Month: March 2022

71. The joys of being a B-minus teacher with Patti Firth

Why should we fully embrace the joys of being a B-minus teacher? Today on the show I speak with the awesome Patti Firth, founder, CEO, and owner of Madly Learning. 

I found my new friend Patti Firth like I meet pretty much any new human in my life: through the wonderful world of teachergram. Patti started out as a leading Canadian voice in the world of of inquiry education blogging, but has expanded to hosting a podcast, creating both beautiful and effective curriculum resources for teachers, sharing strategies through her YouTube channel, and she does this all while teaching a ⅘ split class here in Southern Ontario.

In this conversation, we cover a lot of ground. We talk how Patti turned her passion supporting teachers into what Madly Learning is today, how she embraces not even being a B-minus teacher, but often a C+ teacher, and we also get into some real talk about what teachers should consider before putting themselves “out there” in the world of teachergram. Stick around until the end to hear Patti’s take on why we should stop teaching writing in discrete units! 

Patti is a deeply relatable, relevant, and important voice in the world of Canadian education, so let’s get right into it. Click on the Soundcloud link to listen to my conversation with Patti Firth.

Things Mentioned in this Show:

Madly Learning website 

Teaching with Madly Learning podcast

Madly Learning YouTube channel

Madly Learning on Instagram

70. Teacher learning that is actually useful

What happens when educators are given the time and support to address complex dilemmas in their practice? 

Today on the show we have a panel discussion celebrating 10 years of Cohort 21.

A huge thank you to Garth Nichols, Justin Medved, Ashley Domina, Ashley Bailey Davis. Laura Mustard, Melissa Jolicoeur, and Derek Doucet for being part of this conversation today.

If you want to continue the conversation, come find me on Instagram or find Cohort 21 by either going to cohort21.com or find them on their Instagram page–I love it when folks who are listening to the show tag me and who I’m talking to on the socials and share their takeaways, feedback, and insights. It’s how we build community, how we learn socially, and how we make each other better! 

That’s all the time we have for today folks, keep trying to answer those big, complex questions and remember we are teaching tomorrow.