Hacking Classroom Management with Mike Roberts 

This is Season 4, Episode 7 of FocusED, and it features our guest, Mike Roberts. It was originally recorded live for a studio audience in Delaware, and provided as a professional development experience in collaboration with the Delaware Department of Education, the Delaware Academy for School Leadership, and The School House 302. Don’t miss what Mike says about becoming a modern teacher, breaking the cycle of past practices, grading, and assessment, classroom management, student empowerment…and so much more.

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Mike Roberts Brings Tons of Experience to FocusED Listeners

Mike Roberts has been a middle school Educator for more than twenty years. In that time, he has taught English, has been an instructional coach, and is currently an Assistant Principal. Over the course of his career, he has received numerous awards for his outstanding teaching, including being named the 2014 Utah English Teacher of the Year and the 2018 Utah Middle-Level Teacher of the Year. Mike also teaches college classes focused on classroom management and literacy in the content areas. He has served on many educational committees and has been a featured speaker at dozens of state, regional, and national conferences.

Mike’s most recent book, Hacking Modern Teaching – 10 Ways to Build Student Engagement, Maximize Success, and Inspire Authentic Learning, offers a variety of strategies to help teachers and students thrive within today’s modern classroom. Mike is also the author of Chasing Greatness: 26.2 Ways Teaching is Like Running a Marathon, where he shares advice from some of the best teachers and runners from across the country as a way to help you reach your highest potential. Mike is also the author of Hacking Classroom Management – 10 Ideas to Help You Become the Type of Teacher They Make Movies About, which identifies a variety of strategies that empower students in the learning process.

When he’s not teaching or presenting, Mike can usually be found running ultra-marathons in the mountains. And even after all these years, he’s still not sure which takes more energy…a week with middle schoolers or running a 100-mile race.

You can contact Mike at www.thebaldenglishteacher.com

You can follow Mike on Twitter @BaldRoberts

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FocusED Show Notes with Mike Roberts  

Mike starts the show with a reminder that we need to take risks, show students more about ourselves by connecting beyond the curriculum, and try new ways to support learning.

We’re not so far into this podcast episode before Mike is challenging the status quo of teaching the way that we were taught. 

Joe asked about “engagement beyond the curriculum” and Mike talked about using simple themes in books to apply that concept to popular music. The connections are key. 

Mike says he’s the king of the cameos. Don’t miss what he says about how teachers and leaders can “show up” without losing all of their nights. 

Teachers need to be authentic to who they are; don’t miss what Mike says about authenticity and teacher style. 

You want to hear what Mike says about seating charts and late work–some are better than none and late is better than never. 

Mike’s insights on using self-assessments are powerful. Too many of us jump to conclusions without trying the new strategy. 

Mike’s explanation of classroom management is really about creating classroom culture, doing school with students versus to them. Joe delineates this between a controlled environment and an empowering one. 

We talked about self-reported grades as having a high-effective size. 

Mike talks about providing students with tons of options–the more options the better–and the benefits of this for teachers. 

He talks about giving students a challenge: “do something that impresses me.” 

Mike talked about setting goals and bite-size challenges. Big goals are overwhelming but small ones are inspiring. Don’t miss what he says about manageable chunks and 1% better. 

He talked about Jim Knight being an influence when he was an instructional coach. 

Don’t miss why Mike follows Malcolm Gladwell, Jocko Willink, and David Goggins. 

Mike wants to help lift up teachers to help them to be the best that they can be. 

Mike Robert Quotes from FocusED

Any time you can connect what you’re doing in one class with another class is critical.

Show students you care by investing in their extra-curricular activities.

We need to be respectful of what goes on outside of our student’s lives. 

Teaching is the coolest job in the world. The things you say and do can last for generations. 

Christine Ravesi-Weinstein Joins FocusED to Discuss How School Leaders can Disrupt the Status Quo…and Much More 

This is Season 4, Episode 6 of FocusED, featuring our guest, Christine Ravesi-Weinstein. It was originally recorded live for a studio audience in Delaware, and provided as a professional development experience in collaboration with the Delaware Department of Education, the Delaware Academy for School Leadership, and The School House 302. Don’t miss what Christine says about school leadership and how we must Disrupt the Status Quo in our schools…and so much more.

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Christine Ravesi-Weinstein Brings Tons of Experience to FocusED Listeners

Christine Ravesi-Weinstein serves as a high school Assistant Principal in Massachusetts and previously worked as a high school science department chair for four years as well as a classroom teacher for 15. Diagnosed with anxiety and depression at 23, Christine began her journey toward mental wellness. She began a non-profit organization in June of 2017 aimed at removing the stigma of mental illness and promoting physical activity as a means to cope with anxiety.

As an avid writer and educator, Christine became passionate about bridging the two with her advocacy for mental health. Since March 2019, she has had numerous nationally published articles, including the number one most-read article of 2019 on eSchool News (she also had the number six and eight most-read articles in that year). She has also published articles with District Administration, the Teach Better Team, Tech & Learning, and SmartBrief.  

Not only is she a highly sought-after speaker, but Christine is also a MASCD Board Member, and author of the books Anxious (by Times 10 Publications), Fighting Your Inner Voice, and Disrupt the Status Quo (both by Code Breaker, Inc.). 

Follow her work on Twitter @RavesiWeinstein and on YouTube at The Runner’s High. 

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FocusED Show Notes with Christine Ravesi-Weinstein  

Christine and her co-authors focused on the four areas of the book because everything fell into those four categories, including culture. 

Joe asked Christine to dive deeper into the conversation about positive toxicity. 

Don’t miss what she says about perspective building. 

Christine talks to us about listening strategies and hearing what others have to say. 

The seed of toxicity is the parking lot conversation that’s not productive for anyone. 

It’s the million decisions that we have to make in a day that prevent us from listening. ~ Christine Ravesi-Weinstein 

Sometimes the reason for our lack of failure is that we forget what the goal is. 

Don’t miss what Christine says about the power of face-to-face conversations. 

Christine wants to eliminate numerical grading to improve the student experience. She believes that this can change the SEL landscape for kids. 

You have to hear what she says about Jim Hensen. 

Christine shared that she reads a lot of books about running. 

She mentions Edutopia and Code Breaker as places to go for leading and learning. 

Danny Steele Joins FocusED to Discuss Essential Truths for Principals & School Leaders…and Much More 

This is Season 4, Episode 5 of FocusED, and it features our guest, Danny Steele. It was originally recorded live for a studio audience in Delaware, and provided as a professional development experience in collaboration with the Delaware Department of Education, the Delaware Academy for School Leadership, and The School House 302. Don’t miss what Danny says about Essential Truths for Principals…and so much more.

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Danny Steele Brings Tons of Experience to FocusED Listeners

Danny Steele is in his 30th year of education, and this school year marks his second as the principal at Homewood Middle School. Prior to this position, he has served as an Assistant Professor of Instructional Leadership, principal, assistant principal, teacher, and coach.

In 2005, Steele was recognized as the “Secondary Assistant Principal of the Year” for the state of Alabama.  And in 2016, he was recognized  as Alabama’s “Secondary Principal of the Year.”

He has presented at numerous state and national conferences and spoken in school districts around the country.  

Danny has written or co-written five books. He has an undergraduate degree in History from Covenant College; an M.A. in History from the University of Alabama, Birmingham; and an Educational Specialist degree in Educational Administration as well as a Doctorate degree in Educational Leadership–both from Samford University.  He resides with his wife and three children in Birmingham, Alabama.

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FocusED Show Notes with Danny Steele 

Danny talks about the inception of the book and how Todd Whitacker pitched the idea as something that would be very broad for educators but was then split into two books: Essential Truths for Teachers and Essential Truth for Principals. 

Danny talks about the fact that we can get lost in doing what we’re doing and forget the reasons why we’re doing what we’re doing. 

Don’t miss what he says about getting swallowed up by the administrivia. 

He talks about the difference in the focus between being a teacher and being an administrator. 

You have to hear what he says about the sign above his door and why it’s there. 

We love what Danny says about instructional leadership. It’s not about improving teachers as much as it is about creating the conditions for them to improve themselves. 

He talked about “cultural conditions” and why that’s so important for teachers and diminishing burnout. 

Fundamentally, teachers are looking for support. Danny talked about relationships and building them so that teachers can thrive in the school.

Danny talks about the fact that a collaborative approach to teaching and learning is the key to improving the student experience. 

He says that we ought to focus on what students are doing, not just what the teachers are teaching. 

Check out what he says about skills beating content every day. 

Danny talks about being a huge fan of Todd Whitaker and points to several of Todd’s resources. 

He calls out the book, Hacking Learning Centers by Starr Sackstein

Danny mentions Adam Grant and his book, Think Again.

He talks about the need for us to do more work on race and equity in schools. 

Danny Steele Quotes from FocusED

We can all use reminders about why it is we do what we do. ~ Danny Steele 

Sports teams shouldn’t have a monopoly on neat traditions. ~ Danny Steele 

Teachers should be empowered and inspired to try to be awesome. ~ Danny Steele 

Organizational leadership of any kind doesn’t happen in a vacuum. ~ Danny Steele 

There’s not one program that’s a problem in the school and there’s not one program that’s going to solve every problem in the school. ~ Danny Steele