18 year veteran teacher, and host of the Teachers On Fire Podcast, Tim Cavey, chats with us about his journey to podcasting, why you should have an “education only” Twitter account, and how his district has implemented gradeless assessments.

Tim shares how a low moment in his life has led to positives, why you might want to start podcasting, the power of perspective and empathy, and why he is focused on creating more content, more learning, and more relationships.

Episode Highlights

1:56 – Don’t forget to submit your proposal for the Teach Better Conference.
3:00 – Rae sings “I Saw The Sign” by Ace Of Base.
3:15 – Chatting about Standards-Based Grading (SBG).
6:21 – Previewing the episode.
8:21 – Jeff and Rae chat about what it’s like going on other podcasts, as a host of our own.
9:56 – Tim introduces himself.
11:22 – We chat about Tim’s podcast, Teachers On Fire.
15:09 – Tim encourages us all to start podcasting.
16:51 – Tim’s failure.
20:57 – Tim chats about gradeless assessments in his district.
22:30 – Tim’s success. Tim recommends the book “Mindset” by Dr. Carol S. Dweck
26:34 – What’s got Tim excited about education right now. Tim recommends WeVideo for creating videos with your students.
28:27 – Tim’s advice to new teachers.
30:52 – 6 (actually, 7) questions answered in 15 seconds or less.
34:25 – We discuss the magic that is Sarah Johnson (@sarahSaJohnson
35:10 – How to connect with Tim.

Tim’s Recommendations

EdTech Tool: My Kindle & Goodreads account.
Book: “Digital Minimalism” by Cal Newport
Who to Follow: @RKoop7 & @SmurtiTeacher
YouTube/Podcast/Website/Blog: (Besides the Teachers on Fire YouTube channel … ) MathAntics
Daily/Weekly/Monthly Routine: Early morning wake-ups: I try to get to Starbucks by 5 and knock out as much lesson planning, email, and marking for the day as possible. Get to school feeling prepared. The hack is (as I learned from Twyla Tharp in the Creative Habit) get out of the house. That eliminates the temptation to go to back to bed!
Best piece of advice you’ve ever received:
1. I heard this on The Fizzle Show: “Fear is always triggered by creativity, because creativity asks you to enter into realms of uncertain outcome. This is nothing to be ashamed of. It is, however, something to be dealt with.” — Elizabeth Gilbert
Don’t wait til everything is perfect and you control every variable before trying something new. Just take action and the learning and growth will follow!
3 Education podcasts you should subscribe to: