Or listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, or another platform. Alternatively, you can read along with the transcript.

Digital literacy skills are no longer a luxury. They’re critical to a flourishing democracy. 

In this episode of BRIGHT, I chat with James Johnson, a social studies teacher at Loy Norrix High School in Kalamazoo, who was recognized as a 2021-22 regional teacher of the year.

In this episode of the BRIGHT podcast, James shares:

• Why digital literacy skills are fundamental to civic life
• Examples of how he teaches these skills in his classroom
• Three tried-and-true tips for fellow educators.

You can listen to my conversation with James using the audio player above or by subscribing to the BRIGHT podcast in your app-of-choice (find us on Apple, Spotify, Google, and more) or by reading along with the transcript.

Of course, we understand that educators are busier than ever. If you don’t have time to listen to James’ full episode (which offers the fuller effect of his wisdom, energy, and examples), you can still benefit from a glimpse at his top three tips below.

3 ways to bring digital literacy into your classroom

#1. Build a routine around digital literacy

Classrooms have routines for almost every aspect of education — homework, classwork, discussions, tests, etc. 

James’ best advice for bringing digital literacy skills into your classroom is to make a routine out of it. 

Make it simple and adaptable, no matter your lesson or unit. 

In James’ classroom, for example, they use the acronym S.O.A.P.S. every time they analyze primary source materials. 

S.O.A.P.S. stands for sourcing, occasion, audience, purpose, and subject. An even more straightforward formula that James shares boils down to three essential questions borrowed from the website Civic Online Reasoning from Stanford University:

• Who’s behind the information? 
• What’s the evidence? 
• What do other sources say about this information? 

At first, this process may seem tedious, but by the end of the semester, it becomes habitual. 

As this routine is modeled and reinforced throughout the year, students come to expect it and become quick in applying this formula to identify an author’s potential biases.

#2. Practice what you preach

James’ second tip is more easily said than done: 

Practice what you preach. 

As curious and thoughtful as they are, teachers aren’t immune to bias and disinformation.

“We aren’t exempt from the algorithms or our own psychology,” says James. “We’re just as prone to disinformation or misinformation as our students are.” 

Since he began teaching a current events class, James has been more intentional about incorporating digital literacy into his personal life. He’ll share anecdotes with his students about how he applies these strategies after getting fired up while browsing Twitter. 

“We need to be responsible digital citizens first,” he adds, “if we expect our students to be responsible digital citizens.”

By practicing what he preaches, James builds trust with his students and demonstrates that digital literacy isn’t just something you need to do for a class: These are skills that can shape the way you browse, engage, and learn for the rest of your life. 

#3. Don’t reinvent the wheel — There are tons of free resources already out there!

This one James can’t emphasize enough:

Don’t reinvent the wheel!

There are so many websites and resources out there dedicated to teaching students digital literacy skills.

Even better, many of these resources are free. Rather than creating materials from scratch, you can save a lot of time by first seeing what’s out there.

You can check out James’ list of go-to resources on digital literacy featured at the bottom of this article under “related resources.” 

My favorite quotes from this episode

“Reliable information is to civic health what clean water and proper sanitation are to public health. Never has so much information been at our fingertips as it is today. Whether this bounty will make us smarter and more informed or more ignorant and narrow-minded will depend on one thing: Our educational response to this challenge.” (quoted from Sam Wineberg of Civic Online Reasoning)

“It’s in our nature to defend our position, whether it’s something serious, like a political debate, or something sillier or more entertaining.”

“One thing we know about social media and the internet is that these programs have computer algorithms that learn about our preferences and then cater those digital experiences to match our patterns. So if someone starts gravitating toward disinformation, they can quickly wind up in a feedback loop or echo chamber. They need digital literacy skills then to evaluate this information.”

“Without sounding overdramatic, I think our democracy is at stake. If we don’t teach these skills, then people don’t realize how the systems work and how their own psychology works. That’s how disinformation spreads. When disinformation spreads, it influences our policies, and that can spiral very quickly. I don’t want to sound overdramatic, but I do think these skills are essential to keeping our country going.”

Related resources

• Explore: Civic online reasoning
• Explore: Stanford history education group
• Explore:  Research learning modules
• Watch: Crash course videos
• Explore: ReadWriteThink
• Explore: C3Teachers
• Read: Why learn history (when it’s already on your phone) by Sam Wineburg 
• Explore: Checkology

Or listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, or another platform. Alternatively, you can read along with the transcript.

Today’s classrooms look different than they did before the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this episode of the BRIGHT podcast, I chat with Janet Swarthout, a speech, drama, and debate teacher at Caro High School, who was honored as a 2021-22 regional teacher of the year.

• Her experience teaching through the pandemic,
• How she’s changed up her instruction to better meet student needs,
• Her top three strategies for keeping students engaged in the post-pandemic classroom. 

You can listen to my conversation with Janet using the audio player above or by subscribing to the BRIGHT podcast in your app-of-choice (find us on Apple, Spotify, Google, and more) or by reading along with the transcript.

Of course, we understand that educators are busier than ever. If you don’t have time to listen to Janet’s full episode (which offers the fuller effect of her wisdom, energy, and examples), you can still benefit from a glimpse at her top three tips below.

3 tips for engaging students in the post-pandemic classroom

#1. Getting to know your students is more important than ever

Relationship-building has always been an essential part of education. Still, Janet says that getting to know your students (and letting them get to know you) is even more critical post-pandemic.

As a speech, drama, and debate teacher, for her first activity each semester, she asks students to speak about themselves for a full minute so that she and their peers can get to know them better.

In return, she tells them about her hobbies, why she loves teaching, and about Bumpkin, her miniature horse (pictured below). 

“They need to know who I am,” she says, “so they can trust me with their education. They have to know I am a concerned, caring person.”

Today, Janet is also more explicit about letting students know her expectations up front and how they can get help if they need it.

“I set high expectations,” she explains. “But I let them know right away that I’m not expecting anything that they’re not capable of.”

Given the isolation students experienced during the pandemic, these pillars of trust and connection are more critical than ever before.

#2. Keep your lessons shorter and more collaborative

Teaching has changed a lot since Janet first entered the classroom 40 years ago. Since the pandemic began, she has continued evolving her instructional approach to better meet student needs. 

Upon returning to the classroom after remote learning, Janet found her students struggled to pay attention during long lectures and yearned for social interaction with their peers.

These days, she’s found success in keeping her lessons shorter and her activities more collaborative. 

“The thing I love about teaching is it’s always going to change,” she told me. “A teacher needs to constantly reinvent themselves and their material to meet the needs of the students that we have today.”

Given how effective these changes have been for her students, Janet believes that these concise, interactive lessons will persist in her classroom long after the pandemic is over.

#3. Draw connections to the future

Another instructional strategy that Janet has been more intentional about is drawing connections to the future.

“Students often have a hard time thinking about their futures,” she explains. “They don’t know where they’re going to be. They don’t know what they’re going to do.”

As a teacher, Janet then views it as her job to draw connections about how what students are learning will benefit them, whether it be for a future class, a career, or personal development. 

Now more than ever, she says this future orientation is vital. 

During the pandemic, many of her students were afraid they wouldn’t have a future. The world as they knew it shut down. 

By making more explicit connections to the future, Janet instills a sense of hope in her students. She reminds them that they will have a future and that the skills they’re learning in class will help them shape this future.

My favorite quotes from this episode

“I don’t know that my classroom will ever look like it did pre-pandemic years, and I’m okay with that.”

“These are our future leaders. They’re our future politicians. They’re our future doctors and lawyers. They’re our future everything. So, we have to get students to see how important their education is. They have to see that even though they’re only one person, they have an impact on everything that goes on in our world. My hope is that in the post-pandemic classroom, we take a look at how we view our students and set goals for them to become the people that we as a country as a nation as a world need them to be.”

“Teaching children is a privilege, and it’s not one that should be taken lightly.”

“I keep falling in love with teaching over and over again. Every time a student grasps a concept, and I see that light bulb turn on, I think, ‘Yes, this is why I do this.’ I truly love my job, which is why I’ve done it for 40 years and still plan to keep doing it.”

Related resources

• Learn and earn: Being a Reflective Teacher During a Pandemic (3 SCECHs)
• Read: 20 student engagement strategies for a captivating classroom
• Read: 13 student engagement strategies that work
• Read: 10 strategies for increasing student engagement in 2022

• Read: Top 10 education technology tools for schools in 2022
• Read: 20 edtech tools for 2022
• Read: Best interactive classroom technology tools

Or listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, or another platform. Alternatively, you can read along with the transcript.

Each year, empirical studies are added to the mountain of research demonstrating the benefits of mindfulness. 

In the K-12 classroom, mindfulness practices can deliver brief but effective social emotional interventions for students.

Intrigued by the research and having experienced personal benefits from mindfulness, Jodie Kleymeer decided to bring these practices into her classroom, especially knowing that many of her students were struggling with their mental health. 

Jodie is a media specialist for Lake Shore Public Schools. These days, she typically spends the first five minutes of her Help Desk class practicing mindfulness with students.

In this episode of the BRIGHT podcast, Jodie and I explore:

• Her personal journey in discovering mindfulness in the midst of the pandemic
• The relationship between mindfulness, positivity, and mental health
• Her top three tips for bringing mindfulness into the classroom

Here’s a sneak peek at our conversation:

You can listen to my conversation with Jodie using the audio player above or by subscribing to the BRIGHT podcast in your app-of-choice (find us on Apple, Spotify, Google, and more) or by reading along with the transcript.

Of course, we understand that educators are busier than ever. If you don’t have time to listen to Jodie’s full episode (which offers the fuller effect of her wisdom, energy, and examples), you can still benefit from a glimpse at her top three tips for bringing mindfulness into your classroom below. 

3 strategies for bringing mindfulness into your classroom

#1. Be interested in mindfulness & have a strong why

Jodie’s number one strategy for fellow educators is to simply be interested in mindfulness. You don’t have to be an expert, she says, but you do need to have a strong why. 

Consider the adage, “Kids don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” 

If you are passionate about mindfulness and explore it on your own, you’ll be more likely to find success in bringing it to your students.

#2. Share research with your students

Jodie also emphasizes the importance of sharing research on mindfulness with students. 

“Many of my students struggle with anxiety and mental health and all kinds of different issues,” she says. “I tell my students, ‘This is a tool you can use long after you leave my class.’”

Many of the studies she cited came from a book she received for professional development called Maximizing Mindfulness & Minimizing Stress by James Porter. 

The studies in this book demonstrate how mindfulness can help rewire your brain, boost your immune system, reduce stress, improve your health, and lift your mood. By sharing this research with students, she helps them invest in the practice before trying it. 

#3. Offer exposure & choice to the many different types of mindfulness

Jodie’s final tip has two components: exposure and choice. First, she says, it’s important to expose students to different types of mindfulness, of which there are many. 

For the first three weeks of this semester, she spent between one and seven minutes of each class period trialing different mindfulness activities. Starting in week four, however, students could choose which type would be best for them each day.

These days, Jodie’s students choose what type of mindfulness they’d like to practice at the beginning of each class period. Some students may go to the corner of the room and stretch out, whereas others may sit still and focus on their breathing.

“It may take a while for you to get ‘good’ at it,” she cautions them. “Everyone starts in a different place, and that’s OK.”

So far, she reports, most of her students love having time for mindfulness at the beginning of class. Even students who don’t struggle with anxiety and depression experience benefits and tell her that they enjoy the practice.

“They love getting relaxed,” Jodie says. “They love getting focused.”

My favorite quotes from this episode

“For me, [mindfulness] is a lifeline to reaching your own emotional knowledge. It’s a skill that you can hone like any other skill to help you have more accurate focus and be more intentional, specifically with relationships. Honestly, I realized that I had been feeling very disconnected from people, looking them right in the eye and still not hearing a thing they said. Mindfulness was a real lifeline for me to reconnect with people.”

“Due to the pandemic and all the isolation, I’d begun struggling with anxiety and depression again. Earlier in my life, when I struggled with those things, it was clear why I was depressed or anxious. This time around, I honestly couldn’t identify a reason. I started learning about these mental health issues in a very real way, whereas I had never understood them before. . . It’s brought me closer to my students. I’m open with them about my mental health struggles because I know they have them, too, and I don’t want them to feel embarrassed or ashamed or guilty or less than because they’re struggling with these things.”

“I think it wouldn’t even matter what technique I was doing. I think my students appreciate the fact that somebody cares enough about their mental health to try and help them. They’re very open to [mindfulness].”

“To me, truth is how you straddle the line between positivity and toxic positivity. If people ask me how I’m doing and I’m having a rough day, I tell them I’m having a rough day. I’m honest about it. I think where people get confused is they feel like you can’t tell the truth that you’re having a rough day, and that is false. The thing is that you don’t want to just dwell on it. That’s where you can get into the negativity that holds you back. If you’re honest about what you’re feeling in the moment, it leaves you room to process that emotion effectively.”

Related resources

• Explore: The positivity project
• Explore: Applied Google skills
• Learn: Mindfulness: A key component of social emotional learning
• Read: Maximizing mindfulness & minimizing stress

Mindfulness videos, apps, & podcasts

• Student favorite: 3-minute mindfulness meditation for clarity
• Student favorite: Short meditation music – 3-minute relaxation, calming
• YouTube meditation: 2-min breathe bubble exercise
• YouTube meditation: 2-minute mindful movement practice
• YouTube meditation: 5-minute meditation for positive thinking
• YouTube meditation: Relaxing wave breathing technique
• YouTube meditation: Guided mindfulness meditation on presence and focus – 5 minutes
• App: Headspace for educators
• App: Insight Timer
• Podcast: The mindful minute
• Podcast: Tara Brach

Or listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, or another platform. Alternatively, you can read along with the transcript.

In 2016, a group of experts came together to create the communication bill of rights. This list includes 15 fundamental human rights that every person has with regard to communication. A few examples include:

The right to request desired objects, actions, events, and people

The right to refuse or reject undesired objects, actions, events, or choices

The right to be addressed directly and not be spoken for or talked about in the third person while present

The concept here is that everyone — including those with severe disabilities and/or complex communication needs — has the right to communicate their thoughts and feelings. 

“The disability rights movement is kind of one of the last human rights movements to push forward,” says Rachael Langley, a speech-language pathologist and an AAC consultant for Eaton RESA. “It sounds so obvious, but we have to believe at our core that everyone has thoughts and feelings regardless of their perceived abilities or their disability.”

For students with complex communication needs, the technology available today to help express their thoughts and feelings is better than ever before. This technology is broadly referred to as AAC — augmentative and alternative communication — and it can help students recover their right to communicate when their verbal speech cannot fully express their thoughts and feelings.

In this episode of the BRIGHT podcast, I chat with Rachael, and, together, we explore:

• What AAC is and why this technology is so important for students who have limited verbal speech to express all their thoughts. 
• Why the ability to communicate is a fundamental human right, particularly being able to express our needs and to say no.
• Rachael’s top three strategies for using AAC to foster authenticity and self-advocacy among students.

Of course, we understand that educators are busier than ever. If you don’t have time to listen to Rachael’s full episode (which offers the fuller effect of her wisdom, energy, and examples), you can still benefit from a glimpse at her top three tips for using AAC to foster student authenticity and self-advocacy.

3 strategies for using AAC to foster student authenticity and self-advocacy 

1. Give students access to a LOT of words.

This one may seem counterintuitive at first. When working with students with complex communication needs, it may seem like a good idea to start with a small vocabulary list and then expand it.

According to Rachael, however, this is a common misconception.

“Sit next to a typically developing four-year-old for a while and think how many words they say in an hour,” she says. “Avoid that roadblock of wanting to limit or pick the words for someone else. That’s way too much responsibility.”

As children develop linguistically, they need space to babble, practice, and play with many word combinations. 

2. Use AAC technology yourself when communicating with the student.

When working with a student who uses an AAC device, it can be helpful for you to practice using this technology to communicate with your student. This simple practice can yield many benefits.

First off, it reduces the communicative burden on the learner who is typically required to code-switch between the adult’s natural speech and their AAC tool.

Next, it can help model for the student how to translate between verbal speech and the options available on their device.

Last but not least, it can help foster empathy between adults and students. The adult gets a glimpse into what it is like to navigate this complicated device, and the student sees the adult struggling to learn alongside them.

3. Build opportunities for students to say “no” in safe ways.

The right to refuse is a core communication right. If a student enjoys pressing their “no” button often, it may be tempting to limit children from the ability to use this particular button. But saying “no” is not only a fundamental human right, but it is also an integral part of the developmental process.

If you have doubts about this, consider toddlers, who often seem to enjoy exercising this right religiously. Because children with complex communication needs are an incredibly vulnerable population, compliance-based instruction models can become dangerous when they reinforce the message that it’s not okay to say “no.”

Part of learning language is learning how to use this powerful gift responsibly. A student’s refusal to participate may not be appropriate to grant in a situation where their clothing is soiled, or they need to get on the bus to go home.

Still, it is important to build opportunities for choice into the school day so children can practice saying “no” in safe ways. These little moments can be as simple as “Would you like to sit here?” or “Would you like the purple cup?” 

My favorite quotes from this episode

“The disability rights movement is one of the last human rights movements to push forward. It sounds so obvious, but we have to believe at our core that everyone has thoughts and feelings regardless of their perceived abilities or their disability.”

“The real aha moment and the piece that grabs you is when… they give that look of ‘Yeah, that’s what I meant.’ It affirms that they understand the purpose of the tool and that they now have another way to get their message out without waiting for an adult to guess what they need. That moment, that spark — whether it’s in their eyes or a little smile — is really what fuels me because so many of our kids can’t tell us in the same way what they’re thinking or if we’re on the right track. I see that little spark even in some of my students who have very little muscle control over their bodies. It could even be this little eyebrow twitch of like, ‘Ah, yes, that’s what I meant.’ That’s what fuels me to keep going.”

“We have to think about the potential danger of teaching a compliance based-model to students who are already pretty vulnerable. We don’t want to teach them that their job is to do what adults tell them to do. Their job is to use their words to tell us what they want or don’t want.”

“‘Complex communication needs’ is a term that the population themselves came up with. They were saying: ‘We don’t want to be called nonverbal. Nonverbal means non-speaking and can imply non-thinking. But we have complex needs. We have ideas. We have thoughts, and we can get them out in some way.’”

Related resources

• Learn: The communication bill of rights
• Attend: #TalkingAAC conference
• Learn: Project core
• Watch: The first pizza ordered with a computer through MSU’s Artificial Language Lab
• Watch: TEDxMacatawa – Chris Klein – Seeing unique abilities
• Contact Rachael: Reach language

AAC tools and apps

• Proloquo2Go
• LAMP Words for Life
• TouchChat
• CoughDrop 

Or listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, or another platform. Alternatively, you can read along with the transcript.

What could K-12 education look like if we let go of our assumptions about what school is supposed to be and instead focused exclusively on designing learning experiences around what’s best for kids? 

In this episode of the BRIGHT podcast, I chat with Dr. Dave Richards, an executive learning strategist for Michigan Virtual, former superintendent of Fraser Public Schools, and one of the founding members of the Future of Learning Council, a group of Michigan school leaders dedicated to redefining learning to better meet the needs of our students.

Together, we dive into Dave’s: 

• Personal story of how school transformed his life as someone born into extreme poverty
• Vision for what learning can be at its finest, and
• Top three strategies for reinventing learning in your school community.

Here’s a sneak peek at our conversation:

You can listen to my conversation with Dave using the audio player above or by subscribing to the BRIGHT podcast in your app-of-choice (find us on Apple, Spotify, Google, and more) or by reading along with the transcript.

Of course, we understand that educators are busier than ever. If you don’t have time to listen to Dave’s full episode (which offers the fuller effect of his wisdom, energy, and examples), you can still benefit from a glimpse at his top three tips for reinventing learning in your school community below!

3 strategies for reinventing learning in your school community

1. If you lead, you must read.

As a school leader, it’s imperative that you stay current and constantly be scanning the horizon to get a pulse on what’s coming. Everyone in your organization relies on you to cast the vision for the future.  Figure out what you need to know and who you need to talk with to make your vision possible, then build your professional network accordingly. 

2. Create a healthy sense of urgency.

You can create a healthy sense of urgency as a leader without making people feel like you’re going to dismantle the current system. Foster a culture of continuous improvement and set the expectation that when it comes to the education of our children, we aren’t going to settle for “good enough.” Make this conversation a positive one. Celebrate current successes and cast a vision for the future. Don’t just add more to someone’s plate. Ask for their input and give them permission to take things off their plate. Whether they’re a building principal, a school bus driver, or a custodian, it’s vital that everyone in your district understands and can have productive conversations about your shared vision and mission for student learning.

3. Hire amazing people.

You can’t do this alone, and you don’t want everyone to be just like you. It’s crucial to hire amazing people and then empower them. Once everyone knows that they can drive the vision, they light up. If you have the right people in place and give them autonomy, they’ll start looking for new and improved ways to bring your shared vision to life. Then, you, as a leader, can then take on the role of supporting them and getting out of their way. 

My favorite quotes from this episode

“We’re going to set you free. You demonstrate mastery, you demonstrate proficiency, and we’re going to let you move at your pace. If you can move faster, let’s make that happen. If you need more time, we need to create space for you to have that as well. And if you’re gifted and creative, how can you express your learning in a way that maybe isn’t what I’m used to?”

“It’s incredible. When kids begin to co-author their learning, you see the level of engagement just go through the roof. And that’s because they’re like, ‘Wait, you’re saying that I have a voice? That I can participate, know what I know, express what I don’t know, and then lay out a plan for me? How could I not want to be a part of that?’”

“The flexibility in the mobility piece is being embraced everywhere, and schools are realizing that if they want to thrive, they need figure out how to design for mobility and bring flexibility around schedules and location.”

“I’m not saying that our schools are broken. But I do believe that there’s an opportunity right now to really, truly design learning rather than creating a structure of school.”

“When you focus on learning… the lens isn’t about the bell schedule. It isn’t about compliance. It’s not about the structure of what we’ve always done. It’s not about trying to fit everything inside this box. When you focus on learning, there is no box. There is a creative canvas from which you can design.”

Related resources

• Learn more: The Future of Learning Council
• Learn more: William Bridges’ Transition Model
• Read: Inevitable: Mass Customized Learning by Charles Schwahn & Beatrice McGarvey
• Get it in your inbox: Getting Smart
• Get it in your inbox: Christensen Institute
• Get it in your inbox: KnowledgeWorks
• Listen or read: Michael Fullan sees global momentum for deep learning
• Listen: What’s best for kids?

Or listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, or another platform. Alternatively, you can read along with the transcript.

There’s a big difference between “tolerance” and “belonging.” 

You can feel this distinction on a personal level by answering the question: Would you rather be tolerated in your community or feel like you belong? 

In this episode of the BRIGHT podcast, I chat with Dr. Bobbie Hayes Goodrum, assistant superintendent of diversity, equity, and inclusion at Farmington Public Schools. Together, we explore: 

• Dr. Hayes Goodrum’s personal definitions of “diversity,” “equity,” “inclusion,” and “justice,”
• Why this work is so essential in education,
• Why the language we use matters, and 
• Three strategies for making sure every student belongs.

Here’s a sneak peek at our conversation:

You can listen to my conversation with Dr. Hayes Goodrum using the audio player above or by subscribing to the BRIGHT podcast in your app-of-choice (find us on Apple, Spotify, Google, and more) or by reading along with the transcript.

Of course, we understand that educators are busier than ever. If you don’t have time to listen to Dr. Hayes Goodrum’s full episode (which offers the fuller effect of her wisdom, energy, and examples), you can still benefit from a glimpse at her top three tips for making sure every student belongs below!

3 strategies for making sure every student belongs

1. See each and every student as an individual

It’s really important to remember to see each student, each person, as an individual and not just as part of a group. “Don’t see a Black woman in front of you,” says Dr. Hayes Goodrum. “See Bobbie.” Seeing someone means listening to them, paying attention, and giving them the opportunity to tell you who they are before you’ve already decided. We have a tendency to funnel people down to their most visible identity, but this may not be the identity that is the most personal or most affirming in the way that they see themselves.

2. Integrate student interests into the curriculum

Regardless of what subject matter you teach, there are ways to integrate student interests into the subject matter. This step makes students more likely to engage with their teacher, their classmates, and subject matter. It helps students feel like they belong because a piece of their life has been integrated into the curriculum.

3. Show them that you care (and fake it ‘til you make it)

Perhaps the most important way to make sure students feel like they belong in school is just to care. This can minimally look like saying hello and goodbye to students, learning their names, or asking how their day is going. “I don’t say this lightly because I want you to authentically care,” says Dr. Hayes Goodrum. “But fake it until you make it.” Students often feel isolated, especially if not even the adults in the building are talking to them. It’s cliché but so true that “students don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

My favorite quotes from this episode

“I avoid using the word tolerance. I don’t ever want to be tolerated. If you tolerate me, I don’t feel like you’re welcoming me. I don’t feel like you have open arms toward me. I feel like you’re begrudgingly saying, “You can stay.” No thanks. I’m not looking for that type of relationship, and I don’t think that our children in their relationship with school should feel tolerated. They should feel like, ‘This is where I belong.’”

“When we talk about belonging, we’re talking about breaking down walls. Because when you don’t feel like you belong, you feel like there’s a wall around you, and that wall prevents you both from engaging with other people and engaging in content. There’s plenty of research to support that belonging is a piece of self-esteem. All of these things have been found to be factors that impact how a student performs in school.”

“We always try to funnel people down to their most visible identity, which may not even be the identity that is most personal or most affirming to them in the way that they see themselves.”

Related resources

• Learn and earn: Register for new inclusive teaching and learning professional development courses
• Listen: Valuing vs. acknowledging diversity in education
• Listen: When school feels like home, something wonderful happens

Or listen on Apple, Spotify, or another platform. Alternatively, you can read along with the transcript.

After Cheldora Hayne’s first year of teaching, she embarked on a quest to improve her classroom management. 

“There has to be there has to be better out there,’” she told herself during this pivotal moment. “People’s classrooms can’t look like this all the time.”

Her quest began many years ago, and clearly, it paid off. Just this year, Cheldora was honored as a 2021-22 regional teacher of the year for her work with third-graders at Martin G. Atkins Elementary School in Bridgeport, MI.

In this episode of the BRIGHT podcast, Cheldora and I talk about:

• Her quest toward better classroom management,
• Her philosophy on student agency and accountability, and
• Her top three tips for managing behaviors in the classroom.

Here’s a sneak peek at our conversation:

You can listen to my conversation with Cheldora using the audio player above or by subscribing to the BRIGHT podcast in your app-of-choice (find us on Apple, Spotify, and more) or by reading along with the transcript.

Of course, we understand that educators are busier than ever. If you don’t have time to listen to Cheldora’s full episode (which offers the fuller effect of her wisdom, energy, and examples), you can still benefit from a glimpse at her top three tips for managing behaviors in the classroom below!

3 tips for managing behaviors in the classroom

1. Prioritize parent communication

Parent communication is the first thing Cheldora prioritized in her quest toward better classroom management. Even parents who may seem like they don’t care, she says, still ultimately want the best for their children and don’t want to send them to learn from a stranger. She makes calls to parents at the very beginning of the year and then regularly throughout. She also emphasizes the importance of having the first contact with a parent be a positive one. Classroom management becomes easier when parents and teachers work together as a unified team.

2. Maintain a strong focus on relationship-building

When it comes to classroom management, building positive relationships with students goes a long way. One piece of advice Cheldora offers is to aim for a ratio of five positive comments to every negative comment, even if these positive comments are as simple as “Hey, I’m glad to see you today” or “You look smart today.” She reminds us that we don’t always know what a student experienced at home or on the bus before entering our classrooms, making this strategy even more critical. When positive interactions form the foundation of their relationship with an educator, students and parents alike tend to be more receptive to critical feedback.

3. Set crystal clear expectations for EVERYTHING

There are expectations posted around Cheldora’s classroom for just about everything. She doesn’t assume any of her expectations are implied and seeks to make them explicit. She has clear expectations listed for using the pencil sharpener, sitting at the table, lining up for recess, interacting with a guest teacher, and keeping a water bottle at your desk, among many other daily school activities. Having these expectations posted around the room makes it exceptionally clear to students what is and is not allowed in her classroom.

My favorite quotes from this episode

“Some of my middle schoolers who I’d had previously stopped me and asked, ‘Why do you call [your students] scholars?’ So I said, ‘Well, think about what a scholar is and what a scholar does. If I want you to do those things and behave like a scholar would, why would I call you anything else?’”

“Some people are like, ‘Wait, third grade, and they’re already looking at their own data? And, yes, they are. If we don’t teach them agency in kindergarten, first grade, second grade, third grade, when else will we? Whose hands is it going to be in to give it to them? You are the captain of your own ship. I’m providing you with the strategies and the wherewithal to be the captain of your own ship. You need to leave here. Not me. I’m going to be teaching third grade until kingdom come. This is what you need to do in order to get where you need to go.”

“Learning is hard. It can be done, but it’s hard to make it happen in chaos. I’m one of those people who if there’s a hum going on somewhere, I’m re-reading the same line six times. I tell my scholars, ‘If I’m like that, I know that some of y’all have to be like that, too. So, to make sure that everybody has an equal and fair chance to learn, be respectful of your neighbor.”

“I can’t leave it to somebody else. I tell parents all the time, ‘Yeah, they don’t get to fail on my watch. They don’t get to be their worst after nine months on my watch.’”

Related resources

• Explore: PBIS World: List of interventions by student behavior
• Read: Explicit Instruction: Effective & Efficient Teaching by Anita L. Archer and Charles A. Hughes
• Explore: Anita Archer’s Explicit Instruction companion website
• Explore: Anita Archer board on Pinterest
• Read or listen: 60+ classroom reward ideas
• Read: 12 must-teach classroom procedures and routines
• Learn & earn: Online PD courses on classroom management

Or listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, or another platform. Alternatively, you can read along with the transcript.

Kevin Santer didn’t have a typical journey into education.

In fact, he worked as a software developer for 20 years before becoming a teacher.

Kevin comes from a family of educators — 28 of them, to be exact — so growing up, he heard many stories about what it was like to run a classroom. But his first true encounter with teaching occurred while running a training program for adults in the automotive industry.

“That was my first semi-formal taste of teaching,” he admitted. “It was really exciting to recognize that I like doing this and feeling like, wow, I could actually be kind of good at this.”

It took effort and sacrifice — to leave his job, go back to school, and get his teaching certificate — but, with the support of his wife and family, he made the career switch. He taught mathematics face-to-face for ten years before coming to Michigan Virtual, where he now serves as a lead instructor for our career and technical education courses. 

Here’s a sneak peek at our conversation:

Kevin doesn’t regret the jump from the corporate world to the classroom to this day.

“That tangible, right-there-in-your-face validation and feedback are very different from what you get in the large corporate world, no matter how positive your yearly review is,” he told me. “It’s nothing like those honest moments, or the goofy ones, right? I got to be a dorky math teacher and basically tell dad jokes and get kids to laugh at them. You can get a kick out of it.”

In 2019, Kevin was recognized as our Online Teacher of the Year thanks to his skill and dedication to online students. The same year, he participated in a committee to help revise Michigan’s K-12 computer science standards. 

Kevin has a laid-back, empathetic aura about him. He seamlessly navigates between complex computer science concepts and “deeper philosophical waters.”

Computer science, he says, is inherently interdisciplinary.

“If you think about it,” he implores. “What do we use computers for? We use them for research. We use them in the hard sciences for analysis. We use them in finance and commerce. We use them in music. We use them in film. It’s a set of tools already directed towards other disciplines.”

Even in the English classroom, he argues, computer science concepts can provide a helpful framework for problem-solving. For example, the concepts of “debugging” could be used in peer review to dig deeper into why a student’s topic sentence isn’t working as effectively as it could be.

In this episode of the BRIGHT podcast, Kevin uses the lens of computer science to explore what it really means to think critically and offers three strategies for bringing computer science concepts into the classroom.

You can listen to my conversation with Kevin using the audio player above or by subscribing to the BRIGHT podcast in your app-of-choice (find us on Apple, Spotify, Google, and more) or by reading along in the transcript.

Of course, we understand that educators are busier than ever. Suppose you don’t have time to listen to Kevin’s full episode (which offers the fuller effect of his wisdom, energy, and examples), you can still benefit from a glimpse at some of my favorite quotes from Kevin and his top three tips for bringing computer science concepts into the classroom below!

3 ways to bring computer science concepts into the classroom

1. Leverage the concept of “debugging”

One popular concept in computer science is “debugging.” You might hear this term when a programmer is trying to determine why their code or software isn’t working. The process of “debugging” can help students develop growth mindsets and strengthen their problem-solving skills. It’s an approach for dissecting a problem, determining when things start to go wrong, and deciding where to focus their efforts toward solutions. This perspective asks students to navigate between the larger picture and the details to investigate questions such as: Why isn’t this working yet? How will I know when I get the correct answer? How do I convince other people of my solution? 

2. Examine and play with the rules in your discipline

From its inception, computer science has revolved around pattern recognition and rule formation. Students in any class can benefit from the rule-making and testing processes commonly employed by computer scientists. Rather than asking students to take someone else’s word for it, you might invite your students to discover rules for themselves. For example, you could give students a set of sonnets and ask them to uncover the underlying pattern. You might then allow them to argue for their interpretation of the rules, investigate examples that bend the rules, and imitate or play with these rules by writing their own sonnets.  

3. Recognize, label, and practice algorithms 

Algorithms are the building blocks that govern pretty much everything that happens on a computer. An algorithm is a set of instructions clear enough that a machine or another person can execute a process without ambiguity. By bringing algorithms into the classroom, students can learn to describe their processes in replicable ways. This concept can also assist in problem-solving. For example, if your class routinely runs into the same issue when lining up for recess, you could ask students, “How might we adjust our algorithm to prevent this problem from happening?” Recognizing, labeling, and practicing algorithms invites students to slow down, break their process into clearly defined steps, and investigate solutions

My favorite quotes from this episode

“If you were to take a look at the computer science standards, you’d quickly recognize that they’re bigger than just coding. They’re bigger than just learning how to make a program in language X, Y, or Z. In fact, I usually connect it to probably the leading buzzword that an employer puts on a job posting. They’re looking for critical thinkers, right? Computer science brings a set of tools and perspectives that let students become better critical thinkers.”

“[Computer science] is already is cross-disciplinary, right? There is a small corner of computer science that is strictly about the theory of computer science, right? There is work that goes on there. But, if you think about it, what do we use computers for? We use them for research. We use them in the hard sciences for analysis. We use them in finance and commerce. We use them in music. We use them in film. It’s a set of tools already directed towards other disciplines.”

“Then, there are the deeper philosophical waters. What does it mean to think? How do we know when a computer is thinking? And that leads to not just this abstract sci-fi topic, but what does it mean for humans to think? What’s going on with various psychological processes? What happens to someone when they develop Alzheimer’s and slowly lose what makes them them? There are deep waters that you can quickly connect to.”

Related resources

• Learn & earn: Intro to computer science standards for K-5 educators (Free, 3-SCECH PD course created with MDE)
• Learn & earn: Intro to computer science standards for middle school educators (Free, 3-SCECH PD course created with MDE)
• Learn & earn: Intro to computer science standards for high school educators (Free, 3-SCECH PD course created with MDE)
• Listen: The art of debugging & how to think like a computer scientist
• Listen: 3 tips for coding with young students
• Learn: Computational thinking resources for elementary teachers
• Read: Using computer science and computational thinking in the kindergarten classroom

Or listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, or another platform. Alternatively, you can read along with the transcript.

This episode is a personal one for me. 

I first met Molly Davis through her popular Wild Goose Counseling Facebook page. So many of Molly’s “doodles” (as she affectionately refers to them) resonated with me so profoundly that I’d stop my mindless scrolling and gape at my newsfeed, thinking, “Wow, other people feel that way, too??”

After marveling at her doodles for months, I finally decided to enroll in Molly’s 8-week Beautiful Boundaries Bootcamp, which she describes as “designed for professional women who may cognitively understand what boundaries are but struggle to implement them in everyday life, work, and relationships.”  

Needless to say, the experience was transformative, and I left empowered with many practical strategies and burgeoning friendships with other women across the globe undergoing similar journeys. 

I invited Molly to speak with me on the BRIGHT podcast because a) she’s a delightful human being, and b) her lessons on boundaries seemed so relevant to the struggles with burnout I was hearing from educators.

Here’s a sneak peek at our conversation:

Many educators are helpers and givers. They’re drawn to the field of education to make a difference in the lives of their students. 

The work/life boundaries in education were relatively permeable before the pandemic. But now more than ever, we’re seeing skilled and passionate educators who LOVE what they do choosing to leave the profession to protect their own physical and mental health. 

In a 2021 survey, two out of three Michigan educators said they did not recommend education as a career path and had considered leaving their jobs during the 2020-21 school year.

Further reading: Teacher recruitment and retention in Michigan – Challenges and potential solutions

The many factors contributing to educator burnout are complex. Molly doesn’t claim to have all the answers, but she does offer an interesting perspective as a boundaries expert and a therapist who sees many teachers as clients.

Molly has an easy smile and a gentle warmth about her. It’s comfortable to relax in her presence. In our interview, she admitted, “I like pretty much love everybody I’ve ever worked with.”

It’s hard to walk away from a conversation with Molly without feeling just a little bit lighter. She has this extraordinary ability to make others feel seen, cared for, and empowered.

In her compassionate way, Molly reminds us that, ultimately, we must be the stewards of our energy and health or we will burn out when presented with situations that ask more of us than we can sustainably give. 

Though the primary goal of this conversation is to offer strategies for individual educators, we would be remiss to focus exclusively on the individual educator and not the systems that support them. Molly and I devote some time to exploring how widespread burnout in the teaching profession can be seen as a red flag in the need for systemic change.

In this episode of the BRIGHT podcast, Molly dives into the relationship between boundaries and burnout, shares a bit of wisdom about how she walks this line as a professional counselor, and offers three strategies for coping with and preventing educator burnout.

You can listen to my conversation with Molly using the audio player above or by subscribing to the BRIGHT podcast in your app-of-choice (find us on Apple, Spotify, Google, and more) or by reading along in the transcript.

Of course, we understand that educators are busier than ever and that many are struggling with burnout. Suppose you don’t have time to listen to Molly’s full episode (which offers the fuller effect of her wisdom, energy, and examples), you can still benefit from a glimpse at some of my favorite quotes from Molly and her top three tips for coping with and preventing educator burnout below!

3 tips for coping with & preventing educator burnout

1. Remember that you are a renewable resource

It can be helpful to think of yourself, for example, like a bamboo forest. You have an ever-filling energy bucket inside of you, but it needs time to refill. If you pour yourself out trying to meet all the needs, you will burn out, and the needs will still be there. In the long run, you will meet way more needs when treating yourself sustainably than when you give to the point of exhaustion and burnout.

2. Treat yourself sustainably

Especially in education, carving out healthy work-life boundaries can be really tricky. However, Molly lovingly reminds us that if we don’t treat ourselves sustainably, we will burn out. When work asks a lot of you, she says, it can be helpful to balance out your life with things that do the opposite. Everybody is different, but ultimately, it is up to us to determine what is needed for our own replenishment. 

3. Use burnout as a catalyst for change

Burnout can be a catalyst for needed change. When you’re experiencing burnout, it’s essential to investigate why. What are you doing that you don’t like? What are you doing that you do like? How can you do more of the things you love and less of the things you don’t? Even though burnout is an incredibly unpleasant experience, it can be a gift if it ultimately leads to us living a life in greater alignment with our passions, joys, and values. Figure out what this looks like for you, Molly says, “and get thee that way.”

My favorite quotes from this episode

“The kids will always be there. The needs will always be there. The workload will always be there. All of this stuff doesn’t go away. If you pour yourself out for the next semester and give every single thing you’ve got to give, there will still be needs. When you’re completely depleted, there will still be needs. If you make it your job to meet all the needs, if that’s the boundary for you, to meet every last need, there will be no renewing of you. It’s unsustainable, and you will burn out. But if you think of yourself as a renewable resource, like a bamboo forest, then you can harvest it, use it,  and that’s fantastic, but it needs some time to come back up. If you can start thinking about using yourself sustainably, then you can meet some needs, and you will meet way more needs that way than you will meet if you pour yourself out to the point of exhaustion.”

“If you don’t want to burn out — I don’t mean to be harsh here, I’m saying this lovingly but with firmness — it doesn’t matter: You have to do something, or you will burn out. There has to be somewhere in there where you are remembering, ‘I am a renewable resource, so I have to renew.’”

“It was very counterintuitive [as a professional counselor], and at first, I felt like I was being a real jerk… but I decided that I can care, and I can give 100% of myself from three o’clock to four o’clock when I see Jenny (I’m just making up a name here), but if I take Jenny with me, in my heart and in my mind, if she goes past three o’clock, then I’m not going to be here next year to help Jenny further or to help any other Jennys that may come along.”

“When you as an educator are caught in a situation where you are using every healthy coping skill that you possibly can, and there’s just simply no way not to burnout because the pressures on your shoulders are just too much, then that’s not on you… Part of having good boundaries is understanding what is your responsibility and what isn’t your responsibility. Sometimes, it’s just nice to remember that this is actually supposed to be the system’s job, and my system isn’t doing it. I am just one little human. I can’t do what a greater system is supposed to do.”

Special discount for BRIGHT podcast listeners

There is a special discount for BRIGHT podcast listeners who sign up for Molly’s boundaries program. Mention this podcast and enjoy two extra weeks of live boundaries coaching added to your program package at no additional cost. That’s 5 additional hours of live coaching help for free. 

Related resources

• Watch: Molly’s free introductory boundaries course
• Follow: Wild Goose Counseling on Facebook (therapy-related content and memes)
• Follow: Boundaried Bootcamp on Facebook (daily boundaries doodles and related content)
• Follow: Boundaried Bootcamp on Instagram (daily boundaries doodles and related content)
• Learn & earn: Take care of yourself: A course in wellbeing and self-care (Free 3-SCECH PD course)

Or listen on Apple, Spotify, or another platform. Alternatively, you can read along with the transcript.

Sam Sicilia is passionate about setting and tracking goals with students.

At face value, this topic might not sound like the most moving and inspirational thing in the world, but when you listen to him talk about it, you begin to see the true heart of this instructional practice.

It’s not really about productivity or analytics as much as the empowering effect that this process can have on students. 

It’s about making students’ grades more meaningful to them. 

It’s about giving them more ownership over their education. 

It’s about shifting mindsets away from “How can I get an ‘A’?” to “How can I grow?”

Here’s a sneak peek at our conversation:

I was introduced to Sam through his wife, Emily Sicilia, a colleague and friend of mine. Still, before our Zoom interview, I’d never actually met him.

When Emily first suggested I interview Sam, it was in the early days of pandemic teaching before he had switched positions to serve as an instructional coach for his district.

Now, obviously, Emily is a tad biased when it comes to Sam, but her praise for his reflective teaching practices still shines.

“Sam is constantly trying to figure out ways to connect with his students remotely,” she told me. “He offers virtual one-on-one check-ins with his middle school students, hosts virtual help rooms during class where students can visit to ask questions, so they don’t have to do it in front of the whole class, and continuously reflects and looks for ways to improve his instruction and delivery.”

During our conversation, Sam admitted that it’s still weird not to be in a classroom in front of students after all those years as a teacher. 

“You definitely can’t beat the sense of fulfillment of running a class and being in front of kids on a daily basis,” he told me. “I recognize that teachers are doing all the heavy lifting. As an instructional coach, I view my position as helping to lighten that load and make that heavy lift a little lighter.” 

Sam, donning a Detroit Lions hat and a laid-back aura, immediately reminded me of all the cool teachers kids gravitate towards. You know, the super approachable kind with whom you could talk about anything.

You can listen to my conversation with Sam using the audio player above or by subscribing to the BRIGHT podcast in your app-of-choice (find us on Apple, Spotify, and more) or by reading along in the transcript.

Of course, we understand that educators are busier than ever and that many are struggling with burnout. 

Suppose you don’t have time to listen to Sam’s full episode (which offers the fuller effect of his wisdom, energy, and examples), you can still benefit from a glimpse at some of my favorite quotes from Sam and his top three tips for setting and tracking goals with students below!

3 tips for setting & tracking goals with students

1. Set aside regular time in your class schedule

Set a schedule and stick to it! If you don’t set aside time regularly, there’s always going to be something that comes up that’s more pressing. In Sam’s classroom, he embedded this process into the unit structure. Another great option is to implement this process during homeroom!

2. Focus on growth and continual improvement

The focus should be more on growth and less on work completion. It can be helpful to give students something tangible to compare their progress before and after (e.g., pre- and post-tests). The goal is to focus on the learning taking place and shift the conversation from “you did it” to “how well did you do it?”

3. Utilize technology to streamline & lighten the load

Teachers already have a lot on their plates. Sam’s advice for getting started with goal tracking is to utilize what you already have. Any reporting data available that sheds light on student progress can be helpful. You can have students do their goal tracking on paper, but this method does present some logistical challenges. Formative assessment and spreadsheet tools are great places to start (e.g., Google Sheets, Google Forms, Kahoot). Check out Sam’s sample grade-tracking spreadsheet in the “related resources” section below.

My favorite quotes from this episode

“Is school somewhere where you to to learn and grow, or is it just somewhere you go to get judged?”

“It was a struggle before the pandemic, but during the pandemic, I feel like students have become more passive. . . as if school is just something that’s happening around them. There’s an underlying sense of powerlessness, as if their grades aren’t something they’ve earned but something their teacher gave them. It’s about shifting their mindset so they realize that their actions affect their grades. It sounds obvious, but based on the behaviors you sometimes see, clearly, many students don’t truly believe that. Giving students tools to visualize their progress can be really helpful, and there’s a lot of research that backs that up.”

“Yeah, you’re getting an A, and you probably will get an A, but that doesn’t mean you’ve mastered everything.”

“We can teach the best lesson in the world, but if students aren’t in the right mindset to receive it, then there’s a lot of wasted energy and effort. If we can get students to buy into the system a little bit and to feel like they can have success, then we’re going to have more success in everything else that we do.”

“In the end, what’s powerful about students setting goals and tracking their progress is that they do it. The workload should be on them and not on you as the teacher. For you, it should be mostly set up and then checking in on them and guiding them along. Because if students are just doing this out of compliance, it won’t be as effective for them.”

Related resources

Note: Sam’s samples and templates are in “View only” mode in Google Drive. If you’d like to use them, first navigate to “File” and then select either “Download” or “Make a copy.”

• Sample: Sample grade-tracking sheet
• Sample: Screenshot of grade-tracking assignment in Google Classroom
• Template: Blank copy of grade-tracking sheet
• Template: Goal-setting document 
• Tool: Kahoot