The Soul Scholar Podcast: Recent Episodes
Dr. Melanie Battles
This podcast is designed to engage our listeners with provocative thought and dialogue surrounding the topics of equity in education and more specifically culturally responsive teaching. The intention is to not simply tickle your ears with engaging information, but to challenge you to align your talk with your walk, move your passion and purpose into action, and to constantly engage in self-reflective activity that will not only propel you forward in your personal and professional life, but will help you grow as a culturally competent educator.
Hey there soul scholars! We're back with the second part to last week's episode. If you missed Part I, PAUSE and click here to catch up.
As mentioned in the podcast, here is more information about our I Am a Soul Scholar 5 Day Challenge to be held June 25-29th. We offer general admission tickets for $49 and VIP tickets for $89. These prices CANNOT be beat and I'm honestly not sure when I'll have the time to offer this challenge again.
Who is this challenge for?
- Educators and administrators in K-12
- Folks who are frustrated with irrelevant professional learning
- Folks who are ready to take their professional growth in their own hands
- Folks who want to truly see their students' genius shine
- Folks who believe in the power of activating student agency
- Folks who need support on understanding culturally responsive teaching and how it shows up in instruction
How is VIP admission different from regular admission?
- Access to a 1 hour coaching session with Dr. Mel
- Live Q&A to address the content that was covered during regular admission
- Opportunity to pick Dr. Mel's brain
Click here to access more information about this challenge. This is an opportunity you DON'T want to miss!
Talk soon soul scholars!!!
Hey soul scholars!!! I've missed you all so much, but I have been extremely blessed and busy working through my business and providing support to educators across the country in culturally responsive teaching and social emotional learning.
This episode is a clip from our recent Instagram live where I discussed a bit of background behind my why and some of my experiences in education that pushed me to expand my reach from the classroom to partnering with educators, schools, and districts.
Feel free to leave any comments or questions you may have after you have listened. The second part to this podcast will air next Wednesday as we are working hard to consistently release weekly episodes. Send your prayers! LOL
Be sure to stay connected to us on all the socials (FB/IG/LinkedIN/YouTube).
You can find all of these links (scroll down to the bottom) and our free E-book by clicking here.
Talk soon!
Welcome to Teaching Matters 101: a podcast for folks who are passionate about educating diverse students with compassion, care, and courage. I am your host, Dr. Mel, lifelong learner and educator and CEO of Scholars for the Soul: An Educational Solutions Firm. We are here to talk about all things education: from teacher identity to teaching strategies, we unpack it all and invite you to join us on this journey of discussing teaching matters that impact education and make real teaching matter.
This episode goes deeper into the qualities of a warm demander. We talk about encourage productive struggle and teaching with rigor according to the science of learning.
We dive into the brain science of learning and how to strengthen pathways for deeper connection and higher learning. We also tap into how to recover from a lesson that bombed! Yes, you planned well. Yes, you aligned the standards. Yes, you gave it your all, but something just didn't stick. I provide some ideas for how to recover with soul and encourage productive struggle.
Remember, the goal of culturally responsive teaching is to close instructional equity gap. The only way to do so is to teach cognitive routines as habits of mind that focus on the process of learning so that the skill set naturally sticks to whatever content is being presented.
Additional Resources (click the highlighted text to access resource):
- FREE E-BOOK: First Steps to Understanding and Implementing Culturally Responsive Teaching: Exploring the journey from identity to instruction. This text will guide you on a journey of understanding culturally responsive teaching as a way of being that takes identity work, building academic mindset for yourself and your students, confronting blindspots within your instruction, and advocating for support while practicing critical self-reflection. It’s a free tool that will empower you to actualize your own personal and professional development that grows your capacity as a culturally responsive educator.
Follow us on all of the socials:
You can also join our community and connect with us here.
Welcome to Teaching Matters 101: a podcast for folks who are passionate about educating diverse students with compassion, care, and courage. I am your host, Dr. Mel, lifelong learner and educator and CEO of Scholars for the Soul: An Educational Solutions Firm. We are here to talk about all things education: from teacher identity to teaching strategies, we unpack it all and invite you to join us on this journey of discussing teaching matters that impact education and make real teaching matter.
You are listening to a replay of an episode from our series "Being a Warm Demander". A warm demander earns the right to demand excellence, both academically and emotionally, through relationship building and cultivating a space of belonging and responsiveness.
We're diving into some research (CASEL) about social emotional learning and instructional needs that reflect the Goldilocks method of teaching and ways of being that inform our practice to provide a "just right" methodology of teaching, learning, and engagement.
Additional resources (click the highlighted text to access resource):
- FREE E-BOOK: First Steps to Understanding and Implementing Culturally Responsive Teaching: Exploring the journey from identity to instruction. This text will guide you on a journey of understanding culturally responsive teaching as a way of being that takes identity work, building academic mindset for yourself and your students, confronting blindspots within your instruction, and advocating for support while practicing critical self-reflection. It’s a free tool that will empower you to actualize your own personal and professional development that grows your capacity as a culturally responsive educator.
- Follow us on all of the socials:
You can also join our community and connect with us here.
Episode Disclaimer: The recording is a bit spotty and I'm not really sure why. Please bare with me and grant me some grace in our imperfections. It's not too bad where you can't understand but it gets a bit blotchy from time to time. But the content is so good that you'll want to hang around and listen in! I'm working on solutions now! Any recs, please email us at info@scholarsforthesoul.com. We're always open to grow!
Welcome to the Teaching Matters 101 Podcast! This was the last episode in the series of The Science behind Building Authentic Relationships Series. We were unable to post the previous two episodes due to tech issues, but feel free to listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other podcast channels.
This episode dives into understanding and identifying trust generators and how to use them in building relationships and planning for the cultivation of this space during your lesson. Trust generators include the following:
Selective vulnerability
Familiarity
Common interests
Academic competence
Genuine Concern
Listen in for some tools to add to your toolbox on the journey to "being" culturally responsive and walking in your position as a Soul Scholar.
Resources mentioned in the podcast:
1) Free E-book: First Steps to Understanding and Implementing Culturally Responsive Teaching: Exploring the journey from identity to instruction.
2) Free masterclass this Saturday, April 1, 2023 10:00 AM-11:30 AM CST
3) Join our community to stay abreast to all that we offer, gems that are dropped, and exclusive offerings and specials to our paid events and services.
See ya next week!
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Welcome to Teaching Matters 101: a podcast for folks who are passionate about educating diverse students with compassion, care, and courage. I am your host, Dr. Mel, lifelong learner and educator and CEO of Scholars for the Soul: An Educational Solutions Firm. We are here to talk about all things education: from teacher identity to teaching strategies, we unpack it all and invite you to join us on this journey of discussing teaching matters that impact education and make real teaching matter.
In our last episode, we discussed a prerequisite to relationship building: radical welcoming and radical belonging. There will be no relationship building if we don’t welcome and make space for the diversity and beauty of our students’ individual and collective identities and cultures.
This episode is going to take understanding the science of relationship building to the next level through an understanding of how relationships actually do foster increased academic achievement.
Resources discussed in the podcast (click the highlighted text to access resource):
- FREE E-BOOK: First Steps to Understanding and Implementing Culturally Responsive Teaching: Exploring the journey from identity to instruction. This text will guide you on a journey of understanding culturally responsive teaching as a way of being that takes identity work, building academic mindset for yourself and your students, confronting blindspots within your instruction, and advocating for support while practicing critical self-reflection. It’s a free tool that will empower you to actualize your own personal and professional development that grows your capacity as a culturally responsive educator.
- The Urgency for Cultivating Academic Mindset with Dependent Learners
- IG Live Series @scholars4thesoul
- Friday nights at 5pm CST (March 3, 10, 17, 24)
- Components of an academic mindset:
- I belong to this community.
- I can succeed at this.
- My effort is worth the work
- There is value in the work.
- Warm Demander Series: The identity of a warm demander and how to cultivate that identity through culturally responsive teaching.
- LinkedIN, Facebook, and YouTube series:
- Saturday mornings at 8am CST (March 4, 11, 18, 25)
"How to Build Academic Mindset through Powerful Instruction" Masterclass.
🗓️ April 1st 10-11:30 AM CST
FREE!FREE!FREE!
Learning outcomes:
✍🏾Participants will be able to seamlessly integrate social emotional development skills within their content area.
✍🏾 Participants will be able to design a learning environment of radical belonging that cultivates student intellectual and emotional genius.
✍🏾Participants will be able to design a lesson plan using the 4 academic mindset components.
CLICK HERE FOR THE REGISTRATION LINK.
Welcome to Teaching Matters 101: a podcast for folks who are passionate about educating diverse students with compassion, care, and courage. I am your host, Dr. Mel, lifelong learner and educator and CEO of Scholars for the Soul: An Educational Solutions Firm. We are here to talk about all things education: from teacher identity to teaching strategies, we unpack it all and invite you to join us on this journey of discussing teaching matters that impact education and make real teaching matter.
Listen in as we go on a journey to break down the science behind building authentic relationships with students...and it all starts with Embracing and Enacting Radical Welcoming & Belonging!!!
Resources discussed in the podcast (click the highlighted text to access resource):
- FREE E-BOOK: First Steps to Understanding and Implementing Culturally Responsive Teaching: Exploring the journey from identity to instruction. This text will guide you on a journey of understanding culturally responsive teaching as a way of being that takes identity work, building academic mindset for yourself and your students, confronting blindspots within your instruction, and advocating for support while practicing critical self-reflection. It’s a free tool that will empower you to actualize your own personal and professional development that grows your capacity as a culturally responsive educator.
- The Urgency for Cultivating Academic Mindset with Dependent Learners
- IG Live Series @scholars4thesoul
- Friday nights at 5pm CST (March 3, 10, 17, 24)
- Components of an academic mindset:
- I belong to this community.
- I can succeed at this.
- My effort is worth the work
- There is value in the work.
- Warm Demander Series: The identity of a warm demander and how to cultivate that identity through culturally responsive teaching.
- LinkedIN, Facebook, and YouTube series:
- Saturday mornings at 8am CST (March 4, 11, 18, 25)
Welcome to Teaching Matters 101: a podcast for folks who are passionate about educating diverse students with compassion, care, and courage. I am your host, Dr. Mel, lifelong learner and educator and CEO of Scholars for the Soul: An Educational Solutions Firm. We are here to talk about all things education: from teacher identity to teaching strategies, we unpack it all and invite you to join us on this journey of discussing teaching matters that impact education and make real teaching matter.
Today's episode is a conversation from one soul scholar to another. You will be emboldened by the passion of Dr. Mel to continue to reflect upon and examine the fuel to your fire that motivates why you do what you do in our nation's schools and classrooms.
Dr. Mel breaks down the current state of education, specifically as it relates to the state of Arkansas and other southern states, with their current attack on critical race theory and "indoctrination". She provides a refreshing insight into reframing our teacher mindset and identity work from deficit to strength based and offers solutions that center culturally responsive teaching as the way to engage diverse learners and their families and communities.
Important note:Culturally responsive teaching is the solution.
- closes instructional equity gap
- provides teachers a pathway towards transformation and its sustainability over time
- provides a clear road map for educator identity and teaching practices that integrate culture and information process as the solution to good teaching that closes the gap.
Resources discussed in the podcast (click the highlighted text to access resource):
- FREE E-BOOK: First Steps to Understanding and Implementing Culturally Responsive Teaching: Exploring the journey from identity to instruction. This text will guide you on a journey of understanding culturally responsive teaching as a way of being that takes identity work, building academic mindset for yourself and your students, confronting blindspots within your instruction, and advocating for support while practicing critical self-reflection. It’s a free tool that will empower you to actualize your own personal and professional development that grows your capacity as a culturally responsive educator.
- The Urgency for Cultivating Academic Mindset with Dependent Learners
- IG Live Series @scholars4thesoul
- Friday nights at 5pm CST (March 3, 10, 17, 24)
- Components of an academic mindset:
- I belong to this community.
- I can succeed at this.
- My effort is worth the work
- There is value in the work.
- Warm Demander Series: The identity of a warm demander and how to cultivate that identity through culturally responsive teaching.
- LinkedIN, Facebook, and YouTube series:
- Saturday mornings at 8am CST (March 4, 11, 18, 25)
Welcome to a brave space to discuss teaching matters through the belief that good, soulful teaching really does matter. In this space, we are curators of culturally responsive teaching and leadership spaces where we believe in the power of student engagement, teacher self-efficacy, and strong professional development that matters!
In this episode, we're rejecting the lie that teachers are superheroes.
WE.ARE.NOT!!!
We are humans who teach.
We are humans who answered the call to serve.
We are humans who love what we do, but we love ourselves too.
Tap into this episode to take your power back and learn the value in saying no, while still doing the work of teaching from the soul to reach the soul.
Dr. Melanie Battles leads professional development workshop series in the areas of brain based teaching, social emotional learning, student and adult wellness, and strategic planning and implementation of culturally responsive leadership.
Visit our website at www.scholarsforthesoul.com.
Follow us on Instagram at https://instagram.com/scholars4thesoul.
Follow us on Facebook at https://facebook.com/scholars4thesoul.
Welcome to a brave space to discuss teaching matters through the belief that good, soulful teaching really does matter. In this space, we are curators of culturally responsive teaching and leadership spaces where we believe in the power of student engagement, teacher self-efficacy, and strong professional development that matters!
In this episode, Dr. Mel breaks down the definition of good teaching: attending to peoples' needs, experiences, and feelings.
Tap in and listen to how we can align our intentions to meet impact through soulful teaching.
How do we attend to the needs of the emotional brain?
What is the connection between culturally responsive teaching and information processing in the brain?
Why are establishing and sustaining boundaries important to soulful teaching?
Referred text: Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain by Zaretta Hammond
Dr. Melanie Battles leads professional development workshop series in the areas of brain based teaching, social emotional learning, student and adult wellness, and strategic planning and implementation of culturally responsive leadership.
Visit our website at www.scholarsforthesoul.com.
Follow us on Instagram at https://instagram.com/scholars4thesoul.
Follow us on Facebook at https://facebook.com/scholars4thesoul.
Welcome to Teaching Matters 101: a podcast for folks who are passionate about educating diverse students with compassion, care, and courage. I am your host, Dr. Mel, lifelong learner and educator and CEO of Scholars for the Soul: An Educational Solutions Firm. We are here to talk about all things education: from teacher identity to teaching strategies, we unpack it all and invite you to join us on this journey of discussing teaching matters that impact education and make real teaching matter.
In this space, we are curators of culturally responsive teaching and leadership spaces where we believe in the power of student engagement, teacher self-efficacy, and strong professional development that matters!
Listen in on who this podcast is for and who it is NOT for. We know that we're not for everyone, but for those who we are designed to reach...WELCOME SOUL SCHOLAR!
Dr. Melanie Battles leads professional development workshop series in the areas of brain based teaching, social emotional learning, student and adult wellness, and strategic planning and implementation of culturally responsive leadership.
Visit our website at www.scholarsforthesoul.com.
Follow us on Instagram at https://instagram.com/scholars4thesoul.
Follow us on Facebook at https://facebook.com/scholars4thesoul.
We're every woman...it's all in US!!! The community, the family, the love is where it's at!!!
Today's episode involves four beautiful souls operating through this world as BLACK WOMAN MAGIC! We discussed all things love: self-love, self-compassion, and love for our community and families WITHOUT conditions.
I dare you to listen as each woman shares her thoughts and experiences with love, self-care, and soul care, especially for us as educators of the people. We laughed, we shared love with each other, and we went DEEP into the power of love and how love manifests throughout our journey as black women educators.
Dr. Melanie Battles is an educational consultant and teacher educator of culturally responsive teaching and social emotional learning. My work can be found on IG @scholars4thesoul and at scholarsforthesoul.com
Dr. Courtney Rose is a teacher educator of culturally relevant pedagogy. You can find her on IG @drcourtneyrose and linktr.ee/drcourtneyrose
Yaribel Mercedes is an educator of justice and love. You can find her on IG @yari.mercedes and read some of her work here
journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1052684621993046?journalCode=jsla.
Kayland Lamar is a high school STEM educator and advocate of self-care. You can find her work at bit.ly/KaylandLamar and on IG @kaylandlamar.
Audio disclaimer: This episode was recorded on IG Live so there maybe a few sound issues but I hope you can persevere through and focus on the message and love shared between four black women about how to love ourselves, our f
Thank you for listening. Be sure to subscribe and leave a review!!!
We're taking it back this week with a BANGING episode from renowned scholar, Dr. Shaun Woodley of @teachhustleinspire. This was one of my FAVORITE conversations because we got down to the core of what really make
This conversation blessed my soul with concepts ranging from shifting our educator mindset for the uplifting of ourselves and our students, unlocking intellectual treasure, how to Move the Class, and the essence of culturally responsive teaching. As a teacher educator, Dr. Woodley will definitely bless your soul too as you listen in to this week's episode of The Soul Scholar Podcast.
We're in the final episode of our self-excavation work as we have discussed the concept of perfectionism and how our bias and white supremacy may have defined the way in which we view ourselves and hold ourselves up to certain standards.
During the last episode, we discussed the process of uprooting. Now we're going to get into the art of replanting after we have excavated and uprooted those seeds of perfectionism.
- Embracing the Rain (6:30)
- The Journey to Healing (15:07)
- Prepare our Mindset for Change (16:25)
- Choose JOY for the Journey (17:58)
- Positive Self-talk (24:37)
- Mindfulness & Gratitude (25:00)
- Self-love, Self-compassion, and Self-acceptance (26:25)
Check out our newest designs Joy for the Journey and I Choose Joyat our shop by clicking here.**All podcast listeners can use code PODCAST15 to receive 15% off your order.
The Soul Care Journal is coming soon...STAY TUNED!!!
Until next week...LOVE, PEACE, and SOUL!!!!**
We've been discussing the trope of perfectionism and particularly, how it shows up for black educators, influencers, and those who are ambitious in their purpose of serving others. If you've missed the first episodes on self-excavation and perfectionism, be sure to go back to those episodes and listen for some foundational knowledge of the identity and characteristics of perfectionism and the importance of self-excavation.
Don't forget that our Acknowledge What You Feel, Act on What You Know is available in our shop. Click here to purchase your statement tee.
Here are a few vital points in this episode that are sure to bless your journey
1) Eliminate comparisons (4:55)
2) Admire, but don't idolize. (5:26)
3) Shift your negative mindset (7:05)
a) Eliminate unrealistic expectations.
b) Understand what is for you is for you.
c) Accept that every ambition may not be aligned with what you should pursue.
d) Seek the divine God for guidance and clarity.
e) Don’t rush...take your time.
The 30 day guide to cultivating your soul care routine journal is still available for FREE. Click here to get your copy while time has been extended.
NEW TEE ALERT: I’m the self-loving, meditating, deep breathing, water drinking, soul care type.
See you all next week!
We've been tackling this falsified idea of perfectionism and how soul care and soul work can help to rid us of this ineffective and counterproductive mindset. This information can be super valuable in building our own and our students' social emotional (learning) development. Remember, to implement SEL with fidelity, we must model it first...meaning we must embody the work of soul care so that we can model and directly teach this work to our students.
This episode focuses on three different types of perfectionists:
- Self-oriented perfectionist (3:00)
- Other-oriented perfectionist (4:10)
- Socially prescribed perfectionist (5:45)
- Journal prompts to help with perfectionism (14: 15)
- Acknowledge what you feel...act on what you know (20:40)
Click here to get your Acknowledge what you feel...act on what you know statement tee. It's time to spread the message and the good news of what it means to be a soul scholar and one who is doing the soul work. Use code SOULFEEL to receive 25% off this tee (free shipping on Saturday and Sunday).
I suggest that you teach these things to our students, especially for those who deal with anxiety.
The 30-day soul care challenge is almost over. I hope you were able to get the FREE guide to cultivating your soul care routine journal. Since I posted this episode a bit late, I will open it up for the next 7 days (ending May 17th). Click here to get your copy before it's gone.
I am working to have this resource available for purchase soon with more affirmations and journal space to help us sustain this soul care practice.
I'd be so honored if you would subscribe, rate, and leave a review. Thank you for listening.
Weekly episodes will be uploaded each Monday at 12 noon.
This episode will be the beginning of four more episodes focused on defeating perfectionism and doing the soul work through one aspect of self-excavation. In case you missed the discussion self-excavation, go back an episode to hear part one and learn more about what this term means and how it is essential for your journey of soul healing and liberation.
We will also dive into the meaning and characteristics of perfectionism, specifically as it connects to the manifestation of white supremacy within our mindset and the way we think about ourselves as soul scholars, educators, parents, community members, and...HUMANS!
***This is the last week for you to receive the FREE 30 day guide to cultivating a soul care routine. It is filled with 30 days affirmations, a journal writing connection guide, and helpful tips to sustaining your soul care. We are in this life together and stand a higher chance to THRIVE (not just survive) in this world plighted to destroy us as a melanated people.
Feel free to check out our website or go to our Soul Scholar Apparel shop to check out our new designs we've dropped this week. Use code SOUL25 to receive 25% off your entire order on anything from the site. "Liberation Loading" and "Soul Scholars...speak up, disrupt, dismantle, and rebuild" are our newest designs and definitely set off those abolitionist and equity minded folk.
The importance of doing the soul work is at the heart of my work as an educator and transformative impactor for those with whom I engage. This episode will dive deeper into a component of soul work, which is self-excavation. I refer to the field of archaeology as a reference, or analogy, for visualizing and understanding how self-excavation works
During this episode, I focus on the following:
- Acknowledging the need for self-excavation and recognizing as a pathway to healing (7:58)
- Identifying our triggers>>>Self-loathing, procrastination, and fear (9:09)
- Are you rejecting the expression or impression of love? (20:46)
Disclaimer: This episode was uploaded later than I originally anticipated so the free webinar has already passed. Join the soul scholar tribe at scholarsforthesoul.com to be in touch for our next FREE monthly webinar.
In this episode, I'm talking about the educational and LIFE implications from the movie "Judas and the Black Messiah", available on HBO Max.
The major points discussed are as follows:
- (4:19) The power of affirming language “I am a revolutionary”
- (12:14) There’s danger in your influence if your influence leads to liberation.
- (19:04) The revolution starts with self-evolution.
Listen in with me, Dr. Mel B, as I connect the power in this movie to the soul work we, as soul scholars, must reflect upon and enact with our young soul scholars.
And after much consideration, I am only releasing the Revolutionary Soul Scholardesign. It will be available for purchase at scholarsforthesoul.com/shop Saturday, February 27, 2021. If you're revolutionary, and of course you're a soul scholar, then this design is PERFECT for you!!! I can't wait to see you guys rocking your gear. Let's keep this revolution televised (or social media posted).
In this episode, we are talking about what it means to be a soul scholar. Being a soul scholar is not for everyone, but it takes a concerted effort, mindset, and practice that keeps self-reflection and self-improvement at the forefront. Soul scholars love deep and transmit that energy to every scholar with whom they engage. No soul is left untouched. Soul scholars believe in the bigger picture and operate by faith, and not by sight!
Listen, subscribe, download, comment, rate, and share. Every ounce of support is valued.
To purchase our Definition of a Soul Scholar tee or hoodie, visit our website.
Enjoy the show!
About this episode:
In this week's episode, Dr. Mel B discusses the concept of "tough love" as a barrier to liberation and an actual manifestation of anti-blackness, often carried out by black educators without the appropriate tools to lead with love and transform lives through a healthy expression of push + care (Hammond, 2015).
2:30- Definition of a Soul Scholar
3:05- Join the Soul Scholar Tribe at our website and shop our Soul Scholar Gear
3:58- Beginning of this episode's content
5:07- Motivation behind the episode
6:48-Anti-blackness meaning and manifestation
7:48-What does "tough love" look like?
Three Main Points of Focus:12:25-Tough love doesn't always fit
16:17-Language matters
19:28-Solutions