As a 25+ year veteran teacher, Brian has served many roles from Middle School Science teacher to Department Chair, Instructional Technology Specialist, STEM Coach, and PBL Coach. In 2012, he was one of ten teachers honored as National Teacher Innovators by PBS and The Henry Ford Foundation. He became a two-time author in April 2022 with his new book, Recalculating! and his other book, Nothing More (a 40 day devotional).He’s always considered himself a lead learner. Half comedian, half philosopher, he tries to make his events fun and impacting. The best trojan horse for reflection is comedy. I live by the thought, “Until you have engagement, you have nothing!” He loves helping people, but teachers hold a special place in his heart. He’s here for you! Was/still is in youth ministry for 20+ yrs.
Trenches story: He took 20 yrs to realize he was in one for 10+ yr. When his daughter was born in ‘18, he was over 40. He didn’t realize he was burnt out. Felt exhausted, it wasn’t undoing the damage. He needed to be avail, alive. Don’t judge how you got there. Ask where you want to be. Student story-early on when kids were still retained. He wanted to be perceived as a rowdy kid. Brian lost it in a comedian sort of way. Gave kid a cheesy smile. Brian saw kid crack a smile too. He became a completely diff. kid. Another sped student who was pushing a button to be annoying. Said he didn’t have the skills. He wanted to help kid. Met kid where he was, instead of sending him out. It’s in a co-taught class. After connecting w/ students.
What is the story behind the book Recalculating? What the book about and the story behind it? It came from story w/ daughter. When went on lockdown, daughter was 18m. Brian loves tech so he was fine w/ online. It was like a 1-2-3 punch. Starts w/ hero’s mindset. You can blame 1 million ppl. You won’t get out of burnout that way. “Recalculating” is the metaphor of the GPS in the car. Look at life holistically. Recalculate what you really want & what do I do next. Forbes article- 55% of educators left education 20/21. Brian stayed but wanted to make a difference.
How do teachers know if they’re burning out? Look at your morning. Do you dread going in? He talks about personal development, personal development. He can talk about burn out and addressing the needs of kids in a modern culture. When t’s take too much of their job home, it’s a problem. You’re free to design what life as an educator looks like.
What is something every teacher could do to quickly change the dynamic of their job? He talks about the P’s- assessing your personality. Some ppl don’t enjoy their job cause it doesn’t fit their personality. Position: in Brian’s various roles, he’s done fun things like stem teaching. People-some make your job fun. Pedagogy-tread lightly w/ some t’s. The things you’ve chosen to do sometimes are part of a story of yesteryear. Grades-they’re not feedback- more of an autopsy. Convo around feedback means more than letter/# grade. Added a 5th one: personal development: if you’re doing something for self, it will spill over into other things. We give & give all day.
How can teachers deal with disengagement with students? He pitched an idea of getting rid of study halls but having affinity-based electives w/ no grades. During hybrid learning, he started mind mapping. Small class sizes gave ideas of things they were interested in. Did a class on wild horses with a group of girls. What are we doing to drive student-centered learning? Do exit interviews @ end of semester. Activity: Get 2 diff. color sticky- switch colors. Ask what product they could get out of research. Kids in 6-7th grade love it.
How are technologies like AI (like ChatGPT) going to disrupt education in the next few years, and what can teachers do to prepare? First of all it’s fascinating. Fear around replacing t’s isn’t going to happen. It’s like calculator ? in the 80’s. Asked Chat GPT base-level ?’s like telling story about elephant who has a problem finding friends. Then his school blocked it. It’s like Mad Libs. You could give it to ELA teachers who have students change the ending. Or give to art t who can have kids illustrate. Use the AI but give kids the opportunity to think. Use it to supplement teaching. Could use it to individualize instruction, remediate tasks. Don’t be afraid of it!
What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned from your different roles in education? He wishes he’d gotten out of his CR sooner, in terms of sharing more w/ others. Last 6-8 yrs before he retires, he wants to help t’s find a better path for themselves.
Out of everything: Realize you’re not a teacher to everyone in your life! The value of who you are can’t come from just your job. You need something to stand on that’s higher. Click To Tweet
Where can ppl find you online? @ClassKicker www.Kicksandclass.com Does PD on TikTok. View this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/1oy3E9icHH8
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