The Ruckus Report Quick take: Two beards, two red hats, one mission to blow up education's broken boundaries. Mitch Weathers reveals why saying "no" to district busywork and "yes" to what actually moves the needle isn't rebellion — it's leadership. Meet Your Fellow Ruckus Maker Mitch became a gifted teacher because he was a mediocre student. Mitch rarely felt comfortable in the classroom. In fact, it took him 7 years to graduate from college. Choosing to become a teacher, Mitch was fortunate enough to experience school as if it was happening all around him. He was unsure how to jump into his learning with confidence. There is a loneliness to experiencing your education as a passive object as opposed to an active subject. From the moment he entered the classroom, Mitch relied on his personal experiences as a learner. He recognized that what we teach—the content or curriculum—is secondary. We must first lay the foundation for learning before we can get to teaching. Mitch designed Organized Binder to empower teachers with a simple but research-backed strategy to teach students executive functioning skills while protecting the time needed for content instruction. The secret is found in establishing a predictable learning routine that serves to foster safer learning spaces. When students get practice with executive functions by virtue, we set them up for success. Learn more in his recent book Executive Functions for Every Classroom. Breaking Down the Old Rules 🔨 In this episode, Mitch Weathers challenges traditional education paradigms: Key Insight #1: Boundaries Aren't Selfish — They're Strategic <ul class= "[&:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [&:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-disc space-y-1.5 pl-7"> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words">What's broken: Leaders burning out because they accept every task as sacred, even when it doesn't serve students</li> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words">The shift: Ask the hard question: "If I can't draw a clear line between this work and student success, why am I doing it?"</li> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words">Impact: Time and energy get redirected to what actually matters — classroom visits, relationship building, and real leadership</li> </ul> Key Insight #2: Homework Is Often Educational Theater <ul class= "[&:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [&:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-disc space-y-1.5 pl-7"> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words">What's broken: Teachers spending hours collecting, grading, and returning homework that creates inequality and rarely informs instruction</li> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words">The shift: Replace homework with in-class learning logs where students reflect on understanding in real-time</li> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words">Impact: Sustainable formative assessment that gives teachers authentic insight into every student's learning</li> </ul> Key Insight #3: Don't Feed the Emotional Monster <ul class= "[&:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [&:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-disc space-y-1.5 pl-7"> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words">What's broken: Educators taking student outbursts personally and escalating conflicts into power struggles</li> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words">The shift: Deflect emotional assaults with calm agreement: "You might be right" strips the drama from disruption</li> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words">Impact: Classroom management issues disappear when adults stop being more entertaining than the lesson</li> </ul> Quotable Ruckus "If I can't draw a very clear line between what I'm doing as a teacher and improving student success, then I'm not going to do it. I just started throwing things out." – Mitch Weathers Your Do School Different Challenge Ready to implement these ideas? Start here: <ol class= "[&:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [&:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-decimal space-y-1.5 pl-7"> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words"> Tomorrow: Identify one "urgent" district task and ask: "Has anyone ever followed up on this or used it to guide actual school operations?"</li> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words">This Month: Replace one homework assignment with in-class learning logs where students reflect on their understanding</li> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words">This Semester: Practice emotional deflection — when someone tries to trigger you, respond with calm curiosity instead of defensiveness</li> </ol> Connect & Continue <ul class= "[&:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [&:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-disc space-y-1.5 pl-7"> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words">🎯 Get the full episode transcript: [Link]</li> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words">🔗 Follow Mitch Weathers: <a class="underline" href= "https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitch-weathers/">LinkedIn</a></li> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words">📖 Get his book: <a class="underline" href= "https://bit.ly/42pCMbq">Executive Functions for Every Classroom</a></li> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words">🎙️ More Red Hat Rebellion: <a class="underline" href= "https://adorableredhats.com">adorableredhats.com</a></li> </ul> 📌 Ruckus Makers Don't Just Listen — They Act If education ain't a bit disruptive, then what are your students really learning? This show isn't about doing school better. It's about Doing School Different — and joining a growing movement of bold, creative school leaders who reject legacy models and reimagine what's possible. 🧠 Here are four ways we can help you on your Do School Different journey 📬 Subscribe to the Free Newsletter — An opportunity to Do School Different 3x a week. Tools, mindset shifts, and strategies that actually work: ruckusmakers.news 🗞️ Read Ruckus Makers — Exclusive content on Substack. Premium leadership insights, AI prompts and custom gpts, new books before the bookshelf. ruckusmakers.media 💥 Join The Ruckus Maker Club — Our private network + workshops, The Automatic School tools, AI Prompt Library, and more: ruckusmakers.club 🧨 Apply to the Mastermind — Weekly coaching, peer mentorship, and our proven leadership system (The Ruckus Maker Flywheel) to help you transform your campus: Apply Now Every tool, community, and coaching program we offer is built to help visionary school leaders play the new game — one where leadership is creative, tech-enabled, and unapologetically student-centered. 🎙️ The podcast is your starting point. The movement is just getting started. Do you Subscribe to the Ruckus Maker Newsletter? Do School Different 3x a Week. ✉ Join for FREE: <a href="http://ruckusmakers.news/subscribe">here</a> Today's RUCKUScast in Partnership with: IXL Meet your students where they are and take them where they need to go. Join over 1 million teachers who trust IXL to drive data-informed excellence in their classrooms. 🔍 Learn more: ixl.com/leaders The Ruckus Maker Club Community beats compliance every single time. The Ruckus Maker Club is your on demand network of bold school leaders designing the future of education. Join today for $100 a month and get coaching on demand courses, AI prompts and custom GPTs and all our automatic school frameworks and tools within our private digital community. 🔍 Learn more: here ODP Business Solutions "Our STEAM program is too complicated" = Code for "We're doing it wrong." Stop letting fear kill innovation. Some leaders are transforming STEAM with a three-part framework that's not what you think. 🔍 Get the playbook: <a href= "https://www.odpbusiness.com/l/resource-center/blog/full-steam-ahead?utm_source=industrypub&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=nl-na-25%27_brand-2025_awrs_edu_steam_better-leaders_native"> here</a> Twelve Practices LLC © 2025 | If Education Ain't a Bit Disruptive, Then What Are Your Students Learning?

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