
Education On Fire - Sharing creative and inspiring learning in our schools
Do you feel the education system is sucking the life out of you and the pupils you serve? I think many of us wish we could click our fingers and make it fit for purpose. A place of growth with shared learning that empowers pupils to be their best selves, so they can create a world they want to inhabit now and in the future.
While a magic wand or a visionary politician might sound like the answer I believe change is already happening. Educators are changing futures one conversation at a time. New technology and the environments where we learn are beginning to look different both in and out of the classroom. I hope you are seeing this first hand and are excited about what you can share with your pupils. We are having conversations, sharing organisations and communities that are supporting education in a way that you may have not experienced.
Educational change will come from us all working in way that supports the best interests of each of our pupils, personalised learning. Governments and policy makers will follow when they see fully how it can be different. So let us teach, coach, mentor and create an environment that fuels every child with feedback, inspiration, resilience and empowerment. The Education on Fire community is shining the torch, so no matter where you are in the world or how you are supporting children this podcast is here for you.
‘Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.’
Latest episodes

Nov 21, 2022 • 44min
304: Helping Parents and Educators Inspire Kids to Love Reading with Danny Brassell Ph.D.
Danny Brassell is America's leading reading ambassador. He is helping parents and educators inspire kids to love reading and achieve more. Danny has a number of programs to support you across all age groups and he has a FREE gift for you below.Danny has taught students ranging from preschoolers to rocket scientists, and he has worked with some of the world’s leading literacy experts, including: Stephen Krashen, Jim Trelease, Tim Rasinski, Lori Oczkus, Ruth Culham, Richard Gentry, Diane Lapp, Doug Fisher, Nancy Frey, Jim Flood, Alan Sitomer, MaryEllen Vogt, Steve Layne, Valerie Ellery, Kelly Gallagher, Smokey Daniels, Frank Serafini and Donalyn Miller.During his time as a classroom teacher, reading tutor, non-profit leader, professor and educational administrator, Danny has incorporated his “reading secret” philosophy to great avail, including:• Training over 10,000 parents, volunteers and community leaders in a one-on-one approach to assist struggling and reluctant readers.• Consulting with top school districts on ways to boost student achievement and community morale.• Delivering presentations to promote reading to audiences, companies and business professionals from all over the world.Today, Danny is "America's Leading Reading Ambassador" and shares his incredible 20+ years of education experiences and success model to empower leaders, teams and audiences to achieve extraordinary results. Danny's keynotes and presentations have earned a reputation for being high energy, (sometimes theatrical) enthusiastic, creative, applicable and highly motivating. A highly-sought after speaker, trainer and coach known as “Jim Carrey with a Ph.D.,” Dr. Danny Brassell has spoken to over 3,500 audiences worldwide and authored 16 books, including his latest, Leadership Begins with Motivation. He helps entrepreneurs, executives and small business owners boost their business and impact by improving their communication skills.Websitewww.dannybrassell.comSocial Media InformationYouTube.com/DannyBrasselltwitter.com/DannyBrassellFaceBook.com/DannyBrassellLinkedIn.com/in/DannyBrassellinstagram.com/realdannybrassellResources Mentionedwww.freegiftfromdanny.comShow SponsorThe National Association for Primary Education speaks for young children and all who live and work with them. Get a FREE e-copy of their professional journal at nape.org.uk/journal Mentioned in this episode:NAPE Al Kingsley Summit PromoWatch Mark Taylor interview Al Kingsley about 'Creating Digital Strategies for Schools' as part of the Primary Education Summit 2023 - Visions for the Future - presented by National Association for Primary Education (NAPE)
https://www.educationonfire.com/creating-digital-strategies-for-schools/

Nov 17, 2022 • 47min
303: UP Academy an elementary lab school with Tanya Sheckley
Tanya Sheckley is Founder and President of UP Academy, an elementary lab school which values innovation, empathy and strength and incorporates a unique neuro-development program for children with physical disabilities. Tanya’s vision and mission show it’s possible to celebrate differences, change what’s broken in the American education system, and that all children can receive a rigorous, well rounded education. She is an Edpreneur, Author of Rebel Educator: Create Classrooms of Imagination and Impact and host of the Rebel Educator podcast. She speaks frequently on the future of education and entrepreneurship. She is a rebel educator who works with new and existing schools to question the status quo and develop innovative student experiences through inclusion and project based learning.Websitewww.upacademysf.com www.rebeleducator.com www.tanyasheckley.comResources MentionedThe Hard Thing About Hard Things - Ben HorowitzShow SponsorThe National Association for Primary Education speaks for young children and all who live and work with them. Get a FREE e-copy of their professional journal at nape.org.uk/journal Mentioned in this episode:NAPE Al Kingsley Summit PromoWatch Mark Taylor interview Al Kingsley about 'Creating Digital Strategies for Schools' as part of the Primary Education Summit 2023 - Visions for the Future - presented by National Association for Primary Education (NAPE)
https://www.educationonfire.com/creating-digital-strategies-for-schools/

Nov 14, 2022 • 46min
302: Educational Games and Simulations with Mathew Georghiou
Mathew is an engineer, inventor, designer, writer, and entrepreneur. And the creator of GoVenture, one of the original and most widely used series of educational games and simulations in the world.Mathew’s educational programs have reached millions of people around the world through thousands of schools, nonprofits, government agencies, and Fortune 500 companies.He is the founder of several companies, author of two books, and recently launched the world’s first and only fully game-based training that offers a faster and more inspiring alternative to college business school.Websitewww.georghiou.comSocial Media Informationwww.linkedin.com/in/mathewgeorghiou/Twitter @MathewGeorghiouShow SponsorThe National Association for Primary Education speaks for young children and all who live and work with them. Get a FREE e-copy of their professional journal at nape.org.uk/journal Mentioned in this episode:NAPE Al Kingsley Summit PromoWatch Mark Taylor interview Al Kingsley about 'Creating Digital Strategies for Schools' as part of the Primary Education Summit 2023 - Visions for the Future - presented by National Association for Primary Education (NAPE)
https://www.educationonfire.com/creating-digital-strategies-for-schools/

Nov 10, 2022 • 44min
301: A fresh look at Special Education Services with Leddy Glenn
Leddy Glenn's passion for Special Education began when she was working at a non-profit and realized the individuals she enjoyed working with most were ones with exceptionalities. When she had this epiphany, she left her job and went back to school to become a special education teacher. Leddy learned how each aspect of the special education process could evolve because she has sat at every seat at an Individual Education Plan (IEP) meeting as the student, special education teacher, and parent. This is why she created Fresh Thinking Special Education Advisors."In the field of special education services, my goal every day is to identify and apply educational approaches to help all involved succeed."Leddy Glenn holds a Master’s of Arts in Speech Communication from University of Central Missouri. She also holds a Master’s of Arts in Teaching and Learning from Avila University. She has been facilitating individual and group exploration of abilities for over 20 years.WebsiteLeddyGlenn.comwww.freshthinkingforkids.comResources MentionedAtomic Habits - James ClearThe Dyslexic AdvantageShow SponsorThe National Association for Primary Education speaks for young children and all who live and work with them. Get a FREE e-copy of their professional journal at nape.org.uk/journal Mentioned in this episode:NAPE Al Kingsley Summit PromoWatch Mark Taylor interview Al Kingsley about 'Creating Digital Strategies for Schools' as part of the Primary Education Summit 2023 - Visions for the Future - presented by National Association for Primary Education (NAPE)
https://www.educationonfire.com/creating-digital-strategies-for-schools/

Nov 7, 2022 • 47min
300: British Army Supporting Education with Richard Watts
Richard Watts is head of Educational Marketing at the British Army. He is a former secondary school teacher with over a decade of classroom experience.We discuss how the British Army encourages students to look at Remembrance through the prism of representation, diverse voices and personal histories.BASE - Engaging resources and inspiring workshops to support teachers and career development servicesFree school visitsFree work experienceCareers educationFunding universityFree resources including their LGBTQ+ Voices PSHE assembly and lesson which won best free resource at the 2021 Teach Secondary Awards! Websitehttps://apply.army.mod.uk/baseSocial Media Informationtwitter.com/britisharmyResources MentionedThe HobbitShow SponsorThe National Association for Primary Education speaks for young children and all who live and work with them. Get a FREE e-copy of their professional journal at nape.org.uk/journal Mentioned in this episode:NAPE Al Kingsley Summit PromoWatch Mark Taylor interview Al Kingsley about 'Creating Digital Strategies for Schools' as part of the Primary Education Summit 2023 - Visions for the Future - presented by National Association for Primary Education (NAPE)
https://www.educationonfire.com/creating-digital-strategies-for-schools/

Nov 3, 2022 • 58min
299: How to get accepted to schools like Harvard and Stanford with The College Wizard
The story of how Harvey Wizard became an internet multimillionaire in the early days of affiliate marketing is told in the New York Times Bestseller, "Get Rich Click". Harvey is a former Dartmouth District Enrollment Director, ad executive, serial 7-figure entrepreneur, film producer, bestselling author and globetrotting standup comedian. Today, Harvey will tell us not only how to get accepted to schools like Harvard and Stanford (without unethical shenanigans), but also how the same approach can enable anyone to win at even life's most competitive games.Websitewww.harveywizard.comSocial Media Informationfacebook.com/harveywizardinstagram.com/officialharveywizardwww.youtube.com/c/HarveyWizardtwitter.com/harveythewizResources MentionedHow to Make Yourself Happy and Remarkably Less DisturbableShow SponsorThe National Association for Primary Education speaks for young children and all who live and work with them. Get a FREE e-copy of their professional journal at nape.org.uk/journal Mentioned in this episode:NAPE Al Kingsley Summit PromoWatch Mark Taylor interview Al Kingsley about 'Creating Digital Strategies for Schools' as part of the Primary Education Summit 2023 - Visions for the Future - presented by National Association for Primary Education (NAPE)
https://www.educationonfire.com/creating-digital-strategies-for-schools/

Oct 31, 2022 • 36min
298: Absolute Internship with Fredrik van Huynh
Absolute Internship matches talented university students and graduates with international work experience placements in elite cities around the world. With over 60 university partnerships and more than 800 host companies across the globe, we help ambitious individuals stand out in an increasingly crowded job market. Our programs offer unbeatable work experience, incredible adventure, and a summer to remember!Their goal is to inspire accomplished scholars to succeed. They facilitate this through their award-winning internship programs in Barcelona, Beijing, Hong Kong, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Paris, Shanghai, Singapore, Stockholm and Tokyo. With over 30 industry specialisations to choose from, we provide opportunities to develop a professional network, meet diverse, driven and like-minded students and learn from successful business leaders and industry experts.You have invested in your education. Now it’s time to invest in yourself. With over 5,000 past alumni and a reputable program in the industry according world-leading media publications such as The New York Times, BBC News, Bloomberg, Forbes and The Financial Times, Absolute Internship is without doubt well-positioned to help you with your international internship experience abroad.I chat with co-founder Fredrik van HuynhWebsitehttps://absoluteinternship.com/Social Media Informationhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/fredrikvanhuynh/https://www.tiktok.com/@freddievanhuynhhttps://www.instagram.com/freddievanhuynh/Show SponsorThe National Association for Primary Education speaks for young children and all who live and work with them. Get a FREE e-copy of their professional journal at nape.org.uk/journal Mentioned in this episode:NAPE Al Kingsley Summit PromoWatch Mark Taylor interview Al Kingsley about 'Creating Digital Strategies for Schools' as part of the Primary Education Summit 2023 - Visions for the Future - presented by National Association for Primary Education (NAPE)
https://www.educationonfire.com/creating-digital-strategies-for-schools/

Oct 27, 2022 • 45min
297: How to recruit school governors and trustees with National Governance Association
New research from the National Governance Association has found that vacancies for school governors and trustees are at their highest since 2016. 67 per cent of governing boards reported at least one vacancy and of these, 38 per cent reported two or more vacancies. The results are part of the NGA’s 2022 annual governance survey which also found that, post pandemic, 63 per cent of respondents reported issues with recruitment compared to 55 per cent in 2019.Governing boards are responsible for the strategic direction of a school or trust and their decisions impact hundreds, if not thousands of pupils. With the typical board consisting of nine or ten governors or trustees, the high vacancy rate means some boards may struggle to drive improvement and provide sufficient scrutiny and financial oversight.Overall, the NGA estimates there are currently more than 20,000 vacancies.The research also found that the number of governors and trustees under 40 was just 6 per cent - the lowest on record since 2015. Half of governors and trustees are over 60 years (51 per cent) but just 1 per cent were under 30. Schools and trusts benefit hugely from the experience of older governors and trustees, but without younger volunteers also joining boards, they are missing the input of those who have recently experienced school.Anju Dhir, who became a school governor in her mid-thirties, believes governors need to be more visible to young people: “There are more governors 80 years and over than under 30. The issue is that young people simply don’t know what we do - or that we even exist. This is a huge waste of human capital, for both schools and our young people. Becoming a governor is an incredible way to develop your career and can start from as young as 18 - how many young people normally get to join the board? For governing boards having someone who has recently experienced our education system is invaluable. Governing has helped me to develop in my career, as well as being a satisfying way to give back to my local community.”To help with governor and trustee recruitment the NGA has launched a new film demystifying governance and encouraging people to find out more about how they can help the schools in their community. It's part of the NGA’s Visible Governance initiative to make governance more visible in society.Emma Knights, CEO of the National Governance Association said: “School and trust governance needs to be recognised and celebrated for its positive role in ensuring pupils and staff can flourish. Huge thanks are owed to all those committed volunteers carrying out this role with such care and reflection without a song and a dance. These findings make for sobering reading: schools need more good people and we need to get the message out far and wide to engage the thousands we need to fill governance roles. This is why we have launched a new film today explaining what school governors and trustees do and their role in helping our schools to succeed.”Websitehttps://www.nga.org.uk/News/Campaigns/Role-of-governors-and-trustees.aspxSocial Media Information@NGAmedia#VisibleGovernancehttps://www.linkedin.com/company/national-governance-association/https://www.linkedin.com/in/anju-dhirShow SponsorThe National Association for Primary Education speaks for young children and all who live and work with them. Get a FREE e-copy of their professional journal at nape.org.uk/journal Mentioned in this episode:NAPE Al Kingsley Summit PromoWatch Mark Taylor interview Al Kingsley about 'Creating Digital Strategies for Schools' as part of the Primary Education Summit 2023 - Visions for the Future - presented by National Association for Primary Education (NAPE)
https://www.educationonfire.com/creating-digital-strategies-for-schools/

Oct 24, 2022 • 44min
296: Custom Learning Solutions with Julia Phelan
Julia is the co-founder of To Eleven. She has a Ph.D in Education from UCLA and spent much of her career as a research and learning scientist at UCLA as well as consulting and advising for school districts, philanthropic organizations, academic publishing, ed tech, corporate training, and government agencies.Julia co-founded To Eleven to utilize knowledge of how learning works to shape the design and development of meaningful and engaging learning experiences for learners of all ages.'We are a learning science company bringing over 35 years of extensive experience in education, including curriculum design, courseware development, large-scale research and evaluation projects, assessment writing and validation, research design and consulting. We have produced educational products for myriad types of learners and contexts, including K-16, vocational and technical education, corporate training and talent development.'Websitewww.to11solutions.comSocial Media Informationwww.linkedin.com/in/juliacphelan/Show SponsorThe National Association for Primary Education speaks for young children and all who live and work with them. Get a FREE e-copy of their professional journal at nape.org.uk/journal Mentioned in this episode:NAPE Al Kingsley Summit PromoWatch Mark Taylor interview Al Kingsley about 'Creating Digital Strategies for Schools' as part of the Primary Education Summit 2023 - Visions for the Future - presented by National Association for Primary Education (NAPE)
https://www.educationonfire.com/creating-digital-strategies-for-schools/

Oct 20, 2022 • 57min
295: Texthelp with Joni Degner
Founded in 1996, the Texthelp Group is a global technology company helping people all over the world to understand and to be understood. It has led the way in creating innovative technology for the education and workplace sectors for the last three decades.Texthelp believes in a world where difference, disability or language are no longer barriers. It is focused on helping all people learn, understand, and communicate through the use of digital education and accessibility tools.With over 50 million users worldwide, the Texthelp suite of products includes Read&Write, Equatio®, WriQ®, OrbitNote®, ReachDeck® and FluencyTutor® which work alongside existing platforms such as Microsoft Office and G-suite, enabling them to be integrated quickly into any classroom or workplace with ease.In 2021, Texthelp acquired the Lingit Group, Wizkids and Don Johnston Inc. By combining capabilities and knowledge across the group, Texthelp can now provide a whole suite of literacy and numeracy support to a greater number of end-users across more geographies. Websitewww.texthelp.com.Social Media Informationtwitter.com/texthelpResources Mentioned#UDLCHATwww.novakeducation.com/udl-nowShow SponsorThe National Association for Primary Education speaks for young children and all who live and work with them. Get a FREE e-copy of their professional journal at nape.org.uk/journal Mentioned in this episode:NAPE Al Kingsley Summit PromoWatch Mark Taylor interview Al Kingsley about 'Creating Digital Strategies for Schools' as part of the Primary Education Summit 2023 - Visions for the Future - presented by National Association for Primary Education (NAPE)
https://www.educationonfire.com/creating-digital-strategies-for-schools/