Shows / Our Classroom
Our Classroom
Welcome to Our Classroom! In this space we talk about education, which is inclusive of, but not limited to what happens in schools. Education is taking place whenever and wherever we are willing to learn. In Our Classroom, we explore educational journeys, discuss instructional strategies, unpack books, speak with authors, and we think about how all of this is connected to education. Subscribe, rate the show and write a review! For resources to help you understand the intersection of race, bias…
Episodes
- Our Classroom
Episode 176 | Beyond the Ballot: Are We Preparing Students for Democracy?
What does it mean to prepare young people to participate thoughtfully and responsibly in a democracy? In the wake of the 2026 midterm elections, Roberto Germán…
- Our Classroom
Episode 175 | Are We Creating Readers or Just Providing Books?
Rethinking Age-Appropriate Texts, Representation, and Reading Environments Having books available to children is important. But is access alone enough to…
- Our Classroom
Episode 174 | When History Refuses to Be Silent
What responsibility do educators have to preserve history, tell the truth, and help young people understand the world they've inherited? After spending two…
- Our Classroom
Episode 173 | The Books We Love Arent Always the Books They Need w/ Laura Jiménez, PhD
What happens when a book we loved as children isn't necessarily the book our students need today? In this episode of Our Classroom, Roberto Germán sits down…
- Our Classroom
Episode 172 | Are We Preparing Students for Life After K-12?
What does it actually mean for a student to be “prepared”? A diploma? Good grades? College acceptance? In this episode of Our Classroom, Roberto Germán sits…
- Our Classroom
Episode 171 | When a Student Is Failing, What Are We Really Measuring?
A student is struggling. Assignments are missing. Grades are dropping. Eventually, everyone realizes there’s a problem. But what does a failing grade actually…
- Our Classroom
Episode 170 | Before You Call a Student Disengaged
A student puts their head down. Another stops completing assignments. Someone else seems completely checked out. It's easy to call these students "disengaged."…
- Our Classroom
Episode 169 | Curiosity, Trust, and the Children in Our Classrooms w/ Inbal Alon
What happens when a child keeps asking, “Why?” In this episode of Our Classroom, Roberto Germán sits down with librarian and children’s author Inbal Alon to…
- Our Classroom
Episode 168 | The Archaeology of Self: Why Better Teaching Begins Within w/ Dr. Yolanda Sealy-Ruiz
What if the most important work we do as educators isn't lesson planning, it's self-reflection? In this episode of Our Classroom, Roberto Germán sits down with…
- Our Classroom
Episode 167 | Are We Preparing Students for Answers or Questions?
Artificial intelligence has changed the way we access information, but it hasn't changed the importance of curiosity. In this solo episode of Our Classroom…
- Our Classroom
Episode 166 | The Questions That Shape a School Year
The beginning of a school year is filled with anticipation. Teachers organize classrooms, prepare lesson plans, establish routines, and think through every…
- Our Classroom
Episode 165 | The Stories Only Your Students Can Tell
Every day, teachers ask students to write. But how often do we ask them to write the stories that only they can tell? In this solo episode of Our Classroom…
- Our Classroom
Episode 164 | Before We Teach, We Should Learn
As educators, we often focus on what we're going to teach. But what if the most important part of teaching happens before we ever step into the classroom? In…
- Our Classroom
Episode 163 | The Power of Translanguaging in Early Learning w/ Elise Genao
What if multilingualism isn't something to overcome—but one of a child's greatest strengths? In this episode of Our Classroom, Roberto Germán sits down with…
- Our Classroom
Episode 162 | Teaching Children to Honor Others Without Losing Themselves w/ Caitlin Roeder
How do we teach children to respect others without teaching them to ignore themselves? In this episode of Our Classroom, Roberto Germán sits down with…
- Our Classroom
Episode 161 | From Compliance to Belonging w/ Suzanne Adinolfi
Every lesson teaches something. The question is: What are students learning beyond the standards? In this episode of Our Classroom, Lorena Germán sits down…
- Our Classroom
Episode 160 | Belonging Doesn't Just Happen w/ Jalpa Vaidya Patel
What if some of the most important lessons about belonging happen outside the classroom? In this episode of Our Classroom, Roberto Germán sits down with…
- Our Classroom
Episode 159 | What Happens When a School Actually Commits to This Work w/ Lucy Canzoneri-Golden
What does meaningful school change actually look like? In this episode of Our Classroom, Roberto Germán sits down with Dr. Lucy Canzoneri-Golden, Co-Founder…
- Our Classroom
Episode 158 | The Power of Picture Books in Student Identity w/ Sarah Cordova
What if picture books were some of the most powerful tools available to educators—not just for teaching reading, but for helping students understand…
- Our Classroom
Episode 157 | Where Are the Libraries?
Libraries shouldn't be a luxury. In this episode of Our Classroom, Roberto Germán reflects on a social media post from an educator who challenged the reality…
- Our Classroom
Episode 156 | From Invisible to Valuable: Teaching Students from Refugee Backgrounds w/ Dr. Yacoub Aljaffery
What happens when schools see refugee students through a lens of deficit instead of possibility? In this episode of Our Classroom, Roberto Germán sits down…
- Our Classroom
Episode 155 | ELA Isn’t Dead. We Just Forgot What It Could Be.
ELA isn’t dead. It just needs to be revived, reimagined, and remembered differently. In this episode of Our Classroom, Roberto Germán reflects on why…
- Our Classroom
Episode 154 | Cultural Humility Is Different Than Cultural Competence
Episode Summary What happens when schools misunderstand culture as misbehavior? In this episode of Our Classroom, Roberto Germán reflects on powerful…
- Our Classroom
Episode 153 | Cultivating Hope in a Time Like This
Episode Summary What does it mean to cultivate hope in a moment like this? In this reflective episode of Our Classroom, Roberto Germán explores the idea that…
- Our Classroom
Episode 152 | When It Happens in Real Life: What Pushback Looks Like & How to Respond
Pushback doesn’t show up as a theory—it shows up in real moments. In this episode of Our Classroom, Roberto Germán breaks down what pushback actually looks…
- Our Classroom
Episode 151 | Does Grammar Instruction Kill Student Voice? w/ Patty McGee
What happens when students stop worrying about grammar? For many teachers, the answer is surprising: their writing becomes more powerful, more authentic, and…
- Our Classroom
Episode 150 | Music and Silence: The Passion and Protest of Pablo Casals w/ Christy Mihaly
Episode Summary What does it mean to stand for justice—not just with your voice, but with your refusal? In this episode of Our Classroom, Roberto Germán sits…
- Our Classroom
Episode 149 | When “Misbehavior” Is a Misunderstanding w/ Dr. Daniel Russell
Episode Summary What if much of what schools label as “misbehavior” is actually a misunderstanding of culture? In this episode of Our Classroom, Roberto Germán…
- Our Classroom
Episode 148 | What TO Do When You Get Pushback
Pushback is part of the work—but how we respond to it matters. In Part 2 of the Leading When It’s Loud series, Roberto Germán explores five common mistakes…
- Our Classroom
Episode 147 | When the Noise Gets Loud
What happens when thoughtful, intentional content is met with noise, criticism, or misunderstanding? In this episode of Our Classroom, Roberto Germán reflects…
- Our Classroom
Episode 146 | Teaching When the World Seems Unstable
Students today are encountering global events in real time. News about protests, war, political instability, and humanitarian crises travels quickly through…
- Our Classroom
Episode 145 | Come for Bad Bunny, Stay for Community
Bad Bunny’s halftime show gave us culture, joy, and conversation, but it also gave us curriculum. In this episode of Our Classroom, Roberto Germán breaks down…
- Our Classroom
Episode 144 | Anger is Not the Problem
Anger is often treated as something dangerous, especially when it comes from the margins. In this episode of Our Classroom, Roberto Germán reflects on anger…
- Our Classroom
Episode 143 | When “Misbehavior” Isn’t Misbehavior at All w/ Lorena Germán
When we label student behavior as “misbehavior,” whose norms are we actually using — and who gets left out of that definition? In this episode of Our…
- Our Classroom
Episode 142 | Arriving Slowly
Recorded from Panama City on the day of arrival, this episode of Our Classroom is a quiet, journal-style reflection on what it means to teach while still…
- Our Classroom
Episode 141 | When Teaching Has No Script: Staying Human in Unsteady Times
In this episode of Our Classroom, host Roberto Germán reflects on what it means to teach in truth when the ground beneath education feels unstable. Sparked by…
- Our Classroom
Episode 140 | Reading with Purpose Writing with Passion
In this episode of Our Classroom, host Roberto Germán explores how emotion and identity serve as the gateway to authentic literacy engagement. Drawing from his…
- Our Classroom
Episode 139 | Boldly Serving Boys of Color: Stories, Emotions & Accountability
In this episode of Our Classroom, host Roberto Germán explores what it means to boldly serve boys of color—not just academically, but emotionally, culturally…
- Our Classroom
Episode 138 | When the Work Reaches Places You've Never Been
In this episode of Our Classroom, Roberto Germán shares a powerful testimony from community member Justin Luttrull about a moment that unfolded in a breakout…
- Our Classroom
Episode 137 | Why We Still Need Libraries (More Than Ever)
A librarian at the Los Angeles Public Library went viral after giving one of the funniest and most thoughtful explanations of internet slang ever recorded. But…
- Our Classroom
Episode 136 | What Book Banning Really Means — and Why the Language Matters
In this follow-up to “The Difference Between Harmful Books and Harm-Exposing Books,” host Roberto Germán responds to a public comment on Lorena Germán’s recent…
- Our Classroom
Episode 135 | The Difference Between Harmful Books and Harm-Exposing Books
In this episode of Our Classroom, host Roberto Germán expands on Lorena Escoto Germán’s blog post “Harmful Books vs. Harm-Exposing Books.” Roberto breaks down…
- Our Classroom
Episode 134 | Teaching AI Through Storytelling w/ Abigail Hing Wen
In this episode of Our Classroom, New York Times bestselling author Abigail Hing Wen joins to explore how storytelling can be a dynamic tool for teaching…
- Our Classroom
Episode 133 | Shaping the World w/ Yuyi Morales and Lorena German
In this episode of Our Classroom, titled "Shaping the World," Lorena Germán invites us to a vibrant conversation with renowned author and illustrator Yuyi…
- Our Classroom
Episode 132 | Beats Brains and Belonging Hip Hop Pedagogy Meets SEL w/ Eric Royo
In this episode, Eric Royo, founder of Hip Hop Building Blocks, joins to explore the intersection of hip hop culture and social emotional learning (SEL). Eric…
- Our Classroom
Episode 131 | Empowering Latinx Voices in Education w/ Edgar Palacios
In this episode, Roberto sits down with Edgar Palacios, a dynamic advocate for Latino representation in education and the founder of both the Latinx Education…
- Our Classroom
Episode 130 | How to Turn AI from Threat to Teaching Partner in Your Classroom
AI isn’t here to replace teachers—it’s here to support them. In this episode, Roberto Germán explores how educators can shift their mindset and classroom…
- Our Classroom
Episode 129 | Championing Equity and Restorative Leadership w/ Jackson Garcia
In this episode of Our Classroom, Roberto sits down with Jackson Garcia, the dynamic Dean of Students at Renaissance Charter School at Coral Springs. Known for…
- Our Classroom
Episode 128 | Why Your DEI Initiatives Are Falling Flat — And What To Do About It
Is your school committed to equity but still seeing gaps in student experience, staff retention, or instructional impact? In this episode, Roberto Germán…
- Our Classroom
Episode 127 | Transforming Classrooms Toward Equity and Justice w/ Wade Kelly and Lorena Germán
In this episode of Our Classroom, we dive deep into what education truly means—beyond just what happens in schools. In this engaging conversation, host Wade…
- Our Classroom
Episode 126 | Navigating Vulnerability and Identity through Poetry
In this episode of Our Classroom, Roberto had the honor of joining Penny Kittle for a powerful, heartfelt conversation about his poetry collection, Blue Ink…
- Our Classroom
Episode 125 | Navigating Immigration Challenges w/ Lorena Germán
On today’s episode of Our Classroom, we invite you into an intimate and profound conversation about the realities of the immigrant experience in the United…
- Our Classroom
Episode 124 | Forced Exile & Authoritarianism: Lessons from We Said Farewell w/ Amanda Quintero Aguerrevere
In latest episode of Our Classroom, we delve into the complexities of forced exile and authoritarianism with our special guest, Amanda Quintero Aguerrevere…
- Our Classroom
Episode 123 | Art as a Pathway to Identity and Belonging in the Classroom w/ Rebecca Bellingham and Veronica Scott
In this episode of Our Classroom, the talented authors and educators Rebecca Bellingham and Veronica Scott join to dive into the transformative power of art in…
- Our Classroom
Episode 122 | Unpacking Privilege: Teaching Race and Equity in Predominantly White Classrooms w/ Dr. Jacquelynne Boivin and Dr. Kevin McGowan
In this episode, we're joined by distinguished guests Dr. Jacquelynne Boivin and Dr. Kevin McGowan, both esteemed educators from Bridgewater State University…
- Our Classroom
Episode 121 | Mindfulness in the Digital Age w/ Michael Davis
Today's episode of Our Classroom dives into the ever-evolving intersection of technology and mindfulness with a special focus on the digital age. We welcome…
- Our Classroom
Episode 120 | Sustaining Cultural & Disability Identities in Literacy w/ Dr. Amy Tondreau and Dr. Laurie Rabinowitz
In today's episode of Our Classroom, we're delving into the poignant and necessary conversation about sustaining cultural and disability identities in literacy…
- Our Classroom
Episode 119 | The Art of Edutainment w/ Jerry Kolber
In this episode of Our Classroom, we are joined by Jerry Kolber, an Emmy-nominated co-creator of National Geographic's hit series Brain Games. Known for his…
- Our Classroom
Episode 118 | Inspiring Literacy: The Journey from Sports Legend to Youth Advocate w/ Brian Jordan
In this episode of Our Classroom, we are joined by Brian Jordan. Known for his remarkable career as a two-sport professional athlete with the Atlanta Braves…
- Our Classroom
Episode 117 | Exploring Mental Health Through Children's Literature w/ Niurka Ozuna
In today's episode, we are joined by a special guest, Niurka Ozuna, a proud Dominican author from the Bronx, New York. Niurka is passionate about using…