There are seasons in a teaching career when the questions shift from "What am I doing in my classroom tomorrow?" to "Who am I becoming as an educator, colleague, and human?" In this episode, veteran third-grade teacher, nurse-turned-educator, and new‑teacher mentor Dale Kynoch invites us into that deeper work through the lens of coaching, theorist‑informed practice, and a relentless belief that both children and adults can change. Across this conversation with host Glenn Whitman, Dale unpacks how she moved from giving advice as a senior teacher to learning the craft of coaching, including completing a fifteen‑month, twenty‑hours‑per‑week coaching course and integrating those tools into daily life at Saint Andrew's Episcopal School. She shares why she calls herself "a Vygotskian through and through," how she uses responsive classroom structures and clear boundaries to empower third graders, and why she believes coaching can help retain early‑career teachers, support parents, and even shape her future as an alpaca‑owning hobby farmer. "Part of being in this service industry for me is I love, love, love to see people shine. That absolutely floats my boat." - Dale Kynoch. What You'll Learn: Why Dale moved from advice-giving to true coaching and what changed in his conversations with colleagues and students The difference between mentoring, advising, and coaching in a PK–12 school context, and why that distinction matters for teacher growth How Responsive Classroom structures and six intentional weeks of rule-setting create belonging, boundaries, and a "hum" in the elementary classroom What it means to be "a Vygotskian through and through" and how core learning theories shape classroom decisions and adult interactions How coaching supports new-to-Saint-Andrew's teachers in years one to five and why that window is critical for retaining great educators Practical ways coaching conversations unfold on walks, during hallway chats, and in informal moments, not just in scheduled sessions Why believing in a person's ability to grow is foundational to any meaningful coaching relationship Strategies Dale uses to "catch kids doing something right," call it out publicly, and help them feel the joy of better decisions How movement, like walking during coaching conversations, can change the brain's state and deepen reflection The role of coaching for teachers, students, and even parents as schools navigate complex times, high expectations, and the science of learning How a fifteen-month, twenty-hours-per-week coaching program reshaped Dale's thinking and clarified when to mentor versus when to coach Why Dale dreams of a "hobby farm" with alpaca, and how he seeks learning and coaching even in that next chapter "To make those changes, you have to feel it on the inside. You have to create it. And so that's coaching, where the person is coming up with their own plan." - Dale Kynoch. — SUBSCRIBE TO THINK DIFFERENTLY & DEEPLY ON iTUNES/APPLE PODCASTS: https://apple.co/3JCpK1u And to support our work, please leave us a 5-star review with your feedback on iTunes/Apple Podcasts. LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS EPISODE: https://www.thecttl.org ——————————— CONNECT WITH US! ——————————— FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/CTTLatSAES LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-cttl TWITTER: https://twitter.com/TheCTTL INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/thecttl
