Shows
The Low Point with Matt PenaAdjusting to College Life - Brian Elberg (Episode 9)On this episode of The Low Point, Matt sits down with comedian Brian Elberg to dive into the struggles of adjusting to college life after high school. From awkward dorm encounters to running into old "friends" on campus, Brian shares his personal low points with the same humor that’s gotten him through it all. Plus, we take a detour into his deep love for Bruce Springsteen—because nothing says "coming-of-age crisis" quite like blasting Born to Run. Whether you're in college, survived it, or ran for the hills, this episode is packed with laughs, relatability, and a little bit...
2025-03-311h 37
What Do You Teach?14) Dave Stuart- Bad PD Is an Affront To The Soul!On this episode I was joined by Dave Stuart of https://davestuartjr.com/ We talk about why bad PD can be so painful and what we can do to make it better.
2022-02-0628 min
Homeroom with Phil ValentineBrian Elberg - Punishing Yourself Worse than the PunishmentPhil sits down with fellow comedian/teacher Brian Elberg!
Follow Phil: @philsin
Follow Brian: @brianelberg
and Brians Podcast: @heres_my_idea_podcast
Follow the show: @homeroomwithphilvalentine
Music by Derek Alexander Smith: @derekalexandersmilth
Phil on YouTube
2022-02-0157 minWhat Do You Teach?13) Why Do People Hate Math? With Noah HellerOn this episode I was honored to be joined by Noah Heller from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Noah Heller is the faculty director of the Harvard Teacher Fellows (HTF), lecturer on education and a master teacher in residence in mathematics. We talk about why people hate math, what we can do about it and if it even makes sense to teach math any more?
2021-10-1355 minWhat Do You Teach?12) Dr. Jania Hoover- Demystifying Critical Race TheoryI was lucky enough this week to be joined by Dr. Jania Hoover. In this article we discuss er article "Critical race theory hysteria overshadows the importance of teaching kids about racism" which can be found right here: https://www.vox.com/first-person/22568672/critical-race-theory-crt-education-racism-teachWe also discuss what students are actually being taught about race, and when teaching about race goes right vs when it goes very very wrong.Listen, subscribe, all that good stuff. Thanks!
2021-09-1436 minWhat Do You Teach?11) Phil Valentine- 3 Rules For 1st Year (And Veteran) Teachers!This week I was lucky enough to speak to my friend Phil Valentine. Phil is a fellow teacher and stand-up comic in New York City who also has a hilarious YouTube show called Coach Willy Kitchen Doughsperiments. We each give our top 3 (more like top 5) rules for first year teachers!
2021-09-0758 minWhat Do You Teach?10 ) Adam Tyner- Selling SELDo you support Social Emotional Learning? Well I guess that depends exactly what it is. This is what Adam Tyner and his team found out when they wrote "How to Sell SEL: Parents and the Politics of Social-Emotional Learning"https://sel.fordhaminstitute.org/On the episode Adam and I discuss what exactly parents want from SEL, how teachers can give it to them and how political partisanship may be a major factor here.
2021-08-3144 min
What Do You Teach?9) Alfie Kohn and the Punishment of Rewards!On today's episode I sit down with the author of Punished By Rewards and The Homework Myth, Alfie Kohn. He was a dream guest for the show and I'm very grateful he took the time to talk to me. If you enjoy our conversation check out his website https://www.alfiekohn.org/ and tell a friend about the show!
2021-08-1033 minWhat Do You Teach?8) Co- Teaching with Dr. Angela Peery and Bharathi KurtzCo-teaching sounds like a great idea in theory. However, many co-teaching relationships make it plainly obvious why the Beatles broke up. On this episode I sit down with best selling author Angela Peery and one of my great friends and former co-teachers Bharathi Kurtz. We dive in to what makes co-teaching effective, how it can go wrong and how to avoid those pitfalls. Give a listen.
2021-08-0452 minWhat Do You Teach?7) Jay Maqsood- IEPs....Do We Need 'Em?On today's episode I was joined by Jay Maqsood. Jay was a professor at the Relay Graduate School of Education before returning to the classroom to continue his work as a special educator.On this week's episode we discuss if IEPs are useful at all, what we can do to make them more useful, and mock some of the more ridiculous compliance driven language. Check it out!
2021-07-2747 minWhat Do You Teach?6) Getting Feedback With Simon RodbergWe all want feedback. Whether it's on job performance, a meal we cooked or a lesson we taught. However, many times when bosses ask us for feedback we simply tell them what they want to hear in order to either end the conversation, or because we think it will reflect poorly on us to rock the boat. This week I sit down with Simon Rodberg the author of "What If I'm Wrong?: And Other Key Questions for Decisive School Leadership" to discuss how to cultivate feedback in a meaningful way. Enjoy!
2021-07-2031 minWhat Do You Teach?5) Observing Teachers, Being an Architect and Making Paella.On episode 5 of the show I am joined by my good friend Ryan McCabe. Ryan has been a principal in the Bronx, NY for nearly a decade. I always enjoy our conversations because in addition to being one of the funniest people I know he rejects many of the truisms about education, and frankly about life in general. On this episode we jump into what he looks for during an observation, why it doesn't matter if a lesson will help you be an architect and how to make good paella.
2021-07-1350 min
Give Me a NameJackie Robinson with Brian ElbergBen and comedian/teacher Brian Elberg (What Do You Teach? podcast) examine the life and legacy of the first African American to play in Major League Baseball in the modern era, Jackie Robinson.
2021-07-131h 07What Do You Teach?4) Sarah Woulfin- How Can Instructional Coaches Be Actually Useful?On this episode I was joined by Sarah Woulfin (@sarahlouwou) on twitter. Together we dove into how can instructional coaches actually be useful, good observation practices more generally, when to coaches lie to principals...scandalous, and finally we get into the one question all principals can ask teachers to figure out if they are a good teacher or not.
2021-07-0642 minWhat Do You Teach?3) Joe Dombrowski- Does Being Funny Help You Teach?On this episode I was joined by excellent teacher and comedian Joe Dombrowski to discuss the intersection of teaching and humor. We talked about how to balance the double life that comes with being a teacher and a comic, shared some very funny stories and talked about whether being funny actually helps students learn. Follow him on Instagram @mrdtimes3 and follow me @BrianElberg
2021-06-2934 minWhat Do You Teach?2) James Lang- Should We Grade Participation?James M. Lang is a Professor of English and the Director of the D’Amour Center for Teaching Excellence at Assumption College in Worcester, MA. He is the author of six books, the most recent of which are Distracted: Why Students Can’t Focus and What You Can Do About It (Basic Books, 2020)We sat down to discuss whether or not we should be grading participation and if so- how?
2021-06-2233 minWhat Do You Teach?1) John Hattie- Lessons From The PandemicIn the first episode of "What do You Teach?" I have a conversation with author of Visible Learning and director of the Melbourne Education Research Institute John Hattie. We speak about how remote teaching changed the way classrooms will look going forward, whether or not remote learning actually changed student outcomes, and the difference between 'learning tasks' and 'doing tasks.' I was very nervous for this. Give it a listen.
2021-06-1553 min