Stranded in the Sky with Philip Jett

Last week’s conversation on Anchored in Education talked about taking on leadership responsibilities in different parts of our world in a moment of crisis. Today, I want to explore what leadership in education looks like in different parts of our world, leaving out the crisis part. 

The Dwight School is a private independent for-profit college preparatory school located on Manhattan's Upper West Side in New York City. They offer an International Baccalaureate curriculum and in addition to the New York campus, have global campuses located in London; Seoul, South Korea; Shanghai, China; Dubai in the United Arab Emirates; and, coming in August 2024, Hanoi, Vietnam. 

My guest today is Brantley Turner, and she has been tapped to lead the opening of the Dwight School in Hanoi. Brantley Turner serves as the East Asia Education Director for Dwight Schools, brings 25 years of experience in China, including a decade as the founding principal of a unique collaborative high school approved by China’s Ministry of Education. This is the first time Anchored in Education has really expanded beyond the U.S. border to learn more about global education in both teaching and learning.

After you listen to today's episode, go to www.escottengland.com and click on the Podcast tab at the top to find today's episode page and read more about Brantley.

I have long said that some of the best leadership lessons I have learned have come from outside of education. I frequently mention the leadership of retired Navy Submarine Captain L. David Marquet. His intent-based leadership that he highlighted in his best-selling book Turn the Ship Around is something that I frequently mention when asked about my leadership style. I have been fortunate to come across another book that has provided me with similar perspectives of finding leadership where you don’t always suspect it. 

My guest today is Phillip Jett, and he is the author of the recently released book Stranded in the Sky: The Untold Story of the Pan Am Luxury Airliners Trapped on the Day of Infamy. I know it’s quite the title, but be honest right now, do you have a clue as to what this book will be about other than what you’ve heard on the title? I didn’t either. I have heard, read, and watched many stories and reflections on what happened on December 7, 1941. But never in this have I heard a story about Pan Am, and furthermore, never had I heard about luxury airliners.

I knew from reading a brief synopsis that on that at that moment when Pearl Harbor came under attack, unsuspecting people were thrust into roles where survival depended on leadership. I’ve learned a lot from this book, and I hope you will learn a lot from our guest today.

After you listen to today's episode, go to www.escottengland.com and click on the Podcast tab at the top to find today's episode page and read more about Philip.

I am fortunate to be in a position in which I receive many books sent to me a month. One such book I received earlier in the year was Made for Learning: How the Conditions of Learning Guide Teaching Decisions. The authors are Debra Crouch and Brian Cambourne. The way this dynamic author duo came to be is a great story by itself, one that we will actually hear a little about in just a few minutes. But more than that, Debra and Brian have put together a book that will allow us as educators to better leverage the teaching and learning process. 

There are eight conditions of learning that our authors have identified. Today, we are joined by Debra Crouch who will go into a more detail, not just on the conditions of learning but how they are intricately connected to one another.

After you listen to today's episode, go to www.escottengland.com and click on the Podcast tab at the top to find today's episode page and read more about Debra.

There are only a few foods I do not like. I don’t do olives of any sort. I don’t do pickled beets. And I despise Doritos of any flavor. That last one I am super serious about. I don’t even allow Doritos to be eaten in my car. So I am not a picky eater. I know a few picky eaters. Jennifer is one. My former secretary is another. But really, I would use the term picky for anyone who doesn’t eat like I eat.

And now I’ve come to realize that for some, choosing what they do or don’t eat is not always a choice left up to them. And to call them picky, can actually be quite hurtful. I’ve been introduced to Selective Eating Disorder, or the more formal term: Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder. 

People with selective eating disorder often choose foods in which they feel is safe. This could mean in terms of texture, color, taste, and so forth. More important for us to know is that these people often feel a lot of stress and anxiety around eating, especially when eating around others.

It’s a topic that we need to talk about on Anchored in Education because I can think of so many times I’ve commented or heard others comment on lunches students eat at school. Thankfully, Linda B. Davis, author of the fictional book Food Fight, a juvenile novel designed to help educate readers on Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder. Today, she joins us to talk more about this rare eating disorder.

After you listen to today's episode, go to www.escottengland.com and click on the Podcast tab at the top to find today's episode page and read more about Linda.

Recently, I have had several guests on Anchored in Education who have written fictional literature. Even though most of the works of fiction have been geared towards children and young adults, I have not hesitated to feature these guests. I have several reasons for this, with one of those reasons being that sometimes we need to escape from our adult literature and be reminded that lessons come in many varieties. The second is that we often don’t realize the various things students are going through because we struggle to connect or understand.

Today’s guest recently published the book Might as Well Be Dead. It is a book that follows a main character who is thirteen and trying to navigate the trials of middle school, best friend problems, and even a budding romance. On top of that? He’s trying to get over his mom’s sudden decision to pick up and leave the family. In the process, he begins having hallucinations of a middle-aged Englishman who ultimately confesses he needs the young protagonist to deliver a message.

This book is filled with so much that can cause one to step back to reconsider what unknown trials a person may face. And we welcome author Mark Goldblatt to discuss it in more detail.

After you listen to today's episode, go to www.escottengland.com and click on the Podcast tab at the top to find today's episode page and read more about Mark.

Just a few days from today will mark the seventh anniversary of the fatal shooting of Philando Castile in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan area. A couple of months ago marked the three year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd, also in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan area. Located just miles from both of these tragic incidents was our guest today, David Mura. David is a third generation Japanese American. Both his grandparents and parents spent time in Japanese internment camps during World War II. 

Already an accomplished author, David recently published his newest book The Stories Whiteness Tells Itself: Racial Myths and Our American Narratives. This book explores how white stories about race attempt to erase the brutality of the past and underpin systemic racism in the present. This book takes an indepth look at how historical and fictional narratives have been told to justify and maintain white supremacy. It is a book that can at times feel like a gut check to readers. But it is one that I feel we need to explore more on Anchored in Education.

After you listen to today's episode, go to www.escottengland.com and click on the Podcast tab at the top to find today's episode page and read more about David.

I came across a new book, recommended to me by my friends at Books Forward. It’s called Welcome to Monsterville, and it’s illustrations of various monsters with an accompanying poem. If I stopped here, you might be left wondering how I am tying this in to anchored in education. Great question. Now let me tell you the back story.

This book came about when the late illustrator Michael Rothenburg began using art therapy to help him through various challenges. He would then send them to his friend and accomplished poet Laura Shovan who would write a poem to go with the illustration. When these two friends started this, it wasn’t for the purposes of a book. It was to cope with things life was throwing at them. One of those things was the Covid19 pandemic.

It was only later when they realized the message they could get out by publishing these works. Welcome to Monsterville reminds us as educators that sometimes we need to value process over product. It also has huge implications as an SEL teaching tool, which is just one area that I was fortunate enough to speak about with my guest today, Laura Shovan.

After you listen to today's episode, go to www.escottengland.com and click on the Podcast tab at the top to find today's episode page and read more about Laura.

I sometimes wonder if the 1991 hit song by Genesis “I Can’t Dance” was written for me. I mean, I was only eight, so maybe it would be cruel that they would direct such harsh words to a young and impressionable child. Okay, maybe it was written with me in mind. But it is nearly accurate in all ways. I can neither dance nor sing. And a recent stroll through downtown Chicago on my way from the orange line to Union Station proved I struggle with walking as a lack of awareness led me to step off the curb and fall straightway onto Adams Street. I can talk—most of the time—so there is that. 

But the lack of singing or dancing talent has never stopped me from creating parodies to popular songs to get students excited to come back to school. I created them as a first grade teacher, a principal, and a superintendent. I even created one during a summer in which I was uncertain where I would be in the fall. I just knew you couldn’t go wrong with a good back to school jam. That’s the power of telling a story with a video.

Which is pretty perfect since today’s guest specializes in video storytelling. John Azoni is the founder of Unveild which has the explicit intent of helping higher education institutions better tell their stories through video. And from personal experience, regardless of your position or level within education, you’re going to want to learn more with us today.

After you listen to today's episode, go to www.escottengland.com and click on the Podcast tab at the top to find today's episode page and read more about John.

If you are a regular listener of Anchored in Education, then you’ve heard my guest today on four previous episodes. And each time Charley Cass joins us he enlightens us with thought-provoking conversations. The other thing you would notice about my previous episodes with Charley is that they cover a wide variety of topics. We’ve tackled such topics like awards and accolades given to students for academics, we’ve talked about the crucial role support personnel play, we’ve talked about family engagement, and we’ve talked about navigating that first year as a superintendent. And since that final conversation, Charley published a book: Leaving Poverty: On Purpose and For Good. 

I had no clue when I received my copy what I was going to learn. I knew Charley had led some talks and workshops on poverty. I didn’t realize that he used personal experiences to help educate others on what poverty looks like from that lens. As Charley says, he is a rags to middle class story. A story that I’m sure decades ago would never have pegged a young Mr. Cass to grow up to become an Illinois Principal of the Year among other accolades.

After you listen to today's episode, go to www.escottengland.com and click on the Podcast tab at the top to find today's episode page and read more about Charley.

One day Jennifer emailed me. She then said told me, hey, I just emailed you. Yes, she emailed me while in the same room. But what she emailed was a link to the book Drama Mama: Lessons Learned in the Imaginary Elsewhere by award-winning theater teacher Kristie Farr. The first lines of the description asked: Are you losing your passion for teaching? Have you forgotten why you even became a teacher?

I saw that this book was a piece of reflection, a glimpse at Kristie’s story and journey through 30 years of teaching. I am always down for a good story. When I received my copy of Drama Mama, I couldn’t put it down. So much of what Kristie was writing about resonated with me as a person, a father, and an educator. I am so grateful that she has agreed to join me on today’s episode so we can talk more about her journey and lessons she has learned. I definitely learned from it. I hope you will, too.

After you listen to today's episode, go to www.escottengland.com and click on the Podcast tab at the top to find today's episode page and read more about Kristie.