How Young Writers Use Their Voices to Reach Authentic Audiences
Schoolutions: Curious Educators. Evidence-Based Strategies. Classrooms Where Every Child Thrives.
02/28/22
•17m
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In this powerful S1E4 interview, hear how Jake Chernikoff and Alex McConduit transformed disengaged writers into published authors during virtual learning. Jake and Alex share their groundbreaking approach to student engagement and student motivation through authentic publishing experiences.
🔥 What You'll Learn:
✅ How to turn low engagement into active learning through real-world projects
✅ Behavior strategies that inspire students through meaningful work
✅ Effective teaching methods for student participation and attention in class
✅ Innovation teaching techniques for inclusive classrooms and culturally responsive teaching
✅ Professional learning insights for teacher coaching and instructional coaching
✅ Parent involvement strategies and home-school connection building
✅ Education strategies that create lasting student success and thriving students
This inspiring conversation reveals how teacher mentors can support new teachers with pro-kid mindset approaches that focus on the whole child. Perfect for teachers, education coaches, school administrators, parents, homeschoolers, and instructional leaders seeking education transformation.
Featured Topics: classroom management, student discipline, managing students, classroom control, instructional strategies, lesson planning, teaching tips, teacher support, school leadership, school improvement, family partnerships, equity in education, empowered educators, inspired teaching, teacher impact
👥 Perfect for: Teachers, education coaches, school administrators, parents, homeschoolers, teacher mentors, instructional leaders, school counselors
Episode Mentions:
- Big Boot Books (founded in 2010 by Alex)
- W.R.I.T.E. (Write, Read, Illustrate To Educate) - a youth publishing program designed to transform students into published authors
Alex’s Books:
- The Little Who Dat Who Didn't (2011)
- Thorn in My Horn (2013)
- Peter and the Pelican (2015)
- Snoballs for All (2015)
- Bloom: The Story of the World’s First Flower (2020)
Jake & Alex’s Book Collaborations (also with Irwan Awalludin & Arlo Chapple):
Ithaca Public Education Initiative (IPEI)
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction & Guest Backgrounds
01:41 Inspiring Teachers Discussion
03:43 Henry's Writing Transformation Story
05:34 Choosing Activism as Writing Topic
08:17 Funding & Grant Strategies
11:36 Amazon Publishing Process
13:11 Managing Proceeds & Student Decisions
16:29 Final Thoughts & Impact
When coaches, teachers, administrators, and families work hand in hand, it fosters a school atmosphere where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged in their learning journey.
Previous Episode
What I Didn’t Know About Dyslexia - A Family’s Journey
February 28, 2022
•20m
Join me for this S1E3 interview with Katherine Casey Spengler, Ph.D., an education consultant and clinical reading therapist, as she shares her deeply personal journey discovering her daughter Anna has dyslexia. Despite being a literacy expert with decades of experience, Katherine reveals the shocking gaps in her own knowledge about dyslexia and the struggles her family faced navigating the education system.
In this powerful episode of Schoolutions, you'll discover:
- Early warning signs of dyslexia that every parent and teacher should know
- Why 40-60% of children with dyslexia have a family member who also struggles with reading
- How to advocate for your child in both private and public school settings
- The importance of explicit phonics instruction and foundational literacy skills
- Latest research from Dr. Nadine Gabes at Harvard on identifying reading risks as early as age 4
- Why "balanced literacy" approaches may be unbalanced for struggling readers
- How struggling readers can become disruptive students without proper support
- Effective teaching strategies for student engagement and motivation in literacy
- The critical role of teacher coaching and professional development in reading instruction
Resources Mentioned:
Katherine’s Book: Literacy Coaching: The Essentials (2006)
Katherine's Recommended Experts:
- Dr. Nadine Gaab: Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience: linking neuroscience and education GAAB LAB @ HGSE
- Dr. David Kilpatrick: Essentials of Assessing, Preventing, and Overcoming Reading Difficulties (Essentials of Psychological Assessment)
- Dr. Lynne Thrope, Ph.D.: The Reading Room - “The place where students learn to read so they can read to learn.”
- Stanislas Deahane: Reading in the Brain: The New Science of How We Read
Chapters:
- 0:00 Introduction to Dr. Katherine Casey Spengler
- 0:58 Most Inspiring Teacher: Dr. Nadine Gabes
- 2:48 Katherine's Educational Journey & Teacher Coaching Background
- 4:04 From Researcher to Teacher to Consultant
- 5:56 The Moment That Changed Everything
- 7:09 Anna's Early Language Development
- 8:23 First Signs of Reading Struggles in Kindergarten
- 9:39 The Heartbreaking Realization - When Student Engagement Fails
- 10:32 Vision Therapy Detour
- 11:24 Fighting for Appropriate Support & Inclusive Teaching
- 12:14 The Importance of Listening to Parents & Family Partnerships
- 13:06 Expert Recommendations for Teachers & Professional Development
- 15:23 Family History and Risk Factors
- 16:16 The Simple View of Reading (That's Not Simple)
- 17:06 Rebalancing Literacy Instruction & Effective Teaching Strategies
- 18:28 Final Thoughts: Empowered Educators & Student Success
When coaches, teachers, administrators, and families work hand in hand, it fosters a school atmosphere where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged in their learning journey.
Next Episode
The Ancient Tribal Wisdom We Ignore in Modern Education
March 7, 2022
•19m
In this S1E5 interview, Dr. Anthony Craig (Yakama Nation) shares how he transformed his school by bringing Native elders into classrooms as cultural guides, creating a revolutionary approach to student engagement and classroom management.
This addressed the challenges of disruptive students and low engagement by pairing certified teachers with cultural guides from the Tulalip Tribe. Instead of traditional discipline methods that remove students from learning, they developed culturally responsive teaching strategies that kept ALL students engaged and motivated.
🎯 What You'll Learn:
• How to handle difficult students without exclusion
• Why traditional classroom management often fails Native students
• The 'circling up' approach to student behavior
• How to create inclusive classrooms that honor community wisdom
• Professional development that transforms teaching practice
• Building authentic home-school connections with families
Ideal for teachers, education coaches, school administrators, and anyone seeking innovative teaching strategies to support student success. This isn't just about Native education - it's about creating inclusive, culturally responsive classrooms where all students thrive.
Chapters
0:00 - Introduction to Dr. Anthony Craig
0:29 - Personal Story: What Inspired His Work
1:03 - The Most Inspiring Educator
2:05 - The Culture Mismatch Problem in Schools
3:08 - Understanding Critical Historicity in Education
4:18 - Introducing Cultural Guides into Schools
5:55 - Building Community Around Children
6:47 - How Cultural Guides and Teachers Collaborate
7:36 - Real Example: Transforming First Grade Engagement
9:33 - The Problem with Removing Students
10:18 - The 'Circling Up' Approach to Behavior
11:59 - Why This Approach is Complex and Nuanced
13:12 - Teachers Experiencing Tribal Community
14:56 - Learning from Ceremony and Tradition
16:36 - Seeing Students as Leaders, Not Problems
17:00 - Research Insights: Focusing on Future Possibilities
18:27 - Building Schools for Communities, Not Assimilation
19:16 - Closing Thoughts and Gratitude
Dr. Craig's Published Writing:
- Tradition Becomes the Teacher: Community Events Enrich Educators’ Professional Learning.
- Classroom Teachers and Cultural Guides: Collaborating to Transform Teaching and Learning Through the Use of Traditional Tribal Knowledge.
- Transforming Teaching and Learning Through Indigenous Strengths and Ways of Knowing.
- Indigenous Knowledges to Transform Public Education.
When coaches, teachers, administrators, and families work hand in hand, it fosters a school atmosphere where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged in their learning journey.
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