Dr. Bryan Harris serves as the Director of Professional Development and Public Relations for the Casa Grande Elementary School District in Arizona. Having served in many roles in education – from a classroom teacher to a principal and now a central office leader – Bryan understands the challenges teachers and school leaders face as they strive to meet the needs of all students. Each year, he speaks to thousands of educators all over the country on the topics of student engagement, motivation, classroom management, and brain-based learning. He is author or coauthor of several books including the popular 2010 book Battling Boredom.

Bryan’s website: http://www.bryan-harris.com/

Bryan’s book: Battling Boredom

 

Bryan has been married for 25 years, and has two teenage sons, and he enjoys hiking and being in the outdoors near his home in Arizona  (2:03)

Bryan explains how one of his students, Chad, inspired him to write his book Battling Boredom, which is all about getting your students not only compliant, but also engaged  (4:10)

A few of Bryan’s favorite ideas for getting and keeping your students engaged (10:42)

Are you doing these things which are actually antagonistic to learning? (16:24)

Writing to learn versus learning to write and why the former is much better (19:10)

Why Bryan decided to switch from majoring in business to majoring in education (23:50)

Bryan’s career path from teaching to administration (25:47)

Encouragement from his administrators convinced Bryan to move into admin (28:40)

As a new administrator, Bryan’s biggest struggle was learning how to deal with conflict (31:47)

How years of experience have made Bryan more humble and accepting of others (37:20)

What to do when you feel like you’re in over your head (39:29)

One of Bryan’s favorite maxims is from C.S. Lewis: “True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” (42:00)

A great idea to help your teachers make a deeper connection with parents (44:30)

One of the most important qualities to look for when hiring teachers to be admins (48:08)

The first thing to do when you take an admin job in a new school or district (50:13)

Your most important task when you’re a leader (52:50)

Two books Bryan loves on the topic of influencing other people (56:26)

You can’t understand your students if you don’t understand the community (58:40)

To be an effective administrator, you’ve got to get in the classrooms with you teachers (1:00:30)

If Bryan had a time machine, here’s the advice he would go back and give his younger self when he was just starting out in administration (1:04:40)

 

Books mentioned in this episode

Battling Boredom: 99 Strategies to Spark Student Engagement by Bryan Harris

Yes!: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive by Noah J. Goldstein, Steve J. Martin, and Robert B. Cialdini

Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior by Ori Brafman and Rom Brafman

 

Connect with Bryan Harris

Bryan-Harris.com

 

 

About EducatorsLead:

Educators Lead is a podcast created to help launch educators into the next level of leadership. This show is for you if you are interested in educational leadership as an assistant principal, principal, superintendent, teacher or someone who hopes to be a school leader one day. Educators Lead offers inspiration and practical advice to help you lead more effectively. Jay Willis interviews school leaders three days a week to discuss why and when these educators made the decision to move into school leadership, challenges along the journey, and stories that made it all worthwhile. Educators Lead is a great resource for any educator looking to make a greater impact.

Educate. Inspire. Lead.

http://www.educatorslead.com