Just Schools

Is that cheating?

Cheating seems to be on the rise, especially post-COVID. It seems some students are even confused about what's actually considered cheating.Today, Alyssa Carl, a math teacher from Illinois joins host Jon Eckert to talk about cheating among students. The two have an in-depth conversation on the definition of cheating, the causes and the possible long-term consequences. To learn more, order Jon's book, Just teaching: Feedback, engagement, and well-being for each student.The Just Schools Podcast is brought to you by the Baylor Center for School Leadership. Each week, we'll talk to catalytic educators who are doing amazing work.Be encouraged.Timestamps:[1:30] - Jon introduces Alyssa Carl.[2:15] - Alyssa shares an egregious story about a student cheating with the help of his parent.[6:00] - Cheating is hard to define; Alyssa gives her definition.[9:17] - You can't learn things without learning things.[10:40] - Some students have a very narrow definition of cheating.[14:00] - Students sometimes think they don't need to use a certain skill so they might as well cheat.[16:45] - Could cheating be the symptom of something bigger? [19:10] - Students need to learn how to think critically to build cognitive endurance.[21:21] - Doing something that is meaningful for both students and teachers is important.[24:10] - Jon puts Alyssa through a lightning round of questions.Books:Just teaching: Feedback, engagement, and well-being for each student by Jon EckertNever Work Harder Than Your Students and Other Principles of Great Teaching by Robyn R. JacksonConnect on Social Media:Baylor MA in School LeadershipBaylor Doctorate in EducationJon Eckert: @eckertjonCenter for School Leadership at Baylor University: @baylorcsl

Deep Engagement: Lessons from Canada

When people take care of people it fills them up. Those people then are able to take care of others. That's what King's Christian Collegiate did to create a culture centered around caring for their faculty and students.Their culture of care was born out of the reputation that they had developed over the years. Today, Lisa Conlin and Vicky Nolan of King's Christian Collegiate join host Jon Eckert to talk about how they used improvement science to deepen the culture of care. They also discuss the differences between schools in Canada and schools in the United States. To learn more, order Jon's book, Just teaching: Feedback, engagement, and well-being for each student.The Just Schools Podcast is brought to you by the Baylor Center for School Leadership. Each week, we'll talk to catalytic educators who are doing amazing work.Be encouraged.Timestamps:[2:00] - Vicky and Lisa introduce themselves.[3:22] - Lisa explains how the term "culture of care" came about.[5:40] - When cultivating their school's culture they asked their students "what's going on" with them right now?[8:40] - Staff members caring for other staff members has a ripple effect.[11:30] - Allowing space for students to give honest feedback is the key to creating a culture of care.[13:40] - Lisa and Vicky talk about a leadership seminar they held for students.[18:00] - As faculty, asking students to let you know what you do that bothers them is important.[18:40] - Lisa and Vicky go through a lightning round of questions.Websites:King's Christian Collegiate Books:Just teaching: Feedback, engagement, and well-being for each student by Jon EckertConnect on Social Media:Baylor MA in School LeadershipBaylor Doctorate in EducationJon Eckert: @eckertjonCenter for School Leadership at Baylor University: @baylorcsl

Leading for Belonging: Lessons from Australia

No leader is an island. It's important to take other leaders on your leadership journey. That's called collective leadership.Daniel Pamuch is the CEO of Christian Schools Australia (CSA) and Darren Iselin is the director of Research and Innovation. The two join Jon Eckert to discuss how CSA uses a unique architecture framework to conceptualize the essential elements that make a Christian school distinct from non-Christian schools. Through encouraging collective leadership they help leaders of Christian schools create excellent, life-giving experiences where staff and students can feel like they belong.To learn more, order Jon's book, Just teaching: Feedback, engagement, and well-being for each student.The Just Schools Podcast is brought to you by the Baylor Center for School Leadership. Each week, we'll talk to catalytic educators who are doing amazing work.Be encouraged.Timestamps:[3:19] - Daniel and Darren introduce themselves.[5:32] - Having an open door mentality, teachers were able to improve student outcomes.[9:35] - Sometimes it's challenging for leaders to be evaluated.[12:10] - The Christian Schools Australia tries to take focus off performance and put it on improvement.[15:23] - There are two types of leadership: onboard leadership and biblical leadership.[19:05] - In collaborative leadership, it's important to make sure everyone has the power they're told they have.[23:30] - When asking people to be vulnerable, you need to create respectful spaces.[25:00] - It's important to ensure the education we're providing is God honoring.[27:40] - Jon puts Daniel and Darren through a lightning round.  Websites:Christian Schools Australia Books:Just teaching: Feedback, engagement, and well-being for each student by Jon EckertConnect on Social Media:Baylor MA in School LeadershipBaylor Doctorate in EducationJon Eckert: @eckertjonCenter for School Leadership at Baylor University: @baylorcsl

First Year Catalyst: David Robinson

Culture is being formed whether you're doing it on purpose or not.Today, David Robinson joins host Jon Eckart to discuss David's first year as a school leader. Over the course of his first year, David has put in the work to intentionally impact the school's culture. To do this, he's been implementing feedback, engagement, and well-being to lead his faculty and build a life-giving culture.To learn more, order Jon's book, Just teaching: Feedback, engagement, and well-being for each student.The Just Schools Podcast is brought to you by the Baylor Center for School Leadership. Each week, we'll talk to catalytic educators who are doing amazing work.Be encouraged.Timestamps:[1:35] - David is introduced.[3:30] - Starting his first year as head of school, David didn't know what to expect.[5:35] - When you take on a new role, appreciate and learn what happened before you.[8:40] - How can we intentionally tend to the well-being of our faculty?[10:11] - If you're not taking care of yourself, you can't care for your faculty.[13:00] - Addressing the gaps in student learning has been one of David's biggest challenges.[15:15] - Building trust is the key to getting faculty to give you productive feedback.[18:03] - David encourages his faculty members to share success stories to help solve problems.[20:10] - Creating a safe space for students to share feedback is so important.[22:30] - Having the opportunity to impact culture brings David joy.[24:30] - Work-life integration doesn't mean blurring the boundaries in ways that make you work all the time.[25:50] - Jon puts David through a lightning round of questions.Books:Just teaching: Feedback, engagement, and well-being for each student by Jon EckertConnect on Social Media:Baylor MA in School LeadershipBaylor Doctorate in EducationJon Eckert: @eckertjonCenter for School Leadership at Baylor University: @baylorcsl

Canoeing Schools: Tod Bolsinger

Leadership of the past meant coming up with answers. Today, leadership means asking questions.Tod Bolsinger, the author of Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory joins host Jon Eckert to discuss what questions Christian leaders can start asking to become stronger leaders. One of the main questions he advises leaders to ask themselves is what can be eliminated from our life in order to focus on our priorities.  To learn more, order Jon's book, Just teaching: Feedback, engagement, and well-being for each student.The Just Schools Podcast is brought to you by the Baylor Center for School Leadership. Each week, we'll talk to catalytic educators who are doing amazing work.Be encouraged.Timestamps:[1:40] - Tod is introduced.[2:40] - Every Christian leader is committed to show up as the same person in every setting.[4:30] - Tod defines leadership.[6:15] - Adaptive leadership is when you don't have an existing best practice.[9:25] - Having to identify and name competing values is a challenge.[10:41] - The pandemic has shifted how we see a college education.[11:50] - What questions can leaders be asking?[14:45] - Every school sits down and finds out what their hedgehog is, but don't always make decisions based on it.[17:45] - Leaders never get praised for telling people "no".[18:52] - Experimental innovations are the key to surviving in a changing world.[24:10] - Take one small step to create big change.[27:43] - How can looking at our mortality help us reframe how we see our time?[30:50] - Jon puts Tod through a lightning round of questions.Links:The 'No' in 'Innovate' by Jon EckertBooks:Just teaching: Feedback, engagement, and well-being for each student by Jon EckertCanoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory by Tod BolsingerThink Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know by Adam GrantWhy We're Polarized by Ezra KleinConnect on Social Media:Baylor MA in School LeadershipBaylor Doctorate in EducationJon Eckert: @eckertjonCenter for School Leadership at Baylor University: @baylorcsl

Choosing Joy over Substances: David Magee

So many people struggle with addiction each year in the United States. And the ways young people use different substances has changed over the years.Today, David Magee, best selling author, joins host Jon Eckert to have a transparent and personal conversation about his journey with addiction and recovery and how he's been able to choose joy over addiction. He also discusses his work helping students who are experiencing addiction.To learn more, order Jon's book, Just teaching: Feedback, engagement, and well-being for each student.The Just Schools Podcast is brought to you by the Baylor Center for School Leadership. Each week, we'll talk to catalytic educators who are doing amazing work.Be encouraged.Timestamps:[2:50] - David introduces himself.[5:50] - His family's struggles with addiction was a calling for David to help college students.[8:13] - Many of the college students David talked to said their substance abuse started at puberty.[10:20] - The thing that scares David the most is the amount of different substances kids today are using.[12:12] - Drugs have changed over the years.[13:20] - The joy is in the students.[14:30] - When it comes to older generations and younger generations, it's not us vs. them.[16:50] - It's important to speak to students at their level.[20:30] - Leading by example can help kids create good habits.[23:50] - Jon puts David through a lightning round of questions.[27:20] - Educators need to start listening to students instead of telling them what to doBooks:Just teaching: Feedback, engagement, and well-being for each student by Jon EckertDear William: A Father's Memoir of Addiction, Recovery, Love and LossConnect on Social Media:Baylor MA in School LeadershipBaylor Doctorate in EducationJon Eckert: @eckertjonCenter for School Leadership at Baylor University: @baylorcsl

Timely Wisdom: Jen Pollock Michel

A lot of us are on a quest to fit everything we need to get done into our schedules. But few, if any of us, are ever actually able to fit it all in. Oftentimes, when we can't fit it all in, we feel guilty. But we're all human and can only fit in what we fit in.Today, Jen Pollock Michel joins host Jon Eckert to discuss her new book In Good Time and the lessons she's learned managing her time over the years. She also discusses how her time management missteps have helped her gain wisdom and understand she's human and instead of feeling guilty she needed to reimagine what productivity meant to her.To learn more, pre-order Jon's book, Just teaching: Feedback, engagement, and well-being for each student.The Just Schools Podcast is brought to you by the Baylor Center for School Leadership. Each week, we'll talk to catalytic educators who are doing amazing work.Be encouraged.Timestamps:[3:20] - The pandemic inspired Jen to write her newest book, In Good Time.[6:50] - It's important to understand that you can't fit everything in. [8:00] - Time management is a personal and individual concept. [10:15] - Not being able to fit more and more things into our schedules doesn't make us bad people.[11:55] - Wisdom, by definition, is communal.[15:20] - Gaining wisdom takes time, patience, and making mistakes.[20:00] - There are a lot of wisdom traditions that share the same principles.[23:25] - Jen discusses the eight habits for reimagining productivity.[25:05] - Enjoyment requires you to encounter the world.[29:45] - There are some things that can't be put off. Links:Website: Jen Pollock MichelPodcast: People I (Mostly) Admire with Steven LevittBooks:Just teaching: Feedback, engagement, and well-being for each student by Jon EckertIn Good Time: 8 Habits for Reimagining Productivity, Resisting Hurry and Practicing PeaceGlittering Vices by Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoungEssentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeownFour Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver BurkemanConnect on Social Media:Baylor MA in School LeadershipBaylor Doctorate in EducationJon Eckert: @eckertjonCenter for School Leadership at Baylor University: @baylorcsl

Building a Profession

Is teaching an occupation or profession? Is it missional or is it professional? Is it exhausting or is it life giving? If we want to build a profession that our students deserve we have to think through what that looks like.Today, Erik Ellefsen and Matt Thomas join host Jon Eckert and discuss their experiences in taking on too much at work and leading to burnout. They share what triggered them to shift their mindsets to turn their exhausting work into life giving work.To learn more, pre-order Jon's book, Just teaching: Feedback, engagement, and well-being for each student.The Just Schools Podcast is brought to you by the Baylor Center for School Leadership. Each week, we'll talk to catalytic educators who are doing amazing work.Be encouraged.Timestamps:[2:00] - Erik discusses how school leaders are burnt out.[3:30] - Matt talks about becoming burnt out after taking on too much responsibility.[5:00] - Collective leadership is essential to building a life giving profession.[7:05] - When we wrap up our identity with our work it's hard to take a step back from our work.[10:00] - It's not about the individual leader, it's about the work that is being done.[14:15] - Feeling the need to prove yourself at work can lead to overworking yourself.[17:15] - Ranting about and tearing down a team member is toxic and drags the whole team down.[19:30] - Matt shares some of the joys he's seen at his job.[23:00] - By sharing our brokenness we find a levity to it.Books:Just teaching: Feedback, engagement, and well-being for each student by Jon EckertThink Again by Adam GrantGod Wants You to Be a Burden by Christine Gordon and Hope BlantonLinks:Life giving vs Exhausting chartSuperhero vs Catalyst chart Connect on Social Media:Baylor MA in School LeadershipBaylor Doctorate in EducationJon Eckert: @eckertjonCenter for School Leadership at Baylor University: @baylorcsl