Run Your Life Show With Andy Vasily

Send us a textIn today’s episode, my guest, Jorge Rodriguez, shares his story and the major life lessons learned that he has been able to transfer into his career as an educator. Jorge is a self-initiator who has taken charge of his own personal and professional learning. He has done this through embracing the challenge, connecting with others, and developing his own unique style of teaching that has had a very positive impact on student learning in his program. Jorge shares the strategies and approaches that have allowed him to develop and deepen his teaching practice. Any educator listening to this episode with Jorge Rodriguez is sure to find some valuable take away that they can apply in their own life and teaching. Hope you enjoy my conversation with Jorge Rodriguez. Jorge’s Bio:Jorge Rodriguez is originally from McAllen, Texas and now lives in Houston. He attended the University of Houston where he was a high jumper on the track team and earned his Bachelors degree in Kinesiology with a minor in health. Jorge later went to receive his Masters degree in Educational Leadership from American College of Education. He is currently a physical education teacher at Harvard Elementary (an IB and STEM magnet school) in the Houston Independent School District, and is a Lead Teacher and the KEY teacher for physical education for the district. He is also an active member in Texas AHPERD, and sits on the recreation and social media committees and chairs the diversity section. Jorge absolutely loves his profession and is dedicated to do all he can to make it better!Connect with Jorge:Website: http://www.physednow.com/Twitter: @PhysedNow Themes Discussed: Restorative Justice, Critical Feedback, Social Media, Joy of Movement, Student Empowerment, Teacher Growth, Obstacles and Failure

Send us a textIn today’s episode, my guest, Jeff Woodcock, shares his major life lessons learned in education that has helped to guide his journey and acsent into leadership. Jeff’s philosophical stance is that quality leadership is all about unlocking excellence within others and it’s through this process that we continually put ourselves in a position to grow and develop our own skills. In our conversation, we delve into the powerful role that sport and physical activity have played in his life and the core values gained from these areas that transcend sport itself and apply to his current leadership position and the work that he does. In this conversation, we unpack what critical self-reflection means and share valuable tools and strategies that any educator can put into practice in order to ensure constant growth. Jeff is wise beyond his years and has many gems of insight that he shares in today’s episode. About JeffJeff Woodcock is the Elementary School Assistant Principal at the KAUST School in Saudi Arabia. He is in his tenth year as an educator at international schools, previously working at Bonn International School in Germany. He has received a Certificate of International School Teaching from his participation in the TTC and completed a Master’s of Science through the TTC and Buffalo State University. Jeff has served in the role of chair for his school's accreditation process with the Primary Years Programme and CIS/NEASC. Other previous roles include Activities Director and Professional Development Coordinator. He is dedicated to facilitating learning through an inquiry-based and student-centered approach. He is the administrator and a contributor to the inquiry blog inquiringminds.me.Connect with JeffTwitter: @jdotwdot Themes Discussed:Quiet Leadership, Self-Reflection, Empowerment, Physical Activity & Sport, Core Values, Gratitude, Self-Awareness, Purpose & Meaning

Send us a textHow do you inspire your students to take action on being physically active? How do you structure your physical education program in a way that allows them to find value, joy, and delight in movement? What role does physical literacy play in this process? In today’s episode, I had the chance to dig deep into these questions with the well-known researcher, Scott Kretchmar. Scott has devoted his life to helping physical educators understand the tremendous impact that they can have on helping young people embrace physical activity for life. Scott not only shares his educational philosophy and his research, he delves deep into the major life lessons that he has learned that have given him a strong sense of purpose and direction. Although Scott is now retired, he still goes to his office every day at Penn State to continue his journey of learning. Without question, Scott has committed himself to his cause and made a life of inspiring thousands of professionals from the field of physical education and health to be genuine difference-makers in the work that they do. It was an honor to be able to interview Scott and to learn more about him. There are sure to be many gems of insight that you will be able to apply to your own work in this episode. Thanks for listening. Scott’s BioProfessor R. Scott Kretchmar is one of the leading sports philosophers in the country.  He has taught philosophy of sport for over three decades and played a key role in making it a legitimate field of scholarship and study.  He is one of the founding members of the Philosophic Society for the Study of Sport and served as its president.  He has also served as the president of the Philosophic Academy of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education.  He is a retired professor at Pennsylvania State University in the Exercise and Sports Science department, where he has served as department chair. He was elected as the president of the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education and is leading the way to making the subject of sports philosophy an important facet of the study of Kinesiology. Scott has received numerous awards over the course of his career and the impact that he has on the field of physical and health has been felt around the world. His bio can be found here: http://hhd.psu.edu/directory/documents/Kretchmar-RScott-FID-299-Vitae.pdfConnect with ScottScott asked me to share his email address and invited people to reach out to him at: rsk1@psu.edu Themes Discussed: The Joy of Movement, Physical Literacy, Purpose, Sports Philosophy, Relevant & Meaningful PE, Resilience

Send us a textHow do you recognize your limitations and work toward developing these areas? What transformative moments have shaped your journey in education? What role does service to others play in your personal and professional life? How do you open yourself up to being a lifelong learner? How can we empower our own narratives in order to live a more fulfilled existence? In today’s episode, Rick Wormeli shares his insight and wisdom based on nearly 40 years of experience in the field of education. As an educational leader, author, teacher, speaker, and presenter, Rick brings a multitude of different perspectives into today’s discussion that resulted in opening up the dialogue related to what it means to be an educator. Rick has put loads of time and energy into developing himself as an educator in order to better understand the keys to success in regards to helping students to achieve their very best. Although my original intention in this discussion was to dive into the work he has done on sharing best practice related to formative and summative assessment, the conversation channelled off into the areas of service to others, teacher empowerment, the importance of unlearning and relearning, and how to create the best conditions possible for young people to thrive in the classroom. There are sure to be many gems of insight that can be extracted from this discussion with Rick Wormeli that can be applied to your own teaching practice. Rick’s Bio:One of the first Nationally Board Certified teachers in America, Rick brings innovation, energy, validity and high standards to both his presentations, and his instructional practice, which includes 38 years teaching math, science, English, physical education, health, and history, and coaching teachers and principals.  Rick’s work has been reported in numerous media, including ABC’s “Good Morning America,” “Hardball with Chris Matthews,” National Geographic and Good Housekeeping magazines, What Matters Most: Teaching for the 21st Century, and the Washington Post.  He is a columnist for AMLE Magazine, and a frequent contributor to ASCD’s Education Leadership magazine.  He is the author of the award-winning book, Meet Me in the Middle, as well as the best-selling books, Day One and Beyond, Fair Isn’t Always Equal: Assessment and Grading in the Differentiated Classroom, Differentiation: From Planning to Practice, Metaphors & Analogies: Power Tools for Teaching any Subject, all five from Stenhouse Publishers, as well as Summarization in any Subject, published by ASCD.  His book, The Collected Writings (So Far) of Rick Wormeli: Crazy Good Stuff I Learned about Teaching Along the Way, is a collection of his published articles, guest bloggings, and more through 2013.  His classroom practice is a showcase for ASCD’s best-selling series, “At Work in the Differentiated Classroom.”With his substantive presentations, sense of humor, and unconventional approaches, he’s been asked to present to teachers and administrators in all 50 states, Canada, China, Europe, Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, Korea, Australia, the Middle East, and at the White House.   He is a seasoned veteran of many international Web casts, and he is Disney’s American Teacher Awards 1996 Outstanding English Teacher of the Nation.  He won the 2008 James P. Garvin award from the New England League of Middle Schools for Teaching Excellence, Service, and Leadership, and he has been a consultant for National Public Radio, USA Today, Court TV, and the Smithsonian Institution’s Natural Partners Program and their search for the Giant Squid. In June 2012, Rick was the graduation commencement speaker for the highest performing, public high school in the Washington, D.C. area.  He lives in Herndon, Virginia with his wife, and both of them are now celebrating the post-college launch of their two children into the adult, working world.  Rick is c

Send us a textFor the 50th Run Your Life podcast, host Andy Vasily turned the hosting reins over to yours truly - author/educator/Captain America wannabe -  Frank Stepnowski, and allowed me to interview HIM. Together, with the help of a very special guest, we made some radio magic to start 2017 with an inspired bang.The program starts with a shout out to mutual friend and all around good guy Ross Halliday, which led into a discussion of kindred spirits and the “inner voice’ that called Andy to start the Run Your Life podcast. The initial days of the podcasts are discussed, and how it evolved into an exploration of personal excellence, with Andy using it as a vehicle to inspire educators to self-reflect.Drawing on his myriad travels around the globe, Andy offers, as a student of the World, some insight into our current state of divisiveness and how the presence of religion and faith grew and metamorphized in his life and led to his promotion of the recognition of goodness in others as a means to “oneness.” This is a message that needs to be heard, and I am thrilled to have facilitated getting this on record.In a must listen segment, Andy’s wife, the beautiful and talented Neila Steele, joins us with some personal reflection on how their family used their Christmas vacation in Europe to practice mindfulness, and extend their already daily practice of gratefulness.Andy can’t help being the host, (and it is his show after all,) so he gets me rolling on the delicate dance between satisfying BS educational mandates and connecting to very human students. As mindfulness was on the table, we discussed love and loss of family, and how Andy’s commitment to their memories informs his daily decisions, and how he initially found his way through grief through sports and physicality.Brightening the mood a bit, I asked Andy to elaborate on what makes him a good teacher, his ability to be “in the moment,” and why connection takes precedent over curriculum. Of course, this being a pre-Christmas show, we had to talk holiday movies and such, and I’m pretty sure I got compared to the Grinch at some point.Before he let me wrap up, Neila Steele flipped the script and put the guest host on the hot seat with a discussion of how I plan to carry mindfulness into the new year; I must have given a good answer because I get rewarded with a spiritual blessing and virtual hug that is guaranteed to make everyone listening feel good.I teased you with some tidbits from our extended conversation, but trust me, Andy’s (and Nelia’s) observations and insights provide a calming influence that we could all use in this day and age, do yourself a favor and listen.I, for one, cannot wait for episode 51.-Frank StepnowskiConnect with Frank and AndyFrank: Twitter (@frankstep1)Andy: Twitter (@andyvasily)Website: www.pyppewithandy.comThemes Discussed:Empowerment, Human Connection, Mindfulness, Ross Halliday, Personal & Professional Growth, Teacher Impact, Excellence 

Send us a textIn today’s Run Your Life podcast, special guest Andy Dutton from the United Nations School of Hanoi, joins Andy Vasily and Neila Steele for the 16th episode of their ‘4 X Mindfulness’ series which was recorded live in Bucharest, Romania. As always, the main goal of ‘4 X Mindfulness’ is to share seeds of inspiration related to living a more mindful personal and professional life.The first seed of mindfulness was shared by Andy Dutton and had to do with the importance of connecting at an emotional level with the students that we teach day in and day out in the work that we do. This emotional connection is not possible if we are not present and focused on developing relationships first. Andy shares his belief that creating strong emotional connections with others changes lives and that we must never forget this.In moving into the second seed of mindfulness, Neila discusses how critical it is to know the triggers in our life that have the potential to cause us to act in ungraceful ways when dealing with others. In knowing these triggers we can bring more mindfulness into the way we choose to respond to others who will challenge us.For the third seed of mindfulness, Andy Vasily shares how he was recently inspired by the work of singer/songwriter Jewel and her belief that mastery is all about showing up day after day and continually refining what we do in order to be our personal best. That being our personal best means that we can give more and when we give more, we impact others.Andy Dutton closed off today’s episode by speaking about the work of Mike Kuczala and how Mike inspired him to understand that meaning making is state dependent. When we deal with others in the work that we do, it is the human connection, at an emotional level, that brings out the best in us. When we are present and in the moment, we are more receptive to these emotional connections.As always, Neila Steele and Andy Vasily would like to thank you for listening and hope that with each episode comes new learning and gems that you can apply in the work that you do.BioNeila Steele and Andy Vasily are international educators who have worked at fully authorized IB schools in 4 different countries over the past 16 years (Japan, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, and China). Andy is a consultant, workshop leader, presenter, and speaker. Neila presents and leads multiple workshops in the area of mindfulness. They have devoted themselves to sharing the powerful effects that mindfulness has on promoting greater mental, social, emotional, and physical well-being.Connect With Neila, Andy Vasily and Andy DuttonNeila SteeleTwitter: @neilasteeleWebsite: www.mindfulandpresent.comAndy VasilyTwitter: @andyvasilyWebsite: www.pyppewithandy.comAndy DuttonTwitter: @PEAndyDThemes Discussed:Gratitude, Reflection, Ferran Adrià, Meaning Making, Mike Kuczala, Aaron Beighle, Physical Education, Student Relationships, The Power of Emotional Connection

Send us a textIt today’s episode of ‘4 X Mindfulness’ the themes of happiness, fear, vulnerability, and inner criticism are explored. Can happiness be tracked in an effort to understand important patterns in our lives? How can quiet reflection help us to identify whether the fears we experience in our lives are genuine or irrational? Does being vulnerable and sharing our authentic self open the door for others to do the same? How can we tame the inner critic within us?Neila delves into a recent party that she organized called a Shakti Circle and the main purpose of this evening. She goes into detail about the types of mindfulness activities that were focused on and the impact that this night had on her. As well, Neila shares some great strategies for being more aware of the self-critic within us and how this inner critic voice can be tamed. Andy shares his thoughts related to fear and how quiet reflection can play an important role in assessing to what degree our fears are genuine or not. We often create irrational fears in our lives that can rob us of our talent and our happiness. He references both Jamie Foxx and singer/songwriter Jewel and their perspectives on overcoming irrational fears in our lives. As well, Andy dives into the theme of happiness and references the work that the greats minds at trackyourhappiness.org are doing in an effort to help people better understand what brings them genuine happiness. BiosNeila Steele and Andy Vasily are international educators who have worked at fully authorized IB schools in 4 different countries over the past 16 years (Japan, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, and China). Andy is a consultant, workshop leader, presenter, and speaker. Neila presents and leads multiple workshops in the area of mindfulness. They have devoted themselves to sharing the powerful effects that mindfulness has on promoting greater mental, social, emotional, and physical well-being.Connect With Neila, Andy, and MikeNeilaTwitter: @neilasteeleWebsite: www.mindfulandpresent.comAndyTwitter: @andyvasilyWebsite: www.pyppewithandy.comThemes Discussed:Shakti Circles, Fear, Vulnerability, Happiness, Reflection, Inner Criticism

Send us a textThis episode was scheduled to be released right after the New Year, so it’s a bit late in getting out. Neila and Andy recorded their 14th episode of ‘4 X Mindfulness’ while vacationing in Paris in early January. To kick start 2017 they both shared their recent insight and inspiration in regards to living a more mindful life, especially going into the new year. Andy’s first seed of mindfulness has to do with better dealing with the stressors that the holiday season can bring with it to our lives if we are not careful. Regardless of the time of year, vacations, celebrations, and other holidays can cause stress, anxiety, and tension as we tend to build these moments up to mean much more than they actually do. Without knowing it, we can unravel when things don’t go as planned during these big moments, causing even more stress. Andy shares a blog written by one of his favorite authors, Brene Brown, that is all about the importance of taking on a different perspective when it comes to holidays and celebrations. Andy’s second seed of mindfulness has to do with goal-setting and the anxiety that comes with it as we sometimes tend to focus only on the future without being grateful for the present moment when it comes to the small successes that we experience with the goals we set for ourselves. He was inspired to share this perspective on goal-setting after hearing Tim Ferriss and Tony Robbins speak about in a recent podcast. For Neila’s two seeds of mindfulness, she shares a very mindful Japanese way of looking at life and it’s difficult moments. She delves into how this perspective takes on a very mindful approach when dealing with potential difficulties that can arise in our lives. As well, Neila shares a 3-step strategy inspired by the work of Stanford PHD, BJ Fogg that has been proven to be successful in changing unwanted habits in our lives. In controlling what is within our spheres of influence, we can have much more success in creating the habits that we need to better serve us in life. Although an originally scheduled New Year’s episode, Andy and Neila hope you are able to capture a gem or two that can be applied to both your personal and professional life regardless of the time of year. BioNeila Steele and Andy Vasily are international educators who have worked at fully authorized IB schools in 4 different countries over the past 16 years (Japan, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, and China). Andy is a consultant, workshop leader, presenter, and speaker. Neila presents and leads multiple workshops in the area of mindfulness. They have devoted themselves to sharing the powerful effects that mindfulness has on promoting greater mental, social, emotional, and physical well-being.Connect With Neila, Andy, and MikeNeilaTwitter: @neilasteeleWebsite: www.mindfulandpresent.comAndyTwitter: @andyvasilyWebsite: www.pyppewithandy.comThemes Discussed: Tiny Habits, Gratitude, Perspective, Power to Change, Presence, Self-Awareness, Reflection, Goal-Setting, BJ Fogg, Brene Brown

Send us a textIn what ways do you take charge of your own professional learning? What do you need to be aware of within yourself in order to become the educator that you would like to be? What have major pivot points shaped your own journey in education? What are cognitive coaching and the key fundamentals of the model itself?In today’s episode, Jim Roussin and I deconstruct his amazing journey and the major lessons he has learned that have helped to shape his career as an educator and a renown consultant in his field. We explore what cognitive coaching is and strategies that we can all put into action that can help us to move toward more of a self-authoring approach in regards to our personal and professional growth. We also explore the important roles of efficacy, interdependence, flexibility, craftsmanship, and consciousness as they relate to the development of our pedagogy and practice.Jim will inspire listeners to find greater purpose and value in the work that they do. You are sure to gain many useful gems that can be immediately applied in the work that you do. Thanks for listening to today’s show with Jim Roussin.About JimJim Roussin has worked as a language arts teacher; gifted coordinator; ESL coordinator; curriculum director; executive director of teaching, learning, and school improvement; adjunct professor; and educational consultant. He is currently the executive director for Generative Learning (www.generative-learning.com).Jim is the author of a variety of articles as well as a coauthor of the book Guiding Professional Learning Communities: Inspiration, Challenge, Surprise, and Meaning (with Shirley M. Hord and William A. Sommers, 2010). His new book will be published in 2013 with Shirley Hord — Implementing Change Through Learning. Jim is a teaching associate for Human Systems Dynamics (an institute that is using complexity theory to impact organizational development work). He also facilitates program evaluation.Connect With JimEmail: jim.roussin@gmail.comWebsite: http://www.thinkingcollaborative.com/Themes Discussed:Teacher Empowerment, Purpose, Cognitive Coaching, Self-Authoring, Meaning of Work, Personal and Professional Growth, Inspiration

Send us a textIn today’s ‘4 X Mindfulness’ episode, our special guest, Mike Kuczala, joins us in sharing valuable insight and wisdom related to strategies and approaches to living a more mindful life. Andy discusses strategies to detect negative thought patterns in our lives and what we can do to break ourselves free of these potentially harmful ways of thinking by applying the ‘pyramid of influence’ into our daily routines. Neila shares her list of 10 intentional ways to bring more joyfulness into our everyday lives and Mike discusses what a gratitude letter is and how he plans to put it into action in his own life by honoring someone who means a great deal to him. Mike also shares his thoughts on the valuable role that music can play in our lives when approached in a very mindful manner. It was a pleasure to record this episode with our good friend, Mike Kuczala. We hope you find as much value in the discussion as we did. Thanks for listening! Andy and Neila’s BiosNeila Steele and Andy Vasily are international educators who have worked at fully authorized IB schools in 4 different countries over the past 16 years (Japan, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, and China). Andy is a consultant, workshop leader, presenter, and speaker. Neila presents and leads multiple workshops in the area of mindfulness. They have devoted themselves to sharing the powerful effects that mindfulness has on promoting greater mental, social, emotional, and physical well-being.Mike’s Bio:Mike Kuczala is a leading authority on using movement and understanding the brain/body connection in both Screen Shot 2016-04-20 at 8.31.09 AMeducational and corporate settings.  His keynotes, workshops and professional development programs have been enjoyed by tens of thousands of teachers, administrators, parents, trainers, and corporate executives across the United States. The Director of Instruction for the Regional Training Center, an educational consulting firm based in Randolph, New Jersey, and President of Kuczala Consulting, Mike is the coauthor of the Corwin best-seller and Association of Educational Publishers’ Distinguished Achievement Award nominated The Kinesthetic Classroom: Teaching and Learning through Movement.  Mike’s 2nd book, Training in Motion: How to Use Movement to Create Engaging and Effective Learning was released in June of 2015.His standing room only presentations have been experienced in such diverse settings as The American Society for Training and Development, The Forum for Innovative Leadership, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, the American Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, and the Lawyer Brain OD Roundtable.Mike proudly and humbly comes from a family of educators including his wife, sister, both parents and three grandparents. “I am the product of three generations of teachers. Education is what I love and do. It is always an honor and pleasure to work with both educators in helping them to become true instructional leaders and corporate executives and trainers in providing presentation skill and effectiveness. My background in education gave rise to my love of teaching, public speaking, curriculum and training design, and helping people create goals and live their dreams.”Connect With Neila, Andy, and MikeNeilaTwitter: @neilasteeleWebsite: www.mindfulandpresent.comAndyTwitter: @andyvasilyWebsite: www.pyppewithandy.comMikeTwitter: @kinestheticlassWebsite: mikekuczala.comEmail: michaelskuczala@gmail.comThemes Discussed: Gratitude Letters, Habitual Thought Patterns, The Pyramid of Influence, Cognitive Coaching, Joyfulness, Music, Physical Activity, Reflection, Social and Emotional Well-Being