Guest: Dr. Tim Shanahan, literacy researcher, author of Leveled Reading, Leveled Lives, and founder of the UIC Center for Literacy. Episode Summary: Dr. Shanahan joins John to discuss why students must engage with grade-level, complex texts—and how teachers can scaffold instruction instead of lowering text difficulty. He explains practical ways…
In this episode, Dr. John Schembari speaks with Nicholas Bradford - Founder at National Center for Restorative Justice - about how restorative justice can transform school culture by balancing accountability, relationship building, and community repair. Together, they unpack what restorative practices look like in real classrooms and explore how schools…
John talks with Mickey Evans and Erin Sanchez about place-based learning, a pedagogy of connectedness that roots instruction in students’ local communities, cultures, and environments. They share design principles for creating authentic, equitable learning experiences and examples from tribal, rural, and urban schools—showing how community partnerships, storytelling, and student voice…
In this episode of the Have a Life Teaching Podcast. we welcome Dr. Carmen Bell Ross—founder and CEO of SP Grace—and her daughter, Sierra Ross, a Harvard University student, for a powerful mother-daughter conversation on helping students not just get into college but thrive once they’re there. Dr. Carmen shares…
Host Dr. John Schembari brings together three leading K–12 podcasters from the U.S. and Australia to explore why they podcast, how they amplify teacher voices, and what keeps them inspired. They discuss balancing practical classroom takeaways with deeper human stories, staying authentic and apolitical, and the impact of connecting educators…
In this Have a Life Teaching Podcast episode, we speak with Maureen Chapman and James Simons of Core Creative Partners about their new book, Leaders of the Class. We explore how motivation, perseverance, communication, and collaboration can be intentionally taught alongside academic content—especially at the secondary level. Our guests share…
Making Social Studies Come Alive Through Inquiry In this week’s Podcast episode, I sit down with Charisse Smith Ph.D. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/drsankofaspeaks/) —CEO of Sankofa Educational Consulting and former K–6 Social Studies Supervisor in Trenton Public Schools (https://www.linkedin.com/company/trenton-public-schools/) , NJ—to dig into why inquiry-driven social studies is essential for today’s learners. We…
Cutting Through the Noise with Priority Standards Teachers are asked to do everything — personalization, differentiation, voice and choice, standards-based instruction… but rarely is anything taken off the plate. In this episode of the Podcast, I sit down with Larry Ainsworth (https://www.linkedin.com/in/larry-ainsworth-799572a1/) , the nationwide expert on unwrapping standards, priority…
The Future of Work Is Here — and It’s Changing Everything How do you prepare kids for jobs that don’t even exist yet? In a world where AI is rewriting the rules of work, this isn’t just a nice question — it’s the urgent one. From virtual architects to synthetic…
