

Teaching Learning Leading K-12
Steven Miletto
Providing ideas and resources for K-12 teachers and school-based administrators.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 23, 2022 • 57min
Monte Schulz discusses his novel Metropolis, writing techniques, reading other writers and influences on his writing - 505
Monte Schulz discusses his novel Metropolis, writing techniques, reading other writers, and influences on his writing. This is episode 505 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast.
Monte Schulz received his M.A. in American Studies from University of California, Santa Barbara. He published his first novel, Down by the River, in 1990, and spent the next twelve years writing a novel about the Jazz Age. Monte is endlessly curious and well versed in world history and theology. He is fascinated by the style and use of innovative language, and can be caught engaging in provocative, philosophical conversations about big, far-reaching, imaginative, ideas and worldly perspectives. His father is the late cartoonist Charles M. Schulz. He lives in Santa Barbara, CA.
A little about Metropolis
Regency College senior Julian Brehm’s uneventful student life is derailed when he falls for Nina Rinaldi, a beautiful young revolutionary engaged in political activism against the authoritarian regime that rules the country and wages a deceitful, distracting war. Julian’s love for — and moral alliance to — Nina eventually leads him into a vast undercity beneath the metropolis. Then, east by train and into the war zone itself, where mortal danger in that expanding cemetery of millions threatens Julian’s life; what he witnesses will alter how he perceives the Republic and ultimately his fate within it.
Our focus today is on Monte, his writing, and his novel Metropolis…
So much to learn...
But wait...
By the way, the new intro and outro music was written and performed by Brian K. Buffington.
Connect with Brian at briankbuffington@gmail.com or go to his website at
https://briankbuffington.com/
He is an awesome musician, comedic power, teacher, trainer, technology guru, and overall creator of all that is cool.
Thanks, Brian!
Oh, yeah...
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 Awesome. Thanks!
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? That would so awesome!
Thanks for sharing! Thanks for listening!
Connect & Learn More:
https://metropolisthebook.com/
https://twitter.com/monteschulz?lang=en
https://www.facebook.com/monte.schulz.7
https://www.sbwriters.com/
Length - 56:31

Sep 19, 2022 • 42min
Ari Mittleman - Paths of the Righteous: Stories of Humanity, Heroism, and Hope - 504
Ari Mittleman talks with me about his book Paths of the Righteous: Stories of Humanity, Heroism, and Hope. This is episode 504 of Teaching Learning Leading K12 an audio podcast.
As a native Pennsylvanian deeply involved in the pro-Israel community, the mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh deeply affected him. That
tragic event spurred Mittleman to write his book, with the hope of it helping to showcase the good in the world that is done for others by those outside their religion, race, or nationality. He works at the nexus of politics, policymaking and the press in Washington, DC.
Mittleman has run a public affairs and strategic communications firm, Keystone Strategy + Advocacy, LLC serving internationally known clients that have ranged from heads of state, celebrities, and global business leaders. Prior to that, he served as a senior advisor to a United
States senator for eight years. He also earlier had served as a grant writer at a Croatia-based NGO.
He is a columnist for The Times of Israel and has contributed articles to USA Today Network, Baltimore Jewish Times, The Morning Call, The Jerusalem Post, Washington Examiner, The Patriot News, Pittsburgh Tribune Review, NorthJersey.com, Modern Diplomacy, and The Jewish Exponent.
He earned a BA from The Department of American Studies from The George Washington University, and his MPA from Fels Institute of Government at University of Pennsylvania.
Proficient in both modern and biblical Hebrew, he has formally studied the language and
traditional Jewish texts since kindergarten and travels regularly to Israel. In total, Mittleman has visited over 40 countries. He is the founding board chairman of St. Bernard Project, a post-Katrina-Rita disaster recovery non-profit that was recognized as a CNN Hero of the Year.
A new father, Ari lives in Pikesville, Maryland, with his wife and daughter.
Today we are focused on his book Paths of the Righteous: Stories of Humanity, Heroism, and Hope.
Connect & Learn More:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/16/us/california-church-shooting-hate-incident.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/16/opinion/buffalo-shooting-replacement-theory.html
https://arimittleman.com/
https://www.facebook.com/PathsoftheRighteous/
https://twitter.com/AriMittleman
https://www.linkedin.com/in/arimittleman/
Length - 41:52

Sep 16, 2022 • 1h 19min
Doreen Gehry Nelson - Cultivating Curiosity: Teaching and Learning Reimagined - 503
Doreen Gehry Nelson talks with me about her book Cultivating Curiosity: Teaching and Learning Redesigned. This is episode 503 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast.
Doreen Gehry Nelson is Professor Emerita of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, School of Education and Integrative Studies; Adjunct Professor in the Cal Poly College of Environmental Design; was Professor at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, from 2002-present; and in 2019 was named Founding Director of the Design-Based Learning Project by the UCLA School of Education & Information Studies–Center X.
An award-winning, 50-year veteran educator and published author in the field of education, Nelson began developing her Design-Based Learning methodology (formerly called City Building Education) in the late 1960s to ignite creativity, promote high-level transfer of learning, and foster cross-curricular critical thinking skills among K-12 students using the spatial domain.
She was named one of the 30 top American innovators in education by the New York Times in 1991 and is the recipient of both the American Institute of Architecture’s
prestigious Lifetime Honorary Membership (the highest honor for a non-architect) and the California State University’s state-wide, 2006 Wang Award for Excellence in Education.
Today we will be focused on her book - Cultivating Curiosity: Teaching and Learning Reimagined.
So much to learn...
But wait...
By the way, the new intro and outro music was written and performed by Brian K. Buffington.
Connect with Brian at briankbuffington@gmail.com or go to his website at
https://briankbuffington.com/
He is an awesome musician, comedic power, teacher, trainer, technology guru, and overall creator of all that is cool.
Thanks, Brian!
Oh, yeah...
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 Awesome. Thanks!
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? That would so awesome!
Thanks for sharing! Thanks for listening!
Connect & Learn More:
https://www.designbasedlearning.org/
Length - 01:18:31

Sep 12, 2022 • 47min
Dr. Samuel DePaul - Perspectives and Reflections for the Superintendent: What Can Be Learned From Experience? - 502
Samuel DePaul, PhD talks with me about his book Perspectives & Reflections for the Superintendent: What Can Be Learned From Experience? This is episode 502 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast.
Sam DePaul, PhD was a school district superintendent for thirty-one years leading five school districts, serving in three states; and he recently completed his sixth year as the executive director of the North GA RESA in Ellijay, GA, and retired effective June 1, 2022.
DePaul began his career as a biology and chemistry teacher, moved into building-level administration, and his first position as superintendent. DePaul is and has been a member of AASA since 1988.
DePaul’s education was all in the Pittsburgh, PA area where he and his wife were born and raised. His B.S. degree was from Geneva College, his M.Ed. from Westminster College, and his Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh.
DePaul and his wife Megan, reside in Carrabelle, FL; and they have a son, daughter-in-law, and two beautiful granddaughters residing in Philadelphia.
Our focus today is on his soon to be released book - Perspectives and Reflections for the Superintendent: What can be learned from experience?
So much to learn...
But wait...
By the way, the new intro and outro music was written and performed by Brian K. Buffington.
Connect with Brian at briankbuffington@gmail.com or go to his website at
https://briankbuffington.com/
He is an awesome musician, comedic power, teacher, trainer, technology guru, and overall creator of all that is cool.
Thanks, Brian!
Oh, yeah...
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 Awesome. Thanks!
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? That would so awesome!
Thanks for sharing! Thanks for listening!
Connect & Learn More:
Samuel DePaul, PhD LinkedIn
Length - 47:14

Sep 9, 2022 • 52min
Dr. Sabrina J. Ellis - Wife Life: Securing Your Future - 501
Dr. Sabrina J. Ellis talks with me about her book Wife Life: Securing Your Future. This is episode 501 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast.
After receiving the prestigious 2016 President Barack Obama’s Lifetime Achievement Award, Dr. Sabrina J. Ellis became the Chief Visionary Officer of Free to Thrive, which was developed to “challenge the leader within for positive transformations without.”
Free to Thrive focuses on guiding organizations through meaningful change for the greatest impact to employee satisfaction, improved leadership, better resource, and financial management, and heightened awareness for the best customer service. As part of this initiative, she established the Recherché Mentoring Program to influence the lives of adolescent females to reach their potential through philosophical approaches to mental, physical, and spiritual change.
Dr. Ellis, the author of three books, is a proven organizational development and leadership transformation change agent for corporations and not-for-profit organizations, as well as individuals who desire personal growth coaching. Dr. Ellis, a John Maxwell certified coach, is highly regarded.
She has served as an Executive Pastor and a Senior Pastor for more than 20 years. Dr. Ellis has served as Chaplain for the Western Reserve Section of the National Council of Negro Women and the Cleveland Chapter of Top Ladies of Distinction. These experiences led her to form Living in Victory Ministries, Inc., to impart this knowledge to women to enhance their emotional development through spiritual awakening.
She authored the following books: And the Women Came First, The Advancement of Renewal in the African American Pentecostal Church, and Wife Life: Securing Your Future. She is also the editor of a book of women’s testimonies entitled And They Overcame.
A native of Ohio, she is a graduate of Notre Dame College of Cleveland, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology. She also earned a Master of Divinity degree from Ashland Theological Seminary, with an emphasis in Clinical Pastoral Counseling. Dr. Ellis earned a Doctor of Ministry Degree in Transformational Leadership.
She has served as the keynote speaker for several conferences and organizations, including The Black Women’s Political Action Committee’s 31st Annual Fundraiser in Cleveland, and has served as host on Total Christian Television (TCT), a network with over 70 million viewers.
She resides in Dallas, Texas.
Great conversation.
So much to learn...
But wait...
By the way, the new intro and outro music was written and performed by Brian K. Buffington.
Connect with Brian at briankbuffington@gmail.com or go to his website at
https://briankbuffington.com/
He is an awesome musician, comedic power, teacher, trainer, technology guru, and overall creator of all that is cool.
Thanks, Brian!
Oh, yeah...
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 Awesome. Thanks!
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? That would so awesome!
Thanks for sharing! Thanks for listening!
Connect & Learn More:
https://www.sabrinajellis.com/
https://www.sabrinajellis.com/product-page/wife-life-securing-your-future
Length - 52:15

Sep 3, 2022 • 39min
Ed Davis Talks About Riding Freight Cars Across the US & Canada and his book - The Last Professional - 500
Ed Davis Talks About Riding Freight Cars Across the US & Canada and his book - The Last Professional. This is episode 500 of the audio podcast Teaching Learning Leading K12.
Ed Davis began his writing career over forty years ago, pausing in boxcars, under street lamps, and in hobo jungles to capture the beats and rhythms of the road as he caught freight trains and vagabonded around the Pacific Northwest and Canada.
As Ed illustrates in Forty Years from Boxcar to Book Launch - The Last Professional was born on the rails. His short stories have appeared in numerous literary journals. His novella, In All Things, and his collection of travel pieces, Road Stories, have both been Amazon Top Ten bestsellers.
Ed’s death row thriller, A Matter of Time, was written in real-time, twenty-four hours, as the last day of the hero’s life unfolds. His work has appeared in Gris-Gris, New English Review, and The Penman Review among others.
Ed and his wife Jan live in Northern California, not far from Jack London’s Beauty Ranch.
Today, we are focused on his newest book - The Last Professional….
So much to learn today…
But wait...
By the way, the new intro and outro music was written and performed by Brian K. Buffington.
Connect with Brian at briankbuffington@gmail.com or go to his website at
https://briankbuffington.com/
He is an awesome musician, comedic power , and overall creator of all that is cool.
Thanks, Brian!
Oh, yeah...
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 Awesome. Thanks!
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? That would so awesome!
Thanks for sharing! Thanks for listening!
Connect and Learn More about Ed...
https://www.eddavisbooks.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKa_CJmMFPo
https://bookshop.org/books/the-last-professional/9781951122256
https://www.eddavisbooks.com/great-american-whistle-stop-book-tour-april-2022/
https://glenellenwriters.com/
https://www.instagram.com/eddavisauthor/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9hgM6OEXCU5TwrHSsuLauA
https://twitter.com/EdDavisAuthor
https://www.eddavisbooks.com/order-the-last-professional/
https://www.facebook.com/eddavisauthor/
Length - 38:32

Aug 29, 2022 • 31min
Danielle Nuhfer - The Path of the Mindful Teacher: How to Choose Calm Over Chaos and Serenity Over Stress, One Step at a Time - 499
Danielle Nuhfer - The Path of the Mindful Teacher: How to Choose Calm Over Chaos and Serenity Over Stress, One Step at a Time. This is episode 499 of Teaching Learning Leading K12.
Danielle Nuhfer is a teacher wellness coach (and a fellow teacher!) and she helps time-crunched teachers find time for self-care.
She works with teachers who love what they do (most of the time) but don’t love how they feel (some of the time): teachers who want to find balance in all areas of their lives without leaving a profession that they love.
Her specialty is supporting teachers in building their resilience by saying “NO” to what isn’t working and saying “YES” to the real and achievable possibility of balance both inside and outside of the classroom.
This is done without focusing on what’s wrong and instead focusing on what is, building on your unique lived experience, school situation, and personal needs.
She teaches you how to fill your own self-care and teacher wellness buckets through a variety of different tools and techniques through teacher wellness coaching while also holding space for the real conversations and considerations that arise when we begin integrating these tools into our lives.
Teacher wellness coaching is about learning how to prioritize and nourish yourself first and {un}learning the messaging that says self-care is selfish.
Danielle notes, “We are all at different stages of this teaching well journey, but together I know we can teach well together because #weareteachingwell.”
Today our focus is on Danielle's book The Path of the Mindful Teacher: How to Choose Calm Over Chaos and Serenity Over Stress, One Step at a Time.
So much to learn today…
But wait...
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 Awesome. Thanks!
Ready to start your own podcast? Podbean is an awesome host. I have been with them since 2013. Go to https://www.podbean.com/TLLK12 to get 1 month free of unlimited hosting for your new podcast.
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? That would so awesome!
Thanks for sharing! Thanks for listening!
Connect & Learn More:
https://teachingwell.life/
https://www.instagram.com/teachingwelldanielle/
https://www.facebook.com/teachingwelltoday
https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-nuhfer/
Length - 30:39

Aug 26, 2022 • 50min
Stephen Furlich - Sex Talk: How Biological Sex Influences Gender Communication Differences Throughout Life’s Stages - 498
Stephen Furlich shares his book Sex Talk: How Biological Sex Influences Gender Communication Differences Throughout Life's Stages. This is Episode 498 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast.
Dr. Stephen Furlich is the author of a breakthrough book, Sex Talk: How Biological Sex Influences Gender Communication Differences Throughout Life’s Stages.
He has taught and researched communication at the university level for over 20 years. He has taught a variety of communication courses with the main focus of better understanding oneself and others. Often, his research projects and the courses that he taught, complemented each other and led into innovative directions.
Dr. Furlich has been an associate professor at Texas A & M University since 2018 and served as an assistant professor there for five years prior to that.
He has presented at many conferences, including: DFW Metroplex Linguistics Conference, Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education Conference, E-Learning Conference, National Communication Association Conference, Southern States Communication Association Conference, International Academy of Business and Public Administration Disciplines, and International Conference of the American Pragmatics Association.
Dr. Furlich, who was recently interviewed by One America News Network, has been published in numerous journals, including: Texas Speech Communication Journal, Kentucky Journal of Communication, The Florida Communication Journal, Journal of Applied communication Research, Academic Exchange Quarterly, Journal of Integrated Social Sciences, and Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.
His communication paradigm is from a receiver’s perspective. This places the emphasis on the listener to better understand from the speaker’s perspectives and as a speaker emphasizing understanding from the listener’s perspectives. Both of these become more challenging as differences increase between the speaker and listener.
Dr. Furlich has become fascinated with technological advancements in science that have enabled
a better understanding of communication. Without these scientific advances, understanding communication is quite limited. This line of research has inspired him to write this book to bring together many different scientific studies to better understand the role of biology with gender communication differences.
He earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Higher Education, a Master of Arts in Communication Studies, and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Texas Tech University. He resides in Commerce, Texas.
So much to learn today…
Thanks for listening.
But wait...
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 Awesome. Thanks!
Ready to start your own podcast? Podbean is an awesome host. I have been with them since 2013. Go to https://www.podbean.com/TLLK12 to get 1 month free of unlimited hosting for your new podcast.
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? That would so awesome!
Thanks for sharing! Thanks for listening!
Learn More:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B091MFPDNQ/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0
https://booklife.com/project/sex-talk-how-biological-sex-influences-gender-communication-differences-throughout-life-s-stages-60103
Length - 49:43

Aug 24, 2022 • 50min
Kieran O’Mahony - The Brain-Based Classroom: Accessing Every Child’s Potential Through Educational Neuroscience - 497
Kieran O'Mahony - The Brain-Based Classroom: Accessing Every Child's Potential Through Educational Neuroscience. This is episode 497 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast.
After a long career in education, Dr. Kieran O’Mahony consistently found himself questioning the status quo. While in the faculty room we spoke in forward-looking platitudes and used phrases like “equality of educational opportunity, but he realized that neither “equality” nor “opportunity” were associated with the education they were doling out.
He couldn’t help but wonder why our school systems were driving our children into bleak futures? So, he decided to spend his career seeking the solution to one of the biggest problems we face today: how can we give every student an equal opportunity to love learning?
That question led Kieran to develop the cognitive learning model taught in The Brain-Based Classroom and the Brain-Based Solutions training programs. Now, you can develop the same understanding of the brain, and use the same techniques we used, to get incredible results for your child, classroom, or school system.
Dr. Kieran O’Mahony is the Founding Principal of the Institute for Connecting Neuroscience with Teaching and Learning, USA, and author of the best-selling text The Brain-Based Classroom: Accessing Every Child’s Potential through Educational Neuroscience (Routledge, 2021).
Model schools anchored to my brain-based pedagogic framework are thriving in India, across Africa, and here in America. You can find out more about Kieran and The Brain-Based Classroom at www.brainbasedsolutions.org
Today, we are focused on Kieran's book - The Brain-Based Classroom: Accessing Every Child's Potential Through Educational Neuroscience.
So much to learn today…
Thanks for listening.
But wait...
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 Awesome. Thanks!
Ready to start your own podcast? Podbean is an awesome host. I have been with them since 2013. Go to https://www.podbean.com/TLLK12 to get 1 month free of unlimited hosting for your new podcast.
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? That would so awesome!
Thanks for sharing! Thanks for listening!
Connect and Learn More:
https://brainbasedsolutions.org/
Length - 50:12

Aug 20, 2022 • 40min
Laurel Schmidt - How to Be Dead: A Love Story - 496
Laurel Schmidt talks about her novel How to Be Dead: A Love Story. This is episode 496 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast.
Laurel Schmidt is a lifelong educator (teacher, principal, district director), art lover, and writer. She's the author of a critically-acclaimed novel, How to Be Dead – A Love Story, and four non-fiction books on art, learning, and brain development.
She's a nationally recognized expert who has helped thousands of docents and museum educators master the art of leading dynamic inquiry-based conversations that have museum visitors and students longing for more.
Laurel also works with the education departments of numerous museums in Los Angeles and New York. She is a consultant to The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), and co-author of Contemporary Art Start: A Curriculum Guide to Contemporary Art and Culture, published by MOCA in 1985. It is the centerpiece of an inquiry-based art education program. She is a consultant to the Guggenheim Museum, The Met and MoMA in New York City and presents at their annual Teacher Institute on The Arts.
She was a member of the Education Advisory Board of the Natural History Museum and served for eight years on the Landmarks Commission in the City of Santa Monica, California. She has published numerous articles in national journals for parents, teachers and school leaders.
However, writing is her lifelong passion. She is the author of Seven Times Smarter: 50 Activities, Games and Projects to Develop the Multiple Intelligences in Your Child (Three Rivers Press, 2001), Gardening in the Minefield: A Survival Guide for School Administrators (Heinemann, 2002), and Classroom Confidential: 50 Things Great Teachers Do Behind Closed Doors, and Putting the Social Back in Social Studies (Heinemann, 2007). Laurel is also a consultant, university lecturer and professional development specialist.
Laurel received a BA in Art from Mt. Saint Mary’s College and a Masters Degree in Art History from California State University in Northridge. Her thesis was on contemporary photorealism. She also studied art history at Oxford University.
When not writing, she enjoys painting, reading, watching good films and happy hour with friends. She lives with her writer husband, Durnford King, in Santa Monica, California. Next life---Paris. Her blog can be found at www.sexdrugsandsocialsecurity.com. For more information, please consult: www.laurelschmidt.com
Today we are focused on her novel - How to Be Dead – A Love Story.
Thanks for listening.
But wait...
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 Awesome. Thanks!
Ready to start your own podcast? Podbean is an awesome host. I have been with them since 2013. Go to https://www.podbean.com/TLLK12 to get 1 month free of unlimited hosting for your new podcast.
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? That would so awesome!
Thanks for sharing! Thanks for listening!
Connect & Learn More:
https://laurelschmidt.com/
https://www.amazon.com/How-be-Dead-Love-Story/dp/1639880461
thanelaurel@aol.com
Length - 39:32