We're living in troubling times. When you're surrounded by so much chaos and confusion, it can be hard to figure out where to put your focus and energy. At a time like this, it might not make sense to talk about joy, but that's what were going to do in this episode.

My guest is Dr. Gholdy Muhammad, author of the book Cultivating Genius and the 2023 follow-up, Unearthing Joy. We sat down to talk about about why joy is essential in our lives and in our teaching practice. She shares how to bring more joy into your classroom right now, how it connects to justice, and why it’s an essential survival skill for teachers. This conversation gave me hope, and I hope it does the same for you.

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Thanks to EVERFI and The School Me Podcast for sponsoring this episode. For links to Dr. Muhammad's books and a full transcript of this episode, visit cultofpedagogy.com/joy-gholdy-muhammad.

The practice of collecting supplies and distributing them to all students over the school year has become a common practice in elementary schools. Unfortunately, not all parents are happy with it, and much of the trouble stems from a few key misunderstandings. In this episode, my guest Julie Lause explains why schools use these systems and how they ensure that time in class is used effectively and every student gets the best education possible.

Thanks to Alpaca and the EVERFI for sponsoring this episode.

To read Julie's guest post, visit cultofpedagogy.com/community-supplies. You can find Julie on TikTok at @thebossyhouse

If the thought of decorating your classroom fills you with anxiety, or if you're just ready to try something different, I have good stuff for you. In this episode, educator and author Tom Rademacher shares two simple activities he did at the beginning of every school year to get to know his students AND fill the walls of his classroom with beautiful, personal, meaningful student products: The One Word Wall and the What You Bring project.

Thanks to Alpaca and the EVERFI for sponsoring this episode.

To read Tom's guest post and find links to his books, visit cultofpedagogy.com/classroom-decor-one-word. If you do these projects with your students, share photos on social media with the hashtag #onewordwall so we can see!