Episode 3

with Joe Schmidt

longtime HS teacher in Wisconsin

current methods teacher in Maine

We talk about... the merits of The Simpsons for class instruction, something called "philosophical chairs", and the Cheshire Cat's advice for young teachers.

Magdalena Mata is a National Board Certified Teacher and Instructional Coach in San Antonio

Andrew Swan teaches 8th grade Civics at a public school in Newton, Massachusetts

Links & Resources from This Episode

First, here is a GoodReads link to Joe's first book: Civil Discourse: Classroom Conversations for Stronger Communities (2022), which we reference several times in the podcast.
Don't miss the wonderfully well-resourced companion website for their book from Corwyn Press.
From about 7:30-12:00 in the episode, Joe describes a group discussion activity called "Philosophical Chairs" which is also outlined in this 2019 Edutopia article and this 2022 Illinois Civics Hub article by our friend Mary Ellen Daneels.
If you haven't yet checked out the Bill of Rights Institute, they have lots of great stuff on their Educator Resources page