Name. Dr. David Reynolds

Hometown: Kansas City, Missouri

Current School: Pembroke Hill School (MO)

Teaching assignments: I teach 8th-grade English.

How would you describe yourself as a student?

I was creative and imaginative: I tended to think outside the box.

Who was your favorite teacher when you were a student and why?

In high school, it was Janice Paulson. She was a French teacher, and she’s the person who really inspired me to continue studying French at the college level. I ended up with a degree in French, taught French, and traveled quite a bit to France, where I have lived with French families.

When it comes to class discussion, what is your “why”? What feels compelling and important about teaching discussion skills?

For one thing, discussion is far more interesting than drill-and-kill worksheets. It’s interesting to hear what kids have to say: their thoughts and opinions, and how they perceive things.

I always remind them that if I ask a question, I don’t know the answer to it. I want to know their opinions. When they hear that, I can tell they let their barriers down a little bit, and that makes everyone feel far more comfortable.

I also tell the kids that when we have these discussions, I’m learning from them as well. I’m learning from their perspectives and how to look at things differently. I learn more by listening to them, because my perspective is not automatically the right one.

When it comes to discussion, can you share your top learning goals for your students?

It will sound as if I’m making this up, but the truth is that my goals are the acronym for R.E.A.L. discussion. It’s the 4 things.

Having kids connect with other texts and relate their personal experiences to what they’ve been reading. We spent some time connecting the main characters from both I Was Their American Dream and The Magic Fish in our class discussions.

It’s also important — maybe because I was in debate — to collect evidence to support your response, to find it and to write your notes based on what you want to share with your group.

Kids sometimes struggle with knowing how to ask questions. I always tell them, “No one wants to sit at a family discussion and have it be like a round robin. If I sat at the dinner table with you and just gave you my thoughts or opinions, and no one looked at me and said anything, it’d be strange.” These should feel like a real, natural discussion. They’ve gotten hugely better with practice.

And being good listeners to each other, giving each other eye contact, and listening to each other’s opinions. I have one class with a group that gets a little heated, so I always have to talk about maintaining respect and courtesy, because they’re fine young people who have strong opinions. They’re good, and I enjoy listening to them.

It was a struggle in the beginning, but now they’re far more comfortable as we practice it and get used to it.

I heard you say connection, evidence, questions, and listening, which we recognize as R.E.A.L.®: Relating, Excerpting, Asking, and Listening.

Take us back to the first R.E.A.L. Discussion you led. What were you worried about going into it? What surprised you about it? What was the biggest success in that first discussion cycle?

That’s been a long time ago now — about 9 months — but one of my biggest concerns was helping them understand the protocol, R-E-A-L, and how each part worked. I had done something similar before with reciprocal teaching, so I knew I had to practice with them what each part looked like. We practiced R, then E, then RE, then A, then REA, then L, and finally R-E-A-L together until they felt proficient.

What surprised me was how some of the groups came to it, the quality of the discussions they began to have, and how much they’ve grown throughout the year. At the beginning of the year, it felt very robotic; as the year has progressed, it’s become far more organic and natural.

A big early success was that they were able to identify what they had problems with. After discussion one, going into discussion two, they could name where their bumps in the road were with REAL and think about how to address that. After group share-outs, they would say things like, “We really worked on asking questions this time,” or “We did better listening to each other.” For me, the most striking part was how accurate they were in that reflection — I’d sit with each group (I usually had 4 groups in a class) for about 5 minutes, take notes, and their notes were almost identical to what I had written down. Sometimes they were almost more critical than I was.

What advice would you give to a teacher who’s about to start their first R.E.A.L. discussion cycle?

Not to be in a rush to do all 4 components at one time. Master it.

I have a slide for the protocol. Even now, near the end of the school year, I still review that slide with them. What does R look like? What does E look like? What does A look like? What does L look like? These are the things we’re looking for when we do a R.E.A.L. discussion. Having that constant protocol available has been helpful. I do Google Slides every week, and I always leave it on their slides for the week, so I can easily access it. Especially in the beginning, I would leave it up during the discussion. And I made a slide with Portfolio reminders: citation, quotes, notes and discussion questions.

I would tell other teachers not to worry so much at the beginning — just jump in and do it. Are you going to make mistakes? Yeah, you’re going to make mistakes. Are you going to do it the same way next year? No, you’re not. Are you going to do cycle 2 the same way you did cycle 1? You learn from mistakes, you learn from your errors, and you learn how to do things better. You have to jump in and start doing it and see what happens.

How do you plan for R.E.A.L. discussion?

I take some time to think about what we’ve focused on in class. Those things are what I center the discussion questions around. Sometimes I’ll go into ChatGPT and throw in some notes and say, “Okay, we’ve covered The Magic Fish and I Was Their American Dream, and I’m looking for 2 REAL discussions based upon these 2 novels. One comparing the main characters and others addressing the books’ themes. Give me 5 suggestions.” I’ll look at those suggestions and revise and edit to see which ones I think are better. That’s been helpful. The questions I’ve come up with have been good and high-level.

Over the course of this year, are there particular students whose growth through REAL discussion has stood out to you?

We’ve talked a lot about, going back to I Was Their American Dream, how did their identity form, who they are? How did their personal family story shape their own identity? I had some really interesting students who wanted to talk about their grandparents who were in Vietnam or Japan, or wanted to share their families’ rags-to-riches stories. They really got into talking about their own personal family stories.

I had another student; she told me she did not like talking out loud in class. She enjoys groups of 5 to 7. Recently, she’s volunteered to be the spokesperson for her group in front of the whole class. I think it was about building comfort and trust.

I had another student who has stood out to me more than anyone else. Her parents came to me one day and told me how comfortable she has felt this year [compared to previous years in school]. She loved when we read Fahrenheit 451. She loves dystopian novels. She got into Romeo and Juliet. For extra credit, she made a playlist for one of the characters. Later, she wanted to know if she could share it with the class.

This girl loves theater, she loves drama, and her dad came to me one day and said, “Dr. Reynolds, we have never talked to her about what she wants to do in the future, but she told us she wants to be an English teacher.”

Oh, that’s so touching. I love it.

It was one of those moments where you’ve got to keep from crying.

What inspires you? Do you have a favorite quote right now?

What inspires me is creativity.

I like to think of how we could do things differently and not the same old way, to try to maintain students’ interest, which is challenging. I feel like I’m just not young and fun anymore. So I want to do something that will be fun.

There’s a quote I like. It might sound a bit cliché, but it helps me a lot because I tend to be a worrier sometimes. The quote is, “Stop being afraid of what could go wrong and start being excited about what could go right.” It’s by Tony Robbins.

What’s next for you and your class? Where do you hope to take R.E.A.L. as we wrap up the school year?

Our next book is Twelve Angry Men, and that will complete our 4th cycle.

That’s great that you will get to 2 R.E.A.L. discussions this year.

To get in 12 discussions, you have to plan. Over time, the kids have gotten far more into it than they were at the beginning. At least that’s my impression.

Yes, and you’ve got the data to back that up. It has been a pleasure getting to know you this year. Thank you for your time and energy. I know you’ll be doing some fun things in France this summer and beyond. Maybe our paths will cross again, David.

I hope so. It’d be awesome.

If you’re a teacher interested in learning more about R.E.A.L.® Discussion, visit conversationcomeback.org for Conversation Comeback: A Teacher’s Guide to Class Discussion in a Distracted, Divided World or learn more about our professional learning opportunities, such as workshops, trainings, and retreats.

Thank you to Anastacia Ike-Foreman for sharing her R.E.A.L. life with us! Anastacia is a seventh and tenth-grade English teacher at Tarbut V’Torah Community Day School (TVT) in Irvine, CA. She shared her perspective that listening is the heart of discussion and that structured dialogue helps her students move beyond black‑and‑white thinking toward more nuanced critical reasoning. This interview has been lightly edited for clarity. 

Name: Anastacia Ike-Foreman

Hometown: Costa Mesa in Orange County, California (though I spent 10 years in Charlotte, North Carolina and Rock Hill, South Carolina).

Current School: I teach seventh- and tenth-grade English at Tarbut V’Torah Community Day School, an independent Jewish day school in Irvine, California.

Can you describe yourself as a student, in three words or phrases?

Undiagnosed ADHD, very talkative, and a struggling reader.

Who was your favorite teacher and why?

My third-grade teacher, Miss Plumbo, was my favorite because every day after recess, she would bring us in and read us a picture book by an author like Tomie dePaola or one with beautiful illustrations. As a kid who didn’t really like reading words on a page, I really engaged with this form of reading. She brought those stories to life by reading them to us. I really liked her creative teaching style.

When it comes to discussion, what is your “why”? What feels compelling and important about teaching these particular skills?

When it comes to discussion, there is a piece of humanity there: seeing the state of things in our world, looking at social media, looking at how people interact in all forms of media, watching my own family have their crazy discussions, and then thinking, Could we come to a place of understanding each other? Could we come to a place where we actually get somewhere and learn from each other, rather than proving a point in a civil way?

That was sort of my big a-ha. I started by taking Deep Listening, a program by the Stanley King Institute, which I found very helpful. I had many kids coming to me and talking to me, and I was wondering, “How do I help them?” I realized it was more about listening than fixing anything. And so, fast-forward: coming back to school, I thought, What if I could get kids to listen to each other? What if I listened better to my family? What if society started listening to each other? 

Although it’s a discussion, I think the magic is in the listening, because it helps us learn about each other, about who we are, and to respect and appreciate each other for our differences and individuality. Academically, discussion is a very important tool because it allows students to put their ideas together on the spot, creating meaning by going deeper than they ever would have if they were to think through the process individually.

And I think that, especially, my middle school students have a hard time seeing things in black and white. They say, here is my point – ta-da!  Discussion helps them to develop their critical thinking skills and challenge each other’s and their own ideas. Especially in literature, it’s crucial to move away from this concept of what is the right answer and toward considering all the possible answers. There’s room for more than one truth when it comes to literature and the humanities. You can hold onto your perspective and still hold space for someone else’s experience. Two things can be true.

I think that’s really well said! What would you say your two or three top learning goals are for your seventh graders? What do those goals look like for your tenth graders?

With my seventh graders, my biggest goal is to help them ask questions respectfully. Asking questions helps them move beyond black-and-white thinking and dig deeper into what the other person is thinking. For example, they can ask themselves, “Did I hear the other person correctly?” and “Where did that person get the evidence to come to that place?”

This week, one of my kids responded to a comment with “I disagree.” I said, “actually let’s try that again. Ask them a question.” And she said, “Okay, well, you said this, and I just, I don’t see how you came to that understanding.” The other person said, “That’s not what I meant to say. What I meant was …”  It was this ‘aha moment’ for everyone. Asking questions gives the other person a chance to rephrase what they’re saying, which is a huge skill, and then reach a point of reasoning. 

I think it’s really cool to have those moments, debrief them, and then say, next time, come from a perspective, enter with curiosity, rather than immediately getting upset that somebody disagreed with what you thought.

What about for your 10th graders? What does discussion look like in terms of their learning goals? 

With the tenth graders, I think asking questions and listening are still the main goals, but they look different from those in seventh grade. They’re practicing building on their own ideas or jumping in with their own evidence in response to what someone else says. And when someone asks a question or introduces a piece of evidence, the tenth graders take time to explore it, rather than just acknowledging that someone spoke and then moving on. Sometimes discussions can sound like, “Okay, now I speak and bring up a new thing.” And I’ll say, no, let’s pause. Let’s take that apart a little bit before moving on to what someone else has to say. Because we’re going to miss a lot of really insightful conversations if the students keep bouncing around.

Another big thing with them is the evidence piece. I’ve explained that bringing in evidence—actually turning to the same page and reading the passage together—isn’t just a protocol. Just because you read something and interpreted it a certain way doesn’t mean everyone else will interpret it the same way. 

Going back to the page and seeing it in context gives everyone a chance to understand how someone else is reading that evidence, which can lead to a more meaningful conversation. You might say, “I saw it this way, but could it also mean this?” So instead of just taking what someone says at face value, we pause and do an “evidence check.” That slows things down and helps everyone really think.

I think that the practice of slowing down and considering the evidence is really preparing them for the real world. They’re going to be handed a ballot one day and told, “These are the facts.” But I want them to have the instinct to pause and say, “Hold on, let’s look a little closer.” It’s about learning to think for yourself, not just accepting something because someone else said it.

This type of practice is also an important skill for navigating AI. The world has changed so quickly – even compared to when we used to talk about critical thinking or media literacy five or ten years ago. Now we have to ask, “Why is the algorithm feeding me this?” AI systems are built on data, and that data always carries bias. So we can’t just take everything AI produces as fact. We have to slow down, question what we’re seeing, and notice what might be shaping it. I love the idea of slowing down and focusing — of really tackling issues rather than just checking a box.

Take us back to the first R.E.A.L. Discussion you led. What were you worried about going into that first discussion? 

I’m going to step back even farther, before even starting a discussion method at all. My fear was losing control, not being the one guiding them, and having them devolve into chaos as they all talk over each other, start totally misinterpreting things, and lose track of our skill focus. To be honest, the biggest thing was “I’m not going to have control over what I need them to get.” That was probably my biggest fear.

I think that’s a pretty common one. How did that fear shift or change, or that perception change? Are there systems that you have developed to be able to navigate that? 

Yes, I’ve definitely developed systems for that. I think R.E.A.L. provides a well-structured approach that eliminates much of that fear. But I will also say my perspective completely changed. I shifted from feeling like “I need these kids to get here” to “these kids are actually teaching me things.” Their process of making meaning is more important than what I’ve already discovered or what I want them to know. Because if I just shut up and let them talk, they blow my mind every time. I’ve learned that the less I talk, the more they learn, the more they grow, and the more they blow me away with things I had never thought of.

And that’s not to say that I completely lose track of the discussion question.  I still guide them back to the discussion question in a common text, but in terms of thinking, they might come up with something that hasn’t been considered before, something more relevant to our context today. 

Can we zoom in a little bit deeper on the topic of the kids blowing you away? Is there a particular moment that comes to mind that you’ve experienced when a student had a breakthrough in discussion?

Yes. This one is a little heavy, but last year, when we were discussing [S.E. Hinton’s] The Outsiders, and one of the questions was about how losing people affected their character, how it changed their choices, how it changed their relationships with others in the book. One of my students, who had recently lost a parent, felt safe enough to say: I actually relate to this because I lost my parent. This student was not one to talk about the situation very much, but they shared that when they lost their parent, they felt that they went through sort of the same thing that Pony Boy went through and the rage that Dally’s going through. The student added, “I think that loss 100% can affect your choices, because I see myself in these characters,” and the other students fell silent. And I’m thinking, “Oh my gosh, his could go one of many ways.” And immediately, a friend of the kid asked, “Does it have to be losing people through death?” I said, no, and then that student shared, “Even though I haven’t lost anyone, I hear you, because I’ve gone through things where I feel like I don’t have anyone at home, and I really rely on my friends to give me the family structure. That helps me understand their character and why they stuck together as The Outsiders; because they were family, they didn’t have a mom and dad that they could rely on.”

And from there, almost everyone jumped in, sharing how they appreciated the relating both students gave, or offering their own experience to share. They came up with something so rich that it can’t be replicated. To see, more than anything, the safety that these kids created with each other, to be able to share these really intense, deep moments and have trust that they were going to be held by their classmates, is beyond anything academic I could hope for. And this is seventh grade! Seventh grade! What a beautiful thing!

What an incredible experience. Were you on the verge of tears? 

I had chills. I was crying and trying to keep it together. But I also felt it was okay if they saw me cry; you know, I’m a human being. I don’t need to just sit here like a news reporter. My relationship with my students is much more authentic as well. It’s okay for them to see that I have feelings and that I feel for them and that I love them.

I just want to love these kids, so I feel like teaching English gives me a way to reach them and stay flexible with that. There’s the humanity in all of it.

That is truly beautiful. Thank you for sharing. Our final two questions are slightly less deep. First, what advice would you give to a new teacher who’s on the cusp of starting their first R.E.A.L. Discussion? 

I would say start slow and simple. Take a little bit at a time. You don’t have to roll out the whole thing on day one.  Liza shared that we should think about the big picture at first. Give them some time to think, discuss, reflect, and give each other shout-outs.

And I would say go with that approach. Then use the hand signals, as they will keep kids on track and prevent them from talking over each other. And also the nonverbal “I agree” sign. Thinking big picture would be the way to start, and then with my seventh graders, we first focused on what it means to Relate, and then we really focused on just Relating in the first discussion. Then, in the second discussion, once we know Relate, we’ll add Excerpt.  We roll one skill at a time, then practice. Eventually, they’re doing everything. But I think for at least my seventh graders, it was important that we practice each skill rather than front-load them with everything at first. 

Final question: What is inspiring you right now? Do you have a favorite quote or book you’ve been reading?

I do a lot of reading and thinking, but one thing I’ll share isn’t necessarily the most inspiring. We use MAP [Measures of Academic Progress] testing.  One of our curriculum leaders was going through the readiness skills with each of the kids, and that gave me an idea. I started thinking about grouping students for discussion questions that target the same skill, but differentiating the questions based on their readiness levels.

So, for example, if we’re working on a theme, Group 1 might focus on What is the theme? Group 2 might look at How is the theme is proven? And Group 3 might explore How does the theme develop? They’re all working on the same overarching skill, but their discussion questions are different.

Then, after working in groups, everyone returns to the whole-class discussion to share their evidence. That way, all students get to access the text and the learning at a level that’s right for them. Everyone’s part of the same conversation; they’re learning from each other, but the differentiation gives each student a real stepping stone into the discussion. That’s something I’ve been inspired by lately and am thinking about trying—it’s a little new for us.

It was so wonderful speaking with you, Anastacia! Thank you for inspiring us with your ideas and innovative and caring approach to discussion!

If you’re a teacher interested in learning more about R.E.A.L.® Discussion, visit conversationcomeback.org for Conversation Comeback: A Teacher’s Guide to Class Discussion in a Distracted, Divided World or learn more about our professional learning opportunities, such as workshops, trainings, and retreats.

After many years as a school leader, this fall looks different for me. I am not walking into opening faculty meetings or greeting families at back-to-school night. Instead, in my new role supporting R.E.A.L.® Discussion, I spent the summer with hundreds of educators representing dozens of schools across the globe, listening closely to what is on their minds about teaching discussion this year.

One of R.E.A.L.®’s core principles is proximity: we stay close to teachers and students, learning alongside them. We take insights from research and from real classrooms and turn them into tools teachers can use right away. This summer reminded me how powerful that approach is. Evidence matters most when it is applied in practice.

From single-sex and co-ed schools, boarding schools and day schools, traditional and progressive contexts, we kept hearing the same message: teachers know that discussion matters, and they want tools to make it work for every student.

Here are three themes that stood out:

1. Teachers feel what students feel.

Even seasoned educators admitted to feeling nervous in our first structured discussions. Some wondered if they were “doing it right.” Others worried about talking too much or not enough.

That shared vulnerability quickly gave rise to empathy. Teachers recognized how often students, especially introverts or those unsure of themselves, feel the same way. Again and again, we heard teachers commit to making discussions more inclusive and helping every student’s voice be heard.

Teachers also reflected that we are all trying to navigate a world increasingly shaped by screens and AI. Many admitted they themselves over-rely on texts instead of live conversations, which made them more empathetic to students who avoid face-to-face interaction. Like their students, they acknowledged that conversation is a skill we all need to practice.

2. Listening is THE overlooked skill.

Many teachers began the summer focused on helping students “speak up.” But what came through in our work together was the equal importance of listening. Discussion is not just about who participates, but how communities of trust are built when students listen for understanding.

Teachers connected strongly with the L in R.E.A.L.®—Listen. They saw how easily classroom talk can drift into “speaking to share” instead of “listening to learn,” and how transformative it is when listening becomes the priority.

Teachers shared their joy when students made connections across units, and their frustration when prompts fell flat. In those conversations, it became clear: meaningful discussion is not just participation for participation’s sake. It is about building relationships, trust, and growth.

3. Teachers are hungry for actionable tools.

Assessment is an age-old challenge. Teachers want evidence-based ways to measure discussion without reducing it to a simple tally of who spoke. While this kind of hunger drives a lot of teachers to sign up for PD opportunities, far too often, what happens in those rooms feels abstract.

Teachers told us that the R.E.A.L.® approach stood out because it was actionable, solution-oriented, and gave them space to reflect. They also loved to “see inside” each other’s classrooms, something that rarely happens in an often-siloed profession. They left with concrete tools they could implement right away and the confidence to adapt them for their students.

Looking ahead

Educators are heading into this year on shifting ground. The rise of AI, new education policies, and the ongoing realities of student distraction and anxiety all add complexity to their work.

One surprise for me was how “all over the map” schools are when it comes to AI policies. In one week, I worked with teachers who were having students handwrite blue books to avoid ChatGPT, and others who were building discussion questions with Gemini. The spread is vast, but the common thread is clear: regardless of policy, teachers want students to hold onto distinctly human skills, like conversation.

As my colleague and R.E.A.L.® founder Liza Garonzik often says, “we’re teachers without classrooms.” That perspective continues to anchor me. I may not be opening the year with one school community. However, I still have the privilege of standing alongside many educators who are committed to the same mission: helping young people become better communicators in a world that demands it.

What gives me hope is the determination teachers are carrying into this school year. In the face of real challenges, such as distraction, anxiety, and the rise of AI, educators are committed to equipping young people with essential human skills, including listening, speaking, and connecting.

To all the teachers beginning a new year: thank you for your honesty, your vulnerability, and your conviction. We would love to hear what you are noticing as you step back into your classrooms.

If you are curious about R.E.A.L.® PD opportunities this year, keep an eye on the R.E.A.L.® Discussion page, where we share opportunities like our new “Humanities and Humanity in an AI World” sessions. Of course, we always welcome a conversation.

It’s been fun to see other founders share the “unhinged” things they have done to build their businesses. Many have resonated deeply: late nights, early mornings, competing priorities, sales-fails…

But to me, this trend is more than entertainment. It’s an example of authentic interaction in a world that is increasingly AI-dominated, and I’m a relentless champion for human connection.

So, what are some of the “unhinged” things I have done to build R.E.A.L.® Discussion?

1. I booked a terrifying number of speaking gigs, with essentially no speaking experience. One June, I ran 120 hours of PD, having facilitated half that number of hours total in my whole life to that point. And one October, I spoke at nine conferences, with exactly one presentation under my belt before that. Was it exhausting? You bet! Terrifying? Totally. But, I saw these opportunities as boot camp: time for me to build skills I needed and didn’t yet have, fast. Brain science says spaced repetition is the key to deep learning. After this experience, I believed it. I learned a lot in those early days—not only that I needed to develop a great program, but also that I needed to train great teammates to facilitate it.
2. I (over)relied on interns. Speaking of the team, my approach to talent management has probably been the most “unhinged” of it all. I began with interns, and will always have them. To this day, it fills my educator-heart to keep working with young people and giving them real responsibilities to develop professional skills: providing live client service, producing curriculum used by real classrooms, managing social media seen by thousands, and the list goes on. Those intern-only years launched the mantra that still guides our company today: If we’re learning, we’re winning.
3. I purposefully stayed the only FTE. Even when I could have afforded staff beyond interns, I chose to work with almost 90 contractors to build this thing. I have found that fractional experts offer high-quality, targeted work, and that approach has challenged me to get crystal-clear on each project I scope and direct resources and energy to. Plus, the constant turnover forced me to codify how we onboard and operate. This organizational maturity never would have happened if we had built with a few generalist FTEs passing Google Docs back and forth.
4. I filmed courses from my online-course-studio-laundry-room. After reading many blogs about how to set up the perfect online course studio, I decided I didn’t need a perfectly positioned fiddleleaf fig to get my message across. I built a standing desk out of diaper boxes on top of my dryer. I positioned my microphone as far away as possible from the chicken coop. And yes: the rooster makes his way into the audio tracks here and here. Hopefully, people find it charming. While an upgrade would be nice, thousands of educators have learned effectively from that setup.
5. For six years, I woke up at 4:30 am to do R.E.A.L.® work before going to my full-time job. I worked in schools during the day, then worked on R.E.A.L.® from 4:30–6:30 am. (You read that part about the rooster, right?). I saw the two jobs as complementary: my experience as a real teacher and administrator allowed me to design programs that would actually work on the ground level, and my bigger picture mission helped me keep the daily drama of school life in perspective. And yes: summers mostly meant even more time for R.E.A.L. ®, often spent on free passes at different WeWorks or leading workshops anywhere a school would hire me. As any founder knows, the time is there; you just have to find it.
6. Okay, I admit it. I even bought fake eyeglasses. Why? Because I’m not old enough to need “readers, “ but every great school administrator I know seems to wear glasses at least some of the time. It wasn’t just that. I actually got feedback that I needed to look older to be taken seriously! As the saying goes: to sell Jones what Jones buys, see the world through Jones’ eyes. (Don’t worry; I drew the line at the beaded lanyard).

Were these moves unconventional? Maybe. Unhinged? Probably. Worth it? Absolutely.

Those early days planted the seeds for a thriving company that has now served thousands of educators and tens of thousands of students across the country and around the world.

In fact, educators know what it means to hustle for something you believe in. At R.E.A.L.®, that means teaching real-world discussion skills in school, so students can build human connection even as they grow up in a tech-centric world.

What are the “unhinged” moves you have made to make your dream a reality? Drop a comment here or over on the R.E.A.L.® Discussion page, where we love discussing discussion. Of course, I always welcome a conversation.

What happens when we teach young people to truly listen, speak with courage, and connect face-to-face?

In Episode 8 of Millions of Conversations, hosted by Samar S. Ali and produced by NewsChannel 5 Network, Liza Garonzik joins the show to explore that big, deceptively simple question.

At a time when disconnection is everywhere—amplified by disconnection, polarization, and increased pressure on young people—Liza shares how R.E.A.L. Discussion® equips students and teachers with tools to reclaim conversation as a powerful, academic, and decidedly human practice.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode:

• Why face-to-face conversation is more than a soft skill; it’s a survival skill
• How R.E.A.L. turns listening and speaking into teachable, assessable practices
• What changes when students lead their own classroom discussions
• How communication tools ripple outward to kitchen tables, checkout lines, and future workplaces
• A hopeful, practical vision for education in a polarized, tech-saturated world

Why It Matters

We live in a moment defined by noise and an aching need for connection. And that need shows up everywhere: in classrooms, homes, neighborhoods, and institutions. This episode reminds us that the skills we need to rebuild trust and relationships aren’t automatic; they can be taught—and they often start with a single conversation.

If we want our kids to connect with others and lead with integrity, we have to teach them how. Face-to-face. In real time.”

Liza Garonzik, R.E.A.L. Discussion® Founder & CEO

Listen Now

Listen to the full conversation now on the Millions of Conversations podcast.

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Let’s Have a R.E.A.L. Discussion® with Liza Garonzik – Episode 8

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