Mike Kelley

We welcome LeAnn Morris, the 2008 Nevada Teacher of the Year, a technology expert and an elementary school teacher. Among the topics we discuss: the ways technology at her school is improving instruction and the abilities that define computer literacy at the elementary level. Nevada is the gambling capital of the United States, so it’s only appropriate that when it comes to education, LeAnn Morris is a safe bet!

We finish out the remaining emails from our winter hiatus this week, including some of the most difficult questions we’ve ever received here at the Hotline. For example, what if you’re supposed to teach something that you oppose philosophically? Many of our questions in this episode have emotional issues intertwined, so we roll out our new segment in which Glen plays your personal teacher psychotherapist (without all of the legal liability of course) and we find the tough answers.

After a very busy holiday season, Mike and Glen have finally managed to make their way back to the studio for an all-new episode of the Hotline. After apologizing for their extended absence, they jump right back into listener emails. The first emailer asks how she should handle replacing a popular teacher who is going on maternity leave. We know a thing or two about extended leave (cough cough). The second email asks how to respond to the job interview questions concerning classroom management. Thanks for listening, and come visit our Facebook group:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=50443940609.

In this spooktacular episode of the Hotline, we discuss the very scary topic of teacher evaluations. What could be more frightening than losing your job in a struggling economy? I can only think of one thing...a listener email from Transylvania, Romania (really!) that asks about the differences are between teaching adults and teaching kids.

If you're a teacher, I hardly need remind you that the summer is over and a new school year has arrived. Whether you view the new year as a blessing and a time of unique wonder (like seeing a rare flower suddenly surface along a well-trod path) or a time of surprise and panic (like seeing a hungry puma surface from the deep end of your swimming pool) depends upon your preparation. In this episode, we talk about how prepared a new teacher should be at the beginning of the school year. We also dish out the tough love in our new "We Told You So" segment. Everyone loves being lectured to, don't they? It is our fist show back, so the episode shakes off a little rust with a handful of bloopers at the very end, and I ask you: is that a rogue cellist suddenly playing a single, haunting note at time stamp 15:18? Spooky! Speaking of spooky, look out for the Halloween episode of the New Teacher Hotline at the end of next month.

This week Glen is enjoying a brief and deserved summer vacation, so Mike calls up Christina Samuels, the special education and student health reporter for Education Week magazine. (Yes, THE Education Week Magazine!) She fills us in on current trends in special education and answers the question everyone's burning to ask: Is it a good idea to kick a special education student out of the classroom because his classmates don't like him? Spoiler alert: it's not. Actually, that's probably the worst idea you could have aside from taking your students to the Venomous Snake Petting Zoo.

In this episode, we chat with Pamela Harman, the 2008 Alabama Teacher of the Year. One of the topics we discuss in depth is mentorship--how to get new teachers the help they need by partnering with experienced teachers in their schools. Luckily, we manage to finish the interview right before all the equipment goes haywire.

After an extended spring break, the New Teacher Hotline returns with all new episodes that will carry you through the entire hot and hazy summer. This week, it is our honor to host the 2008 Virginia Teacher of the Year, Tommy Smigiel. As you'll learn, Tommy endured a traumatic event as a high school student, but rather than let that event define him, he used it as an inspiration to one day return to that school as a teacher. He explains why resiliency may be the most important trait of a rookie teacher.

You've got questions. We've got answers, and sometimes we answer twice (listen to this episode to see what I mean). In this email roundup, we help you calm your nerves as you prepare for the first day of school. We also discuss some grittier subjects, including one emailer's frustrations in his student teaching experience and another teacher's trouble dealing with a student that loves to play the victim in class.

Our last few shows have been dedicated to interviews, so we decided to knock out some of the listener email that's been piling up in the interim. Today we hit some of the basics of Teaching 101, like how to write lesson plans. Join us as we broadcast from Glen's sprawling estate (specifically his living room). Here, I'll even pull up an extra chair for you.