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  • In this episode we connect with Christine Corr Kiewra, an assistant professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Christine reflects on lessons learned from her 20 years of experience in early childhood education and how that impacts the way she now supports adult learners. She dives into the importance of wandering and its connection to creating opportunities of wonder. Christine’s passion for nature and play with students of all ages is inspiring and she highlights why these are the same ingredients that can bring joy to educators.

    Christine is an assistant professor of practice in the Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She was the recipient of the 2022 Swanson Award for Teaching Excellence. Christine is also a consulting editor for the International Journal of Early Childhood Environmental Education and a Board Member of the Dimensions Educational Research Foundation.

  • Hello Everyone! Thank you for your patience as we make some changes to our episode releasing schedule. We are back with such a good interview! In today’s episode we sit down with Rodney Robinson, the 2019 National Teacher of the Year. This interview is so motivating! Rodney shares his story with us and teaches us about the difference between equality and equity.

    Rodney has over 20 years experience as an educator with Richmond Public Schools. He taught secondary social studies in middle and high school for 20 years. He spent 5 years of that time at Virgie Binford Education Center, a school inside the Richmond Juvenile Jail. Rodney’s accomplishments in education vary from his professional growth to his students’ personal growth. He was named the 2019 National Teacher of the Year and used his time as national teacher of the year to advocate for economic equity and cultural equity to make sure students have teachers and administrators who look like them and value their culture. Rodney is currently a Senior Advisor with Richmond Public Schools in charge of Teacher and Leader Pathways. He has started the RVA Men Teach Program to recruit and retain male minority teachers in Richmond Public Schools. In 2022, he partnered RVA Men Teach with the Virginia State University School of Education to launch the first Paid HBCU Teacher residency in America. His passion is helping the underprivileged and underrepresented populations in America.

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  • Hello wonderful listeners! Yes, this is one week late. We apologize. Covid got us, and it threw off the release of this episode last week, but we are back up and running.

    In today's episode we connect with Veronika Bačová, an educator in Prague, Czech Republic. We have a wonderful time exploring the similarities and differences in our educational systems. Veronika talks about the importance of allowing time for the kids to regulate and play, and the reality that our system needs to continue to prioritize teachers. Veronika Bačová works as a teacher at a primary school and is working towards her PhD on the issues of inclusive education. She sees inclusive education as an essential part to help all students and to create a fair education system for everyone. She uses a Trauma Respecting Approach in her teaching.

  • Happy New Year, wonderful listeners! I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better episode to bring us into this new year together. I needed more than I knew! In today’s episode we connect and learn from Laura van Dernoot Lipsky, who is the founder and director of The Trauma Stewardship Institute. Laura’s book, Trauma Stewardship, is one that truly changed my professional career and in this episode she highlights why recognizing how we experience stress is so vital to all of us. She shares with us how damaging isolation is; reminding all of us to connect, not shy away from vulnerability, and bear witness to those around us.

    Laura is the author of Trauma Stewardship and The Age of Overwhelm. She is the host of the podcast Future Tripping, which is dedicated to conversations about overwhelm. Widely recognized as a pioneer in the field of trauma exposure, she has worked nationally and internationally for more than three decades. Laura is on the advisory board of ZGiRLS, an organization that supports young girls in sports.

  • Welcome to the last episode of 2023! I hope you all have a wonderful Winter Break. In this episode we sit down with Coach Shawn Sorsby, the Founder and Executive Director of A Step Ahead Chess. What a fantastic way to close out 2023. Coach Sorsby is so inspiring and the way he is changing student’s lives through chess is amazing. He highlights that losses are lessons and that we should run towards failure in an attempt to continue growing. Coach Sorsby also reminds us that the brain is a muscle and must be worked out in different ways for optimal learning to happen. Through his own story he connects the power of joy in education that we wish for all students. Coach Shawn Sorsby is an award winning Math Teacher and Chess Coach. Sorsby is the Founder & Executive Director of A Step Ahead Chess, a nonprofit organization that creates life changing experiences for young chess players by exposing them to international travel and competition, and enriching their lives with chess lessons on the board and life lessons off the board.

  • In today's episode we sit down with Joel Pippus, the Project Lead for Push to Heal, which uses skateboarding as a component for treatment and education with high needs students. Joel highlights different ways skateboarding can be used as an education tool and mental health strategy to support growth with students. He shares different ways it promotes regulation and can build executive functioning abilities. Joel's own personal story directly shines the importance of the continued need to think outside the box for better ways to serve our students.

    Joel Pippus is a certified Child and Youth Care Counselor with Hull Services, a non-profit organization in Calgary, AB. Currently, Joel works at Hull’s program Pathways To Prevention: A Centre For Childhood Trauma as the Project Lead for Push to Heal and Training and Education Facilitator. Joel has presented locally and internationally about the Push To Heal project, and continues to develop resources (like the Push To Heal short film) and partnerships in the social skateboarding space.

  • In today’s new episode we talk with Becky Arndt, who is a Drama Teacher in the Racine, Wisconsin Public School System. Becky shares with us her Actors Tool Box and connects ways we can utilize those tools in other areas of education. She highlights the importance of environments that foster student strengths and belonging. Becky also talks about the important role Specials’ teachers play in education. Becky is a product of the Racine Unified School District and a third generation educator. She is in her eighteenth year teaching and is a strong believer in the power that the arts have on student growth.

  • In today’s episode of Education Suspended we connect with Dr. Mark Gooden, PhD., who is the Christian Johnson Endeavor Professor in Education Leadership and Chair of the Department of Organization and Leadership at Teachers College, Columbia University. Dr. Gooden talks about the barriers that exist in our ability in education to retain strong teachers of color. He highlights the power of education to be the passport to the future, and how that leads to an obligation for us to make the system better for future generations. Dr. Gooden is co-author of the award-winning book Five Practices for Equity-Focused School Leadership (ASCD, 2021) and co-author of the Principal's Legal Handbook, 5thEd.

  • Today we connect with Micaela DeSimone, who works in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Boston University. Micaela shares with us her experience as an educator and the impact burnout had on her. Her story is powerful, shedding light on the experience of so many in education. Micaela highlights steps needed to begin repairing the relationship between our educational system and our educators. Micaela (she/her) is from Queens, New York, where she spent the past seven years teaching middle school. During her tenure as a teacher, she also participated in and helped facilitate DE&I focused initiatives, while pursuing her Ed.D from Johns Hopkins University in Urban Leadership & Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Micaela was also featured on PBS' "Brief but Spectacular" wherein she discussed issues that she faced as a teacher, as well as elaborated on her reasons to leave the field.

  • Welcome back to Education Suspended! Today we kick off Season 4 with a wonderful interview with Joe Mailander of the Okee Dokee Brothers. The Okee Dokee Brothers’ music focuses on community and harmony; we explore the importance of those two elements in our schools. Joe highlights the need for exploration, curiosity, and slowness in education. He reminds us that sometimes in order to learn we have to empty out first, unlearn, in order to learn again.

  • In this episode we sit down and talk with Dr. Jackie Joseph-Buzek and Lorin Terrell, M.Ed. They share with us their experiences as being parents of neurodiverse students. Jackie and Lorin highlight the joys and struggles that come with navigating the school systems that surround their children. They also talk with us about how those experiences have inspired them to create a charter school, Windmill, that focuses on educational spaces where all students belong.

    Dr. Jackie Joseph-Buzek and Lorin Terrell, M.Ed. are two of the three co-founds of Windmill. Jackie has her doctorate in Education and Human Development and focuses on inclusion research and implementation. Lorin is a licensed marriage and family therapist, who specializes in providing robust mental health services to students in schools.

  • In today’s episode we have a great conversation with Tracey DeMaria. Tracey helps define sensory integration and regulation, words that are being used more mainstream in education these days. She talks about the need for our system to become more developmentally respectful in regard to the self-regulation expectations we set on students, and reminds us we all need co-regulation. Tracey highlights that classrooms need to keep moving more towards movement and rhythm in order to promote learning in our schools.

    Tracey DeMaria, OTD, OTR is an accomplished occupational therapist with a strong dedication to promoting regulation skills. She obtained a clinical Doctorate in occupational therapy from Misericordia University. With over a decade of experience in the field, Tracey currently serves as an occupational therapist in the Phillipsburg School District and is an adjunct professor in the Occupational Therapy master's program at Moravian University. Tracey is also an accomplished author, with her upcoming book, How to Surf the Waves: A Sensory, Emotional, and Behavioral Regulation Skills Curriculum, set to be released this Fall. A passionate advocate for disability rights and mental health, Tracey remains committed to helping individuals of all ages learn the power of regulation.

  • In today’s episode we sit down and connect with Dr. Jon Conte. Jon shares his expertise on the impacts of trauma as it pertains to “trauma-informed” and what a truly trauma-informed environment means for those in education. He shares with us that the power of the empathic connection is so strong for students in schools, yet can also create the vulnerability of the empathic strain on the teachers. Jon highlights that providing a space where teachers can openly process their experiences, is vital in combating burnout.


    Dr. Jon Conte is a world renowned expert on mental health issues related to child abuse and trauma. He is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Washington and maintains a private practice on Mercer Island, specializing in forensic mental health issues surrounding child abuse and the effect of trauma work on health care professionals. Jon is the editor of the Journal of Interpersonal Violence and Trauma, Violence and Abuse: A Review Journal, and is the consulting editor for the Journal of Forensic Social Work.Intro Song: Poet's Row, Young Bones

  • In today’s episode we connect with Zaretta Hammond. She shares her story of true lived learning partnerships and why they are so important in the educational setting. Zaretta stands shoulder to shoulder with teachers and students to build their capacity to engage in the productive struggle. She highlights why the focus needs increasing our students' ability to be learners who gain knowledge, not just information. Zaretta also reminds us that to shift what is really happening in education is going to take more than just one PD, and she is leading the way in ensuring our teachers are cared for so they can continue to grow.
    Zaretta Hammond, M.A., is the author of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students. She is a national consultant and currently runs the Culturally Responsive Education by Design Online PLC. She is a former high school and community college expository writing instructor and for the past 20 years, she has supported schools in deepening their understanding and application of culturally responsive practices. Intro song: Poets Row, Young Bones

  • In this episode we sit down and connect with Dr. Monica McHale-Small. Monica shares with us her experience as a Superintendent and how that has impacted her lens on the larger educational system. She highlights the importance of supporting the whole child; especially when thinking about students with specific learning disabilities. Monica also talks us through the challenges that come with navigating the special education realm as a parent.
    Dr. McHale-Small is an Adjunct , Associate Professor of School Psychology at Temple University and the Director of Education for the Learning Disabilities Association of America. Dr. McHale-Small has long advocated bringing sound research into practice in public schools and advocates for responsible inclusion and equity for historically underserved students including racially, culturally and linguistically diverse students and students with disabilities. She co-founded the Greater Lehigh Valley Consortium for Equity and Excellence and she currently consults with the ACLU of Pennsylvania on School to Prison Pipeline issues. Intro song: Poet’s Row, Young Bones

  • In this episode we are joined by Chris Barfield. Chris is such a great story teller and shares with us how using sports helps the students he and his team work with at their school. He highlights the importance of dosing the stress appropriately to match the developmental level of the students; knowing students show up in different places. Chris also reminds us that we need to remember for many of our students, school has been a place of negative experiences and it’s our job to help rewrite their scripts.

    Chris Barfield is the School Leader at Urban Dove Team Charter School in Brooklyn, a network of high schools serving under-credited students through a curriculum centered around sports, youth development, and academics. Prior to joining Urban Dove in 2018, Barfield worked for 11 years as a physical education teacher and coached a variety of sports.

    Intro song: Poet's Row, Young Bones

  • In today’s episode we sit down and connect with Tu David Phu. Chef Tu shares his personal story about why understanding the connection between schools and food matters. When you have consistent access to food that provides nourishment it’s easy to minimize just how important it is for learning. Chef Tu reminds us that the playing field is not equal and we must advocate for free access to healthy foods for all students at school.

    Top Chef Alumnus, Tu David Phu, is a Vietnamese-American, SF Chronicle Rising Star Chef, Author, and an Emmy-nominated filmmaker from Oakland. His extensive resume reflects a wide range of exciting experiences ranging from cooking with incarcerated men in San Quentin prison; to cutting his culinary teeth in the kitchens of some of the nation’s top restaurants.

    Intro song: Poet's Row, Young Bones