UnboundEd Podcast UnboundEd

Too often, the bridges of grade-level, engaging, affirming, and meaningful instruction are limited and the barriers of misconceptions arise. These misconceptions about English Language Learners often hold educators back from properly serving these students. I got a chance to talk with educator Barbara Gottschalk to discuss her book, Dispelling Misconceptions About English Language Learners: Research-Based Ways to Improve Instruction. Join us as we discuss practical ways to overcome psychological barriers, shift away from assumptions, tap into student strengths through home languages, and involve immigrant families more authentically.

In the education profession, equity work can get deeply deffered, or get really messy, really fast. This is because it can reveal so much about professional and personal beliefs that are consequential to our students receiving grade-level, engaging, affirming, and meaningful instruction. And these problematic perceptions can be emboldened by policies. I got a chance to talk with Sheldon Eakins to discuss his book Leading Equity: Becoming an Advocate for All Students. Join us as we discuss the the bold, graceful, and practical ways equity can be cultivated in schools.

If a table won't stand without well-distributed legs, a bridge won't hold weight without well-distributed force, and a car can't run without a well-distributed frame, what makes us think that we can accomplish goals in our school buildings without well-distributed leadership? Even in most dysfunctional school systems, distributive leadership can produce better collaboration and insight that can lead to better cultural and instructional outcomes. I got a chance to talk with Dr. Shaun Nelms about his book Leading With Purpose: Empowering Others to Create Lasting Change. Join us as we discuss the personal and professional journeys that are empowered when we see and recognize the power in others.

Our food choices can impact our physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual well-being. So, while it can be challenging, it is important to be strategic about the food we ingest. Much like food, the ideas and practices we consume in education also shape our well-being and the well-being of those we serve. In this episode, Dr. Sonya Murray-Darden and I discuss her book Serving Educational Equity: A Five-Course Framework for Accelerated Learning, as well as the practical and essential ways our education systems can serve a diet of, and hunger for, grade-level, engaging, affirming, and meaningful instruction.

A truth that remains in the United States is that teaching is one of the most underappreciated professions in the country, financially and intellectually, as teachers are often cut out of decisions about what to teach and how to teach on a larger scale. As we advocate to reclaim the power taken, it’s important to analyze the power given, which can still seriously impact the quality of instruction in classrooms. I got a chance to build with Dr. Tanji Reed Marshall and discuss her book Understanding Your Instructional Power: Curriculum and Language Decisions to Support Each Student. Join us as we discuss the power overlooked within a profession undervalued and how it can be used to provide grade-level, engaging, affirming, and meaningful instruction.

Teachers in the Movement with Derrick P. Alridge | The LP: EP 13 by UnboundEd