Podcast476: The Power of Choice by Claude Larson

03/16/21 • 60 min

Moving at the Speed of Creativity Podcasts

Welcome to a special Spring Break episode of Moving at the Speed of Creativity, for March 16, 2021! This podcast episode features an interview with Claude Larson, the author of "The Power of Choice: A Teen's Guide to Finding Personal Success." The audience for this book is not only teenagers, but also the teachers of teenagers looking for powerful ways to build classroom community and relationships with students to foster learning about character development and life skills which extend beyond the formal academic curriculum. In the description of the book on Amazon, Claude writes to prospective teen readers, "This book was created to help you slow down, sort through the madness and figure out what you actually want in your life. It’s a guidebook and simultaneously, a gold mine of your thoughts, dreams, goals and life direction. The stories and exercises within these pages were designed to help you build habits that support you in reaching your goals. Some of the topics you will examine include what motivates you and why, how to build excellence into your daily routine and how to improve your relationships with those around you. You will also explore problem solving strategies and understanding decision-making options for creating your best outcome. Other subjects include how to deal with criticism, the importance of gratitude and how to change difficult situations into beneficial ones. Everything in these pages allow you to not only see things from your own viewpoint but, to broaden your perspective and see so many more possibilities." I had a chance to interview Claude about her book, the backstory of why she decided to write it, and how it can be used by teachers as well as teens to "find personal success." Refer to the podcast shownotes for links to the book, it's companion journal, and other ways you can connect with Claude Larson and continue learning with her. Find more ways to learn with Dr. Wesley Fryer on www.wesfryer.com/after.

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Podcast475: Lessons Learned Teaching During the Pandemic

Welcome to the first episode of Moving at the Speed of Creativity for 2021, now starting its 16th year as an educational podcast! This podcast episode features a conversation with Shelly and Wesley Fryer on January 3, 2021, reflecting on some of their lessons learned teaching elementary and middle school students during 2020, the first year of our COVID-19 global pandemic. Shelly is a 3rd grade classroom teacher at Casady School in Oklahoma City. During the fall semester of 2020, Wes has been teaching two sections of Introductory 5th Grade Spanish as well as his "normal" four sections of 5th and 6th Grade Media Literacy classes. At the start of our global pandemic lockdowns and time of "emergency remote learning" in March 2020, Wes was also serving as an instructional coach at our school, which is a role he's resuming in January 2021. Link to referenced resources from this recorded conversation, as well as links you can use to connect with Shelly and Wes, in the podcast shownotes. In 2021, Wes is rebooting his newsletter as "Media Literacy with Wes" on Substack (wfryer.substack.com). Please check it out and sign up! Also please reach out to us on Twitter (@wfryer and @sfryer) to let us know if you listen to the show and anything in particular you found interesting or resonated with you. Let us know if you have questions! You can also kick it old school and leave a comment below!

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Podcast477: Remembering Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane in Deadwood, South Dakota

Welcome to a special episode of "Moving at the Speed of Creativity," recorded from the Mt Moriah cemetery in Deadwood, South Dakota on June 26, 2021. Members of our family went on the "Boot Hill Tours Historical Tour of Deadwood," and I audio recorded the culminating portion at the graveside of both Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane. These real people from the "wild west days" of the late 19th century were mythologized by dimestore novelists and journalists, who used the outlines of their characters to weave wild (and sometimes sordid) tales of conflict, romance, adventure, and violence. Our tour guide, Joe Williams, is a local educator and school administrator who has done extensive historical research about the area of Deadwood and specifically the lives of Wild Bill and Calamity Jane. In his narration, he dispels some of the myths surrounding these two characters and sheds light on their lives and deeds. Check out the podcast shownotes for related links to this tour and area.