Show Notes
This Reel Talk episode is an edited segment from Education Upgrade Podcast Episode 17 featuring Morgan Torres-Unger-Castleberry. In this conversation, Jake and Morgan discuss Mean Girls and explore a larger question: What role did movies once play in adolescent development? Drawing on themes from the Education Upgrade essay Reel Talk: The Role of Teen Movies in Adolescent Development, they examine why films like Mean Girls, The Breakfast Club, and Dazed and Confused resonated so deeply with generations of young people. The conversation explores belonging, identity, social dynamics, and the universal challenges of growing up. Related essay: https://educationupgrade.substack.com/p/reel-talk For the full conversation, including discussions on education, mentorship, learning gaps, and student development, watch or listen to Education Upgrade Podcast Episode 17. Topics include: • Mean Girls and adolescent development • Why teen movies mattered • Belonging and social identity • Shared cultural experiences • The lessons movies teach about growing up • Why these stories continue to resonate today
More from Education Upgrade with Jake Schulke
In this featured segment from Education Upgrade, Jake Schulke and guest Brett Barker examine how traditional teaching methods, large class sizes, and an emphasis on career preparation can limit meaningful learning. The conversation explores why students struggle to engage with English and social studies, whether conventional teaching practices encourage memorization over critical thinking, and how the structure of public education may contribute to these challenges. Watch or listen to the full conversation in Episode 19. Follow Education Upgrade for more conversations about teaching, learning, and rethinking education.
Can extrinsic rewards eventually help students become intrinsically motivated to learn? Dr. John McFarland (Dr. Mack) shares how he built “Fantasy French,” a gamified classroom system using experience points, levels, character classes, special abilities, and collaborative rewards. We discuss how students responded to the system, how it encouraged cooperation, and what happened as students began taking greater ownership of their learning. This featured segment comes from Episode 2 of Education Upgrade.
What do police searches communicate to students? Dr. Sebastián Sclofsky and I discuss school searches, student trust, discipline, and the difference between responding to a behavior and addressing what may be causing it. From Episode 11 of Education Upgrade.
What if teachers had more control over their own professional learning? In this featured segment from Education Upgrade, Dr. Derek Riddle discusses self-directed professional development and how teachers can identify their own learning needs, set meaningful goals, and seek out resources that help them improve their practice. We explore adult learning, reflection, teacher choice and motivation, and the many ways educators learn beyond traditional professional development. We also consider why even well-designed PD can fall short when it doesn't connect to what an individual teacher actually needs. Featured segment from Episode 12 of Education Upgrade: Why Teacher Professional Development Fails, and What Works Instead with Dr. Derek Riddle.
What does the research actually tell us about effective teacher professional development? In this featured segment from Education Upgrade, Dr. Derek Riddle explores the research on teacher professional learning, including six design features that shaped the field for decades: format, duration, collective participation, content, active learning, and coherence. We also discuss research that challenged that traditional consensus and an important factor that can get lost when professional development is designed: the teacher. What motivates teachers? What intellectually engages them? What makes professional learning meaningful? And how much voice should teachers have in determining what they need to learn? Featured segment from Episode 12 of Education Upgrade: Why Teacher Professional Development Fails, and What Works Instead with Dr. Derek Riddle.