Ben and Amanda kick off Episode 5 with some fun news – They are top 119 in “how to” podcasts through Apple. This is a wild fact considering that when this was recorded, they have been only live for less than a week! As long as no welders or basket weavers start podcasts, they might even start climbing the ranking.

Getting into the core of the episode, Ben and Amanda are doing something new! Every once and a while, they want to take some time to reflect on their experiences, share stories, and get perspectives.

For the first Office Hour, Ben considers the age-old phrase: You can lead a student to water, but you can’t make them drink. He shares a story of a challenging student – one who was egregiously and regularly late, who would ask questions about what to do but not follow through on itemized feedback, and who would constantly struggle but never make progress. This episode looks at how Ben worked with the student to provide structure and support despite the continued and growing challenge. Ultimately, with some probing questions from Amanda, the dynamic duo work to reframe the situation and consider the bigger picture (e.g., what else could be going on for the student? What can we do within the boundaries of our jobs as educators?) Spoilers, the answers are a lot was probably going on and there wasn’t much more Ben could have done.

You, yes you, can join in by sending your stories, successes, and struggles to coffeebreakclassroom@gmail.com! Our hosts want this to be a space for everyone to come together. Tell us about your stories, successes, and struggles. Do you have an assignment that you are struggling with assessing? Do you have students who are doing things you don’t expect? Are you a student that is listening to this for some reason and want to tell us about your experiences. We want to here from you!

New episodes every other week! Check out coffeebreakclassroom.carrd.co for more Amanda and Ben as they continue to update on the professional development they cannot stop churning out. Keep it real!