In today’s episode we sit down with Dr. Stuart Ablon. Dr. Ablon highlights the importance of empathy when trying to understand where behaviors are coming from. When the system is exhausted and stressed, a vulnerability exists to shift into highly punitive and compliant based consequences. Dr. Ablon teaches us that the issue many of us are facing with our students is that there is a large gap between the skills they are showing up with versus the expectations they are required to meet.

Welcome to Season 2 of Education Suspended! In our first episode of the new season we sit down and talk with the students of AUL Denver. They share their experiences and stories as students and highlight how important a personalized approach is to education. The students address what they would change about our educational system to make it truly equitable and have a consistent theme about the power of relationships in the learning environment.

In our final episode of Season One we connect with Karynecia Conner. We explore the world of Urban Education and discuss how important it is to develop an appreciation for the dynamic wealth of knowledge students bring into the classroom. Karynecia shares with us different activities she uses when teaching teachers and challenges us to start becoming uncomfortable and acknowledge we are all on a learning curve.

In this episode we have a great conversation with April Prescott about the benefits of mindfulness in the learning environment. April highlights how mindfulness promotes a contemplative lens and a sense of curiosity, both which are so important in the learning process. She shares that while strategic “mindful moments” during the day are helpful, a true mindful classroom is one that doesn’t have planned moments and functions in the moments as they come. We also dive into the question “what does it really mean to educate a child?”

In today’s episode we connect with Dr. Sarah Bexell. Sarah teaches us about Humane Education and how it can promote equity in education and create safety within our relationships with humans, animals, and the environment. We explore the role attachment to place has on students and how it influences us. We also highlight how attachment to place can strengthen attunement and in turn promote learning. Sarah shares that teaching students to understand the need for individual personal care for all living things can have significant influences on their social and emotional growth.

In this episode we connect with Chris Joffe. Since Covid-19, our schools have seen an increase in risk assessments and we talk about what needs to be the focus as we continue to plan for our recovery. Chris highlights why working the whole community is so powerful. Themes of connection and relationships are paramount to him and his company as they train schools from that perspective and he explains why that matters. We also dive into the idea of having “connection assessments” instead of “risk assessments.

In this episode we sit down with poet, Lindsay Young, and explore all the ways poetry can come alive in the classroom and the benefits it brings. Lindsay highlights how poetry is an amazing creative outlet for students. It can support students in working through their emotions and stories by attaching them to words and providing a space for reflection. We also connect how this medium can enhance the learning environment and provide ways teachers can begin using this medium in their classroom.

Today we connect with Dr. Matt Dewar and dive into why social emotional learning is necessary to create an optimal learning environment. Matt highlights how breathwork can help teachers prompt regulation in their classrooms. Our brains are always learning and changing, due to neuroplasticity, and ensuring they are at a place learning can happen is virtually important. We also explore why it feels that schools and districts are always in problem solving mode.

In our episode today we sit down with Habeebah Grimes. We consider what would need to change so the system around our teachers promotes routines for us to be well at work. Habeebah shares with us what can happen when the needs outweigh what our system can support and the vulnerabilities that exist for our most marginalized students.