SPEAKER_00 0:00

You're listening to the Support Ed Learning Podcast, where we challenge the status quo of education and reimagine what learning should be. I'm Dr. Joe Sebastian, and in every episode we dive into critical thinking, Bloom's Taxonomy, educational innovation, and how AI is shaping the future of learning. Whether you're a teacher, parent, policymaker, or lifelong learner, you're in the right place to rethink, reshape, and revive education. Getting something from it. In the next hour, Dr. Desiree Alexander is going to walk you through what she learned, training hundreds of educators on technology, AI, and digital leadership over the last 20 years, including the mistakes your school is making right now and how they're affecting your kid. No theory, just what works. Welcome back to the Supported Learning Podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Joe Sebastian. Families often ask me how to navigate education and the maze of college prep in the landscape, and without necessarily wasting thousands of dollars in time. The answer usually involves finding people who have figured out the rules of the game that schools aren't telling you. And that's why I'm thrilled to welcome to the podcast Dr. Desiree Alexander here today. Welcome.

SPEAKER_01 1:15

Thank you. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_00 1:18

I appreciate your time. You are the founder and CEO of Educator Alexander Consulting, a Google certified trainer, innovator, innovator, and partner, the 2024 Common Sense Education Ambassador of the Year, and the author of Ready to Be an Educational Leader. You've been in education since 2002 and has trained educators in ITSE, TCEA, FETC, and conferences globally. We're going to dive into what schools are getting right and wrong about technology, AI, and digital safety and how families can get ahead. Again, Dr. Alexander, welcome to the show. So given them the highlight reel, but want to hear from you like the 60-second snapshot of who you are and what specific problems you're solving for educators and families right now.

SPEAKER_01 2:06

Quick snapshot. I educate whoever asks me to now. It started as an educator of students. Now I'm an educator of teachers and educational leaders and whoever's in the field of education. And that is in a snapshot who I am and what problem am I solving in education. I would say education in general. Just um whatever problems come up, not all um, not all of my educational partners have the same problem. Not all school districts have the same problem. So I would just say, you know, the educ just the educational, the problem with education in general, because it depends on the actual whoever I'm helping at that time.

SPEAKER_00 2:52

Well, you've been in education since 2002. And uh obviously you've seen the pendulum swing back and forth, initiatives come, initiatives go. Um, so you've seen the whole arc, especially with technology entering the classroom. What is the biggest shift you've seen uh right now and are schools keeping up?

SPEAKER_01 3:13

I think just why the why to using technology to implementing technology. Um I've definitely seen you know technology come through. I've seen social media hit schools, I've seen cell phones hit schools, and now, you know, one-on-one devices and things like that. Um, and then of course now AI, but I I feel like the why behind um using technology is still shaky. I think we either go too far to the left or too far to the right is either like we're so tired of technology, we want to get rid of it, let's go back to paper and pencil, or you know, all the way to the other side of we're using technology every single day. And some people do that very, very well. Whether they're using technology every single day, they know the why behind why they're using technology, they're using it in innovative ways, but you know, a big part of that is we're just using it because it's there. Um, we're using it because we bought it, or we were using it because we're on Google Classroom, and the student will sit for you know 45 minutes just sitting and looking at Google Classroom. So I think the why is what I see still missing in a lot of schools. Why are we using technology versus versus using paper and pencil? Like, why are we introducing this technology to them and are we doing it in innovative ways, unique ways? Or is the curriculum still there? Is what we want to do still valid when we do introduce that technology?

SPEAKER_00 4:52

So what are schools struggling with? Like if they're if schools are struggling to integrate technology right now, what does that mean for kids and the learning that's taking place?

SPEAKER_01 5:06

It means is learning actually taking place? So is the device being used to placate? Is the device being used to replace? Is the device actually being used for learning or almost as a pacifier? So I think that's what we have to start questioning. I think the the problem is we don't have time, right? We don't have time in education, rules are being made that we just have to follow. You know, I feel like the people that I'm speaking to already know this, like they're like, yeah, we we're here. What do we do about it? Um, because like what do you do to make sure that the the devices are the whatever you're implementing is actually being used in authentic ways to where the students are still getting something from it, that the students are still learning from it. Um, and I think that, you know, we go a little bit deeper than like access or you know, internet, you know, being spotty, or you know, all the things that we we kind of focus on because it's a little bit easier than to look at the deeper issue of why are we using this? What are students getting from this? Are we actually giving them college and work rate? Like what's the point? Are they still learning the curriculum? You know, is it is it helping or is it hurting? Then making decisions from that.

SPEAKER_00 6:35

So I guess is there a structural problem in the rate of change? Because obviously schools are slow to adapt. And like, obviously, we're gonna talk about AI, but what have you seen in your experience in terms of like because obviously COVID pushed the one-to-one devices? A lot of kids now have one-on-one devices, or they bring their own devices. So devices are there, but are k are teachers using them effectively? I think that's what you're getting at with are the kids actually learning with them?

SPEAKER_01 7:07

I mean, like I said, it is uh I mean I feel like it's the same answer that um I think the question of why, but I feel like even without devices, even with some of the curriculums that we push, some of the, you know, even um, you know, offline things that we push for students, is it detrimental or are um will it make them more successful? I think just the why behind a lot of things is missing. And I don't want to say, like with your question, I don't want to say are teachers using it inwards, but I don't want to put that responsibility on teachers. I don't want to put that blame, quote unquote, because it sounds like the blame game on teachers themselves because they're doing what they're being told to do. So a lot of teachers are being told exactly what they're told to do. Hey, we bought these Chromebooks, you need to use them when I walk in your classroom, I need to see the students on them, you know, blah, blah, blah, fill in the book. So I don't want to specifically say, like, oh, well, the teachers aren't, you know, blah, blah, blah. But it's just as a system, um, do we understand why why we're using this? And how do we tell? Like, what is the measurement? Because everything has accountability, right? Um, how do we tell if these devices are being more harmful, more detrimental to our students, or leading them towards success and leading them towards engagement? Like, how do we tell that? What is our accountability measure for that?

SPEAKER_00 8:40

So you have a presentation called Reluctant AI. A title says a lot. Walk us through what you're seeing with why educators are resistant to AI and what's the cost of resistance.

SPEAKER_01 8:54

I think educators should be resistant to AI. They should be reluctant. I don't think uh I'm not one of those buy-in people. Just because you put it in front of me doesn't mean I'm gonna buy into it immediately. It doesn't mean I'm not going to question. It doesn't mean I'm not going to try it and see what I what I think about it versus listening to all the voices around me. And that's why I like this class. So this class, you know, I start with telling them this is not the class to like force you to love it. Um, it's it's the class to discuss, it's the class to ask questions, it's the class to say, okay, well, I may leave here feeling the exact same way, or I may leave here, you know, questioning it a little bit more, which is great. Uh, or I may leave here going, okay, I'm gonna try one thing, which is great. Um, all of it is great, but you what you cannot do as an educator is say, I don't want to hear it, I don't want to hear it, I don't want to hear it. It's here. So, and that's why this class exists. It's it's a straight discussion of what are the good, what are the bad, what are the ugly, what are the considerations, what are the things we need to be questioning? Um, you know, how does this affect education? How does this affect our students? How does this affect critical thinking? How does this affect cheating? How does this affect the environment? How does this like we need to be questioning? So that's why I love this class so much. Because I I think a lot of teachers come to it that are reluctant and they think like, oh, she's about to sell me on AI. I'm like, that's not what this class is about. It's about discussion. Like, let's start discussing it because what you can't do is be left in the sand. Like, what you can't do is just close your eyes to it and think it's not going to still affect your classroom. So let's discuss it. Let's start getting into this discussion.

SPEAKER_00 10:40

So, how do you move a reluctant educator to someone who adopts it in their classroom? Walk me through that process.

SPEAKER_01 10:49

I don't. That's not my job. So within the discussion, I start to show them like these are some of the benefits. These are some of the detriments, but these are some of the benefits of you using AI and then your students using AI. So I can start by showing them, hey, this is how it can help you. Now, still though, you still have to say, okay, well, this is how it can help me, but what are those detriments behind it? Is it worth it? Is it worth the detriments behind it? Is it worth it and I keep saying detriments like okay, do a drinking game? How many times did I say the word detriment? But you know, what are the hindrances behind it? Are they worth what I get from it? Should I use it because it's there? And if I'm the only one using it, is it gonna make a dent in those hindrances? So it's just that kind of stuff. So it's it's not for us, and I think that's where presenters and you know make mistakes is not for us to lead them to the no, it's for us to have the discussion, it's for us to be real about the good and the bad of AI, and then see where they feel. Say, hey, I can also show you this one little thing, this one little thing that it can solve, this one little problem that you have that can have a solution, this one little time saving trip, and then see if they want to use it. And if they don't, it's not uh, oh my gang is oh, I didn't do my job. No, but at least they're thinking about it, at least they're they're you know opening up to the discussion where a lot don't even want to have this discussion at all, just AI bad for the period behind it. So yeah, that's how I would answer that. Um yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:48

What do you think it leaves our kids where? Because obviously there's a range, and I and I on just from my personal experience, I think we're having I think just education on the whole is gonna be very slow to be on the cutting edge of AI, because obviously, usually education is right, they're not, it's it is more of a conservative institution than than what we see in the private sector. With that being said, the conversations I hear, people are still like, I mean, really just talking about Chat GPT. They aren't even like really, you know, hip to what is out there right now in the models and how fast the rate of change is, with especially with a gentic AI, with like, you know, as of the last couple of weeks, there's like this race going on between Manis and Claude Code and all these different ones that are literally able to replicate the actions of administrators and humans. I mean, and like admin assistants, I mean, like doing repetitive tasks completely on their own from your computer. And we're still like, well, it's obviously Chat GPT written. It's not even chat GPT is not right now, even the conversation is like the best model. But like, square that circle for me, and where teachers have, I don't think, uh in the whole, have like the slightest clue of how disruptive AI is gonna be. Kids are there, they either have reluctant AI teachers or ones that are slowly adopting, but nowhere near to what's being used in the private sector. And then somehow they're gonna come into this world either upon graduation or after they go to college in a world that's literally changing by the week into uh they have there'll be some level of adoption of AI in almost every career, I assume. So, like, how do we what do we do with that as educators? Like, how do we get there? How do we how do we solve that?

SPEAKER_01 14:44

Um, well, first and foremost, if I had the answer to that, I would be rich and would be on the beach and um chilling. So, number one, because everything that we're saying is opinion, right? So I am very hesitant for people that call themselves experts if they have not built the AI. If you built the AI, you can call yourself an expert. Um, but those people that are like, oh, I have a solution, this is what we need to do, calm down because we don't know what's coming. Also, we didn't know what was coming some years ago, right? We we didn't know when I first started teaching, you know, we didn't know what the internet and social media and phones in the classroom, and you know, we didn't know what the future held. So I do think it's number one, it is the same thing in that respect for education. Hopefully, the world is going to evolve and change enough to where we don't know what we're preparing them for, and that has always been the case in education. Now, I feel like generative AI and just AI in general is a new ball game, right? But so was the internet, and so was phones in your pocket and computers in your pocket. And so I feel like sometimes people sound the alarm because they make money from sounding the alarm. And like education has always been in this bubble where we're teaching them the now and not the future because we also don't know what the future is. And I feel like it's unfair to put that on education in some respect, because if we don't know what the future is, how do you expect us to teach it if we don't know? Like you're talking about AI outside of education. So you're talking about AI where you know we have robots and we have that are actually doing like really fully functional robots, and we have fully functional systems that are going far beyond. I'm not gonna list the names, but far beyond the jungle type AI that we're using from our tech companies right now, right? For education specifically. So I feel like it's I feel like it's almost a catch-22 for education, where it's like, oh, well, y'all need to be teaching them about these jobs that don't exist yet. How do we do that? How are we supposed to teach them about jobs that don't exist yet? I mean, it's just like, you know, we say things and I I get so frustrated on the on the behalf of educators, where it's like, well, well, how how do you expect us to do that? Like, how do you see that happening? So, you know, the best we can do is teach them for the now and teach them that the future is unlimited, and teach them that the future is coming, and teach them that like I'm preparing you for the now, I'm preparing you for to go out with what I have for you. But guess what? Next year, unless you're a senior, next year they should be teaching you even more. And then next year, you should look at what I taught you and go, because it's changing that quickly. And teaching them to have that open mind and teach them to have that critical thinking, that sweetie, what I'm teaching you right now, you know, if I'm elementary school, by the time you get to middle and high, you know, especially with at least with the technology, not like math and science, you know, well, even well, science, but you know, not with math and English. But with technology, sweetie, I hope you look back and go, wow, look at the crap that that was there and look where we are now. But teaching them to understand that and teaching them to have that open mind. But I do feel like it's unfair to say, like, oh, education is not teaching them for the future. We can teach them for the now. Like, what do you want us to do? Like, we are not fortune tellers, and we can't go, because I know technology is huge, but we can't go into every industry and say, hey, what's next? Okay, let us teach what's next. Like, we're putting too much, like what's happening? We're putting too much on the current state of education. And I don't care if you're talking about public, private, charter, I don't care what you're talking about. I feel like it's all it's a catch-swing too for education.

SPEAKER_00 19:03

This episode is brought to you by supported tutoring, where we don't just help students get better grades, we help them become critical thinkers. Whether it's mastering AP exams, maximizing college applications, or building lifelong learning habits, our expert tutors focus on critical thinking, confidence, and real growth. Head to supported tutoring.com to find the support your student deserves. So, kind of switching gears, you have a presentation called Parental Pitfalls. And it's really about student cyber safety. So, what are the top pitfalls you're seeing parents fall into right now?

SPEAKER_01 19:42

Being hands off. Um, I feel like you know, I used to talk to my because I've taught middle and high my entire career. So my mindset is always from the middle and high perspective. And one of the things I used to tell my parents is when they come into middle school, it's like, oh, you think you can breathe now. I'm so sorry, but you can't. Um I'm so sorry to tell you, like, you think, oh, they're a little bit older, I can loosen the reins a little. No, this is not the time for that. You know, because I would tell my parents, like, this is a time where you become stupid and the friends know everything. Um, so everything is about what they're learning on social media from influencer, from friends. So, same thing with students' cyber safety is that I feel like parents are like, oh, well, you know, I can give them a little bit more freedom, I can be a little bit more hands-off. And that's what's not keeping our students safe. So it's um, I think that's the the biggest mistake is not knowing what's going on with those devices as much as you can, because when I am talking to parents, or when I'm talking to students, because I have a student cyber safety class too that I teach to teachers, librarians, educators, as if they were my students, and they can take all the materials and go and deliver it to their the parents for the parental one and the students for the student one. Is that there's so much out there you have to stay in the know and you have to know what's going on as much as possible with your students' devices, with your students' social media accounts. It is a scary world out there. I don't want you to feel comfortable. I don't want you to feel like, but at least my student, because even if they don't have a device, they're online. Right. If they have access to a device, then they have their own device and then they're online. So it's just one of those things where we can't bury our head in the sand to just feel comfortable. We have to be way more active than um a lot of us are. Um, and and stay in the knowing. There are websites, like again, it's one of those things like it feels like you're in a a vast, you know, empty, just black hole of information. But there are you. Know common sense education is one. Uh there are websites, there are um newsletters, there are things that you can sign up for that kind of keep you involved and let you know what's going on. And one of the benefits for me when I go and do these presentations with districts, like districts will hire me to talk to their students or talk to their parents at parent night. And it's always so interesting. There's always something new. There's always something that the student raises their hand and says, Well, I'm on fill in the blank. And I'm like, What's that? Like, I'm teaching it. I'm like, well, what is that? So there's always something like it's not going to stop. So we have to be very vigilant and very involved. So I think that's the those are some of the biggest, biggest things to tell parents.

SPEAKER_00 22:49

And for parents that are have high schoolers who are going through the college admissions process and they're working on their college applications, they're on social media, they're putting their digital footprint out there. What should they be thinking about that most people overlook?

SPEAKER_01 23:06

For in what respect? For just promotions or for life?

SPEAKER_00 23:13

I guess in terms of let's let's put it in the lens of college emissions, right? So, you know, a lot of students put stuff out there like on LinkedIn or maybe they build a website. Is there something that we're overlooking that would give them a very positive digital footprint for colleges to look at?

SPEAKER_01 23:33

I think, I mean, it's almost because there's so much information out there, it's almost common sense, quote unquote, now, you know, to not put to really just stay away from negativity. That's I mean, that's the biggest thing is to, you know, stay away from the trolls, stay away from posting pictures that are inappropriate. You know, it's it's the stuff that they hear over and over again. But the thing is we have to keep saying it because they they keep doing it. So we we can't not say it when we stop saying it is when they stop doing it. And we know that they're not stopping, you know, so we have to continue to say it. I know one thing for like middle school and high school is like privacy settings, right? I don't think they really care about the privacy settings that much. So talking to them about the privacy settings, talking to them about putting real versus fake information out now. When if you're doing uh social media for colleges, of course, you're gonna have to put some real information, but it doesn't have to be everything. You you do a college application for a reason. So you don't have to put all of your personal information out there for the public to see. So you can still limit that, and you can even tell them that on the college application or in the essay that hey, you're gonna look me up and you're gonna see only certain things because I'm not putting my whole life out on social media. And I think a lot of colleges should probably be impressed by that more than they go and see every single thing that you've ever done online for the whole public to see. So it's just being conservative in that respect of um keeping your life, your real life in real life, IRL, um, and and putting out there only what you want people to see. It is the one one of the things that you can actually control in life because there's so much that you can't control, there's so many people telling you who you are that this is what you can control. You can control what you put out there on social media, you can control the narrative about yourself on social media, and that's what I tell my students, and I tell my parents to tell their students to tell their children is if there's anywhere in the world that you have power, it's online. You have power to block, you have power to report, you have power to click off. If there's anywhere, if you feel powerless in your situation because of your home life online, you have all the power, you have the power of how you respond to people, who you respond to, who you don't respond to, what pictures you posted. You have the power, and that's what I try to drill into them is you don't have to participate, you have the power to walk away from any situation online.

SPEAKER_00 26:17

So you actually have CLLA test prep where I hear you have a 92% pass first-time pass rate for educators looking to become school leaders. Kind of break down, obviously, that's very exceptional. So, like, walk through what's your system and how why is it so effective in uh helping school leaders pass those exams.

SPEAKER_01 26:39

I think why it's so effective is because I just get to the nitty-gritty. I don't like fluff, I don't product and telling is conversation that just get directly to the answer. I don't like a lot of just working around and like filling in space and filling in time. Like nobody has time for that. So I just get down to the nitty-gritty of what you need to know on the test, breaking it down into multiple choice and constructive response. I have a system that I've come up with for a constructive response that I think is super duper helpful. And it's just one of those things I don't yeah, I don't even know where it came, but it works tremendously. So, especially for the constructive response, people are like, This is it. I'm like, Yes, it is. That is how you pass the test. I also take the test every couple of years. I haven't taken it in some years now. I finally need to take it, you know, take it every couple of years just to stay fresh, just to save current. And yeah, it's just it's just getting down to what you actually need to pass the test without any fluff or filler.

SPEAKER_00 27:41

Sure. So the uh you also wrote the book literally ready to be an educational leader. What was the gap you saw in the market that made you say I need to write this?

SPEAKER_01 27:53

Well, people requested it. So I used to do all of my SLLA test prepping. I've been doing this for years with a capital Y since it was the old test, and y'all were on the new test. Um, that I would do my class live, and I think it used to be like a six-hour class, and then it became a seven-hour class, then it became an eight-hour class, and I was like, I can't keep doing these live. It's just a lot, a lot of time that goes into it. So I created an online class because the the the um my word just went away from my head. The um people requested it so much that I just didn't have the the capacity to continue to do it live. So I was like, okay, I'm gonna do an online class. So I did the online class with videos and all that good stuff, and I still offer that. And so that was a very, a very good solution that I can go, hey, go to it's me talking, it's the same thing you get in the live class, go to that. Then people would say, Do you have this in book form? Like, do you do you have this where I can read? Do you have this where I can highlight? I'm like, no, you you got the online class, go do that. And so it was requested so much that I was like, okay, I need to kind of put this class in book format and um went through eduMatch, just awesome, awesome, awesome uh publisher. And um yeah, that's where the book came from. So the book is really the online class and book forum, quote unquote. Uh, but yeah, that's where the that's where the book came from. It really was just a need, and people requested it and people wanted it. So I was like, sure, let's do it. So yeah, that's where it came from.

SPEAKER_00 29:36

Nice. So what is your most unpopular opinion about educational technology right now?

SPEAKER_01 29:44

Unpopular opinion about education, about probably everything I already said. I'm sure I have people throwing like I'm like probably everything I just said about AI. Everybody's like, yeah, yeah, yeah. Um and hey, yay, technology in the classroom. Um, but unpopular opinion about AI, I mean about technology in education. I I mean, honestly, I think is I think is the why part. I don't want to go through all that again, but I really do think that people like sometimes when I say those things, people are not happy with me. They're like, well, we got technology, like just shut up and use it. Like, all right, cool. Um, so I think just saying, like, hey, like, why are you using a Chromebook versus using anything else? Because what I see them doing on the Chromebook has nothing to do with being on a Chromebook. So even if you and I would I will tell them, like, even if you tell me, oh, at least they're getting some tech skills, or at least they're learning how to drag and drop. Okay, then that's a reason. That's a reason to do it on. But if you can't come up with that, then why are you using it? So I think being in the ed tech space that is definitely unpopular when people are trying to sell devices and sell programs, and um, you know, some of them are good, some of them are not, especially because so many companies are just coming out of the woodwork with AI. We have to be very careful. It's just a hot new topic, and people see a dollar sign. Education, even though we are, you know, education districts, teacher, you know, we're always broke in every respect. We have money and we spend money. So people love to come after education. So I think that would be my unpopular opinion, is just why are we using it? I don't believe in using technology for technology's sake. I don't believe in using it just because we have it. So I think that's I think you know, while people want to speed up with everything technological, I'll I almost say slow down and see why we are doing what we're doing.

SPEAKER_00 31:53

Are you optimistic on where we're headed? With technology in general, just in education in general. That's what you asked.

SPEAKER_01 32:08

I almost quit doing what I'm doing right now a couple of years ago because I felt like I was just part of the problem. Because I felt like, you know, going into schools and talking to teachers and educational leaders and you know, everybody that I was talking to and saying, like, oh, you can use this in a Google tool, and you it can help you. And and I do believe that, like I do believe it can, but when there's so many bigger issues going on, I'm like, what are you doing? What are you doing? Talking to them about a tech tool when they have all these other issues going on, and then I I had to reconcile that with myself and I and pray about it a bunch and reconcile it and listen to to my God and that kind of stuff. And and um so am I optimistic, yes and no, yes to okay, this is what I'm optimistic about. I'm optimistic by the resistance to what we've been trying to do for years in education. And I just recorded a podcast recently where I kind of said this same thing. I was like, I'm not gonna say that, I'm just gonna be really positive tonight, but I'm I'm just gonna have to say what I need to say. So I'm optimistic by the resistance because people only resist when you're making a change. If they don't fear you, they won't resist you. So I think that we had started teaching our students critical thinking, we had started teaching our students empathy, we started teaching our students how to care about others, we started to teach our students about diversity and the good that comes from diversity, we started to teach our students the real history, we started to teach our students SEL and all the things that are now being squashed. And because we were making such a difference, that's where the resistance came. So the resistance was actually I look at that optimistically because I'm like, you wouldn't resist if we weren't making a change, which means we were on the right track. Um what I'm not optimistic about is just the reasoning for education right now, I do feel like it's to keep the masses at bay. I do feel like it's to create people to agree and not to think and not to question. It's about keeping the status quo, the status quo. And I feel that even though I do feel like education, that's just education in general throughout history, that's why it exists. I feel like it's being used even more as the only vehicle that can actually achieve it, and that's what scares me. That's what I fear about education right now. You can talk about healthcare and social security and all the things that all the big systems, right? Law and you know, um, all the big systems that we have, at least in the United States, but education is the only one that we force people into. Education is the only one that you will get arrested if you don't send your kids to. Education is and you can do homescrewing up, but you still have to do something. Um, so I feel like education is the one that they can control the largest part of a population. And with some of the intentions that are taking place right now, I feel that that's a very scary, that's a very scary thought. So optimistic to a certain extent, pessimistic to the other extent.

SPEAKER_00 36:09

Well, I'm gonna move it into lightning round. So these are questions you don't need to explain if you're good with that. You ready for that? I guess. You can. I I usually break my rules. So it's like five or six rapid fire questions. Everything that comes to mind. No worry if you want to explain it. All right. Cool. You ready?

SPEAKER_01 36:32

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 36:33

Okay. One book that changed how you think about education.

SPEAKER_01 36:38

I would say probably Teach Me Miss K. I remember that from I've read multiple ones, but just yeah, I'm gonna say Teach Me Miss K without explaining.

SPEAKER_00 36:50

If you could go back and tell yourself one thing when you started in 20 or 2002, what would it be?

SPEAKER_01 36:56

Keep doing what you're doing. Keep doing what you're doing. Yep.

SPEAKER_00 37:02

Worst advice you okay. Sorry. Worst advice you hear people giving educators right now.

SPEAKER_01 37:09

There's so much. There's so much.

SPEAKER_00 37:12

Like don't do it.

SPEAKER_01 37:15

Don't just stay away. I think the like take something off your plate kind of mentality annoys me. Yeah. So I'll just because I have a I can go into that. That's a whole spiel. So I'm gonna do that. Okay, you're not fair enough.

SPEAKER_00 37:33

Yeah, one tour resource you can't live without a tech resource?

SPEAKER_01 37:40

It could be anything. I mean, probably Google. I use it for everything. So um, yeah, I mean, I don't yeah.

SPEAKER_00 37:51

One thing parents overthink about technology.

SPEAKER_01 37:56

One thing I I don't think they overthink. I'm sorry, I don't think they overthink about technology.

SPEAKER_00 38:03

How about do you think they underthink something?

SPEAKER_01 38:05

I'm saying nothing for that one.

SPEAKER_00 38:07

Do you think they underthink stuff? What's one thing they understand? What's one thing they underthink?

SPEAKER_01 38:11

Underthought. Yeah, I think it's definitely an underthought. It's become so normalized, and uh so I definitely think it's it's underthought about versus overthought about.

SPEAKER_00 38:23

If someone only remembers one thing from this conversation, what should it be?

SPEAKER_01 38:29

I'm going through everything that we discussed. I really want to say the power thing. Even as adults, you have power anytime you're dealing with technology and just understanding that, and that you don't have to play the game on technology. You can control what you're involved in, what you're not involved in.

SPEAKER_00 38:50

Okay. So, Dr. Alexander, this has been absolutely incredible. I really do appreciate your time for coming on to the podcast, coming meeting a complete stranger as we reached out to you, sharing your uh your message about education and technology. For people who want to go deeper with you, whether they're educators looking for their PhD, aspiring administrators, prepping for the SLLA, or families who just want to understand technology better, where can they find you?

SPEAKER_01 39:17

EducatorAlexander.com. So everything for me is on my website. So my my phone number, my email address, how to contact me, all my social media, how to sign up for my newsletter, vibe the book. Everything is on educatoralexander.com.

SPEAKER_00 39:35

And we'll put all those links and everything in the show notes and in the description. And uh before we wrap, what's what's something you wish I asked for, but I didn't?

SPEAKER_01 39:45

I think you did a great job of um kind of being well rounded about the things that I do. And I don't think there's anything. I know there's one thing I wanted to say with the advice that teachers get. Uh, one of the other things is the myth of the superhero teacher that really bugs me. So that's the other thing that I hear a lot. Like, you're a superhero. Uh that I hear a lot. And I'm like, no, no, no, because it is actually detrimental to our profession versus uh it's very placating. So I'm not gonna go into again into that, but that's that's the other thing that I want to say that um I hate when I hear, you know, told to teachers.

SPEAKER_00 40:25

Awesome. Well, again, you know what?

SPEAKER_01 40:27

The other thing is we we do it for the love of the students, not for money. This is a profession, like it's stuff like that that I just wanna well anyway. So, yeah, it's just stuff like that that people think they're saying good things, and it's just like, no, you're completely, completely just you know, downgrading our entire profession.

SPEAKER_00 40:50

So well, Dr. Desiree, thank you for being here. And to everyone listening, if you got value from this, make sure you subscribe and share this with someone who needs to hear it, especially a school leader out there. Because it's tough out there for us right now.

SPEAKER_01 41:04

So it is.

SPEAKER_00 41:06

So we'll see you next time. Thanks for listening to the Supported Learning Podcast.

unknown 41:11

Bye.

SPEAKER_00 41:12

Thanks for joining us on the Supported Learning Podcast. If today's conversation inspired you, challenged you, or sparked a new perspective, be sure to subscribe and share with a fellow change maker. We'll be back soon with more voices, more insight, and more ways to elevate the future of learning together. Until then, keep learning and keep pushing the conversation forward.