Episodes

Retaining Third Graders Who Can't Read: Right or Wrong?
April 5, 2023

Retaining Third Graders Who Can't Read: Right or Wrong?

A recent article in “The 74” caught my attention this week. It discussed how Tennessee and Michigan are currently debating removing the statute requiring third graders who are reading below grade level to be retained. With st...

Episode page
Why Student Teaching Needs a Revamp: Exploring the Challenges and Solutions for Effective Teacher Training
March 18, 2023

Why Student Teaching Needs a Revamp: Exploring the Challenges and Sol…

I don't think you'll find too many current student teachers who disagree that student teaching needs a revamp. Most teacher candidates spend at least 14 weeks student teaching consisting of 8 hours a day, teaching, lesson pla...

Episode page
Is it Time to Stop Saying the Pledge of Allegiance?
March 1, 2023

Is it Time to Stop Saying the Pledge of Allegiance?

Welcome to Season 3 of Transparency in Teaching. Anne, here! Thought it might be nice to start off with a little true story that spurred the topic of this episode: Is it time to stop saying the Pledge of Allegiance? …

Episode page
033 Who's Indoctrinating Whom?
Jan. 9, 2023

033 Who's Indoctrinating Whom?

According to Merriam-Webster , the word indoctrinate originated in the 17th century. It meant "to teach," as it comes from docēre, the Latin word for teaching. But by the 19th century, the meaning shifted to signify teaching...

Episode page
#032 Is Your Child's School Successful? How do you know?
Oct. 30, 2022

#032 Is Your Child's School Successful? How do you know?

What comes to mind when someone says, "Oh, that's a really good school?" Is it students all sitting in their seats, diligently taking notes? Is it passing along students who can read and do math on grade level? Or is …

Episode page
Rebroadcast of Episode 028 Is it Time to Stop Promoting Social Promotion? with BETTER audio
Sept. 3, 2022

Rebroadcast of Episode 028 Is it Time to Stop Promoting Social Promot…

When initially released, the audio volume was sooooo low that listeners had to turn the sound way up even to hear it and then got their ears blasted when the interlude music played. I'm sure that was annoying enough to …

Episode page
031 Teachers MIA? The Where, the Why, and What to Do to Solve the Teacher Shortage.
Aug. 14, 2022

031 Teachers MIA? The Where, the Why, and What to Do to Solve the Tea…

Don't be surprised if you find someone named "TBA" teaching your child's class. There will apparently be A LOT of TBAs in charge of classes this fall. School districts across the country report record numbers of unfilled posi...

Episode page
030 Back to School Blues (and what to do about them)
Aug. 1, 2022

030 Back to School Blues (and what to do about them)

Hey, it’s Anne. Welcome to another episode of Transparency in Teaching. As summer vacation is ending, I was wondering if you are beginning to get a nervous tick when you hear, “Back to School Sale?” Or do you find yourself …

Episode page
5 Lessons Learned from the School Year From Hell
July 16, 2022

5 Lessons Learned from the School Year From Hell

Thank goodness teachers can put the 2021-2022 school year behind them! If ever there was a school year that deserved a "middle finger" 🖕🏼🖕🏼that was one! Many teachers felt this year was beyond their job description and called...

Episode page
028 Is It Time to Stop Promoting Social Promotion?
April 8, 2022

028 Is It Time to Stop Promoting Social Promotion?

Hey, it’s Anne here to introduce today’s episode all about social promotion, you know that practice where schools promote students to the next grade based on age instead of mastery. The idea is that keeping kids with their pe...

Episode page
027 You're Not the Boss of Me...or Are You? Parent Power's influence in the classroom.
Jan. 3, 2022

027 You're Not the Boss of Me...or Are You? Parent Power's influence …

Happy 2022! Let's hope this year makes up for the last two! It's always good to be hopeful. And on that note, I hope public education survives. Last year brought educators and their curriculum under the microscope in a way …

Episode page
026 We Are Not Ok: Teachers Struggle to Cope, Too!
Nov. 1, 2021

026 We Are Not Ok: Teachers Struggle to Cope, Too!

I'll be honest, in 35 years of teaching, this has been the hardest year so far. And that's not just because I'm old and kind of worn out. I think this whole Covid thing did way more damage to kids …

Episode page
025 Why Teachers Quit 2.0: Find out why Carolyn quit the classroom.
Sept. 18, 2021

025 Why Teachers Quit 2.0: Find out why Carolyn quit the classroom.

The very first episode we produced remains one of our most popular. Why teachers quit should be something every would-be teacher should ponder before taking out loans to pay for college. You don't want to be one of the 44% …

Episode page
024 When Did Public Schools become Public Enemy #1?
Aug. 16, 2021

024 When Did Public Schools become Public Enemy #1?

Critical Race Theory (CRT) has become the latest way to demonize public schools. I admit when I first heard CRT I thought it was some medical test for the heart. Now it has become the fear-raising focus of concern among …

Episode page
(Rebroadcast) Tricks for Cost-Free Travel (or almost free) – With Jackie Sills-Dellegrazie
July 29, 2021

(Rebroadcast) Tricks for Cost-Free Travel (or almost free) – With Jac…

My husfriend and I just got back from a trip to Hawaii. It was his birthday gift to me. Nice huh! We had to jump through a few hoops to get there. Our vaccination cards made it possible to avoid …

Episode page
023 What Makes an Effective Teacher Effective?
July 4, 2021

023 What Makes an Effective Teacher Effective?

What makes an effective teacher effective? That's a pretty subjective question, isn't it? I'm beginning to believe that so much of what people think makes education good is subjective. Like, who decides what kids need to know...

Episode page
022 New Teachers, This One's for You!
June 12, 2021

022 New Teachers, This One's for You!

This school year is FINALLY ending (thank god for small favors) and we are packing up our minimally used classrooms. For many teachers, this will be their last time having to do this. Covid caused many to throw in the …

Episode page
021 What does a Teaching Credential Really Prove?
April 26, 2021

021 What does a Teaching Credential Really Prove?

The National Center for Education Statistics reported that in the 2017-18 school year there were 3.3 million full and part-time traditional public school teachers. That is the most recent count available. That's a lot of coll...

Episode page
Minimum Day #4 : Back in the Classroom
April 14, 2021

Minimum Day #4 : Back in the Classroom

Here's how the school year progressed. It started as "We won't likely be returning to campus this year." Then it changed to "I doubt it will happen." Which changed to, "Maybe it will happen." Then to, "It's happening," and f...

Episode page
020. Tackling Teacher Tenure
April 2, 2021

020. Tackling Teacher Tenure

In 2005 then-governor Arnold Schwarzenegger wanted to make changes to California's teacher tenure, increasing the time to achieve tenure from 2 to 5 years. He also proposed that teacher pay be based on merit, not length of te...

Episode page
019 Going Back to School (for real this time)
March 6, 2021

019 Going Back to School (for real this time)

We are rapidly approaching the end of our 3rd quarter and it looks like a pretty done deal that after spring break, we will be going back to school for real this time! So what does that really mean? We've …

Episode page
018 Difficult Discussions Don't Have to be Hard
Feb. 6, 2021

018 Difficult Discussions Don't Have to be Hard

It should have been expected that the attack on the Capitol last month (has it been that long already?😳) would prompt controversial classroom discussions. Students want to explore their questions and find answers to their con...

Episode page
017 Forget Covid -- There's a Teacher Depression Pandemic Killing Us
Jan. 3, 2021

017 Forget Covid -- There's a Teacher Depression Pandemic Killing Us

So it's Winter Break and we've had a little time to collect ourselves and get refreshed for round two of Online Learning. I wish.... I don't know about other teachers but, Sharyn, Jen, and I are feeling a little burned …

Episode page
016 Bye Bye Betsy - Who Will Be Biden's Pick for Secretary of Education?
Nov. 22, 2020

016 Bye Bye Betsy - Who Will Be Biden's Pick for Secretary of Educati…

So the election is over (or is at least supposed to be over...) and Biden has a lot of work to do to help put the country back together. Of course, being teachers, we're rather focused on Mrs. DeVos's replacement. …

Episode page