How do you say goodbye to a classroom?

How do you say goodbye to a classroom?

There is nothing easy about saying goodbye to a classroom. Yet so many teachers and educators have their own experience with departing a classroom. They know that how a teacher says and shows goodbye matters. It matters a great deal. So we should talk more about what it’s like, right? Thankfully, last week Adrian Neibauer [https://substack.com/profile/28267640-adrian-neibauer] generously wrote about his own “goodbye” experience as he transitions to a new teaching position next school year—and he was willing to join The Broken Copier to share about how it went, intentional choices he made throughout the final stretch, and how he feels about this classroom departure as he reflects back on it. Here are the links to the two pieces from Adrian’s Newsletter [https://adrianneibauer.substack.com/] referenced in this conversation: * “With a Servant’s Heart” [https://adrianneibauer.substack.com/p/with-a-servants-heart] * “Commencement, Continuation, Convocation” [https://adrianneibauer.substack.com/p/commencement-continuation-convocation] Also, feel free to leave a comment and share about one of your own “classroom goodbye” experiences: what was it like, and what choices did you make to try to make it positive and meaningful—for students as well as yourself? Thanks, as always, to Alberto Lugo, one of Jim’s former students, for writing and recording original intro music; and Tom Csatari for allowing us to use his band’s recording of “Woodstock” from their 2020 album, [https://open.spotify.com/album/3hmdSJCfqDEzHUhStUWUBN]Garden [https://open.spotify.com/album/3hmdSJCfqDEzHUhStUWUBN]. * Find Tom’s work at uncivilizedtom.com [http://uncivilizedtom.com/], and on Instagram @banduncivilized. * Find Alberto’s work at djsynchro.weebly.com [https://djsynchro.weebly.com/], and on Instagram @djsynchro. You can email us here with feedback or any other questions as well: thebrokencopier@substack.com [thebrokencopier@substack.com]. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebrokencopier.substack.com [https://thebrokencopier.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Why teaching is really good/difficult right now

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week everyone! For what is now becoming a Broken Copier tradition, Chanea Bond [https://substack.com/profile/14202573-chanea-bond] joins the podcast for a reflection on all things teaching. This conversation covers, well, a lot: what we appreciate and love about this work of teaching; what is difficult about this work, especially in this moment; and what it means to support our students as well as the teachers around us—while also taking care of ourselves. As always, feel free to share in your circles, leave a review wherever you listen, and of course leave feedback if you’re willing—including about what you appreciate about teaching right now! (And also, if you want, what is challenging in your work, too.) Thanks, as always, to Alberto Lugo, one of Jim’s former students, for writing and recording original intro music; and Tom Csatari for allowing us to use his band’s recording of “Woodstock” from their 2020 album, [https://open.spotify.com/album/3hmdSJCfqDEzHUhStUWUBN]Garden [https://open.spotify.com/album/3hmdSJCfqDEzHUhStUWUBN]. * Find Tom’s work at uncivilizedtom.com [http://uncivilizedtom.com/], and on Instagram @banduncivilized. * Find Alberto’s work at djsynchro.weebly.com [https://djsynchro.weebly.com/], and on Instagram @djsynchro. You can email us here with feedback or any other questions as well: thebrokencopier@substack.com [thebrokencopier@substack.com]. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebrokencopier.substack.com [https://thebrokencopier.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Two good stories from the classroom

With Teacher Appreciation Week forthcoming, today’s episode is very simple in its concept: sharing one good story from the classroom that is really two good stories—along with a reflection on why these stories mattered. A core belief with this Broken Copier project continues to be the importance of sharing and uplifting the good stories in our classrooms and schools. Given that, here’s an invitation: what is a good story from your school year? Seriously—if you have a story you’d be willing to share, go for it! Here are three ways: * As always, feel free to share in the comments! * If you want, you can also head over to Edutopia’s new Teacher2Teacher page [https://www.edutopia.org/teacher2teacher], where I’ve posted the same invitation. * Or, if you’re open to leaving it in audio form, I’d definitely love to include it in a future episode! Here is a link [https://fanlist.com/brokencopier] where you can do just that. Thanks, as always, to Alberto Lugo, one of Jim’s former students, for writing and recording original intro music; and Tom Csatari for allowing us to use his band’s recording of “Woodstock” from their 2020 album, [https://open.spotify.com/album/3hmdSJCfqDEzHUhStUWUBN]Garden [https://open.spotify.com/album/3hmdSJCfqDEzHUhStUWUBN]. * Find Tom’s work at uncivilizedtom.com [http://uncivilizedtom.com/], and on Instagram @banduncivilized. * Find Alberto’s work at djsynchro.weebly.com [https://djsynchro.weebly.com/], and on Instagram @djsynchro. You can email us here with feedback or any other questions as well: thebrokencopier@substack.com [thebrokencopier@substack.com]. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebrokencopier.substack.com [https://thebrokencopier.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

What does "good teaching" even look like?

In the opening essay of Good Teaching: a Provocation, Zach Czaia [https://substack.com/profile/24505553-zach-czaia] writes that, collectively as a country, we have “reduced what it means to be a teacher, let alone a good teacher.” But what does “good teaching” even look like? In today’s conversation, Zach shares his thoughts within and beyond his new collection of essays and poems—and in doing so invites all of us to consider what our own definitions are, where they come from, and how they collide with the current discourse around teaching. To follow more of Zach’s writing and work: * Good Teaching: a Provocation [https://onesubjectpress.com/good-teaching-a-provocation/#:~:text=Good%20Teaching%3A%20A%20Provocation%20is,practical%20resources%2C%20or%20personal%20reflection.] * One Subject Press [https://onesubjectpress.com/] (mentioned at end of episode!) * Zach’s newsletter, Teacher/Poet [https://zachczaia.substack.com/] * His recent essay, “I Don’t Teach Like a Champion” [https://zachczaia.substack.com/p/i-dont-teach-like-a-champion] Thanks, as always, to Alberto Lugo, one of Jim’s former students, for writing and recording original intro music; and Tom Csatari for allowing us to use his band’s recording of “Woodstock” from their 2020 album, [https://open.spotify.com/album/3hmdSJCfqDEzHUhStUWUBN]Garden [https://open.spotify.com/album/3hmdSJCfqDEzHUhStUWUBN]. * Find Tom’s work at uncivilizedtom.com [http://uncivilizedtom.com/], and on Instagram @banduncivilized. * Find Alberto’s work at djsynchro.weebly.com [https://djsynchro.weebly.com/], and on Instagram @djsynchro. You can email us here with feedback or any other questions as well: thebrokencopier@substack.com [thebrokencopier@substack.com]. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebrokencopier.substack.com [https://thebrokencopier.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

What if we tended the soil of our schools?

Whether you are a student, teacher or even a building leader, there is too often a shared experience of how individuals feel within our education system, no matter their role. Stressed. Drained. Overextended. Burnt out. Depleted. Ruth Poulsen [https://substack.com/profile/397956134-ruth-poulsen] believes there is a better path forward. An international school leader and author of the Regenerative Schools [https://regenerativeschools.substack.com/] newsletter [https://regenerativeschools.substack.com/], Ruth is focused on the ways we can shift our mindsets and systems not only to better support educators but also, as a result, to create schools that do more for the students within them—now and going forward. Referenced within this conversation: * Burning the Math Workbook [https://regenerativeschools.substack.com/p/burning-the-math-workbook] (from Ruth’s newsletter) * Boundaries Create Culture [https://regenerativeschools.substack.com/p/having-hard-conversations-in-regenerative] (from Ruth’s newsletter) * The End of Education as We Know It: Regenerative Learning for Complex Times [https://www.amazon.com/End-Education-We-Know-Regenerative/dp/1774060094] by Ida Rose Florez Thanks, as always, to Alberto Lugo, one of Jim’s former students, for writing and recording original intro music; and Tom Csatari for allowing us to use his band’s recording of “Woodstock” from their 2020 album, [https://open.spotify.com/album/3hmdSJCfqDEzHUhStUWUBN]Garden [https://open.spotify.com/album/3hmdSJCfqDEzHUhStUWUBN]. * Find Tom’s work at uncivilizedtom.com [http://uncivilizedtom.com/], and on Instagram @banduncivilized. * Find Alberto’s work at djsynchro.weebly.com [https://djsynchro.weebly.com/], and on Instagram @djsynchro. You can email us here with feedback or any other questions as well: thebrokencopier@substack.com [thebrokencopier@substack.com]. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebrokencopier.substack.com [https://thebrokencopier.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]