The Teacher As...

Melissa Milner and Andrea Calvin discuss their new podcast collaboration, highlighting their shared energy and brainstorming sessions. They share personal interests, such as Melissa's love for concerts and Andrea's passion for baking. Andrea mentions upcoming events, including the MassCUE Fall Conference at Gillette Stadium. Melissa talks about her after school drama club and podcasting with students. Their next episode w...

Melissa Milner hosts Ed Goyette, co-founder of Major Choice, a career mentorship program for students with and without disabilities. Major Choice is a sponsor of The Teacher As…Podcast. Ed shares the program's inception during the pandemic and its expansion to a national level. The program emphasizes personalized mentorship, self-exploration, and career exploration, aiming to help students find fulfilling careers. Educators an...

Melissa discusses the inspiration that came from a Metallica Master Class titled "Being a Band." Milner emphasizes the importance of collaboration, using Metallica's jam session rules: focus, listening, ego check, recording ideas, embracing mistakes, and being kind to beginners. She also references Metallica's keys to building a resilient team: not neglecting individuals, keeping cool, empathizing, being real, e...

Brad and Tricia, co-founders of Major Choice, discuss their mission to help young people, especially those on the autism spectrum, figure out their post-school paths. They highlighted their program which includes self-exploration, career exploration, and outreach. They emphasized the importance of live mentoring and skill-building.

Major Choice is a career mentorship program for students with and without disabilities. The program em...

Melissa chats with Caroline Starr Rose, a middle grade and picture book author, discusses her journey from teaching to writing. She shares her experience of writing "May B," a historical fiction verse novel, which took 12 years to publish. Rose emphasized the importance of persistence and the impact of positive teacher encouragement. 

Major Choice is a career mentorship program for students with and without disabilities. T...

Melissa Milner talks with Erika Bare and Tiffany Burns who have collaborated on a book titled "Connecting Through Conversation: A Playbook for Talking with Students." Erica, a superintendent, and Tiffany, a university administrator, share their extensive experience in education and their mission to help students feel cared for and connected. They discuss practical strategies for building relationships, such as listening w...

In this episode, Melissa shares the process of planning for her afterschool drama club. She talks about one main resource that she is pulling from, dramanotebook.com created by Janea Dahl. 

Major Choice is a career mentorship program for students with and without disabilities. The program emphasizes personalized mentorship, self-exploration, and career exploration, aiming to help students find fulfilling careers. Educators and profe...

Melissa talks to Dr. Aditya Nagrath, founder of Elephant Learning, who discusses his company's program, which has helped over 175,000 students learn a year's worth of math in three months with 30 minutes of weekly use. He emphasized the importance of teaching math as a language and gamification to reduce math anxiety.

Major Choice is a career mentorship program for students with and without disabilities. The program emphas...

Melissa discusses her experience with the WIDA course on developing language for learning in mathematics, which aligns well with her district's Illustrative Mathematics (IM) curriculum. She highlights the importance of math discourse and the role of teachers as guides rather than leaders. 

Major Choice is a career mentorship program for students with and without disabilities. The program emphasizes personalized mentorship, self...

This was the first of three episodes about podcasting with students that was originally published in July, 2021. I am teaching a workshop on this topic at the Reynolds TLC Center in Dedham, MA in May so it seemed like a good time to revisit it.

Major Choice is a career mentorship program for students with and without disabilities. The program emphasizes personalized mentorship, self-exploration, and career exploration, aiming to hel...

Lana Montero, a K-8 math coach with 12 years of experience, discusses her transition from the classroom to coaching, emphasizing the importance of feedback and collaboration. Lana emphasizes the role of coaching as a supportive, collaborative effort to help teachers improve.

Major Choice is a career mentorship program for students with and without disabilities. The program emphasizes personalized mentorship, self-exploration, and ca...

Melissa chats with Janea Dahl, the creator of Drama Notebook, a resource for drama teachers with over 1,500 lesson plans, royalty-free scripts, and tutorial videos. Janea founded Drama Notebook to provide high-quality, flexible resources for drama teachers, who often work in isolation. The site aims to make drama accessible and affordable for educators. Janea emphasizes the importance of creativity, cooperation, and confidence-buil...

Melissa chats with Cori Myka. Cori runs Calm Within Adult Swim, a swim school focused on helping adults overcome water fears. Corey emphasizes the 80% mental, 20% physical approach to learning to swim, using a program called Foundations of Change. She shares her journey from teaching kids to focusing on adults, driven by the need to address the emotional aspects of swimming. Cori discusses the importance of mindfulness, creating a ...

Melissa chats with Jon Ryan, founder of the acapella group Ball in the House. Ryan discusses the group's origins, evolution, and educational outreach. Ball in the House teaches K-12, emphasizing performance, songwriting, and music history.

Major Choice is a career mentorship program for students with and without disabilities. The program emphasizes personalized mentorship, self-exploration, and career exploration, aiming to hel...

Melissa talks with Megan Daly, the author of My Teacher Doesn't Like Me. Megan shares the inspiration for her first book and her writing and publishing process.

Major Choice is a career mentorship program for students with and without disabilities. The program emphasizes personalized mentorship, self-exploration, and career exploration, aiming to help students find fulfilling careers. Educators and professionals are encouraged ...

In this episode, Melissa speaks with Janet Singer Applefield, author of Becoming Janet. She is a child survivor of the Holocaust, author, notable speaker, and change agent. Janet spoke about her years of hiding in plain sight, how she helped get the MA Genocide Bill passed, the story of her book getting written, and her resilience through it all.

Major Choice is a career mentorship program for students with and without disabilities....

In this episode, Melissa speaks with Hayes Greenfield, the founder of Creative Sound Play, an interconnected, play-based, generative learning system for Pre-K educators. Hayes shares about his book, Creative Sound Play for Young Learners: A Teacher’s Guide to Enhancing Transition Times, Classroom Communities, SEL, and Executive Function Skill. The concepts discussed can be applied to elementary and middle school as well.

Major Choic...