The Teach Different Podcast

Is it brave to do the right thing? Thinking about the right way to act requires patient and careful thought. Acting from a good conscience in this way conveys strength and confidence. But our conscience also makes us feel weak; oftentimes we don't know what the right choices are and so we are plagued by indecision and fear. Doing the right thing becomes a burden too great to bear and we turn to our instincts to bail us out. Morality requires bravery. Join Steve and Dan Fouts – founders of Teach Different and twin brothers with over 50 years of teaching experience – along with adjunct professor Cindy Zucker and education student Jenna Daube from Loyola University in Chicago, Illinois, for a compelling conversation about decision-making, 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 Practice FREE for 30 days. Membership includes access to our robust library of resources, conversation plans, and lively discussions among teachers and faculty. Image source: Pixabay

Should we look to the future or past for guidance? On some level, everybody is looking for a purpose in life. Finding that purpose starts with an understanding of who we really are. That's when confusion sets in. On the one hand, we have a history of past decisions that defines us. On the other, we have an unlived future where we place our hopes and dreams, and that defines us too. Join Steve and Dan Fouts – founders of Teach Different and twin brothers with over 50 years of teaching experience – for a compelling conversation on goal-setting, 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 Practice FREE for 30 days. Membership includes access to our robust library of resources, conversation plans, and lively discussions among teachers and faculty. Image source: Pixabay

Should we be a role model for others? When we are being watched by others, we are compelled to do the right thing and that benefits the world. Being a role model has inherent value, but it is a difficult job that comes with significant sacrifice. It means that sometimes we can't be ourselves and do what we really want. We must forgo our own needs to make other people happy. It's hard to know when being a role model is worth it. Join Steve and Dan Fouts – founders of Teach Different and twin brothers from the United States with over 50 years of teaching experience – for a compelling conversation about self-awareness, 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 Practice 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

Should you always try to get what you want? Mind control is a form of self-discipline that is so difficult to master. In tense, stressful moments, our natural reaction is to use our mind actively to control the situation and many times that is exactly what we need. In other settings, if we slow our mind down, we can think more clearly and come up with solutions. A calm, patient mind has true power over the world. Exact knowledge on how and when to use our mind to achieve the goals we want is elusive. Join Steve and Dan Fouts for a conversation about self-discipline using the Teach Different 3-Step conversation 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 Practice 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 | Tom@HK

Is love more powerful than hate? Love is a powerful force in the universe. That much is true. What's unclear is just how powerful love is and whether it can and should be used as a tool to combat hate. Some say hate must be met with more of the same and that confrontation is the onlly reliable strategy to change human behavior for the better. Others take the kinder, softer approach and let love do the job. Image source: Library of Congress

How do you know when to adapt your goals? Rarely to we achieve our goals by following the exact path we set at the beginning. Instead, we experience twists and turns that we must learn to adapt along the way. These unexpected events inspire us to refocus and change our goals. Other times, however, we push through and continue along the path with the original goal firmly fixed in our mind. We maintain focus in the midst of uncertainty. Join Steve and Dan Fouts – founders of Teach Different and twin brothers with over 50 years of teaching experience – for a compelling conversation about goal-setting, 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 Practice 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

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 –  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 Practice FREE for 30 days. Membership includes access to our robust library of resources, conversation plans, and lively discussions among teachers and faculty.

How hard should we try to be accepted by others? Being excluded for unpopular opinions hurts. Being excluded because of race, gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation is devastating. Exclusion devalues our humanity, which can make us bitter, resentful and angry. At these unpleasant moments we face crucial moral decisions. We can walk away and create space to preserve our dignity or we can stubbornly assert ourselves to gain acceptance and respect. Each decision carries consequences felt throughout our lives. Join Steve and Dan Fouts – founders of Teach Different and twin brothers with over 50 years of teaching experience -- for a compelling conversation about acceptance, enriched by the Teach Different Method. Teach Different serves educational institutions, families, corporate entities, and mental health communities. If you think the TD method could be effective in your setting, we'd love to hear from you! support@teachdifferent.com Image source: Wikipedia

How do we know if we should change our goals? Setting goals forces us to picture success before it happens. If we are able to create a picture of what success looks like, then we are more likely to achieve it. Seeing the end motivates the beginning of the journey. But it is often the case that journeys take unexpected turns and force us to redirect our plans towards goals different than what we had at the start. The challenge then becomes how to best change our goals along the way and pursue the proper end that reveals itself over time. Living life this way demands less clarity and more patience. Join Steve and Dan Fouts – founders of Teach Different and twin brothers with over 50 years of teaching experience – along with guests Jenna Daube, education student at Loyola University and Jameson Beckman, journalism student at Boston University, for a compelling conversation about goal-setting, 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 Practice 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 | ABRAS

What's the best way to use questions? Not all questions are the same. Some challenge authority, break rules and send people down new pathways of thinking. Other questions take the safer road and are designed to gather new information. Regardless of how they are used, questions are the heart of student engagement. The more questions our students ask, the better critical thinkers they become. Join Steve and Dan Fouts – founders of Teach Different and twin brothers with over 50 years of teaching experience – along with guest Sarah Westbrook of the Right Questions Institute from the United States, 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 Practice FREE for 30 days. Membership includes access to our robust library of resources, conversation plans, and lively discussions among teachers and faculty. Image source: Ian Leslie | With permission from Ian Leslie

What does it take to be a good leader? Sometimes leadership means control and enforcement of rules. The leader must demand compliance from followers. At other times leaders must empower their people to be the best at what they do. In this way, leaders become helpers who put their own needs behind their followers for the betterment of the organization. Knowing when to embrace each of these roles at the right times is a challenge. Join Steve and Dan Fouts – founders of Teach Different and twin brothers with over 50 years of teaching experience – along with United States educator David Geurin, 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 Practice FREE for 30 days. Membership includes access to our robust library of resources, conversation plans, and lively discussions among teachers and faculty. Image source: Robert Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership

What is the mark of an educated mind? When we hear a new idea, our first instinct is to accept the idea without question, either because we have intuition that it is true or we simply trust the messenger. Accepting truth in this way is comforting for it requires very little work and gives us permission to stop thinking. It's also dangerous. Sometimes new ideas must be met with delay and smart suspicion. Delaying acceptance affords us time to evaluate the true worth of ideas and compels us to reject the bad ones. Join Steve and Dan Fouts – founders of Teach Different and twin brothers with over 50 years of teaching experience – along with United States educator Joe Schmidt, social studies specialist and Acting Coordinator of Secondary Education for the Maine Department of Education, for a conversation about critical thinking using the Teach Different 3-Step conversation method. Teach Different serves educational institutions, families, corporate entities, and mental health communities. If you think the TD method could be effective in your setting, we'd love to hear from you! support@teachdifferent.com Image source: Wikimedia | Tilemahos Efthimiadis