Dr. Tim Slekar
Zipping Up the WPEN Summer Summit
Bert Zipperer, returning Pencil Buster, active union enthusiast, and retired school counselor, joins Dr. Tim and Producer Jess to discuss the WPEN Summit. Wisconsin's educated educators have been a'talkin education all day. We attended learning sessions, gathered stories, and met with the most fully leaded teachers this side of the Michigan. And now it's time to chop it up. Bert currently serves as president of Madison Teachers Inc- Retired (MTI-R), a union representing retired educators who were part of MTI during their active teaching careers. He may be retired, but he's been busting pencils all day and STILL agreed to do an encore hour with us!
Busted Pencils is part of the Civic Media radio network and airs Monday through Friday from 6-7 pm across Wisconsin. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast line up. Follow the show on Facebook, X and Instagram to keep up with Dr. Tim, Dr. Johnny and the show!
How are the children?
Dr. Joe Gothard, incoming superintendent of the Madison Metropolitan School District now adds qualified Pencil Buster to his impressive resume! He summarizes his introductory framework very simply: people. purpose. pride. His primary commitment is to engaging in open dialogue with the community, so that the school district reflects the community it is meant to represent. Dr. Joe commits to making the small, necessary changes to the structure of school so that every child can flourish, with full pride in who they are. He emphasizes that we need to be asking a simple question to get to the heart of issues in school: how are the children? We so look forward to seeing the positive growth Dr. Joe will bring to MMSD!
Busted Pencils is part of the Civic Media radio network and airs Monday through Friday from 6-7 pm across Wisconsin. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast line up. Follow the show on Facebook, X and Instagram to keep up with Dr. Tim, Dr. Johnny and the show!
Unity, not Uniformity
The clock and the calendar say it's not yet been a week but boy, it feels like it's been at least a year since President Biden announced the end of his re-election campaign. In the months (er, days???) following, we've been exhilarated with the new sense of unity that has blossomed after a storm of division. That unity doesn't mean we are uniform, and in fact, what we're seeing and hearing is a strong commitment to valuing the diversity that strengthens our democracy. Today, in addition to breaking down our week of democracy in all the action, reviewing this week's lesson from On Tyranny, and getting stumped by Tim's Trivia, we're examining some options for the Vice Presidential nominee.
Busted Pencils is a part of the Civic Media radio network and airs Monday through Friday from 6-7 pm across Wisconsin. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast line up. Follow the show on Facebook, X and Instagram to keep up with Dr. Tim, Dr. Johnny and the show!
It is time to push each other forward, not down.
Sometimes, in the words of Dr. Johnny Lupinacci, we have to have a little bit of a backbone with our solidarity. What does that mean? It means it's time to compare some options for the VP slot on Kamala Harris' presidential ticket. Over the next few weeks, we'll hear a lot of comparison and contrast as the final Democratic ticket forms. On Busted Pencils, we are committed to hearing and facilitating healthy debate. It's part of how we're modeling this week's lesson, of Timothy Snyder's 20 - # 12: make small talk.
Busted Pencils is a part of the Civic Media radio network and airs Monday through Friday from 6-7 pm across Wisconsin. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast line up. Follow the show on Facebook, X and Instagram to keep up with Dr. Tim, Dr. Johnny and the show!
Summer Days, Drifting Away…
Teacher Hallie and Teacher Joanna of Educators Amplified join Dr. Tim and Dr. Johnny for a Wednesday when we're ALL feeling amplified. President Biden has chosen nation over self and ended his re-election campaign, opting to pass the torch to the next generation, and sparking a groundswell of energy for the democratic process. Hallie and Joanna are preparing to teach this momentous period of history. But that's a concern for... oh goodness it's nearly the end of July! How did that happen??
Democracy in Action value: popular sovereignty, connected to Teacher Hallie reminding us to have hope in the people, who are the foundation of our government.
Busted Pencils is a part of the Civic Media radio network and airs Monday through Friday from 6-7 pm across Wisconsin. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast line up. Follow the show on Facebook, X and Instagram to keep up with Dr. Tim, Dr. Johnny and the show!
Thank you President Biden. What’s next?
President Biden, thank you for being a patriot and modeling the power of humility in choosing to end your re-election campaign. Your choice to embrace change and listen to the voices of your constituents is democracy in action.
So, now what? Are you feeling energized by Biden's decision to step down, opening the field for democracy to be in action? Dr. Tim and Producer Jess sure are! Are you feeling confused or concerned about what comes next? Well, Dr. Tim is briefly returning to his former life as Mr. Slekar, social studies teacher, to bring you answers.
Busted Pencils is a part of the Civic Media radio network and airs Monday through Friday from 6-7 pm across Wisconsin. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast line up. Follow the show on Facebook, X and Instagram to keep up with Dr. Tim, Dr. Johnny and the show!
Community Schools: For the Common Good
The violence of this weekend is not democracy in action. In a democracy we use ballots, not bullets; voices, not violence to express differences. We'll talk more this week about the nature of violent rhetoric.
Our guests today are here to talk about the role of public schools in supporting their communities. Executive Director of the Wisconsin Public Education Network, Heather DuBois Bourenane is here repping the advocacy and support WPEN coordinates for public schools. Joining her today are two new pencil busters: Sarita Foster, Director of Community Schools for the Madison Metro School District and Jamie Racine, District Coordinator for Sun Prairie Community Schools and co-chair of WI Coalition for Community Schools. Register for the WPEN Annual Summit July 30-31st and for the Wisconsin Community Schools Conference July 30th.
Busted Pencils is a part of the Civic Media radio network and airs Monday through Friday from 6-7 pm across Wisconsin. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast line up. Follow the show on Facebook, X and Instagram to keep up with Dr. Tim, Dr. Johnny and the show!
Democracy: In Action!
Thank goodness it's Busted Pencils Friday! First off, some trivia. The submarine revolutionized how humans thought of and engaged with big waters. When did the United States first use a submarine for military purposes? The answer will leave you... shell-shocked.
Every day on Busted Pencils, we highlight a moment of democracy in action. That term comes from Dr. Johnny Lupinacci's experience as an educated educator. Today Johnny explains how he uses core democratic values to frame how he teaches teachers how to teach democratically: how to guide a student into becoming a democratic citizen. Coming up next week, we're digging into one of 20 lessons On Tyranny from the 21st century: stand out.
Busted Pencils is a part of the Civic Media radio network and airs Monday through Friday from 6-7 pm across Wisconsin. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast line up. Follow the show on Facebook, X and Instagram to keep up with Dr. Tim, Dr. Johnny and the show!
Weekly Best of Busted Pencils for Jul 6
Happy Saturday! It's time to catch up on this week's best segments of BustED Pencils so you're ready for Monday!
This week, we dove into how some states are using their independence from the federal government with regards to education to rush headlong into Christian Nationalism- yeah, we're looking at you Ohio, Louisiana, and Texas.
But it's not all doom and gloom this week! Tim and Johnny recalled some of their best moments of experiential learning with Teacher Joanna of Educators Amplified, talking about how transformative a really good field trip can be.
Busted Pencils is a part of the Civic Media radio network and airs Monday through Friday from 6-7 pm across Wisconsin. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast line up. Follow the show on Facebook, X and Instagram to keep up with Dr. Tim, Dr. Johnny and the show!
Are great teachers born that way? We don’t think so.
Let’s get real here: great teachers aren’t spawned fully formed. People- learners seeking to become leaders- become great teachers through hard work, continuous learning, and community investments. So what is the existing infrastructure for people who want to teach to become high-quality educators?
And don't worry, we're also talking Democracy in Action, continuing to honor Independence Day yesterday while engaging in the civic duty of opposing the creep of Christian nationalism.
Busted Pencils is a part of the Civic Media radio network and airs Monday through Friday from 6-7 pm across Wisconsin. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast line up. Follow the show on Facebook, X and Instagram to keep up with Dr. Tim, Dr. Johnny and the show!
