Hello everyone and welcome to Teach Me, Teacher’s SUMMER BLAST of inspiration! I cannot express how excited, pumped, and inspired I am right now for next year, and I want you to join me and my AMAZING guests in our quest to bring some positivity into the teaching world. Today I have brought on one of the most inspiring people I know, Monica Genta, to explain why distance learning and covid-era teaching is not a setback, but a SETUP for something great. But look... usually next in my posts, I lists all the things we talk about, but I just need you to know one thing about this episode. It is full of inspiration and honesty. We talk about our struggles right now, but we also rise up and imagine what CAN BE if we push for it to happen. Do not miss this episode, especially if you need inspiration right now! Love the podcast? If you want bonus episodes EVERY SINGLE MONTH of the Teach Me, Teacher podcast, or episodes that cater directly to ELA, workshop and SEL, support the show at the $5 tier on Patreon here. You will not regret it!    This episode is sponsored by Heinemann—the leading publisher of professional books and resources for educators—and their professional book, Being the Change: Lessons and Strategies to Teach Social Comprehension by Sara K. Ahmed. Topics such as race, gender, politics, religion, and sexuality are part of students’ lives, but sometimes it’s hard to know how to respond as teachers when these subjects come up at school. You probably have stories of your own about situations or conversations that caught you off guard or made you feel uncomfortable. Being the Change is based on the idea that people can develop skills and habits to help them in the comprehension of social issues. Sara provides clear lessons to help teach about important social comprehension concepts. You can create a socially minded classroom where you explore identity and diversity, build listening skills, understand and address bias, become better informed, and more… first with yourself and your peers, and then with students. Being the Change is available as a book, ebook, and audiobook. To learn more visit Heinemann.com.