The Teach Different Podcast

What is the purpose of education? Our society has always struggled to agree on the purpose of education. Some say the purpose is for students to acquire factual knowledge of subjects. Others argue that the real purpose should be to motivate action. In that sense the debate really comes down to a definition of what it means to be an informed citizen, and whether citizenship goes beyond just acquiring knowledge into what obligations we have to act on that understanding. Join Steve and Dan Fouts – founders of Teach Different and twin brothers with over 50 years of teaching experience – along with guest State Senator Laura Murphy for a compelling conversation about education, enriched by the Teach Different Method. Whether you are a teacher, school leader, or simply someone interested in experiencing the joy and fulfillment of challenging kids with big ideas, join our worldwide Community of Educators FREE for 30 days. Membership includes access to our robust library of resources, conversation plans, and lively discussions among teachers and faculty. Image source: Wikimedia Commons

How do we create systems so that individuals can be successful? Success comes from a confluence of forces. Sometimes, it is the sheer will of the individual who, when faced with difficulty and challenge, rises to meet the moment. Riding alongside individual will is the system in which that individual operates, but no individual effort can overcome a dysfunctional system. The challenge here is to build healthy systems where the individual finds guaranteed success. Join Steve and Dan Fouts – founders of Teach Different and twin brothers with over 50 years of teaching experience – along with TaRael Kee, Assistant Principal at Collinsville High School and the Past-President of the Illinois School Counselor Association, for a compelling conversation about success, enriched by the Teach Different Method. Whether you are a teacher, school leader, or simply someone interested in experiencing the joy and fulfillment of challenging kids with big ideas, join our worldwide Community of Educators FREE for 30 days. Membership includes access to our robust library of resources, conversation plans, and lively discussions among teachers and faculty. Image source: James Clear Website

What makes a great leader? Great leadership is about having influence. To get that influence, leaders use whatever tools they have. For some leaders, it's the moral choices they make which have the most enduring impact on followers. For others, it's their positional authority that commands people'srespect. Great leaders must find a creative way to use both of these tools to maximize their effectiveness. Join Steve and Dan Fouts – founders of Teach Different and twin brothers with over 50 years of teaching experience – along with Daman Harris Ph.D., a co-director of the Building Our Network of Diversity (BOND) Project, for a compelling conversation about leadership, enriched by the Teach Different Method. Whether you are a teacher, school leader, or simply someone interested in experiencing the joy and fulfillment of challenging kids with big ideas, join our worldwide Community of Educators FREE for 30 days. Membership includes access to our robust library of resources, conversation plans, and lively discussions among teachers and faculty. Image source: Defense Visual Information Distribution Service

What is the best way to respond to hard times? Tough times greet all of us in varying degrees. The challenge is how to figure out exactly how we should behave when those tough times arrive. One plan is to push through the difficulties and emerge stronger at the other end. That way, our pain can be short-lived. We can also stop the pain and change direction so that we can avoid the hardship and discover joy on the other side. Join Steve and Dan Fouts – founders of Teach Different and twin brothers with over 50 years of teaching experience – along with Donnell Mclean, school administrator and special education teacher, for a compelling conversation about determination, enriched by the Teach Different Method. Whether you are a teacher, school leader, or simply someone interested in experiencing the joy and fulfillment of challenging kids with big ideas, join our worldwide Community of Educators FREE for 30 days. Membership includes access to our robust library of resources, conversation plans, and lively discussions among teachers and faculty.

What is perfection? Motivation looks different to different people. For some, striving towards perfection is the greatest motivator for excellence. For others, who take a more incremental approach, just getting better in little chunks and seeing improvement provide enough incentive to move forward. To live well, we must all strike that middle ground-- have aspirational big-picture goals but also be okay with enjoying the little successes along the way. Join Steve and Dan Fouts – founders of Teach Different and twin brothers with over 50 years of teaching experience – along with guest Darren Rainey, a military veteran who has worked in secondary and postsecondary education, for a compelling conversation about perfection, enriched by the Teach Different Method. Whether you are a teacher, school leader, or simply someone interested in experiencing the joy and fulfillment of challenging kids with big ideas, join our worldwide Community of Educators FREE for 30 days. Membership includes access to our robust library of resources, conversation plans, and lively discussions among teachers and faculty. Image source: Defense Visual Information Distribution Service

Which problems are worth solving? We are often told to be mindful of each other, our surroundings and ourselves. Implicit in this concept of mindfulness is the imperative to accept life as it is and try to the best of our abilities to enjoy our experiences and not spend time trying to fix things. The other way of seeing life is to think of our limited time on earth as an opportunity to solve problems. It's not just about experience; it's about getting stuff done. It's a challenge to balance these two competing worldviews. Join Steve and Dan Fouts – founders of Teach Different and twin brothers with over 50 years of teaching experience – along with guest Tawana Akins, high school Assistant Principal for the Miami Dade County Public School System, for a compelling conversation about interdependence, enriched by the Teach Different Method. Whether you are a teacher, school leader, or simply someone interested in experiencing the joy and fulfillment of challenging kids with big ideas, join our worldwide Community of Educators FREE for 30 days. Membership includes access to our robust library of resources, conversation plans, and lively discussions among teachers and faculty. Image source: Picryl

Is it possible to get buy in to a vision if there isn’t buy in to the leader? There's a familiar saying "You can't teach kids until you reach kids." The idea here is that you have to develop a rapport with the people you lead; otherwise, they won't buy into your vision. It's all about the personal relationship. Yet, it is also true that if a leader doesn't communicate the 'why' behind their ideas, then they won't inspire any followers, no matter how charismatic and persuasive they are. This is true in classrooms and governments alike. Great leaders know how to blend the emotional and rational appeal to maximize effectiveness. Join Steve and Dan Fouts – founders of Teach Different and twin brothers with over 50 years of teaching experience – along with guest Dr. Debbie Badawi, Head of School at Manarah Islamic Academy in Lehigh Valley, PA, for a compelling conversation about leadership, enriched by the Teach Different Method. Whether you are a teacher, school leader, or simply someone interested in experiencing the joy and fulfillment of challenging kids with big ideas, join our worldwide Community of Educators FREE for 30 days. Membership includes access to our robust library of resources, conversation plans, and lively discussions among teachers and faculty. Image source: Flickr | Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes Guatemala

How do we support others without instilling a sense of dependency? Everybody has bad days. At those times what we all need is to have somebody pay a little attention to us and pick up our spirits so we can gain strength to move forward. Being a good teacher, friend and partner means supporting them in times of need. Help too much, though, and we instill feelings of dependency on others, which ends up hurting their capacities to solve their own problems. We must discover the right balance in giving and receiving help. Join Steve and Dan Fouts – founders of Teach Different and twin brothers with over 50 years of teaching experience – along with guest Tinisa Huff, Principal at Betsy Ross Elementary School in Forest Park, IL, for a compelling conversation about interdependence, enriched by the Teach Different Method. Whether you are a teacher, school leader, or simply someone interested in experiencing the joy and fulfillment of challenging kids with big ideas, join our worldwide Community of Educators FREE for 30 days. Membership includes access to our robust library of resources, conversation plans, and lively discussions among teachers and faculty. Image source: Flickr | York College ISLGP

How do we recognize our power to live in the moment? Living in the moment is hard. There are forces acting against us. There’s the past which weighs us down and often causes depression and fear. And then there’s the future, which leads to anxiety and a different sort of fear - of the unknown. Living in the moment requires acceptance of what is and the courage to act based on our best knowledge of who we really are. Join Steve and Dan Fouts with guest, Jeremy Gregory, teacher and advocate for Humane Education, for a conversation about living in the moment using the Teach Different 3-Step conversation method. Be sure to visit teachdifferent.com to learn more, and to sign up for our FREE 30-day trial. You'll gain access to the Teach Different library of conversation plans, social/emotional conversation curriculum map, ideas for your lesson plans, handouts, videos and more! Remember to teach different with conversations and make a difference every day. Image source: Library of Congress

We are all individuals, yet we are all also part of families, schools, teams and peer groups. Our identities are shaped by what we think of ourselves and the groups we are a part of. The value of interdependence is hard to appreciate because we often want to focus on our own accomplishments and struggle to give others credit for helping us get them. Yet acknowledging the role others play in our success is very important. Join Steve and Dan Fouts – founders of Teach Different and twin brothers with over 50 years of teaching experience – along with guests James Ogude, Director at the Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship, University of Pretoria, South Africa, and United States high school social studies teacher Gwynne Ryan for a compelling conversation about interdependence, enriched by the Teach Different Method. Whether you are a teacher, school leader, or simply someone interested in experiencing the joy and fulfillment of challenging kids with big ideas, join our worldwide Community of Educators FREE for 30 days. Membership includes access to our robust library of resources, conversation plans, and lively discussions among teachers and faculty.   Image source: Piqsels

How do you know when to speak up? We're always telling kids to listen and to speak their mind. What we rarely do is help them discern when it is appropriate to listen and when it makes more sense to speak. Some suggest that listening to everyone is always a better way to go, because you learn more that way. Others say speaking your mind is the more courageous action, because then people know where you stand and others can learn from you. Join Steve and Dan Fouts – founders of Teach Different and twin brothers with over 50 years of teaching experience – along with guest Laura Wright, PYP/IPC/MYP Educator & Pedagogical Learning Lead and Apple Distinguished Educator from The Hauge, Netherlands, for a compelling conversation about communication, enriched by the Teach Different Method.   Image source: Pixabay

Justice is often defined as a sense of fairness and equality which society has a natural obligation to bring about. Seen in this way, justice is a first priority that when met will yield all other benefits to citizens. Others may argue that there are other, more pressing responsibilities like public safety or peace which are more important duties. Different views on society's duties makes it hard for citizens to unite under a common purpose. Join Steve and Dan Fouts – founders of Teach Different and twin brothers with over 50 years of teaching experience – along with educators from the United States Joe Schmidt and Nichelle Pinkney, for a conversation about duty enriched by the Teach Different Method. Whether you are a teacher, school leader, or simply someone interested in experiencing the joy and fulfillment of challenging kids with big ideas, join our worldwide Community of Educators FREE for 30 days. Membership includes access to our robust library of resources, conversation plans, and lively discussions among teachers and faculty.   Image source: Wikimedia | Southworth & Hawes, Albert Southworth, Josiah Johnson Hawes