Reflecting on almost 200 incredible interviews

Our 200th Episode! It's Episode 200 of the Class Dismissed Podcast! Over the past four years, we've shared stories of inspiring educators around the country, and today we're reflecting on some of our favorites. Using Restorative Practices​ in the Classroom Back in episode 109, we spoke with Nathan Maynard. Maynard is the co-author of “Hacking School Discipline, and he talked to us about using restorative practices.  Maynard gives a digestible look at the benefits of restorative practices and how we can start implementing them in our classroom. Power to the “Late Bloomer” I know I’ve been guilty of being in awe and applauding kids that can do things way ahead of their age. You know, the kids that amaze us with their music abilities on America’s Got Talent. Or those amazing students at the national "Spelling B." In Episode 129, Rich Karlgaard explains why it’s essential to recognize that some people’s prime comes a little later than others. For example, Karlgaard highlights a 53-year-old woman named Joanne. When Joanne was in school, she was described as a “high-mediocre” student. Many professors do not remember Joanne, but one professor described her as a student that would often stare off into space while in class. After attending school, Joanne got into a bad marriage, worked as a receptionist for a bit, and went into a spiral of depression after her divorce. For a time, she was even on public assistance. But Karlgaard says Joanne is an excellent example of a late bloomer. “At age 35, while taking a train, Joanne, otherwise known as J.K. Rowling, dreamed up Harry Potter,” says Karlgaard. It’s a great perspective that we should all consider.  Leading with love – The secret weapon of this tattooed principal In Episodes 54 and 55, Hammish teaches us how he turns around struggling schools. But most importantly, how he leads with love.  On the morning announcements, Brewer says over the loudspeaker, “If somebody today didn’t tell you they love you. Mr. Brewer’s telling you today that he loves you.” “We forgot to tell kids that we love them,” says Brewer. “So many of our kids don’t hear that word enough.” Brewer says if students are in “hot water” with him, he tells them that he doesn’t like what they did, but he still loves them. “If you build a culture and expectation around love, hard conversations can be had.” Brewer says he tells his kids that he loves them every day, and they have his back. Taking the fuzziness out of reading comprehension Jennifer Serravallo is the author of the Writing Strategies book and the Reading strategies book. In episode 72, she gives us tips about working with students on reading comprehension. Serravallo says her goal is to make sense of something that is sometimes hard to make sense of. There are many different viewpoints on what it even means to understand comprehension. Ranging from the Rosenblatt Reader-Response Theory to a Proficient Reader Research, it can get murky for educators. Serravallo says, “Sometimes the classroom teacher is left thinking, what am I really looking for? What does comprehension look like? What does it look like when a kid really gets it?” All Rights Reserved. Class Dismissed Podcast 2018-2021.