Getting Smart Podcast

This episode of the Getting Smart Podcast is sponsored by Screencastify.  On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Tom speaks with Dr. Rhoda Mhiripiri-Reed, superintendent of Hopkins Public Schools in southwest Minneapolis and famous school architect Randy Fielding, who is focused on pathfinding efforts and making Hopkins a more collaborative space.   Let’s listen in as Tom, Randy and Dr. Mihiripiri-Reed discuss transformation, pillars of innovation, reimagining learner experience and environment and much more.    Links Twitter: Randy Fielding Twitter: Dr. Rhoda Mhiripiri-Reed Hopkins Public School Royal Report Screencastify

On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast we’re joined by three esteemed guests to discuss the new AASA Report issued by the Learning 2025 Commission, which makes a commitment and a recommendation for whole child design.  Joining us today is Dr. Luvelle Brown who is currently serving as the Superintendent of the Ithaca City School District (ICSD) in Ithaca, New York.  We’re also joined by Dr. Pamela Cantor, founder of Turnaround for Children and currently a governing partner of the Science of Learning and Development Alliance. Lastly, we are joined by Valerie Truesdale, Deputy Director of AASA, The School Superintendents Association.  Let’s listen in as Tom talks with these guests about the findings in the new report and why a commitment to whole child design is more important than ever.  Links:  Learning 2025 Report Twitter: Dr. Luvelle Brown Twitter: Dr. Pamela Cantor Twitter: Valerie Truesdale Science of Learning and Development Alliance Ithaca City School District Turnaround for Children Toolbox AASA

In this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Tom speaks with Anthony and Chelsea Craig, leaders in the state of Washington and advocates for indigenous ways of life and leading.  Dr. Anthony Craig has served as a teacher, teacher leader, principal, and central office administrator in suburban and reservation settings in Washington state. He is a Professor of Practice, Educational Leadership & Policy Studies at the University of Washington’s College of Education where he directs the Leadership for Learning program. He is a member of the Yakama Nation. Chelsea Craig is a member of the Tulalip Tribes and has spent her career serving as a teacher at Tulalip Elementary.  Her experiences include being the school librarian, teaching 2nd and 3rd grade and most recently as the Cultural Specialist for Quil Ceda Tulalip Elementary.  Let’s listen in as Tom discusses the current sense of mutuality, sustainability and what the modern world can learn from the wisdom of indigenous practices.  Links: Twitter: Dr. Anthony Craig Quil Ceda Tulalip Elementary Decolonizing Methodologies Highline School District What if?

On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast Rebecca Midles is talking with Randy Weiner and James Bailey about their new book The Daily SEL Leader: A Guided Journal.  Aside from being an author, Randy Weiner co-founded and served as the first Chairman of the Board at Urban Montessori Charter School (UMCS) in Oakland, CA—the nation’s first public Montessori, Arts Integration and Design Thinking school. He is also a co-founder and the CEO at BrainQuake, a two-time U.S. Department of Education Small Business Innovation Award winner.  James Bailey’s career has encompassed teacher, principal, school turnaround, principal consultant, and superintendent roles spanning Texas, Colorado, and Wyoming. As Superintendent in Wyoming,  his district was the first member in the state to join the League of Innovative Schools after reform efforts around personalized learning and social-emotional development. Let’s listen in as they discuss the impetus for a daily SEL practice and the importance of educator self-care and self-efficacy.  Links:  Corwin The Daily SEL Leader: A Guided Journal Twitter: Corwin PressTwitter: James BaileyTwitter: Randy WeinerDebbie Silver on Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8Mark White and Dwight Carter on Leading Schools in Disruptive Times

On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Tom is joined by Dr. Pedro Noguera and Dr. Frederick (Rick) Hess, co-authors of the new book A Search for Common Ground: Conversations About the Toughest Questions in K-12. Pedro Noguera is the Emery Stoops and Joyce King Stoops Dean of the Rossier School of Education and a Distinguished Professor of Education at the University of Southern California. Frederick M. Hess is a resident scholar and the director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he works on K–12 and higher education issues. He is the author of Education Week’s popular blog “Rick Hess Straight Up” and a regular contributor to Forbes and The Hill. He also serves as an executive editor of Education Next and the co-host of the “Common Ground” podcast. Let’s listen in as they discuss the importance of disagreement, relationships and some of the biggest challenges in education.  Links:  A Search for Common Ground: Conversations About the Toughest Questions in K-12. Twitter: Rick Hess Twitter: Pedro Noguera Getting Smart Services 100 Days of Conversation Getting Smart Podcast

This episode of the Getting Smart Podcast is brought to you by a new Getting Smart campaign called "What If?" On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Rebecca Midles talks with Antonia Rudenstine about RedesignU and a new approach to k-12 content mapping.  Antonia Rudenstine is a former high school teacher, is now the director of reDesign, LLC, a consulting group that focuses on creating new school designs and program models, in addition to supporting leaders and teachers in the work of instructional and curricular improvement. She has over 25 years of experience supporting schools in thinking deeply about teaching and learning, as it applies both to young people and adults and experience as a school founder and leader, a teacher and a founder of a consulting practice.  Let’s listen in as Antonia and Rebecca talk about curriculum, school models and learning ecosystems.  Links: Antonia Rudenstine RedesignU What if? Twitter: @AMRudenstine

Today, Shawnee Caruthers, the Director of Learner Experience at Getting Smart, is sitting down with Dr. Debbie Silver. Dr. Silver is an award-winning educator with 30 years of experience as a classroom teacher, staff development instructor, and university professor. As a former Louisiana State Teacher of the Year, Debbie is one of the nation’s most popular keynote speakers and professional development presenters, having given presentations around the world (including 49 states, Canada, Mexico, Europe, the Middle East, Australia, Africa, and Asia). In this conversation today, Shawnee and Debbie speak about the second edition of her beloved 2012 bestseller, Fall Down 7 Times, Get Up 8, titled, Fall Down 7 Times, Get Up 8: Raising and Teaching Self-Motivated Learners, K-12, which was released this month (May 2021). They discuss student agency, self-efficacy, what parents should be telling their kids, the importance of failure, and some of the key highlights from her newest book.   Key Takeaways: [:09] About today’s episode with Dr. Debbie Silver. [:41] Shawnee welcomes Debbie to the podcast! [1:01] Debbie shares what inspired her to pursue a career in education. [2:17] How education and humor collide. [3:53] Debbie shares her thoughts on how we can better teach joy and live joyfully. [10:02] Shawnee congratulates Debbie on her new book, Fall Down 7 Times, Get Up 8: Raising and Teaching Self-Motivated Learners, K-12, and Debbie shares what inspired her to write the original edition of the book in the first place. [13:12] Why Debbie jumped on the opportunity to do the new edition of her book. [16:45] How agency and equity both connect and differ. [19:56] Why agency is so powerful and important for children. [23:08] Why “failure isn’t an option” is such a harmful thing for teachers to tell their students. And why, instead, they should be preaching the importance of failure. [27:16] What Debbie wishes she knew earlier as a teacher. [29:41] Shawnee thanks Debbie for joining the Getting Smart podcast!   Mentioned in This Episode: Rashawn “Shawnee” Caruthers | Getting Smart Debbie Silver Fall Down 7 Times, Get Up 8: Raising and Teaching Self-Motivated Learners, K-12, by Debbie Thompson Silver Brené Brown Carol Dweck “‘I Wish You Bad Luck.’ Read Supreme Court Justice John Roberts’ Unconventional Speech to His Son’s Graduating Class” Corwin   Get Involved: Check out the blog at GettingSmart.com. Find the Getting Smart Podcast on iTunes, leave a review, and subscribe.   Is There Somebody You’ve Been Wanting to Learn From or a Topic You’d Like Covered? To get in contact: Email Editor@GettingSmart.com and include “Podcast” in the subject line. The Getting Smart team will be sure to add them to their list!

On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Tom sits down with Dr. Fernande Raine, a social entrepreneur who works towards re-imagining how we talk about, teach and use history as well as bringing civics education to the forefront. She currently heads Got history and The Learning Collaborative, two organizations that work to change the way we teach and think about history. Let’s listen in as Fernande and Tom talk about new approaches to history, democracy and changemaking. This episode of the Getting Smart Podcast is sponsored by The Invention Opportunity.  Get Involved: Check out the blog at GettingSmart.com. Find the Getting Smart Podcast on iTunes, leave a review, and subscribe. Is There Somebody You’ve Been Wanting to Learn From or a Topic You’d Like Covered? To get in contact: Email Editor@GettingSmart.com and include “Podcast” in the subject line. The Getting Smart team will be sure to add them to their list!  

This week, Tom Vander Ark is sitting down with Justina Nixon-Saintil, the Vice President and Global Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at IBM. Justina drives strategic, socially responsible programmatic investments that enable IBM’s technology and talent to address some of society’s biggest challenges worldwide. She also leads initiatives like P-TECH and SkillsBuilds and uses multi-sector partnerships to help create more inclusive and innovative schools and workforces. Justina was also Verizon’s liaison to President Obama’s White House Office of Science and Technology, U.S. Department of the Interior, and U.S. Department of Education. Earlier in her career, she was an engineer for the U.S. Department of Energy. Join in for today’s conversation to learn about how Justina’s unique career trajectory from engineering to social responsibility, the future of IBM, digital credentialing, P-TECH, SkillsBuild, skills-based hiring, how IBM is doing its part in addressing inequities in America, the state of corporate social responsibility, and much more.   Key Takeaways: [:01] About Screencastify, the leading K-12 screen recording solution. [:39] About today’s episode with Justina Nixon-Saintil. [1:33] Tom welcomes Justina to the podcast! [1:57] Justina speaks about her upbringing and early education. [4:10] Justina’s experience as the only African-American to graduate in her engineering class. [5:06] Tom and Justina speak about how we have to do a better job of introducing young people to the STEM field. [6:30] Is Justina encouraged by the response of leading companies like IBM to really live into their corporate social responsibility? [9:15] IBM’s stance on AI. [10:33] Justina’s thoughts on inequities in America (especially for women and People of Color) and how it fits into her role at IBM. [13:35] How IBM has been a leader in moving towards skills-based hiring as a strategy to attack inequity. [16:29] About IBM’s leadership in digital credentials. [17:40] About P-TECH. [20:29] Tom and Justina give a shout-out to Dallas ISD for having a P-TECH as the campus. [21:17] What is Open P-TECH? [22:20] Applications of AI that Justina is most excited about. [24:25] How does Justina continue to learn? [25:52] Tom thanks Justina for joining the podcast! [26:02] Thanks to Getting Smart’s sponsor, Screencastify.   Mentioned in This Episode: Screencastify.com/GettingSmart Justina Nixon-Saintil’s LinkedIn P-TECH SkillsBuild IBM Credentials Open P-TECH Dallas ISD   Get Involved: Check out the blog at GettingSmart.com. Find the Getting Smart Podcast on iTunes, leave a review, and subscribe.   Is There Somebody You’ve Been Wanting to Learn From or a Topic You’d Like Covered? To get in contact: Email Editor@GettingSmart.com and include “Podcast” in the subject line. The Getting Smart team will be sure to add them to their list!

Today the Getting Smart team is sitting down with Mark White, an award-winning teacher, Principal, and Superintendent, as well as Dwight Carter, a nationally recognized school leader and Director of Student Support Services at Eastland-Fairfield Career Center in Groveport, Ohio. Recently, Mark and Dwight published the second edition of their book, Leading Schools in Disruptive Times: How To Survive Hyper-Change. With school leaders facing unprecedented disruption, Mark and Dwight draw the blueprint in their book for adapting schools to ever-changing times. They provide practical strategies for identifying and responding to disruptions; an overview of the CAT framework; real-life stories from exceptional educational leaders; tips on guiding teachers, staff, and students through the many lessons learned during the pandemic; and a grounded examination of radical disruptions schools will face in the years to come. Together, Tom, Mark, and Dwight discuss the new edition of their book, what they’ve learned in writing it, key lessons throughout their careers, and how educators can prepare students for a globalized world when many institutions are not ready for the constantly changing 21st century. Key Takeaways: [:08] About today’s episode with Mark White and Dwight Carter. [:45] Tom welcomes Mark and Dwight to the podcast! [:55] Did Mark and Dwight both grow up in Groveport, Ohio? How did they first meet? [2:34] Mark speaks about the challenges he faced becoming a Superintendent during a recession in 2009. [3:52] As a school leader for more than 18 years, Dwight shares his key takeaways for success as a high school leader. [5:41] What Dwight does as a school leader to set the tone in his building. [7:24] Dwight shares a story about hiring a live DJ to kick off the school year right! [8:07] Mark shares what he believes makes Dwight so successful as a school leader. [8:48] Tom congratulates Mark and Dwight on the second edition of their book, Leading Schools in Disruptive Times. [9:02] How did they come up with the idea to write a book on this topic? [11:00] When did Mark and Dwight begin to work on the updated edition? [12:53] Why the testing model in schools may be the one thing that is holding schools back the most. [15:15] How the pandemic pushed agility forward with schools and what that looks like today. [17:38] Mark elaborates on the factors that are shaping the schools of tomorrow. [18:44] Dwight’s hopes for how the pandemic will impact schools going forward. [19:25] In Chapter 1 of Leading Schools in Disruptive Times, it says, “If leaders are going to thrive, they have to use disruption to their advantage.” How can teachers do this? [22:14] Mark speaks about what it means to be globally ready and a post-pandemic world through transparency. [24:18] Dwight’s tips for school leaders on how to stay in closer touch with their communities. [26:56] Mark applauds American teachers on their rapid adaptation to change and shares his take on the importance of technology in education. [29:02] Dwight shares his thoughts on updating your technology so that it supports your learning agenda. [30:44] How does Dwight flip a bad situation into a positive one as a school administrator? [33:06] Mark’s advice for school and system heads leading in disruptive times. [34:17] Tom congratulates Mark and Dwight once again on the second edition of their book and thanks them for joining this week’s episode.   Mentioned in This Episode: Mark White Dwight Carter Eastland-Fairfield Career Center Leading Schools in Disruptive Times: How To Survive Hyper-Change (Second Edition), by Mark White and Dwight Carter Mindset Digital   Get Involved: Check out the blog at GettingSmart.com. Find the Getting Smart Podcast on iTunes, leave a review, and subscribe.   Is There Somebody You’ve Been Wanting to Learn From or a Topic You’d Like Covered? To get in contact: Email Editor@GettingSmart.com and include “Podcast” in the subject line. The Getting Smart team will be sure to add them to their list!