Teach Me, Teacher

#411 The Tie Between Child Care and Education (pt.1)

What happens in early childhood classrooms doesn't stay there—it shows up every day in K–12 schools. In this episode of Teach Me, Teacher, I sit down with Robert Cordero and Tara Gardner to unpack what "universal child care" in New York City really means—not just as a policy idea, but as a lived reality for families, providers, and educators. We dig into why child care has become both a moral and economic imperative in a city shaped by poverty, workforce demands, and persistent child care deserts. From recent investments and pilot programs to the deeper structural challenges beneath them, this conversation pulls back the curtain on what's working—and what isn't. At the center of it all is a workforce crisis: tens of thousands of educators needed, a system heavily reliant on underpaid Black and Brown women, and a widening gap between Department of Education salaries and community-based providers. We wrestle with the uncomfortable question—can you build a "universal" system on an inequitable foundation? We also explore potential solutions, from free higher education pathways to the hard realities of funding, staffing, and political will. And finally, we zoom out: where is New York leading the way, where is it falling short, and what truths do we still need to confront if we want a system that truly supports children, families, and the educators who serve them? This episode challenges educators to see child care not as a separate issue—but as the foundation everything else is built on.

Growing Out of Struggle

Hello everyone! Spring is here—and everything that means for school. State testing. Unknowns. Changes. Student behavior struggles…the list goes on. This time of year can be stressful and miserable at times for teachers. If you know, you know… But this time can also be a moment for clarity. A moment for reimagining and refocusing on what you need to do to make an impact in the classroom. This time of year can be the difference between ending on a high note, and ending in a way that isn't a representation of what you can truly accomplish in your work. This episode is all about acknowledging the struggles of this time of year, but not staying there. It's about moving forward and taking action that will help you reach the finish line of your school year. **This episode previously aired as #308. Timely and needed. A new episode will release next Monday.

Should We Hate Standardized Testing? with Jeff Farely

Hello everyone! We hear about it everywhere…The test. Whatever state you're in might change what test you're talking about, but it follows us. It infects our teaching, our conversations, and even how we view our jobs. But is standardized testing as bad as so many make it out to be? Let's find out. Jeff Farely, a Texas principal, has a lot to say on the matter. He tackles why standardized testing exists, how teachers should think about it, and spends a considerable amount of time unpacking the loaded language we use when talking about "the test." You'll want to listen to this episode, and then share it with every educator you can. Jeff gives us an insight much needed in our job.

#410 The Disconnection Crisis (Jacob Adams pt.2)

What happens after we name the problem—but still aren't sure what to do about it? In Part 2 of this conversation on Teach Me, Teacher, I continue my discussion with Jacob Adams, founder and executive director of Inner Spark Learning Lab, moving from diagnosis into action. If Part 1 unpacked the Disconnection Crisis in education, this episode is about what it actually looks like to respond to it inside real schools, with real constraints. We go deeper into the practical side of building connection—not as a buzzword, but as a design principle. Jacob shares concrete ways schools can begin shifting culture, from rethinking daily structures and adult-student interactions to creating spaces where student voice isn't just heard, but shapes the experience of learning. This isn't about adding another initiative. It's about fundamentally reworking how schools operate so that connection becomes the foundation, not the afterthought. We also wrestle with the tension educators feel every day: how do you prioritize relationships and relevance in systems still driven by compliance, testing, and outcomes? What can teachers and leaders actually do tomorrow, even if the larger system hasn't changed yet? If you found yourself nodding along in Part 1, this episode gives you a place to start. It's honest about the challenges, but grounded in real examples of what's possible when schools commit to going deeper instead of just doing more. Because if disconnection is the root issue, then the work ahead isn't just to understand it—it's to rebuild something better in its place.

#409 Rebuilding Connection to Schools with Jacob Adams (pt.1)

What happens when the biggest problems in education—chronic absenteeism, failing grades, teacher burnout, and families leaving schools—aren't actually the core issues at all? In this episode of Teach Me, Teacher, I sit down with Jacob Adams, founder and executive director of Inner Spark Learning Lab [https://www.innersparklab.org/], to explore what he calls the Disconnection Crisis in education. Check out their Inside Out Summit. March 19- 9:00-1:00 PT [https://mailchi.mp/innersparklab.org/inside-out-summit]. Free virtual conference for folks who want to transform education from the inside out. For years, schools have chased outcomes—attendance rates, test scores, graduation numbers—while layering on interventions meant to fix them. But what if those outcomes are only symptoms of something deeper? Jacob argues that underneath many of the challenges educators face today is a growing sense of disconnection between students, families, educators, and the institutions meant to serve them. Drawing from nearly a decade of work with more than 40,000 Black and Brown young people in South Central and East Los Angeles, Jacob shares how his organization has focused not on scaling fast, but on going deep—rethinking learning environments from inside existing schools. The work centers on a simple but powerful idea: if students don't feel connected to their school, no intervention will stick. Throughout the conversation, we dig into why so many well-intentioned reforms fall short, what educators often miss when trying to improve student outcomes, and how shifting the focus from "fixing students" to redesigning the learning environment can transform the culture of a school. Jacob also challenges some of the dominant narratives in education reform, pushing us to ask whether we're even asking the right questions in the first place. Instead of focusing solely on performance metrics, what might happen if we prioritized relevance, relationships, and student voice? For educators feeling the strain of the current moment, this episode offers both a critique of the systems we work within and a hopeful look at what schools could become when connection moves to the center of the work. If we want schools to truly work for students, families, and teachers, the real question might not be how we fix outcomes—but how we rebuild connection. Listen in.