Regenerative Ed

Hey everyone-- it's been a little bit! We're so happy to be back here with you in this format again. This podcast covers what's been up (babies? homeschooling? natural dyes? Edshed projects?), where we are with education work/the podcast/grounded teaching work, and how we want to continue to plug into this community-- and we hope you'll join us! Show notes: Summer Gathering 2025: Eco-Pedagogy Through Natural Dyes!!! (You can directly register on Marram Collaborative or apply for scholarships here!) Use code EARLYBIRD for $20 off until June 1! Have more questions? Reach out [email protected] or [email protected]  You can also connect with us on @Driftlab.earth or @groundedteaching or @marram.collaborative

Today we get into our about deep-dive workshop-in-a-podcast-series! We're tackling the first element in this deep dive series on what Air, Fire, Earth, and Water, and we're asking: What can air teach us about reimagining and remembering the ed system? 00:00 - Introduction - Why We're Doing This  07:30 - Part 1- Respect, Appreciation, Embodiment 17:53 - Part 2- The Invisible Source of Life (Definitions and Foundations) 35:37 - Part 3- Making Space and Knowing Not Everything is For Us Part 4 (Feeling Deflated or Winded), Part 5 (Taking Shape and Elasticity) and Part 6 (A Catalyst and Circulation) PLUS the 10-page workbook for this workshop-in-a-podcast series is available in three ways. Same content, three ways. It's like Skyline Chilli. (anyone?)  You choose! Option One: One-time Purchase. Receive a link to the extended version (which includes the entire part you just listened to as well for easy repeat-listening), and the 10-page workbook. Click here. Option Two: A Monthly Contribution to We Are Verbs: Receive access to a private section on We Are Verbs where we'll house this and all future deep-dive, extended podcast episodes, including the workbook. On deck: fire, earth, water, AI, body systems. Sliding scale starting at $5. Click here. Bonus-- once you're on We Are Verbs Study Club, there's so much there to do (and it's free)! Note- if you already contribute to We Are Verbs, you should already have access! Simply click here and reach out if there is an issue.  Option Three: A Monthly Contribution via Patreon: Thank you so much to our patreon members who support this podcast. We appreciate it so much. You can click here and become a Patron starting at $3 a month, but the extended version and workshops are available starting at $5 a month. Click here.   Other announcements-- join the book club (free) on We Are Verbs Study Club! This spring season we're reading Rick Rubins The Creative Act. Join on up! Thank you for sharing this podcast with your friends and colleagues, and liking and subscribing. We love you all!

Today is an introduction to a 4-part deep dive (well, 5 if you count this intro). It's a workshop-in-a-podcast learning series on the the four elements of air, fire, earth, water, what we can learn from them about creating new systems and structures around education. The goal of digging into the elements here is to view ourselves and our work in education as part of a LIVING SYSTEM. Not part of an industry or a factory, which is no secret that's how we operate! We know this. We see it. We dwell on the problems! What we're talking about here is a way of connecting to paradigms outside of industrial, extractive, colonial, capitalistic paradigms to see if there's something here we can learn about setting up these new systems. We deal with education here in this Regenerative Ed Podcast, but, I often get folks saying, hey, this applies to the food system or the healthcare system or the personal systems I use in my household. Yes, yes! Definitely it does. We are in an age where it's clear as day that the old systems aren't working and we're looking at what to do differently. I'm suggesting here that there are an infinite amount of things we can look to for inspiration, which is what we do on this podcast. In this series, we are focusing on the four elements. We'll talk about science, we'll talk about symbols, we'll talk about cultural phrases, we may even dip into the cosmos.  NOTE: I am not an expert in the elements! I am a human being with a history of experiences, many of which involve the educational system and textile systems, and I simply can observe patterns and connect them to ways to be in these new systems that has proved helpful for people. There's no capital T Truth here! Take what works and leave the rest. Add to it and create your own. Next week, we'll start with the air element! I'll see you next week to chat more about movement, currents, music, libras, and what it all has to do with education. Come and join us for this workshop-in-a-podcast format, wherever you are, whenever you are. For full transcript, you can head to the website. Join We Are Verbs Support us at Regenerative Ed Thank you for your support-- like, subscribe, share this podcast with a friend or colleague! It means a lot.

Today I'm joined by Dawnavyn James whose main message for us as an audience today is TEACH BLACK HISTORY!!! :) Dawnavyn is an early childhood, elementary, and Black History educator. She is a PhD student at the University at Buffalo and a fellow for the Center for K-12 Black History and Racial Literacy Education. Her research interests include elementary Black history education, instruction, and curriculum development. We talk about creating a safe container for race and identity conversations in the classroom especially for little ones and using picture books (at all levels) to help inspire those conversations. We chat about teaching Black History all year long, about shying away from teaching Black History or even teaching Black History incorrectly (Check out the widely used and harmful Harriet Tubman Worksheet Dawnavyn breaks down on her @queendomteaching Instagram Account) Dawnavyn was such a delight to talk to. I feel so grateful that she took the time to share her thinking and experiences with our audience.  Be sure to follow Dawnavyn for tips, picture book recommendation, Black History information, and to be sure you get her book when it drops! Queendomteaching on instagram Queendomteachin on Twitter Other links from this show: Read More about the Seasonal Design Sprint, starting April 4! (Don't be scared!) We Are Verbs Study Club (free!) Join for Book Clubs and Community Skillshares Stay in the loop by signing up for our newsletter Support us on Patreon Thank you for sharing this podcast with a friend!

What does mending have to do with reimagining education? Check out this conversation I had with Rebecca Harrison of Old Flame Mending Company! Rebecca is the person you'd turn to when you rip your absolute most favorite pair of jeans that fit you like a glove and you're having an internal dilemma as you hover them above the trash can. Off recording, Rebecca and I were chatting a lot about her team which she describes like a dream team full of some of the most talented sewists in Pittsburgh, and I was struck by the power of community. You'll hear us chat about some of the logistics of mending– where to start personally or in a classroom, the importance behind the story of the clothing, how little is beyond repair and almost nothing is beyond repurposing, how mending is for everyone, not just people who have expensive clothing, and so much more.  I have tremendous respect for Rebecca and what I've watched her build as a part of our fibershed since pre-pandemic. It is inspiring to see the growth of Old Flame Mending and also the culture at large, who, and it might just be my circles, but folks are starting to embrace this as a little protest to fast fashion and disposable culture. Maybe it will inspire you to embroider a little heart on your shirt over a coffee stain, or maybe it will inspire you to teach mending in your learning spaces. Maybe it does none of that, really, but gets us all thinking a little more deeply about the work that's happening out there in the world to find a way forward– a way that is filled with more healing. A way where we don't just discard things that– at first glance–might seem to not be of use to us anymore. A way to flex our own creativity, our own voice, our own sense of style even. Maybe you can see mending as a way forward in a world where we're sick of standardization and we want our own thing.  There are a lot of implications here for education and just how to be as educators. Stay tuned at the end of the podcast after the interview for some questions and thinking about the application to your learning space! Oh! And one more thing– you have the power, right now, right as you're listening this, to make a stand for a less disposable future and it will only take you 45 seconds without having to give any personal information away– vote for rebecca and Old Flame Mending Company to win this small biz grant. The link is in the show notes. Bonus– when you go to the link you see a whole slew of amazing visible mending designs they've done. You'll be floored, just check it out. It takes less than 45 seconds and is a vote that you're putting out into the universe for a future based on care. Deadline is March 8 so do it now! Show links: Vote for Old Flame (and check out images of their visible mends on their website) Check out We Are Verbs for book clubs and skillshares I forgot about adding this to the interview, but check out FROM THICK AIR! It's our April creative workshop for educators-- find all the details here. If this podcast meant something to you, would you please share it with a friend? Give it a like and subscribe? Maybe even add a comment? I know this is something I don't often do even though it really puts that good reciprocal energy out into the universe. I'm taking my own advice. Thank you so much! You can also support us by donating to our patreon, coming to one of our workshops, or checking out our services.

Today is a special podcast because I'm chatting with Jess, my twin. She's here and well with a new baby in tow, and I for one am so very very very grateful that she is here and well and that we can continue our chats like we have since the womb (I assume?!). This morning we were chatting about the Norfolk Southern Train Derailment that is so close to our houses and talking about what it has to do with extraction and systems like education– you know, a normal conversation for us–and I was like, maybe let's record this? So, we hopped on Zoom. And what you'll find (after my framing and announcements), is a meandering conversation between two sisters about ecological disasters, separation, education, and more. I hope you experience this conversation as a jumping off point for your own thinking. FREE RESOURCE: Download Place Workbook ! LINKS: Herbs for Educators: A Spring Workshop in Respectfully Growing and Foraging Supportive Herbs. It's a fundraiser for East Palestine Community- 100% of money collected will be donated. Saturday, 3/4. 1 hour class + PDF resource, $15. Recording will be provided if you can't attend live. Donate to the Water Protector Legal Collective  Join We Are Verbs to get resources, community, join book clubs and community skillshares (and hear some mini podcasts related to place-based education! Scroll down this page to find your specific role and listen in.)  Come to our April Educator Workshop: From Thick Air!   In this live (and recorded) two week, four-part class, you'll have the chance to progress through designing  for a change you want to make, an idea you want to bring to life, or a solution you want to present.   I'll challenge you to concentrate on your intention and its connection to what we can learn from the air element as we move through the progression of the classes: class 1: our gut-→ class 2: our heart-→class 3: our head-→class 4: our hands (as directed by Tyson Yunkaporta in his book by Sand Talk). You'll have the chance to get unstuck and explore your own creative wavelength. In addition to the two weeks of class, you'll receive a 30+ page beautifully designed PDF workbook filled with extra resources, reflection prompts, and key takeaways. Want Sarah to speak to your school or organization? See workshop and keynote topics here or reach out [email protected].  

I felt really privileged to have this conversation with such a light! Rachel is so clearly passionate about her work, and it's contagious. Our conversation discusses the model of place-based--nay, a place-embedded micro-school, La Luz, and the ripple effects that happen when you embed students in the community. And, true to form as folks who care about questioning the whole system, we get into a lot of other territory: a respectful process for listening for what the community needs then designing curriculum from there, working with partners and being open to wherever they are right now, getting kids outside, school funding, Montessori curriculum, failure, emergence, brain development, being really compelled by what you're doing so it feels energy, leadership that breaks rules, and so much more. I hope that you enjoy this conversation with Rachel as much as I did!  More about Rachel: With over two decades' experience as an educator, school co-founder and director, curriculum and fieldwork designer, and teacher coach, Rachel teaches for social justice and the equitable regeneration of people and planet. She is a contractor working with schools and organizations and School Designer/Guide at La Luz Micro-School in Denver. Rachel facilitated the group creation of the high school at Denver Montessori Jr./Sr. High School and served as High School Director through the graduation of the first class before transitioning into other leadership and guide roles at the school.  Episode Links:  Contact Rachel: [email protected] La Luz  Building 21 CSU Spur The Cloud Institute Reschool Colorado Laurie Ewert-Krocker, who deserves an immense amount of credit for the manifestation of the Montessori Farm School model in the US. Grounded Teaching Links: 3/4 FUNDRAISER: Register for HERBS FOR EDUCATORS ($15) fundraiser! All funds go to East Palestine Train Derailment Victims (only 85 miles from our homes here) COMMUNITY: Join We Are Verbs (free/donation) and get  More information on the Pokok-Ed Community Skillshare More information on The Creative Act spring book club starting in March You literally have nothing to lose by checking out We Are Verbs. Come join our awesome community of educators who want a more regenerative future! WORK IT: Get more info on our Seasonal Sessions class coming this April: From Thick Air (eek, earlybird pricing happening through March 3. Check it out now!) KEYNOTES/TAILORED WORKSHOPS: you want us to come/zoom talk to your school or organization, check out our tailored keynotes and workshops. Our calendar for Spring/Summer is filling up quickly. Please reach out! Like what we're doing? We'd love your support! Like, subscribe, and share this podcast with a friend! You could financially support us by attending a workshop or make a donation here. We'd love a cup of coffee!

I was thrilled to get the chance to interview classroom teacher, author, founder (and so much more!) Maja Watkins recently! When a colleague said I needed to connect with her, I Googled her up, and there I saw-- for the first time-- "Improv Curriculum" related to social emotional needs. IMPROV CURRICULUM?! Sounds pretty not-mechanical: not perfect, not scripted, not standardized, rooted in connection and joy and humor.  Maja is so passionate about students, and she draws on her creative improv background when it comes to their social and emotional needs.  She's created literally hundreds of games to play with students to help them connect to each other, to class content, to themselves. This is one of those episodes that was not only enjoyable, but really helpful. I took away some concrete games that I've already played with my own kid. :) Definitely check out Maja's resources below to see her books and services!  About Maja: Maja is a mother, author, teacher, and founder living in Los Angeles, Ca. Through her work with children in various settings, and her experience growing up with a brother on the autism spectrum, Maja has developed an understanding of how powerful communication is for all people. Maja is the author of The Brain's Playground: Using Improv Games To Teach Social and Emotional Learning as well as the author of a parenting guidebook titled: 10 Minutes of Play for 10 Days. The Brain's Playground includes her valuable research, data, and curriculum. Maja holds a degree in Child Development and is also a graduate of The Second City in Hollywood where she studied improvisation and sketch comedy. Maja works as a Social and Emotional Learning Specialist and creates inclusive opportunities where the curriculum is designed to allow children and young adults to reach their highest potential in whichever way they feel most comfortable. Show Links: Maja Watkins Website Maja Watkins books and services We Are Verbs  More about the workbook and workshops this month related to scarcity Regenerative Ed Patreon  

FAIL. We all fail. What's it mean? What can we do with it? In a non-toxic-positivity sort of way, there's a lot failure can teach us about...teaching. And in a living-systems sort of view (which is what we do on the podcast and at Grounded Teaching), there's a lot we can learn about feedback systems to prevent or learn from perceived failures. That's what November is actually all about. Each month, aligned to our monthly programming in We Are Verbs, we are digging into a theme, and with our new re-organization with sliding scale tiers including a free section  I record a podcast for each role and post it in the section that's totally free, forever. We're calling them mini-casts, and I'm housing them in the free section of our We Are Verbs community because the format of Regenerative Ed podcast doesn't work for speaking to individual educator groups. It would flood the feed. And this way you can simply log on and listen to the podcast that represents your role (and maybe dabble in a few others because they all apply!) Come and join We Are Verbs, which is our program and community for all types of educators who are interested in a more regenerative future. You can check it out for free, forever! One of the things that I've been really excited about is making these mini-casts in the free resource section of the community for individual educator groups, which is what the buffet in this title goes into, as I preview all the mini-casts in We Are Verbs: Listen to classroom teachers minicast: failure (with so many nodes of interactions!), unique genius, negativity bias, feedback loops Listen to administrators minicast: self-judgment, leader-artist, giving teachers feedback, and more Listen to ed consultants/instructional coaches minicast:  "cultures of feedback". community educators: two types of containers and the containers we build BONUS: my own failures homeschool teachers: questioning ourselves, anchoring in first principles and values, and more outdoor educators: resonance It's a super easy and free way to stay connected to our theme in We Are Verbs throughout the month. Check it out at the links above! LEARN MORE ABOUT WE ARE VERBS Please share your apprecation for this podcast by sharing it! If you're able, you can also leave a one time or recurring donation here. Thank you so much!

This week it's just me, talking about some things I hold dear: applying principles and themes of living systems to heal ourselves, our relationships to ourselves as "educators", and to make possible change for our learners by breaking down the barriers of modern western culture (that we might not even be aware have been towering over us), opening up a new way for ourselves and our students to learn to be in this world.  That, and my black walnut hulling experience last weekend.  If you love this podcast, please share it with a friend! Rating and reviewing is also helpful. Thank you! Enjoy! Join We Are Verbs and get your monthly mini-cast for your specific role + access to The Breathing Room for FREE (forever)!  Read more about all the opportunities to participate in We Are Verbs.