Teaching Tales w/ Brent Coley

Tisha is an innovative district Student Engagement & Professional Development Specialist, international speaker, Canva Learning Consultant, and Canva Education Creator from Southern Oregon. Previously, she served as a district Tech Integration Specialist and taught Family & Consumer Science for 25 years. Tisha is also a podcast host and author of Make Learning Magical. In this episode, Tisha and Brent talk about the importance of looking for the joy in what we do, as that joy can be contagious.

Allyson has been an educator for 24 years, an award-winning school leader for 19 of those years. She is passionate about students and staff and leads others through their strengths. Allyson is also the author of multiple books, most recently publishing Leading the Whole Teacher with Dave Burgess Consulting. In this episode, Allyson discusses the importance of knowing more than just content and the need to make those we serve feel safe, seen, and valued.

Ashley has been in the field of education for 17 years. She began her career teaching middle school in Florida and then Long Beach, California, and she is currently an Instructional Technology Specialist in Southern California. She is also the host of the Blending In Podcast where she helps other teachers leverage the power of technology in the classroom. In this episode, Ashley and Brent share stories of how purposefully integrating technology can increase student engagement and transform our classrooms.

Kevin has been an award-winning teacher in Southern California for over 20 years, currently teaching classes in history and economics at the high school level. Having a strong desire to share with other educators, Kevin shares a multitude of lessons and digital resources on his website at mrroughton.com. Another of his passions is Disney, and in 2021 he published Teach With Magic, a book that teaches educators how to use the leadership techniques of Disney Imagineers to create incredible learning experiences for students. In this episode, Kevin shares some of the many ways we can make our classrooms magical and engaging places for students.

Lisa is a 5th grade teacher in Southern California who is passionate about providing her students with engaging, outside-of-the-box learning experiences. She loves sharing resources at conferences, on social media, and through her website, and in this episode, Lisa shares how she draws on her own experience with game shows to make her classroom a “winning” environment for students.

Bill is the Director of Technology at Hillbrook School in Northern California. Passionate about helping educators harness the ever-changing face of technology to better individualize teaching and learning, he shares resources at billselak.com and through his Bill Selak Talks podcast. In this episode, Bill shares the incredibly important reminder that it’s not just okay for us to take a break to engage in a creative outlet, it’s essential. It’s not a waste of time. It’s an investment of time.

Erika is a veteran educator, serving in the field for 24 years. She spent 16 years as an elementary and middle school teacher, became a math specialist and instructional coordinator, and is now a second-year elementary principal in St. Louis, Missouri. Erika has a passion for supporting teachers so they can better support their teachers. Becoming an administrator is frequently referred to as “going to the Dark Side,” and in this episode, Erika and Brent discuss how it doesn’t have to be this way.

Carly has 15 years of experience in Multilingual Education, including her service as an EL teacher, a third-grade bilingual classroom teacher, and a district-wide Multilingual Instructional Coach. She is currently a multilingual education specialist at the Illinois Resource Center and the author of Moving Beyond for Multilingual Learners.

When talking about students and their progress, the words we use matter. A lot. In this episode, Carly and Brent chat about the importance of reflecting on the words we use to describe our students and their progress.

Todd is the Director of Culture and Strategic Leadership for the Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association (TEPSA). He was previously a Principal/Lead Learner at a PreK-5 school in Texas. He is also an award-winning author for his books Kids Deserve It!, Stories From Webb, Sparks in the Dark, and When Kids Lead. In this episode, Todd and Brent discuss how to tackle and overcome something plaguing all too many people – Imposter Syndrome.

To celebrate the 100th episode of the podcast, Brent chats with a distinguished guest – his father (be sure to check out father and son in Episode 6 as well). Don has recently retired from a long and successful career in a variety of leadership positions. In this episode, the first of a two-part conversation, he shares valuable pieces of advice, eight things he wishes he knew when he started his career, knowledge that can help listeners better serve those in their care.

Mike is an elementary school principal in Illinois and the author of The EduCulture Cookbook: Recipes & Dishes to Positively Transform School & Classroom Culture.

Solomon is a middle school teacher and author of three novels for young readers: A Ghost in the Attic, Feasters: An Apocalyptic Tale, and Feasters: The Circle.

Brent is the author of Stories of EduInfluence: 10 Life-Changing Powers to Unleash in Your School and the upcoming children’s book The Gift.

In this episode, Mike, Solomon, and Brent share details about how they wrote their books, from the infancy stage to their writing/editing processes to publishing (both traditional and self-published). If you’ve ever considered writing a book of your own but wondered how to get started, this is the episode for you!

Vernon is an entrepreneur, speaker, life coach, consultant, and leader. He has over 17 years of experience in education working in large, urban school districts and has previously served in the roles of teacher, teacher leader, campus leadership team member, and district-level support. Get ready to be inspired as Vernon passionately reminds us that to maximize our influence, we must remember we're in the people business.

Rosalba has been an educator in Southern California for nearly 20 years. She started her career as an instructional assistant, taught for 14 years, and then moved into administration where she is currently in her first year as the principal of Castle View Elementary in Riverside, California. Rosalba is passionate about supporting those around her, and in this episode she and Brent discuss how there’s never been a more important time to actively encourage and support those we serve.

Back as a guest on the podcast for the fourth time, John is a passionate educator doing amazing things as the Executive Director of Westlake Charter School in Sacramento, California. He is also the host of the incredible Learn With John Eick Podcast, one you definitely want to check out. In this episode, John and Brent take inspiration from Star Trek’s Captain Kirk and discuss how we can rewrite the unwritten rules of education to make students and adults more successful. Bottom line -- just because it’s always been a certain way doesn’t mean it has to continue being that way.

Toby is a former elementary school teacher and currently an assistant principal at Gary Road Elementary School in Mississippi. He is a passionate educator who actively shares encouragement, resources, and expertise through Twitter and his blog. His wife, Leah, has been an educator and is currently working at home taking care of their three children. In this must-listen episode, Toby and Leah share an educator’s and parent’s perspective on the importance of how we report on student progress. It’s not just what we say, but also how we say it that matters.

Evan has been an educator for 23 years, had multiple roles in the field, and has been a school district administrator for the past 11. In this episode, Evan talks about balance, boundaries, and breaks as he transparently shares his powerful story of the importance of advocating for our own mental and physical health.

Mike is in his seventh year as an elementary principal in Lansing, Illinois. Before moving into administration, he taught middle school English Language Arts for 15 years. Mike is the author of the book The EduCulture Cookbook (to be released spring/summer 2021), co-host of the Punk Rock Classrooms Podcast, and shares his thoughts on education on his blog. In this episode, Mike shares stories of how we can break away from the stereotypes to teach and lead in a way that makes people excited to come to school.

Mary is an assistant principal in the Murrieta Valley Unified School District. Before moving into administration, she taught middle school math and was an Instructional Math Coach. In this episode, Mary shares the powerful story of how she immigrated to the United States at a young age and the challenges she faced as a second language learner. You don’t want to miss this powerful episode packed with reminders that everyone has a story, and those stories are not always visible.

Joe is the Director of Academic Innovation at CUE. He is also a Google Innovative Educator/Trainer, a Microsoft Innovative Educator, and the co-host of the Sons of Technology Podcast. In this episode, Joe and I share the stories of our journeys to a more fit and healthy lifestyle, along with encouragement and tips on how others can take the journey as well.

Sean is a National Board Certified Teacher and currently the Staff Development and Induction Coordinator for the Murrieta Valley Unified School District in Southern California, facilitating the district’s professional development programs and induction program for new teachers. In this episode, Sean shares the personal story of how he came to understand the importance of mindfulness and how we can all engage in practices that enable us to be healthy and present for our families and our students.

Dr. Sam, a professor at Grove City College in Pennsylvania working with preservice teachers in the areas of educational technology and special education, is back for another episode (see her previous chat in Episode 52)! She is also the author of EduMagic: A Guide for Preservice Teachers and EduMagic Shine On: A Guide for New Teachers. In this episode, Sam and Brent share pieces of advice for new teachers, aspiring teachers...and all teachers!

Brian is the Director of Technology of the Washington Unified School District in Northern California, the Board President of CUE, and co-host of the awesome Check This Out podcast. While this past year brought significant challenges, there were also some bright spots. In this episode, Brian and Brent share some of the silver linings from 2020.

Scott is a former language arts teacher turned educational technology coach in Northern California, passionately helping educators infuse technology into their teaching. He is also the host of multiple outstanding podcasts including the TNT Edtech Podcast and Education Today. In this episode, Scott and Brent share the stories of how they got into podcasting as well as some tips on how listeners can quickly and easily start their own podcast to share their stories with the world.

Jessica, an elementary principal in Southern California, is back to continue the conversation she and Brent began in Episode 83 on building classroom and campus culture! Listen in as Jessica and Brent share even more practical ways educators can make their schools a place where students want to be, teachers want to teach, and parents want to send their kids to.

Jessica has been an elementary principal in the Colton Joint Unified School District for over 10 years. She is passionate about celebrating students, staff, and creating a positive school culture, and she frequently shares her passion with the world via her blog, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. In this episode, Jessica and Brent share practical ways educators can make our schools a place where students want to be, teachers want to teach, and parents want to send their kids to.