Independent Educator

This school year continues to present difficult obstacles but here is an update onhow we are doing.

I’m back to work and so my episodes resume after two months off.

Here are a few of my strategies of how I discuss black culture within my classroom. Steps include setting a foundation to respect all cultures, celebrate various cultures, and how I share my mistakes and stories.

In this episode, summer assignments in human geography are discussed including my why for moving towards documentaries and away from traditional summer reading.

A short reflection of my thoughts as I say goodbye to another graduating class. The curriculum was taught, but how did I do with the hidden curriculum?

Joined by another guest and entrepreneur, Brandon Tyree, discussion centers around key aspects to building a entrepreneurial program at the high school level and how we’ve developed and refined this program over the past 7 years.

This episode I’m joined by colleague, Stephen Hebert as we discuss teaching online and the future of education.

Reflection on memorable words from my first teacher evaluation with Dr. Ben Phillips and what I’ve experienced with public and private school environments

Consistency, caring and cheerleading were my go to words this week when teaching online.

Week 2 brought a new normal, but what’s the plan until the end of the year?

The good, bad and ugly are discussed in terms of my experience “going online.” This explains what worked and what I struggled with as an educator.

Thank you, Vince. You inspired me with your words after winning the local geography bee. I’m gonna use your advice for online education purposes!

Allowing kids to review prior information warms them up to activate learning of the new curriculum and makes them feel like mini-experts in their educational journey. Parents can facilitate this too- It’s easy!

When asked what my dream course would be I stumbled and mumbled but now I have a better answer and I’m planning it out.

Liz Wiseman’s work on multipliers in business leadership applies directly to work in the classroom and education as well. Here’s how to get more out of your students.

Students are Uber motivated on test days so we should teach them before, during and after their assessments.

The learning that occurred from one day of shadowing a student- athlete still pays dividends In my classroom.

February is typically the toughest month of the academic year so let’s focus on what we can and cannot control.

Many students fly under the radar and intentionally underperform and here’s why: fear of success. This may prevent them from giving their all in your classrooms.

Mentors are powerful forces and in my case my college track and field coach served as a mentor in my path to education.

What does education have in common with a sourdough starter? More than you might have realized in that both take a lot of time, care and maintenance to thrive!

Students receive a great amount of information every day and this feedback when delivered effectively can help them foster a desired growth mindset for learning.

4 lessons from experiences in elementary physical education remain in tool kit for high school social science courses.

Zingers help us celebrate learning and new ideas in the classroom. A simple operant conditioning idea energized my classroom and created an atmosphere where peers reinforced the new expectation for learning.

Learning by doing can be transformative for students and teachers alike. Ideas for implementation as well as wonderful workshops are referenced in this episode.

The discussion regarding standards based grading moves to the student experience in their words and how it changed the process of learning in this course.

In 2018-2019 my classroom transitioned to standards based grading environment for AP Economics and this is how it went.

This segment addresses why I cut out homework from my grade book and why homework completion simply reflects a student’s behavior not their learning.

A look at how sharing college rejection letters set the stage for growth at my high school in Hanover, New Hampshire and how teachers can support the act of finding the silver lining of rejection.

On the first day of class I inform students they can always ask for extensions and I’ll tell you why.

This is my explanation of the rationale for my podcast and a bit about where I’m coming from in my teaching journey.