Value Adds Value!

We know that ego is meant to protect us from danger and to allow us to achieve more, but what happens when we teach purely driven by ego? In our experience the results haven't been good. We have been having a lot of conversations about humility over the last few weeks and flipped the conversation one day to ego.  In this episode we discussed what the dangers are of being an ego driven teacher and how your students will suffer if you are. The key word in this definition is DRIVEN. We all need to have ego, but we can't be driven by it. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/valueaddsvalue/support

Principal Amen Rahh (@principalrahh) runs University Pathways Public Service Academy in Compton, California. The mission of University Pathways Public Service Academy (The U) is to provide students with the opportunity to concurrently earn a high school diploma and an Associated Arts degree. The U’s commitment is to educate, empower, and enable all students to become agents of change that are equipped with strong foundations in reading, writing, mathematical, and leadership skills. We had the chance to talk with Amen about his journey from promising college football player to educational assistant to social studies teacher and finally to principal! Along the way we had the chance to talk about the lasting impact of Kobe Bryant, why he chose to return to teach in the neighborhoods where he grew up, and why he puts relationships above everything else for his teachers and students. We hope this episode helps you turn your countdown to summer into a countdown of time to make a difference!  To learn more abou

We wanted to share a presentation Kyle gave during the Educators 2 Educators Summer Conference (https://www.educators2educators.com) that is a message that Wilkie originally shared on the podcast about the importance of keeping it 100 with your students. The expanded version of this talk goes into why as teachers the most important person to be transparent with is yourself! This talk is about how your teaching practice can grow if you are willing to truly reflect on it. If you'd like to learn more about the professional developments we offer through our non-profit Lighthouse Educator Development please visit theledproject.com! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/valueaddsvalue/support

We had the great pleasure of meeting Lauren Roig on the Teach Your Heart Out Cruise and it was such a pleasure to reconnect with her! We found her journey to the classroom fascinating and her experiences truly shape her as an educator.  Lauren is an 8th grade ELA teacher in the suburbs of Houston who has visited 47 different countries, has a degree in International Relations and a Master's in International Business and had an internship at the U.S. Embassy in London! Add three years a flight attendant on international flights and you understand the dynamic experiences she brings to her classroom. Lauren's message to students, "You can do anything you want if you're willing to work hard enough and understand that your path will be different than the path that others take." Much of what we talked with Lauren about was how her dad instilled in her the idea that anything is possible if you'll work hard enough for it. She reminds us to be careful of how we speak of challenges as teachers because our students

It was nice to have a fellow Texas State Bobcat on the podcast... Ms. Dailene Hendon!! (@cohortofcare on Instagram)We had the chance to talk about her experience student teaching abroad, the approach she takes in pursuing her PhD. in education, how she plans on using her doctorate when she gets it. Dailene also talked about the mindset needed and priorities that she has set in order to pursue her advanced degree while maintaining a self care routine. Here's a hint... you have to cut a lot of things out of your life! To hear this and so much more check out this episode of the Value Adds Value Podcast! If you want to reach out to use you can find us on Instagram and Twitter @valueaddsvalue or send us an email at podcast@theledproject.com! To learn more about the projects we are working on at Lighthouse Educator Development visit theledproject.com! To support our podcast visit anchor.fm/valueaddsvalue and click the support button! To support the work we do through our non-profit go to classy.org/valueaddsvalue!

This is the second half of our fourth interview with Gary Gray Jr. (@garyrgrayjr) and we asked him how he has curated his classroom libraries with books that his students can see themselves in. Whenever we are in need of book recommendation or have questions on how we can be more culturally responsive in our teaching Gary is one of the first people we reach out to.  He always uses the metaphor of WINDOWS, MIRRORS, and DOORS when describing the books that students need. The need books that are mirrors they can see themselves in, books that are windows to see the world through, and doors for the to step through to grow in their understanding of others. Throw in a little NBA talk and this episode is everything we hoped it would be! Thanks again to our brother Gary Gray Jr. for spending time with us and thank you for listening!  Find Gary on Twitter, Youtube and Instagram @garyrgrayjr! To learn more about Lighthouse Educator Development and the projects we're pursuing head to theledproject.com! Be sure

Throwback Thursday to our first episode with w/ Gary Gray Jr! Over the course of this 2.5 year journey of creating a podcast we've been blessed with so many new relationships, but the one we have with Gary Gray Jr. is at the top of the list of most valued! Not only is he an incredible teacher who is providing amazing content to teachers across the world, but he is genuinely one of the most caring people we've ever met. He has continually been willing to be a sounding board for us and has provide perspective and wisdom at every turn. We hope you enjoy the first part of our conversation with Gary on the burdens of being a content creator as an educator, his move to Manila, and how we can grow in our practice of being culturally responsive as educators. We're sure you already follow Gary, but please go subscribe to his Youtube channel!! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUY2yhkrA78P6tfXV0Zfy8g If you are interested in getting PD hours on your own terms and improving your relationships at school then please visit

We are happy to share with you part 1 of a 2 part interview with our good friend Gary Gray Jr. We are so blessed to call Gary and his wife Narin family and to have interviewed him four times for the podcast. On this episode we caught up with Gary for the first time since the summer of 2019 to discuss with him his move from Singapore to Manila, what it has been like to be off of Instagram, and how he has built a thriving professional development community on Twitter.  Once again this conversation centers around helping teachers find their authenticity and voice so that we can help students do the same thing. Gary strives to make every student feel seen and be the curator of their own learning. It got super interesting when we talked about whether the traditional role of the teacher as "content expert" has become outdated when our students can fact check us with Alexa, Siri, and Google. In the second part of the episode we'll be talking about how to create a library that is inclusive and so much more! Than

We had the privilege of being presenters in the Educators 2 Educators New Years Reboot Conference and for those of you that didn't attend we wanted to share our talk on making HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS! Halftime adjustments are a key to the success of every great sports team. When you get ready for a game (READ GET READY TO TEACH A CLASS) we have a game plan for how we want to approach the class.  What is your curriculum?  Who are your students?  What are your objectives?  Which pedagogies will you use? However, we know that classes will always present you with challenges you didn't anticipate. HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS are how you apply what you learned in the first part of the year!! We share with you the questions we ask ourselves to reflect on our teaching and make the adjustments to be successful in the second part of the year. We hope this episode helps you become the teacher your kids deserve! To learn more about Educators 2 Educators head to their website: www.educators2educators.com To lear

We had the chance to catch up with fellow Texan and rockstar educator Hal Bowman for this episode of the podcast! Hal has taught just about everything from band to biology, but is now traveling the country working to help schools change their cultures for the better. He's been in hundreds of schools for the past few years and we had a conversation about what teachers go through and what conversations teachers are having across the country. The consensus-- there are incredible teachers doing incredible work with zero fanfare all over the country and its our job to help bring those teachers to the forefront and change our nations culture on the value of the teaching profession! We hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did! And if you don't follow Hal jump on it! halbowman.com @halbowman on Facebook and Instagram. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/valueaddsvalue/support

Welcome to this episode of the Value Adds Value Podcast where we help you become the teacher your kids deserve! Happy New Year and welcome to first episode of 2020 and we're thrilled to bring you this conversation with Claudio Zavala Jr! Claudio (iamclaudius.com and @claudiozavalajr) was a bilingual teacher for 13 years before leaving the classroom to create his own content to help teachers understand the power of digital media.  We had the chance to talk with him about what platforms and mediums he loves in 2020 and why every teacher must become a storyteller. Our only disappointment was that we had to cut the conversation short because his daughter needed a ride to soccer practice! Make sure you go check out Claudio's work and thanks again for listening to the Value Adds Value Podcast! If you're loving the podcast here are some ways you can support us: Learn more about all our projects at theledproject.com. Join our online learning community at patreon.com/valueaddsvalue. If you want to support the our

As we look forward to 2020 we had to look and listen back to what we intended 2019 to be. We wanted to share this episode with you to give you perspective on our journey over the last 12 months and help us appreciate what a great year we had! If you're loving the podcast here are some ways you can support us: Learn more about all our projects at theledproject.com. Join our online learning community at patreon.com/valueaddsvalue. If you want to support the our podcast and projects you can do it at anchor.fm/valueaddsvalue or https://www.classy.org/campaign/1-1/c187282! Speaking of digital media in 2020 if you want to try Nearpod for free head over to go.nearpod.com/valueaddsvalue! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/valueaddsvalue/support

As 2019 comes to a close we wanted for our own sake to reflect on the year that was. This year was amazing for us on so many levels, but it was also filled with some very difficult times. As you listen you'll hear where we made mistakes and how we are learning from them, but also how we worked our way to a place that has set us up for success in 2020. It starts with us remembering that we will always be friends first rather than teammates and business partners. Since we have gotten back to that our perspectives have become clearer and we are back on track professionally.  This podcast is a little about our podcast, a little about our teaching, and a lot about our journey over the past 12 months! We hope you enjoy it! As always thank you for everything you do to support this podcast! Please continue to subscribe and share the podcast!  To further support our work head over to classy.org/valueaddsvalue. You can also find support the podcast be going to anchor.fm/valueaddsvalue and click the SUPPORT bu

As we wrap up this three part series with Principal Kafele we want to express our gratitude for an incredible 2019! We were reminded by Baruti during this interview that above all else we must always remember our purpose and WHY. That is something over the course of this year that we both struggled with at times, but this conversation is such a fitting end to our year of interviews. We're so grateful to our listeners for everything that you've done for us and if you don't mind helping us with one more thing we'd love for you to subscribe to this podcast and let us know how we are doing. To learn more about Principal Kafele head over to his website principalkafele.com! To see the full list of our projects check out theledproject.com! To find more educational podcasts go to theledproject.com/hub! Be sure to find us on Youtube, Instagram, or Twitter! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/valueaddsvalue/support

This is part two of our interview with Principal Baruti Kafele and in this part of the conversation we dig into why leadership and leadership style matters so much to teachers.  After a successful career as a teacher and administrator Kafele has spent the better part of two decades working with teachers and administrators in developing their leadership styles. Many of these questions are the ones he asked us when we saw him present at AIE in October of 2019 and we're so thrilled to share them with you. We hope that as an educator you realize that your individual leadership style matters and the important question you must ask yourself to find your leadership style comes from Kafele-- ask yourself WHY DO I LEAD THE WAY THAT I LEAD? This episode is all about purpose and we hope that it helps you to reengage with your purpose as an educator!  To learn more about Baruti Kafele head over to prinicipalkafele.com! To learn more about our work head over to theledproject.com! To get access to exclusive train

Three years ago when we started the Value Adds Value Podcast (it was called The LED Project Podcast back then) we made a list of our dream educators to have on the podcast and at the top of the list was Principal Kafele! After three years of hard work and having the opportunity to meet Baruti in person at The AIE Conference in October we got to spend two powerful hours with him!  Part 1 of this 3 part interview was 30 minute of Kafele's backstory and it was fascinating to us. You would assume that a person who has influenced as many educators as he has, he did 200 presentations in 2019, would have been an educator all his life. The fact is that it took him five years to get his high school degree and it was in his late 20s that he found his calling in education after taking an African American History class. This story is sums up his career in which he said he always had to "do it my way."   In this episode he talks about how he code switches when in different settings how he has always remembered h

This time of year is filled with joy for so many of us out there, but it can be an incredibly challenging time for many of our students. We are fortunate to be friends with the Bearded School Counselor himself Michael Creekmore and are so grateful to him for coming on the podcast discuss how we can identify and support students who struggle during the holiday season.  During this conversation we once again got to hear Mike's backstory on how he became an educator and how his journey has shaped how he interacts with students. If you want to hear more listen to the episode of Value Adds Value with Mike and his wife https://anchor.fm/dashboard/episode/e5eghi!  We hope you enjoy this episode of Value Adds Value and if you do please take the time to support us! You can do that by hitting the subscribe button or clicking on the link below. https://anchor.fm/valueaddsvalue/support To join our online professional development community click the link below! Our first PD cohort will be launched in August of 2

We were honor to have the 2019 Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network Teach of the Year Ace Schwarz on the podcast! We had several friends recommend having them on the podcast and we are glad that we did. In this conversation we discuss their transition from Ms. to Mx., the importance of reading aloud to students, and resources/books we can use with our students and for ourselves to make our classrooms more inclusive. If you want access to the resources Ace references you can click the links below or go follow them on Instagram @aceschwarz222! ABCs of LGBTQ https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1WER8dRyBP4cbMqs61N1S9hf8abu471JmnvJq3FQKQjk/mobilepresent?slide=id.p1 Elementary Book Recommendations https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Foo0BWaHg8au1vxqZsYg1mJgeQ7p_NQRnMjK8RKjz3E/mobilepresent?slide=id.g35f391192_00 High School Book Recommendations https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1NrZZkvtag2eWOXjApA8xnmSC-xdVQZeot-xH55cB0g4/mobilepresent?slide=id.g35f391192_00 Bilingual Book Recommendations http

We are so fortunate to be friends with Esther Brunat (Instagram @estherbrunat) and were so lucky to start our Black Friday with a conversation about authenticity with one of the realest teachers you'll ever find. If you follow Esther online you can see that she values authenticity and it shines through with her students. On this episode we had the chance to talk about the upside of authenticity for teachers. We know that its scary to be vulnerable with students, but Esther is a case study in how our students benefit from their teachers being true to themselves. That is why we named this episode 'real recognizes real.' From her description of the frustrations of having to repeat directions to the humor she brings with 'what the kids be sayin'  on this episode Esther  shares the best of herself and we are grateful for that!  Do you follow us on social media?!! Find us on Twitter and Instagram: @valueaddsvalue Want to try out Nearpod for free?! Click the link below! go.nearpod.com/valueaddsvalue A

So twice a week we have meetings at 5:00am to continue the work we started six years ago. Most days the are not recorded, but more and more we are deciding to record every session because there always seems to be unexpected gems in every session. This is one of those sessions where we didn't do any of the work we set out to, but had a powerful discussion on the cultures we are working on in our classrooms! We hope you enjoy it! To learn more about our work head over to theledproject.com! Follow us on social media @valueaddsvalue and @its.wil.law.iii If you want to sign up for the Educators 2 Educators New Year Teacher Reboot click the link below! https://e2e.mykajabi.com/a/18734/Q8mR9myu To try out Nearpod for free click the link below! go.nearpod.com/valueaddsvalue --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/valueaddsvalue/support