Ep. 160: New Lunch Bag, Who Dis?

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EQ: How can we navigate the evolving landscape of education to ensure a successful and fulfilling return to school for students, educators, and families?

We are baaaack to school. Full disclosure, this is an educator centered episode so those of you who want to skip to the next episode, we don’t blame you! In this episode we discuss various feelings about the return to school. Megan opens up about her current state of affairs and Hope is already back in the classroom! This year she is focused on the role of psychological safety in collegial relationships. 

Related Links:

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Hope: approach this year with openness to others–how can you improve the psychological safety of your students and colleagues by your behaviors, interactions, etc? 

  • Megan:

Ep. 134: Back to Life, Back to Reality

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EQ: What concerns, questions, ideas, or fears do you have for the upcoming school year?

In this episode of IWL, Hope and Megan recount the last few years in education. From ”we think the pandemic is over but wait, surprise it’s not” to ”we’re back to normal” to ”Pandemic is over now…maybe, we think.” They’ both excited and nervous about the return to school this year. There are a wide range of contextual factors shaping the upcoming school year. Their discussion centered on how teachers might “protect your peace” this school year. 

Previous Back to School Episodes:

Do Your Fudging Homework:

Ep. 111: Back to School, Go To School Board Meetings!

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EQ: How can we better understand the anatomy of a school district in order to access levers of power & be more effective advocates in our local schools?

Hope and Megan and joined by 2 special guests, Bethany Rivard and Wendy Smith. Bethany is an award winning English Language Arts & Theater teacher at Fort Vancouver High School. Wendy is a classroom teacher and on the Vancouver Public Schools Board director. In this episode, they discuss the anatomy of a school district including who you should reach out to when you have concerns, the best way to connect with your school board members, and why you should attend and participate in school board meetings.

If you’re interested in running for local office reach out:

Do Your Fudging Homework:

Ep. 109: Back to School, Mail Bag Edition

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EQ: What concerns, questions, ideas, or fears do you have for the upcoming school year?

Today’s episode is the start of our Back to School series. First, we’re going to discuss listeners' ideas, concerns, questions, and fears shared with us. We appreciate everyone who took the time to send us your thoughts.

Then, we’re going to  record an episode specifically targeting educators returning to the classroom--we’ll dig into creative ideas and ideally leave you with some hope & inspiration for the weeks ahead. Lastly, we’ll dive into the anatomy of a school district and levers of power with a guest who is a teacher, union activist, and school board member! We’re really excited for the episodes ahead.

This conversation is an exploration of what “normal” school years mean and what our listeners are thinking about as we head into fall. While we may not be full-blown quaranteaching, we are returning to school this fall with a pandemic hovering over our shoulders. 

Related Sources:

A special thanks to all our listeners who contributed to this conversation via Slack, Twitter, and Facebook. We appreciate your engagement!

Ep. 80: Back To School Coronavirus Edition

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EQ:  How can educators continue to do their own racial literacy, while managing COVID trauma and teaching remotely?

In this episode, Megan and Hope discuss a range of topics including  how we’re feeling about the start of the new year and the Wild West of the Covid Era, what’s the difference between emergency remote teaching and actual online learning, how to manage the unknown knowns and known unknowns, AND how to continue to intentional grow our own capacity to be anti-racists and design curriculum accordingly. We also touch on how to create meaningful virtual communities, what are the best practices for student engagement and how do we support students, families, teachers and our communities in this environment.

Resources referenced:

Champagne & Real Pain:

🥂All the teachers who ARE working hard prepping for the school year

👎🏻Districts who are ignoring COVID reopening guidelines and opening their campuses (such as Georgia Reverses Suspension)

👎🏻 The politicians who’ve shifted to blaming and vilifying teachers when they were praising us back in the Spring.

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Hope & Megan: Read some of the links above, learn about the challenges of reopening schools, and support our communities (families, students, parents, teachers, ERBODY) in this stressful time