This episode we talk about the research on joy: How does it improve learning? How does it influence psychological safety? Most of all, what are simple strategies any educator can use to add more joy (without compromising instruction). We'll also explore what "AF" means in the Shelby household, Chase's go-to karaoke song, and what's happening to recess time in America.

In this episode we dive into the importance of finding your people in education (and life). How do we build authentic community with our colleagues? How do we do find people if we don't seem to HAVE positive folks in our school? Chase also shares his horrendous first-day experience, Ming gets jacked up on endorphins, and we demonstrate the art of a good segue.

It's global goal-setting season. But we all know how it goes: Great intentions to change followed by goals fizzling out within a few weeks. But to help us all make our goals stick, we're sharing some of our favorite strategies to accomplish more -- with students and in our personal lives. We also talk about Kentucky Derby shenanigans, Ming's Tinder experience, and why I need help from Mississippians.

This week, we tackle the idea of "emotion prejudice" -- how we are biased to allow, experience, and support kids through some emotions but not others. What emotion do we struggle to feel? What emotions do we allow your kids to feel? Is that kid showing "defiance" or just "unregulated anger"? And, what are the best prime deals? Explore these topics and many more with us.

It's Halloween time, y'all! And we can think of no scarier experience in education than being a U.S. Government teacher during an election season (especially this one). This week, we have a candid conversation with Rex Hafer, a 20 year veteran educator who can't shy away from talking politics in class. We tackle questions like: Is it possible to not show bias? How do you handle questions and topics rife with misinformation? Which U.S. Constitution app with 4 stars and 80 reviews is best? And, is candy corn good?

Want a hit of dopamine? Access it virtually anywhere. Convenient substances. Bottomless entertainment at the push of a button. A dopamine dealing smart phone in our pockets. But how much do we understand about this neurotransmitter that drives our attention, our motivation, our mood, and our movement? In this episode we get into the nerdy and dirty details of how dopamine affects us -- and how we can use this knowledge to create better experiences for learners.

This week, Chase and Ming get real nerdy on the art and science of growing more courageous kids. Capping off our Anxious Generation Summer Book Study, we dive into real strategies that teachers and parents can use to help kids be more confident, courageous and competent when facing life's challenges.

Ming and Chase share some of their biggest insights from Jonathan Haidt's The Anxious Generation -- including discussions on cell phone bans in schools, the predatory nature of social media, and how technology -- and well intentioned adults -- create experience blocks for kids.

Ming and Chase introduce the "Why" behind choosing Jonathan Haidt's The Anxious Generation for our summer book study. Plus we talk Chase's decrepit joints, redneck go-carts, and Ming's solo flight across the world as a child.

Summer is on the way and that's a beautiful thing. But what's not so hot (pun intended) is the summer slide many will experience. This week, we look ahead at the idea of unfinished learning with the Mindful Math Coach, Chrissy Allison (@mindfulmathcoach). How do we help students make up for lost learning when their needs are so diverse? And, we explore other ideas like: What's the worst number? Is "good enough" okay? And is the food pyramid a lie?

This week, we tap the INCREDIBLE wisdom of Patti Brucki, a veteran educator from Chicago's south side and long time mentor of ours. We discuss strategies for sustaining a career, how being a parent affects being a teacher (and vice versa) and watermelon eating contests -- what they are, why Patti and Ming love them, and why Chase is the worst for not knowing a thing about them.

This week we bring the humor with Craig Aarons-Martin, veteran school leader and CEO of CCM Education Group. We explore why and how every school leader can benefit by infusing humor into their work -- whether they think they (or education) is funny or not. We also talk peanut butter, Ming's matta, and stripping as an alternative career path.

This week, we tap the brilliant brain of Kristin Schmoke, teacher, parent, and parent coach. We discuss two sides of the parent-teacher coin: How can educators support parents in reinforcing our hard work in schools? And how can we understand parents better to best support their kids? We also discuss the REAL important things like which of our own kids would survive a March Madness Hunger Games battle.

This week, Chase and Ming let their geek flag fly, sharing six of their favorite studies for being a better educator, school leader, and general human. We discuss things like mind wandering, 19 words for better feedback, why teachers should work less, why introversion does NOT equate to hating humans -- and more!

Tired. Deflated. Disengaged. A lot of educators can relate to these words, feeling them on a weekly or daily basis. Yet, creating effective schools takes a LOT of energy. So how do we re-energize ourselves, our teams, and our schools? Dr. Jim Van Allan, co-author of The Energy Bus for Schools, takes us on that journey, sharing his greatest insights for building energized, positive, and impactful cultures.

We study other peoples’ stories all the time in school. But what if we did more to empower students to explore, write, and share THEIR stories? This week Ming and I get to kick it with our friend Richard Reyes, founder of the PLUS ME Project (@thePLUSMEproject), a nonprofit that activates the art of personal storytelling to increase confidence in youth as they pursue college, career, and life goals.

Educators all over America experience students with BIG emotions. Big anger. Big sadness. Big fear. How the heck do we help them (and ourselves) through these huge feelings? Enter: Taes Leavitt -- Childhood emotion expert, award-winning kids entertainment writer, speaker, and all around gem of a human being. We're getting authentic and practical this week on how big emotions affect us all and what we can do about it.

This week, we're joined by the dynamic and authentic Dr. Matthew Woods (@woodfromawoods) about assumptions and stereotypes: How do they affect the lives of educators and students? And what are the simple actions we can take to disrupt assumptions for greater connection, learning, and leadership?

If you've been in education, you've had the thought, "I don't know if I can keep doing this..." Whether it's through exhaustion, disconnection, or feeling controlled, we can feel like this work is unsustainable. But we CAN establish more agency and advocacy to make each day and each year more sustainable. This episode, Veteran educator, writer, coach, and consultant, Paul Emerich France (@SustainTeaching), gives us the insights, strategies and permission we need.

After 25 years of experience developing an award winning alternative ed school, Tammy Glupker reflects on what traditional systems are getting wrong, what changes can be made, and how to empower educators of all levels to make critical reforms. Plus, we envision a better teacher prep program and high five our Type B selves.