Coaching the Whole Educator
Coaching the Whole Educator, hosted by education consultant and author Becca Silver, is a podcast on instructional coaching, teacher leadership, and school leadership for anyone who wants to strengthen their educators' effectiveness and resilience, especially the ones who need it most. Each week, you'll hear quick tips, proven coaching strategies, and coaching mindsets designed to keep you on top of your game. This show is rooted in a human-centered coaching approach, where we get things done through people's humanity, not around it. Whether you're new to instructional coaching or a seasoned coach or leader looking for fresh perspective, you'll learn how to focus on the mindsets and motivations driving unproductive behaviors. By getting to the root of teacher resistance, using the Catalyst Mindsets framework from Becca Silver's book, The Resistance Solution, you'll discover how to build stronger relationships, lead with clarity, and create lasting impact in your school.
Episodes
In this episode, Becca sits down with Jennifer Abrams, author of five books on adult-to-adult communication in schools including Having Hard Conversations and Stretching Your Learning Edges, for a conversation on hard conversations, school culture, and adult development in education.
Topics covered in this episode:
- The difference between resistance and a hard conversation, and where one line ends and t...
What if the pushback you're getting from teachers isn't about the initiative at all, but about a hidden cultural mismatch in how your school defines belonging?
In this episode of Coaching the Whole Educator, Becca Silver sits down with Dr. Sheldon Eakins, author of Meaningful Classroom Management, What Are You Bringing to the Potluck?, and Leading Equity, to explore a dimension of belonging that rarely gets airtime i...
In this episode of Coaching the Whole Educator, Becca Silver explores the hidden costs schools and districts pay when resistance is misunderstood.
She calls it the resistance tax: the quiet drain on resources, relationships, and results that happens when leaders respond to resistance with pressure, compliance, or more accountability instead of understanding what is driving it.
Becca breaks down five major forms ...
What if one of the biggest missing pieces in teacher retention is how we support mentor teachers?
In this episode, Becca talks with John Pascarella, professor of clinical education at USC and Chief Academic Officer of the USC Race and Equity Center, about why mentor teachers are often asked to support new teachers without the training, role clarity, compensation, or coaching they actually need.
They unpack why being a...
In this episode of Coaching the Whole Educator, Becca Silver talks with Principal Kafele about what happens when high expectations meet resistance in schools and how leaders can respond without slipping into compliance-driven leadership.
Together, they explore how school leaders can create a true culture of high expectations, not by demanding instant transformation, but by helping educators experience steady, measura...
What does The Resistance Solution actually look like in a real school?
In this episode, Chrystin Sheffield shares how the book transformed the way she leads.
She talks about how it helped her:
• Stop taking teacher resistance personally and start diagnosing what's really driving it
• Navigate difficult conversations with less frustration and more confidence
• Give walkthrough feedback that feels meaningful instead ...
In this episode, Becca sits down with Jessica Werner, founder of North Shore Learning, to unpack a hard truth in schools: many leaders believe they understand staff well-being, but are relying on assumptions instead of real data.
Together, they explore how well-being, retention, and leadership decisions are deeply connected and why anecdotal signals like “people seem happy” or “no one is in crisis&r...
Okay y’all… this episode is basically what happens when two people who are deeply obsessed with leadership, resistance, ownership, and human behavior finally hit “record.” 😂
Becca sits down with leadership expert Casey Watts to celebrate the release of The Resistance Solution… but the conversation quickly turns into a deep, real-time exploration of what actually causes resistance in s...
[FREE] Find Your Resistance Type Quiz: Find out the type of resistance you are navigating
In this episode of Coaching the Whole Educator, Becca sits down with Jason Adair from the Southern Regional Education Board to explore what actually makes instructional coaching effective in schools. Together, they unpack SREB’s new Powerful Coaching Practices framework and discuss why so many coaching initiatives fail to ...
Discover a conversation unlike any you’ve heard before as Dr. Courtney Tate joins Becca Silver to shine a spotlight on the real challenges and triumphs experienced by Black women in instructional coaching. This episode pulls back the curtain on the unseen emotional workload, the navigation of daily microaggressions, and the relentless pursuit of recognition faced by these dedicated professionals. Dr. Tate brin...
In this episode of Resistance Chronicles, Becca Silver unpacks a coaching mistake many instructional coaches and school leaders make at the end of the school year: trying to solve exhausted teachers instead of helping them feel understood first.
When teachers are overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and running on fumes, even well-intentioned coaching strategies can accidentally create more frustration. Too often, leade...
Change isn’t something school leaders do on the side. It is the work. In this episode, former principal and author Richard Gerver joins Becca to dig into why adults in schools resist change even though change and learning go hand in hand. They talk about why veteran teachers often push back the most, how forcing change shuts down curiosity and buy in, and what it looks like to respect lived experience while st...
Resistance Chronicles, Part 5: Ownership Mindset™
[FREE] Find Your Resistance Type Quiz: Find out the type of resistance you are navigating (previously called The Resistance Audit)
In the final episode of The Resistance Chronicles, Becca Silver explores the Ownership Mindset and the form of resistance that often sounds like disengagement but is rooted in belief.
It can sound like:
“There’s nothing ...
[FREE RESOURCE] Resistance Diagnostic Assessment: Identify the root cause(s) of the resistance you are navigating (previously called The Resistance Audit)
Are you an instructional coach or principal navigating endless data, tough decisions, and nonstop demands? In this can’t-miss episode, visionary school leader David Richards reveals why intuition is your greatest untapped superpower, and how mastering it can ...
Resistance Chronicles, Part 4: Growth Mindset
[FREE] Catalyst Mindset Overview Graphic [Printable]
In this episode, Becca Silver explores how resistance shows up when the belief “I can improve” feels unsupported. Growth requires effort, feedback, and struggle. When those experiences feel risky or tied to judgment, educators naturally protect themselves.
This form of resistance is often quiet and eas...
Have you gotten your copy of the RESISTANCE PLAYBOOK yet? Get it for only $7 HERE.
In this episode, Becca is joined by her friend and colleague Mia Pumo for an unscripted, honest debate about norms and whether they actually work.
Rather than offering a tidy answer, this conversation lives in the gray. Becca and Mia explore why norms are so commonly used in schools, why they often fail to change beh...
What if resistance isn’t defiance… but doubt?
In Part 3 of The Resistance Chronicles, Becca Silver unpacks the Success Mindset and the powerful role of self-efficacy. When educators aren’t sure they can succeed, resistance shows up , not as rebellion, but as hesitation:
•“I’m not sure that will work.”
• “That’s not really my strength.”
• “I’ve tr...
Be sure to grab your copy of the RESISTANCE PLAYBOOK is now available! It's only $7 HERE.
In this episode of Coaching the Whole Educator, Becca Silver sits down with Kurtis Hewson, co founder of Jigsaw Learning, to break down what truly drives authentic collaboration in schools. Kurtis explains why many teams think they are “collaborating” when they are actually stuck in compliance based...
Resistance Chronicles, Part 2: Belonging Mindset™
In this episode, I explore belonging as one of the most overlooked drivers of resistance in schools. Resistance does not always show up as pushback. It often appears as silence, surface-level agreement, avoidance, or polite compliance.
These behaviors frequently signal uncertainty about relational safety. When educators are not sure they will still be respected, ...
The RESISTANCE PLAYBOOK is now available! Grab it for only $7 HERE.
In this episode of Coaching the Whole Educator, Becca Silver talks with instructional leader and writer Lauren Kaufman about how authentic questioning and a true coaching mindset drive meaningful growth for educators. With twenty years of experience across teaching, coaching, and district leadership, Lauren explains why effective coaching ...
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