by Amanda | May 10, 2025 | Meditation, Mindfulness, New Style Blog Post, New Style Podcast, Social Justice
Share Tweet Pin It In this episode, part two of an eight-part series, Amanda discusses her journey through the Mindfulness and Meditation Teacher Certification Program (MMTCP) and the profound lessons she learned. She emphasizes the importance of...
by Amanda | Jul 19, 2024 | New Style Blog Post, New Style Podcast, Social Justice, Teacher Shortage Crisis
Share Tweet Pin It In this episode of the Empower Students Now podcast, hosts Amanda and Trina dive deep into the complex and often controversial topic of teacher pay. Joined by special guest Jess, they explore the historical roots of teacher pay,...
by Amanda | Mar 10, 2024 | Equity, Neurodiversity, New Style Blog Post, New Style Podcast, Reading, Reading Workshop, Secondary Teachers, Social Justice, Student Motivation, Support for Struggling Readers
Share Tweet Pin It In this episode of Empower Students Now, host Amanda interviews her sister Shelly Gonsalves, who opens up about her lifelong struggle with reading and learning difficulties. Shelly recounts her early educational challenges, the lack...
by Amanda | Feb 14, 2024 | Equity, New Style Blog Post, New Style Podcast, Reading, Social Justice, Support for Struggling Readers, Teacher Shortage Crisis
Share Tweet Pin It In this episode, hosts, Amanda and Trina, discuss the significant challenges of reading instruction in education. They delve into their personal experiences as teachers and parents, grappling with the complexities of teaching reading...
by Amanda | Oct 22, 2023 | Equity, New Style Blog Post, New Style Podcast, Race, Social Justice, Teacher Shortage Crisis
Share Tweet Pin It In this episode, hosts Amanda and Trina, along with guest Manuwella Allen (Mani), discuss gender equity in education, with a focus on the intersection of race and gender. They address issues of sexual harassment and abuse in schools,...
by Amanda | Oct 8, 2023 | Equity, New Style Blog Post, New Style Podcast, Other, Social Justice, Teacher Shortage Crisis
Share Tweet Pin It In this podcast episode, Trina shares her expertise around gender equity in K-12 schools. She discusses the lack of support and unjust treatment of female students in schools, emphasizing the need for comprehensive discussions on...
by Amanda | Sep 23, 2023 | Equity, Neurodiversity, New Style Blog Post, New Style Podcast, Race, Social Justice, Teacher Shortage Crisis
Share Tweet Pin It In this episode, hosts Trina and Amanda discuss the topic of educational equity and the confusion surrounding its definition. They criticize the narrowing down of the term equity to only focus on racial equity, excluding other...
by Amanda | Sep 1, 2023 | ELD, Equity, New Style Blog Post, New Style Podcast, Secondary Teachers, Social Justice, Teacher Shortage Crisis
Share Tweet Pin It In this episode, Amanda and Trina interview two teachers who pushed back against using canned curriculum and discuss the sensitive nature of the stories shared by teachers and the importance of protecting their identities. They share...
by Amanda | Aug 19, 2023 | Equity, New Style Blog Post, New Style Podcast, Social Justice, Student Motivation, Teacher Shortage Crisis
Share Tweet Pin It In this podcast episode, Amanda and Trina discuss the use of canned curriculum in schools and its impact on teachers and the education system. They recognize canned curriculum is useful in certain contexts, such as for long term...
by Amanda | Jul 22, 2023 | Equity, New Style Blog Post, New Style Podcast, Social Justice, Teacher Shortage Crisis
Share Tweet Pin It In this podcast episode, the host introduces Kelvin Mak, a recently resigned high school English teacher, who shares his experiences and frustrations with the education system. Kelvin discusses his burnout and the lack of fair...
by Amanda | Jun 30, 2023 | Equity, New Style Blog Post, New Style Podcast, Reading, Reading Units, Reading Workshop, Secondary Teachers, Social Justice
Share Tweet Pin It Do you want to teach your students how to read more effectively and prepare them for college and life? In this podcast episode, Amanda discusses the book “Reading Reconsidered” by Doug Lemov, which provides a wealth of...
by Amanda | Jun 23, 2023 | Equity, New Style Blog Post, New Style Podcast, Reading Workshop, Social Justice, Writing Workshop
Are you an English teacher looking to create an anti-racist writing workshop that prioritizes student voices and celebrates diversity? Look no further than “The Antiracist Writing Workshop” by Felicia Rose Chavez. In this episode, Amanda provides a...
by Amanda | Jun 17, 2023 | Equity, New Style Blog Post, New Style Podcast, Race, Social Justice
In this episode of the Empower Students Now podcast, host Amanda shares her summer plans and introduces a series of episodes where she provides overviews of eight books on educational equity and social justice that she read in 2021. She also offers a toolkit for...
by Amanda | May 25, 2023 | Equity, Neurodiversity, New Style Blog Post, New Style Podcast, Secondary Teachers, Social Justice, Student Motivation, Support for Struggling Readers, Support for Struggling Writers
In this episode of the Empower Students Now podcast, Amanda introduces her new course, The Empowered English Classroom, which aims to increase student engagement through equitable teaching practices. Amanda discusses the Empowered English Classroom Framework, which...
by Amanda | Mar 10, 2023 | Equity, New Style Blog Post, New Style Podcast, Social Justice
Transcript: Every child grows up following rules. They follow the rules of their parents, they follow the rules of their teachers, They follow their friends, and there’s a reason for that. We all want to be accepted. We all want to be loved. We want to be good....