In this episode of The Wired Educator Podcast, I  interview Christy Whittlesey, author of the Dave Burgess Publishing book, It’s Ok to Say “They”: Tips for Educator Allies of Transgender and Non-Binary Students. This is a powerful conversation between two educators about doing whatever you can to teach, care and help every student.

What is a gender-friendly school? What changes should school districts make? What should school districts be thinking about and considering?

Christy Whittlesey, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) has been an educator in settings ranging from PreK-higher education for the past 17 years, and is currently a PreK-12 Fine and Performing Arts Administrator and a Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Arts Ambassador in Massachusetts. In addition to her work in the arts, Dr. Whittlesey regularly collaborates with school districts and organizations to update policy and lead professional development to create gender-friendly schools where all students can thrive, regardless of gender.

Christy received an undergraduate degree from Berklee College of Music (2004), a master’s degree in Music Education from Boston University (2009), and a Ph.D. with a focus on  Educational Research and Evaluation from the University of Massachusetts Lowell (2019), where she was awarded the Education Department’s “Outstanding Dissertation Award” for her work researching the educational experiences of transgender and non-binary students. She has presented her work at many national and international conferences, has co-authored work presented at the American Educational Research Association, and is a 2020 Boston Ed Talk Fellow.

Her book, It’s Ok to Say “They”: Tips for Educator Allies of Transgender and Non-Binary Students, is published by Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc., and is available online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Mentioned in this podcast:

Christy’s book: It’s Ok to Say “They”: Tips for Educator Allies of Transgender and Non-Binary Students, is published by Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc.

Christy’s Website: www.christywhittlesey.com

Sign-up for Kelly’s newsletter here. Kelly Croy is an author, speaker, and educator. If you’d like to learn more about Kelly or invite him to your school or conference to speak please send him an email. • Listen to Kelly’s other podcast, The Future Focused Podcast and subscribe. • Subscribe to The Wired Educator Podcast with over 160 episodes of interviews and professional development. • Visit Kelly’s website at www.KellyCroy.com. • Looking for a dynamic speaker for your school’s opening day? • Consider Kelly Croy at www.KellyCroy.com • Order Kelly’s book, Along Came a Leader for a school book study or your personal library. • Follow Kelly Croy on Facebook.  • Follow Kelly Croy on Twitter.  •  Follow Kelly Croy on Instagram 

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In this episode of the Wired Educator Podcast I read my eBook What Everyone Needs to Know About Bullying and make it an audible book, and more!  I wanted this to be available so students, parents, educators and anyone could listen to it on the bus, in the car, at lunch, on a walk, workout, or doing chores with their headphones on. This is deeply personal but can really save lives.What is your school district doing to educate students, staff, parents and the community about bullying?

Every month should be ‘Bullying Awareness Month’, and I wanted to create a free audio recording of my popular ebook resource for educators, parents and students to help out when  a bully steps into someone’s life, What Everyone Needs to Know About Bullying. So… that’s what I did! This episode of the Wired Educator Podcast is me reading my eBook. I wanted this to be available so students, parents, educators and anyone could listen to it on the bus, in the car, at lunch, on a walk, workout, or doing chores with their headphones on. This is deeply personal but can really save lives. Please listen and share this out. I will update this book annually, as I have done for the past few years with the latest information and help.

I have created a free resource you can download titled, What Everyone Needs to Know About Bullying. I hope you will share it with everyone you can. I believe it delivers a message that many need to hear and practice.

The bottom line is this: The opposite of bullying is leadership.

We need to teach and train students to be better leaders online and off. It’s that simple. Everyone talks about the importance of leadership, but few, very few, take the time to teach it.

Listen to this podcast. This is what I want everyone to know about bullying.

I am the proud voice talent for two Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc. books: Start Right Now by Todd Whitaker, Jeffrey Zoul, and Jimmy Casas, (affiliate link) and Learn Like a Pirate: Empower Your Students to Collaborate, Lead and Succeed by Paul Solarz. (affiliate link) You can listen to them for free with a free Audible trial here: Start your free Audible Book trial:

Mentioned in this podcast: 

Tom Murray has a brand new book out! Personal and Authentic: Designing Learning Experiences That Impact a Lifetime(Affiliate link)

As an educator, you have the power to leave a legacy by . . .

• Making students’ learning experiences personal and authentic
• Ensuring that the culture around you is personal and authentic
• Developing and nurturing personal and authentic relationships
• Being personal and authentic

In Personal & Authentic, Thomas C. Murray reveals the power of designing awe-inspiring experiences that are grounded in relationships and learner-centered by design. Inherently relevant and contextualized, it is this kind of learning that lasts a lifetime.

Be bold. Be fearless. Be proud. Be you.
Your story is not finished yet.

• Listen to Tom Murray’s Interview on The Wired Educator Podcast Episode 115

Thank you.

Kelly

October is Bullying Awareness Month, but every month should be. I wanted to create a free resource for educators, parents and students to help out when  a bully steps into someone’s life.

October, National Bullying Awareness Month is a great time for schools to organize events and programs to help educate students, families and staff about bullying.

I have created a free resource you can download titled, What Everyone Needs to Know About Bullying. I hope you will share it with everyone you can. I believe it delivers a message that many need to hear and practice.

I will be updating this this free ebook very during the month of October. I also hope to release an audio version of it on my Wired Educator Podcast so you can listen to it while you drive, workout, walk the dog, or whatever. I really want this message to spread to help as many lives as possible.

The bottom line is this: The opposite of bullying is leadership.

We need to teach and train students to be better leaders online and off. It’s that simple. Everyone talks about the importance of leadership, but few, very few, take the time to teach it.

I will be sharing my What Everyone Needs to Know About Bullyingwith schools and parent groups throughout the school year. I would love to share it with you!

If you are a parent, read this ebook with your child. If you are a teacher, make copies and share it with your students. If you are and administrator, share it with your staff. Have conversations about the material.

Kelly