Kyle McCormick does not have a Twitter account. He is not a thought leader. But he is a teacher, and he does think deeply about education. In this episode, we talk about the importance of approaching pedagogy from a critical standpoint. Being critical, we discuss, is not necessarily about knocking things down or building things up. Instead, it's an approach that demands that we understand the why of education and the methods we use in the classroom.

Links:

The Ed Podcast on Twitter
The Ed Podcast Website

Sponsored Links:

Telus World of Science, Edmonton
ATB Financial
The Alberta Podcast Network

There's games and there's gamification. Zack Hartzman is about the former. He talks with me about his experiences bringing videogames into his classroom and how it has helped his students - mostly recent immigrants and ELL's - to engage with English and literature in an active and meaningful way. Along with recommendations for useful texts, Zack shares about the benefits and the how-to's as well.

Links:

Zack on Twitter
HeyListen Games (website)
The Ed Podcast on Twitter
The Ed Podcast Website

Sponsored Links:

Litfest Alberta
Your Forest Podcast
ATB Financial
The Alberta Podcast Network

When Typical Educelebrity began in June of 2019, he never imagined that the account would suddenly gain such notoriety. Yet within a month, his unique brand of parodic humour had garnered over ten thousand followers. This week, the anonymous teacher behind the account chats with me about his success as an educationally focused humourist.

And though we do talk at length about his account and his approach to humour, we dive much more deeply into the guts of the education world, as Typical Educelebrity reveals himself to be a thoughtful educator who cares deeply about his profession and the quality of education that his students are receiving.

Links:

Typical EduCelebrity on Twitter
The Ed Podcast on Twitter
The Ed Podcast Website

Sponsored Links:

The Well Endowed Podcast
Edmonton Community Foundation
ATB Financial
The Alberta Podcast Network

This month I'm joined by Tanya, Jeremy, and Jon as we ponder the role that safety plays in the classroom. Can a space be too safe? We peel back the layers of helicopter parenting, risk taking, failure and the difference between safety and pampering. As educators, we're called on to challenge and stretch our kids, but can we go too far? What role do at-home family standards play for each of our students? and what about their personal history? It's a delicate line to walk which requires both a sense of adventure and sensitivity to our students.

Links:

Jon on Twitter
Jeremy on Twitter
Prospect - Movie (via imdb)
Testament by Margaret Atwood (via Amazon)
The Ed Podcast on Twitter
The Ed Podcast Website

Sponsored Links:

LitFest Alberta
ATB Financial
The Alberta Podcast Network

Nicholas Ferroni appears regularly on large media outlets, including Fox News, and The View. But despite being big on the national media stage, he is and continues to be a teacher, first and foremost. We talk about his surprising steps into fame, and how he's leveraging the rare opportunity he's been given. A passionate and tireless promoter of the teaching profession, Nicholas shares his deep desire to see the profession lifted up in terms of pay, working conditions, and respect in the culture at large.

Links:

Nicholas on Twitter
Nicholas on Instagram
Nicholas on Facebook
The Ed Podcast on Twitter
The Ed Podcast Website

Sponsored Links:

Alberta Health Services
Park Power
ATB Financial
The Alberta Podcast Network 

Kristin Leong is a former teacher who now works in a not-for-profit context. Still, her teacher heart beats true even as she has stepped out of the classroom. Her biggest passion lies in helping students and teachers find common ground through her TEDed initiative, The Roll Call Project. We talk about how this program has helped everyone on both sides of the classroom to discover our shared humanity, and helped to create a better sense of community and empathy. Throughout our discussion, Kristin also shares her thoughts on growing up as a member of not one but two minority communities and the impact it had on her own formation as an educator.

Links:

Kristin on Twitter
kristinleong.com 
RollCallProject.com 
The Ed Podcast on Twitter

Sponsored Links:

Taproot
Unit B Co-Working
ATB Financial
The Alberta Podcast Network

In this super-sized episode, New York Times bestselling author Jessica Lahey joins me to talk about the developing minds of our young students. We dive deeply into neurology, cognitive development, and addiction. Her well runs deep with not just information, but also sage advice and solutions.

Links:

Jessica on Twitter
JessicaLahey.com 
Brain Storm by Dan Siegel (via Amazon)
Age of Opportunity by Laurence Steinberg (via Amazon)
Preventing Teen Drinking (via The Washington Post)
The Ed Podcast on Twitter

Sponsored Links:

Your Forest Podcast
Alberta Blue Cross Wellness Summit 
ATB Financial
The Alberta Podcast Network

Andrew Scott is a teacher and host of the "It's a Conspiracy" podcast. We've joined forces for this special episode where we talk all about the biggest conspiracy of all: is education a left-wing liberal-making machine run by the leftist elite? Naturally, we dig deep into this, and our discussion takes into some interesting spaces where we discuss not just the validity of the conspiracy, but also the role that teachers have in molding their students in the unavoidably political environment that is the classroom.

It's a fun and thorough conversation that covers a lot of ground (including some serious ponderings about robot Hitler!).

Links:

It's a Conspiracy on Twitter
It's a Conspiracy - Website
The Ed Podcast on Twitter

Sponsored Links:

Your Forest Podcast
Alberta Blue Cross Wellness Summit 
ATB Financial
The Alberta Podcast Network

Susan Jachymiak is heading into her second year of teaching, so we got together to reflect on her previous year's experiences. Susan shares about all the things she learned and - most importantly - the ways in which she felt the most supported. We also talk about the ways in which established teachers and administrators can help new teachers make the most of their first year in the profession.

Links:

Susan on Twitter
Susan's Website
#NewTeacherJourney (Podcast)
The Ed Podcast on Twitter

Sponsored Links

LitFest Alberta
ATB Financial
The Alberta Podcast Network

In honour of this being our 42nd episode, we thought we'd focus on the biggest answer to the biggest question: what's the answer to great teaching? Surprisingly, we get remarkably close to a viable answer. Along the way, we discuss work-life balance, the mindset needed to be a teacher, and what being a good teacher actually means.

Links:

Shaun on Twitter
Jon on Twitter
The Ed Podcast on Twitter

Holy Motors (Timeout)

Sponsored Links:

The Well Endowed Podcast
Taproot Edmonton
ATB Financial
The Alberta Podcast Network