Have a Good Life

In this episode, Jethro and Damon Hargraves talk about ChatGPT. This is from a Twitter Spaces that they did in early January. And this has led to some pretty interesting conversations.

Jethro has been contracting with a startup to do user research interviews about how we could use AI in schools. If you are intersected in this and would like to chat with us, please schedule a time here.

We’ve done about 70 interviews since this Twitter space happened, and we are looking for more, so don’t be shy!

New Episode of @TrnFrmPrincipal

TONY BRASUNAS, independent journalist and author of the forthcoming RED, WHITE & BLIND: The Truth About Censorship in America and the Rise of Independent Media, which aims to explore  media distortion and disinformation in the U.S. as well as the upswell of independent media that has risen up to combat it.

• Corporate media vs independent media
• “How 5 Companies Control All US Media”
• New trends: corporate media trying to maintain control
• Factcheckers as part of corporate media
• Astroturf independent media (not actually independent)
• Tremendous bias from corporate media
• Innocent bias, Systemic bias, Nefarious bias.
• Operation Mockingbird - Journalists being fed info or were agents, or were public figures
• Impact of the internet on corporate and independent media.
• The New Enlightenment
• No intermediaries
• Disinformation - building up false perspectives
• Censorship - hiding information
• Origin of COVID
• Weapons of Mass Destruction
• Ambassador’s daughter in Congress pretending to be a nurse.
• Are there bad and nefarious people in corporate media or are many people just being hoodwinked.
• The role of big corporations and perverse incentives.
• The Narrative
• Corporate media has the “power to deliver that narrative”
• Corporate media sees their biggest threat as corporate media
• Journalist - we’re all journalists.
• Balanced media diet - 40 sources to give you an idea of what is really going on.
• Tony’s Media Pyramid
• Watch for confirmation bias.
• The media narratives are the water that we swim in.
• How to share media effectively.
• Use the internet to share ideas you think are good.
• Science is not a set of answers, it’s a way to question.
• Censorship is anathema to science and democracy.

Check out this episode!

This interview is from a recent conference that Fred and I attended called Professional Practices Institute. We had the chance to talk with some great people from around the country. I hope you enjoy this episode.

Fitting that for our 150th episode, we would have Dr. Glenn Lipson join us on the program again.
- Forming a bucket brigade instead of a single bucket
- Help others know their role.
- Connecting across the country.
- Intervening early prevents people falling down a slippery slope
- Recognize the path of many interventions.
- Find a champion
- Anything worthwhile you’re doing should be comfortable sharing.
- Guilty, Angry, Loneliness, Embarrassment. GALE forces
- Empowering youth voices
- Lonliness and isolation leads to perversion when people can’t find ways to self-soothe.

Check out this episode!

This interview is from a recent conference that Fred and I attended called Professional Practices Institute. We had the chance to talk with some great people from around the country. I hope you enjoy this episode.

Felicia Villalobos
- Hawaiian Language permit
- technology issues.

Check out this episode!

In this episode, we are continuing our coaching conversations with Eric. Please check in our previous episodes 510, 506, and 501

• trying to make it a focus to be aware of people
• What’s on your mind? What’s the challenge you’re facing today.

Today we focus on teacher evaluations.

For New Teachers

• 5 informal observations
• 2 formal observations
• 2 formal observation post-conferences
• 2 summative conferences
• start, mid, and end of year with goals
• 14 touchpoints per teacher.

For Experienced Teachers:

• 3 informal
• 1 formal
• start, mid, and end of year with goals
• 8 total touch points.

Evaluation system is homemade. Current concerns:
- Hard to make them meaningful
- Less confident writing up evaluations because it’s my first year seeing everyone.
- Feedback: is it accurate and in alignment with what is really happening?
- What value does Eric see?
- Good to give teachers feedback on a regular basis.
- Good to give formal feedback
- Post observation conferences are good to go over feedback.
- From a teacher’s perspective - Some staff aren’t used to having observations and evaluations.
- Picked one area on the rubric and only scored and gave feedback on that one thing.
- Try chunking it, and then get some feedback.

Suggestions for effective evaluations

• Johari Window
• The only feedback that matters is what people can’t see
• Purpose is to make them meaningful - finding blind spots.
• 1. Jump through the hoops.
• 1. Is the vision for the school actually happening.
• Self-evaluations at the beginning of the year.

Sponsors

Lead a school everyone can be proud of.

Being a principal is tough work. You’re pulled in all kinds of directions. You never have the time to do the work that really matters. Join me as I help school leaders find the time to do the work they became principals to do.

I help you stop putting out fires and start leading.

Learn more at https://transformativeprincipal.com

Just Right Reader

Just Right Reader Decodables are a great way to help your students learn how to read, with research-based strategies that are proven to be effective. Each grade level has over 100 books. Send books home in packs of ten, with video lessons accessible via QR codes on each book, with lessons in Spanish and English. Learn more at https://justrightreader.com

New Episode of @TrnFrmPrincipal

Ryan Mackey is the principal of Douglas High School and is beginning his ninth year as a school administrator. Wyoming Principal of the Year 2022–2023.  He is also a certified McGrath Solutions TRUE-SPEAK trainer that allows him to work with other school administrators and frontline staff on communication within various organizations. He has been in education for 16 years and began his career teaching social studies while coaching football, basketball, and track. After teaching and coaching for seven years, his wife (Jessica) and two children (Brooklyn and Conlan) moved to Douglas as the middle school assistant principal and activities director. He then became the principal of the middle school in 2016 where he worked on transforming school culture through standards-referenced grading and reporting. In 2019, he was named the principal of Douglas High School and has worked to develop and establish a safe and supportive school climate and culture. He is passionate about continuous learning as well as creating and maintaining a transformative school climate and culture. Lastly, Ryan recently obtained his superintendent certification and is working on his dissertation for his doctoral degree in Educational Leadership at the University of Wyoming.

Ryan Mackey shares his three phase plan for leaders focusing on the culture of their schools.  Starting with the adults in the building, then students, and finally focusing on the families and community members.  He emphasizes the importance of the school’s mission and vision driving everything the adults in the building do, having a collaborative approach, and his rallying cry is “we’re going to work hard and do what’s best for kids!”

Best way for listeners to reach out to Ryan: 

1. Email- rmackey@converse1.org

2. Call- (307) 358–2940

Sponsors

Pikmykid

Improve your school dismissal and safety response with Pikmykid, the Schools Safety and Dismissal Platform. Help move your dismissal from chaos to calm, get kids to their families faster and safer.  Visit pikmykid.com/be to learn more

Transformative Principal Mastermind

Lead a school everyone can be proud of.

Being a principal is tough work. You’re pulled in all kinds of directions. You never have the time to do the work that really matters. Join me as I help school leaders find the time to do the work they became principals to do.

I help you stop putting out fires and start leading.

Learn more at https://transformativeprincipal.com

New Episode of @TrnFrmPrincipal

This interview is from a recent conference that Fred and I attended called Professional Practices Institute. We had the chance to talk with some great people from around the country. I hope you enjoy this episode.

148 Brytton Sorgenfrei & Justin Darling
- 2 people for the whole state
- Teaching administrators to start taking snapshots
- How to investigate social media.

Check out this episode!

This interview is from a recent conference that Fred and I attended called Professional Practices Institute. We had the chance to talk with some great people from around the country. I hope you enjoy this episode.

• meet 6 times a year, over 100 cases each year.
• Different in what they can take action for.
• Teachers growing up with social media, using it for everything.
• Boundaries
• Virtual life vs real life

Check out this episode!