A Thanksgiving Shoutout to the R.E.A.L.® Community

A Thanksgiving Shoutout to the R.E.A.L.® Community

I remember the moment I began to believe in the power of R.E.A.L.® Discussion.  It was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving in 2013: Grandfriends’ Day in my eighth grade classroom. The kids had decided they wanted to show their grandparents a R.E.A.L.® Discussion, and I had pulled together a packet of primary sources related to the…

Building Understanding through Civic Engagement: A Conversation with Spencer Burrows

Building Understanding through Civic Engagement: A Conversation with Spencer Burrows

Spencer Burrows is the Equity and Civic Engagement Coordinator and 11th Grade Dean at Pacific Ridge School in Carlsbad, CA. What follows is a conversation between Spencer and R.E.A.L.® founder Liza Garonzik. This conversation has been lightly edited for clarity. Liza: Spencer, we are so excited to have you here. You are so committed to…

R.E.A.L.® Teacher Feature: Julie Elmore & Maggie Nunn

R.E.A.L.® Teacher Feature: Julie Elmore & Maggie Nunn

This week, we’re featuring a team of teachers from St. Catherine’s School in Richmond, VA: Maggie Nunn, who teaches eighth grade Civics and US Government, and Julie Elmore, who teaches eighth grade English. How do you kick off R.E.A.L.® in your classroom? What are some of the intro moves you make? What did you do…

The “Asking” Skill: A Challenge and Opportunity for Students and Adults

The “Asking” Skill: A Challenge and Opportunity for Students and Adults

Last week, we were thrilled to welcome friend-of-R.E.A.L.® Jeff Wetzler to give a keynote presentation to our intrepid R.E.A.L.® educators. Jeff, the former Chief Learning Officer of Teach for America, is the co-founder of Transcend, an organization that strives to support school communities as they create extraordinary, equitable learning environments, and the author of Ask:…

What We’ve Learned from a Year of R.E.A.L.® Discussion Data

What We’ve Learned from a Year of R.E.A.L.® Discussion Data

by Emily Gromoll and Izzy Guiliano One of the ways teachers (and students) gauge growth in discussion skills as part of the R.E.A.L.® Discussion process is through the Student Survey and R.E.A.L.® Data Dashboard. Prior to starting R.E.A.L.® and every three discussions thereafter, students take a short, anonymized survey in which they report on their comfort…

The Pros and Cons of AI in Class Discussions

The Pros and Cons of AI in Class Discussions

It’s clear that AI will have a role in the future of schools – and teachers are (perhaps surprisingly) receptive to that idea. A 2023 Walton Family Foundation survey found that 61 percent of teachers see legitimate educational uses for ChatGPT. In our conversations with R.E.A.L.® faculty grappling with the impacts of ChatGPT on class…

Journeying on Wisdom Road: A Conversation with Grant Lichtman
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Journeying on Wisdom Road: A Conversation with Grant Lichtman

Grant Lichtman is a renowned thought leader on the transformation of K-12 education who works with educators to develop a comfort and capacity for change in a rapidly changing world. Grant spent two years on a cross-country journey exploring deep wells of cultural wisdom that our tech-centered culture has eroded. What follows is a conversation…

R.E.A.L.® Teacher Feature: Hannah Higgin
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R.E.A.L.® Teacher Feature: Hannah Higgin

Name: Hannah Higgin Hometown: Wallingford, CT Current School & Teaching Assignments: History Department Chair at the Westover School in Middlebury, CT. Describe yourself as a student in three words:  Curious, studious, and engaged. Who was your favorite teacher and why?  I loved my high school English teachers. Two who meant the most to me are…

Teaching Face-to-Face Communication Skills as Preventative Care

Teaching Face-to-Face Communication Skills as Preventative Care

Every teacher of young people today knows that, in many cases, the kids are not alright. Anxiety and depression are at an all-time high, cancel culture runs rampant, and many young people spend more time conversing on-screen than they do in-person. As educators, what can we do? How can we arm students with the skills…