to speak during faculty meetings. Part of her recovery from that discouraging blow involved moving to a new middle school position, where she was fortunate to come under the wing of a mentor who...
Sep 03, 2018•25 min
JARROD DUMAS is an assistant principal at Oak Hill Middle School in Sabattus, Maine. He recently published Unlocking Excellence: A Guide to Becoming an Extraordinary Educator. Check it out at https://amzn.to/2woY9Lh. In our conversation, Jarrod recalls a great story about how his own sarcasm once cost him in the classroom. He shares about the heart and message of his book and discusses the sources of his excitement in education today. We also get into Carl Jung’s archetypes, fitness, educators t...
Aug 26, 2018•28 min
JOSHUA STAMPER is an assistant principal, husband, father, blogger, and graphic artist in Frisco, TX. He’s also the host of Aspire: The Leadership Development Podcast. You’ll find his writing at https://joshstamper.blogspot.com/. In our conversation, Josh discusses the mission and vision of his podcast on leadership in education, Aspire. He tells us why he’s excited about the incredible changes that have come to education in the last decade, pointing out that “But this is the way we’ve always do...
Aug 23, 2018•19 min
DAVID McFARLAND is a high school IB humanities teacher at Pacific Academy in Surrey, BC, Canada. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MrMcFteaches. In our conversation, David talks about how “We don’t even know you!” challenged him to rethink the importance of building relationships with his students. He describes some of his passions in education today: helping students navigate knowledge critically instead of merely absorbing content, using digital tools to customize learning experienc...
Aug 19, 2018•30 min
JAMIE OSBORNE is a middle school teacher-librarian in Richmond, BC, Canada. She writes at https://thebiblioz.wordpress.com/ and recently published her first episode of The Biblioz podcast for teacher librarians. In our conversation, Jamie addresses the challenges of moving students from an unhealthy focus on grades to the uninhibited freedom of failure-free learning. She explains why she enjoys her new role in the library so much and describes her personal transformation from Twitter lurker to c...
Aug 16, 2018•20 min
JAROD BORMANN is an advocate for educator empowerment, a tech integration specialist, adjunct professor, learning designer, speaker, blogger, and the author of a new book, Professionally Driven: Empower Every Educator To Redefine PD. In our conversation, Jarod talks about the need to redefine and reimagine PD with three main features at the core: 1 growth mindset, 2 intrinsic motivation, and 3 sustainable autonomy. In the age of Google and instantly available facts, he also explains how technolo...
Aug 11, 2018•30 min
KRISTIN HUNDT is a devoted wife and mother of four boys, a 6th grade teacher, lifelong learner, and global citizen. Her passions include genius hour, project-based learning, the outdoor classroom, the 40 book challenge, and student voice. In our conversation, Kristin talks about her drive to provide good reading materials for her students. An engaged reader herself, she advocates for student voice and choice, genius hour, going gradeless, standards-based feedback, and revision of work. Kristin a...
Aug 09, 2018•18 min
CJ REYNOLDS is better known by his YouTube channel, Real Rap with Reynolds, where he talks teaching, relationships, and life. As a passionate educator and creator, his two truths in teaching are #1 Relationships Are King, and #2 It's Only Ever About the Students. In this episode, CJ recalls the fatigue he faced as a rookie teacher and discusses the importance of learning to say no to some things. He talks about how a project with his son turned into a YouTube presence with over 13,000 subscriber...
Aug 05, 2018•34 min
JOHN SOWASH is an educator, freelancer, presenter, husband, and dad. He is also the author of The Chromebook Classroom, which you can check out at http://chrmbook.com. In this conversation, John describes how a dead end in his high school context launched him into the business of teaching teachers - a true passion. You’ll hear him explain why the Chromebook is so much more than just a web browser - it’s a creation tool as well. You’ll also hear about the personal habit that keeps him on track, s...
Aug 02, 2018•32 min
DAN JONES is a 7th and 8th Grade Social Studies Teacher in Mansfield, OH. He is the K-12 Editor for Flipped Learning Review Magazine and the author of Flipped 3.0 Project Based Learning: An Insanely Simple Guide. In this conversation, Dan tells us about the time his passion for teaching died and he almost quit the profession entirely. Instead, he Googled “new and innovative teaching practices” and stumbled across the flipped classroom, which set him on a journey of transformation. Dan also tells...
Jul 28, 2018•30 min
Andi McNair is a keynote speaker and trainer specializing in edtech, genius hour, and innovation in education. She is also the co-founder of #makeithappenEDU and the author of Genius Hour: Passion Projects that Ignite Innovation and Student Inquiry. In this conversation, Andi describes the low moment in her classroom that changed it all for her - when she realized her learners were completely disengaged and she knew she needed to reimagine her practice. Thanks to some inspiring education leaders...
Jul 26, 2018•19 min
Joy Kirr is a 7th Grade ELA teacher in Elk Grove, Illinois. She writes at http://geniushour.blogspot.com/ and in 2017 published Shift This!: How to Implement Gradual Changes for MASSIVE Impact in Your Classroom. In this conversation, Joy takes us to a moment when a parent criticized her publicly with “Genius Hour is crazy - and all the parents think so!” She shares what she learned from that experience and how it has changed her communication going forward. Joy describes the main message of her ...
Jul 21, 2018•18 min
Sarah Johnson is an author, speaker, and consultant in the areas of instructional leadership and personal-professional balance. With experience as an English teacher and principal, she likes to laugh, sing, and makes a habit of running every day. She is a co-author of Balance Like a Pirate: Going Beyond Work-Life Balance to Ignite Passion and Thrive as an Educator. Her mission? Helping Educators Thrive at Work, Home, and Life. In this conversation, Sarah describes the main message and heart of h...
Jul 18, 2018•21 min
Bryon Carpenter is a high school teacher at the Abbotsford Virtual School in Abbotsford, BC, Canada. As a trained scientist, passionate creator, and lifelong learner, Bryon serves in the spaces of library, math, science, and ADST (Applied Design and Skills Technologies). Bryon’s passion? Seeing teachers utilize new technologies to advance student learning and help them represent their learning in new and creative ways. Outside of education, Bryon is passionate about fishing and woodworking, and ...
Jul 14, 2018•37 min
Jeff Bradbury has been recognized as an ASCD Emerging Leader, Google Certified Teacher and Trainer, and digital innovator. The founder of TeacherCast.net, Jeff has spoken at TEDx and other conferences, provides training and consulting for educators across the United States, and currently produces ten regular educational podcasts. Simply put, there aren’t many people in the world producing more resources for educators than Jeff. In this episode, Jeff talks podcasting, ISTE, funding models for con...
Jul 12, 2018•34 min
Jeff Gargas is the COO/Co-founder of Progressive Mastery Learning and The Teach Better Team. Jeff works with teachers across the United States to help them improve their practice and “reach the unreachable student.” An entrepreneur at heart, Jeff shares about the challenges of hitting walls in the music industry and the educational training space. He shares how he redefined his mission, finding strength in gratitude and the knowledge that as long as he was doing the right thing for learners, the...
Jul 08, 2018•33 min
Nicholas Amaral is the district staff development coordinator at the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School District in Bergen County, NJ. Nick’s passion is education technology: helping teachers help students create and innovate in their classrooms. In our conversation, Nick shares about a point early in his teaching career when he faced deep discouragement and a lack of motivation. Rather than turn in the towel, he doubled down, reinvented his practice, and engaged his learners like never be...
Jul 05, 2018•13 min
Soney Day is a 2nd grade teacher at Coy Miller Elementary School in Frisco, TX. As a teacher, mom, tech integrator, proud Texan, and Seesaw ambassador, Soney enjoys advocating for young learners and strives to have an innovator’s mindset. In our conversation, Soney shares about an emotionally draining challenge she faced in just her second year of teaching. Although it was nightmarish at the time, she calls it a learning experience today and mentors new teachers using some of the knowledge gaine...
Jun 30, 2018•26 min
Jordan Potrzeba is a 4th grade teacher at Walter Caldwell Elementary School in Auburndale, FL. Imagine being told by your principal in your first year of teaching that you were different and didn’t belong. After experiencing just that, Jordan moved from Nebraska to Florida, where he found a school community that welcomes his energy, ideas, and unique personality. In our conversation, Jordan shares about his passion to see teachers grow, share, be vulnerable, and take risks. He also describes how...
Jun 28, 2018•25 min
Tonya Gilchrist is a language teacher and literacy coach at Tokyo International School in Tokyo, Japan. An experienced speaker and presenter, Tonya advocates for learner agency, the inquiry mindset, and joyful leaders. Tonya knew she wanted to become a teacher since she was in third grade, but the daunting pressure and prescriptive directions to teach to standardized tests threatened to make her quit the profession altogether. It was after Googling “What else can I do with a teaching degree?” th...
Jun 23, 2018•43 min
