Teaching Learning Leading K-12

Al Olson - The History of the American Renaissance Festival. This is episode 602 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast. Al Olson is one of a select handful of eccentric, quirky, and entertaining people who helped grow the American Renaissance Festivals into being a very popular ticket. He shares his story in his comprehensive book, A History of the American Renaissance Festival. While attending the University of Minnesota, working nights in a parking ramp and pumping iron at the Dove’s bicep gym, he also performed his original songs in the same coffee houses that Bob Dylan had a few years earlier on the west bank of the Mississippi. The artistic director of the Minnesota Renaissance Festival attended a theatrical presentation of his original works at Theatre in the Round and hired him on the spot. He began performing at Renfairs as a member of the group, “Pumpkin,” writing original Renaissance music. After less than a season, he noted the greater crowd impact of groups like Penn and Teller, Av

Todd Bloom - Chief Learning Officer at Kami - Helping to Increase Student Engagement. This is episode 601 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast. Kami is an all-in-one classroom sidekick that makes K–12 learning personalized, accessible and engaging, is a popular tool among educators and empowers students through more than 40 tools and features, including rich annotation and markup tools, voice and video comments, read-aloud and voice typing options, imported multimedia, PDF editing and more—providing students multiple means of engagement. Todd Bloom, the Chief Learning Officer at Kami, talks with me about Kami. So much to learn and think about. Before you go... Could you do me a favor? Please go to my website at https://www.stevenmiletto.com/reviews/ or open the podcast app that you are listening to me on, and would you rate and review the podcast? That would be so cool. Thanks! If you are listening on Apple Podcasts on your phone, go to the logo - click so that you are on the main page with a

Sandra T. Elliot - Chief Academic Officer at TouchMath: Explains Dyscalculia and TouchMath. This is episode 600 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast. Sandra T. Elliott, Ph.D., Chief Academic Officer at TouchMath Dr. Eliott is a career educator who has spent over 4 decades working to enhance education for all students and improve schools and their systems around the globe. She has served as a Special Education teacher, and five-time principal in Florida and Colorado, as well as a district-level administrator. She has held executive level positions at for-profit education providers and foundations and was part of the EngageNY – Eureka Math team for several years.  Dr. Elliott is also a member of the UNESCO-sponsored international EDUsummIT that meets biennially to write education policy recommendations to be adopted by the United Nations. She is thrilled to be able to combine her focus on Special Education and Math at TouchMath and champion for dyscalculia. So much to learn. Before you go... Cou

  Sweethearts & Heroes - Tom Murphy and Rick Yarosh - Promoting Healthy, Positive Social Connections and Relationships. This is episode 599 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast. Sweethearts & Heroes is a team focused on promoting healthy, positive social connections and relationships while fostering a sense of community and emotional resilience. We bring the power of HOPE and ACTION into schools and communities. Our focus is to teach human skills, both in school and digitally, to build empathy and compassion in our youth, and develop young Sweethearts & Heroes by promoting bystander empowerment through leadership roles. TOM MURPHY - Founder Tom Murphy is the proud husband and father of four living in the charming City of Saint Albans, VT. Born and raised in Philadelphia, PA where his parents ran a small shelter and recovery home for the hopeless in their own house, Tom has gone on to take this mantra of helping and caring for others in need his life’s mission.   Tom graduated fro

Judith Sanders - The Huntsman: A Psychological Thriller. This is episode 598 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast. Judith Sanders was born and raised in New Jersey, where she spent most of her childhood exploring the great outdoors and dreaming of one day becoming a nurse. After graduating high school, she pursued her passion for healthcare and earned a bachelor's degree in nursing from Graceland University.   The Huntsman is her fourth novel. Her first book, Crescent Veil, is a novel about germ warfare which Heartland Reviews praised as 'nonstop action based on the real deal by authors who should know what they are presenting'. Other books by Judith - In His Stead and Star Finder She was an Indie Excellence Award Finalist for In His Stead and was shortlisted for Chanticleer International Book Awards for Star Finder. She has been featured in interviews by dozens of news media outlets.   Judith's dedication to her profession led her to work on the front lines in community hospitals and as a civ

Debra Wilson - The Polyvagal Path to Joyful Learning: Transforming Classrooms One Nervous System at a Time. This is episode 597 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast. Debra is the Founder of S’cool Moves and a graduate from the University of Southern Queensland Professional Studies Program. Her dissertation uncovered attributes of successful collaboration between occupational therapists and general education teachers working together in the classroom environment. Dr. Wilson is a Reading Specialist who possesses teaching credentials in the areas of biology, physical education, multiple subjects, and reading and language specialist. Debra has taught at the college, high school, and elementary levels. Debra consults with districts, focusing on collaboration between support staff and teachers. For over twenty years, her workshops have provided evidence based strategies to support all students in the classroom.  She is the author of numerous books and instructional materials integrating neuroscience

Brook Bock - Chief Product Officer - Lightspeed Systems: Helping Students Be Safe and More Efficient in this Technological World. This is episode 596 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast. Lightspeed products filter student and staff internet access, look for warning signs in student online activity, manage software across every district device, and give administrators the data they need to make effective decisions about the quality and efficiency of their students’ online educational experience. Today, I am talking with Brook Bock who is the Chief Product Officer at Lightspeed Systems A veteran in the education space, Brook Bock has led the product vision, portfolio strategy and global expansion for top tier K–12 serving companies such as College Board and BlackBoard. In her role at Lightspeed Systems as Chief Product and Marketing Officer, Brook is responsible for Lightspeed’s product strategy and platform growth to ensure educators and school staff have the tools they need to advance student

Ihor Bauman - Workee: A Software Platform to Help You Build Your Business. This is episode 595 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast. Ihor Bauman is the CEO & Co-founder of Workee. He has 7 years of experience in management consulting, product development and business strategy. Ihor is a Forbes Business Council Member, and he has a master’s degree in finance. A little about Workee… Workee is creating the Future of Work for freelancers worldwide. Workee is a software platform that builds business for freelancers, helping to scale and autopilot their business routing as bookings, payments, client and work management out of the box with 0% fees. Lots to learn. Don't forget the special promo code Ihor100 to get one month free. Before you go... Could you do me a favor? Please go to my website at https://www.stevenmiletto.com/reviews/ or open the podcast app that you are listening to me on, and would you rate and review the podcast? That would be so cool. Thanks! If you are listening on Apple Po

Ed Hess - Own Your Work Journey: The Path to Meaningful Work and Happiness in the Age of Smart Technology and Radical Change. This is episode 594 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast. Edward D. Hess is a Professor Emeritus of Business Administration; Batten Faculty Fellow & Batten Executive-in-Residence Emeritus at the Darden School of Business, University of Virginia. He received his B.S. from the University of Florida; his J.D. from the University of Virginia and his L.L.M. from New York University. Professor Hess spent more than 20 years in the business world as a senior executive at Warburg Paribas Becker, Boettcher & Company, the Robert M. Bass Group and Arthur Andersen.  He joined academia in 2002 as an Adjunct Professor of Organization and Management at the Goizueta School of Business at Emory University where he taught in the Business Undergraduate and MBA Programs and was the Founder and Executive Director of both “The Center for Entrepreneurship and Corporate Growth” and “The

Elizabeth B. Splaine Shares Her Latest Novel - Steel Butterflies: Historical Fiction, WWII, Friendship, & Secrets. This is episode 593 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast. Elizabeth B. Splaine wrote the Dr. Julian Stryker series of “Blind” thrillers (Blind Order and Blind Knowledge), as well as Devil’s Grace, the winner of the When Words Count writing competition. Additionally, she wrote Swan Song, an historical fiction novel, which was chosen by independentbookreview.com as a “Top 35 Impressive Indie Press Book of 2021.”  Prior to writing, Elizabeth earned an AB in Psychology from Duke University and an MHA from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She spent eleven years working in healthcare before switching careers to become a professional opera singer and voice teacher.  When not writing, Elizabeth teaches classical voice in Rhode Island where she lives with her family. Today, our focus is on her latest novel Steel Butterflies. A little about Steel Butterflies... (Based on T

Elizabeth Breau, PhD - History According to SAT: A Content Guide to SAT Reading and Writing. This is episode 592 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast. Elizabeth Breau, Ph.D. is a lifelong educator, parent, and author. Elizabeth has over 25 years of experience as an English teacher for grades 7-12, including co-teaching an interdisciplinary English/history class that produced a magazine, and for which she won the College Board Bob Costas Award for Excellence in Teaching Writing.  She has also taught a variety of university classes in composition, literature, technical writing, public speaking, and women's studies.  Dr. Breau is the author of History According to SAT: A Content Guide to SAT Reading and Writing, which she wrote to help students understand the history passages that comprise about 40% of passages that students read on the SAT”. Her book is a 2023 Nonfiction Authors Association Silver Award winner. She has published scholarly articles, book reviews, including many about history book

Mary Pieroni Harper - The Sound of Her Voice: My Blind Parent's Story. This is episode 591 of my podcast Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast. Mary Pieroni Harper is a happily retired psychotherapist and author of The Sound of Her Voice: My Blind Parents’ Story. Her stirring book documents the remarkable lives of her parents from the time they fell in love at the Indiana School for the Blind through their challenges, determination, and successes as blind people. Born in Muncie, Indiana and a graduate of the University of Virginia, Harper earned her Master’s in Social Work from the University of Houston. Perhaps as a legacy from helping her parents with everything from reading their mail to them to inspecting their clothing for spots, she has always been interested in helping others. She became active in the Fibromyalgia Association of Houston after being diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 1992 and has served in leadership capacities, including newsletter editor of The Fibromyalgia Connection, and as

Sensei Miwako: Learning Math Using the Abacus. This is episode 590 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast. With over two decades of Abacus teaching experience, Sensei Miwako has had the pleasure of helping students achieve greatness and tangible skills that serve them now and in the future. She helps parents find the solution to unlocking their child's patience, memory, concentration, natural intelligence, and so much more! Her journey began when she founded JAMS. It is the only math school in the Portland and Beaverton area certified by the League for Soroban Abacus. We use the teachings of Abacus & Anzan instruction to build a solid and strong foundation of mental mathematics with lifelong skills. Mental math calculation is a skill that children retain for life. Abacus gives any child the skills and confidence to excel in STEM-related subjects beyond the classroom. When a child experiences success, they naturally grow in confidence and self-esteem, as well as in their desire to continue the

Hesha Abrams - Holding the Calm: The Secret to Resolving Conflict and Defusing Tension. This is episode 589 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast. Hesha Abrams is a professional peacemaker, an internationally acclaimed master attorney mediator, negotiator, and author, known for crafting highly creative settlements and resolutions in very difficult matters. With 30+ years in the trenches of resolving human conflict, she has recently distilled her skills into an easy-to-use tool kit, her new book, "Holding the Calm: The Secret to Resolving Conflict and Defusing Tension". Through stories and examples, she shares her secrets enabling anyone to learn how to approach tense situations to prevent explosions, disarm conflicts, and reduce drama. It is her mission to help make our world, our businesses, and our relationships less acrimonious and more harmonious. Today we are focused on Hesha’s book - Holding the Calm: The Secret to Resolving Conflict and Defusing Tension. Powerful conversation! Practical!

Dr. Andrea Furlan - 8 Steps to Conquer Chronic Pain: A Doctor's Guide to Lifelong Relief. This is episode 588 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast. ANDREA FURLAN, MD, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto and a Staff Physician and Senior Scientist at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute. Her YouTube page has more than 487,000 subscribers and more than 42 million views. She received a CIHR New Investigator Award, and her research focus is on treatments of chronic pain including medications, complementary and alternative therapies, and rehabilitation.  Today we are focused on Andrea’s book - “8 Steps to Conquer Chronic Pain a Doctor’s Guide to Lifelong Relief. Great conversation. So much to learn and think about! Enjoy! Before you go... Could you do me a favor? Please go to my website at https://www.stevenmiletto.com/reviews/ or open the podcast app that you are listening to me on, and would you rate and review the podcast? That would be so coo

Jeanne McCarty - CEO of Out Teach: Converting Outdoor Spaces into Real World Labs. This is episode 587 of Teaching Learning Leading k12, an audio podcast. Jeanne McCarty joined Out Teach as the first CEO in 2007. Since then, she has spent her days setting strategy, securing resources, and mobilizing as many people as she can towards their vision for all children, no matter their resources, to have access to a transformative, hands-on education.  Together with a talented team and visionary board, they have grown Out Teach from a local nonprofit to a national organization that inspires and prepares hundreds of thousands of students to be thinkers, dreamers, and doers. A few years back a national survey noted that kids in grades K-3 were taught science for an average of just 18 minutes a day compared with 89 minutes for English Language Arts and 57 minutes for math.   Out Teach, a non-profit, delivers personalized hands-on training, collaborative partnerships, and easily accessible resources that help teachers

Jeff Ikler & Steve Miletto Discuss the Memoir Rocket Boys in Terms of Student Agency in Schools. This is episode 586 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast. Jeff is the Director of Quetico Leadership and Career Coaching. He works with leaders in all aspects of life to identify and overcome obstacles in their desired future. “Quetico” (KWEH-teh- co). He came to the field of coaching after a 35-year career in educational publishing, where he served as an editor, marketer, and eventually the head of all publishing disciplines. There, he was first exposed to coaching – as a client – self-awareness and realizing that leadership is behavior in the service of those doing the work. Prior to his career in educational publishing, Jeff taught high-school American history and government. Jeff currently co-hosts the Getting Unstuck—Cultivating Curiosity, which focuses on helping individuals and organizations lead productive change – a change that helps them achieve their desired outcomes and impact. Jef

George Stevens, Jr. - My Place in the Sun: Life in the Golden Age of Hollywood and Washington. This is episode 585 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast. George Stevens, Jr. has achieved an extraordinary creative legacy over a career spanning more than 60 years. He is a writer, director, producer, playwright and author. He has enriched the film and television arts as a filmmaker and is widely credited with bringing style and taste to the national television events he has conceived. As a writer, director and producer, Stevens has earned many accolades, including 15 Emmys, two Peabody Awards for Meritorious Service to Broadcasting, the Humanitas Prize and 8 awards from the Writers Guild of America, including the Paul Selvin Award for writing that embodies civil rights and liberties. In 2012 the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted to present Stevens with an Honorary Academy Award for “extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement.” Stevens served for eig

  Christopher K. Slaton, EdD - Education and Science: The Brain's Body - Help to Improve Brain, Body, and Sense Events. This is episode 584 of Teaching Learning Leading K12., an audio podcast. Christopher K. Slaton, Ed.D., developed the Progressive Investing Institute of Focused Learning in 2000 to study child development through the application of action research, systems thinking, and human science.  The applied use of action research with children and parents in crisis led to human systems research, as the study of self, other people, and the environment.  The applied use of systems thinking led to human systems science, as the study of brain, body, and sense events. Hence, the applied use of human science led to the study of human, cognitive, and behavior sciences. As a practitioner of human systems science, his interest has always been focused on the study of human contact, human cognition, and human behavior. Dr. Slaton has used education to become more informed about the brain and science to discipli

Suzy Pepper Rollins: The Promise of Acceleration: A Strength-Based Plan to Propel Academically Vulnerable Learners. This is episode 583 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast. Suzy Pepper Rollins is an author, consultant, and speaker who works with schools across North America to create success in ALL learners. Her particular passion is to change the academic trajectory of vulnerable learners. She is the author of Learning in the Fast Lane and Teaching in the Fast Lane, both by ASCD. Her book Teaching Vulnerable Learners (W.W. Norton) details strategies for students who are bored, discouraged, or just ready to give up. In addition, she is the founder of Math in the Fast Lane, which aligns with her principles of captivating, hands-on tasks. (www.MathinFastLane.com.) Suzy can be reached at her website, www.SuzyPepperRollins.com or via Twitter @myedexpert. Our focus today is her book - The Promise of Acceleration: A Strength-Based Plan to Propel Academically Vulnerable Learners. So much to learn. W