The Teacher As...

In this episode, Melissa chats with educator/author Miriam Plotinsky about secondary classrooms being student centered and "hover-free." Miriam shares her measured approach to get teachers closer to …

Recording a podcast episode with Milton Justice is a fun experience leaving much on the "cutting room floor." So this episode is mostly the leftovers, uncut Milton. He tells amazing stories about Ten…

Looking for that next great read aloud that will keep your students on the edge of their seats begging you to keep reading? Then check out my top five underrated read alouds for grades 3-6

What does innovative education look like? Brantley Turner, founding principal of the only Sino-US independent, cooperatively run high school in China shares her vision for innovative global education…

Are you afraid that bringing the ARTs into your classroom will just make more work for you? Elizabeth Peterson loves helping caring, creative teachers connect the arts with social-emotional learning …

"The students tell me, without saying it, what they need to be taught." Melissa chats with the amazing Milton Justice. This Emmy and Oscar winner finds teaching actors is his true passion. He is the …

Aviva Summers, a former student of Melissa's, is now teaching as well at a Jewish Day School. She chats about teaching Hebrew and Judaic Studies at the same school in which her mom taught for many ye…

Melissa chats with 11 year old youth runner, Michael Studer. He shares about his journey to becoming one of the fastest youth runners in the United States. Grit, dealing with disappointment, and unde…

"All the tedious research is worth one inspired moment." -Uta Hagen  
Actors prepare and teachers prepare. Retired theatre professor, Jane Cox, shares that there are many elements of acting that we ca…

In the last episode of Season 3, Melissa talks about her exciting new podcast that she is cohosting with Robert FitzPatrick called Ponzinomics 101. She also shares about giving herself a break when t…

Some multi-level marketing companies target teens. In this episode, Melissa focuses on one that seems to be the biggest offender, Cutco Knives/Vector Marketing. If parents, high school teachers, and …

Teachers differentiate for their students in the classroom. Shouldn't they do the same for their students when going on a field trip/school travel? In this episode, Luke Liddle, Managing Director for…

Dr. Nicki Newton and Ann Elise Record are back! They each have their own lists of the best ways for students to practice problem solving and they collaborate to create one essential top ten list. Dr.…

In this episode, Melissa chats with Libo Valencia, a high school/college math educator who incorporates math play into his instruction. K-12 teachers will be inspired by Libo's creativity and enthusi…

In this episode, Melissa chats with Eric Gibbs, President of Ouriginal, a plagiarism software for K-12 and higher education. Eric shares how teachers can use the software as part of the writing proce…

In Part Three of her anti-mlm series, Melissa shares clips from her chats with Dave Vaughan and Sarah Haidar. Dave and Sarah share their thoughts on such topics as teaching about high control groups,…

In Part Two of this Anti-MLM series, Melissa shares her personal MLM story, explains why she just recently became obsessed with this topic, and matches her experiences directly to Steven Hassan's BIT…

This episode is Part One of a three episode series about Anti-MLM education. Melissa chats with author, activist Robert FitzPatrick about the dangers of MLMs and why public education is not addressin…

Educators are lifelong learners and their students benefit from having well rounded, curious teachers. In this first episode of Season 3, Melissa shares how the purpose of this podcast is changing fo…

In the last episode of Season 2, Melissa takes a stroll around her school to find out how her colleagues stay positive with all the changes and upheaval in education due to the pandemic. Enjoying the…