Hallway Conversations

Episode 052: Preserving, Pruning, and Pioneering

Today’s check-in question caused us to reminisce about our favorite road trips, and you definitely don’t want to miss Matt’s story about a mysterious stranger who just might have been an angel in disguise. After this, Dave raises a question inspired by another podcast he was listening to recently: thinking about education today, what is something we should preserve, something we should prune, and something we should pioneer? As we share our ideas, we grapple with the role of librarians, whether we should chuck standardized tests or not, the value of Accelerated Reader, the challenge of managing the work teachers are expected to do outside of school hours, and more. As always, we would love to hear your feedback; email us at hallwayconvospod@gmail.com.

• The podcast Dave mentioned that inspired today’s conversation was Episode 496 of the Holy Post podcast, which you can access here: https://www.holypost.com/holy-post-podcast/episode/2b3b958e/episode-496-the-embrace-of-tyrants-and-the-despair-of-pastors

Bonus Episode: A Word of Encouragement

This bonus episode is made up of a couple of leftovers that didn’t make the cut from our last episode about teaching and technique, but we thought you might still find this part of the conversation interesting, and maybe even helpful. We hope that this is a word of encouragement for any educators out there who might feel like they are losing their fire in the face of all the challenges of teaching today. May God bless you and give you what you stand in need of to serve well!

Episode 51: Good Teaching Can’t Be Reduced to Technique (Can It?)

As we check in at the beginning of this episode, we reflect on our first year in this podcasting adventure. Listeners, we are SO grateful for you! And we want this show to be the sort of thing that encourages, challenges, and blesses you, so we would love to hear your feedback, questions, comments, and wonderings. You can always contact us at hallwayconvospod@gmail.com.

In this episode, Matt brings us a quote from Parker Palmer’s book, The Courage to Teach, and shares a story of a recent interaction with a fellow educator who is grappling with the idea of the standardization of education–and wondering whether “teaching” is just being reduced to “technique.” We think through some of the challenges of developing as educators, and the difference between thinking of teaching as a science, as an art. After some disagreement about this, we settle on the idea that teaching is both an art and a science, and think through some of the ramifications for how that impacts our work as educators.

Episode 050: Digital Devices, and Riding into Battle

In this episode, Dave kicked things off with a weird check-in question about fantasy beasts and riding into battle. (We’ll see if we let him ask the check-in question in the future…this got a little strange!) Today we have a question from a listener! Joseph asked us a question about what to do when school leaders begin to realize that students are misusing school-issued devices. Drawing on our various experiences in school leadership, teaching, and educational technology, we think through some different ways schools and parents can partner together to help students learn about the ways digital devices are shaping their behavior for good or ill.

• In this episode, Dave recommends the book Digital Life Together: The Challenge of Technology for Christian Schools by David Smith, Kara Sevensma, Marjorie Terpstra, and Steven McMullen. It is not prescriptive, but raises helpful questions that Christian educators can and should grapple with related to technology. - Amazon link

Episode 049: Design, Creativity, and Cruising the Loop

Our check-in question today brought us back to our high school experiences, and we wind up talking about cruising the loop, mullets, and how we know every single word of some songs. (And, of course, we would LOVE to hear your stories related to this check-in question; please drop us a line at hallwayonvospod@gmail.com.) We then turn to more substantial topics of discussion, prompted by a quote Abby brings us from Dan Pink’s book A Whole New Mind related to the design of toilet brushes (of all things!) and how this illustrates the importance of good design. This has us thinking about the role of design in education, and the role of beauty in teaching, and how we can foster creativity in design in our work as educators.

• A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers will Rule the Future by Daniel Pink - Amazon link
• In this episode, we reference a previous episode about protocols. We recommend that you revisit this one! Episode 033: Protocols

Episode 048: Flourishing (Like that Disgusting Dish in the Fridge?)

This week we start off by discussing who left that nasty dish in the fridge over Christmas break (we’ll let you figure out who…) From there, we find our way into talking about what teachers need to flourish in their work–and it’s a bit of a convoluted road! Matt shares some questions he used to help his students articulate what they need to flourish, and then we start thinking about what we ourselves need to flourish. We hope you’ll be encouraged by listening…and we’d love to hear from our listeners what they find helps them flourish in their work. Drop us a line at hallwayconvospod@gmail.com!

Episode 047: Atomic Habits

In this week’s conversation, we focus in on the idea of habits, and how small changes to our habits can have big impact overall in our work as educators. Matt brings in a quote from James Clear’s book Atomic Habits to kick off the conversation. We share a variety of micro-habits we use in our own teaching practices that we have found make a big difference for supporting students’ learning. We’d love to hear your ideas as well! Please feel free to share your ideas at hallwayconvospod@gmail.com. We’d love to hear your stories and questions too!

• Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear - Amazon link

 

Episode 046: Orbiting the Giant Hairball

This week’s conversation starts with Matt’s check-in question of, “What brought you joy this week?” (Are you using check-in questions with your students? We’d love to hear from you about this. You can always contact us at hallwayconvospod@gmail.com) The main discussion this week stems from a quote Dave brought from the book Orbiting the Giant Hairball by Gordon MacKenzie: “Orville Wright did not have a pilot’s license.” We think through the conditions teachers need to feel empowered to take risks, and how collaboration is a key aspect of thriving together–not getting tangled up in the “giant hairball” of an organization, while also not flying off on our own, but rather finding a way to settle into an orbit of innovation and creativity. 

• Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace, by Gordon Mackenzie - Amazon link

Episode 045: Coping with Newness

Happy New Year! The Hallway Conversations crew is excited to be back with you for a new season and more conversations about teaching and our ongoing learning. After some silliness and laughter checking in with our New Year’s resolutions, we get down to the question of the week. Dave raises the question, “How do we cope with new things?” This is the time of the year where educators are in the thick of things, and yet we often have the opportunity to engage with new things as well as we turn the calendar over. We talk through some new courses we will be teaching, new students we’ll be meeting, and new roles we are stepping into. But we also share strategies we use to manage the changes that are sure to come with new things. We hope, as always, that you’ll enjoy the discussion. 

• Dave’s guacamole recipe:
  • 2 large avocados
  • 2 Tbsp. lime juice
  • 1 Tbsp. cumin
  • 1 Tbsp. onion flakes
  • 1 tsp. Kosher salt
  • 1 tsp. minced garlic
  • ½ tsp. black pepper
  • Cayenne pepper to taste (if you like)
  • Mash avocados with a fork, add the lime juice and combine completely. Stir in all the spices to mix well. Cover, and leave it in the refrigerator for an hour for the flavors to come together.

Episode 044: Seeking the Well-Being of the City

Welcome to the final week of 2021! This week, Matt brings us a quote from Steven Garber’s excellent book, Visions of Vocation, which is a thoughtful exploration of what “vocation” is about in light of a biblical worldview. After sharing a quote that draws on imagery from Jeremiah 29 (“seeking the prosperity of the city” where God has placed us) Matt raises the question, “Do schools have a responsibility to help students seek the well-being of the ‘city’ they are part of?” We discuss ideas around teaching students about service, and giving students the opportunity to bring their learning outside the walls of the school, and the overlapping spheres of families, churches, and schools when it comes to forming students. As we discuss these topics, we realize that we don’t all see these things the same way, but have a lively and enriching conversation–we hope you’ll enjoy the discourse and find it helpful food for thought.

• Visions of Vocation: Common Grace for the Common Good, by Steven Garber - Amazon link