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Conscious Curriculum

Conscious Curriculum

By Conscious Curriculum Podcast

What are the most important things for humans to learn? What are the most effective ways for us to teach those most important things in schools? And beyond?

Join students, educators, coaches, industry experts, and host, Miriam Rachael Freed, in exploring the strategy and vision of teaching and learning, and ignite pathways to collective healing, justice, empowerment, and liberation, for all.

Interested in working together? Feedback? Reach out to miriam@consciouscurriculum.co
Join the community: www.facebook.com/groups/consciouscurriculumcommunity
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Episode 23 - a happy pride month episode

Conscious CurriculumJun 27, 2023

00:00
21:39
Episode 23 - a happy pride month episode
Jun 27, 202321:39
Episode 22 - what is the aim of education, and the meaning of curriculum?

Episode 22 - what is the aim of education, and the meaning of curriculum?

Michael Brownstein started his career in education teaching English, social emotional learning and technology courses at the high school level.


As an education consultant, he has worked with students and their parents, business and community partners, and educators of all stripes (K-16 teachers and administrators, officials at Local Education Agencies and State Education Agencies across the country) to translate innovative education policy into effective practice at schools, school districts and institutions of higher education.


He is currently the Director of Strategic Growth at Virtual Enterprises International, a nationally-recognized, year-long, credit-bearing, in-school, work-based learning program for youth, grades 7-12.


In this episode, Michael shares his vision of academics - and offers real strategies for educators as they move through the course of their year.


One of his most pertinent messages is how important it is to have a real-world application for what goes on in class, so the learner is able to share and experience how what they're doing right now has a connection to the world in which they live.


"I think coverage of curriculum is a trap."

Jun 06, 202323:41
Episode 21 - what's happening after episode 20?

Episode 21 - what's happening after episode 20?

Bi-weekly episodes, interviews only, centered on the POWER of the ARMY of young people.


We evolve, we rest, and we center on community.


Deep love,

Miriam

May 24, 202307:52
Episode 20 - how can we build space for environmental justice in schools?
May 09, 202333:45
Episode 19 - how do we shape our model of reality?
May 02, 202320:22
Episode 18 - how do we make education more beautiful for all learners?

Episode 18 - how do we make education more beautiful for all learners?

Oona is a senior in The Landmark School, a 2-12 day and residential private school in Beverly Massachusetts specializing in serving students with dyslexia and language-based learning disabilities or challenges.  


Oona is passionate about self-understanding and whole human well-being.

Since first grade, Oona felt frustrated with school.

At that young age, she knew she was capable of learning but school wasn't providing the learning opportunities she needed.

After years of fighting for her right to learn, Oona made a cross-country journey to live at a specialized school for learning differences.


Now, Oona is preparing to walk the high school graduation stage and wants to share her insights in the hopes that it leads to the overhaul of the current education system.

This is a must-listen episode for ALL!

Apr 25, 202336:04
Episode 17 - what if we all believed we were creators and healers?

Episode 17 - what if we all believed we were creators and healers?

If we could all hold space for the truth -

that every living, breathing thing on the planet

is equally a creator and a healer -

we might truly develop a shared dream

of collective leadership and empowerment.


"This work is deep and soft like soil.

Good luck growing a garden on dry land."

Apr 18, 202310:09
Episode 16 - how does learning about emotions and the body can lead to radical change?

Episode 16 - how does learning about emotions and the body can lead to radical change?

Moises Santos, Innovation and Transformation Coach and Education Consultant, Leadership & Education Coach, Mindset Coach, Entrepreneur, and "Mindset Mechanic" explores how intentional learning about emotions, consciousness, and the body can lead to radical change for humans, educators, and young people.


He shares his journey through education, innovation, and business start-up, and shares how we can empower humans through a new approach to physical education.


"What we need are teachers to understand emotions and teach students how to actualize and internalize emotions - build grit and build growth mindset...that's where the expertise of teachers should be."


Find Moises' leadership and education work @lifeprojectnj

and his mindset / life coaching work @vidaproject

Apr 11, 202313:51
Episode 15 - what can we do about the increased violence about young people?

Episode 15 - what can we do about the increased violence about young people?

What Happened To You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing by Bruce D. Perry and Oprah Winfrey inspired much of this episode.


Amidst a country of continued shooting, violence against Trans, Black, POC, Disabled communities (and beyond), and perpetual individual and collective traumas...it can feel almost impossible to know what to do, or how to have a positive impact.


The answers are simple - not easy, but simple. Listen for more.


To connect with Miriam, reach out at:

miriam@consciouscurriculum.co


Thank you for listening, and sharing with people you love.

Apr 04, 202316:52
Episode 14 - what do students who love school wish teachers knew?

Episode 14 - what do students who love school wish teachers knew?

In this Episode, Logan Friedman, an 8th grade student in Westchester public schools shares his perspective on good teaching, necessary learning, and what we can do to develop wise humans in public schools.

Mar 28, 202314:26
Episode 12 - how can we develop healthy and restorative "work" identities (and schools)?

Episode 12 - how can we develop healthy and restorative "work" identities (and schools)?

Sarah Miller is a visionary in education and has served to support transformational models of education throughout her 20 year career in schools as teacher, leader, coach, and consultant.

She started her career in 2002 teaching in rural Mississippi, and then moved to Boston to support the building of a charter network specifically designed to serve youth who are disconnected from formal educational institutions.  There she fell in love with managing and training adults to find their passions and voices in the field of education.  She has held various leadership roles including Head of School and Chief Academic Officer - she has also taught in Boston University's Graduate School of Education.  Her true love is training adults in the work.

Sarah also has Cystic Fibrosis and is currently on disability and living in Nashville.  While she volunteers as a consultant to a charter network in Chicago, she isn't currently working in the field formally.  She loves discussing education and would love for you to reach out by emailing here at sarah.corbett.miller@gmail.com.

In this episode Sarah shares how her illness impacted her understanding of her identity and relationship to work, inviting us to be intentional, thoughtful, and healthy in the visions we set for how we want to impact the world through our work.

Sarah shares innovative strategies that would support all people connected to schools - students, teachers, leaders, parents, and beyond - and she addresses the roadblocks we continue to encounter as we apply what we know about teaching, learning, and holistic human development.

This episode will leave you inspired, ignited, and ready to shift your practice so you can integrate more joy, liberation, and balance into your personal and professional lives.

Have any takeaways from the episode?  Drop them below!  We would love to hear from you.

Mar 14, 202318:09
Episode 11 - what's my why? how did I get here? what's the dream?
Mar 08, 202310:56
Episode 10 - how might we best prepare for teaching and learning leading up to the holiday break?

Episode 10 - how might we best prepare for teaching and learning leading up to the holiday break?

No matter the age of the students you teach, how can we leverage the pre-holiday academic season most wisely for meaningful teaching and learning?


How can we navigate the emotional landscape of the past year, and holiday season, to support our personal needs, and the needs of our students and communities?


More in the episode.


Wishing so much love to you and yours.  Happy Holidays

Miriam

Dec 19, 202210:21
Episode 9 - what does "conscious" goal-setting live like?
Dec 12, 202215:48
Episode 8 - what does "trauma-informed care" mean at the level of the nervous system?

Episode 8 - what does "trauma-informed care" mean at the level of the nervous system?

Elisabeth Kristof is an expert in using applied neurology to move people out of pain, unwanted behavior and stress response. She is the founder of Brain-Based Wellness, an online platform that trains the nervous system and body to resolve old patterns, improve performance and increase well-being. 

She is the co-founder of the Neuro-Somatic Intelligence Coaching Certification Program, an accredited practitioner certification - one that Miriam has completed!

Elisabeth is a certified applied neurology practitioner who has been in the movement and wellness industry since 2007. She works with entrepreneurs, athletes, leaders and creatives to improve resilience, manage stress and regulate emotions through intentional, science-based brain training. Her research and work with hundreds of clients taught her that healing and change must occur in both the body and the mind, that each body, mind, and nervous system is unique, and most importantly, that with the right tools, we are all capable of healing.

Get in on Elisabeth's exclusive Free Video Training - her proven step-by-step system to PROCESS stress, RESOLVE anxiety, STOP pain, DROP unwanted behaviors and INCREASE clarity and focus.

It’s easier than you think. If you can watch a video, you can heal your nervous system.

Go here to get your free videos now:

https://brainbased-wellness.com/register/free-subscription/

Dec 05, 202219:03
Episode 7 - why are kids so distracted these days? what can we do about it?

Episode 7 - why are kids so distracted these days? what can we do about it?

These are two questions I am hearing from a lot of teachers.


The bigger questions, at the root of these questions are: 

- What has school come to in the United States?

- What's one simple thing we can do, amidst an epically ineffective system, to massively support ourselves and our young people?


In this episode, I offer concrete, practical, bite-sized shifts that to lead to radical change...and they are all connected to us SLOWING DOWN.


Let me know what you think!

Nov 28, 202215:35
Episode 6 - why don't we talk about mental health in schools?

Episode 6 - why don't we talk about mental health in schools?

Jason Valle grew up in the South Bronx, and graduated high school in June of 2020, at the beginnings of the Covid Pandemic.

Throughout school, his struggles with mental health significantly impacted his academic progress and social-emotional development.


Jason implores educational institutions to do better for young people.


Hear his story, and amplify his voice.


Share this episode.


Reviews help our show gain visibility, so the people who need to hear it can!


*note: this episode was previously published in April of 2021 - it was our most-listened episode in our first launch of the show.

Nov 21, 202215:28
Episode 5 - how do we support students who don't seem to care?

Episode 5 - how do we support students who don't seem to care?

This question tends to cut us at our core.  


We pour so much love into our work, and yet...


sometimes we don't see the impact.


PATIENCE and BELIEF are no doubt important - - but what else can we do?


Listen to find out.


Nov 14, 202214:51
Episode 4 - how can educational equity really live in schools?

Episode 4 - how can educational equity really live in schools?

David E. Kirkland, (@davidekirkland) is a Professor of Urban Education at New York University, and served as the long-standing Executive Director of The Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and The Transformation of Schools until starting his own educational equity company, forwardED

He is an activist and educator, cultural critic and author, and a leading national scholar and advocate for educational justice. 

While Dr. Kirkland’s work has always centered equity and culturally and linguistically responsive-sustaining education, his more recent work with the NYU Metro Center has focused on supporting instruction responsive to the social, cultural, and emotional needs of linguistically and culturally plural students. 

Dr. Kirkland taught secondary school and served as a school administrator in Michigan and New York. 

He has also organized youth empowerment and youth mentoring programs in major U.S. cities and currently leads efforts to enhance education options for vulnerable youth throughout the U.S. Dr. Kirkland has received many awards for his research and educational advocacy work; a full list can be found here

Learn more about Dr. Kirkland by clicking on the following links:

“A Search Past Silence: The Literacy of Black Males”

"How a Dyslexic Boy Fell in Love with Words"

"Elements of Oppression"

Nov 07, 202226:12
Episode 3 - how can we prime ourselves (and our students) for conscious living?

Episode 3 - how can we prime ourselves (and our students) for conscious living?

In this Halloween Episode, we tackle that there are few things scarier than what we are ACTUALLY practicing in schools - and how those practices impact how we function (or don't) as adults.


What makes us human is that we are CONSCIOUS.  We have capacity to reflect, and make change, and create with intention.

...but we're not really practiced in those elements of consciousness in school.  We're taught what to do, how to do, when to do, and why to do...but we're never really asked to consider our own conscious experience.


How CAN we teach ourselves, and our students, better conscious practice?

In this episode, Miriam guides through three practical frameworks - and simple strategies - that can be incorporated in personal and professional life - to support you, and the people you serve, to tap into their deepest consciousness and potential. 

Oct 31, 202218:09
Episode 2 - what can we learn from play and kindness?

Episode 2 - what can we learn from play and kindness?

It can be really easy for us, as adults, to dismiss or ignore the inner wisdoms of young people - especially when they are not our own.


In this episode, then-7 year old Audrey Z. explores her:::

- ideal school day

- BEST school ever

- the relationship of play and learning

- the impact of social-emotional limitations in adults

- and so much more...


Enjoy, and be sure to like/review/share/subscribe!

Oct 24, 202212:50
Episode 1 - what's this show even about, and why are you producing it?

Episode 1 - what's this show even about, and why are you producing it?

There's so much that we could be teaching that we're not.

In this episode, Miriam explores her intention, vision, and core framework for Conscious Curriculum - as a philosophy of education, and for this podcast overall.

Miriam also shares her journey in education - both within and apart from academia - from depression to trauma resolution, student to teacher, dreamer to doer, and beyond.

Oct 17, 202223:26