Welcome back everybody. This is Andrew McPeek and with me is of course the incredible, the wonderful Gina Watts. G -dubbing -how. We are dumb, aren't we? We can't help it. I know, I love it. Well folks, if you believe that schools should be more than just about essays and GPAs, if you believe that EQs are just as important as IQs, and if you expect amazing things from the next generation, then you're in the right place, because we believe that too. And today we're discussing that next generation specifically, how we can help them craft their own educational journeys, often called personalized learning. Who doesn't like something being personalized? Absolutely. I mean, this is the episode to be tuned into. But before we dive into all of that, here's our opening question. That was a great drum roll. Thank you. If your life were a book or a movie, what genre would it be and why? What genre would it be? I mean, my joke answer is I'd probably be like a dictionary or an encyclopedia only because I'm so interested in so many things that... I actually have written a book and it's probably in that like leadership, not quite self-help, but personal growth kind of space. And honestly, most of my life is probably that. That's the boring, but probably accurate answer. But yeah, I mean, it's okay. You're allowed to be boring. like that people grow. And honestly, think healthy often looks boring from the outside. And I'm OK with that. That might be a t -shirt. might be. Healthy often looks boring. Yep. It's good. What about you? OK. I almost broke my brain on this one because I take this question so seriously. But if I were to say a movie. I don't know if this is really a genre. You're the dictionary encyclopedia, so you have to if my definition is correct or not. I'm pretty sure it's not. But I think if it's a movie, it's like mostly biographical. It's like one of those movies that says based off of real events. But it's enough fiction that it could be an action movie. So it's like action based off of a true story, based off of real life events. about Gina Watts. by a true story. Inspired, that's what it said. Inspired by real life events of Gina Watts. I was actually, as was thinking about my answer to this, I wrote down the word inspirational because that is what I, that's the category I would have put you in. So I'd to use that word. thank you. I'll buy you a cookie. Okay, good. That was great. Well, I wasn't expecting anything from that, so cookies are a great deal. It's great. You know, it's crazy because we can control the tone we set in our life, just like a director or writer does with like movies and books. And we can also help students and teachers do the same thing. You know, we're actually the writers of our own lives and we hold a lot of power in how our story continues from chapter to chapter. And in an ideal world, our students have that too, but often that's... Not the case, right? Right. That's why we're so excited today. We're talking about personalized learning and we got to sit down. I got to sit down and have a chance to talk about what it takes to help students explore their own educational journeys. And I did it with an amazing guy who's our guest today. His name is Caleb Wakala. Caleb is a dynamic educator and coach with Rowe Schoolworks. They're based in Illinois in kind of the Champaign Urbana area. He has a background spanning teaching, curriculum development, even event coordination, and he brings a wealth of experience to his very unique role. But what's, what's coolest about him is that he is passionate about fostering partnerships between schools as well as professional growth. And he's dedicated to helping students and educators thrive through self -discovery and meaningful connections. But enough from me. I think we should hear from the man himself about just what inspires him to do what he does. Yeah. I'm from Champaign, Illinois, home of the University of Illinois. was born and raised here. I love this community and I've kind of made it a personal mission to just do the best that I can to make it better, whatever that means. I have a wife and two daughters, Jane and Lucy. Jane is six, Lucy's three, and boy, I love them. But you know, that is a full -time job and the most joyous moments of my life have come from. spending time with them. As far as my professional career goes, I was an educator for our teacher in a classroom for about 10 years, almost 10 years. And I like to say that I was a communication educator. I taught public speaking, advanced communication, comm theories, journalism, and just basic English as well. And in the fall of 2018, I was actually diagnosed with brain cancer and I totally had my world turned upside down. My perspective shifted. made me think like, what else could I be doing? Maybe there's more. So as I was exploring alternative paths while still wanting to be involved in education, someone reached out to me from the regional office who I used to work with. And she said, hey, there's this position opening up. we got a grant and we need someone to coordinate it and you'd be great. And I was like, well, I don't think so. I've never done that before. She was like, just trust me. Okay. Like, yeah, I promise. promise. Yeah. Yeah. You could do it. So I applied and got this position and the grant was to coordinate a career and technical education conference that was statewide for Illinois. And I came in on year two of a three year grant and What was beautiful about it was that it really showed me just how much there is outside of the classroom in regard to education and how many people really do want to do what's best for kids. I made a lot of new friends and network with a lot of people. met Andrew as a part of this and Andrew was part of the grant. He was a key. You were the keynote speaker, right? As for the first one. Yeah. Believe so. Yeah. Yeah. So I came in after that. So I didn't get to see that, but I'm sure you did a great job after the grant ran out. My boss assured me I'd still have a job. And so she was like, you're going to be an instructional coach. And I said, I don't know what that is. She's like, it's okay. Like, you'll be good at it. So there's kind of a theme here. So I now I go into classrooms and I partner with teachers. And really the way I like to say my job is, what it is, is I do a lot of listening and I try to ask really good questions to move teachers forward. So that's been really fun among other duties as assigned. And I'd say above all, if we're talking about me, who am I, and my core and my values, I'd say I'm an idealist. I'm always thinking like, Why can't it just be this way? And I really value authenticity, individuality, creativity, and making really deep, powerful, meaningful connections with people. That's what this is all about. Wow. Caleb has had quite the journey from teaching communication to battling brain cancer and then jumping into coordinating statewide education projects. He's... just incredible. he's something else. That's why he and I have connected so much. I love this guy. Seriously, I can't imagine how challenging many of the things that he's been through were for him. And now he's an instructional coach who listens and asks all the right questions with the teachers that he works with. It sounds like he's really embraced the entire spectrum of education. Yeah, it's like he's lived 10 lifetimes in one. It totally is. Yeah. So from there, where we kind of are and Caleb walking us through, Caleb actually had an experience. It was at a conference that actually he helped to lead and put on, but this experience and the conversation that came out of it sealed the deal for him, so to speak, and it landed him where he is today. This career conference that I coordinated or co -directed, one of our keynote speakers was Brandon Fleming in one of the other years, and his book, Miseducated, is phenomenal. Highly recommend his book. In it, he says a bunch of just really short brilliant but poignant things and he says, if you can't see it, you can't be it. I couldn't see that that was an option, but I got the chance to and I'm like, I could be that. So that exposure, yeah, that exposure set me on a course of, okay, I think I might wanna do this. And I felt like I finally had an answer to the question, what do you wanna be when you grow up? That was it. I wanted to impact lives. I found my purpose and my purpose was I want to help others figure out what theirs is. And that's where I am today and I'm in a position now where I feel like I have not only an obligation but an opportunity to pay forward what Mark did for me and so many other students that he impacted. Caleb sounds like he's always been passionate about self -exploration and self -expression in education. And you know, he's right. We really are still running on those old GOS systems, metaphorically speaking. I mean, I'm old enough to know what that means. Some of our listeners were like, what is he talking about? And then that Brandon Fleming quote, if you can't see it, you can't be it. It really did hit home for me. Exposure and seeing possibilities are so crucial. Absolutely. Yeah. Well, this is what you can imagine led Caleb to. what's called IEPs or Individualized Education Programs. And of course, the idea behind an IEP is that a teacher would get to know the needs of a specific student, their strengths and weaknesses, desires, goals, all those kinds of things, and then begin to work to create a plan utilizing that student's strengths and preferences, as well as acknowledging those weaknesses that could help them learn in a unique way. Of course, all teachers would likely love the idea of plans that allow for each student that they have to learn in their own special way, but Who has the time for that? I'm sure not many people do. Yeah. Yeah. So that's why when Caleb and I spoke, I wanted him to get to get him to kind of define what he means when he says individualized education. He was able to break down the essential elements of what makes individualized education so effective. I think that the first the first step has to be intentionality. We have to be intentional about creating individualized education. for kids. think oftentimes there's an assumption that it will happen. Kids figuring out what they want to be or who they want to be or what their purpose is will happen as a byproduct of education. But it has to be done and set up intentionally. That's first and foremost. The next really is that before we can even begin thinking about what we're teaching and the content, we have to know who we're actually teaching, who they are as people, as individuals. We ought to remind ourselves as educators that we are in the biggest service industry in the world and we have the biggest impact on lives outside of medicine or you may even say even above medicine because everybody has to get an education. We're serving these students. And especially now with the world that we're entering, that we're in right now and that we are entering into, teachers aren't experts anymore. You can't say, I know this, so now stop talking and listen to me and absorb all of this knowledge that you can just look up on your phone, right? Like that's not what, that's not where we are. It's students coming into classrooms saying, what can you do for me? And some people, some adults might think that that's insulting or like that that's challenging. But I think it needs to be viewed as what an opportunity to meet students where they are, to partner with them and say, I could do a lot for you because I'm here to help realize your dreams, your passions. So really, we're talking about intentionality and almost a total mindset shift of what education really is. I think another really big piece has to be changing the question from what do you want to be when you grow up to who do you want to be when you grow up? What kind of person do you want to be? What do want people to say about you? Not in a Like, my gosh, what are people saying about me? But in a, what do you want people to say when you're not in the room about how impactful you are as a person? What are your values? How do you determine those? If you're not sure. What are the things that you're really good at? Where would you like to improve? What helps you relax when you feel out of control? What do you do to stretch your comfort zone? Like all these things that schools should be teaching beyond. You know, you're reading, you're writing, and that core content stuff. But the how do you be a human and a good one? Those are kind of the three main things I'd say we have to look at big picture. You could get, I mean, I could get into weeds about we should start in sixth grade and then you should do an inventory and then this and seventh grade do that, which I've got that all out, but we don't, you know, that's for another day. I love what he just said about intentionality in education and it is so true. You know, we often just assume kids will figure things out as they go, but it really does need to be more deliberate. Yeah, it does. And I think his point about knowing who we're teaching before we worry about the content that we're teaching is so exponent. before worrying. that's exactly right. this line he said that we're in the biggest service industry there is. And it's all about meeting students where they are and helping them realize some of their own dreams. I love that. Yeah, it's, you know, the idea about shifting from what you do you want to be, you know, it's a question we always ask, right? What do you want to be? To who do you want to be? It's so... powerful. It's not just about the job title, but the person you become and the values you hold. And, you know, if we just think for a second about the intentionality part, know, John Maxwell talks about intentional living and being able to help young people at such a critical time in their lives to get that language and to hold those values. Yes. When they're adults, what? Yeah. Especially if that's a student who's struggling in school right now. They're kind of lost in so many ways in the traditional path that's been handed to them. It's not really working for them. I love that so much. So Caleb mentioned intentionality, knowing your students, all those kinds of things. Well, these principles for him are now becoming a program, one that he's getting to test this year. And it's the whole reason I wanted to sit down and talk to him. The program he's starting is designed to help students use self -discovery to express themselves in authentic ways and plan their own future. My big picture goal would be to by the 2025 -26 school year to have an individualized self-exploration career pathway, et cetera. Still working on the, you know, still testing the name of whatever it is I'd call it. But where at the regional level we could go in and serve and partner with schools and districts about how can we build a program that's sustainable in your building. I would love to work with kids while I do that, because I don't get to do that anymore and I do, I really miss it. I miss working with them. But the opportunity that I do have coming up is to pilot a three week summer school course that introduces these concepts and ideas to students at our alternative school. So these would be kids who have been repeatedly suspended and expelled from their homeschools in our counties. And talk about needing to see a purpose for education and how it can serve them in their lives now and in the future. This is it. So the idea with this would be very condensed version, really focusing on the core values, beliefs. strengths, identity, personality, skills, talents. What are those and how do I okay leverage them now that I know them to make education work for me to help take me to where I want to go? I'm sure that people are going to be annoyed that I love all of our guests so much. We haven't had a single one you haven't liked yet. I just... Like what? Yeah. Caleb and I can be, like he can join the bestie circle. He would love to hang out with you. I'm certain about that. It's just amazing. This program's amazing. I agree. And I love so much that he's starting small, right? Like most people, when they came to an idea like this, many schools and districts would just dismiss them out of hand, right? Because they would hear this and go, this is so radically different from what we're doing. But if we could kind of think of these ideas like tests, little experiments. rather than a program school -wide that I have to implement. It makes this idea, these kinds of trials, more palatable. I really love that Caleb's focal point is on students in an alternative school, right? Because these are students who have sort of self -selected to say, the traditional model of education is not working for me, you know? And he's identified those kids that go, if anybody needs individualized education, it's these kids. So Caleb and I talked about some of the challenges people can encounter when launching a program like this. Yeah. I would say that just big one, big picture is kind of that systemic change to traditional education models. The just the mindset shift. We thought the pandemic was going to be an opportunity to kind of change or tweak or reinvent how we school. And unfortunately, in a lot of places, that wasn't the case. So that's been a real challenge. Another one really is funding. There are curriculums, know, curricula out there that exist that, that would do this, that already are doing these types of things, but they cost money. So how again, do you prove that it's needed with that before you have those funds? That's, that's been a challenge, very personal humanistic level self doubt and having, having the courage to do it. Having the courage to go against the norm, to challenge the status quo, which I have no problem doing. A lot of people have no problem challenging things, but do they actually do anything about it? I've covered in tattoos, I say what I think. There's a lot of people like that, but to actually do the work, I want to leave a legacy and start to build that. And he had some really great insights and they're honestly things that we should all look for if we're thinking about creating a program with individualized learning. After hearing so much from Caleb, I can totally see how pushing for systemic change in traditional education models is a massive challenge. It feels like turning a cruise ship around in a bathtub or something, you know? What? Turning a cruise ship around in a bathtub? That is like the best. The best. You can use that as much as you want. I am. I'm stealing it. But honestly, yeah, I mean, and then on top of that, funding is always the tricky part. It's tough to prove the need for something innovative when you don't have the initial resources to get it off the ground. Like you really need a believer. You need somebody to believe in you, to believe in the vision and to know that they can be behind you. Yeah. And then of course, after all of those external practical things, he shares the personal element, which I so appreciated that he got down to that because I do think we have to acknowledge that self -doubt can be such a hurdle, especially when you're trying to challenge the status quo. He is younger. Some people would call him young, right? And so it can be really easy to go, am I just crazy here? Do I even know what I'm talking about? But what I love is it sounds like he has some leaders and hopefully the people listening to this are these kinds of leaders who have the guts to really push through that. He's become that kind of person and I love that. That's so inspiring. It's not just talking the talk, it's walking the walk and leaving a legacy. Yes. Yes. Huge. Yes. And he's already doing that in his 30s, which is amazing. So speaking of walking the walk, for my final question, you know, we like to get practical here. So I asked Caleb to share some strategies and practices he has found effective with that he thinks other schools might be able to use to tailor their instruction to meet the individual needs of students in their environments. These aren't just good strategies for one specific thing like individualized education, but just good strategies. period, which move us toward more individualized education. The first one, and you said it about being vulnerable is vulnerability. We talk ad nauseum about building relationships with students, but there's a reason for that. Because the only way to do that properly is to be vulnerable with them. about yourself. I'm not saying share your darkest secrets, but nothing transformative is going to happen in a classroom if trusting relationships aren't formed and then also maintained. The things that you want the students to learn are not going to be learned unless they trust you. So that's it. And that gets into my passion with the interpersonal communication and self -disclosure and building those relationships. So that's foundational. And then I mentioned, Fleming's quote, we don't have a disinterest problem, we have a disengagement problem. So often I get asked by teachers to help them with classroom management. And the answer oftentimes to that is not, well, If you just move this kid here or maybe you tried this strategy, it's, what are we doing to actually engage them in the learning instead of, you know, a lecture or independent practice and work. we need complex skill building, cross -categorical skill building, moving as fast as we can away from these traditional practices of recalling, defining, and memorizing those lower order. type thinking things and shift toward these complex skills of thinking and creating and designing and collaborating and communicating, analyzing, problem solving, a lot of other ING words that you could come up with, you know, and again, intentionally, how are we teaching those things? yeah, they're in groups, so they're communicating. Okay, how? And in what ways? And is it respectful and is it back and forth and are all ideas being heard and responded to teaching those things to kids? There are great strategies, UDL, universal design for learning, PBL, project -based learning that are often scary if you've never done them before. But holy cow, if you've not looked into them, do it and just try. Well, I go back. to sitting across the table from teachers and them wanting to try something, but they're not sure if they should or if they'd be allowed to, or what would the parents think? What might my principal think if they walk in and the classroom looks like chaos? And the question that I ask them is, you doing what's best for kids? And when they inevitably say, yeah, or I think so, I say, there's your permission. If you can say what I'm doing will impact students' lives right now while they're with me and tomorrow, or maybe even the next week or forever, then that's your permission to try it. Okay, so Gina, I got to play you one last clip because Caleb shared with me that a lot of the teachers he meets with who want to do more personalized education in their classrooms are afraid of how other people will react. And I'm sure that's a very familiar feeling for anybody listening to this, but especially those, the school administrators, how they're going to react, parents of my students, how are they going to react? His advice on this was absolutely priceless. Well, I go back to sitting across the table from teachers. and them wanting to try something, but they're not sure if they should or if they'd be, if they'd be allowed to, or would the parents think what might my principal think if they walk in and the classroom looks like chaos. And I, the question that I ask them is, are you doing what's best for kids? And when they inevitably say, yeah, or I think so. I say, there's your permission. If you can say what I'm doing will impact students' lives right now while they're with me and tomorrow, or maybe even the next week or forever, then that's your permission to try it. Benefit to students is all the permission we need. I love that. Yes, I love it too. That's why I had to play that, man, because that's so incredible. Caleb is such an amazing leader, and I think he's so good at getting to the heart. of what is gonna make or break a thing like this. Even though what he's working on right now is small, there are a handful of students right now whose lives are being changed because he decided to say yes to this. And I think that some of our listeners might need to join him. What do you think? Absolutely. And of course, he did give us a lot to on, Andrew. Almost too much. Yes! It's happening, Gina. Yes, it is. We've got TMI. It's time for DMI. Yes, it is. DMI, of course, stands for Don't Miss It. Andrew and I will both take the best thing we got from today's episode that we think you shouldn't miss. Andrew, you want to kick us off this time around? Yeah, it's something to me that Caleb said several times, but I think it's the key that if there's a person listening to this right now and they're going, I'm not doing any individualized learning. and there's probably a million reasons why you're not, if you could get this one idea, it'll move the most barriers out of the way, and that is this, we have got to start small, right? Choosing a group of students, perhaps the ones who are struggling the most with their traditional settings of education, pulling them out and going, let's try something radical, because what do you have to lose in that case, right? Caleb told me that his program is going to have less than 10 students in it. That does not mean that it's a waste of time, right? In fact, because of the students he chose, it's the best thing that he can probably be doing with his time. So I just think listeners out there, don't make this a big thing. Start small, and that will give you permission to make it bigger later on. So that's the big thing. What about you, Gina? There's so many big old nuggets that Caleb gave us, but I think there's one thing that even before we start small that oftentimes people need, and that's permission. Yeah. and when he took the time to just reorient us and say, if you can say that what I'm doing is gonna impact students' lives right now while they're with me and tomorrow, or maybe even next week and into the future, then that's your permission to try it. And I think... so often, and especially as young professionals, I think you and I could point to this, we may have waited too long to do things because we were waiting for formal permission or we were waiting for invitation. And the reality is, is that we've been trusted in our jobs to do a thing. And we need to take that permission and go all in. And we never know what lives will be transformed, including our own, when we take that risk. Yeah, that was just, all about, I mean, we both are all about young professionals and developing spaces for them to lead. And while we talk about students a lot on our podcast, we are here for you. Our listeners are the professionals that are doing this important work and you are not too young to be considered. You're not too old to be considered. You are right where you are for such a time as this to do this really important work. And that's helping transform the lives of this generation. Absolutely. Yeah. Give yourself permission. Yeah, do it. I love it. Walk in, do it, bust down. Well, we are so grateful for Caleb and the amazing work that he's doing, but also his willingness to sit down and kind of walk us through it, share some of his wisdom and insight. We also want to thank you guys for joining us on today's episode of the School on a Mission podcast. Now, before you hit skip, onto your next podcast, we do have a little challenge for you, okay? We want you to grab a pen, notebook, sticky note, back of your hand, your phone, I don't know what, but we want you to use that thing to write down one action you are going to take this week. Maybe it's something you're gonna do, something to add to the to -do list, maybe it's something you're gonna investigate a little bit more, something to read more about, perhaps a person you wanna meet with, whatever it is, write it down, okay? Got it? Perfect. Now, shoot us a DM on social media, We cannot wait to see the awesome things that you're up to and we'll try and hold you accountable to it too. So until next time folks, stay curious, stay bold and keep leading your school on a mission.