
Teaching Learning Leading K-12
Providing ideas and resources for K-12 teachers and school-based administrators.
Latest episodes

Aug 21, 2023 • 45min
Sensei Miwako: Learning Math Using the Abacus - 590
Sensei Miwako: Learning Math Using the Abacus. This is episode 590 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast.
With over two decades of Abacus teaching experience, Sensei Miwako has had the pleasure of helping students achieve greatness and tangible skills that serve them now and in the future. She helps parents find the solution to unlocking their child's patience, memory, concentration, natural intelligence, and so much more!
Her journey began when she founded JAMS. It is the only math school in the Portland and Beaverton area certified by the League for Soroban Abacus. We use the teachings of Abacus & Anzan instruction to build a solid and strong foundation of mental mathematics with lifelong skills.
Mental math calculation is a skill that children retain for life. Abacus gives any child the skills and confidence to excel in STEM-related subjects beyond the classroom.
When a child experiences success, they naturally grow in confidence and self-esteem, as well as in their desire to continue the pursuit of that success. What’s more, with our specialized instruction, your child will build a solid and strong foundation of mental mathematics with lifelong skills.
"This is also why we have started offering Abacus Online, https://www.abacusonlineclasses.com/ for anyone and everyone to unlock their brain's full potential. I believe it is my mission to help you find the secret to keeping your brain healthy no matter the age."
Lots to learn today.
Before you go...
Could you do me a favor? Please go to my website at https://www.stevenmiletto.com/reviews/ or open the podcast app that you are listening to me on, and would you rate and review the podcast? That would be so cool. Thanks!
If you are listening on Apple Podcasts on your phone, go to the logo - click so that you are on the main page with a listing of the episodes for my podcast and scroll to the bottom. There you will see a place to rate and review. Could you review me? That would be so cool. Thank you!
Hey, I've got another favor...could you share the podcast with one of your friends, colleagues, and family members? Hmmm? What do you think? Thank you!
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for listening!
Connect & Learn More:
https://www.abacusonlineclasses.com/
https://jamsportland.com/
https://www.facebook.com/abacusjams/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/senseimiwako/
https://www.instagram.com/jamsportland/
Length - 45:14

Aug 17, 2023 • 52min
Hesha Abrams - Holding the Calm: Resolving Conflict and Defusing Tension - 589
Hesha Abrams - Holding the Calm: The Secret to Resolving Conflict and Defusing Tension. This is episode 589 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast.
Hesha Abrams is a professional peacemaker, an internationally acclaimed master attorney mediator, negotiator, and author, known for crafting highly creative settlements and resolutions in very difficult matters. With 30+ years in the trenches of resolving human conflict, she has recently distilled her skills into an easy-to-use tool kit, her new book, "Holding the Calm: The Secret to Resolving Conflict and Defusing Tension". Through stories and examples, she shares her secrets enabling anyone to learn how to approach tense situations to prevent explosions, disarm conflicts, and reduce drama. It is her mission to help make our world, our businesses, and our relationships less acrimonious and more harmonious.
Today we are focused on Hesha’s book - Holding the Calm: The Secret to Resolving Conflict and Defusing Tension.
Powerful conversation!
Practical!
Lots to learn!
Before you go...
Could you do me a favor? Please go to my website at https://www.stevenmiletto.com/reviews/ or open the podcast app that you are listening to me on, and would you rate and review the podcast? That would be so cool. Thanks!
If you are listening on Apple Podcasts on your phone, go to the logo - click so that you are on the main page with a listing of the episodes for my podcast and scroll to the bottom. There you will see a place to rate and review. Could you review me? That would be so cool. Thank you!
Hey, I've got another favor...could you share the podcast with one of your friends, colleagues, and family members? Hmmm? What do you think? Thank you!
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for listening!
Connect & Learn More:
https://www.holdingthecalm.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPcPngGiIF-GlC8w1l3sH8A
https://www.facebook.com/HeshaAbramsHoldingTheCalm
Length - 51:56

Aug 14, 2023 • 56min
Dr. Andrea Furlan - 8 Steps to Conquer Chronic Pain: A Doctor’s Guide to Lifelong Relief - 588
Dr. Andrea Furlan, an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto and Staff Physician, discusses her book on conquering chronic pain. They explore the concepts of chronic pain, the brain's role in pain perception, and the different types of pain. Fascinating conversation with lots to learn!

Aug 10, 2023 • 33min
Jeanne McCarty - CEO of Out Teach: Converting Outdoor Spaces into Real World Labs - 587
Jeanne McCarty - CEO of Out Teach: Converting Outdoor Spaces into Real World Labs. This is episode 587 of Teaching Learning Leading k12, an audio podcast.
Jeanne McCarty joined Out Teach as the first CEO in 2007. Since then, she has spent her days setting strategy, securing resources, and mobilizing as many people as she can towards their vision for all children, no matter their resources, to have access to a transformative, hands-on education.
Together with a talented team and visionary board, they have grown Out Teach from a local nonprofit to a national organization that inspires and prepares hundreds of thousands of students to be thinkers, dreamers, and doers.
A few years back a national survey noted that kids in grades K-3 were taught science for an average of just 18 minutes a day compared with 89 minutes for English Language Arts and 57 minutes for math.
Out Teach, a non-profit, delivers personalized hands-on training, collaborative partnerships, and easily accessible resources that help teachers recast everyday outdoor spaces into exciting labs.
Jeanne joins me to talk about science instruction, specifically outdoor science learning, and why it is critical that more children have access to this kind of learning.
Education is in her DNA. Jeanne grew up in the piney woods of Mississippi, where her parents and grandparents were educators. Her dad was most at home outdoors, and her earliest memories are days spent in his gardens and exploring creeks near our home. For more than 30 years, she has followed in their footsteps, yet forged her own path to bring real-world experiences to all students from kindergarten to college.
Jeanne enjoys at the end of a long day, sitting on the back porch with her family (especially in July when the bats and fireflies are out) or spending time on the couch with her family and the cats.
Awesome focus!
Lots to learn.
Enjoy!
Before you go...
Could you do me a favor? Please go to my website at https://www.stevenmiletto.com/reviews/ or open the podcast app that you are listening to me on, and would you rate and review the podcast? That would be so cool. Thanks!
If you are listening on Apple Podcasts on your phone, go to the logo - click so that you are on the main page with a listing of the episodes for my podcast and scroll to the bottom. There you will see a place to rate and review. Could you review me? That would be so cool. Thank you!
Hey, I've got another favor...could you share the podcast with one of your friends, colleagues, and family members? Hmmm? What do you think? Thank you!
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for listening!
Connect & Learn More:
https://www.out-teach.org/
https://www.youtube.com/user/realschoolgardens
https://twitter.com/OutTeachEd
https://www.instagram.com/OutTeachEducation/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/outteacheducation/
https://www.facebook.com/OutTeachEducation/
Length - 33:06

Aug 7, 2023 • 44min
Jeff Ikler & Steve Miletto Discuss the Memoir Rocket Boys in Terms of Student Agency in Schools - 586
Jeff Ikler & Steve Miletto Discuss the Memoir Rocket Boys in Terms of Student Agency in Schools. This is episode 586 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast.
Jeff is the Director of Quetico Leadership and Career Coaching. He works with leaders in all aspects of life to identify and overcome obstacles in their desired future. “Quetico” (KWEH-teh- co).
He came to the field of coaching after a 35-year career in educational publishing, where he served as an editor, marketer, and eventually the head of all publishing disciplines. There, he was first exposed to coaching – as a client – self-awareness and realizing that leadership is behavior in the service of those doing the work.
Prior to his career in educational publishing, Jeff taught high-school American history and government.
Jeff currently co-hosts the Getting Unstuck—Cultivating Curiosity, which focuses on helping individuals and organizations lead productive change – a change that helps them achieve their desired outcomes and impact.
Jeff co-authored Shifting: How School Leaders Can Create a Culture of Change. Shifting integrates leadership development and change mechanics in a three-part change framework to help guide school leaders and their teams toward productive change.
Steven Miletto, EdD has been an educator in Georgia (US) for 37 years. He has served public school families as a history teacher, assistant principal, high school principaI, and a Regional Education Service Agency Executive Director. In 2009, he was the Georgia Principal of the Year and a finalist for NASSP/MetLife National Principal of the Year in 2010. As a teacher he taught US and world history, was a yearbook sponsor, theater sponsor and soccer goalie coach. Additionally, he was the teacher of the year at Southwest DeKalb High School in 1989. His focus in education is to help kids achieve their dreams.
This is a "Two Men on a Park Bench" episode where Jeff and I talk about Homer Hickam, Jr's memoir - Rocket Boys. We discuss the story in terms of the need student agency in schools.
What a cool talk!
What an awesome book!
So much to learn.
Before you go...
Could you do me a favor? Please go to my website at https://www.stevenmiletto.com/reviews/ or open the podcast app that you are listening to me on, and would you rate and review the podcast? That would be so cool. Thanks!
If you are listening on Apple Podcasts on your phone, go to the logo - click so that you are on the main page with a listing of the episodes for my podcast and scroll to the bottom. There you will see a place to rate and review. Could you review me? That would be so cool. Thank you!
Hey, I've got another favor...could you share the podcast with one of your friends, colleagues, and family members? Hmmm? What do you think? Thank you!
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for listening!
Connect & Learn More:
Connect with Jeff Ikler at
Quetico Coaching
(20) 🟦 Jeff Ikler | LinkedIn
Jeff Ikler (@jeff.ikler) • Instagram photos and videos
Connect with Steve at
https://stevenmiletto.com
Length - 44:26

Aug 3, 2023 • 52min
George Stevens, Jr - My Place in the Sun: Life in the Golden Age of Hollywood and Washington - 585
George Stevens, Jr. - My Place in the Sun: Life in the Golden Age of Hollywood and Washington. This is episode 585 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast.
George Stevens, Jr. has achieved an extraordinary creative legacy over a career spanning more than 60 years. He is a writer, director, producer, playwright and author. He has enriched the film and television arts as a filmmaker and is widely credited with bringing style and taste to the national television events he has conceived.
As a writer, director and producer, Stevens has earned many accolades, including 15 Emmys, two Peabody Awards for Meritorious Service to Broadcasting, the Humanitas Prize and 8 awards from the Writers Guild of America, including the Paul Selvin Award for writing that embodies civil rights and liberties. In 2012 the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted to present Stevens with an Honorary Academy Award for “extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement.”
Stevens served for eight years as Co-chairman of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities following his appointment by President Obama in 2009. Stevens is Founding Director of the American Film Institute and during his tenure, more than 10,000 irreplaceable American films were preserved and catalogued to be enjoyed by future generations. In addition, he established the AFI’s Center for Advanced Film Studies, which gained a reputation as the finest learning opportunity for young filmmakers.
Stevens was executive producer of The Thin Red Line, which was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture. He co-wrote and produced The Murder of Mary Phagan, starring Jack Lemmon, which received the Emmy for Outstanding Mini-Series. He wrote and directed Separate But Equal starring Sidney Poitier and Burt Lancaster which also won the Emmy for Outstanding Mini-Series. He produced an acclaimed feature length film about his father, George Stevens: A Filmmaker’s Journey and in 1994 produced George Stevens: D-Day to Berlin, which depicted the wartime experiences of his father – one of the most highly regarded directors of all time. In collaboration with his son and partner Michael Stevens, he produced the feature length documentary Herblock – The Black & The White on the famed political cartoonist Herbert Block for HBO.
Stevens made his debut as a playwright in 2008 with Thurgood, which opened at the historic Booth Theater on Broadway. The play had an extended run starring Laurence Fishburne as Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Fishburne received a Tony nomination and returned to the role in the summer of 2010 with runs at the Kennedy Center and the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. Thurgood was filmed while at the Kennedy Center and shown on HBO in 2011.
In 2006, Alfred A. Knopf published Stevens’ Conversations with the Great Moviemakers of Hollywood’s Golden Age – the first book to bring together the interviews of master movie makers from the American Film Institute’s renowned Harold Lloyd Master Seminar Series.
Conversations with the Great Moviemakers – The Next Generation was released by Knopf in April 2012.
Stevens resides in Washington, D.C. For more information, please consult:
https://www.georgestevensjr.com
I enjoyed talking with George.
What an awesome impact he and his father have had on our world.
So much to learn.
Enjoy!
Before you go...
Could you do me a favor? Please go to my website at https://www.stevenmiletto.com/reviews/ or open the podcast app that you are listening to me on, and would you rate and review the podcast? That would be so cool. Thanks!
If you are listening on Apple Podcasts on your phone, go to the logo - click so that you are on the main page with a listing of the episodes for my podcast and scroll to the bottom. There you will see a place to rate and review. Could you review me? That would be so cool. Thank you!
Hey, I've got another favor...could you share the podcast with one of your friends, colleagues, and family members? Hmmm? What do you think? Thank you!
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for listening!
Connect & Learn More:
https://www.georgestevensjr.com/
Length - 52:24

Jul 31, 2023 • 1h 8min
Christopher K. Slaton, EdD - Education and Science: The Brain’s Body - Help to Improve Brain, Body, and Sense Events - 584
Christopher K. Slaton, EdD - Education and Science: The Brain's Body - Help to Improve Brain, Body, and Sense Events. This is episode 584 of Teaching Learning Leading K12., an audio podcast.
Christopher K. Slaton, Ed.D., developed the Progressive Investing Institute of Focused Learning in 2000 to study child development through the application of action research, systems thinking, and human science.
The applied use of action research with children and parents in crisis led to human systems research, as the study of self, other people, and the environment. The applied use of systems thinking led to human systems science, as the study of brain, body, and sense events. Hence, the applied use of human science led to the study of human, cognitive, and behavior sciences. As a practitioner of human systems science, his interest has always been focused on the study of human contact, human cognition, and human behavior.
Dr. Slaton has used education to become more informed about the brain and science to discipline the body as a human systems scientist with more than 25 years of studying brain, body, and sense events. Hence, learning how to inform the brain and discipline the body is a personal practice of education and science. This is why; Human Systems Science represents a fundamental change in the way brain, body, and sense events are viewed in terms of the Brain’s Body. The brain is the body. The body is not the brain. The Brain’s Body is the inner/outer sense of self in the study of sense and receive path functions; brain, body, sense events; energy, action, and feelings; and physical, emotional, and mental acts or behaviors.
Our focus today will be Christopher’s book - Education and Science: The Brain’s Body - Help to Improve Brain, Body, and Sense Events.
So much to learn.
Before you go...
Could you do me a favor? Please go to my website at https://www.stevenmiletto.com/reviews/ or open the podcast app that you are listening to me on, and would you rate and review the podcast? That would be so cool. Thanks!
If you are listening on Apple Podcasts on your phone, go to the logo - click so that you are on the main page with a listing of the episodes for my podcast and scroll to the bottom. There you will see a place to rate and review. Could you review me? That would be so cool. Thank you!
Hey, I've got another favor...could you share the podcast with one of your friends, colleagues, and family members? Hmmm? What do you think? Thank you!
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for listening!
Connect & Learn More:
Education and Science | Christopher Slaton, Ed.D. (drchristopherkslaton.com)
Brain's Body – The Ultimate Experience (brainsbody.net)
https://www.facebook.com/christopher.slaton.71
https://twitter.com/DrslatonLive
https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-ed-d-4612a944/
https://www.instagram.com/Christopherkevinslaton/
https://www.amazon.com/Education-Science-Brains-Improve-Events/dp/1669815412/
Length - 01:08:17

Jul 27, 2023 • 44min
Suzy Pepper Rollins - The Promise of Acceleration: A Strength-Based Plan to Propel Academically Vulnerable Learners - 583
Suzy Pepper Rollins: The Promise of Acceleration: A Strength-Based Plan to Propel Academically Vulnerable Learners. This is episode 583 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast.
Suzy Pepper Rollins is an author, consultant, and speaker who works with schools across North America to create success in ALL learners. Her particular passion is to change the academic trajectory of vulnerable learners. She is the author of Learning in the Fast Lane and Teaching in the Fast Lane, both by ASCD. Her book Teaching Vulnerable Learners (W.W. Norton) details strategies for students who are bored, discouraged, or just ready to give up. In addition, she is the founder of Math in the Fast Lane, which aligns with her principles of captivating, hands-on tasks. (www.MathinFastLane.com.) Suzy can be reached at her website, www.SuzyPepperRollins.com or via Twitter @myedexpert.
Our focus today is her book - The Promise of Acceleration: A Strength-Based Plan to Propel Academically Vulnerable Learners.
So much to learn.
What a fun talk!
Before you go...
Could you do me a favor? Please go to my website at https://www.stevenmiletto.com/reviews/ or open the podcast app that you are listening to me on, and would you rate and review the podcast? That would be so cool. Thanks!
If you are listening on Apple Podcasts on your phone, go to the logo - click so that you are on the main page with a listing of the episodes for my podcast and scroll to the bottom. There you will see a place to rate and review. Could you review me? That would be so cool. Thank you!
Hey, I've got another favor...could you share the podcast with one of your friends, colleagues, and family members? Hmmm? What do you think? Thank you!
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for listening!
Connect & Learn More:
https://suzypepperrollins.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzy-pepper-rollins-5851ab4/
https://www.facebook.com/myedexpert/
https://myedexpert.com/
https://twitter.com/myedexpert
https://www.facebook.com/MathintheFastLane
Length - 43:36

Jul 24, 2023 • 51min
Del H. Smith - Discovering Life’s Purpose: Reexamining the Club - 582
Del H. Smith - Discovering Life's Purpose: Reexamining the Club. This is episode 582 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast.
Del H. Smith was an international marketing consultant. His clients included IBM, Microsoft, Dell Computers, Hewlett Packard, and many other global companies. He has developed financial and sales process methodologies that have been adopted in over a dozen countries.
Upon retirement, he directed his business experience to the development of reason-based thought processes in pursuit of establishing one’s life purpose. He is the author of an inspiring book, Discovering Life’s Purpose: Re-Examining the Club. Also, he is the developer of an Experiential Learning methodology that applies one’s unique life experience to their reason-based thinking.
Del has devoted two decades of research into discovering the purpose of life. His research includes the study of philosophy and participation in religious retreats. His research is fueled by extensive reading of books by atheists, spiritualists, and religious apologists.
His personal pursuit of life’s purpose ran the gamut from atheist to unfulfilled convert to fervent Christian. His journey involved a critical examination of The Club, the multi-denominational Christian Church. Smith has developed a video channel, entitled the Meaning of Life Video Series, as well as a blog.
Del's family includes his three children, their late mother, his three grandchildren and his wife, Marcelle. He lives in Markham, Ontario, Canada.
Our focus will be Del's book Discovering Life’s Purpose: Re-examining the Club.
So much to learn.
Great conversation!
Before you go...
Could you do me a favor? Please go to my website at https://www.stevenmiletto.com/reviews/ or open the podcast app that you are listening to me on, and would you rate and review the podcast? That would be so cool. Thanks!
If you are listening on Apple Podcasts on your phone, go to the logo - click so that you are on the main page with a listing of the episodes for my podcast and scroll to the bottom. There you will see a place to rate and review. Could you review me? That would be so cool. Thank you!
Hey, I've got another favor...could you share the podcast with one of your friends, colleagues, and family members? Hmmm? What do you think? Thank you!
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for listening!
Connect & Learn More:
https://www.delhsmith.com/
https://www.facebook.com/delsmithwriter/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/del-smith-writer/
Length - 50:52

Jul 20, 2023 • 1h
Mark Wilson - What They Didn’t Teach You in Fancy Leadership School: A Guide for Successful School Leadership - 581
Mark Wilson - What They Didn't Teach You in Fancy Leadership School: A Guide for Successful School Leadership. This is episode 581 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast.
Mark Wilson was a teacher… and a coach… and a principal. Since 2012, he’s been teaching and coaching principals. (And assistant principals and aspiring leaders as well.)
Dr. Wilson has been teaching leadership through classes, through coaching, and through consulting. He’s worked with leaders throughout the US and leads multiple innovative leadership efforts throughout Georgia.
Mark has collaborated with Departments of Education, RESAs, School Systems, National Associations, and thought leaders across the country.
Before his current work supporting and developing leaders, Mark was the principal of Morgan County High School in Madison, GA where, because of the great work of his teachers, students and parents, he was named the National Principal of the Year by the NASSP (National Association of Secondary School Principals).
Mark is committed to learning, teaching, and encouraging others to be well and successful.
Today, we are focused on his latest book - What They Didn’t Teach You in Fancy Leadership School: A Guide for Successful School Leadership
Great book!
If only I had this book when I was a principal.
Excellent conversation.
Before you go...
Could you do me a favor? Please go to my website at https://www.stevenmiletto.com/reviews/ or open the podcast app that you are listening to me on, and would you rate and review the podcast? That would be so cool. Thanks!
If you are listening on Apple Podcasts on your phone, go to the logo - click so that you are on the main page with a listing of the episodes for my podcast and scroll to the bottom. There you will see a place to rate and review. Could you review me? That would be so cool. Thank you!
Hey, I've got another favor...could you share the podcast with one of your friends, colleagues, and family members? Hmmm? What do you think? Thank you!
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for listening!
Connect & Learn More:
mark.wilson.ga@gmail.com
https://Principal-matters.com
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs0YewjrYJ_99nPRdMbFkVQ
https://www.instagram.com/markwilsonga/
https://www.instagram.com/the.leadership.school/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-wilson-52449912/
https://twitter.com/MarkWilsonGA
Length - 01:00:02