Digical Education

Dismantle the Wall & Uncage the Soul: Conversation with John Waller

John Waller founded Uncage the Soul Productions in 2004 after sampling a career variety pack that included being an adventure guide, jumping smoke on a hotshot crew, and a year as a high school science teacher. He lives along the edge of the Impassable Wilderness in Portland, directing, producing, and editing adventure documentaries, commercial shorts, and cause-related campaigns.
The mission of Uncage the Soul is to capture the wonder that is around us and compel the wonder that is within us. For more info check out www.uncagethesoul.com
I met John on my Iceland trek this summer where I got to watch him at work, and I was intrigued by how the name of his company reflected who he is, the work he does, and the mission of the company. I believe you will find some great insights especially at the end when I ask him for a final piece of advice for educators.

The Fabric of Character: Conversation with Anne Snyder

This podcast continues a theme over the past few months in regards to relationships, healthy communities, and character. Likewise, this was a fun conversation with me because in her book, Anne Snyder, has developed 16 questions that are helpful to character formation, but also push us to a better understanding of healthy organizations.
Anne Snyder is the editor-in-chief of Comment Magazine (www.cardus.ca/comment/), and a writer and convener devoted to questions of class and culture, beauty and a beatitudinal faith. Anne has directed The Philanthropy Roundtable‘s Character Initiative, a program seeking to help foundations and business leaders strengthen “the middle ring” of morally formative institutions. Her path-breaking guidebook, The Fabric of Character: A Wise Giver’s Guide to Renewing our Social and Moral Landscape, was published in 2019. 

Teacher Well-being & Australian Research: Daniel Pampuch

Daniel Pampuch is CEO of Christian Schools Australia, and one of my favorite professionals to follow on Twitter (@daniel_pampuch). Recently, he posted some research from Australia on teacher well-being that I found quite interesting especially since it has been a point of conversation in my own life as well as on this podcast.
This is a longer conversation with a short interruption in the middle, but I think Daniel has loaded his comments full of information for consideration and further conversation on building a healthier profession.

Love & Challenge in Schools: Dave Hill

Dave Hill is the founder of Heart Smart (www.heartsmart.school), which is a character education program that originated with Dave's own life story and is now in 300 UK schools and making its way into schools in the US.
Dave shares about the story of Heart Smart, Boris the Robot, and his own family from where the idea. Likewise, he shares the "5 Core Principles" and sticky language of the Heart Smart program. Personally, I appreciate Dave's thoughts on healthy schools environments that have an appropriate balance of both Challenge and Love, and how both are necessary for the growth and development of children.
 

Cardus Data & What is Education For?: Beth Green

In this conversation, I get to talk data, a decade of Cardus Education Survey results (www.cardus.ca/research/education/), and the impact of religious schools in particular Protestant Evangelical schools with Beth Green. We both love data, research, and our profession, which I think comes out in the conversation. However, the question in the title comes from the end of the conversation where I ask Beth a question that many of my friends, family members, and other parents have asked me over the past decade.
Beth Green is a Senior Fellow in Education for Cardus (www.cardus.ca), and formerly Program Director of Cardus Education. She is also Visiting Professor: Research, Integration, and Educational Formation at Tyndale University College in Toronto. Beth is a former high school history teacher who has worked in both government and non-government schools in the UK.
 

Modern Schools for Modern Learners: Will Richardson

Will Richardson is an internationally recognized speaker and author on learning and technology. He's authored six books, most recently "Freedom to Learn" and blogs at www.willrichardson.com. Most recently he was named one of the top 100 global thought leaders and changemakers in education by the Finnish group hundrED, and he is the co-founder of Modern Learners (www.modernlearners.com)
In this podcast, I ask him an array of questions on schools and some statements from "10 Principles for Schools of Modern Learning" (https://modernlearners.com/10-principles-schools-modern-learning/), such as its impetus, changing vs. starting schools, the issue that schools were started with a scarcity mindset, and the role of technology as an amplifier of learning.
 

Unschooling, the Future of Learning: Kerry McDonald

I love talking with people who talk about Learning and Education as a juxtaposition to "schooling". In this conversation, I talk with Kerry McDonald about a recent article Compulsory Schooling Laws Aren’t Progressive, They’re Inhumane she wrote where she says, "The first step to restore education freedom and empower parents with choice and opportunity for their children is to eliminate compulsory schooling laws that authorize state control of education." https://fee.org/articles/compulsory-schooling-laws-aren-t-progressive-they-re-inhumane/
We talk about this, Unschooling, and innovation in Education that gets us to think outside of our current 'school' box.
Kerry McDonald (@kerry_edu) has a B.A. in Economics from Bowdoin and an M.Ed. in education policy from Harvard. She lives in Cambridge, Mass. with her husband and four never-been-schooled children. Kerry is the author of the forthcoming book, Unschooled: Raising Curious, Well-Educated Children Outside the Conventional Classroom (Chicago Review Press). Follow her writing at Whole Family Learning.
 
 
 

Relationships as a Policy Imperative: Robert Loe

This podcast conversation is packed with depth and implications for our profession and our work. Dr. Robert Loe shares energizing details on the Relational Schools Project and how having positive school relationships prior to the age of ten makes a significant impact on well-being in adulthood. Likewise, he takes it further and gives us a picture of what makes places like the XP school special.
Dr. Robert Loe is the Director of the Relational Schools Foundation (www.relationalschools.org). Having worked in education for over eighteen years with a range of leadership roles in schools throughout Essex and Cambridgeshire in the United Kingdom, Rob founded Relational Schools Project in 2014. He researches, writes and speaks on the importance of fostering positive relationships between key stakeholders in schools.

School Culture and the Learner Experience: Chris Everett

Chris Everett is Culture Design Strategist for Engage2Learn (www.engage2learn.org), has been a Texas educator for 20 years, serving at multiple levels within the school structure including as a classroom teacher, a coach, a campus administrator, a district administrator, and a director at a regional Education Service Center.
I got to know Chris nearly a year ago at a Rex Miller MindShift gathering in Los Angeles where we discovered many of the same interests in how schools fit into a larger ecosystem. We had a fun conversation about his title, which is where we start the podcast conversation; however, the fun part of this podcast is in his experiences with catalyzing culture change in the learner experience through work with schools, building new facilities, and bringing about a sense of how what the future of learning looks like is even uncertain.

Leadership from Behind the Bench: Todd McLellan

Having a conversation with Todd McLellan is a pretty special honor. Todd was drafted by the New York Islanders of the NHL, started coaching full-time in 1994, became an NHL assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings in 2005, and has been a head coach with the San Jose Sharks and Edmonton Oilers. However, I got to know Todd as a parent of two sons.
I've always been intrigued by how hockey coaches make decisions and lead from "behind the bench" seemingly separated from the ice where the game is unfolding at a rapid pace. One author described it as "A ballet, a kind of speed chess. It has a basic pattern, but it also has improvisation created by coaches' tactical decisions."
Todd shares his experience as a young coach, the role of preparation, analytics, and trusting his "eyes" in making decisions, and a great perspective on evaluation and feedback in the development process.