What if we tended the soil of our schools?

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]

What should reading look like in our classrooms?

There’s a lot of conversation about which books students should be reading these days and how many—but too little, perhaps, about how to make their actual experiences with books in the classroom better. Today’s guest is Kate Roberts [https://substack.com/profile/149110128-kate-roberts], a former middle school ELA teacher who now works with teachers all over the country to strengthen the reading that takes place in their classrooms. This conversation goes a lot of places: considering the many paradoxes ELA teachers have to balance with books in their classrooms; discussing strategies and mindsets that can elevate those reading experiences; and imagining what a better vision of reading might be for this current moment. To follow Kate’s work, the best place is https://www.kateandmaggie.com [https://www.kateandmaggie.com/]—and here are links to both of Kate’s books that were discussed in this episode: * The Heart of Fiction: Reading for Character, Theme and Craft [https://www.routledge.com/The-Heart-of-Fiction-Reading-for-Character-Theme-and-Craft/Roberts/p/book/9781041156888] * A Novel Approach: Whole-Class Novels, Student-Centered Teaching, and Choice [https://www.amazon.com/Novel-Approach-Whole-Class-Student-Centered-Teaching/dp/0325088659] 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]