Only Relate! We live in a world of limitless opportunities for connection, yet we are lacking in authentic human relationships. This podcast is aimed at teachers, yet applicable to parents, students, and anyone seeking answers to the following questions:
How do we ensure that we are truly reaching others? How does our relationship with ourselves impact our relationships with our friends, colleagues, and family? What can we learn from the school classroom as we engage in the “classroom of life”?
Join 25-year International Educator Nat Damon in conversations about what it means to truly relate to other human beings. Through mindfulness. Through kindness and compassion. Through building bridges of trust. Through using our words with intention. Through navigating change, which is truly the only constant in life.
Guests include educators, school reformers, advocates of education, spiritual leaders, business leaders and coaches, and others who all share an appreciation for the relationships in their personal and professional lives.
Reach. Teach. Talk. with Nat Damon promises to inspire through authentic conversation and engage the listener through insightful discussion designed to make you feel as if you are part of an exchange between friends. Stories form the basis of each episode, and helpful life lessons are the result.
Whether you are a teacher, a student, or just someone seeking deeper meaning in your day-to-day interactions with others, this podcast is for you.
41. ChatGPT in the Classroom: Savior of Education or the Worst Thing Ever? (Spencer Burrows,11th Grade Dean at Pacific Ridge School in Carlsbad, California, as well as Teach Plus of California policy fellow)
40. The Cherishing Classroom (Fr. Gregory Boyle, Jesuit Priest and Founder, Homeboy Industries, Inc.)
39. Disconnecting to Connect (John Kalapos, Associate Head of School, Buxton School - MA)
38. The Art of Possibility (Benjamin Zander, Music Director, Boston Philharmonic Orchestra)
37. Cultivating Positive Masculinity (Craig Wilkinson, Founder, Father a Nation, South Africa)
36. Boys as Relational Beings (Judy Y. Chu, Lecturer in Human Biology, Stanford University and Board Chair, Promundo)
35. Relational Positivity (Mike Erwin, (Co-Founder, The Positivity Project)
34. Finding our Selves through Sisu (Katja Pantzar, Helsinki-based Journalist, Author: Finding Sisu)
33. Relational Trust (Parker Palmer, Author: The Courage to Teach, educator and founder, The Center for Courage and Renewal)
32. Culturally Responsive Teaching Informs Relational Teaching (Zaretta Hammond, Teacher, educator and author of Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain)
31. Let the Children Play (Dr. Nancy Carlsson-Page, Professor of early childhood education, Lesley University (MA), author, Let the Children Play)
30. Meaning-Making in the Remote Classroom (Dr. Mary Helen Immordino-Yang [USC] and Dr. Rebecca Gotlieb [UCLA]
29. The Finnish Miracle (Dr. Pasi Sahlberg, Finnish education expert, author Finnish Lessons 2.0 and professor at the University of New South Wales in Australia)
28. To Listen is to Understand (André Lee, Thought-Leader and Filmmaker, The Prep School Negro)
27. “Listen” to Me (Erahm Christopher, Filmmaker)
26. The Hidden Power of Listening (Dr. Graham Bodie, Professor, Consultant, University of Mississippi)
25. Compassion in the Classroom of Life (Jimi Slattery, Executive Director, Compassion Matters)
24. The Change Cycle (Lorri Palko, Executive Coach: Love, Money, Purpose, LLC)
23. Rassias is Relational Teaching (Ann Diederich, Educator, Global Scholar)
22. Are We Lonely or Alone? (Rev. Janet Broderick, Priest, Writer, Ceramicist)
21. Discovering the Special in Our Needs (Susanna Peace Lovell, Life Coach for Special Needs Families)
20. The Tribal Classroom (Dr. Lou Cozolino, Professor, Pepperdine University, Writer - The Social Neuroscience of Education)
19. Constructive Candor (Drew Kugler, Leadership Coach, drewkugler.com)
18. Building the Remote Classroom (A Teacher’s Perspective) (Marc Rudajev, Educator)
17. Building a Strong SEL Connection with Brittany Collins (Author, Educator, Curriculum Designer)
16. Building a Thriving Classroom (Dr. Tyrone Howard, UCLA)
15. It’s Cool to be Kind (Ben Berger, The Kindness Movement)
14. Building a Growth Mindset Online (Hamish Mackenzie, Director, Digital Resilience, UK)
13. Making Remote Teaching Relational: Building the Online Classroom (Brad Rathgeber, Head of School, Oneschoolhouse.com)
12. Making Remote Teaching Relational: Building Empathy Online (Claire Goldsmith, Executive Director, Malone Schools Online Network)
11. Teacher Wellbeing (Adrian Bethune, TeacHappy, Inc.)
10. The Art of Teaching (Andria Zafirakou, 2018 Global Teacher of the Year)
9. Relationships Matter Most (Rob Loe, ED, The Relationships Foundation)
8. Teaching and Coaching (Alex Rosenblum, UNLV football, coach, US history teacher)
7. Mindfulness and Learning (Suze Schwartz, Founder, Unplug Meditation)
6. The Power of Belief (Brian Wogensen, English Teacher, Archer School for Girls)
5. Adolescent Health (Oona Hanson, Parent Coach)
4. Two Sides of Technology (Matthew Arnold, The Reboot)
3. The Call to Teach (Chip Williams, International Educator)
2. Build the Trust Bridge (Judy Mansfield, 45 year elementary school teacher)
1. Only Connect! (Eric Wlasak, Director Diversity/Inclusion, Village School)
Listen and subscribe here:
“Oftentimes when a technology is released that relates to education or could be, it immediately divides the education world into two camps. Either this is going to be the savior of education, or this is the worst thing ever and we need to ban it. And I don't think it's any of those two ends. It's somewhere in the middle. And then I think with any kind of technology, you need to view it as a tool and use it when it's useful and don't use it when it's not.”
Read More“I don't save any life, I don't fix anybody. But I know that transformation happens here (at Homeboy Industries). And the same thing happens in a classroom because you need a place and a communal space where transformation can happen in each other's company. And you want to be good company with each other.”
Read More“... The spread of technology and the instant information of knowing everything all the time and anyone you've ever met being able to reach you at any time, we felt isn't actually valuable for the type of education we're trying to provide here. We think it's important that you can intentionally reach anyone you want to reach, but that communication can and should be intentional. It shouldn't be sort of like my phone buzzes, I look down. Oh, my friend from home wants to talk to me about something totally irrelevant to the awesome thing that's happening in front of me right now.”
Read More
