Mr. Clarke After Dark – Details, episodes & analysis

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In this episode, I discuss my embarrassing attempts at being present with my friend groups, how neuroscience PD has stalled and what is routinely available is not working and why this does not have to be a bad thing, why teachers lie about how busy they are, why new teachers want to be told what to do and how this helps everyone long-term, why self-interest in education should not be frowned upon, what makes collaboration cool, the joy of thinking over doing, and, much more. 

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Thoughts shared on the podcast are purely our own and do not represent the views of the Anglophone South School District or the relevant jurisdictions associated with my guests.

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Teachers need to put themselves out there more. Teachers hide their expertise behind their classroom door because we have constantly been told nobody knows what they are doing and everyone feels too scared to share what they know. 

Baptism by fire leaves everyone even more vulnerable to imposter syndrome and about imposter syndrome that actually holds you back. 

New Teachers should actually be involved in everything even though this time is unpaid, and this is where low starting salaries hurt and scheduling them into classes nobody wants to teach is a mistake.

You can feel the energy of a school the moment you walk in, and your gut instinct is usually correct. There are better schools than others, and there are some teachers you should model more than others, and this does not have to be a bad thing. 

Emotional Contagion - Almost everyone hates the staff room even if they go there to eat their lunch. It also really only takes a couple to poison the bunch. 

Private schools are having the same issues as public schools when it comes to literacy and numeracy ‘scores’ and often seek to hire international educators to accommodate alternative schedules.

Teachers love learning but do not like being talked down to in PD sessions from those who do not teach or have turned their niche idea into something that works outside of the classroom.

There is no definition of what a “fully funded” education system looks like in education and this additional uncertainty is holding us back. 

Standardization needs to mean something to be effective but students will find loopholes with everything we do.

Neuroscience learning has stalled and what is routinely available is not working. Again, this is not a bad thing, but it feels true the more educators I speak with. Things such as Polyvagal theory, beating burnout through self-care, etc. fall on empty ears because it has now been around for the past five years in a higher capacity but nobody feels like anything has really changed.

Teachers do not want others to know they use AI because it makes them appear lazy. Even if it is more effective, we need to tell others that we are ‘drowning’ or ‘have so much marking to do’ even if we genuinely feel pretty good about how things are going with our workload at that particular time. 

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Thoughts shared on the podcast are purely our own and do not represent the views of the Anglophone South School District or the relevant jurisdictions associated with my guests.

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Dr. Mark Williams is a Professor of Neuroscience and is the author of The Connected Species: How Understanding The Evolution of the Brain Can Help You Reconnect With The World. In this episode, Mark and I dive deep into the science of human connection and its profound impact on education. Drawing from his personal journey and groundbreaking research, Dr. Williams explores why connection—not just engagement—is the key to effective teaching and lifelong learning.

He discusses how teacher-student relationships, physical touch, and eye contact play a crucial role in learning by building trust and motivation in the classroom—sometimes more powerfully than verbal praise. You'll learn why understanding the neuroscience of learning can transform how we teach, and how substances, social cues, and even racial perception shape our behavior and face recognition.

Dr. Williams also breaks down the effects of in-group and out-group dynamics, showing how a student’s sense of belonging directly affects their ability to learn. He highlights the rise of tribalism and how it negatively impacts social connection, especially in diverse educational settings. The conversation extends to the role of technology and social media, examining how they influence children’s ability to read facial expressions, contribute to increased loneliness among teenagers, and normalize harmful content like internet pornography, distorting perceptions of healthy relationships.

Connect with Mark here: https://www.drmarkwilliams.com/

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Chapters

02:53 The Impact of Substances on Perception
06:01 Understanding Connection vs. Engagement in Education
09:00 Building Teacher-Student Relationships
12:08 The Neuroscience of Learning and Connection
14:56 Strategies for Enhancing Classroom Connection
18:09 The Role of Touch and Eye Contact in Connection
21:06 The Negative Aspects of Tribalism and Connection
34:27 Understanding Face Recognition and Racial Perception
38:01 In-Group and Out-Group Dynamics in Education
41:24 Expanding Community and Classroom Connections
44:25 The Impact of Social Media on Loneliness
53:30 Reassessing Technology's Role in Education
59:16 The Dangers of Internet Pornography and Its Effects
01:02:42 Building Community in Schools
01:04:29 The Importance of Lifelong Learning

Thoughts shared on the podcast are purely our own and do not represent the views of the Anglophone South School District or the relevant jurisdictions associated with my guests.

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Thomas Wickens is a Physics & Chemistry Teacher who has been in and out of the profession for over a decade. On part two of this episode, Wickens and I discuss inflatable penguins, if Humanities and Science Teachers should earn the same wage, his initial start as a Secondary Science Teacher, going into his first full year back and … right into Covid, recovering from Covid, staying in the classroom in the age of teacher shortages knowing he could take other higher paying jobs at any time, dealing with the productivity hangovers, finding quality PD, trying not to be the teachers we didn’t like as students, what it means to be too chill, the difference between your home self and your teacher self, if he would ever go into administration, and, then Tom turns the tables and asks me a series of questions to finish it off. 

Thoughts shared on the podcast are purely our own and do not represent the views of the Anglophone South School District or the relevant jurisdictions associated with my guests.

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Thomas Wickens is a Physics & Chemistry Teacher who has been in and out of the profession for just over a decade. On this episode, Wickens and I discuss his Chemistry Masters Program working on cancer research at Dalhousie, his first teaching gig at an all-girls school in England, his jobs working as a professional protein taster (supplement quality control) as well as working for a cigarette testing factory, how the teaching itch was always in the back of his mind, restarting his teaching career as a Junior High Humanities Teacher, bringing a slightly different dynamic as a teacher having leverage in an interview situation, sad cloud classroom management, and, much more. Thanks for tuning in and hope to see you next time! 

Thoughts shared on the podcast are purely our own and do not represent the views of the Anglophone South School District or the relevant jurisdictions associated with my guests.

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Kevin Garbuio is currently a Vice Principal and has been teaching for more than a decade. On today's episode Garbuio and I discussed how to begin the new year to establish relationships and routines, letting students have some control in the room, being the 'not-mad' administrator, teacher self-comparison, embracing your idiosyncrasies as a teacher, summer school life, dealing with puberty humans, the role of teacher responsibility (?) in extra-curricular activities, the dangers of quantifying your overall time and how it contributes to burnout, balancing the first-year teacher pulling with family life, understanding how spreading yourself too thin actually hinders your overall performance, learning what kind of teacher you ARE versus what teacher you are NOT and, much more. I hope you all enjoyed and please do not forget to subscribe!

Thoughts shared on the podcast are purely our own and do not represent the views of the Anglophone South School District or the relevant jurisdictions associated with my guests.

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Kevin Garbuio is currently a Vice Principal and has been teaching for more than a decade. On today's episode Garbuio and I discussed student/teacher personality clashes, choosing not to win when in conflict as a teacher, turning consistency from words into practice, Special Education, split VP roles, when to start your Masters, teacher burnout and the role peers play in either its alleviation or exacerbation, accepting failure, classroom management adaptations, questioning students on their behaviour, the role detention plays, and, much more.  Thank you for tuning in and hope you enjoy the show! 

Thoughts shared on the podcast are purely our own and do not represent the views of the Anglophone South School District or the relevant jurisdictions associated with my guests.

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Nicole North is currently in her first year of teaching after receiving her Education Degree from the University of Alberta. On this episode Nicole and I discuss her immediate two-month junior high placement following the end of her university studies, the adjustment from student to teacher, understanding how long it takes students to do seemingly menial tasks, being terrified as a new teacher, making yourself the joke, balancing your personal vs. professional self in the classroom, first-year teacher fails, and, much more. I hope you all enjoy and please do not forget to subscribe!

Thoughts shared on the podcast are purely our own and do not represent the views of the Anglophone South School District or the relevant jurisdictions associated with my guests.

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Hilary Morgan is a Secondary English & Social Studies Teacher who is currently in her seventh year teaching overall. Initial apologies here as this episode is using the backup audio as Adobe Audition crashed before I could save the main audio. On today's episode, Hilary and I discuss making marking more efficient, letting the rubrics do the work for you, moving from a rural, mainly Indigenous school with very small class sizes to moving to a school with an average of 30-35 students per class, how Covid helped her realize her teaching energy cost, not using a Sharpie to mark (among other personal knowledge gaps on my behalf), using podcasts in the classroom, feeling organized, and, much more. I hope you all enjoyed and please do not forget to subscribe!

Thoughts shared on the podcast are purely our own and do not represent the views of the Anglophone South School District or the relevant jurisdictions associated with my guests.

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On this episode, Keca and I discuss winners and losers, how Baseball is stupid, the problems with athletes specializing in one sport only, establishing relationships with students, athletes, and community supporters, teaching communication, networking, embracing your individuality as a teacher and coach, dealing with morale on struggling teams, delegating leadership to your players, leaving coaching and returning to the teaching profession this past year, weeding out your problem players, and what education may look like moving forward.  Thank you for tuning in and hope you enjoy the show! 

Thoughts shared on the podcast are purely our own and do not represent the views of the Anglophone South School District or the relevant jurisdictions associated with my guests.