This week I speak to Richard Welsh, an associate professor at Vanderbilt University and the founder of its School Discipline Lab. We talked about his new book, “ Suspended Futures: Transforming Racial Inequities in School Discipline.” The book focuses on prevalence of exclusionary discipline in schools, particularly among Black students, who are twice as likely to be suspended. The book is eye-opening and hopeful, as its full of strategies for making classroom discipline more equitable.

In our discussion, Richard breaks down what the research on school discipline disparities says and why he started researching the subject in the first place. He also explains why educators need to be involved in fixing these issues. It’s an important episode and hopefully by discussing the issue, we will start seeing some positive change.

For all links and resources mentioned in this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.educatorforever.com/episode131.

Today’s guest is Dr. Ashley Potvin, a research associate at the Renée Crown Wellness Institute whose new book, “Creating Compassionate Change in School Communities: Leading Together to Address Everyday Suffering in Schools” comes out later this month. The book focuses on helping teachers cultivate compassion and reduce suffering in their schools — a topic we can agree is important.

Before earning her PhD in Curriculum & Instruction from CU Boulder, had several jobs in education, including teaching social studies at middle and high school, and working as teacher coach. We talk about her journey towards becoming a researcher and the longterm impacts of teaching relationships. We discuss how to create compassion in schools, and the kinds of compassion you might’ve forgotten about, like self-compassion.

For all links and resources mentioned in this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.educatorforever.com/episode130.

Let’s talk about what it takes to be successful as a curriculum developer. I think teachers have the best background possible. We need more people who know what it's like in the classroom to be creating curriculum. Teachers have the most relevant experience. But that's not to say that we don't need to learn other skills.

In this episode I talk about what curriculum agencies look for that you can’t get in the classroom. Of course I get into lesson plan frameworks, curriculum pedagogies, and curriculum portfolios. But I also get into what curriculum agencies are looking for that isn’t so obvious.

For all links and resources mentioned in this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.educatorforever.com/episode129.

When you're looking to make a change in your life, whether it's leaving the classroom or really anything else, it can feel completely overwhelming once you’ve decided to change. What do you do? You have plenty of options, but here’s what might not be obvious: having these moments is actually how we find our way to our next chapter.

On today’s episode, I explain the meaning of one of my favorite phrases, “the only way out is through.” We all know you learn though doing it, but if you look back at your struggles, there’s more lessons that you might not recognize right away. I’m here to convince you that when times get tough, it’s time to embrace the struggle.

For all links and resources mentioned in this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.educatorforever.com/episode128.

Nitin Gour is the founder and CEO of Bloomster. Bloomster is a dynamic platform that empowers students by teaching over 25 essential life skills.. Nitin started Bloomster after spending two decades in the corporate world, working first in tech and then finance. Nitin came to recognize that academic success alone isn’t enough to prepare young individuals for real-life challenges. This realization inspired him to establish Bloomster, a mission-driven platform dedicated to closing the gap in traditional education

Nitin and I discusses his journey towards creating Bloomster and what he has in store for its future. He also gives his opinion on integrating AI into education.

For all links and resources mentioned in this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.educatorforever.com/episode127.

Jessie Slayback and Vicky Forsman are the co-founders of REALM Since launching in 2010, REALM has been pioneering an innovative educational model. They have gone through many transitions and impacted over 3,482 lives. Currently, REALM serves 150 students, ages 5 to 15, with plans to expand.

In this episode, we discuss the challenges and successes of building REALM, including financial struggles and the importance of love and resilience. We also talk about REALM's approach emphasizing choice-based learning, social-emotional development, and adapting to students' unique needs. They also brought up their desire aim to help other educators create similar schools, focusing on scalability and individualized education.

For all links and resources mentioned in this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.educatorforever.com/episode126.

Howard Gardner is the Hobbs research professor of cognition and education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He is a leading thinker on Education and Human Development, and has studied and written extensively about intelligence, creativity, leadership and professional ethics. A two volume of Howard's work was published in 2024 by teachers college press, the Essential Howard Gardner On Education and the Essential Howard Gardner On Mind.

During our discussion, Howard discussed his work on synthesizing information from various fields to create practical applications for parents and educators. We dove into his past projects, such as his books and Project Zero. We also reflected on the changes in K-12 and higher education. and the role of AI in the future of education. It was an honor to talk Howard and I think you’ll really enjoy our conversation.

For all links and resources mentioned in this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.educatorforever.com/episode125.

Emily Odeo-Sutton started selling on Etsy in January of 2023 and now has over 27,000 sales between her two shops. Former educator turned entrepreneur, she loves supporting new Etsy sellers on their journey to passive income with both print on demand and digital products.

For this episode, Emily gives some great advice to listeners who are thinking about selling products on Etsy. Best of all, she points out what skills educators can transfer from the classroom to the Etsy store. There’s also some notable tips about advertising. Bust out a pen and paper — you’re going to end up taking notes!

For all links and resources mentioned in this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.educatorforever.com/episode124.