Let's Talk Books - Voices of Reason: Lessons from Liberty's Leaders.A Conversation with author Robert Begley Great leaders aren't just good communicators—they're people whose words reflect their character. In this episode, Thomas sits down with communication coach and author Robert Begley to discuss Voices of Reason: Lessons from Liberty's Leaders. Drawing from some of history's most influential speeches, Robert shares practical lessons that can help educators, school leaders, and students become more confident, ethical, and persuasive communicators. Together they explore: Why communication begins with character, not charismaHow great speakers combine credibility, logic, and emotionPractical ways to overcome the fear of speaking in front of othersWhy schools should intentionally teach students how to think, speak, and listen wellHow effective communication builds trust, strengthens leadership, and helps people speak with courage when it matters most Whether you're leading a faculty meeting, teaching a classroom, or helping students find their voice, this conversation offers timeless principles for communicating with clarity, confidence, and purpose. Robert Begley - Most speakers talk. Few connect. Even fewer move people to act. At Speaking With Purpose LLC, I help executives, entrepreneurs, and rising leaders transform their communication so they both inform and influence. Whether you’re in a boardroom, on a stage, or pitching investors, your message needs to land with clarity, stick emotionally, and inspire change. I’ve coached NYPD officers aiming for promotion, immigrants telling their freedom story, and CEOs selling big ideas to tough rooms. In each case, we didn’t just “polish” a talk—we built a message that commands the room and cements leadership as part of their identity. If you’re an expert who’s tired of being overlooked because your message doesn’t come across as confidently as your ideas deserve. Let’s change that. Ready to lead with your voice? Let’s speak with purpose. https://www.speakingwithpurpose.llc/https://rbegley.substack.com/ If you want to see how the lessons of this book can influence your school, please schedule a time to talk with us today. https://bit.ly/Build-IT-Better-Together The In Search of Catholic School Excellence Podcast is brought to you by I Love My Tech Team. When technology doesn’t work, Catholic school leaders lose time, trust, and momentum. We partner with schools to restore reliable systems, empower teachers, and create the foundation for innovative learning centered on students. Lead Your School Into What’s Possible with I Love My Tech Team. Restoring What’s Broken. Advancing What’s Possible.Find out more at https://ilovemytechteam.com

Many school teams AREN’T actually working on executive functioning when they think they are. As a result, they’re being more flexible and accommodating than ever, giving students a chance to process after behavioral escalations… Yet they’re seeing students continue to be dysregulated. In some cases, it’s getting worse.  The same thing goes for helping kids stay organized and manage work.  Kids refuse to use organizers and lists, forget to use them when it’s relevant, or require a ton of adult prompting when they actually ARE using them. In my free training, I share why these things happen. This free training, which I’ve recently updated, is called “How to Be Evidence-Based and Neurodiversity-Affirming With Executive Functioning Support”. In the training, I cover three common mistakes school teams make when implementing “executive functioning interventions”.  In episode 264 of De Facto Leaders, I share two of those three mistakes.  When you listen to this episode, you’ll discover: ✅ Why students sometimes seem MORE dysregulated when asked to talk about melt downs or why they made a poor choice. ✅ The relationship between executive dysfunction, anxiety, and time perception. ✅ Why students aren’t more organized, even though you’ve giving them organizing tools like lists and planners Plus, I share two case studies, including: ✅ The student who was melting down during passing period, and why giving him more time to process his feelings was the last thing he needed (and how we supported him) ✅ The student who could make himself throw up whenever we asked him to do a non-preferred task who became MORE distrustful of adults the more flexible we were. In this episode, I mentioned my free training where I share three mistakes professionals make when supporting executive functioning (that result in prompt-dependence and dysregulation).  In this training, I cover the following: ✅ Already working on executive functioning, and not seeing results? It could be because you're NOT truly working on executive functioning, even though you think you are. Learn how to make the subtle shifts that make all the difference. ✅ Are severe behaviors preventing ANY true skill development? Learn the common mistakes school teams make (related to executive functioning) that create prompt-dependence and dysregulation, and what to do instead. ✅ Are students struggling with peers, even though you're working on social skills? I'll share why "social skills groups" rarely result in good skill-transfer, and how to shift your service-deliver model to help students self-advocate and form relationships. ✅ Not sure your team will buy-in to supporting executive functioning in classrooms? Learn the 3-part framework I teach SLPs, social workers, psychologists, counselors, and other interventionists that helps them implement building-wide executive functioning intervention, even with a huge caseload. You can sign up for this training here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/efleadership In this episode, I mentioned School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers design scalable executive functioning interventions to ensure students get the scaffolding they need across the school day.  You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadership

Beth Hawks talks about her new book, Show Your Work: Teaching Smarter with the Science of Learning as well as her professional path to the Science of Learning and how she utilized it in her teaching.

We're excited to share an episode that was originally published on EduTalk Radio. CAST's Christine Fox, Chief Growth & Innovation Officer, and Niel Albero, Professional Learning Specialist, spoke with host David Cicero to explore Universal Design for Learning (UDL)—a framework that encourages educators to proactively design learning environments that embrace learner variability, reduce barriers, and build student agency.  Christine and Niel also share details about UDL-Con Live Online, taking place July 21–22, where educators, leaders, researchers, and innovators from around the world will come together to explore Universal Design for Learning in practice. Learn more at udlcon.cast.org.   The Learning Experience and EduTalk Radio are both part of the Be Podcast Network. Learn about more great shows for educators and subscribe at bepodcastnetwork.com Transcript ResourcesCAST UDL Guidelines 

In this episode, you'll learn the first principle of Leadership by Subtraction: subtract the noise. As a principal, it's easy to feel like every email, interruption, parent concern, and staff request deserves your immediate attention, but not everything is urgent or important. This episode explores how constant reacting keeps school leaders from focusing on the work that has the greatest impact and shares three simple questions to help you filter out distractions, protect your time, and lead with greater clarity and purpose. Join the group coaching program Leadership by Subtraction HERE. Get the Leadership by Subtraction Starter Kit HERE.