BustED Pencils

With an average public school student in the United States facing down at least 100 standardized tests in their k-12 years, it’s no surprise some families have said “Enough, no more.” For all those who’ve seen their children’s love of learning drained away by high-stakes test after high-stakes test, this one’s for you. There is […]

Guest: Lacey Slekar

Wed Feb 19, 2025

22:28

Welcome to a new week of Pencil Busting, Class! We begin where we left off last week, with the “Nation’s Report Card”, NAEP. The National Assessment of Educational Progress is a standardized test for students across the country in 4th and 8th grade. So why are we talking about yet another standardized test? Because it’s […]

Mon Feb 17, 2025

21:10

Returning Pencil Buster Dr. Paul Thomas joins us to help us break down the “science of reading.” This is a topic we’ve covered frequently, most recently with Dr. Nancy Carlsson-Paige this week. But Dr. Paul brings a uniquely nuanced and deep knowledge of the marketing scheme/regressive conservative political tool masquerading as a curriculum set to […]

Guest: Dr. Paul Thomas

Sat Feb 15, 2025

45:33

Dr. Nancy Carlsson-Paige, educated educator to the extreme, Pencil Buster extraordinarie, and also Matt Damon’s mom, joins us. We begin by checking in with Dr. Nancy. Since we last spoke, President Trump began his second term in office with a barrage of anti-education executive actions. Hold strong, educated educators. Then, we turn to a favorite […]

Guest: Dr. Nancy Carlsson-Paige

Wed Feb 12, 2025

28:19

Dr. Tim and Producer Jess look at trending news concerning the federal Department of Education. President Trump ran on a platform that included dismantling this department. He’s tapped a wrestling media megabillionaire to lead it in order to end it. And we wait with bated breath for an executive order declaring it’s death. On Friday […]

Mon Feb 10, 2025

21:30

Class, on Wednesday we talked with Randi Weingarten, president of AFT. With Randi, we discussed the very real threat of schools becoming ‘wargrounds’ for I.C.E. raids. Now, as Dr. Johnny quickly points out, we don’t mean ice like frozen water. In this episode, our educated educators dive into the Immigration and Custody Enforcement (I.C.E.) and […]

Sat Feb 8, 2025

45:32

Chad Holmes, host of the WXCO morning show and sports broadcaster for that station, joins us to bust some pencils! He brings updates on the winter sports season as we near the playoffs. With many teams battling illness and injury, games are being postponed and rescheduled. However, plan to catch Chad broadcast the Storm game […]

Guest: Chad Holmes

Fri Feb 7, 2025

19:24

Randi Weingarten, President of AFT and a recurring Pencil Buster, joins us for this very special class in session. In the first days of his second term, President Trump’s administration stripped schools of designation as ‘sensitive locations’. That means Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials are no longer prohibited from arresting individuals suspected of lacking […]

Guest: Randi Weingarten

Wed Feb 5, 2025

18:47

Class, it’s been a chaotic two weeks since January 20th. That strange confluence of a day commemorated the legacy of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the second inauguration of Donald Trump to the presidency. It’s important in these chaotic moments to take some time to check in with each other. Because as […]

Mon Feb 3, 2025

20:44

Class, you know the drill, get out your pencils and let’s start busting! New Pencil Buster, Coach Jeff Matczak of Kaukauna High School’s wrestling program, joins us. His style of coaching works to balance developing each athlete’s physicality AND mentality for success. He focuses on working to train regulatory skills like steady breathing and recognition […]

Guest: Jeff Matczak

Fri Jan 31, 2025

21:58