The Broken Copier

The tenth episode of “Kicking the Copier” is all about how we as teachers tend to respond to “bad vibes” in our classroom (this time of year especially) in a way that sometimes makes those “bad vibes” even worse.In Marcus’s experience: by retreating from classroom community rather than leaning into classroom community.Today’s reflection, then, is about a realization he had in his own classroom around this tendency; how he shifted in response; and what he wants to take from this learning going forward.As always, thanks to: Alberto Lugo, one of Jim’s former students, for contributing their music to The Broken Copier podcast and also Tom Csatari for allowing us to use his band’s recording of “Woodstock” from their 2020 album, Garden; and Courtney Milavec for graphic design.* Find Tom’s work at uncivilizedtom.com, and on Instagram @banduncivilized.* Find Alberto’s work at djsynchro.weebly.com, and on Instagram @djsynchro. * Email thoughts to thebrokencopier@substack.com or leave feedback at fanlist.com/brokencopier.Thanks for listening, and take care of yourselves! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebrokencopier.substack.com

Lots of schools are trying out different approaches to grading, often met with mixed emotions from teachers. Mastery-based and minimum grading policies are popular, and this week Marcus and Jim were able to discuss how they see some of these ideas playing out. Grades are very important–to both high school students and teachers–as important vehicles for feedback, motivation, and recognition. As a result, striking the right balance with your gradebook can sometimes be a real challenge, especially when people have different ideas about how to do it best. We’d love to hear your thoughts! You can leave us an audio message for the next episode:fanlist.com/brokencopierThanks, as always, to: Alberto Lugo, one of Jim’s former students, for writing and recording original intro music; Tom Csatari for allowing us to use his band’s recording of “Woodstock” from their 2020 album, Garden; and Courtney Milavec for graphic design.Find Tom’s work at uncivilizedtom.com, and on Instagram @banduncivilized.Find Alberto’s work at djsynchro.weebly.com, and on Instagram @djsynchro.  Email us here: thebrokencopier@substack.com.Thanks for listening (and tell your friends)! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebrokencopier.substack.com

The ninth episode of “Kicking the Copier”—and the first of 2024!—is centered around the value of reflecting on our own past “mistakes” as teachers: practices and mindsets that existed in previous versions of our teaching that we no longer believe are the best for our students.This isn’t about being hard on ourselves—growth is a part of this work! Rather, Marcus makes the argument in this episode that reflecting on how we have previously changed as teachers can allow us to remain humble in the present moment and also open-minded towards different perspectives and future growth.The work of teaching is always ongoing, after all—never about a fixed destination. And thinking about past versions of ourselves as teachers and how we’ve changed since then is important to not lose sight of where we need to go moving forward.As always, thanks to: Alberto Lugo, one of Jim’s former students, for contributing their music to The Broken Copier podcast and also Tom Csatari for allowing us to use his band’s recording of “Woodstock” from their 2020 album, Garden; and Courtney Milavec for graphic design.* Find Tom’s work at uncivilizedtom.com, and on Instagram @banduncivilized.* Find Alberto’s work at djsynchro.weebly.com, and on Instagram @djsynchro. * Email thoughts to thebrokencopier@substack.com or leave feedback at fanlist.com/brokencopier. Thanks for listening, and take care of yourselves! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebrokencopier.substack.com

Welcome to 2024! As many of us are in a moment of reflection & adjustment, we were finally able to sit down & reconnect for this latest episode. We continue to be grateful for your support, especially since our recording schedule has become a little sparse in 2023–but we assume our audience of educators can understand a busy schedule, so thanks for sticking with us! Thanks to Adrian Neibauer Colorado for sending in a great audio clip from Colorado! Adrian helps us reconnect to the college conversation we had in October. We spend most of the episode responding to Adrian, as well as thinking a bit about what we’re hoping to see as the new semester begins.We’d love to hear your thoughts, and no idea is too small! You can leave us an audio message for the next episode:fanlist.com/brokencopierThanks, as always, to: Alberto Lugo, one of Jim’s former students, for writing and recording original intro music; Tom Csatari for allowing us to use his band’s recording of “Woodstock” from their 2020 album, Garden; and Courtney Milavec for graphic design.Find Tom’s work at uncivilizedtom.com, and on Instagram @banduncivilized.Find Alberto’s work at djsynchro.weebly.com, and on Instagram @djsynchro.  Email us here: thebrokencopier@substack.com.Thanks for listening (and tell your friends)! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebrokencopier.substack.com

The eighth episode of “Kicking the Copier” begins with a question: as a teacher, do you understand how your students see themselves as learners in the classroom? If not, the first step is asking them—and this episode briefly dives into the why before moving through three different quick ways to begin this shift in your own classroom.As always, thanks to: Alberto Lugo, one of Jim’s former students, for contributing their music to The Broken Copier podcast and also Tom Csatari for allowing us to use his band’s recording of “Woodstock” from their 2020 album, Garden; and Courtney Milavec for graphic design.Find Tom’s work at uncivilizedtom.com, and on Instagram @banduncivilized.Find Alberto’s work at djsynchro.weebly.com, and on Instagram @djsynchro. Email thoughts to thebrokencopier@substack.com.Thanks for listening! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebrokencopier.substack.com

This seventh episode of “Kicking the Copier” is very simple: a reflection and reminder about the value of a good classroom—how it can feel too often like it doesn’t matter in the broader scheme of things when it very much does matter. That’s all this episode is, really: a brief message about why the classroom matters and a thank you to all those who are doing what they can to make it a good place.As always, thanks to: Alberto Lugo, one of Jim’s former students, for contributing their music to The Broken Copier podcast and also Tom Csatari for allowing us to use his band’s recording of “Woodstock” from their 2020 album, Garden; and Courtney Milavec for graphic design.Find Tom’s work at uncivilizedtom.com, and on Instagram @banduncivilized.Find Alberto’s work at djsynchro.weebly.com, and on Instagram @djsynchro. Email thoughts to thebrokencopier@substack.com.Thanks for listening! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebrokencopier.substack.com

This sixth episode of “Kicking the Copier” is a reflection on how teachers so often are asked to do things beyond the basic responsibilities of their classroom—and how “saying no” to these above-and-beyond requests can be really challenging. Still, being intentional and confident in when and why to say “no”? That can be an underrated, important factor in a sustainable, positive teaching career. In this episode, Marcus offers his thoughts on why. As always, thanks to: Alberto Lugo, one of Jim’s former students, for writing and recording original intro music; Tom Csatari for allowing us to use his band’s recording of “Woodstock” from their 2020 album, Garden; and Courtney Milavec for graphic design.Find Tom’s work at uncivilizedtom.com, and on Instagram @banduncivilized.Find Alberto’s work at djsynchro.weebly.com, and on Instagram @djsynchro. Email thoughts to thebrokencopier@substack.com.Thanks for listening! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebrokencopier.substack.com

It’s time to write recommendation letters again, which any teacher of seniors will tell you is the spookiest part of the entire season. As our students have an eye on all these college applications, we’ve seen a lot of different stories floating around about the value of college. Some of the more disingenuous politicians take pleasure in attacking the mere idea of college for political gain, throwing wrenches into an already complicated system that they don’t understand. On the other hand, there is some very compelling reporting about the changing attitudes we (Americans) have about college. We think these attitudes and assumptions are at the very foundation of our work, and are worth digging into during a time when education seems to be changing so quickly.We’d love to hear your thoughts & ideas that help you make grading efficient, fair, and do its most essential job–provide meaningful, actionable feedback for students to improve. You can leave us an audio message for the next episode:podinbox.com/brokencopierThanks to: Alberto Lugo, one of Jim’s former students, for writing and recording original intro music; Tom Csatari for allowing us to use his band’s recording of “Woodstock” from their 2020 album, Garden; and Courtney Milavec for graphic design.Find Tom’s work at uncivilizedtom.com, and on Instagram @banduncivilized.Find Alberto’s work at djsynchro.weebly.com, and on Instagram @djsynchro.  Email thoughts to thebrokencopier@substack.com.Thanks for listening! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebrokencopier.substack.com

In this fifth episode of “Kicking the Copier,” Marcus responds to one of our own reader’s questions about how to build a culture of accountability in the classroom without relying on late penalties. Marcus begins with a brief explainer on why he’s against late penalties and then shares two separate strategies for still maintaining a culture of accountability without relying on late penalties at all. This is something we’d love to do more of, too: responding directly to our readers and listeners and giving our own thoughts on situations and challenges facing teachers in this current moment—so feel free to keep sending in thoughts and questions!As always, too, thanks to: Alberto Lugo, one of Jim’s former students, for writing and recording original intro music; Tom Csatari for allowing us to use his band’s recording of “Woodstock” from their 2020 album, Garden; and Courtney Milavec for graphic design.Find Tom’s work at uncivilizedtom.com, and on Instagram @banduncivilized.Find Alberto’s work at djsynchro.weebly.com, and on Instagram @djsynchro. Email thoughts to thebrokencopier@substack.com.Thanks for listening! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebrokencopier.substack.com

In this fourth episode of “Kicking the Copier,” our series of shorter solo episodes, Marcus reflects on how he has reacted in the past when a student walks in having a tough day—and how he tries to do better nowadays with a simple strategy: writing that student a note. Thanks to: Alberto Lugo, one of Jim’s former students, for writing and recording original intro music; Tom Csatari for allowing us to use his band’s recording of “Woodstock” from their 2020 album, Garden; and Courtney Milavec for graphic design.Find Tom’s work at uncivilizedtom.com, and on Instagram @banduncivilized.Find Alberto’s work at djsynchro.weebly.com, and on Instagram @djsynchro. Email thoughts to thebrokencopier@substack.com.Thanks for listening! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebrokencopier.substack.com