20 Minutes of Teaching Brilliance (On the Road with Trust-Based Observations)

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[00:00:02] Intro: Welcome to 20 minutes of teaching brilliance on the road with Trust Based Observations. Every week while training school leaders, Craig Randall, the developer of Trust Based Observations, witnesses brilliant teaching during their 20 minute observations. Wanting to share that teaching brilliance with others, we talk shop with those teachers, learning what they do that is so impactful. We hope you enjoy.

[00:00:25] Craig Randall: Hi, and welcome to another edition of 20 Minutes of Teaching Brilliance on the Road with trust-based observations. I think about three weeks ago, I was at the Lovet School in Atlanta, Georgia, and I was able to watch. Mariah, I was just telling her when we were talking before, she's so, her energy is so intense and crazy.

[00:00:48] Craig Randall: When they were doing this lab, she was like the Tasmanian devil. I'm aging myself there By even talking about that cartoon all spinning around the room, helping the kids out all over. It was just a joy to watch her passion and watch what was going on in the class and the learning. And I knew right away that this was 20 minutes of teaching brilliance and wanted to have her on the podcast.

[00:01:08] Craig Randall: Mariah, a self-described nerd as she told me moments ago. Would you please introduce yourself to the audience and just tell them a little bit about your journey and how you got to become a teacher and where you're at now, and anything else you want to tell us.

[00:01:23] Moriah: Hi I'm Mariah Houseman and goodness. My journey to teaching is long and winding. I think I was told since about the second grade that I should be. A teacher, but I am nothing if not obstinate and liking to say no when people say, oh, you should do this thing. And so I kept saying no and I.

[00:01:46] Moriah: Was focused on becoming a medical researcher. And so I grew up and got a degree in neuroscience because that's what nerds do. And then I did medical research for a few years, a lot of cancer research and cellular biology research. And then I, my, my kind of goals shift and I missed. Working with you know, different groups of people and I love my science nerds, but it's nice to be in a greater community and I just have always loved kids.

[00:02:15] Moriah: And so I decided I wanted to go back to school and get my master's and I thought maybe I'd become a school counselor in a lot of the good programs for school counseling. Suggested trying a few years in the classroom first. So I thought I'll just get my master's in science education and, so I did that and I landed my first job in a middle school in Durham, North Carolina, and I started teaching these kids and it just, they're so fun and middle school is just a wild and crazy time. It, you never know what's happening in a middle school and it every day is just. Exciting. And I just, one of those times that I think it really hit me that I might, you know, wanna stay in the classroom is I came into school midyear.

[00:02:58] Moriah: So I came in January to take over a classroom that had gone through a few teachers. And at the end of the year, one of the kids said, Ms. Houseman, thank you for teaching us. If you weren't here, I wouldn't know nothing about this jewel stuff. 'cause we were learning about work and energy. And I thought, oh my gosh, I reached him like.

[00:03:16] Moriah: He and who knows, maybe he is a, you know, electrical engineer now. And I realized that I didn't need to be a counselor to affect lives. Classroom teachers reach so many people and affect so many lives. And then my husband got a postdoc in Atlanta and we moved here and I've been at the LUT school ever since.

[00:03:34] Moriah: And I just love it here.

[00:03:36] Craig Randall: Thank you so much. Oh my gosh. You said so many things already that I want to, I actually started my career as an elementary school counselor, so there you go. You said some other things though that I think I just want to touch on really quick. As you talked about, like people telling you what you should do and one of the things, even with trust based observations, and I know that's.

[00:03:54] Craig Randall: We're here to talk about you, but is the language we use is really important. And people don't like to be told what to do. It's human nature. Like you can suggest things, but even then asking permission first is a courtesy and like the words should and need what we talk to our trainees every week and to say, those are really loaded words.

[00:04:13] Craig Randall: So you're just saying, people telling you should, that just really resonated with me. The other one that, well, two others actually is when you talked about your work in neuroscience research. 'cause one of the things that really. I appreciate about, again, bringing it back to trust-based observations.

[00:04:30] Craig Randall: Those, all nine of those areas on the form are research-based. And then even with the working memory cognitive load one, what is that? It's literally, we call it neuroscience because it's neuroscience research. So I love seeing the connection between that and you. And then the last one that I wanted to touch on was when you said reach and reaching a student and it's so, it's so, I.

[00:04:51] Craig Randall: It's one of the best parts about teaching, yet generally as teachers, it's so often not tangible, like where you don't hear the student do that and you have to, you'll get that student that'll come back later or whatever. So when we do get those rare ones, when in the moment the kid will tell you that we all know how special that is too.

[00:05:09] Craig Randall: So I'm glad you had that along the way. We were talking beforehand. About today and the interview, like one of the things that we were talking a little bit about is relationships and behavior management and your passion. And like I remember we were in there and there were groups that were for this lab that was about to start pair.

[00:05:28] Craig Randall: Maybe there were pairs or groups,

[00:05:30] Moriah: Group of three.

[00:05:31] Craig Randall: Groups of three. Thank you. And and so you had your sticks your popsicle sticks as we still call them I think. And and the groups were picked, but we didn't know till afterwards. 'cause we were like, I. To tell you the truth. I saw all these different cans of sticks afterwards and I was like, oh, she's got it differentiated by different ways.

[00:05:50] Craig Randall: And then the other trainee said, Craig, no, that's one for each group. And I was like, oh yeah, duh. That's right. But what you were doing with the group, so I don't want to spoil it. Why don't you tell us about that and the role that plays because it was clever. So you, you know where I'm going, so go ahead.

[00:06:06] Moriah: Yeah. So I've used sticks for a long time to, to make arbitrary grouping. Some people like computer based, some people like drawing cards and things, but I've always used the sticks because one, they see you do it and so they know I'm not picking favorites or loading things, but also. But also a fun fact.

[00:06:27] Moriah: I am married to someone who's a very good juggler and so we've done a lot of juggling and things together. So I'm very good at sleight of hand and doing things. So sometimes I can draw sticks in such a way that look arbitrary but are not. So I might pick out three, but accidentally drop one. They don't really notice it because they just are so intent on who's my partner? Who's my partner. And so I can pull sticks and it looks mostly arbitrary and a lot of times is but if I notice a pairing that is not going to be a healthy learning environment for one or more of the kids, then I can kind of.

[00:07:02] Moriah: You know, finagle things and make groupings a little more balanced or a little more healthy for all the learners. So that's what happened when y'all came in, is I had a student, Kay, who has told me in the past that she cannot work with a student c. And somehow their sticks are always magically stuck together and I cannot explain it.

[00:07:23] Moriah: You know, sticks should not have any sort of charge to them since they are wood and not, and they're more insulators, but alas, but they always get drawn together. So I've really gotten good at making sure K and C are not together as the sticks want. And so you saw that happen on that day where I picked some sticks and then kind of.

[00:07:44] Moriah: And then found a new buddy for that one group and then it worked out really well

[00:07:50] Craig Randall: And we didn't see that happen. We only know 'cause you told us it happened because your sleight of hand, as you told us, is so good. So I just thought that was a really clever. A clever way to make it happen and to realize where your students are at. And look, we can all argue that sometimes it, it is good maybe for those two students to work together.

[00:08:10] Craig Randall: And maybe sometimes you do. And there's also times where sometimes no, a pairing just can't happen. And for legitimate reasons. And I don't necessarily want to dig into the details of that, but I believe in trust in your expertise and every teacher's expertise to know what is the right situation.

[00:08:26] Craig Randall: And so.

[00:08:28] Moriah: Yeah, for this particular kid, Kay came to me and she's worked with CA lot and Kay said, I've worked with c on three out of the last seven things, and I need a break. And I love that she felt comfortable to tell me that. And she did it in a way that was not rude about c which helps as well.

[00:08:47] Craig Randall: Yeah. As opposed to. He's at da. You're right. So, and then also, so you've created a safe learning environment in there also, when kids are willing to come up and talk to you and even more so when they're doing it in a respectful way. But I think that just, I think the other thing that when you did the groups was you made a statement that said Keep your poker faces.

[00:09:10] Craig Randall: And I think we all know what that means, but why? I don't want you to just go there for a minute on, on, on that.

[00:09:17] Moriah: Yeah. So I have a lot of catch phrases that I use. And so kids almost know them in advance.

[00:09:22] Moriah: So when I draw sticks or when I take passback tests, I am always like, keep your poker faces so they know that means to not like, make a mean mug or give a, you know, a look or a ah man. About who their partners is. I also tend to say, and I don't think I said it this time, but I also say no excessive celebration which is my other one.

[00:09:42] Moriah: I was like, that'll get you a penalty. 'cause they all know it's, you know, Georgia, we're into football. And so those are kind of my two things to remind kids, you know, your, how your attitude going into the group really affects the overall. Way your group can work. So we're not gonna be too happy or too sad.

[00:10:00] Moriah: We're gonna be working and functioning together to, to learn something new.

[00:10:05] Craig Randall: You know, and it seems like a little thing like keep your poker faces, but dang we're sensitive human beings. And if I'm in a group and maybe I'm at a point where just. At that age, it can be tougher for some of us, depending on where it's at, and I see somebody having a ugh face or whatever.

[00:10:20] Craig Randall: Right? That's super hurtful. A and that's gonna, you know, Maslow's hierarchy if that kid's in that state or they, not that we don't just care about those kids, but also we are in a learning environment. So if I can do things as a teacher to eliminate that and keep that people in a more learning state state, and also I'm also teaching just white, what's right and wrong about.

[00:10:40] Craig Randall: Behavior and other human beings and how we treat them. That's a great thing to do. So I just thought that was a, it was a nice little touch. So is one of your other little catch phrases? I know I'm a creepy old lady.

[00:10:54] Moriah: No, and I still slightly doubt I said that except for I

[00:10:58] Craig Randall: Multiple of us. So, so they don't think I'm interviewing a creepy old lady. Do you? Do you remember that one? Do you wanna talk about that? It was just humor,

[00:11:09] Moriah: Yeah, so as I semi remember it I, there one of, many of the groups were at tables, but one group chose to be on the floor. And the way I have my room set up, there's multiple places that they can choose to work in, groups, wherever they feel most comfortable. So there was a group working on the floor, but kind of right next to my desk.

[00:11:28] Moriah: And so I went by behind my desk. To either check time or look at something. And then I was like, oh, I should check up on this group. And I scared a couple of the girls. I'm like, ah, Ms. Houseman, we didn't know you were there. And I guess I said, yeah, well sometimes it's just a creepy old lady. And then they laughed and we talked about what was going on.

[00:11:47] Moriah: That does connect though to one of my other catch phrases, which, I've worn glasses since second grade. And so anytime they do a presentation or turn in a digital assignment, I ask, they don't use like neon green font because I have old lady eyes. So they, so having old lady eyes is something I say quite often because I've always been called in old soul.

[00:12:08] Craig Randall: The catch phrase to, I have creepy old lady

[00:12:11] Moriah: Maybe not. Middle school can be rough. I don't need to give them any more an ammunition than I've already gotten.

[00:12:17] Craig Randall: I think though, like, moving forward just a little bit, I think one of the things that that really, I. That, that was so apparent to me when I talked about maybe that, that whirling d Tasmanian devil, those is your energy and your passion and we were talking a little bit about that and so I just think.

[00:12:36] Craig Randall: When we as teachers are passionate about my subject in a way that's about reaching kids as opposed to maybe just conveying information, it's so powerful for students, for drawing them into the learning and getting them excited too. So why don't you talk about that and your passion and the role that plays in your classes.

[00:12:54] Moriah: Well, I've just always been a passionate scientist. My grandmother was a hematologist, well, she was a hematologist assistant in a lab when I was growing up. And I've just always loved science. I'm one of those people. In second grade, again, that's a big formative year, obviously. I begged for a microscope, uhuh a microscope in a chemistry.

[00:13:16] Moriah: Set for for my holiday present and I got it and I then, you know, drew up on a trifold board, all of the images to present in second grade for no reason except for I just love science. And I've continued that passion throughout my life. I've just always kind of reached for more, a lot of my reading sometimes has a science bent to it, like my fun reading.

[00:13:37] Moriah: And I. I'm also a personal lover of,

[00:13:40] Moriah: of podcasts and so, a lot of what I listen to are like science-based podcasts, and sometimes I'll just come into school and be like, guys, I learned this crazy thing actually about Tasmanian Devils and their facial tumors. And did you know that they can clear cancer from their own bodies? Is can you believe that?

[00:13:59] Moriah: What if we could do that technology, you know, stuff like that. So I just am, there's always so much to learn. It's an ever-changing field, and it I've just always loved it and I like coming in and sharing that knowledge. And I sometimes if I learn something new from reading or a news piece or something, I'll alter like a day of lesson to include what I've learned.

[00:14:20] Moriah: And I'm like, I learned this two days ago. Can you believe it?

[00:14:25] Craig Randall: Do. So let's so talk to me more though about how that plays in your classroom, because that's the power of it. I mean, you're naturally doing it, but then you're doing stuff with it, right? And it's manifesting in the classroom in a way that's pulling the kids into the learning. So tell me more about that.

[00:14:41] Moriah: Oh, well, I just love my favorite thing about, about my curiosity is because I love seeing it manifest in the students as well. And so what I see is sometimes a kid will ask, we'll be talking about goodness, we just talked about ecology. And they'll say, well, what if, you know, we added not.

[00:15:01] Moriah: One species, but what if we added more of this? And I'm like, I don't know if they could live in that kind of ecosystem. And then instead of saying, let's move on, I'm like, well, let me google this real quick. And I'll kind of model like, how do I research that? How do I look that up and then we'll talk about it.

[00:15:15] Moriah: I love a what if. And that's the luck of teaching in a private school is that you can take that time and follow these strands and see where they go. And then that also makes kids feel braver to be curious. And they can ask really off the wall stuff. And I'll always take them seriously because they're serious about it.

[00:15:35] Moriah: And it might be kind of silly, but sometimes if they're like, well, what if I was a human in space and I took off my helmet, but I held my breath? And I'm like, well, your head would freeze. You know, it's, there's no energy up there. Like, well, what if I had just enough warmth to live for 20 seconds? And I'm like, but we do that.

[00:15:54] Moriah: I love those kind of thought experiments. I had a, my, I have one seventh grade class this year, and they were. Really kind of shy towards the beginning of the year 'cause they've all heard the rumor seventh grade so much harder. But when they warmed up, I, you know, I just was so excited about it.

[00:16:10] Moriah: I'm like, yes. And sometimes I'll just throw out a thought, experiment them, I'm like, so zombies, they're totally living right. And then, 'cause we'll have been studying the characteristics of life and they'll be like, well, yeah. And then I'll be like, well. Then I'll argue myself on it, and then they kind of jump on it and then I can let them talk and then they'll fight amongst themselves.

[00:16:34] Moriah: But they'll all be thinking about kind of higher level versions of that concept. And it's just really fun to think, see them having fun without really realizing that they're thinking on extremely high levels.

[00:16:48] Craig Randall: So you're really using it to drive well, you, I'm hearing a couple things. One, you're using it to drive higher level, higher order thinking and you're also using it as interest to pull them into the learning even more. And then you're also using it, I think even on on, and another way is that personal discourse one-on-one, when somebody has a curiosity, when you give them that time instead of moving on, you're honoring that person too.

[00:17:12] Craig Randall: Right? And that's so important for just as a human being to do that. And we can't spend too much time on it. But so there's a balance in there. We all know that. But giving that little time, I think it's so important for relationship and. Because that factors into learning it for learning too.

[00:17:28] Craig Randall: It's just so, it's so powerful and fun to watch and just your energy as you were doing that, let's jump forward to, to, to that, to the lab that they were doing. And I just think it, it was an ecosystem and it was on well, I'll, it was buns and coyotes, but we'll I won't explain too much of that because I'll let you do it but like that lab.

[00:17:50] Craig Randall: Like even through the extension activities and everything, just unpack that a little bit because I think there's so much there to talk about after you do that. So would you mind talking a little bit about that? I.

[00:18:01] Moriah: Yeah. So the, it was about kind of predator, prey interactions. And so the startup of the lab started the day before where their homework for the night was to read about predators and pres and take notes. And then we kind of got into the lab as we started class and. They were divided into groups of three with a little bit of magic sprinkled in there.

[00:18:23] Moriah: And they had to start kind of with an ecosystem that had a small amount of rabbits, and that's a science word, but the rabbits and coyotes. And there were some parameters like, what does it take for a rabbit to survive? And the answer is not much. 'cause they, you know, breed like rabbits. And then. What does it take for coyote to survive?

[00:18:47] Moriah: And this is something that when we started the lab, we just told 'em, well, they need to eat three rabbits. You know, and I had called it like breakfast, lunch, dinner. They gotta have all three squares in order to reproduce and start the next generation. And so, then there were some parameters like bunnies to sur survive and double every year that's left and coyotes must eat three.

[00:19:08] Moriah: And so, and then I had to say, we're gonna use some imagination. 'cause the bunnies were just kind of poker chip. And the coyotes were squares. And I said, yes, we're going to imagine. It's, and we've been talking about modeling and how we model things both through graphs, physical models, and computer models.

[00:19:27] Moriah: That's been a big theme of our year. And so this was a physical model, and so then they would go through generations upon generations of allowing. Coyotes to attempt to eat rabbits and then rabbits reproducing and evading the coyotes. And then they would just collect the data for a future graph, a future line graph.

[00:19:48] Moriah: And what we're hoping to show is like a really classic predator prey graph where the prey goes up first and then the predator start being able to catch more and then the predators catch too much. So the prey crashes. And then 'cause there's no food. Then the predators crash. And so they were really getting into it.

[00:20:06] Moriah: And then all of a sudden I said, guys, something crazy's gonna happen between generation seven and Generation 10. So when you get to generation seven, you gotta come to the front and talk to me. And then upfront we had about eight different situations that could occur. So they'd pull one at random.

[00:20:24] Moriah: I said, whatever you touch, that's what happens. And some of them are good, like we made a game preserve so that more animals can exist. Although we didn't tell them the second part, but we'd say there's a game preserve. The ground is, has more nutrients and, the bunnies are able to have more bunny babies.

[00:20:40] Moriah: And then so they, we'd talk about what do you think will happen? And then I'd say, well, now go do it. And they would do that for another 10 or so generations and then collect that data. And then at the end they collated all the data and made really beautiful line graphs, which with what had as I like to call them, really boring and descriptive long titles.

[00:21:00] Moriah: That's another catchphrase. And then they made these beautiful graphs and then they interpreted what happened and compared their data with others.

[00:21:08] Craig Randall: It was such a fun lab to watch and you had strict parameters even with how they run the lab But I like just listening to all that the amount of planning that goes into that. Especially I think when we talk. About the scenarios that could happen and then, and what are those scenarios, man, that's higher order thinking that's going on as they're evaluating all that, then going back to the lab and then piecing it together.

[00:21:28] Craig Randall: And so just like talk to about the creation of that, because especially that last part is really like, I don't see that kind of level of extension. It's so, so rare when I observe classes and, you know, observe more than anybody. So just tell me a little bit about that and the amount of work and how you get even come up with the ideas for all that.

[00:21:51] Moriah: Well, I mean, honestly, a lot of that is, I mean, I've been in teaching for 11 years now, so you pull a lot of resources from a lot of places. This one came a lot with collaboration with my colleague. We spent all summer long redoing our curriculum for this year. I. So this is a kind of a whole new unit for us.

[00:22:09] Moriah: And it's been a joy. But I think the thing is one of our big things we teach is in the sixth grade and we've taught forever, is sustainability. And that what we do affects everything around us. And so this activity kind of extended so we could lead into the unit that we've just started this week.

[00:22:26] Moriah: So we need to know that things like urbanization when we build houses. You know, that's great for us, like it's important for humans to have houses is but that kind of thing doesn't just affect us, it affects the world around us too, or wildfires is, and right when this was happening was when there were those terrible wildfires in la and so we could when we were kind of, debriefing the activity the next day, we talked about, well, how does that connect?

[00:22:50] Moriah: And they all, you know, either had. You know, family or knew someone who were affected by them. And we could talk about, well, what happened in our situation with our coyotes and rabbits. And so kind of just doing this lens of, you know, predator praise an important relationship. It's good to think about it.

[00:23:07] Moriah: But let's talk about how we then influence that. We you know, again, living in Georgia, there's a lot of good hunting and stuff, and so we talk about why are there bag limits. When you hunt, why do you need a license? Is it and so it just all goes together. You can't touch one thing without hitting everything else.

[00:23:26] Craig Randall: Maria, when you're talking about like, you know, your passion extending to the point where you and your teaching partner are on your own time digging into, like, reworking your curriculum and it's. And that you see the result and the amazingness of what's going on in the result.

[00:23:43] Craig Randall: And at the same time, like there's, as teachers and I know you, you're not a union place or anything but even just as people, you know, teachers are not the best compensated people in the world. We all know that. And we don't enter into the profession because we're looking to be the best, most compensated.

[00:24:01] Craig Randall: And as part of that. I won't say wrongly at all. I'll even say rightly, like more and more, and I think with the younger teachers, like, well, there's there there's like work-life balance and there's that question of, well, whether I should be spending my outside time on that because of the compensation we're at.

[00:24:18] Craig Randall: And I think we're just, we're, I'm diving into a little bit just a philosophical discussion with you here on this. So where do you think like the balance is between honoring. All of that, which seems reasonable on one hand, and creating the best product process for learning for our kids at the same time.

[00:24:41] Moriah: Wow. Oh.

[00:24:43] Craig Randall: Well, I know, but

[00:24:44] Craig Randall: Let's just

[00:24:45] Moriah: no, I will say was slightly compensated for my work without my partner and I would say. But again, like you say, I. You know, you get probably for about every $4 a work I did, I got a dollar. So, it's fine. But I think the thing is that my colleague and I it was really a thing that we saw coming together towards the end of last school year where we were, at this point, we have taught all three grades of middle school here.

[00:25:12] Moriah: And so we knew exactly what. What do the kids need as they get older? What do they need to be successful? And honestly, we just both have a huge passion for kids to understand how science works. It's really hard to understand how science works. And we really wanted to give them, and that's why I renamed the course.

[00:25:34] Moriah: I I feel special 'cause I got to rename it. It used to be, you know, earth science. And we, I was like, we just need to just call it what we want it to be, which is the foundations of science. We want them to really understand what is science. And I think one of the biggest things you know, is to understand that science isn't perfect.

[00:25:52] Moriah: It's constantly building upon itself. It changes. And that means our curriculum has to change too. And, it is, it's been such a joy though. So the work we put in, it was a lot of work this summer. I re-edited our entire textbook to more align with what we wanted to teach. And that took time as some of the things we wanna teach are kind of.

[00:26:14] Moriah: Hit more in eighth grade or hit more in seventh. But we wanted to give them a better foundation in sixth to be successful for the future. So I had to kind of edit things to either pull the reading to a more sixth grade accessible, or sometimes I'd pull from fourth grade and I'd have to lift it to be a little more challenging.

[00:26:33] Moriah: But at the end of the day it's been so rewarding. I we gave instead of a. A traditional exam for our December exam, we flipped the whole thing and gave them a two week project of researching and proposing an orchard to build on campus to feed our students during snack time. And oh my gosh, I had so many kids passionate about their type of apple or their.

[00:27:01] Moriah: Peach and they were using data, they were using expected yields of fruit. They were using the zones of growth in the in the agricultural websites. They were using the UGA extension page, which like real farmers use. And they could do it. It was. The most beautiful payoff I've ever seen is I was grading their work, hearing their arguments, laughing as they told me we didn't have to worry about pollinators 'cause there are tons of bees on campus.

[00:27:33] Moriah: It was so funny. It, I have never had so much joy grading an exam in my life. And by putting that work in ahead of time, like. I got so much joy seeing how they've grown. I keep telling my seventh grade science colleagues, I'm like, I can't wait for you to teach these guys. You are gonna love what they know.

[00:27:54] Moriah: You're gonna love what they're bringing to you. And it's a joy. It, yeah.

[00:27:59] Craig Randall: So really what I'm hearing you say is, first off, it is complicated but second it's the payoff on the backend When you see that. Interesting curiosity get fired up in, in the, of what they're doing.

[00:28:12] Moriah: Yeah I mean, honestly, my and my mom is also a teacher. It's family, you know, I think it runs in families a lot. But when I was talking with her, you know about it because teachers love to talk shop. She goes, I bet you I. You will have some of these students, when they grow up and they get houses they own, at least one or two of them will plant a fruit tree in their backyard or a couple.

[00:28:34] Moriah: And I think it's probably true, a lot of kids are like, can we do this for real?

[00:28:38] Moriah: And I'm like, I wish that is, it was just amazing. By giving them this challenge that they had to rise up to. 'cause it was challenging. They were excited. They love to be challenged and I think part of it's because they feel safe.

[00:28:52] Moriah: They know they see me model messing up. They see me model I all the time, tell them I am not perfect. I'm constantly, you know, when you grade 60 tests in two hours, you make mistakes. And so I always go over the answers and say, Hey, I messed up. Please come. I always have a kid or two who's like, oh, you messed up.

[00:29:12] Moriah: And I said, and I tell them, yeah, I did. Thank you so much for advocating for yourself. I love that you're telling me that you knew this and you're showing me and you advocated. So I think that's really important too.

[00:29:25] Craig Randall: And all that ties together. And without putting that time in, you're not necessarily gonna. And it's just, it's complicated. But I really appreciate your, you digging into that with me a little bit, Mariah. I I think there might be people that'll be interested in, in, in chatting or maybe learning about that lab you've done and or your final assessment that you did and so would you mind sharing contact information for anybody that might wanna reach out?

[00:29:51] Moriah: Yeah. It's just, well, I say just both my first and last names are hard to spell but it's just Mariah houseman@loveit.org.

[00:30:00] Craig Randall: And will you spell that for us? Just all the way even through the Lovet, just so people that are listening will get that. It'll be in the show notes too, but yeah.

[00:30:07] Moriah: Yeah. So M-O-R-I-A-H dot H-O-U-S-M-A-N at. L-O-V-E-T t.org.

[00:30:32] Craig Randall: Beautiful. Thank you so much, Mariah.

[00:30:34] Moriah: slowest I talked.

[00:30:37] Craig Randall: Thank you so much for joining me today. It has been it has been as much fun as it was that day in, your class and so, I, I'm really grateful for your time.

[00:30:45] Moriah: Well, thank you so much. I appreciate it.

[00:30:47] Craig Randall: All right. Take care.

[00:30:50] Outro: Thank you for listening to 20 Minutes of Teaching Brilliance. If the show resonated with you, you can help other teachers by liking, sharing, and subscribing. More importantly, if you don't like the way you're being evaluated, don't like being nitpicked and scored, then check out Trust Based Observations at TrustBased. com, where we know the path to growth is through safe spaces for risk taking. Tell your principal about it, and change your school's observations to a model of trust and support, and join the thousands of teachers who now experience the joy of observations the way they're meant to be done.