The Tires I Fix 🛞🔧

Dear colleague,

I'm not a mechanic, but I can change a flat tire. I don't know how to fix a transmission or build an engine, but if you're stranded on the side of the road with a popped tire, I got you.

My work as a writer is a lot like that. I can't figure out how to overhaul the school system to make it better. (I mean, except for four-day schoolweeks… .) But, I can help with a few basic problems:

1. Overwhelm (for teachers, administrators, students);
2. Demotivation (for teachers, admin, students);
3. Clarity.

These are the flat tires I know how to fix.

Because I haven't in a long time, let me share with you in one place the things I've made to help folks who are struggling with those kinds of flat tires.

For the Overwhelmed Teacher…

• Book — These 6 Things: How to Focus Your Teaching on What Matters Most. I give you permission to ignore 90% of the things you believe you have to be good at and focus on improving in just six areas, one at a time. Runs about $30 on Amazon.
• Strategy — Pop-Up Debates. Great if you need something new to engage your students in the work of learning and the ideas of your classroom. Used by countless teachers in all kinds of settings at all kinds of grade levels. Simple but powerful. Free guide here or support my work by purchasing the Pop-Up Debate Starter Kit (pay-what-you-want).
• Curriculum — Mechanics Instruction that Sticks. For ELA teachers who are overwhelmed by the mechanical issues they see in student writing. Used with great fanfare by English teachers around the country. Developed by a genius I used to work with before he retired (Doug Stark); published by yours truly. Runs from $25-$70 depending on how many of the levels you want.
• Mini-course — Time Management for Teachers. I took a novel approach to the issue of time management here, arguing that managing one's time is about managing one's life and can't be done simply with tips and tactics. If you're looking for the perfect “system,” keep looking. If you're looking for 10 timeless practices for time management (including satisficing, skipping, and rest), check it out. Costs $99 for a lifetime license; course is 100% asynchronous.

For the Teacher Struggling With Student Motivation Issues…

• Book — The Will to Learn: Cultivating Student Motivation Without Losing Your Own. I lay out a groundbreaking methodology for thinking about student motivation and simple, reliable methods to improve it. This book is why I get the normal-yet-miraculous results I see in my classroom. Runs about $30 on Amazon.
• Course — The Student Motivation Course. It's deep, it's asynchronous, and it contains even more research than my book on the topic. Folks have been learning through this course since 2018. Lots of strong reviews. Costs $199 for a single license on Teachable.
• Mini-Course — Teacher Credibility. Not wanting a 35+ lesson course? This one's just 10 lessons long, and each lesson gets you victories on the journey to deeper and stronger Credibility with students. I spend ~10 minutes per lesson talking you through an exercise, and then you do it. Great bite-sized PD on the most fundamental of the Five Key Beliefs. Costs $99 for a single license on Teachable.
• Mini-Course — From “Why Do We Have to Learn This?” to “This is Actually Cool!” Same idea as the Credibility mini-course, except this one covers an even trickier set of problems: what can we do for students who believe school or our subject is stupid? Pointless? Boring? Irrelevant? A waste of time? Thankfully, there's lots we can do. Costs $99 for a single license on Teachable.
• Strategy — Moments of Genuine Connection. This is the operating system of a well-functioning classroom. Stop leaving care signals to chance, start peacefully and systematically ensuring that every student knows that you see, value, and know them. Free guide here; upcoming LIVE, 60-minute workshop on it here.
• Strategy — Mini-Sermons. No one is better situated to speak to the Value of the courses I teach than me. Not parents, not administrators, not the culture. I know all the ways in which my subject is good and its work is worthwhile. The trouble is, left to my own devices, I don't communicate this enough. Free guide on the strategy here.
• Strategy — Valued Within Exercises. The best way for students to develop a long-term appreciation for learning is to figure out why it's valuable for themselves. This takes practice and intentionally designed exercises. Free guide to this strategy here.
• Strategy — Woodenization. The genius of John Wooden wasn't in accruing more championship rings than he could fit on one hand; it was in breaking basketball down into its smallest pieces and making these pieces crystal clear for his students. Teachers can take and use Wooden's ethos on learning-conducive behaviors big and small. Free guide to this strategy here.
• Strategy — Define Success: Wisely, Early, Often. Efficacy is at work when a student believes they can succeed at a given kind of learning activity. The trouble is that word succeed — what does it mean? For many students, they define success as getting a good grade. That's not a good recipe for motivation for learning. Free guide to this strategy here.

There are more things to do when you're struggling with student motivation problems, but the point of this article is to give you some promising places to start.

For the Earnest Administrator in Charge of PD…

Every educator has experienced bad professional development, and that's because creating enjoyable and productive professional development experiences is hard stuff. I've developed two main ways that I help administrators in this work.

• Group viewing licenses for all of my mini-courses — Up above, I briefly described my mini-courses on teacher time management, teacher credibility, and helping students who think school is a dumb ol' waste of time. The good news for admin is that each of these courses was designed not just for individual use but for whole faculty viewing. It works like this: admin play the video (10 minutes or less) and then facilitate discussion amongst faculty using the prompts and activities listed beneath the video. This methodology was experimental when I came up with it in the early 2020s, but by the time of this writing, it's been used successfully by schools all around the country and the world. Viewing licenses are priced based on the number of viewers: up to 10 viewers = $499; 11-20 = $999; 21-30 = $1,499; 31-40 = $1,999; 41-50 = $2,499; 51-75 = $3,499; 76-infinity = $3,999. Links to each course are above, and you can email me for details or questions: support_at_davestuartjr.com.
• In-person workshops or speaking — I do a limited number of keynotes, keynotes with breakouts, and half-day workshops per year. Learn more about those offerings here and inquire here for dates and rates. The goal of any in-person work I do is to act as your thought partner before, during, and after the event.

So if you've got flat tires and need a new one, that's what this humble little roadside repair guy can do to help. 🙂

Teaching right beside you,

DSJR