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Teachers have been using student jobs for years but sometimes a classic idea can use a makeover in an age of hybrid learning, remote learning, and blended learning. In this podcast episode, I interview Thom Gibson, who has thought strategically about how to use classroom jobs to build an empowered student community. We take a deep dive into how to make this work at the middle school level; though it’s also applicable to secondary and elementary classrooms as well.

For the first time ever, I’ve posted my podcast episode on YouTube. If you’d like to watch my podcast each week (or run it in the background of your computer), you might want to subscribe to my YouTube channel. You’ll also be the first to see my short sketch videos and my free video writing prompts.




Listen to the Podcast

If you enjoy this blog but you’d like to listen to it on the go, just click on the audio below or subscribe via  Apple Podcasts (ideal for iOS users) on Stitcher (ideal for Android users), on Amazon Podcasts, or on Spotify.

About Thom Gibson

Thom is a two-time teacher-of-the-year middle-school educator in Austin, TX. He’s also an Adobe Education Leader. Thom teaches middle school math, science, robotics, YouTube Video Production, and advisory. He also loves tacos and, yes, he has done the Ultimate Austin Breakfast Taco Quest (pre-COVID).

Looking for More?

If you’re interested in taking a deeper dive into this idea of classroom jobs, you might want to check out Thom’s courses. There are two things that strike me about Thom’s approach. First, he makes things practical and clear with step-by-step directions and materials you can use out of the box. The second is the sheer quality of his videos. He has a background in multimedia composition and he’s actually created a great course on making videos for distance learning as well. This is why I chose to be an affiliate for his courses (meaning I earn a portion of his course sales).

Essential Student Jobs for the Middle-School Classroom of Tomorrow: Tap into student interests with these class jobs that will build positive classroom culture and give students more ownership of their learning experience. Will work for in-person and distance learning classrooms. (FREE)

How to Teach Kids About Money BASIC: Create a classroom where students earn, save, spend, and invest classroom money. This has been updated for distance learning, so you can run this in an anywhere/any time approach.  Thom walks you through the entire process in 17 lessons with videos and materials. The price is $99 but you can get 20% off using the coupon code SPENCER.

John Spencer

My goal is simple. I want to make something each day. Sometimes I make things. Sometimes I make a difference. On a good day, I get to do both.More about me

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