The Cog Podcast: Recent Episodes
Megg Acquilano
Welcome to The Cog Podcast, where we talk about all things public education. My name is Megg Acquilano and we call our podcast The Cog for a couple of reasons. Reason #1 is that I believe teaching is the profession that allows all other professions to exist. It's the cog or the center from which the spokes of our democracy originate. Reason #2 is that we're recording from the granite state, otherwise known as New Hampshire. NH is the home of the cog railway that climbs Mt. Washington — which is the world's first mountain-climbing cog railway and has been in operation since 1869.
Every now and again, our teaching bag of tricks just runs out of good stuff. We all need some ideas on the fly that can be applicable for almost any content or grade level.
We will add more and more instructional strategies as we build and grow, so stay tuned!
Sociologist turned authors, Maria Kefalas and Patrick Carr, present the phenomenon of 'rural brain drain' in a language that we can actually understand. They tell a story. The story is not fiction. It's the true depiction of a "hollowing out" of Middle America.
As you read this powerful book, an image of our heartland will come to life. A massive youth exodus from rural communities to urban cities has created a web of issues that should concern us all.
Check this book out and discover ways that we can reverse the 'brain drain' and create a 'brain gain'! Kefalas and Carr challenge us to take our heads out of the sand and address this serious trend with urgency.
To grow a garden or a specific kind of plant, there needs to be certain conditions for them to grow and thrive. It's complex and synergistic. The same goes for creating innovative conditions within our educational system. Addressing this can be overwhelming! Where do we start? Well, we start with homegrown ideas and turn them into a flourishing environment!
This podcast is a summary/analysis of ASCD's article "Schooling in the Fifth Season"by Justin Reich. The original novel by N.K. Jeminsin (2015) introduces us to the changes we can expect of typical cycles of seasons.
The concept is that climatic emergencies will require reorganization and reimagination of 'how we do school'.
This means much greater weight placed on robust approaches to interruption if schools need to switch between in-person, hybrid, or remote learning.
What is a homework pass? It's a way for students to practice prioritizing and taking responsibility for their learning experience. Basically, students can 'pass' on two assignments per quarter or whatever you think is reasonable. You record that they used their 'Homework Pass' or it gets recorded electronically. It's fun!
"We forget that if students leave school less curious than when they started, we have failed them" is one of the many quotes from The Innovator's Mindset by George Couros.
This book is THE leadership book that should be on every educational leader's desk. The author describes eight characteristics that innovative leaders have: visionary, empathetic, models learning, open risk-taker, networked, observant, team builder, and always focused on relationships.
Today we hear from Annie Collacchi, an experienced curriculum coordinator. Annie is a trailblazer in education, especially public education. As the United States makes the seismic shift toward competency-based education and standards-based learning, New Hampshire is on the bandwagon!