Season 2, Episode 42: Becoming the Bison with Kim Gameroz
Ever read an email from your principal and immediately start drafting your defense in your head — before you even know what it says?
Kim Gameroz is the founder of Teaching Inside Out and Celebrate Good Times, author of Becoming the Bison, and the creator of the BISON framework — a classroom culture and teacher wellbeing system that's grown into consulting companies, a foundation, retreats, events, and a coaching community teachers pay out of pocket to be part of because it's that good. She went from professional dancer to first-grade teacher to building an education ecosystem that helps teachers feel genuinely seen, heard, and supported.
This week we talk about catching the spiral before it catches you, what to do when your kids have lagging skills nobody prepared you for, and why the bison — not the cow — is exactly the right metaphor for heading into the storm.
In this episode:
How Kim went from psych degree to professional dancer to first-grade teacher — and ended up somewhere she never planned
What the BISON framework actually is: Be Intentional So Others Notice
Teflon responses — what they are, why you need them, and how to use them when your principal gets under your skin
The social-emotional chain reaction and why it applies to kindergarteners and teenagers equally
Why teachers get stuck in reaction mode instead of front-loading the skills kids are actually missing
The dress rehearsal technique for transitions — how a fifth-grade class went from chaos to 7 seconds flat
What's different about kids' brains right now — and why it traces back to the fire truck
Why "no one is going to change your classroom except for you" is the only Post-it that matters
Boundaries, not walls — and why harmony beats balance every time
Plus: We play Celebrate or See You Later — Kim weighs in on mandatory staff icebreakers, the teacher group chat, "we are a family at work," jeans passes, eating lunch alone in your classroom, matching teacher shirts, and replying to school email on Sunday.
Connect with Kim:
Instagram: @kimgameroz
Website: kimgameroz.com
Teaching Inside Out (school support) and Celebrate Good Times (individual teacher coaching)
Free Zoom session on transitions — https://selebrategoodtimes.myflodesk.com/jtxrq1oa6y?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAcGRvZgRzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAwyNTYyODEwNDA1NTgAAacJ5hQnXa-vvlR_bv2Kc7px46MR9c5W5F9JJ8ffc6OklF6k2cjE94-Ls0C2Hw_aem_a-3K_TC3oZgss0TmY9j_Wg
Resources Mentioned:
Becoming the Bison by Kim Gameroz
The BISON Framework
The Social-Emotional Chain Reaction
The Dress Rehearsal executive functioning strategy
VIBE Edu Podcast and VIBE Edu Foundation
If this one made you think about what you can actually control, share it with a teacher who needs to hear it. Subscribe, leave a review, and keep going.
16 Oct 2026
Season 2, Episode 41: Getting Curious About Behavior with Shannon Fisher
Season 2, Episode 41: Getting Curious About Behavior with Shannon Fisher
What if the thing you've been trying to fix in your classroom isn't actually the problem?
Shannon Fisher is a dually licensed general and special education teacher with 25 years in early childhood education — preschool through second grade — and a certified trauma and resilience trainer. She's the educator behind The Purposeful Classroom, where she focuses on accessible materials, intentional lessons, relationships, regulation, and building learning environments that give every student a way in.
This week we get into what trauma-informed teaching actually looks like (hint: it's not Kumbaya), what's changed about the kids walking through classroom doors right now, and how 25 years of teaching can completely rewire the way you think about behavior.
In this episode:
Shannon's winding path from Las Vegas to northwest Ohio to preschool special ed — and why the career she planned looked nothing like the one she got
Why she pursued her trauma and resilience certification before it was a buzzword — and what two foster kids in her afternoon class had to do with it
The pendulum swing from "all behavior is a choice" to sensory regulation — and why she's now landing somewhere in the middle
The 90-second neuroscience rule for emotions and how she uses it with her students and her own kids at home
What trauma-informed teaching is NOT — and why boundaries are actually loving
What's different about the kids coming in this year: kids who don't know how to play, can't identify colors, and have never had to wait their turn
Why she sends video newsletters home instead of written ones — and the parent feedback that followed
Teaching kids "how to human" as an instructional goal
Plus: We play Purposeful or Pointless — Shannon weighs in on Pinterest-perfect classroom decor, behavior clip charts, assigned seats, making kids share, prize boxes, flexible seating, mandatory morning meeting participation, and ClassDojo points.
Connect with Shannon:
Instagram: @thepurposefulclassroom
That's the best place to find her — everything else links from there
Resources Mentioned:
Star Commonwealth trauma and resilience certification (Michigan)
Mel Robbins' Let Them theory and the 90-second emotion rule
Rita Pierson's TED Talk: Nobody learns from someone they don't like
If this one hit home, share it with a teacher who's been reacting when they could be getting curious. Subscribe, leave a review, and reach out — Shannon and Meghan both mean it.
9 Oct 2026
Season 2, Episode 40 (Replay): Measuring With Love with Manny Curiel
Season 2, Episode 40 (Replay): Measuring With Love with Manny Curiel
This week we're bringing back one of our favorite conversations — because some episodes deserve a second listen.
What if the most important thing you measure in a classroom has nothing to do with data?
Manny Curiel is EdPuzzle's global community person, a former classroom teacher, and the human behind the phrase measuring with love — the idea that real teaching impact lives in relationships, trust, and the look in a kid's eyes, not a spreadsheet. He came to education by way of culinary school, learned English by making connections between sounds and words, and built his entire teaching philosophy around one simple belief: when you take care of the heart, the brain does the rest.
This episode is full of real talk about what it actually means to connect with students, use technology with purpose, and keep joy at the center of everything.
In this episode:
How Manny went from culinary school to first-grade classroom — and why a girl's shining eyes changed his life
What "measuring with love" actually means and why he had to explain it to his boss using the analogy of buying a house
Why whole group instruction needs to stop — and how EdPuzzle gave him analytics that changed the way he pulled small groups
The Braveheart moment before state testing that got his third graders ready to go
Why emotions must come before academics — and the first-grade breathing video he built into EdPuzzle for students having hard days
What the edtech space is getting wrong (hint: it's not about the flashiest new app)
Disco balls, fog machines, and classroom dance parties as serious instructional strategy
Plus: We play Data or Love — Manny weighs in on chaotic but engaged lessons, high test scores with low student connection, perfect lesson plans with no interaction, teachers who know every student's story, and classrooms that feel safe vs. ones that just look perfect.
Connect with Manny:
Instagram: @ManniDiscotheque
Find him at edtech conferences — he's the one at the booth doing something silly
Resources Mentioned:
EdPuzzle
Flipgrid (RIP — but it shaped everything)
Rita Pierson's TED Talk: Nobody learns from someone they don't like
Vygotsky's zone of proximal development
Matt Miller and Jake Miller on purposeful edtech use
If this one hit differently the second time, share it with a teacher who needs to hear that what they're doing matters — even when the data doesn't show it. Subscribe and leave a review.
Who has been a guest on No Name Paper: A Teacher Podcast
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Chad Ostrowski
Dr Darrin Peppard
George Couros
Tisha Richmond
Melissa Summerford
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Meghan and Candace and Meghan Wells and Candace Miller and Candice host the show. Published by Meghan Wells.
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