It was this combination of passion and perseverance that made high achievers special. In a word, they had grit. Angela Duckworth What does it look like to foster grit through teaching? To help those we teach persevere with purpose? What does it mean to engage in deliberate practice? And what Read more…
Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. James Clear, Author of Atomic Habits The quote above captures the thesis of James Clear’s book, Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones. To adopt specific Read more…
Believe me, the reward is not so great without the struggle. Wilma Rudolph When I arrived on campus at the University of Mississippi in Fall of 2011, I had a meeting with my boss, Dr. David Rock, Dean of the School of Education at the University of Mississippi, to talk Read more…
How do you get done the things that need to get done? The purpose of this episode of the podcast is to share how I am getting stuff done during this time of social distancing when online instruction and shelter in place orders have changed how my time being handled. Read more…
What is the role of technology in the creative process? When I sat down to watch Sound City, the documentary created by Dave Grohl about the music studio in California where Nirvana recorded Nevermind, I was astounded to learn that much of the music that I had grown up listening Read more…
How do we respond through our teaching during COVID-19? In episode 19 of the Amidon Planet Podcast, Tom Andres talks about how circumstances can determine your attitude…if you let it. The basic message, and one that we gleaned from the book Fish!, is we get to choose our attitude and Read more…
How do you choose to respond? Imagine getting up way before the crack of dawn, chilled to the bone and being surrounded by foul smelling fish…doesn’t quite sound like a recipe for inspiration. But through the story of a business leader in need of help and a fishmonger who provides Read more…
It can never hurt to ask. When the first birthday of the Amidon Planet Podcast was approaching I knew that I wanted to ask Gloria Ladson-Billings (President of the National Academy of Education and Professor Emeritus from the University of Wisconsin-Madison) to be a guest. She has influenced my teaching, Read more…
What do you do when your focus shifts from teaching mathematics to teaching mathematics teachers? I remember my first time teaching methods for teaching secondary mathematics and the constant need to remind myself that I wasn’t teaching mathematics but how to teach mathematics. It was weird. I was so thankful Read more…
You want to go to Kenya? Yes, yes I do. To be honest, I was a little overwhelmed at the thought of going to Kenya to visit the schools and the communities that partner with The 410 Bridge. What did I know about Kenya and it’s education system…not a lot…but Read more…