Playfulness is Underrated: Gamifying Education with Jean-Michel Oblette

Playfulness is Underrated: Gamifying Education with Jean-Michel Oblette

In this episode, we talk to Jean-Michel Oblette about his time as a “Difficult Student” and his current approaches to Gamification in his grade 2 classroom. We also get into what it means to be the teacher you wish you had when you were a student. Jean-Michel has taught Primary French Immersion at Kerrisdale Elementary in Vancouver for 14 years, and before that, he taught high school French in the UK. In addition to all that, he runs a roleplaying games club during lunchtime and gamifies most of what he teaches. Jean-Michel wrote his Masters thesis on Gamification in the French Immersion Classroom. Follow Claren Academy on X and Instagram: @clarenacademy Learn more about Claren Academy atwww.clarenacademy.org [http://www.clarenacademy.org] Old School, New School deconstructs success stories through the lens of education. This podcast delves into pedagogy, leadership, and teaching best practices, as well as entrepreneurship, career development, and post-secondary education. Listeners will be interested to see how many different social, psychological, and environmental factors come into play when we analyze our school experiences. Whether you’re interested in teaching, education policy, parenting, or self-improvement, this podcast has a little of everything.  Claren Academy’s leadership is constantly fielding questions about why they created a new school. We hope that this podcast will shine a light on factors that help us reexamine old schools and what it means to deliver a future-ready education.

School Wasn't Always Easy For Him...and Now He's a Teacher

In this episode, we talk to Bryon Carpenter about his journey from being a student who struggled with Language Arts to being a research scientist for a pharmaceutical company in Langley, BC. Of course, since he’s now a high school teacher in Abbotsford, BC, we also get into what led to that career jump and how his experience as a student shapes his approach to teaching. In addition to teaching at the Abbotsford Virtual School in Abbotsford, BC, Bryon Carpenter serves as Vice-president on the executive board for British Columbia’s Provincial Middle Years and Intermediate Teacher’s Association (myPITA). He also hosts Fresh Air at Five, a popular teaching podcast in which he shares key takeaways from different education podcasts. Follow Bryon on X: @BryonCar Check out the work myPITA does athttps://www.mypita.ca/ [https://www.mypita.ca/]  Follow Claren Academy on X and Instagram: @clarenacademy Learn more about Claren Academy atwww.clarenacademy.org [http://www.clarenacademy.org] Old School, New School deconstructs success stories through the lens of education. This podcast delves into pedagogy, leadership, and teaching best practices, as well as entrepreneurship, career development, and post-secondary education. Listeners will be interested to see how many different social, psychological, and environmental factors come into play when we analyze our school experiences. Whether you’re interested in teaching, education policy, parenting, or self-improvement, this podcast has a little of everything.  Claren Academy’s leadership is constantly fielding questions about why they created a new school. We hope that this podcast will shine a light on factors that help us reexamine old schools and what it means to deliver a future-ready education.

Zoe Si on the Living a Creative Life and the Power of Belonging

In this episode, we have an interesting discussion with Zoe Si about her origin story from her career in law to how she became a celebrated artist, illustrator, and writer. Key themes in the discussion include the work that goes into living a creative life and how a developing sense of belonging can become a superpower. Follow Zoe on Instagram @zoesees Check out Zoe’s Substack: https://zoesi.substack.com/ Zoe Si is a Pulitzer Prize-nominated [https://www.pulitzer.org/finalists/zoe-si-contributor-new-yorker] cartoonist, illustrator, and writer with a lifelong passion for laughing at her own jokes. She believes in the power of words, but also that wherever words fail, a cartoon can usually succeed. Zoe practiced law for a number of years and now spends her days contributing cartoons and articles to The New Yorker [https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/zoe-si], working on a graphic novel, and making children’s books [https://www.zoe-si.com/books]. She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia with her husband and a large, fluffy dog. In her spare time, she enjoys running around outside and petting other people’s dogs. Zoe acknowledges that she lives and works on the traditional and unceded territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-waututh) Nations. Follow Claren Academy on Twitter/X and Instagram: @clarenacademy www.clarenacademy.org [http://www.clarenacademy.org] Old School, New School deconstructs success stories through the lens of education. This podcast delves into pedagogy, leadership, and teaching best practices, as well as entrepreneurship, career development, and post-secondary education. Listeners will be interested to see how many different social, psychological, and environmental factors come into play when we analyze our school experiences. Whether you’re interested in teaching, education policy, parenting, or self-improvement, this podcast has a little of everything.  Claren Academy’s leadership is constantly fielding questions about why they created a new school. We hope that this podcast will shine a light on factors that help us reexamine old schools and what it means to deliver a future-ready education.

How Darren Gates Turned Around a Struggling Restaurant By...Being Himself

In this special Summer episode, we talk to Darren Gates about how leadership, for entrepreneurs and educators, can hinge on one’s authenticity.  Darren Gates has been in the restaurant business for many years. He owns and runs Mario’s Kitchen and Gracie’s Next Door in Tsawwassen, British Columbia. Visit: https://marioskitchen.ca/ Follow Claren Academy on Twitter/X and Instagram: @clarenacademy www.clarenacademy.org [http://www.clarenacademy.org] Old School, New School deconstructs success stories through the lens of education. This podcast delves into pedagogy, leadership, and teaching best practices, as well as entrepreneurship, career development, and post-secondary education. Listeners will be interested to see how many different social, psychological, and environmental factors come into play when we analyze our school experiences. Whether you’re interested in teaching, education policy, parenting, or self-improvement, this podcast has a little of everything.  Claren Academy’s leadership is constantly fielding questions about why they created a new school. We hope that this podcast will shine a light on factors that help us reexamine old schools and what it means to deliver a future-ready education.

Poetry Inspired Katherine Reilly to Become a Lawyer

In this episode, we talk to Kat Reilly about how her love of reading, especially poetry, set her on the path to a career in law. This conversation gets to the heart of what goes into making a great lawyer. Spoiler alert: it’s reading. A lot of reading. Katherine Reilly is Legal Counsel at the BC Ministry of Attorney General and was formerly a litigator for one of the biggest Canadian legal firms. She’s also a podcaster, hosting a show called The Days Are Long, which explores the experience of parenthood. She is a founding member of the Claren Academy Society board of directors, where she used her legal expertise and long-range thinking to set the school up with solid and thorough foundational policies. She’s no longer on our board but is still an active advocate for Claren Academy and progressive education in general. She’s got a lot in common with our other Kat (Sykes) - love of cats, love of reading, and love of fostering the success of underrepresented groups in leadership.   Follow Claren Academy on Twitter/X and Instagram: @clarenacademy www.clarenacademy.org [http://www.clarenacademy.org] Old School, New School deconstructs success stories through the lens of education. This podcast delves into pedagogy, leadership, and teaching best practices, as well as entrepreneurship, career development, and post-secondary education. Listeners will be interested to see how many different social, psychological, and environmental factors come into play when we analyze our school experiences. Whether you’re interested in teaching, education policy, parenting, or self-improvement, this podcast has a little of everything.  Claren Academy’s leadership is constantly fielding questions about why they created a new school. We hope that this podcast will shine a light on factors that help us reexamine old schools and what it means to deliver a future-ready education.