The Teacher Hotline: Recent Episodes

Ronald Hae

The Teacher Hotline is a podcast where teachers submit their questions regarding the field of education. Guests come on the show to help answer some of the pressing questions teachers may have in and out of the classroom such as: how does my pension work?; Should I work in administration?; Should I work at a private or public school? and more!

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Welcome back to another school year teachers!

To kick off the school year, I wanted to talk about the upcoming mandatory Financial Literacy test that high schoolers need to past to get their diploma! Hey, I'm all for it! But what in the world is on it? We all have so many questions, so today we bring in Gary Rabbior, President of the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education. Gary has lead the foundation since 1981. He has developed school curriculum for a number of provinces and written a wide variety of resources including “Money and Youth” which has over 740,000 copies in circulation and “Money and Monetary Policy in Canada” with the Bank of Canada. He has created a number of major financial literacy projects and programs including the “Building Futures” and “Talk With Our Kids About Money Day” programs.

Today we ask the questions:

When is this test happening?
What is the passing rate on this test?
What is going to be on this test?
Who is responsible for prepping the students on this test?
What information are we trying to get from this test?

I hope everyone had a great summer and good luck to the start of the school year!

Resource:
Canadian Foundation for Economic Education

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Ready to unlock the secrets of teaching at the college level? Join us for a fun conversation with Mikayla Lachance, a communications professor from Northern College, who shares her journey to becoming an accomplished college educator. Discover what it takes to thrive in this rewarding profession as she discusses the qualifications needed for various programs and sheds light on the differences between teaching at the college, university, and high school levels.

Ever wondered what the daily life of a full-time college professor looks like? Mikayla gives us an insider’s view, from managing class schedules and lesson preparation to the personalized attention given to students at a smaller college. You’ll learn how to structure engaging lessons, handle classroom management challenges, and create a supportive educational environment. She also recounts her transition from part-time to full-time teaching, providing a comprehensive look at the responsibilities and rewards of the role.

Finally, navigate the future of education with our discussion on integrating AI in the classroom. Mikayla shares her experiences with tools like ChatGPT, exploring their benefits and the importance of ethical use. We also touch on the perks and challenges of the profession, including the joy of supporting a diverse student body and the potential for career transitions. Whether you’re an educator or an aspiring college professor, this episode offers invaluable insights into the multifaceted world of teaching at the college level.

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Congrats Teachers! Summer time baby! Kick back, relax, and pour yourself a glass of wine. Party time!

I know the school year is a marathon and July can be a time of reflection for some teachers on how the year went. A popular question is "have I made a difference?"

Today I bring in Sam Demma, a best selling author, and one of the most in demand keynote speakers in the education sector. His work and interviews have been featured in The Globe & Mail, CBC, and CTV. He has been recognized as Starfish Canada’s Top 25 Under 25. Sam’s multimedia platform, The High Performing Educator, has spotlit over 250 educators, and his bestselling debut book, Empty Your Backpack has been called “a must-read for young dreamers.”Today we talk about:

What strategies or practices can teachers adopt to remind themselves of their importance and impact daily?
How can school admin and colleagues support teachers in feeling more appreciated and recognized in their efforts?
Are there systematic changes within the education system that could help improve teachers feeling value and self worth?

Enjoy the summer folks!

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Twitter: @ronaldhae

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I'm a night owl and would love to start work at 11am if possible! Im sure your students wouldn't mind as well! Have you ever thought about what school would look like if we started classes later? Would students be more engaged? Would there be less lates? Would students be more awake and excited for school?

Today I bring in: Physiologist, Scientist, and CEO of Wells Performance, Dr. Greg Wells. Currently Dr. Well's serves as a scientist at Hospital for Sick Children. He has 60 papers published in scientific journals and the author of 5 best selling books including his most recent publication: Powerhouse - Protect your Energy, Optimize your Health, and Super Charge Your Performance. He also hosts his own podcast called Dr. Greg Wells Podcast that you can stream on all platforms.

We talk about:

How many hours of sleep do teens/children need?
Do "Night Owls" and "Early Worms" actually exisit?
Are naps actually helpful?
Are sleep aids harmful for students? (ie. melatonin)
Should we start classes later?

and so much more!

Go check out Dr. Greg Wells podcast!

Website: https://drgregwells.com/

SPONSOR: VISUALPINGVisualping is the free web detection monitoring tool that watches and alerts you to changes on the sites that matter most to you.

Forget clicking the refresh button over and over—Visualping instantly informs you about item restocks, price drops or promotions, and new opportunities at your dream workplace.

Over 2.3M users stay in the know with Visualping. Create a free account today at visualping.io.

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Twitter: @ronaldhae

Bullying has been around since the beginning of time. No one's been able to crack the code on how to stop and prevent bullying from happening across schools in the country. In fact, bullying has now evolved with the introduction of social media in the past decade. So what can educators and schools do?!

So today we bring in Alain Pelletier, a anti-bullying youth speaker. Alain has spoken to over 750 schools, and has spoken at over 1200 conferences on the subject of bullying. Today we talk aboutt:

How do we properly define "bullying"?
What role can teachers and school play in the prevention of bullying?
What age does bullying start?
Why do bullies bully other students at school?
What role do parents play in all of this?

Go check out Alain and book him in your schools! Check out his website below for more information on how to do so.

Website: https://www.alainpelletier.ca/

SPONSOR: VISUALPINGVisualping is the free web detection monitoring tool that watches and alerts you to changes on the sites that matter most to you.

Forget clicking the refresh button over and over—Visualping instantly informs you about item restocks, price drops or promotions, and new opportunities at your dream workplace.

Over 2.3M users stay in the know with Visualping. Create a free account today at visualping.io.

Instagram: @theteacherhotline
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Twitter: @ronaldhae

We're back baby! Season 3! Here we go. We are now going to go to a monthly format. Life is crazy, so we'll try this new format and see how it goes.

We kick things off by revisiting my old stomping grounds at Western University. Have you ever thought about transitioning to teaching at the university/college level?! You should highly consider it! I highly recommend it! I had the best time of my life teaching at Western University back in the day. I even got my own office!

Today, I bring in Emma Giroux, a Business 1220 Lecturer at Western University Main campus. She's been a Lecturer there for two years. Previous to this role, Emma graduated from the Ivey Business School at Western. In this episode we talk about:

What qualifications do you need?
How many students in a class? Whats marking like?
Do you deal with parents?
How do you deal with academic integrity issues?
What's it like teaching in a large classroom?

Check it out! I loved talking with Emma, and you'll love her too!

Instagram: @theteacherhotline
Facebook: @theteacherhotline
Twitter: @ronaldhae

Having tough conversations with students is all part of the job. Teachers can have conversations ranging from grades all the way to mental health. But what about the guidance counselors?! They face a lot of tough conversations behind closed doors that teachers don't see. So in todays episode we want to explore those conversations and how to have them!

So today I bring in Sam Layton, a Guidance Counselor that’s works in the private School system. Before going into Guidance, Sam taught subjects ranging from English, Drama, Music, Phy-sed, and ESL. She also has some teaching experience in New Zeland, and Korea before teaching full time in Canada. Sam received her teaching degree in New Zealand at the University of Canterbury.

Click on this episode to check out what kind of challenges a guidance counselor faces and how to deal with them like a pro!

Oh! And Sam is the host of her own podcast called Popcorn Cinema! Go check it out on all streaming platforms!

Instagram: @theteacherhotline
Facebook: @theteacherhotline
Twitter: @ronaldhae

Have you ever thought about teaching at a university? Have you ever thought about teaching in a teacher education program? We'll you'll want to tune in to this weeks episode!

Today I bring in Liz Coulson, an Assistant Professor and Coordinator of The Education Studies program in the Department of Language Studies at the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM). For over a decade, Dr. Coulson was an instructor and secondary practicum coordinator in the Bachelor of Education and Master of Teaching Programs at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE).

In this episode we talk about:

What qualifications do you need to teach at a university?
Whats the difference between "Sessional Lecturer", "Contract jobs" "Tenure "Stream Faculty"?
Whats the difference between being an Assistant Professor and a Professor role?
What are the biggest difference between teaching adults versus high school or elementary?
What should teachers do to begin the process of working at a university?

and much more!

Instagram: @theteacherhotline
Facebook: @theteacherhotline
Twitter: @ronaldhae

Building off last weeks episode, we are going to dive deep into the jobs of our school leaders. This week we are taking a look at the High School Principals role.

After all my years in education, I still have no idea what the heck these people do! Are they just shaking hands and kissing babies? Who knows! Today I bring in John Marinelli, Principal of St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School in London, Ontario. John has been a Principal for 6 years. Previous to this role, he was a Vice Principal for 7 years and also taught Social Sciences, Business studies and even in Guidance for 15 years. John received his bachelors of education from Western University.

In this episode we talk about:

What are the responsibilities of a High School Principal?
What are some soft and hard skills required to do the job?
What are some of the hardest and most rewarding parts of the job?
Are the working hours different than a teacher?
What should listeners know if they want to become a High School Principal?

and much more!

Instagram: @theteacherhotline
Facebook: @theteacherhotline
Twitter: @ronaldhae

Hey incoming teacher candidates! This episode is for you!

If you are planning to apply to different teacher education programs and not sure which one you should go to, you'll want to check out this episode. On today's episode, we check out University of Toronto - Ontario of Institute of Education (OISE) Master of Teaching program (not Masters of Education! There is a difference!) We bring in my current student teacher Ava Skuse. Ava is a first year student at OISE and gives us a bit of insight into the program. We talk about:

What mandatory courses do they make you take at OISE?
Her thoughts on the professors at the school
How much is tuition, textbooks and other fees?
How many practicum's does OISE offer in this program? What has been Ava's expierence?
What is this research paper that OISE makes you do in this masters program?
What's the difference between the Masters of Teaching and Masters of Education program?

Hope this episode is useful! Good luck everyone!

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Twitter: @ronaldhae

Have you ever thought about going into school leadership? Perhaps a High School Vice Principal is opening up and you have your eyes on it? Do you have any idea what the job entails?

Well, look not further and listen to this episode! Today I bring in Candace House, Vice Principal at Waterloo Region District School. Candace has been in this role for 5.5 years. Before this she was an English teacher and was department English Head in the TSDB for 7 years. Before this Candace had a long career in software development and consulting before making a career change in her 40s. Candace decided to go back to school and get her B.Ed from OISE.

In this episode, we talk about:

Whats the big difference between the Vice Principal and Principals role?
What are the most common challenges in the VP role?
Is it possible for administrators to lose touch in the classroom?
How does compensation work for a VP? Are they on a different grid?
What should listeners know about the job before applying?

and so much more!

Instagram: @theteacherhotline
Facebook: @theteacherhotline
Twitter: @ronaldhae

Ok folks, so this is a big one! If you got an Elementary LTO job interview coming up, you need to click this episode! Super juicy with all of the questions from the TDSB with a former VP panelist coaching you through some of the answers!

Today we have Linda Taillefer, a Educational Consultant and retired elementary school Vice Principal in the Toronto District School Board. She has been a VP for nine years. Before going into a school leadership position, she was a French Immersion teacher for 19 years. Linda received her B.Ed from Laurentian University.

On this episode, we talk about:

What are some of the questions that the TDSB will ask applicants?
What are the panelist looking for in your answers?
Does gender, race, and identity impact your chances of landing a job?

Wow! You definitely don't want to miss this! Share this episode and help out your fellow friends!

Instagram: @theteacherhotline
Facebook: @theteacherhotline
Twitter: @ronaldhae

After all these years in education, I'm just finding out now what is a Montessori school! This entire time I thought it was some sort of Religious school. Wow, I was so wrong.

If you're thinking about applying for a job at Montessori school or maybe even sending your kids to a Montessori school, you'll want to check out this episode!

Today we bring on Carolyn Reid and Rachel Marks, both Academic Heads at Toronto Montessori School in Richmond Hill, Ontario. Rachel has been at TMS for 25 years now and is the Head of their Elementary School and has been in the role for 5 years. Rachel also received her B.Ed from McGill M.Ed at Queens University. Carolyn has been at the school for 35 years and is the Head of their Toddler and Children House. She's been in this role for over 20 years. Carolyn received her degree in Early Childhood education from Ryerson, and her Primary Montessori Training from AMI.

In this episode, we talk about:

What is a Montessori School? How is it different than a traditional public school?
How does a Montessori Toddler program differ from traditional day care?
Is Montessori more "challenging" then your traditional schools?
How much does Montessori cost?
Should I send my child to a Montessori school?

...and so much more! Click subscribe and give it a listen folks!

Instagram: @theteacherhotline
Facebook: @theteacherhotline
Twitter: @ronaldhae

Imagine living with students and then waking up the next day and teaching those same students. This happens everyday at all boarding schools and its the norm!

I work at a boarding school, and its a different beast. I don't work directly in boarding, but I know a few people that do. Today I bring in Andrew McNiven, a Business Teacher from Ridley College in St. Catharines, Ontario. Andrew has worked at Ridley for 12 years and works with the student boarders at the school as Head of House on campus and has been in this role for five years and worked as an Assistant Housemaster for 5 years prior to this role. So 10 years in boarding!

In this episode, Andrew will try to answer all your questions regarding boarding, including:

What are his responsibilities?
What's the difference between being Head of House vs an Assistant role?
Is privacy and maintaining your own life outside of school possible?
What are the major challenges and perks of working in boarding?
How do teachers get compensated?

and much more! Check out this episode if you are interested in boarding schools. You'll hear all about it!

SPONSOR: SPACES
Spaces is a new platform backed by 15+ years of educator feedback, designed to document the process and progress behind Student learning in your classroom. Join the Spaces community to connect with educators across North America, gain access to free teacher-created resources, help educators who are just starting out in their journey and learn new things from teachers who have been there before. Visit community.spacesedu.com today to join."

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Twitter: @ronaldhae

As a kid growing up in an Asian household, the dream for my parents was for their children to become a doctor. My brother helped my parents achieve that dream. I failed miserably. I couldn't even make it out of grade 10 chemistry!

So many students and parents want to become doctors, but in reality have no idea what the job entails! Are people just chasing the title of "doctor" for prestige? Are they misinformed by what television shows them?

This episode dives into the realities of becoming a doctor and what the journey looks like. Today I bring in my good friend, Dr. Andrew Lim. Andrew is a Radiation Oncologist who specializes in treating cancer. Andrew did his undergraduate training at St Francis Xavier, in a degree in Physics. He went on to do his medical training at Western University. He then began his residency training in General Surgery in Alberta before deciding the speciality was not a fit for him. He transferred over to the Radiation Oncology and he is now working at the University of Southern California as a Radiation Oncologist and the Director of Brachytherapy

On this episode we discuss:

What does medical school look like?
When do you choose your speciality?
What are the most popular/least popular fields?
Differences between working in the U.S vs Canada?
Something Andrew wished he knew about the job when he was younger

If you're interested in medicine, you'll love this episode!

SPONSOR: SPACES
Spaces is a new platform backed by 15+ years of educator feedback, designed to document the process and progress behind Student learning in your classroom. Join the Spaces community to connect with educators across North America, gain access to free teacher-created resources, help educators who are just starting out in their journey and learn new things from teachers who have been there before. Visit community.spacesedu.com today to join."

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Facebook: @theteacherhotline
Twitter: @ronaldhae

Ever think about making a career change as a teacher into the world of guidance? Look no further!

So today I bring in Adrienne Tolton, a guidance counsellor from Garth Webb Secondary School in the Halton District School Board. Adrienne has been a guidance counsellor for four years. Before guidance, she was a teacher 18 years teaching Math and Science in Ontario and Internationally. She got her B.Ed from OISE at the University of Toronto.

Today we talk about:

What qualifications and training do you need to become a guidance counsellor?
What are the general responsibilities of a guidance counsellor?
What is the hardest part of the job?
Is compensation different for a guidance counsellor versus a teacher?
What type of person makes a great guidance counsellor?

plus more! Check out this episode and don't forget to follow the podcast!

SPONSOR: SPACES
Spaces is a new platform backed by 15+ years of educator feedback, designed to document the process and progress behind Student learning in your classroom. Join the Spaces community to connect with educators across North America, gain access to free teacher-created resources, help educators who are just starting out in their journey and learn new things from teachers who have been there before. Visit community.spacesedu.com today to join."

Instagram: @theteacherhotline
Facebook: @theteacherhotline
Twitter: @ronaldhae

Ever wonder what the heck the folks in HR are looking for before submitting your resume? How can school boards possibly sift through all those resumes and pick the right candidate? Oh and once you get an interview, now you need to prep for that gauntlet!

On todays episode, I hope to peek behind the curtain and help with the job application process. Today I chat with Majella Hillsdon, our Chief People Officer at Appleby College. Majella has been at Appleby for 17 years.

In this episode we talk about:

Resume - What makes a strong resume? Do buzzwords matter? Does experience matter?
Cover Letters - What are they? Are they a nice to have or need to have in an application?
Interviews - What do interviewers look for in an applicant? What are common questions? How can candidates be successful in these interviews?
Social Media - Is HR trolling our social media pages?!

Check us out! You're going to want to hear what she has to say!

Links:

Appleby College - Career Opportunities

SPONSOR: SPACES
Spaces is a new platform backed by 15+ years of educator feedback, designed to document the process and progress behind Student learning in your classroom. Join the Spaces community to connect with educators across North America, gain access to free teacher-created resources, help educators who are just starting out in their journey and learn new things from teachers who have been there before. Visit community.spacesedu.com today to join."

Instagram: @theteacherhotline
Facebook: @theteacherhotline
Twitter: @ronaldhae

Today I'm introducing a new segment in the show called "I Wish I Knew in School".

Unfortunately, we are forced to begin choosing career paths at an early age. Media, family and friends can also paint an inaccurate depiction of certain career paths. So on this segment, I want to bring in seasoned professionals to talk about the good, the bad and the ugly truths of their profession to educate teachers and students to better prepare them for the future that lies ahead. We'll also talk to these professionals about what real world skills student need to develop and focus on in the classroom to better prepare them for these jobs.

Today I bring in an old friend Aaron Baer, Co-Founder of 4L Academy, an organization that provides modern training for lawyers and law students. Aaron has a wealth of industry experience. He spent almost 7 years working at Aird and Berlis Law firm corporate lawyer, before working his way up into becoming a partner at the firm. Aaron got his dual business and law degree from Western University and the Ivey Business School.

On this episode we talk about:

What are some of the exciting things that make the job exciting?
What skills should teachers be focusing on in the classroom to help students enter this career path?
What skills are modern day lawyers lacking?
What is the current state of mental health in the field of law?
Aaron: "I wish I knew in high school before entering law..."

Check this episode out! Its a doozy!

LinkedIn - Aaron Baer
Twitter - @4lAcademy

SPONSOR: SPACES
Spaces is a new platform backed by 15+ years of educator feedback, designed to document the process and progress behind Student learning in your classroom. Join the Spaces community to connect with educators across North America, gain access to free teacher-created resources, help educators who are just starting out in their journey and learn new things from teachers who have been there before. Visit community.spacesedu.com today to join."

Instagram: @theteacherhotline
Facebook: @theteacherhotline
Twitter: @ronaldhae

Episode 50 🎉

I can't believe we are at the half century mark! It's wild this podcast is still going!

To celebrate this milestone, I chat with Melody McAllister, Event & Community Marketing Specialist at none other....Spaces! Our proud sponsors!

Melody worked as an elementary teacher for about 14 years in Garland Texas. She was recipient of the Garland NAACP Educator of the Year Award and author of a book called I’m Sorry Story, a children's book about taking responsibility for mistakes and making sincere apologies

On this episode, we take a deep dive into what it's like to teach in the United States. I ask her about:

Differences in Canadian vs U.S Education (ie. Curriculum, Unionization, Training, Job Market etc)
Safety in the Classroom - Is every teacher afraid of the gun laws in America?
Compensation - How much do teachers get paid?

and so much more! This was an intense conversation and I loved it. You'll love Melody's energy.

Go check it out!

SPONSOR: SPACES
Spaces is a new platform backed by 15+ years of educator feedback, designed to document the process and progress behind Student learning in your classroom. Join the Spaces community to connect with educators across North America, gain access to free teacher-created resources, help educators who are just starting out in their journey and learn new things from teachers who have been there before. Visit community.spacesedu.com today to join."

Instagram: @theteacherhotline
Facebook: @theteacherhotline
Twitter: @ronaldhae

Six years ago, I took a Stand Up Comedy class at Second City.

Six years later, I somehow still have a job as a teacher! Hallelujah! 🙌

To give back, I started a stand up comedy co-curricular for teenagers at our school. It's been running for four years, and we begin the course tomorrow! So what better way to have a teacher/comedian on the podcast this week?!

This week I have Ronen Geisler, a teacher and comedian! Inside the classroom Ronen has been a teacher for 15 years and teaches high school English and ESL to adult newcomers and refugees. Ronen received his B.Ed from Lakehead University.

Outside the classroom, Ronen is a stand up comedian in Toronto and also host the popular Learn English Funcast podcast where he teaches English learners around the world how to learn English through jokes. Ronen is also the founder of the Jewish Comedy Festival and Cannabis Comedy Festival. He's an absolute killer comedian and I'm excited to have him on the show today.

On todays episode, I ask Ronen:
🎤 What are his goals and aspirations as a comedian?
🎤 Is it difficult being a teacher and a comedian? How do you balance live both lives?
🎤 Are there any topics that are too taboo to talk about on stage as a teacher?
🎤 Does he tell his students, colleagues, and administrator he's a comedian?

This was a fun episode! Two comedians talking about teaching! It's an entertaining one!

Links:
Website - https://ronengeisler.com/
Instagram - @ronen__

SPONSOR: SPACES
Spaces is a new platform backed by 15+ years of educator feedback, designed to document the process and progress behind Student learning in your classroom. Join the Spaces community to connect with educators across North America, gain access to free teacher-created resources, help educators who are just starting out in their journey and learn new things from teachers who have been there before. Visit community.spacesedu.com today to join."

Instagram: @theteacherhotline
Facebook: @theteacherhotline
Twitter: @ronaldhae

Happy Halloween! 🎃

Teachers, have you ever considered writing your own book? A novel, or perhaps a children book? Have you ever had that desire, but just have no idea where to start? Well you came to the right place!

Today, I bring in Rahel Tesfaledet, author of Kinza's World Magical Travel Adventures! Besides being a published author, Rahel is also an elementary school teacher and has been teaching for 10 years. Her passion for travelling has allowed her to teach in school boards in South Korea, Japan, Kuwait, and the U.S, and this year is teaching in York Region in Ontario.

Today we talk about:

What is the difference between going with a publisher company vs self publishing?
What are the different steps to self publishing?
How much does publishing your book cost?
How much do retailers take from your book sales?
What are the major road blocks to getting your book on shelves?

Instead of taking your kids trick or treating, curl up with the kids and listen to this podcast!

Links:

Kinza World Website
Amazon Store

SPONSOR: SPACES
Spaces is a new platform backed by 15+ years of educator feedback, designed to document the process and progress behind Student learning in your classroom. Join the Spaces community to connect with educators across North America, gain access to free teacher-created resources, help educators who are just starting out in their journey and learn new things from teachers who have been there before. Visit community.spacesedu.com today to join."

Instagram: @theteacherhotline
Facebook: @theteacherhotline
Twitter: @ronaldhae

Today we have Steve Brown, CEO of Nelson Publishing in to chat with The Teacher Hotline. Steve has been in this role for almost 6 years. His career spans a diverse mix of industry and technology experience from multi-media entertainment, logistics services, automotive, and now to learning solutions. Since joining NELSON in September 2016, Steve has transformed the vision 107 year old company. He has reframed the organization's digital competency by instituting a technology department comprised of some the world's best and brightest talent based in Silicon Beach California.

On this episode we chat about:

Will physical textbooks eventually have no place in the classroom?
Are tablets/laptops the future of classrooms?
Is hybrid learning here to stay? What about hybrid work force?
Does the Metaverse and VR learning have any practical use in the classroom?
How can EDWIN assist in student learning?

plus much more! Check us out, and don't forget to share this episode and give us a review and rating on Apple Podcast!

Let the grind begin! 📚

Social Media
Twitter - @NelsonSteveB

SPONSOR: SPACES
Spaces is a new platform backed by 15+ years of educator feedback, designed to document the process and progress behind Student learning in your classroom. Join the Spaces community to connect with educators across North America, gain access to free teacher-created resources, help educators who are just starting out in their journey and learn new things from teachers who have been there before. Visit community.spacesedu.com today to join."

We are back at school baby! And we got an awesome episode lined up for ya to kick off the school year!

Today we have Kelley Pomis, Director of Teacher Coaching and Development at Atlas Prep in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Kelley has been a teacher since 2002. She has taught at all levels from K-12 . As an expert in teacher development and leadership, she has shared her experience on the TedX stage. She is also the host of her own podcast called Teacher ReNewed. Kelley also recently launched her new book called "Taught: A Memoir and Educators Guide to Classroom Transformation and Student Liberation".On this episode, we talk about:

What were her feelings leading up to the first class?
How much preparation was involved in prepping her first year?
When did she begin to feel burnt out? How did she recover?
How did she handle classroom management as a new teacher?
What would she do differently as a first year teacher?

Welcome back to school folks! Let's begin the marathon!

Social Media

Instagram - @teacher_renewed
LinkedIn - Kelley Pomis

None

Holy smokes! Inflation is killing us! Gas is costing us a kidney, buying a bag of milk costs an arm and a leg, and in 5 years, I'll probably be living on the streets with these outrageous bills!

Learning how to manage your money is one of the most important life skills. It starts at a young age. In this episode, I talk to Aly Hirji, a business teacher from Agincourt Collegiate from the Toronto District School Board. Aly has been teaching for 14 years teaching in various business courses, career studies and mathematics and is one of the biggest advocate of financial literacy in the province of Ontario. Aly is also on the Teacher Advisory Board of CPA Ontario In this episode, we talk about:

What are some amazing initiatives/assignments Aly does in his classroom?
Is the province of Ontario doing a good job rolling out their financial literacy initiatives?
How can the province get better at delivering financial literacy?
Thoughts on an individual course that teaches financial literacy in Ontario
What can parents do to help teach financial literacy at home?

Check us out! Hope everyone is having a great summer so far!

Social Media:
Twitter - @FinanLiteracy
LinkedIn - Aly Hirji

Resources:

CPA Ontario
Junior Achievement
Get Smarter About Money

SPONSOR: SPACES
Spaces is a new platform backed by 15+ years of educator feedback, designed to document the process and progress behind Student learning in your classroom. Join the Spaces community to connect with educators across North America, gain access to free teacher-created resources, help educators who are just starting out in their journey and learn new things from teachers who have been there before. Visit community.spacesedu.com today to join."

Laptops, cell phones, social media, apps, didn't exists for many of us when we were in school. As teachers, many of us are still learning how to use all this new technology ourselves. As Spiderman Uncle Ben said..."with great power, comes great responsibility" . We need to make sure we educate our students in using all these amazing tools responsibly and for good in their education. How do we do that though?

Today I bring in Rachelle Dene Poth, an educator, consultant, attorney and keynote speaker! Rachelle is a Spanish and Technology teacher from Oakmont, Pennsylvania. Rachelle has a clear love for learning; she has earned her Juris Doctorate Degree, a Masters in Instructional Technology, and currently pursuing a doctorate in instructional technology. She is also the author for seven books, and also the host of her own podcast called ThriveinEdu which you can find on all streaming platforms.

On this episode, we chat about:

What does being digitally literate mean?
What does digital literacy look like in the classroom?
Can all this technology cause more harm than good for students?
How can schools put an end to cyber bullying?
Will the metaverse be a part of schools in the future?

and so much more! Check it out!

Twitter - @Rdene915
LinkedIn - Rachelle Dene Poth

SPONSOR: SPACES
Spaces is a new platform backed by 15+ years of educator feedback, designed to document the process and progress behind Student learning in your classroom. Join the Spaces community to connect with educators across North America, gain access to free teacher-created resources, help educators who are just starting out in their journey and learn new things from teachers who have been there before. Visit community.spacesedu.com today to join."

It's summer! The kids are on holidays, and teachers are living their best life!

But imagine if your kids did not go back to school....they were home schooled. What would that look like? How would that work?! Would it be pandemic learning all over again?

If you're a parent or teacher and interested in home schooling, you might want to check out this episode. Today I chat with Chauncy Childs, co- founders of OWL Home Education Network. Chanucy has been a home educator for 25 years and home educated six of her oldest children. Chanucy and her business partner created OWL Home Education network because they believe that the public education system does not fit the needs of all students and families, and wanted to provide an alternative solutions to families.

In this episode, we talk about:
📚 Will students get the proper socialization they need to develop?
📚 What qualifications do you need to become a home school teacher?
📚 What does a typical day look like for students and teachers?
📚 How does grading work for home schooled students?
📚 Is home schooling for everyone?

Come check it out! Leave us a review on Apple Podcast!

Website: Owl Home Education Network

SPONSOR: SPACES
Spaces is a new platform backed by 15+ years of educator feedback, designed to document the process and progress behind Student learning in your classroom. Join the Spaces community to connect with educators across North America, gain access to free teacher-created resources, help educators who are just starting out in their journey and learn new things from teachers who have been there before. Visit community.spacesedu.com today to join."

Teachers, are you excited for retirement?!

After the last two years, I think some of us are considering it a lot sooner than we initially planned! I'm only 10 years into the job, so I'm still a young buck! But it's never too soon to start thinking about retirement.

Today I bring in Jim Connolly, a retired elementary school teacher from the Simcoe County District School Board. Jim was a teacher for 28 years before he hung up the cleats. Jim has now been retired for 9 years now! In retirement, he spends majority of his time as a professional wrestling referee for organizations such as 365 Pro Wrestling and No Ring North. Jim received his bachelors of education from the OISE at the University of Toronto.

On this episode, I ask Jim about:

When did he start thinking about retirement?
Was it a challenge to transition into retirement life?
How did retirement impact his marriage with his wife?
Is the Ontario Teacher Pension Plan enough to live a comfortable lifestyle?
What's one thing he wish he knew about retirement before entering this stage of his life?

Check out this episode! Tell a friend. Hit subscribe. Thanks for supporting the podcast folks!

Instagram - @eddyoldschool
TikTok - @eddyoldschool123

SPONSOR: SPACES
Spaces is a new platform backed by 15+ years of educator feedback, designed to document the process and progress behind Student learning in your classroom. Join the Spaces community to connect with educators across North America, gain access to free teacher-created resources, help educators who are just starting out in their journey and learn new things from teachers who have been there before. Visit community.spacesedu.com today to join."

Unions. Unions. Unions. You love them or you hate them! Teacher's unions have been front and centre in the news over the last few years. Even if you aren't a teacher, you know at the very least they exists. But other than sitting at the bargaining table, what other value does the Ontario Teacher's Federation provide teachers?

So today, I bring in Chris Cowley, the 78th President of the Ontario's Teachers Federation. In his role as President, him and his organization is responsible for advocating for all 160,000 Ontario teachers at publicly funded schools. Previous to this role, Chris was a teacher at St. Johns College in Brantford teaching Canadian and World Studies and Religious Studies. He was also involved with his schools in athletics, coaching the schools baseball, and involved with student council. Chris received his Bachelors, B.Ed, and M.Ed all from Western University.

On this episode we talk about:

What is the Ontario Teacher's Federation (OTF)? What do they do?
Whats the difference between all the different affiliated teachers union (ie.AEFO, ETFO, OECTA, OSSTF) and OTF?
Teacher shortage - is there anything being done to rectify this?
Are unions necessary in this day and age?
Do teachers union protect bad teachers?
What are the recent OCT governance changes? Good or bad?
What is OTF's relationship with the Ontario Teachers Pension plan?
What can be done to improve Teacher Education Programs?

You won't want to miss this episode with Chris! Check it out!

Website: https://www.otffeo.on.ca/en/
Twitter: Chris Cowley

SPONSOR: SPACES
Spaces is a new platform backed by 15+ years of educator feedback, designed to document the process and progress behind Student learning in your classroom. Join the Spaces community to connect with educators across North America, gain access to free teacher-created resources, help educators who are just starting out in their journey and learn new things from teachers who have been there before. Visit community.spacesedu.com today to join."

It's exam season everyone! During the pandemic, schools and teachers had to rethink and reimagine how to assess students. Traditional tests and exams were difficult to do online. Now we are out of the assessments, a lot of teachers (including myself) are reverting back to old ways.

In this episode, I wanted to explore what are the best way to assess students learning. Today I bring in assessment expert, Damian Cooper. Previous to this career, Damian was a High School teacher teaching English, Spec. Ed, and Drama. He has specialized in student assessment since 1986 and has consulted for school boards, the ministry of education and other various academic institutions across Canada, the U.S and international countries. Damian is the author of four books, which all focus on assessment. His most recent publication is titled 'Rebooting Assessment', which you can find online.

In this episode, we talk about:

What are different ways to assess students?
What does Damian mean by having a 'balanced approach" in assessment?
Is their danger in having too many rich assessments?
What are his thoughts on standardized testing?
How can teachers in math (and accounting) assess students differently other than your traditional tests?

Check it out! We are almost at the end of the finish line. Crawling to the finish line...

Website: http://www.planteachassess.com/damian-cooper

Newest Publication: Rebooting Assessment

Twitter: @Cooperd1954

SPONSOR: SPACES
Spaces is a new platform backed by 15+ years of educator feedback, designed to document the process and progress behind Student learning in your classroom. Join the Spaces community to connect with educators across North America, gain access to free teacher-created resources, help educators who are just starting out in their journey and learn new things from teachers who have been there before. Visit community.spacesedu.com today to join."

Last season I did an episode interviewing my Associate Teacher, Paul Kralik. I asked him questions about how to give feedback, managing a student teacher, and his overall approach.

This term, I am managing my first teacher! I thought the best way to learn is to ask him what he's looking for! We decided to make it into a podcast episode to figure out what he's looking for in his practice experience and how I can facilitate that. On this episode I have Matthew Colalillo, or as the kids in my classroom know him as Mr. C. Matt is a student at Niagara University in Buffalo. He has teachable in Business and Math. Before starting his journey to becoming an educator, Matt spent 2.5 years at CIBC working as a Financial Advisor and 3 years at TD in the same role. He graduated from Guelph University with a degree in Business, and is now looking to share his knowledge of the business world in my Grade 11/12 accounting classroom!

On this episode, we talk about:

Why did he decide to go to Niagara University in Buffalo for his education?
How should I approach him when giving feedback? (ie. blunt, positive-negative-positive?)
How involved does he want me to be with classroom management issues?
What does he want out of this expierence?
What does the perfect Associate Teacher look, and sound like?

...and course much more! Check out this episode! Hit the subscribe button. You'll love it!

SPONSOR: SPACES
Spaces is a new platform backed by 15+ years of educator feedback, designed to document the process and progress behind Student learning in your classroom. Join the Spaces community to connect with educators across North America, gain access to free teacher-created resources, help educators who are just starting out in their journey and learn new things from teachers who have been there before. Visit community.spacesedu.com today to join."

Do any teachers listening teach Advance Placement courses? Has anyone ever taken these courses? I've seen these courses being offered when I was a student at my high school. The school I currently work at also offers these courses...not going to lie...I have no idea what value these courses provide! All I know is they are harder and they are supposed to offer you university credits...I think...

So I want to get to the bottom of this. So today, I bring in someone who has a deep understanding of AP courses. Today I have Carlos Heleno, a colleague of mine at Appleby College. Carlos is the schools Coordinator of External Academic Programs and in this role includes the planning and organization that goes behind the Advance Placement Program. Carlos has been at Appleby for 14 years and is also an English teacher at our school, teaching grade 9 and 10 this year. Previous to Appleby, Carlos spent 12 years at Bayview Glen, in various positions including the Assistant Head of School. Carlos, is also currently completing his Doctorate in Educational Leadership at Western University.

In this episode, we talk about:

What are Advance Placement Courses?
How does the grading system work in these courses?
Do you need to take AP courses to get into U.S Schools?
Whats the difference between Advance Placement and International Baccalaureate
Do teachers/schools need to be certified to teach these courses?

...and so much more!

Check it out! I learned a lot from this conversation, and so will you!

LinkedIn: Carlos Heleno
Website: AP College Board

SPONSOR: SPACES
Spaces is a new platform backed by 15+ years of educator feedback, designed to document the process and progress behind Student learning in your classroom. Join the Spaces community to connect with educators across North America, gain access to free teacher-created resources, help educators who are just starting out in their journey and learn new things from teachers who have been there before. Visit community.spacesedu.com today to join."

Hello! Welcome back to Season 2 of The Teacher Hotline! 🙌

We are back! I can't believe we are doing this again. But believe it baby!

On our first episode back, we're coming at ya hot with an awesome episode with Tim Cavey, a Middle School VP at Vancouver Christian School. He is also the host of the #1 EduPodcast in Canada, called Teachers on Fire!On this episode, we talk about what are some of his responsibilities as a Vice Principal at a middle school. We try to take a peek behind the curtain and see what do administrators actually do.

If you're interested in climbing the education ladder and want to be in administration one day, check it out!

SPONSOR: SPACES
Spaces is a new platform backed by 15+ years of educator feedback, designed to document the process and progress behind Student learning in your classroom. Join the Spaces community to connect with educators across North America, gain access to free teacher-created resources, help educators who are just starting out in their journey and learn new things from teachers who have been there before. Visit community.spacesedu.com today to join."

Twitter: @teachersonfire
TikTok: @teachersonfire
Instagram: @teachersonfire
Facebook: @teachersonfire
Youtube: Teachers on Fire
LinkedIn: Tim Cavey
Website: https://teachersonfire.net/

Thank you to everyone who has been supporting the Teacher Hotline podcast! It has been an incredible ride over the last several months!

This podcast was built out of boredom during the lockdown, and has now turned into something much bigger. The podcast was recently listed as the #6 Teacher Education Podcast in Canada. Thats all because of you!

Thank you too...

Colleagues/Teachers/Parents/Students - Thank you for listening. Thank you for subscribing. Thank you for following. Thank you for sharing. Thank you for supporting. the whole community has been so supportive and helped me grow this podcast. I appreciate it all! 🙏
Guests - I have 35 episodes, so impossible to thank everyone! But thank you to all my guests. There would be no show without you. It was your expertise, personality and willingness to do the show is the main reason why there is a podcast. So thank you for coming on!
Sponsor: SpacesEdu - Thank you to Spaces for sponsoring the podcast! I appreciate everyone in the organization for believing in the podcast to begin with. Everyone go check them out! Click on the link!

Thanks again everyone for listening. We'll be back in the New Year. We might go to a bi-weekly format...but we'll see. Click subscribe, follow me on Instagram! Tell your friends!

Happy Holidays!!

Stand Up Tickets:

Saturday December 18th @ 10:30pm - ShowTime Comedy - St. Catherines - NEW SHOW ADDED
Thursday December 23rd @7:30pm - Old Flame Brewery - New Market
Tuesday January 4th @9pm - Yuk Yuk Toronto

Sponsor:

SpacesEdu

Social Media:

Twitter - @ronaldhae
Instagram - @theteacherhotline
Facebook - @theteacherhotline

A few weeks ago I asked my guest Alan Chan, what is it like to work at an all boys school? Naturally, that lead me to ask, what is it like to work at an all girls school?

So today I got to speak to Sarah Leaper, a middle school teacher at St. Mildred's-Lightbourn School! I wanted to know:

👧 What are the different all girls school out there in Ontario?

👧 What kind of girls would benefit from learning in an all girls environment?

👧Whats the big difference between teaching at an all girls vs co-ed school?

and much more!

Folks, this is the final episode before we end our first season! Going to take a little bit of a break for December before we come back for Season 2 in the New Year.

Thank you everyone for supporting the podcast up to this point. Next week, we will do a quick wrap up episode to put a nice little bow on the first season. But thank you everyone for supporting The Teacher Hotline! Happy Holidays! 🎄

Twitter - @leaperrr
LinkedIn - Sarah Leaper

This year I was lucky enough to train a student teacher and have my first experience in being an Associate Teacher. Teaching a student teacher is definitely a lot different than teaching your students! So it made me think, what makes a great Associate Teacher?

This week, I brought in my Associate Teacher, Mr. Paul Kralik. Paul trained me back in March of 2012 at Northern Secondary. Paul has been a teacher for 15 years, and in the span has trained 20 student teachers! He currently works at Northern Secondary, teaching grade 9 Business, Accounting, and Financial Securities. Paul received his B.Ed of OISE and his MBA from the Schulich Business School at York University.

Paul was an incredible Associate Teacher, and I had to pick his brain about:

His approach to training student teachers
His philosophy around giving feedback:
- How often? Daily? Weekly? After every lesson?
- How to give difficult or constructive feedback?
How to manage difficult student teachers?
How to ensure your students receive quality education while training your student teacher?
How to be an effective Associate Teacher?

and much more!

If you have the opportunity to become an Associate Teacher, I would highly recommend! Check out what Paul has to say first!

Ugh! Sometimes, it can be so frustrating to teach students because all they care about is the grade! All of this focus on the grade puts on blinders and they miss the journey. Is it possible to teach students 'how to learn'? How we can we teach students how to be resilient when they face adversity or rejection? How can teachers package up their lessons in a way that make it easier for students to learn?

Today I bring on Eric Janssen, an Entrepreneur and faculty member at the Ivey Business School. At Ivey, Eric teaches Sales Foundation, New Venture Creation, and a course he designed called Hustle and Grit. Eric was recently awarded the HBA Ivey Teaching Award for outstanding impact as an Ivey Instructor. Eric has always had a knack for teaching. Upon graduation, Eric also taught Business 1220 at Ivey was awarded the Teaching Honour Roll Certificate for exceptional course ratings.

Outside of the classroom, Eric preaches what he teaches. Eric has played a role in many firms on their sales team, none bigger than working for Intillex as their Chief Revenue Officer. Intillex is most well known for their RFID Wristbands used by the worlds best live events such as Coachella, Bonaroo, and Boots and Hearts. Eric also the host of his own podcast called The Entrepreneur Podcast. You probably guessed it…Eric is a proud graduate from the Ivey Business School with his HBA and MBA.

On this episode, we chat about:

"Rejection Olympics" - An assignment Eric created for his course 'Hustle and Grit'
How does Eric teach students how to learn?
How do we steer students to focus on learning and not worry about the grades?
Why is becoming a part-time entertainer in the classroom necessary for learning?

This episode is incredible! Eric is an amazing educator, and you have to listen what this man has to say!

Links:

The Entrepreneur Podcast hosted by Eric Janssen
LinkedIn - Eric Janssen

With parents-teacher interviews around the corner, I thought it was fitting to do a remix of our pilot episode "What Makes a Great Teacher from a Students Perspective?"

Today I chat with Jennifer and Steve Latimer, proud parents of four children: Abby, Blake, Jack, and Sadie. Abby and Blake both currently attend Western University. Abby is currently in her third year attending the Ivey Business School, while Blake is in his second year at Western also studying business at Huron College. Jack is currently in grade 11, and I have the pleasure of teaching him in my grade 11 accounting class, and finally Sadie just entered high school and is starting grade 9 at Appleby College.

Steve and Jen have some long standing ties with Appleby College sending all four children through the school. Jennifer is also currently the Vice President of the Appleby College Parents Association.

In this episode, we chat about:

What do parents look for in a great elementary school teacher? Who were some if their favourite elementary school teachers that taught their children?
What do parents look for in a great high school teacher? Who were some of their favourite high school teachers over the years?
As parents, how do they prefer to receive bad news about their children during PT interviews?
Naturally, parents become less involved in their children's education at the post-secondary level. What do they hope their children get out of the post-secondary education experience?

and much more! Get ready for PT interviews and check out this episode! Good luck to everyone this week. To new teachers, you got this!

The world is slowly starting to open up. Wouldn't it be nice to travel the world and make some money at the same time?

Teaching abroad is a popular option for teachers looking to see the world, experience new culture and make some cash while doing it. If you ever wondered what it was like to teach abroad this is the episode for you!

Today I chat with Renee Faubert, a Guidance and Learning Resource Teacher and Former Arts teacher at Canadian International School in Vietnam. Renee has been teaching for 8 years . She started her career in teaching in Ecuador teaching MYP Design. Before moving to Vietnam, Renee was a Boarding Advisor and Arts Teacher at Branksome Hall. Renee graduated with a B.Ed from Queens University.

We chat about:

How does a teacher begin the process of the job search?
Financially, who covers the cost of the flights, move and other logistical responsibilities?
Culturally what are major differences between North American teaching and teaching aboard?
What is compensation like for teachers teaching abroad?
How do contracts work when signing up for abroad teaching?

and much more!

Check us out! Click the link. Click subscribe. You won't want to miss this episode!

I know this sounds silly....but have you ever thought what it would be like to drive a school bus?! As teachers, we are so focused in the classroom! But we need bus drivers to get the kids to the school safely and on time!

Today my guest is Max Ross, a former bus driver for Attridge Bus Company and Appleby College. Max is a stand up comedian from Toronto Ontario. Outside of his comedy career, Max served in the Canadian Armed Forces as an Airborne Infantry soldier. His previous career paths and life experiences inspires Max's comedy. He has performed across Canada and the United States, performed at the Burbank Comedy Festival in Burbank California and was part of the Ed The Sock "War on Stupid" Canadian Comedy tour. He has also co-produced and hosted his own comedy show in Toronto named "Thank Me For My Service - Military Comedy Show", a show consisting of comedians who previously served in the military.

You can follow Max on Instagram/Twitter/TikTok @maxrosscomedy

You can watch a sample of Max's stand-up act by clicking this link!

Welcome back to part two of our conversation with Sean! We continue our conversation around the topic of sports psychology and arming coaches with the knowledge and advice to help assist their athletes through this years academic year.

Today I bring back my colleague and office mate Sean Poitras! Sean is a Social Science teacher at Appleby College and coaches the Varsity Boys Hockey team and Soccer team. Sean has dedicated his life and career to the study of psychology. He received his Bachelors degree in Sports and Exercise Psychology at Laurentian University and went on to receive his Masters of Education in Athletic Counselling Psychology from Springfield College. He also served as an adjunct professor at Sheridan College various psychology courses, and worked as a consultant for several firms as a sports psychologist. He was also a previous owners of his own private practice called Focus North Performance a sports psychology consulting firm.

Today I chat with Sean about:

Sports Rebab: What role does coaches play in the recovery process for student athletes?
Team Dynamics: Is there research that suggest a team that likes each other performs better on the field? How much emphasis should coaches put into team bonding?

Check us out! Don't forget to click subscribe and follow us each week!

LinkedIn: Sean Poitras
Instagram: FocusnPerform

Is choking in sports a real thing? Can athletes burn out? Do athletes face performance anxiety? If you are a coach and you've seen these affect your players, how can we help them? Many coaches do not have training in sports psychology, and find it difficult to help our athletes face their mental challenges. So what can coaches do?

Today I bring on my colleague and office mate Sean Poitras! Sean is a Social Science teacher at Appleby College and coaches the Varsity Boys Hockey team and Soccer team. Sean has dedicated his life and career to the study of psychology. He received his Bachelors degree in Sports and Exercise Psychology at Laurentian University and went on to receive his Masters of Education in Athletic Counselling Psychology from Springfield College. He also served as an adjunct professor at Sheridan College various psychology courses, and worked as a consultant for several firms as a sports psychologist. He was also a previous owners of his own private practice called Focus North Performance a sports psychology consulting firm.

Today I chat with Sean about:

What does a sports psychologist do? What value can they bring to a team?
Performance Anxiety/"Choking": What does the research say? How can athletes overcome this? How can coaches help our athletes?
Mindfulness: How can coaches incorporate mindfulness into their practices? What are the benefits of mindfulness?

This is a two part episode! Next week we talk about the mental toll rehab takes on athletes, and discuss. the importance of team dynamics. What does research say about game performance versus team cohesion? Plus much more!

LinkedIn: Sean Poitras
Instagram: FocusnPerform

Most of us grew up or have taught in a co-ed school. What would it be like though to teach at a single gendered school?

Today I bring in an old friend, Alan Chan, an IB Economics and Math Teacher from Upper Canada College, one of the most prestigious all boys schools in Toronto. Alan has been working at UCC for eight years and outside of the classroom has been the Head Coach of the Varsity Boys Volleyball Team and U16 Badminton Team. He also served as Assistant Coach to the U14 Volleyball Team. He also spent some time being involved in the schools boarding life program as a Residential Assistant. Alan received his B.Ed and Masters of Economics from the University of Toronto.

On this episode I ask Alan:

What is it like to work at an all boys school? The good and the bad?
Do the boys act and behave differently in school without girls around them?
How do the boys get the opportunity to learn to socialize with girls?
Is an all boys school right for everyone? What type of boys would thrive in this environment?

plus much more!

Tune in this week on The Teacher Hotline! Next week, is the Thanksgiving long weekend, so there won't be an episode. So tune in now!

Website: Upper Canada College
Twitter: @Alan_Chan
LinkedIn: Alan Chan

It is September! That means future teachers are beginning to think about if they want to start the journey of becoming a teacher! So lets' take a few episodes to review some of the Teacher Education programs available to us in Ontario.

Today I bring in two guests: Niki Boytchuk-Hale and Miles Duke. Niki is a concurrent education, entering her third year at Queens University. At the same time she is completing her bachelors in fine arts with a minor in Indigenous Studies and Certificate in Law. As for her practicum, Niki was placed at St. Mildreds, teaching grade 1's and was hired back for a few months at own high school at Appleby College, teaching Visual Arts and Canadian Law.

Our second guest is Miles Duke, a graduate of Western University Bachelor of Education program. Miles graduated in 2019 and focused his studies on the primary and junior grades. Miles is now working as an Occasional Teacher in the Thames Valley District School board in London. Previous to his B.Ed Miles earned his Honours Bachelors in English Languages and Literature from the University of Toronto.

In this episode we talk about:

What is a concurrent education program? How is it difference than a traditional bachelor of education degree?
How much does each program cost?
How is each program structured?
What did they enjoy about the program? What feedback do they have for their school?

Both Niki and Miles gave Western and Queens four out of five stars for their teacher education experience. Listen to this episode to hear what they have to say!

Deadline for Western/Queens 2022 B.Ed - December 1st, 2021
Deadline for Queens 2022 Con.Ed - February 1st, 2022

Social Media
Niki's Instagram - @nik.paint
Niki's Twitter - @n_boytchuk
Niki's LinkedIn - @Niki Boytchuk-Hale

Miles Linkedin - @Miles Duke

We are back for part two of our conversation with Mr. Fraser Grant, the new Head of School and Deputy Principal of Appleby College.

Mr. Grant has been working at Appleby College for 27 years and counting. Over the years, he served primarily as an Economics Teacher but also served in various leadership roles such as the Senior School Director, Assistant House Director, and was as the schools Assistant Head of Academic for the last 12 years. Fraser has his M.Ed from Brock University and Masters in Economics from McMaster. But the true beauty of this story is Fraser also was a former student at Appleby College back in the good old days and was part of the 1987 graduating class and has now climbed his way to the top as our new Head of School. So in the words of Drake, Mr. Grant indeed did start from the bottom and now he is here!

Last week we had a very productive conversation around grade inflation and why we think it is happening across Canada. This week we shift our conversation to: how can we fix this problem? We examine a few solutions and topics such as:

Standardized Testing - Does this work? Will it eliminate grade inflation?
Waterloo Engineering's Grade Adjustment - Does this work? Does it have consequences?
Harvey Mansfield 'Two Grades' Practice - A Harvard Economics professor gives his students two grades! Listen in to why he does this and how it combats grade inflation.
Private Schools - Are they a big culprit to giving our grades for money?

Plus much more!

Is an 80% average in 2021 worth the same as an 80% average back in 1990?

I love teaching grade 12's....except when January comes around and university marks starts to get uploaded to universities.

Grades are such a sensitive subject now. Programs are becoming more competitive, expectations are higher, and more students are applying than ever before. As a result, we have seen grades being inflated over the year. The question is, why is this happening? How did this happen? Is this sustainable?

Today I bring in my new boss, AKA new Head of School and Deputy Principal of Appleby College, Mr. Fraser Grant. Mr. Grant has been working at Appleby College for 27 years and counting. Over the years, he served primarily as an Economics Teacher but also served in various leadership roles such as the Senior School Director, Assistant House Director, and was as the schools Assistant Head of Academic for the last 12 years. Fraser has his M.Ed from Brock University and Masters in Economics from McMaster. But the true beauty of this story is Fraser also was a former student at Appleby College back in the good old days and was part of the 1987 graduating class and has now climbed his way to the top as our new Head of School. So in the words of Drake, Mr. Grant indeed did start from the bottom and now he is here!

Today we talk about:

Has he seen grade inflation at our school, Appleby College during his tenure?
What is causing grades to be inflated in Canada?
With grades creeping up, can this be a good thing if looked through a different lens?
How can we equally compare grades and credits when they are clearly not equal across schools?
- Waterloo Engineering introduced a concept called an "Adjustment Factor" to students grades depending on which school they came from. Some schools are notorious for giving out higher grades. Is this the way to fix grade inflation?

Plus much more! This is part one of a two part conversation. You won't want to miss it!

Articles:

Waterloo Engineering and the Adjustment Factor Article

School is around the corner, and that means sports is also back!

All the players and coaches are excited to the courts and field this fall, which means coaches are starting to prepare for tryouts and practices.

If you are new to coaching or looking to hear a fresh perspective on coaching, this episode is for you! Today, I bring in Lou Caffazo, the Athletic Director at Appleby College. Lou has been immersed in sports his entire life. Lou spent roughly 8 years playing in the CFL mostly as an offensive lineman. He was drafted by the Calgary Stampeders in the 3rd round in 1989 and played for them for 5 years before being traded to his hometown the Hamilton Tigers Cats. After his professional career in Football, he spent 17 years working at McMaster University in various roles including being the Full Time Assistant Coach to the McMaster Marauder Football team.

In this episode we chat about:

Who were Lou's favourite coaches growing up? What made them special?
His experience being coached in the CFL
How do you gain the respect of your players as a rookie coach?
How do you handle star players on your team?
Should coaches be focusing on skill development or winning at a young age?
What should rookie coaches be doing on their first day of the job?
Is there a good way to cut athletes off of a team?
What makes a great coach?

plus much more!

Leave a comment, leave a review! Good luck with school everyone!

Welcome to part 2 of our chat with Andrew Hallam!

Teacher's might not be making the same income as doctors or lawyers but it doesn't mean we can't build similar wealth! With the proper investing techniques and armed with the right knowledge, teachers can build a million dollar portfolio!

Don't believe me? Then listen to Andrew Hallam, a former English teacher, but is now a respected and #1 selling author of personal finance books! Andrew is the author of:

Millionaire Teacher: The Nine Rules of Wealth You Should Have Learned in School
Millionaire Expat: How To Build Wealth Living Overseas

Profiled on such media as CNBC, and The Wall Street Journal, he's also the first person to have a #1 selling finance book on Amazon USA, Amazon Canada and Amazon UAE. He has written columns for The Globe and Mail, Canadian Business, MoneySense, Internaxx and AssetBuilder. Since 2016 he has spoken at businesses and international schools in over 30 different countries.

Andrew has a new book coming out in January of 2022 called Balance: How To Invest and Spend for Happiness, Health and Wealth. Pre-orders begin in November of 2021. You can read the first chapter of the book off his website by joining the mailing list titled "The Grim Reaper Asks: What Do You Value More, Your Stuff Or Your Life?"

Listen to this two part episode where we discuss everything from:

Why index investing over picking stocks?
Should we be investing when the stock market is so expensive?
What type of bonds should I have in my portfolio? (ie. corporate, government, short term, long term, aggregate?)
How much cash should I be holding on too?
Thoughts on alternative investments such as: Gold? Cryptocurrencies? Cannabis? Real Estate?

Plus so much more! Check it out! Don't forget to leave a review and rating!

Links:
Website - andrewhallam.com
Twitter - @aphallam
Facebook - Millionaire Teacher

Articles:
1. Why Do Investors Do Better With All in One ETFs?
2. How Do Financial Advisors and Perform with Personal Portfolio?

Teacher's might not be making the same income as doctors or lawyers but it doesn't mean we can't build similar wealth! With the proper investing techniques and armed with the right knowledge, teachers can build a million dollar portfolio!

Don't believe me? Then listen to Andrew Hallam, a former English teacher, but is now a respected and #1 selling author of personal finance books! Andrew is the author of:

Millionaire Teacher: The Nine Rules of Wealth You Should Have Learned in School
Millionaire Expat: How To Build Wealth Living Overseas

Profiled on such media as CNBC, and The Wall Street Journal, he's also the first person to have a #1 selling finance book on Amazon USA, Amazon Canada and Amazon UAE. He has written columns for The Globe and Mail, Canadian Business, MoneySense, Internaxx and AssetBuilder. Since 2016 he has spoken at businesses and international schools in over 30 different countries.

Andrew has a new book coming out in January of 2022 called Balance: How To Invest and Spend for Happiness, Health and Wealth. Pre-orders begin in November of 2021. You can read the first chapter of the book off his website by joining the mailing list titled "The Grim Reaper Asks: What Do You Value More, Your Stuff Or Your Life?"

Listen to this two part episode where we discuss everything from:

Why index investing over picking stocks?
Should we be investing when the stock market is so expensive?
What type of bonds should I have in my portfolio? (ie. corporate, government, short term, long term, aggregate?)
How much cash should I be holding on too?
Thoughts on alternative investments such as: Gold? Cryptocurrencies? Cannabis? Real Estate?

Plus so much more! Check it out! Don't forget to leave a review and rating!

Links:
Website - andrewhallam.com
Twitter - @aphallam
Facebook - Millionaire Teacher

Articles:
1. Why Do Investors Do Better With All in One ETFs?
2. How Do Financial Advisors and Perform with Personal Portfolio?

Nature or Nurture? Biology versus Environment?

This is a classic question that has commonly come up in regards to child development. As teachers, we should be interested in finding out the answer to this question because we see our students 8 hours a day for 5 days a week for 10 months!

So I went to our expert, Dr. Aletha Harven, an Associate Professor in the department of Psychology and Child Development at California State University. Dr. Harven holds a Ph.D. in Education from UCLA, a Master of Arts degree in Education and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Child Development from California State University, Sacramento (CSUS), and an Associate of Arts degree in Liberal Studies from American River College (ARC) in Sacramento, California.

Dr. Harven has co-authored a book on careers in child and adolescent development, edited and contributed chapters to critical books on social justice instruction and education policy, and written policy reports in the area of education for the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST).

In this episode we talk about:

Nature vs Nurture - which is more impactful?
Can we teach social emotional intelligence?
What age does majority of our development come from?
Twin studies - what has research discovered?

Check us out! Don't forget to hit that subscribe button!

Social Media:

Instagram - @alethaharven
Twitter - @DrAlethaHarven
LinkedIn - Aletha Harven
Cal State University Bio

Articles:

Twin Studies - Nature vs Nurture

I'm pretty sure every Ontario teacher knows we have a pension. But do you even know what a pension is? Why the Ontario Teacher Pension Plan is regarded as one of the best ones? What implications does it have when it comes to your retirement? We'll we are going to talk about our financial future and how our pension plan is going to help us live a comfortable lifestyle in retirement!

On this episode, I chat with Trevor Wright, an Investment Analyst at the Ontario Teacher Pension Plan. We chat about:

What exactly is a pension?
Whats the difference between Defined Benefit vs. Defined Contribution Pension? Which one do we have?
How many years are teachers collection pension for? How many retired teachers are there currently being paid?
What investments is OTPP making? How are they managing our money?
Can I take my pension money out and manage it on my own?
Should I continue to invest into my RRSP?
How much money will I make in retirement?

Listen in on this informative episode of The Teacher Hotline!

Website: Ontario Teachers Pension Plan
Twitter: @OTPPinfo

Babies! Who doesn't love them?! Not so fast...there are a ton of stuff related to your work you need to get in order before you can start cuddling up to your new born child!

Today I chat with Ashley Frampton and Danielle Kindree, two moms who experienced what it is like to on maternity leave. Ashley is an elementary school teacher from the Calgary Board of Education and is a mother two three children; Tula, Eddie, and Mia! Danielle is a new mother who just gave birth to a beautiful baby girl Ellis! Danielle is the department head of science at Havergal College, an all girls independent school in Toronto.

On this episode, we talk about everything from:

When do I need to legally tell the school?
Employment Insurance - how much will you be bringing home?
Benefits - Do I still get it?
How does going on maternity leave impact your pension plan/retirement fund?
Day care - How much does it cost?

Check it out! This is an episode where you don't want to miss!

Social Media:

Ashley Frampton - @teachthemlittle
Danielle Kindree - @dkindree

Teachers, have you ever had a student in your class with ADHD, Dyslexia, ODD or perhaps even a student that is super gifted and intellectually, way ahead of the curve? It must be difficult to support these students in a large classroom. There has to be a better way!

Well, one school in Calgary, Alberta thinks there is. Let me introduce to you Rundle Studio, an independent virtual school that is dedicated to support students with various learning needs. On this episode, I chat with the Principal of the school John Wolf. We talk about why this learning model will be best to serve this student population and how it's going to be different than other schools. This school is one of the first of its kinds, and will be launching in September 2021. The first year, the school will enrol only grade 7 and 8 students with plans to expand in the future.

Think online learning was only for 2020? Think again. This school plans on making it the future. Tune in and hear what John has to say!

Click here to see its segment on CTV News

Twitter:
@mrwolfrundle
@rundlestudio

For their website and more information, click here

With online learning, teachers did not have the same opportunity to make the same connections we normally would with our students in the classroom. There were a lot of blindspots that we missed. I wanted to get an honest opinion from students of how the school year actually went for them? What better way then to go directly to the students and ask them?!

This week I chat with three former students of mine: Adrian Davila, Dawson Meloche, and Erik Ponikvar. I wanted to know:

What feedback do they have for teachers?
How was the students mental health?
What were their thoughts on an outdoor/online graduation?

and much more!

Check out this week episode and don't forget to subscribe and leave a review!

So you think teaching a classroom full of kids is hard? How about managing an entire school? Oh lets add in covid, online learning, managing faculty and staff plus schools with boarding students. There are a ton of responsibilities a schools Principals needs to manage.

On this episode, we chat with Dr. Katrina Samson, the incoming Principal for Havergal College, and independent all girls school in Toronto, Ontario. Dr. Samson spent 18 years of her career at Appleby College as an English Teacher, but started her career in administration in her 20's as the Upper School Director at the school. She spent the last 11 years of her career as the Head of School at Appleby College and help guide the school through a difficult year during covid.

I ask Dr. Samson:

Why change environments after 18 years at one school?
What kept her up at night during the covid school year?
What were some of the challenges of managing a school during covid?
Should Principals teach and do administration? Is it possible at all schools?
What were her favourite memories at Appleby College?

and much more!

Tune in on this special episode with Dr. Katrina Samson! Don't forget to click that subscribe button!

Twitter
@KatrinaPSamson
@ApplebyCollege
@HavergalCollege

In Ontario, Canada, the Ministry of Education just announced a brand new math curriculum for grade 9 students as of September 2021. This new curriculum will have a focus on financial literacy, coding and much more real life application of math.

However, the controversial topics around this new curriculum is the fact that Ontario also plans to destream math. This means there will no longer be "Applied" and "Academic" math. For the longest time, all the strong students would be in the academic stream and the weaker students would be in the Applied stream.

On this episode I invited Jason To, who is the Coordinator of Secondary Mathematics and Academic Pathways in the Toronto District School Board. Previous to this role, Jason was a math and science teacher at Westview Centennial Secondary School in Toronto for 13 years.

I ask Jason:

What does the new curriculum focus on? How is it different from the old?
Why are we eliminating streams?
How does a math teacher, teach math to a wide range of abilities now in a classroom?
His thoughts on Advanced Placement (AP) and the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. Are these essentially streaming? Should they still be in place?

and much more!

You can follow Jason on Twitter at @Jason_To

Teaching Elementary School takes a certain personality, patience and understanding of children. Doing all of that during a pandemic....? I don't know how these teachers do it!

On this weeks episode, I speak with Princess Marfil from the London Catholic District School Board and Mariel Barahona, from the Calgary School Board of Education. We chat about online learning, challenges and success stories over the last 10 months of schooling

Feel free to follow their incredible work on Instagram and Twitter

Mariel Barahona - @sra_barahona
Princess Marfil - @mspmarfil

This episode is part 2 of our episode from last week on "Should I get a Ph.D in Education?".

We round out the conversation by chatting with Kathy Hibbert, the Associate Dean of Western University's Teacher Education program.

We chat about:

Why did she transition into academia after 18 years in the classroom?
Online learning
Costs and lifestyle of pursuing a Ph.D
How to teach at a Teachers College (with and without a PhD)

And so much more! If you are interested in learning more about Western's graduate program in education, you can visit their website for more information.

You can follow Kathy Hibbert on Twitter at @khibbert

Have you ever thought about getting a Ph.D in education? Have you ever wondered the following:

How much will it costs? Can I afford it?
Should I do it part time or full time?
Why have other teachers gotten their Ph.Ds?
What can I do with the degree?
I want teach a teachers college one day. Do I need a Ph.D?

This is actually a two part episode. In part 1, we speak to Celeste Kirsh and Dr. Sarah Morrison.

Celeste is a middle school teacher in Toronto and is about to start her Ph.D at OISE in the fall. We talk to her about the thought process and decision making that went involved behind this major life decision! If you love listening to Celeste, you can hear more of her on her own education podcast called "Teaching Tomorrow". You find can that podcast on Apple, Spotify, and all streaming services.

Dr. Sarah Morrison is a music teacher and she completed her Ph.D at OISE. We talk to her about what she spent four years studying, why she got the degree, and her role as an adjunct professor at Queens University.

In part 2 of this series, we will speak to Kathy Hibbert, the Associate Dean at Western University's Teachers College program. You can listen to that episode on Monday June 7th.

Wow - I have my first celebrity on the podcast! Does this mean my podcast is finally blowing up?

On this episode, I chat with Chris Patterson, the Upper School Director and English Teacher at Appleby College. However, in the evenings, he is also one member of the iconic Canadian musical comedy group, 'The Arrogant Worms'!In our conversations we talk about balancing our teaching careers with our life passions - music and comedy. So many young teachers struggle with balancing their life due to the immense amount of lesson planning out of school. Add that on with a possible family, kids, marriage, relationship, or friends, how are we supposed to find time for ourselves?

On this episode we talk about:

Who are The Arrogant Worms?
Is it possible to have a passion outside of teaching?
How do we balance the classroom and our passions?
Creative writing - how do musicians write their music? How do comics test their jokes?

Chris is a hilarious, entertaining and great individual. You won't want to miss out on his stories of teaching and touring on the road!

Don't forget to subscribe to our podcast and leave a review and rating if you are on Apple Podcasts!

Notes

Visit chrispatterson.ca for all of Chris's children music
Visit arrogantworms.com for all up to date music and touring dates
You can also follow the group on Facebook or Instagram and listen to their music on Apple or Spotify and other streaming services

Have you ever thought, are we wasting our times as teachers? Are students actually learning anything valuable in our class? Are they actually going to use any of this stuff in the real world?

Students are craving practical knowledge. Students want to be prepared to tackle the real world! Sometimes teachers get caught up in curriculum and what the ministry says we should be teaching. Have these people even stepped foot in a classroom? The Ministry Business Curriculum hasn't been updated since 2006!!

Today, we speak with Benji Copeland, a former student of mine. Benji did not attend post-secondary school and instead wanted to start his own business at the young age of 20 years old! Today we have an honest conversation about if Benji felt his high school education prepared him to tackle the real world. What can schools do differently to equip students with the necessary skills for those who don't want to attend post-secondary education.

Check out Benji's podcast, 'The Power of 3' on Apple Podcast!

Its a fun episode. Don't forget to leave a rating and review on Apple!

It's been a while since I stepped foot in a public school! This episode, I chat with Ed Ponikvar, a high school Accounting Teacher at Mount Carmel Secondary School, in the Dufferin Peel Catholic School Board in Mississauga, ON.

He gives me a dose of reality of what things are like in the public system. We talk about:

What it's like teaching online in the public system?
The difficulties of transferring school boards and seniority
What incentives teachers to run after school curricular?
What is it like to deal with parents in the public sector?
How do you teach students with a wide range of academic abilities in the same classroom?

This one is a bit of a longer one! But I had so many questions and Ed had so many good stories!

Hit that subscribe button, and leave a rating and review! It would help a lot!

I just got vaccinated! Got the Pfizer juice running through my veins!

So are you craving a bud light? Dying to eat some nachos on a patio with some friends? Want to go back to work and teach in a real classroom?

Ya me too! I want all of those things (except teaching in Pj's is kind of nice...). On this episode, I chat with Dr. Mariah Hughes, an Infectious Disease Fellow, training at the University of Toronto. We chat everything related to covid and schools, including:

When will this all be over? When can we go back to work?
When will be achieve herd immunity? Will we need booster shots?
Should pregnant teachers be confident to go back into the classroom?
Understanding vaccine hesitancy
New variants and how that will effect September

And much more! Check it out! Lets go get vaccinated! Only few more weeks of school!

Note:

This episode was recorded before Ontario paused all rollouts of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Dr. Mariah Hughes does not speak on behalf of the University of Toronto, and all thoughts and opinions are her expressed on her behalf.

It's okay not to be okay...

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week. We have to help ourselves, before we can help our students. On this episode, we bring in Arunie Saldhi, who is a consultant for First Sessions. This company tries to help people find the right therapist that can support their needs. She is also currently perusing her Masters in Counselling Psychology at Yorkville University, and she has her B.A in Psychology at the University of Waterloo.

We talk about:

Whats the difference between a Psychologist, Psychiatrist, Psychotherapist, Counsellors, and Therapist?
Whats the difference between anxiety and depression?
Does medication actually help with mental health? What are the side effects?
What are some alternatives to traditional medication for our mental health?
How do we get help?

On this episode, we have Stephanie O'Mahoney as our special guest. Stephanie is a proud graduate of Queens University, with a BA in Economics. She spent her early career as an Investment Advisor at RBC, and is now currently at WealthSimple serving as a Wealth Advisor.

With Stephanie we discuss the following:

What is a stock brokerage?
Should I invest with a bank or an independent broker?
What are the fees?
What is robo-advising? Is that for me?
How can teachers get started?

Do you want to become a better public speaker in the classroom? Then you have to check out this episode! We have Eric Silverberg, co-founder of Speaker Labs and we chat about how we can become better speakers in the classroom. We discuss:

Can we become more engaging on Zoom classes?
Are teachers obligated to be entertainers?
What makes elite public speakers so great?

And much more! Come check out this episode!

On this episode we Cory Cultrera and Kendra Vice, two independent school teachers from Oakville, Ontario.

We try to help answer some questions teachers often have around working at a private or independent school such as:

Is compensation comparable?
Do you get a pension?
What is the independent school system?
What is working at a boarding school like?
What is it like to work with the parents and students?

On our first episode, we have Meredith Brown and Cole McAleese. They are both former Accounting students of mine, and are now completing their second year at Queens University, studying in the Commerce program.

In this episode, Cole and Meredith discuss what makes a great teacher? Are there universal traits between good teachers? Does a good elementary, high school, and university teacher have similar qualities? Listen to this episode to find out!

On our second episode, we have Ryan Rego, Manager at Purpose Advisor Solutions. Previous to this role, Ryan spent three years at Wealthsimple. Ryan was also a Lecturer at Western University, teaching a second year accounting course called Business 2257. Ryan, is a published case author through the Ivey Business School and was named to the Western University Teaching Honour Roll for his excellence in teaching at the undergraduate level.

On this episode, we target teachers who want to begin investing, but unsure where to begin. Investing can be overwhelming with jargon. Yes we have a pension, but we still need to save for other large purchases. So we discuss:

How can teachers begin investing?
What is a Stock?
What is a Bond?
What are ETF's and Mutual Funds?

Welcome to the Teacher Hotline, with your host Ronald Hae! On this podcast we try to answer pressing questions for teachers related to in and outside of the classroom! Each episode we will try to tackle a question you might have as a teacher such as:

Should I go into administration?
How does my pension work?
What is it like working at a private school?

This trailer episode introduces the format of the show and goes into a little bit about the background of Ronald and how he became a teacher.

If you want your question featured on the Teacher Hotline, message us on Facebook and Instagram!