Education Reclaimed: Recent Episodes
Chad Pettit and Brett Colley
A podcast for educators looking to reclaim their passion and joy for education. Chad Pettit and Brett Colley interview a variety of educators, taking on difficult issues facing public education as they reclaim the profession they love.
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In this episide Chad and Brett interview Stephanie LaFaro and Steven Posey.
Stephanie is a first year teacher who left the corporate world to make an impact on the lives of students. As a person who went undiagnosed with a need for learning accommodations in high school, she has become a fierce advocate for all students.
She is @stemteachersteph on TikTok.
Resources for teachers: https://linktr.ee/steffiesjlo
Steven has been teaching for over 15 years and has spent much of that time navigating behavioral issues. As a result, he has gained a great deal of experience and understanding into the root causes of behaviors in students.
He is @thebehaviorteacher on TikTok.
Resources for teachers: https://linktr.ee/thebehaviorteacher
Show Notes:
Stephanie discusses her perspective of creating lesson plans and resources for students based on her experiences in college without receiving consistent or adequate support.
Steven talks about the link between a lack of learning support and the way behaviors manifest.
The hosts and guests discuss various perspectives and a lack of training/understanding with respect to Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) and 504s.
Steven discusses his controversial statement that all students should be on some for of IEP. He clarifies that all students benefit from different resources, and the goal of education should be maximized learning, which is often erroneusly equated to working harder and sitting in a chair for long hours.
The panel discusses accommodations are, in fact, just sound instructional practices.
Steven talks about providing accommodations for all of his students, and Chad points out that this is often misconstrued as failing to level the playing field for all students. This misunderstanding leads to teachers being accused of violating IEPS and also causes tension between teachers, students, parents, and administrators.
Brett and Steven discuss their frustration with outside presenters coming into schools, being paid large amounts of money to conduct PD for IEPs and 504s that is often ineffective.
The panel discusses the multiple disconnections between teachers and administrators with respect to the implementation of accommodations and how to address behavior issues.
In this episode, Brett and Chad interview Wes Stephenson, also known as @stevo.the.tinker on TikTok, about how he balances being a compassionate (and fun) teacher who believes in consequences and structure.
Wes provides some fantastic insights about understanding the importance of all members of the classroom knowing their boundaries, making adjustments as the nation tries to put the struggles of hybrid learning behind it, and a lot more.
You can find out more about Wes by following him on Facebook, or visit his linktree: https://www.linktr.ee/stevo.the.tinker
In this episode, Chad and Brett interview Jessica Mills, a teacher from New Jersey. She's a confident,outspoken woman who reminds us to be our authentic selves and to show up for the people who matter the most in our lives.
See the extended interview on our YouTube channel, and make sure to follow @frecsjessi on TikTok.
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In this episode, Brett and Chad interview Tamara Hancock, a 4th year ELA teacher from Arizona. Tamara and the hosts became acquainted via TikTok.
In her TikTok (@teachingmrsh), Tamara shares her life as a teacher in a video journal style that captures the rollercoaster emotions of a teacher. She also shares her classroom and pedagogy strategies.
Tamara has been a teacher for four years after transitioning from 16 years in the corporate world.
She became "TikTok popular" as her daughter calls it when she posted a video on a dare.
Tamara defines standards-based grading and discusses the growth she saw in her students when she began breaking the standards into more manageable chunks and assessing for growth.
She gives advice to teachers who are forced to use scripted curriculum.
Advice for future and potential teachers.
Tamara emphasizes the need for teachers to show those outside of education both the positive and negative aspects of teaching. She is discusses toxic positivity as well as toxic negativity.
Reclaiming a passion for education requires educators to maintain a proper balance in their workload, work/life balance, and attitude.
For more advice and some relatable, down-to-earth content, be sure to follow Tamara (@teachingmrsh) on TikTok.
In this episode, Chad interviews Brett, and they discuss how to navigate challenges to teaching that come from those who believe teachers are indoctrinating students.
Brett tells the story of how he transitioned from a 14 year career in retail to teaching so that he could pursue his passion and be on the same schedule as his wife.
- Started out as a paraprofessional
- Got his degree in 2019
- Became a special education teacher
- Now working as a 6th grade social studies teacher
During the pandemic, Brett had downloaded TikTok to pass the time, but on a dare from a student, he began posting videos. Much to his surprise, he went viral and quickly gained a large following.
During that time, Brett was (and still does) battling chronic pain due to knee injuries. Despite this, he maintains a positive attitude and continues to do his job without complaint.
Brett talks about how he handles the problem of curriculum being watered down or even altered.
- Doing his own research and working hard to verify everything
- Creating curriculum based on his research
- Avoiding certain topics but simply stating the facts on what he does cover
- Some of this has to do with what is/isn't appropriate for 6th graders
To combat the narrative that teachers are indoctrinating students, Brett cautions that we cannot dismiss the fears of those speaking out against it because there are teachers who abuse their positions of influence over students.
For Brett, though, it comes down to holding the line of facts and not veering from them.
Brett and Chad discuss the difficulty of being stuck between a polarized country where people are divided along political lines and stuck in echo chambers via social media and their friend groups.
The problem is not a southern problem, despite what some people might think. It is a nationwide issue.
Brett discusses the troubling reality that more and more things are being left out of the textbooks and important books are being removed from schools. The trend tends to be that anything that could possibly offend certain groups is being removed from the schools, textbooks, and curriculum.
Brett and Chad talk about how this trend attempts to make America look entirely good by glossing over the dark periods of its past. They address the strange obsession with telling "both" sides of history to show the "good and the bad" when there are parts of history that simply don't have good parts, such as slavery.
The goal of true educators is to model civil discourse and show students how to sort through the biased information and find the truth.
Brett encourages future educators to fully understand their desires and hold to their passions. He advises them to keep their passion and approach each day with the goal of teaching well and enjoying what they do.
Andrea Michelle is one of the most popular teachers on TikTok. Her videos showing the contrast between high school and elementary teachers brings a unique brand of sarcasm that is hilariously relatable.
Andrea’s Website: https://educatorandrea.com/ Andrea's merchandise: https://educatorandrea.com/store Social media:
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@educatorandrea
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/educator_andrea/
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjvqJjoPeh6_DCMbPys5LnA
Show notes:
Andrea discusses her PhD research and book seeking to help brand new teachers navigate the struggles of the profession and learn to thrive as educators.
The fallout of the pandemic and teacher burnout has shifted the demographics of education. Mass exodus of teachers. States changing certification standards to open positions to more people.
One third of U.S. students are dealing with increased mental anxiety, but additional counselors are rarely (if at all) added to schools. Most schools lack crisis intervention specialists.
More pressure on teachers to intervene when students are experiencing a crisis, despite the fact that there is a shortage of teachers and substitute teachers, which has increased class sizes.
Andrea tells the story of how she had a teacher push her when she wasn’t performing to her maximum potential in high school. That became the seed that was planted in Andrea to later become an educator after working in a grocery store and as a technical writer.
When Andrea started posting videos to TikTok, her goal was to establish an online presence but never expected to become so popular. Now has a brand deal with Neutrogena, popular teacher merchandise, and nearly 170,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram.
Andrea describes student behaviors before and after the major shifts of the pandemic. The types of behaviors are not vastly different, but the amount of students with adverse behavior has increased at a large rate. This has made it difficult because multiple students are off task or acting out.
Phone usage and apathy have become major areas of concern. Trying to motivate students is increasingly challenging, which is difficult to deal with as a compassionate educator who cares about the students. Expectations and consistency are key, but support from administrators is absolutely necessary.
Andrea talks about how she reminds herself that she’s the expert in her classroom. She is aware of the issues and careful to avoid toxic positivity but determined to maintain a positive outlook and provide her students with a safe and comfortable learning environment. She is reclaiming her classroom by focusing on what she can control and relationship building.
Andrea loves resistant students and treats them with extreme kindness rather than becoming indifferent.
Andrea’s advice for teachers struggling with classroom management: Build relationships with students. High engagement, low pressure activities to get to know the students. Try to learn names early on. Contact counselors. Reach out to parents. Never embarrass students. Admit your mistakes. Maintain a proper perspective. Find a supportive community.
Similarities in schools across the country. Similarities between disinterested students in the classroom and teachers in professional development.
In this debut episode of the show, Brett interviews Chad.
- How Brett and Chad met through TikTok and became friends
- The founding of the Bearded Teacher's of America Association (BTAA) and the TikTok teacher community
- The idea for the podcast borne out of Chad's experience with personal trauma and nearly leaving education
- Outside noise
- The great resignation of educators
- The need to address the trauma so many people have gone through
- Constant state of fight or flight
- How to reclaim:
- Pause and reclaim your breath
- Now assess your immediate situation and see what you can reclaim one thing at a time
- Little things go a long way
- Similar concept to a clean house, a shower, etc.
- How Chad became a teacher
- From the Army to CNC lathe machinist to English teacher
- Chad's "come to Jesus moment"
- Noticing the learning gap in writing amongst college students
- From the Army to CNC lathe machinist to English teacher
- The best and worst part of teaching: When students grasp concepts and skills vs. when they fail to grasp concepts and skills
- Internalizing the growth/lack of growth in our students
- Differences between middle school and high school students
- New environment
- Behaviors
- Balancing school, home, and sometimes work
- Pandemic teaching
- Shock of quarantine, virtual and hybrid learning
- The mental and emotional stress caused by this as well as a feeling of isolation
- Balancing teaching with masks with virtual, in person, and asynchronous students
- Ghost students
- Technology issues
- Increased anxiety
- Imbalanced social skills, organization, behaviors, learning gaps, apathy
- Shock of quarantine, virtual and hybrid learning
- How TikTok and a mental breakdown brought about change
- Tragedy in personal life
- Lessons and assessments breaking down
- Went into therapy
- TikTok viral during the worst of it
- Chad became a voice for teachers
- Dealing with overnight "fame" on a small scale
- The changes:
- Student-centered focus
- Project-based learning
- Trauma informed instruction focusing on relationships
- Balancing an onslaught of teachers asking for advice with a severe case of imposter syndrome
- Finding joy by embracing the chaos
- Bonding with students
- Through TikTok
- By going public with his PTSD and anxiety disorder
- Advice for future teachers or those considering the teaching field
Chad and Brett give an overview of the guests who will be on the show in the debut season of the podcast!