speaker-0: Have you ever had one of those classroom moments where you just wanted to disappear? Like immediately update your resume and move to another school district? What if those embarrassing moments are actually the best thing that could happen to your classroom? In today's episode, Jen Casatada and I discuss why those awkward, cringy, did that just happen moments might be the key to building stronger relationships, creating joy, and becoming a more human and effective educator. But before we do that, let's hear a word from our sponsor, Tech. This episode is sponsored by Tec. One of the biggest challenges in schools right now is capacity. Educators are asked to do more often with new tools and very little support. Tec helps by combining classroom technology like smart boards and STEM resources with professional learning that respects educators' time and reality. It's support that makes technology usable, not overwhelming. Learn more at tec.com. That's T-E-Q dot com.

speaker-1: Hello, hi, my name is Jennifer Casatod. I am an educator, an author, a speaker. I'm currently working with pre-service teachers at a university in Ontario, Canada. Been in the ed tech space for many, many, many, many years, really focusing on digital leadership ⁓ and wellness. And now my work has sort of morphed into an extension of digital literacy ⁓ and leadership, but around AI as well.

speaker-0: Welcome back to the show. I am excited to have you back now last time at ISTE we were talking about some heavy stuff

speaker-1: Well, student voice is also my jam. Yes, it is. did. Hopes for School, a ⁓ student, is basically a student perspective on educational transformation. Karen Vann, who is a student from California, who I've actually still never met in person. She wrote about her educational experiences and some of the, you know, things that she wished.

speaker-0: And you had just released your That's right. Plug it. was gonna say. I was gonna ask.

speaker-1: some of our hopes for school. ⁓ And I respond to that with my voice. And then there's some educator spotlights in the book as well. So it's a very uniquely written book. just, think, incredible food for thought. For teachers who ⁓ trying to think a little bit more explicitly about what does amplifying student voice really look like and how am I doing that in my school? What am I doing really great? ⁓ And what are maybe some areas where I might need to have a few conversations with staff or my own students.

speaker-0: Okay, we couldn't get more 180 degrees than we're about to take today. We are gonna be absolutely vulnerable today. ⁓ our topic for today are funny stories from the classroom. As educators, we're hit with heavy stuff all the time. We hear stories from our students.

speaker-1: I heard.

speaker-0: We have to make phone calls to social services at times. We deal with disagreements among staff and we might be having some sort of ⁓ just absolute tension with our grade level departments or our content areas and that, and we live that all the time. And we breathe it at school, we take it home with us at times, it weighs on us. but there's also the other side of education and it's the things that just make us laugh. They make us put our head down and shame like, oh my gosh, did that really just happen? And you laugh about it later. And that's what we're gonna discuss today. I'm gonna kick it off. is one of my most embarrassing stories that I have in the classroom. So I taught fifth grade in Arizona and I was

speaker-1: Amazing, I can't wait to hear yours.

speaker-0: I also had the GT students. what is ⁓ right. And down, of Yeah. Actually, the only time in my life I've ever been in a gifted and talented classroom was when I was a teacher, because as a student, I would not be found in that classroom. And so I've gone through the certification in that in Arizona. And, you know, I have a passion for that differentiation in that in the classroom. And ⁓ so I was

speaker-1: GT stand for

speaker-0: doing rotations and stations. I had to lead all my instruction to rotations and stations. So I had a station where I was a station and I had my small group instruction where I was able to differentiate with different groups. I had a ⁓ independent station where students would do an activity or two on their own. And then I had a computer station at the time where I would assign or they would be working on a passion project or something like that. Came back from lunch and I don't remember what I had.

speaker-1: Okay.

speaker-0: But it was really, we had to like revamp our schedule. So I had a reading rotations in the afternoon after lunch. And we came back to that kidney shaped table that I had where I was sitting there and we're reading a book and we're kind of just reading along and I'm sitting there and I'm reading. And then it's the students turn to read and they're going through. I fell asleep. ⁓ And when I say I fell asleep, I was out. In my head, I was asleep for 30 minutes. I must've been asleep for 30 seconds. Because it went to like one student and then they transitioned to another, but no one looked up and saw me. No one looked up and saw me, but as soon as I snapped out of it and I came, maybe it was 30 seconds, maybe it was a minute, but I actually woke up and I had an absolute panic. I had to look at the clock like, okay, all right. It's the same group. No one was looking. I didn't see any eyes. All the groups were working. No snickering. Nothing. And then sure enough, my administrator walked into the room not too long after that. You're unlucky. had never been so more wide awake in my life after that. Oh my goodness. But I literally fell asleep. For fifth grade class, think, I want to say it was like 2011. If you're in that class, guys, I was out. I was out like a light for about 30 seconds to a minute.

speaker-1: We had a grade 12 teacher that fell asleep every class. Like he would assign work period and then he would sit at his desk and completely like we're talking snores. It was, yes. It was the norm. So you're a 32nd. I mean, it's a little bit of a fail, but it was definitely not my grade 12. I don't even remember his name because literally he was asleep more than he was awake and teaching us.

speaker-0: It was a norm. And he got away with

speaker-1: It was a night school class. Yeah, he got away with it. ⁓ yeah I mean, I I don't remember doing a student survey, but I don't imagine any of us gave him really high grade

speaker-0: No, I can't imagine that now as a student in that class were you guys bothered by that or did you just say whatever?

speaker-1: first and then we're like, whatever. Like it just, it was annoying more than anything and like it felt a little disrespectful too. I'm not gonna lie. So you're good. ⁓

speaker-0: Okay, all right. Now, okay, I feel better. 13 years after 14 years after. Yeah. Now, how about you? Is there a specific story in the classroom where you're okay.

speaker-1: There are two actually. ⁓ let's go. And they are from early on in my teaching. And I don't know if it's that like I've gotten better at doing certain things. I don't know. But the first thing I remember and I will never forget this, I was teaching an ESL class. We call it ELL now. So it was a group of students from, you know, all over the world and they were beautiful. And I loved this class so much. And I don't know what it was that we were doing or reading, but Salvador Dali came up. Okay. And the kid said, who is that? And I said, well, he's a very famous general in the army in Spain. And I have no idea where that even came from. Well, we know that that's so far from the truth. Right. And I went home and I'm like, and this was a long time ago. So it's not like Google. I don't even know what Google probably wasn't even a thing. I've been teaching for 30 years. Right. So I go home and. Salvador Dali came up today. He's an army general, right? And my husband looks at me and says, are you okay? Like, why? He's an artist. And so I had one of two choices. Do I go back and eat humble pie to these beautiful kids who think I know everything and then clearly I don't.

speaker-0: ⁓ my god.

speaker-1: ⁓ Or do I just like let it slide and at some point in their lives like is that ever gonna come up again? So I'm okay, and I won't look like an idiot in front of my kids I did decide to eat humble pie in the next day, and I said Sometimes you just don't get it right And I didn't get it right yesterday. So I pulled up some of his artwork. We looked at who he was and it actually ended up being a really cool moment where they were learning and looking at all this artwork that they had never been exposed to before. So yeah.

speaker-0: So that could have went a different way had you not said anything. They could have behind your back said...

speaker-1: Can you imagine? Or they like played trivia and. But my teacher said he was a general, no. Yeah, so there are lots of moments I'm sure none that stick out as much when you say something with utter confidence because you think that that's true. And then you realize, oops, maybe, maybe not. yeah, so that was one really not great moment in my life, in my teaching life.

speaker-0: Thanks? ⁓ my god No, that's not so great. Not so great. I turned it around.

speaker-1: But I think that- Yeah, maybe. Maybe, well no. I mean you spell sleep for 30 seconds, your kids didn't even notice. I like went on about this general in the army. Like how, who does-

speaker-0: So as you said that out loud, thought what if they did see me they just didn't say anything

speaker-1: Well, yeah, that's possible. But that speaks to a relationship though, right? Like they would, they didn't mock you, which means that you had developed a strong Not to my face.

speaker-0: There could be a back channel chat going on. ⁓

speaker-1: They they could, they could. You're right, I'm sorry. I was trying to make you feel better. Yeah, yeah.

speaker-0: Okay, all right. ⁓ Have you ever had like an embarrassing teacher conference? Parent teacher conference?

speaker-1: ⁓ No, actually I haven't. always been scared of teacher conferences, but I always would bring, like I would have kids right before a teacher conference do like a self-assessment of what their goals are. And then I put that in front of the parents. And so honestly, I've never really had a negative conference. Cause it's really like, how do you argue with this is what your kids goals are, right? This is their mark, but then this is the goals for them to improve. That's it. Okay. Yeah. Do you want to know my other really embarrassing? And I don't know what I would do differently. I guess I'd love to know what you would do differently, but ⁓ it was again in some of my early years of actually I was substitute teaching. no, that's not true. I'm sorry. Recollection.

speaker-0: that starts off with, ⁓ hold on, there's another one.

speaker-1: ⁓ It was my first teaching job. So I had just become a, we call it long-term occasional teacher. I get hired and apparently, and the principal said, there have been several teachers in this class. So like that you're like the fourth teacher. So already I'm like a little nervous and I'm, you know, I'm young and I'm excited and it's an English class. It's ⁓ an applied English class. And I walk in just. Life is awesome. I'm teaching, which is my passion. And I don't know how, I don't know why. ⁓ Students started to, it started with one kid, of course. He started to make barnyard animal noises. Yeah, like, neighing like a horse. ⁓ And then we had mooing and then we had bah. We had dogs, we had cats, we had geese, we had, the entire class erupted with a different barnyard animal noise. And I'm thinking, what do I do here? And so I sat there and I'm like, okay, I thought they're gonna get tired of this eventually. So this awkward five minutes happens. They did not get tired of this. And there's a teacher walking by. going, what's happening in that class? ⁓ And I just didn't, said, okay, well, if you are enjoying being barnyard animals, I'm just gonna sit here. And that's all I did. And I had no, like I have no idea. I think now what I should have done maybe was like have a fun competition about who could make the best horse noise because anytime a teacher turns it on its head, then it's not fun anymore. They know they're not bothering me, but it was, It was so awful. was awful. didn't. I. It was a grade 10 class. It was it was bad.

speaker-0: Was this You know, the only word that I could think of to describe that being in your shoes is awkward.

speaker-1: So awkward. So, and then I had to space them the next day and I why do they do this every day? I'm like, I'm gonna, no wonder they've had four teachers. I'm gonna be the fifth and I'm gonna quit. But it ended up being one of the best classes in the end. Like we just, it was just fun. But yeah, that was, and I was so embarrassed to go into because I knew that. teachers had like heard it, you know, are you okay? And then it's like, you have no control over this class and you're teaching. was pretty brand new. Yeah. ⁓ Yeah. Is that what you were thinking about when you were thinking embarrassing stories? Cause that feels very embarrassing.

speaker-0: Yeah, that could be definitely very embarrassing. ⁓ I think I could top you though. You can. think I can. Hmm. I've got a couple other ones. Let me go here. I'll go with the fifth grade one. Same fifth grade. ⁓ class parent teacher conferences. OK, this young lady, she's very good. Very good. Couple little things here and there. Nothing too crazy. Look, she could chat.

speaker-1: Okay, I'll think of Same fifth grade class.

speaker-0: get, you know, gossipy every once in a while, but controllable. And her father comes in with her in the evening for the, parent teacher conference and they sit down at the table. I sit down and we're, you know, I shake his hand. We're, starting to at least get the introductions kind of out of the way. And I'm about to get into the, you know, the data and all that. Okay. And I literally opened my mouth to take a breath to speak and a fly. went into my mouth and got stuck in my throat. And I started choking in front of this parent. They had no idea. They didn't see the flyer. They didn't see anything. They just saw me choking and I just saw look of confusion on their face. And I was literally choking and I finally got it down. I didn't have any coffee. I didn't have any water, nothing around. And there's nothing you could do other than like swallow. So I'm sitting there and I'm

speaker-1: I see the full. ⁓ my god.

speaker-0: And I finally got it down and they were like, are you okay? And I literally stopped and I went, I just swallowed a fly and they just started laughing at me like you wouldn't believe. it was, it was a moment of vulnerability on my part. And that young lady had something on me for the rest of her life that no one else had. But I literally choked in front of a parent and not choked on, you know. food or anything fly of all things and I had to swallow it. There's no way around it. I had to swallow the fly. is disgusting. Yeah. Now, it was a good conversation with a good student. Had I had to turn around and tell this parent that his daughter needed help and you know, we needed to work on these things or what have you that that would have been just horrible.

speaker-1: gross section. That's true. Yeah. That's true. Yeah. I mean, it could happen to anyone. It could. But in a class, like outside, it could happen to anyone. an empty classroom. My goodness. There you go.

speaker-0: Like at 6 or 7 p.m. It just happened to be there, went into my mouth, and got stuck in my throat.

speaker-1: Okay. Yeah. Okay. Well, I'm trying to think of, so personally embarrassing, like as a woman who wears dresses all the time, there's always the, you run the risk of coming out of the bathroom. And I've always taught in high school. And I remember, you know, exactly where I was and exactly the bathroom. And I come out and I'm my, the back of my skirt is tucked into my underwear, just walking down.

speaker-0: Yeah

speaker-1: The street and I know kids were snickering at me and then one of the teachers saw me and like ran up to me behind me and like pulled my... She's like, just start and stop then.

speaker-0: ⁓ my gosh. That's up there. The thing is, you can swallow a fly. I can't get my...

speaker-1: Your skirt tucked into your... No, you can't.

speaker-0: All right, so I'm gonna flip it now. I'm gonna flip it. Okay, looking back looking back at the ⁓ The barn animal what I always I can imagine right show from your sleep. What would you if you can go back in time? Mm-hmm. How would you respond? Knowing what you know now and knowing how much you've grown over the years and all this information and your life experiences you've gone through and all those classes of students who you've taught and gone through throughout the years, what would you do now in that situation?

speaker-1: What was interesting is that now I'm teaching pre-service teachers at Lakehead University. It's a classroom management evaluation and planning class. And so I brought in that example and I said, what would you have done? So I have been thinking about this a lot. And I think one of the things I did well, but I think partially I did it not because this was the right thing to do in my mind, but it was because I was so embarrassed. I was embarrassed, like I didn't want to call the office. I didn't want, like, and I didn't yell at them because that was never my philosophy. So I feel like in those ways, like, you know, those teachers that are like, you should write down, like, I'm gonna... And I never did that. And so, I talked about that with my students and I said, I asked them, what would you have done? And they're like, well, you don't know, that's why we're taking this class. ⁓ I think like not giving, cause we talk about motivation with student behavior and ⁓ often it's like there's a motivating factor. And in that case, it was attention seeking, right? So just not giving it that attention. So I kind of intimated ⁓ that earlier when I was sharing the story, but like, turning it on its head, making it a joyful or a playful moment and saying, I love that you guys are doing this. I think it would be so cool if we read Animal Farm together. What do you think? By turning it on its head that way. So they're like, What do you mean Animal Farm? What is this? Right? Like, why is this teacher saying this? Or just saying, do we want to have a competition of who can make the best noises? Like, again, turning it, yeah. Turning it, it's no longer attention seeking. they'd be like, well, this isn't fun anymore. Like it's not bothering her. And, you know, we talk a lot about that in that class about how do you ensure that something that happens that really would escalate how you would feel about it, like would make you want to yell. You take, you know, a deep breath, four, seven, eight breaths, and then try to ensure that you think about what they're looking for and you address it that way. I think those are, do you have a better idea? Do you have any other ideas for me?

speaker-0: As you were, I wouldn't say it better, I wouldn't say the word better, but a different idea. As you were telling me that story, I pictured myself going to the laptop and looking up ⁓ like the ⁓ farm and barn music.

speaker-1: ⁓ that would be good. That would have been good.

speaker-0: playing it and then, know, hooking it up to the system and the, the N-Class system, and then creating the environment on the farm.

speaker-1: Mm-hmm. ⁓ I love that.

speaker-0: The next day I would have came in overalls. That's where my brain went.

speaker-1: I like both those ideas. That's awesome.

speaker-0: If you had to sum up, OK, let's do this. If you had to sum up embarrassing moments in the classroom, if you had to sum it up for teachers because they're going to have them for you. So for your pre-service teachers, they're going to have embarrassing moments. What would you give them as advice?

speaker-1: Just take a deep breath and honestly ⁓ allow it to be something that you laugh about later because it could just be a great moment of joy in your class anyway. Like just don't be too hard on yourself. It's gonna happen.

speaker-0: Yeah, it is. It's going to. It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when.

speaker-1: And ultimately when you have developed a relationship with your kids, they're going to forgive you in the same way that, you know, you would, they would hopefully forgive each other too, for things that happen. Absolutely.

speaker-0: Absolutely. with that being said, I have something for you. Give me one. I have something for you.

speaker-1: You have something for me? I am so excited. I think like being together is a gift in and of itself.

speaker-0: Last time you gave me a copy of your book and I didn't have a copy of my book. Oh my gosh. Here's a copy of mine. There's 12 food recipes I'd like for you to you and your husband to go in there and just kind of give them a shot as well. OK, because there's a food analogy in every single chapter. And at the end of the chapter, you get a my recipe as well as the video of me making it. So you can check it out.

speaker-1: I am so excited and I just opened the page to student-centered reviews. ⁓ I know I'm gonna love this book.

speaker-0: Yes you are. embarrassing, well there might be, yeah there's an embarrassing moment there.

speaker-1: There's a couple. And I appreciate your recipes so much because we love to cook, my husband and I. ⁓

speaker-0: People ask me, why do you cook? If you want to eat good food, you gotta know how to make good food. Absolutely. How can people connect?

speaker-1: Yes, you do. With you? I can be found ⁓ at jcasatod.com. That's the easiest way, my website, all the socials at jcasatod. And hopefully if you're around, I get to see you in person at a conference at some point. right. Well, that's a good question. I'm doing a lot within Ontario, not sure about ISTE yet, so we'll see. Okay.

speaker-0: Where are going be at next? Sounds good. Well, once again, thank you for everything you contribute to our education, educators and our students. All the embarrassing stories that you have, the many that are going to come as well, because they just don't stop. And I appreciate the conversations that we've had. I appreciate the relationship that we've had and everything that you contribute to our educational space in general.

speaker-1: Thank you so much. I love this memory lane experience. It was so fun. I can connect with you is a great day. thank

speaker-0: Thank you. Ironically that you said the word connect because next time I'll be connecting everything to power so that we make sure that we don't lose battery. All right. Sounds good. Enjoy the rest of your conference.

speaker-1: Yes, please. you.

speaker-0: That does it for this episode. Ladies and gentlemen, if you found this episode useful, please make sure that you share it with a friend or colleague and make sure that you are subscribed to this show on your favorite podcast app and make sure that we are connected on social media. could follow me on IG X threads and tick tock at edtechbytes and the Facebook page at facebook.com forward slash edtechbytes and YouTube at youtube.com forward slash at edtechbytes. This is Gabriel Carrillo signing off and don't forget that great conversations happen when fueled by great food. Buen provecho!