Busted Pencils

Today Drs. Tim Slekar and Johnny Lupinacci are joined by retired teacher turned children’s book author Suzy Scudder to discuss her brand new book Count upon your Friends! As a teacher, Suzy noticed that many children struggle to make the transition between counting in the tens to counting in the teens. That’s why Suzy decided […]

Dr. Tim Slekar and Producer Jakob give their response to Wisconsin State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jill Underly’s fifth State of Education address. How is Wisconsin’s public education system performing in 2025? What’s the cause of it’s shortcomings? And does it all come down to Jill Underly, or are the challenges facing education more complicated […]

There are only so many hours in a day (around 26 or so, I think), and we all want to find ways to maximize the amount we’re able to do in the time we have. That’s why Dr. Tim Slekar was so excited to learn that something called Alpha School down in Texas had come […]

Today your host Producer Jakob is joined by two esteemed academics, Drs. Tim Slekar and Johnny Lupinacci, to talk about freedom of speech. It’s on the tips of everyone’s tongues these days, but what is it, really? Tim, Johnny, and Jakob offer their perspectives on the issue of freedom of speech and try to answer […]

JLJohnny LupinacciTim Slekar

On the last Saturday show Drs. Tim Slekar and Johnny Lupinacci interviewed friend of the show Randi Weingarten about her new book Why Fascists Fear Teachers. Despite dedicating a whole hour to it over the weekend, Tim and Johnny have even more thoughts on the book and, more importantly, the implications of it. So join […]

Dr. Johnny Lupinacci and Producer Jakob preview an exciting upcoming digital event being held by friends of the show the Wisconsin Public Education Network. The Go Public Transparency Project aims to push for “private voucher and independent charter school costs to be listed on your property tax bills”. Why does that matter? Johnny and Jakob […]

Today one of our favorite guests makes her triumphant return to the show to talk about Dr. Johnny Lupinacci’s favorite book! Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers, has just finished writing an incredible new book called Why Fascists Fear Teachers, available now at all fine bookstores. It’s a good book for teachers […]

Today host Producer Jakob is joined by Drs. Tim Slekar and Johnny Lupinacci for a somber episode of the Producer’s Choice Show to help him grapple with the frightening proliferation of political violence in America. In the wake of Wednesday’s assassination of right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University, as well as a […]

JLJohnny LupinacciTim Slekar

This week Drs. Tim Slekar and Johnny Lupinacci are talking all about books and reading. Is our children learning how to read? Are phones and such hurting our comprehension? And what’s up with our upcoming guest Randi Weingarten’s brand new book? Find out this and more in TODAY’s exciting episode of BustED Pencils! BustED Pencils: […]

It’s time to go back to school. You know what that means, don’t ya? My tummy hurts… mom, can I stay home? Today your host Producer Jakob interviews two esteemed educators about their experiences with faking sick, hearing bad excuses from their students, enjoying snow days, and much much more. Drs. Tim Slekar and Johnny […]

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Today on BustED Pencils Drs. Tim Slekar and Johnny Lupinacci review the idiotic ideological purity test that Oklahoma actually spent some amount of money implementing. This test, designed by PragerU, will be given to new teachers from blue states before they’re given the privilege of teaching in Oklahoma. While Producer Jakob passed it with flying […]

As we go about our days on this Labor Day holiday, Drs. Tim Slekar and Johnny Lupinacci would like to take a moment to discuss the recent tragic shooting in Minnesota. It’s nothing new at this point in American society, but that doesn’t make it any less devastating every last time it happens. We share […]

Wisconsin State Representative Angelina Cruz makes her long anticipated debut on BustED Pencils! Drs. Johnny Lupinacci and Tim Slekar have been looking forward to this episode and boy did it live up to expectations! Representative Cruz talks us through her journey from educator to union organizer to her current position representing the fightin’ 62nd assembly […]

When we think about education, we usually think of two types of people; teachers and students. Today’s guests have played both of those roles at different points in their lives. But there’s a third role in education that Drs. Tim Slekar and Johnny Lupinacci have experience with as well. That’s right, parents! You can’t have […]

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Today as Dr. Tim Slekar has come down with the sniffles, Dr. Johnny Lupinacci and some producer talk about an interesting article they found online. High school chemistry teacher Marcie Samayoa is having her students put away their laptops and start working with pencil and paper again like it’s the 1400s. Is this a good […]

Ryan Walters is the superintendent of public schools in Oklahoma. Ryan is worried that there are too many people from New York and Los Angeles who are itching to move to Oklahoma and start spreading WOKE. In order to combat this, Ryan has mandated that teachers applying for jobs in Oklahoma from New York and […]

Today on BustED Pencils Drs. Tim Slekar and Johnny Lupinacci welcome journalist Jeffrey Young onto the show! Jeffrey has long covered the intersection between technology and education, but he’s finally taking a great leap forward into the future by starting his own podcast about AI and education. That’s why Tim asked him to be here […]

Producer Jakob has had enough. This week he’s sending Drs. Johnny Lupinacci and Tim Slekar back to school, whether they like it or not. But that’s got his noggin’ joggin’. What’s it like to be a teacher when it’s time to go back to school? Your host Producer Jakob asks Tim and Johnny to share […]

JLJohnny LupinacciTim Slekar

Dr. Tim Slekar and Producer Jakob are on the bleeding edge of technology; literally for Jakob and metaphorically for Tim. While Jakob’s nose keeps gushing blood throughout the episode, Tim talks about a boring anti-AI professional development session that he recently had to sit through. Is AI all it’s cracked up to be, or is […]

Homeroom has been a staple of BustED Pencils for years and years. It’s a name that invokes those precious memories we all hold in our brains of the times that we had homerooms of our own to attend back in our school days. But are all homerooms the same? Do students today still go to […]

This week Dr. Johnny Lupinacci interviews his friend Dr. Tim Slekar about Tim’s recent high honor. Tim was called upon to serve the great state of Pennsylvania by participating in a panel on higher education in the beautiful city of Harrisburg. What did Tim talk about? What plans does he have to improve education? Will […]

It’s the second ever BustED Pencils Go To Hollywood today as Drs. Tim Slekar and Johnny Lupinacci guest on the Producer’s Choice Show to list their top 3 teachers from television. Host Producer Jakob breaks protocol and actually brings a list of his own, adding to the tension and setting the stage for a competition […]

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Tonight on Busted Pencils, we’re talking about what it really takes to rebuild public education for the future—especially in rural America. Our guest, Cory Kulig, is the superintendent of the Eleva-Strum School District in Western Wisconsin and one of the visionary co-founders of LIFToFFS, a groundbreaking initiative that’s uniting educators, communities, and service agencies to […]

It’s that time of year once again. The leaves are changing colors, the pumpkins are plopping out of the ground, and Drs. Tim Slekar and Johnny Lupinacci are about to head back to school. Post your classroom decorations, prepare your lesson plans, and get ready to see those smiling faces head back on into schools […]