Decoding Education: Recent Episodes

Cedar Hill Prep // Nandini Menon

Decoding Education from Cedar Hill Preparatory School in Somerset, New Jersey is the podcast that brings together research, experience, and community voices to answer your burning questions about (pre) K-8 education.

View Details

At CHP, "best practices" are iterative and teaching is collaborative.

On this episode: 

  • Bringing best practices from the ivory tower into the classroom
  • The CHP pedagogy
  • A collaborative environment for teachers

Decoding Education is the podcast that brings together research, experience, and community voices to answer your burning questions about preschool through grade eight education. Brought to you by Cedar Hill Preparatory School in Somerset, New Jersey.

Please subscribe and leave a review!

Learn more about Cedar Hill Prep
Schedule a campus tour school today!  

View Details

Learn about the costs of "free" education, and why it's a good idea to invest in early childhood education.

On this episode: 

  • The origins of public schooling in the United States
  • How multilingual learners are disadvantaged in U.S. public schools
  • Student perspective: the value of a private school education
  • Talking the language of wins — are you setting your child up for success?

Decoding Education is the podcast that brings together research, experience, and community voices to answer your burning questions about preschool through grade eight education. Brought to you by Cedar Hill Preparatory School in Somerset, New Jersey.

Please subscribe and leave a review!

Learn more about Cedar Hill Prep
Schedule a campus tour school today!  

View Details

Homework isn't a punishment, it's an essential part of learning.

On this episode: 

  • How homework supports learning
  • To challenge or to coast? A parent's choice
  • Children love rigor — mental, and physical
  • What happens without homework
  • How parents' anxieties can become a self-fulfilling prophecy for children
  • The importance of conversation to reinforce learning

Decoding Education is the podcast that brings together research, experience, and community voices to answer your burning questions about preschool through grade eight education. Brought to you by Cedar Hill Preparatory School in Somerset, New Jersey.

Please subscribe and leave a review!

Learn more about Cedar Hill Prep
Schedule a campus tour school today!  

View Details

CHP's founder Nandini Menon was a voracious reader as a child; today she's a proud "lifelong learner." Discover how her educational upbringing and Ed.D. studies have influenced her teaching philosophies, and why she believes in pedagogical tactics like Singapore Math.  

On this episode: 

  • How Ms. Nan's mother reacted to her Ed.D. path
  • The importance of leading students by example
  • Identifying the needs of multilingual learners
  • Why Johns Hopkins?
  • Pedagogical tactics to support multilingual learners in language arts
  • Why Singapore Math works for multilingual learners
  • How Ms. Nan's upbringing influenced her teaching philosophies
  • Why homework matters

Decoding Education is the podcast that brings together research, experience, and community voices to answer your burning questions about preschool through grade eight education. Brought to you by Cedar Hill Preparatory School in Somerset, New Jersey.

Please subscribe and leave a review!

Learn more about Cedar Hill Prep
Schedule a campus tour school today!  

View Details

How a school culture based on empathy and excellence helps students break down cultural silos and prepare to thrive in a global workforce.

On this episode: 

  • How children motivate one another
  • Peer mentorship across grade levels
  • How diversity breeds empathy
  • Student reflection: growing beyond the family's cultural silo
  • CHP's loyal, respectful, goal-oriented students

Decoding Education is the podcast that brings together research, experience, and community voices to answer your burning questions about preschool through grade eight education. Brought to you by Cedar Hill Preparatory School in Somerset, New Jersey.

Please subscribe and leave a review!

Learn more about Cedar Hill Prep
Schedule a campus tour school today!  

View Details

What happens when we complicate our definition of success with metrics other than dollars and points? What might life look like if we prioritized meaning, community, and joy? 

On this episode: 

  • The importance of community in Ms. Nan's upbringing
  • Redefining success for a new era
  • Nurturing lifelong learners
  • The difference between coddling and nurturing

Decoding Education is the podcast that brings together research, experience, and community voices to answer your burning questions about preschool through grade eight education. Brought to you by Cedar Hill Preparatory School in Somerset, New Jersey.

Please subscribe and leave a review!

Learn more about Cedar Hill Prep
Schedule a campus tour school today!  

View Details

Join us in 2023 to learn everything you need to know about preschool-8th grade education!