What if the fastest path to deeper learning is simply paying close attention to where and who we are? We sit down with award-winning educators and co-authors Whitney Aragaki and Kirsten Milks to explore a clear, humane approach to place-based science that helps students care, think critically, and take action without overwhelming teachers.

Whitney brings the lens of Hawai‘i, five generations rooted on island, and shows how honoring culture, economy, and environment makes science personal and rigorous. Kirsten shares how a self-described “not outdoorsy” molecular biologist learned local ecology alongside students in the Midwest and turned neighborhood parks and quarries into laboratories for authentic inquiry. Together they dismantle common myths: place-based learning isn’t just for rural schools, and it doesn’t require grand field trips. Urban ecosystems are alive with data, and meaningful shifts start with one small, intentional move.

We walk through four guiding questions—Where are we? When are we? Who are we? Who are we together?—and show how they act like a compass for curriculum design, reflection, and mentorship. Expect concrete strategies: building a shared bank of interview questions for elders, onboarding teachers to a new region with seasonal calendars and community partners, and using “I don’t know—let’s find out” to model authentic scientific thinking. You’ll hear stories of students connecting Arctic fires to Micronesian atolls, pitching research to city leaders, and turning local problems into national STEM recognition—all because learning was rooted in place, people, and purpose.

If you’re seeking practical, sustainable ways to teach less and impact more, this episode offers a roadmap grounded in clarity and care. Subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a review to help more educators discover minimalist, place-based strategies that elevate student voice and community connection.

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Ever wish planning felt lighter, clearer, and actually energizing? We sit down with Judith Roca Bastardes and Lorena Roca Bastardes, the educators behind Roma Planners, to unpack how a simple PYP-focused planner grew from a personal survival tool into a global pilot and a living community of practice. Their story starts with a familiar challenge—too many frameworks to juggle and no single place to make sense of them—and lands on a planner that turns priorities into visible action while reducing the daily mental load.

We dig into the anatomy of their system: the inquiry cycle embedded into weekly planning, targeted focus on the learner profile and approaches to learning, and two-page student profiles that make evidence easy to find when it’s time to report or differentiate. They share how design choices keep the tool minimalist yet powerful, helping teachers track what matters and spot patterns in engagement across science, social studies, and beyond. The message is clear: structure creates space for creativity, and flexibility—yes, write in pencil—keeps plans responsive to students.

Beyond the tool, we explore the human side: balancing full-time teaching with a growing venture, dividing roles by strengths, and embracing iteration through LinkedIn-driven feedback. Their advice for teacher entrepreneurs is candid and practical—ship your idea, learn in public, and, if you can, find a trusted partner to share the load. We also talk about the future: expanding into other IB programs and building a customizable template library so any teacher can assemble the planner that fits their context, from unit pages to checklists.

The conversation lands on a resonant truth: structure is a form of self-care. In a profession full of variables you can’t control, a clear planning routine restores focus, protects energy, and helps you teach happier. If you’re ready to pare down the noise and amplify what matters, this one’s for you. If the episode helped you rethink or simplify your practice, share it with a colleague, subscribe for new episodes, and leave a review so more educators can find it.

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This episode is sponsored by Plan Z Education Services.

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The Minimalist Educator Podcast is a Plan Z Education Services adventure.

Tammy and Christine talk about if you have ever caught yourself wishing the students would stay out a bit longer so you can “get real work done”? We unpack that exact moment of misalignment and the quieter signals that follow like missing meetings, mixing up times, and staring down a chaotic classroom you don’t even know you’ll keep. Our goal is simple: trade overwhelm for intent, and turn a crowded day into one you can meet with clarity and care.

We dig into the power of separating chunk time from confetti time, protecting deep work for planning and differentiation while pushing quick, low-value tasks into short windows. We talk about the surprising advantage of starting the year with less, then co-creating the environment with students so the space fits real needs rather than a perfect vision. Along the way, we surface seasonal patterns of fatigue, the emotional weight of aesthetics, and how role changes reveal new kinds of overload at the leadership and coaching level.

When forgetting becomes a pattern, it’s not a failure, it’s a signal. We share how to pause early, renegotiate timelines, apologize with sincerity, and fix root causes by pruning commitments and tightening calendar boundaries. Practical resets matter too: short nature breaks, strong sleep habits, and brief audio or hypnosis tracks that help the mind downshift. We close with simple, repeatable practices that keep your attention where it belongs on students, relationships, and meaningful work you can actually finish.

If this conversation helps you rethink your workload, subscribe, share it with a colleague, and leave a review to help more educators find minimalist strategies that create space for what matters.

This episode is sponsored by Plan Z Education Services.

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The Minimalist Educator Podcast is a Plan Z Education Services adventure.

What happens when a school stops juggling initiatives and starts pursuing impact with clarity and intent? We chat with international accreditation leader Sharyn Skrtic to unpack a simple but transformative shift: define the learner you want to grow, agree on shared pedagogy, and let student voice shape both the journey and the evidence of success.

Across roles in IB schools from Germany to Japan and now supporting NEASC’s global community, Sharyn has seen what works. She explains why coherence is the antidote to burnout, how a shared understanding beats a pretty definition, and where schools can start when agency feels daunting. From learners co-constructing curriculum to students leading teacher PD, we explore how voice, choice, and autonomy become everyday practice rather than slogans on a wall.

We also dive into multiple pathways for upper grades and the conversations required to make them legitimate in the eyes of universities and families. Sharon breaks down the learning principles, the switch from inputs to impact, and a practical start-stop-continue protocol that frees teacher capacity. We challenge mission statements to show up in the timetable and the building, so spaces and schedules actually enable collaboration, creation, and authentic assessment.

If you’re seeking a lighter, clearer way to teach and lead, one that keeps teachers engaged and centers student growth, this conversation offers concrete steps and hopeful examples. Subscribe, share with a colleague who craves less clutter and more purpose, and leave a review with one practice you’re ready to stop so you can make space for impact.

This episode is sponsored by Plan Z Education Services.

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Find our book The Minimalist Teacher and Your School Leadership Edit: A Minimalist Approach to Rethinking Your School's Ecosystem at the links!

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The Minimalist Educator Podcast is a Plan Z Education Services adventure.

The school year can feel like a rolling storm of demands—new curricula, behavior challenges, data deadlines, and the quiet fear that there’s never enough time. We sit down with Pete Hall to cut through the noise with a minimalist mindset: do fewer things, done better, on purpose. Pete shares how a single “so help me” goal can anchor your choices, reduce cognitive overload, and turn urgency into clarity. Instead of glorifying grind, we talk about building resilience through shared responsibility—leaders who create space to practice and reflect, and teachers who align their attention with what matters most.

We dig into the power of strong core instruction and thoughtful innovation at the edges, especially for kids who don’t fit the traditional box. Pete previews ideas from his forthcoming book on reaching and teaching disengaged learners, outlining five root causes of disengagement and practical ways to wipe assumptions clean, identify strengths, and design targeted supports. The conversation reframes success beyond test scores, urging us to see kids as kids first and students second, and to celebrate the talents that school often overlooks.

Along the way, we get concrete: how to protect deep work by shutting off distractions, how to sequence change without overwhelm, and how to partner with families to pursue the real outcome—capable, caring, curious humans who contribute to their communities. If you’ve felt spread thin or pressured to do it all, this is a focused, humane blueprint for sustainable teaching and leadership. Subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a review with your “so help me” goal so others can learn from your focus.

This episode is sponsored by Education Hall - Where leadership and learning connect.

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Find our book The Minimalist Teacher and Your School Leadership Edit: A Minimalist Approach to Rethinking Your School's Ecosystem at the links!

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The Minimalist Educator Podcast is a Plan Z Education Services adventure.

What if one small shift could make lessons stickier, meetings warmer, and workload feel lighter? We dive into the overlooked power of humor as a strategic tool for teaching and leadership, blending research with lived classroom experience to show how a shared smile can fuel memory, trust, and focus without slipping into cringe or chaos.

We unpack why humor boosts dopamine and oxytocin—and why that matters for engagement and recall—then challenge the old belief that “professional” means “serious.” You’ll hear how self-deprecating and affiliative humor can raise credibility and approachability, while sarcasm and punch-down jokes erode psychological safety. We walk through age and cultural considerations, especially for English language learners, and offer clear guardrails for humor that includes rather than excludes.

From light-touch meeting rituals to clever agenda “Easter eggs,” from quick in-class resets after lunch to simple recurring bits students adore, we share practical moves that take seconds and pay off in attention and belonging. We also address burnout: how to lift mood without feeding cynicism, and how gentle humor can help teams reconnect with purpose. Plus, we highlight student-led moments that turn a room into a community, proving that laughter can be both kind and deeply effective.

If you’re ready to teach less and impact more, this conversation offers concrete steps to weave smart, humane humor into daily practice. Listen, try one idea this week, and tell us how it lands. If it helps, subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a review so more educators can build lighter, stronger schools.

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The Minimalist Educator Podcast is a Plan Z Education Services adventure.

The first week back can feel chaotic, but it doesn’t have to. In this episode, we chat with returning guest, mentor teacher, and Plan Z coach, Nicole Dissinger to map out a calm, practical January reset that rebuilds classroom culture, clarifies expectations, and makes space for real learning to take root. Instead of sprinting into content, we focus on the moves that prevent weeks of chasing behaviors: reteaching core routines, reconnecting as a community, and designing short, high-success tasks that restore confidence.

Nicole brings 15 years of global experience as a teacher, coach, and curriculum developer, and she shares why students often return with surprising growth—sometimes academic, sometimes emotional—and how that shift should guide your next unit, groups, and supports. We talk about reflective practice for newer teachers, how to loosen the grip of the pacing guide without losing rigor, and why planning narrowly for the first few days can open the door to faster progress later. Snow days, indoor recess, and midwinter fatigue are real; a steady reset plan is your buffer.

We also get candid about behavior systems. Sticker charts and token economies can create short-term compliance but often escalate and distract from learning. We offer a minimalist alternative: simple, transparent expectations, consistent follow-through, and explicit modeling of what success looks like. For students who need more, we explore co-created goals, visual checklists, and short-interval supports that build ownership instead of dependence. The throughline is clarity—teach less, impact more by making the essentials unmistakable.

If you’re ready to start the year lighter and more focused, this conversation will help you plan the first week back, steady your routines, and re-energize your teaching. Subscribe, share with a colleague who needs a reset, and leave a review to tell us what you’re reteaching on day one.

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Find our book The Minimalist Teacher and Your School Leadership Edit: A Minimalist Approach to Rethinking Your School's Ecosystem at the links!

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The Minimalist Educator Podcast is a Plan Z Education Services adventure.

Season 6 kicks off with momentum and purpose: a leaner, clearer way to teach and lead, plus a major milestone as we head toward our 100th episode. We map the journey ahead—from a January reset that honors how students grow over the break to a guest lineup that challenges the norms and champions practical change. Every conversation aims at the same target: simplify the work, sharpen the focus, and amplify the impact on student learning.

We start by revisiting the midyear reset with Nicole, exploring how to assess what students remember, what’s shifted socially and emotionally, and how to set small goals that deliver visible wins. From there, Sharon Skrtic brings a framework-first lens to professional learning, reminding us that any system we adopt should reduce noise and increase clarity about evidence of learning. With Pete Hall, we dive into reaching and teaching kids who don’t fit the box—rethinking labels, designing flexible supports, and using reflection to guide what we keep and what we cut.

The season widens with rich perspectives: Whitney Aragaki and Kirsten Milks on place-based science that roots inquiry in local context; Jessica Holloway and Carrie Bishop on teacher retention and making teaching irresistible; Casey Watt on aligning clarity, purpose, and systems; and returning guest Allie Rodman on productivity shifts and the evolving role of technology. We lighten the load with an episode on humor as a serious tool for building trust and memory, and we stir the pot with friends sharing unpopular opinions in education to challenge habits that no longer serve students or teachers. Plus, we’re rolling out select video episodes on YouTube so you can watch or listen your way.

As we approach episode 100, we stay grounded in the minimalist promise: teach less, impact more. If you value practical strategies, thoughtful guests, and honest conversations about what works, you’ll feel at home here. Follow along, share with a colleague, and leave a quick review to help others find the show. What should we simplify next?

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Find our book The Minimalist Teacher and Your School Leadership Edit: A Minimalist Approach to Rethinking Your School's Ecosystem at the links!

Follow on Instagram @PlanZEducation and @minimalist_ed_podcast.

The Minimalist Educator Podcast is a Plan Z Education Services adventure.