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 down with educator and parent Will Smith, whose work at the college level has given him a different perspective on what happens after students leave K–12 education.

Their conversation began months ago with a discussion about phonics and foundational reading skills. But it quickly grew into a much bigger question: Are schools and families preparing young people to become increasingly independent, or simply helping them make it to the next milestone?

Together, Roberto and Will explore:

• What Will is noticing about students now that he works at the college level
• The difference between being academically successful and being prepared for independence
• How foundational learning gaps can follow students for years
• What schools should reasonably expect from families, and vice versa
• Why family engagement shouldn't require parents to become teachers
• The difference between supporting young people and rescuing them
• Self-advocacy, problem-solving, responsibility, and learning how to struggle
• What K–12 educators can learn by looking at students on the other side of graduation

Ultimately, this conversation asks educators and families to work backward from the adults we hope children will become.

What are we preparing students to be able to do when we're no longer standing beside them?

Teach in Truth.
Lead with Courage.
Belong to a Community That Gets It.

A student is struggling. Assignments are missing. Grades are dropping. Eventually, everyone realizes there’s a problem.

But what does a failing grade actually tell us?

In this episode of Our Classroom, Roberto Germán explores what happens when we treat a grade as a diagnosis rather than as information. An F might reflect what a student understands, but it might also reflect missing work, attendance, organization, participation, or other circumstances.

The challenge for educators and families is to get curious without abandoning accountability.

In this episode, we explore:

• The difference between academic understanding and work completion
• Why a grade should start a conversation rather than end one
• How zeros can sometimes allow students to escape the learning
• Why accountability and grace aren't opposites
• The difference between access to a grade portal and meaningful family communication
• Why students need to be part of conversations about their own struggles
• How educators and families can move from blame toward a concrete repair plan

Roberto also offers four questions educators and families can use when a student is struggling:

What does the student know?
What's missing?
Why is it happening?
What's the repair plan?

A failing grade should create urgency, but urgency doesn't require judgment.

Ultimately, the goal isn't to produce a more accurate F.

The goal is to help the student learn.

A student puts their head down. Another stops completing assignments. Someone else seems completely checked out.

It's easy to call these students "disengaged." But what if the behavior we're seeing isn't the whole story?

In this solo episode of Our Classroom, Roberto Germán challenges educators to get curious before making assumptions about students who appear disconnected from learning.

Using four simple areas, Connection, Access, Relevance, and Agency, Roberto offers a practical framework educators can use to examine the conditions surrounding student engagement.

In this episode:

• Why disengagement is an observation, not an explanation

• How relationships influence students' willingness to participate

• Why struggling students sometimes protect themselves by checking out

• How to maintain rigor while increasing access

• Why relevance is deeper than making lessons entertaining

• How meaningful choices can create greater student ownership

The challenge is simple: choose one student who seems to be disconnecting. Examine Connection, Access, Relevance, and Agency, and change one thing.

Before asking, "What's wrong with this student?" try asking:

"What might this student be communicating, and what can I change?"

Teach in Truth.
Lead with Courage.
Belong to a Community That Gets It.

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 discuss her picture book, The Whys Get in Trouble.

Through the story of Naomi, a child whose questions don’t always fit neatly into the expectations around her, Inbal invites us to think about what happens when children’s natural curiosity collides with adult expectations for compliance. As Naomi begins to lose her “Whys,” even the world around her seems to lose some of its sparkle.

Together, Roberto and Inbal explore:

• The difference between curiosity and perceived defiance
• How schools can unintentionally discourage questioning
• Why protecting curiosity is different from simply tolerating it
• What happens when children ask questions at inconvenient times
• How educators can help students leave our classrooms with more questions, not fewer

This conversation is an invitation to reconsider what we mean when we say we want students to be curious.

Maybe the goal isn't to have all the answers.

Maybe it's to protect the Whys.

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 educator, scholar, and author Dr. Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz to discuss her powerful book, The Archaeology of Self. Together, they explore why meaningful teaching begins with looking inward and how self-examination can transform the way we show up for our students.

Rather than focusing on strategies alone, this conversation invites educators to consider the inner work that shapes every interaction, every relationship, and every classroom.

• What it means to practice the "archaeology of self"
• Why transformation begins with self-reflection
• The difference between comfort and growth
• How critical love shapes teaching and leadership
• Why curiosity and humility are essential for educators
• The lifelong journey of becoming, not just teaching

Whether you're a classroom teacher, instructional coach, or school leader, this episode is an invitation to pause, reflect, and continue becoming the educator your students need.

Key Reflection

"The work of transforming our classrooms begins with the work of transforming ourselves."

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, Roberto Germán explores why great teaching isn't just about helping students find answers. It's about helping them ask better questions.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why curiosity is one of the most important skills students can develop

• How questions deepen learning across every subject

• What AI reveals about the future of education

• Why classrooms should celebrate thoughtful questions as much as correct answers

• How teachers can cultivate lifelong learners

As educators, our goal isn't simply to prepare students for the next test. It's to prepare them for a lifetime of learning.

Key Reflection

"The future doesn't belong to the people with all the answers. It belongs to the people who never stop asking thoughtful questions."

Teach in Truth.
Lead with Courage.
Belong to a Community That Gets It.

The beginning of a school year is filled with anticipation.

Teachers organize classrooms, prepare lesson plans, establish routines, and think through every detail of the first week. Those things matter but they aren't the only things that matter.

In this solo episode of Our Classroom, Roberto Germán invites educators to look beyond procedures and consider the deeper questions that shape the culture of a classroom long before the first unit is complete.

Rather than offering a checklist for the first week of school, Roberto shares five reflective questions that can influence every interaction, every lesson, and every relationship throughout the year.

• What students are learning about themselves in your classroom

• Why every student arrives carrying an unseen story

• How belonging is built through everyday decisions

• The difference between creating compliance and cultivating community

• What you hope students will remember long after they've forgotten your lessons

As another school year begins, this episode is a reminder that great teaching isn't only measured by what students know, it's also measured by who they become.

"Long after students forget your syllabus, they'll remember how your classroom made them feel about themselves."

Teach in Truth.
Lead with Courage.
Belong to a Community That Gets It.

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, Roberto Germán reflects on a question that emerged while preparing for a workshop on poetry, identity, and place: What stories are we inviting students to preserve?

Too often, writing becomes an exercise in compliance—responding to prompts, meeting standards, or completing assignments. But writing can also become an act of remembering, honoring, and preserving the people, places, and experiences that shape who we are.

In this episode, Roberto explores how educators can move beyond asking students to write about content and begin inviting them to write from their lives.

This conversation is an invitation to rethink writing, not simply as an academic task, but as a way for students to discover themselves and leave something meaningful behind.

Click Here for More Resources!

"Our greatest contribution may not be the lessons we teach, but the space we create for students to tell the stories only they can tell."

Teach in Truth.
Lead with Courage.
Belong to a Community That Gets It.