The Teach Different Podcast

Can our imagination make us happy? Happiness is something that everyone wants. Sometimes, though, our imaginations create anxiety and actually prevent us from experiencing happiness. We make things worse than they actually are because of what we create in our minds. Yet, at other times, it is our actual experiences that create our suffering and our imagination serves to liberate us from our pain. The power of the imagination is unique to each individual and can be a source of our happiness or despair. Join Steve and Dan Fouts with guest, Dr. Jana Mohr Lone, Executive Director of the Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization (PLATO), for a conversation about happiness using the Teach Different 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 | Caladius

Do you need to fail to learn? From a young age we are taught the value of learning from our mistakes. The logic goes something like this, when we make mistakes we see opportunities for improvement and learning. Failure makes us wise. Yet, we also learn through our successes. It is through them that we discover what we did right and what we should continue to do next time. Failure and success are both important teachers in our lives. Join Steve and Dan Fouts with guest, Amy Patino, a high school social studies teacher, for a conversation about whether we learn more from our failures or our successes 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 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: Pixabay | bladeco70

How do we know when the cautious approach is the right one? Students sometimes rush into decision-making without forethought. They do it on term papers, class projects, and even in their relationships. This approach often causes more heartache and work in the long run. There is a lot to be said about careful slow planning to avoid mistakes, but there's also an inherent danger in taking the cautious approach. If they spend all of their time planning, then there's not much left for experimentation and learning from mistakes. Join Steve and Dan Fouts with guest, Julie Cropp, Principal of Roscoe Middle School in Roscoe, IL, for a conversation about decision making 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 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

How do you know when hard work is worth it? Students are always being told to do their best and that there is intrinsic value to putting in a hard day of work, regardless of whether they achieve what they set out to do. Students are also expected to achieve results from their work. After all, there seems to be little value in working so hard if goals aren't met in the end. All students must balance these conflicting expectations throughout their lives and figure out their own way to define the value of their efforts. Join Steve and Dan Fouts for a conversation about goal setting 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 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: Wikipedia

How do we know when self-discipline is in our best interest? Self-discipline is hard for students. It requires that they shut out distractions, develop routines and exercise impulse control. Authority figures tell students that self-discipline is worth it, that at the end of the day their work will be rewarded. But it doesn’t feel that way sometimes because the pay off is way down the road. 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 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: Library of Congress

Is failure necessary for success? Student success is often determined by achievements, like getting a job, acing a test, or winning a competition. Failure is seen as the opposite of success, and something to avoid at all costs. What if failure is necessary for success? Is it possible that without failure we can't achieve greatness? The relationship between success and failure is a complicated one that students must figure out on their own. Join Steve and Dan Fouts with guest, Amy Fast, high school principal and author, for a conversation about success 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 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: Flikr | Yousuf Kars

Should you ever use anger to solve problems? Students must learn how to solve all kinds of problems. Some problems are academic; others are emotional. Perhaps the hardest problems involve communication and the navigation of complex human relationships. What makes these types of problems even more difficult is that anger often intervenes. Anger is a wild variable that can either diminish or enhance the capacity to find creative solutions. Join Steve and Dan Fouts for a conversation about anger 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 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 |  Christophet Michel  

How do you know when you should change your values? Of the many elements of a strong character, none is more important than a person having a strong system of values. A person who has strong values stands for something, has a stable guide for behavior, and prevents him/herself from being taken advantage of. But, if a person is too rigid in their values, then that person becomes resistant to new ideas and opportunities. Developing the appropriate values to meet life's challenges is an enduring pursuit. Join Steve and Dan Fouts – founders of Teach Different and twin brothers with over 50 years of teaching experience – along with United States educator, principal and author Naim Sanders, for a compelling conversation about character, 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:  Library of Congress | Ed Ford | Creative Commons

How do we know when to give up on change? We're always telling children that it's important not to complain about things and that it's always better to be part of the solution, rather than the problem. If you don't like your situation, then change it. We also tell children that it's important to know when you can't change things and to accept the world the way it is. In those situations it is our attitude that needs fixing. Knowledge of when to work towards change and when to accept the status quo is a form of wisdom only gained through experience. Join Steve and Dan Fouts for a conversation about determination 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 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

What’s the best way to lead a happy life? When kids talk about strategies for living a happy life, they often talk about goals, like getting a great job or becoming famous. If they reach that goal, then that's clear evidence of success and deep satisfaction for having pursued something to completion. But, what about the relationships we build? They also shape our happiness in a meaningful way. Sorting what makes a person truly happy is challenging work. Join Steve and Dan Fouts with guest, Emily Pool, third grade teacher from Illinois, for a conversation about happiness 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: Pixabay | Creative Commons

Can we decide to be free? Freedom is an often used yet really complex concept. Many consider freedom something that is granted to them, something they don't have to work for. Others see freedom as something denied, and something that must be fought for. These different conceptions of freedom spring from different life experiences which are in turn shaped by a person's gender, race, and ethnicity. Join Steve and Dan Fouts with guest, John Corcoran, an EL middle school teacher, for a conversation about freedom 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 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: Nationaal Archief | Rob Croes / Anefo

What makes one person more powerful than another? We constantly compare ourselves to others, often concluding that they have it much better than we do. We spend much of life idolizing people, and in the process, give them power over us. Yet, what's lost here is the stark truth that other people have just as many insecurities and problems as we do and we probably would do better to focus on ourselves and to recognize the power we have to make the world better. Join Steve and Dan Fouts with guest, Emir Davis, Director of Black Male Engagement at the Center for Black Educator Development, for a conversation about power 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 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 | Virginia DeBolt | Creative Commons