Beyond the Margins: The Podcast

Dr. Sohn A. Butts

Welcome to Beyond The Margins, the podcast redefining education for students often overlooked and left behind. I’m Dr. Sohn A. Butts, the lead learner and host. This podcast exists to challenge traditional educational approaches, explore innovative strategies, and share real stories that transform learning. This channel is for educators, parents, and anyone invested in urban, alternative, and non-traditional education. You’ll get practical tools, research-backed insights, and creative approaches to boost student engagement, empower teachers, and elevate communities. From classroom strategies to big-picture ideas, Beyond The Margins is your go-to source for educational transformation. Why Subscribe? When you subscribe to Beyond The Margins, you’re joining a community of educators, parents, and education advocates committed to redefining what’s possible in learning. You’ll get: Weekly episodes with actionable strategies, stories, and insights.Exclusive interviews with experts and thought leaders in urban, alternative, and non-traditional education.Tips for boosting student engagement, classroom management, and leadership effectiveness.Tools to support equity, social justice, and culturally grounded learning.A community of like-minded changemakers ready to move education forward.Whether you’re scrolling for ideas, research, or inspiration, Beyond The Margins gives you tools you can use today and insights that transform tomorrow. Subscribe and join the movement and let’s engage, educate, empower, and elevate together.

  1. It Takes the Village: Addressing Chronic Absenteeism Through Relationships

    2d ago

    It Takes the Village: Addressing Chronic Absenteeism Through Relationships

    In this episode of Beyond the Margins, Dr. Sohn A. Butts sits down with veteran educator and Pupil Personnel Worker Gary Hughes for an honest conversation about chronic absenteeism, student disengagement, and the importance of rebuilding trust between schools, families, and communities. Drawing on more than 25 years of educational experience, Hughes shares powerful insights into the barriers that prevent students from attending school consistently, including generational distrust of education, housing instability, academic struggles, and a lack of relevance in the classroom. Together, he and Dr. Butts explore why relationship-building, empathy, family engagement, and student voice are essential components of meaningful educational reform. This thought-provoking discussion challenges traditional approaches to attendance and accountability while offering practical, human-centered strategies for supporting students both inside and outside the classroom. Whether you're an educator, administrator, counselor, parent, or community advocate, this episode serves as a powerful reminder that student success is never achieved in isolation—it truly takes a village.

    49 min
  2. From Bored to Bought In: Unlocking Contagious Teaching

    Jun 16

    From Bored to Bought In: Unlocking Contagious Teaching

    In this episode of Beyond the Margins, Dr. Sohn A. Butts sits down with nationally recognized educator, speaker, and trainer Stephen Boyd to explore one of education's most pressing challenges: student engagement. Drawing on more than 25 years of experience, Boyd shares why engagement is not about compliance or control, but about creating learning experiences that students genuinely want to be part of. At the center of the conversation is Boyd's Contagious Teaching Framework, built around four essential elements: Connection, Context, Content, and Containment. Together, Dr. Butts and Boyd unpack practical strategies for increasing engagement, reducing behavioral challenges, fostering stronger relationships, and designing classrooms where students feel seen, valued, and motivated to learn. This episode challenges educators to rethink traditional approaches to classroom management and instruction. Whether you're a teacher, school leader, instructional coach, or education advocate, you'll leave with actionable insights and a renewed understanding that when engagement increases, achievement follows.

    45 min
  3. Beyond Intervention: Why Student Support Must Become Educational Infrastructure

    Jun 9

    Beyond Intervention: Why Student Support Must Become Educational Infrastructure

    What happens when we stop viewing student support as an add-on and start treating it as the foundation of student success? In this powerful episode of Beyond the Margins, Dr. Sohn A. Butts sits down with educator, school leader, social worker, and systems architect Sherann Alkins to explore what meaningful student support looks like in today's schools. Drawing from decades of experience in alternative education, counseling, and school leadership, Alkins challenges educators to move beyond individual interventions and focus on building systems that truly serve students. Together, they discuss the critical role of family and community partnerships, restorative practices, student voice, educator belief systems, and the need to create learning environments where every student feels seen, valued, and supported. The conversation also explores the future of education, including the impact of artificial intelligence, the importance of literacy and global citizenship, and why schools must prepare students not only for careers, but for life in an increasingly interconnected world. Whether you're an educator, counselor, school leader, parent, or advocate, this episode offers a compelling reminder that student success is not determined by potential alone—it is shaped by the support systems we build around young people every day.

    51 min
  4. Education Is Public Health: How School Shapes Health

    Jun 2

    Education Is Public Health: How School Shapes Health

    What if education is one of the most powerful public health interventions in America? In this powerful episode of Beyond the Margins, Dr. Sohn A. Butts sits down with public health policy strategist and author Dr. Okey Enyia to unpack the deep and often overlooked relationship between education, health outcomes, civic engagement, and systemic inequity. Together, they explore how schools shape not only academic futures, but life expectancy, mental health, economic opportunity, and community wellness. Drawing from his work on Capitol Hill, in public health policy, and through his book The John Henry Health Equity Playbook, Dr. Enyia explains why issues like food insecurity, housing, transportation, environmental toxins, and mental health support are all educational issues. The conversation moves beyond theory into practical advocacy, discussing how communities can build “infrastructures of influence” that transform policy into lasting change. The episode also delivers an honest and necessary conversation about Black men’s mental health, therapy, self-care, faith, trauma, and healing. Dr. Enyia shares personal insights on depression, burnout, and the importance of culturally competent care, while challenging brothers to embrace both vulnerability and vision. This episode is for educators, advocates, policymakers, community leaders, and anyone committed to building systems that truly serve marginalized communities.

    51 min
  5. Beyond Access: Mentorship, Belonging, and the Power of Community w/ Mr. Philip WIlkerson III

    May 26

    Beyond Access: Mentorship, Belonging, and the Power of Community w/ Mr. Philip WIlkerson III

    In this episode of Beyond the Margins, Dr. Sohn A. Butts welcomes Philip Wilkerson III of George Mason University for a powerful conversation on mentorship, belonging, and the importance of culturally grounded support for Black students and Black men. Together, they explore the difference between simply having access to educational spaces and truly feeling seen, valued, and connected within them. Philip shares his personal journey into higher education and reflects on how mentorship, representation, and intentional community shape identity, academic success, and emotional wellness. The conversation also examines the impact of isolation in predominantly white spaces, the need for Black mentorship across every stage of life, and why creating spaces of belonging is essential—not optional. This episode is a thoughtful discussion on community, legacy, and the power of connection to transform lives, generations, and educational experiences.

    43 min
  6. Beyond the Classroom: Empowering Students Through Real-World Experiences, Voice, and Skill-Building w/ Ms. Kadesha Powell

    May 19

    Beyond the Classroom: Empowering Students Through Real-World Experiences, Voice, and Skill-Building w/ Ms. Kadesha Powell

    In this episode of Beyond the Margins, Dr. Sohn A. Butts sits with educator, content creator, and author Khadisha Powell to explore the transformative power of Career and Technical Education (CTE) and student voice. Powell shares her journey from Missouri to Washington, D.C., describing how a last-minute opportunity launched her career in education and shaped her approach to teaching media, film, and mass communication. The conversation highlights the importance of real-world experiences, including national and international trips, in cultivating skills such as creativity, collaboration, problem-solving, and adaptability. Powell also emphasizes culturally responsive teaching, showing how honoring students’ identities and stories enhances both learning and personal growth. Listeners hear practical strategies for engaging students in project-based learning, valuing their work, and empowering them to tell their own stories. The episode demonstrates how CTE, often misunderstood or undervalued, provides students with professional, technical, and creative skills while fostering confidence, leadership, and agency that extend well beyond the classroom.

    53 min
  7. Curriculum is Liberation: Empowering Students Through Inquiry, Relevance, and Critical Engagement w/ Ms. Carynne Conover

    May 12

    Curriculum is Liberation: Empowering Students Through Inquiry, Relevance, and Critical Engagement w/ Ms. Carynne Conover

    In this enlightening conversation, Dr. Sohn A. Butts sits with Ms. Carynne Conover, Newark’s Director of Social Studies Education and veteran educator, to explore the power of curriculum to liberate young minds. Ms. Conover reflects on her journey from a private Catholic school upbringing to advocating for equity and exposure in public education, framing teaching as a tool to empower students, not just inform them. The discussion centers on creating curricula that are living, inquiry-based, and student-centered, where learners actively engage with content rather than passively receive it. Ms. Conover emphasizes the historian’s craft of asking compelling questions, analyzing primary sources, and connecting lessons to students’ lived experiences. By linking historical events, systemic inequities, and contemporary social issues, she demonstrates how social studies equips students to critically navigate and shape the world around them. The episode also examines the stakes of ineffective instruction, including indoctrination, incomplete narratives, and unexamined textbooks. Ms. Conover challenges educators to foster discernment, research skills, and intellectual independence, helping students become active creators of knowledge. Ultimately, the episode celebrates social studies as a transformative tool, cultivating relevance, freedom, and the development of informed, empowered young citizens.

    55 min
  8. The Dopamine Effect: Motivation and the Brain w/ Ms. Shauna F. King

    May 5

    The Dopamine Effect: Motivation and the Brain w/ Ms. Shauna F. King

    In this episode, Dr. Sohn A. Butts talks with Ms. Shauna King, brain science expert and school culture consultant, about how neuroscience can inform student motivation and engagement. Drawing on her experience from substitute teacher to principal and national consultant, Ms. King emphasizes that effective teaching starts with understanding how the brain works; particularly how predictability, relevance, and intrinsic motivation drive learning. The conversation explores dopamine’s role in focus and behavior, the effects of hormones and stress on adolescent brains, and the importance of clarity and relevance in lesson design. Ms. King critiques over-reliance on external rewards, discusses the impact of trauma on learning, and offers actionable strategies, like asking students how to improve the class, to foster ownership, curiosity, and engagement. She also imagines a fully brain-aligned school: student-centered, creative, structured yet exploratory, with intentional breaks, play, and collaborative spaces. At its core, the episode underscores that educators can ignite intrinsic motivation, make learning meaningful, and create environments where students thrive cognitively and emotionally.

    35 min
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About

Welcome to Beyond The Margins, the podcast redefining education for students often overlooked and left behind. I’m Dr. Sohn A. Butts, the lead learner and host. This podcast exists to challenge traditional educational approaches, explore innovative strategies, and share real stories that transform learning. This channel is for educators, parents, and anyone invested in urban, alternative, and non-traditional education. You’ll get practical tools, research-backed insights, and creative approaches to boost student engagement, empower teachers, and elevate communities. From classroom strategies to big-picture ideas, Beyond The Margins is your go-to source for educational transformation. Why Subscribe? When you subscribe to Beyond The Margins, you’re joining a community of educators, parents, and education advocates committed to redefining what’s possible in learning. You’ll get: Weekly episodes with actionable strategies, stories, and insights.Exclusive interviews with experts and thought leaders in urban, alternative, and non-traditional education.Tips for boosting student engagement, classroom management, and leadership effectiveness.Tools to support equity, social justice, and culturally grounded learning.A community of like-minded changemakers ready to move education forward.Whether you’re scrolling for ideas, research, or inspiration, Beyond The Margins gives you tools you can use today and insights that transform tomorrow. Subscribe and join the movement and let’s engage, educate, empower, and elevate together.

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