Ryan and Howie welcome an extra special guest to the show, Mark DiBlasi.

So, who doesn’t like playing board games?  Many families regularly play board games when they gather together and many play board games when they gather for parties and such, but did you know that many educators are now using board games in their classrooms.  So on today’s show, we are looking into how and why we should consider using board games in our classrooms. Here are five of the many reasons that board games can be a useful tool in the classroom.

In today’s episode of My Disney Class Podcast, Howie and Ryan are discussing how teachers can help students who are struggling with hidden hurdles. We all know that everyone has something they are dealing with and nobody’s life is perfect. We all have struggles, but how do we as teachers address all these struggles with everything else going on in school and when our students often keep these struggles to themselves? 

In today’s show, Ryan and Howie are discussing stories of some of their former students and family that have such struggles and how they as teachers, parents, family, etc. can help.  They also discuss some general classroom routines and procedures that you can use as a teacher to help all your students, even when they haven’t shared their hidden struggles with you.

Also, they bring on a very special guest at the end of the show that shares his personal experience as a current 5th grader with a genetic eye disorder called Stargardt. Cooper is Ryan’s nephew and he has  decided to come on the show to talk candidly about his hidden struggles and also about how he recently raised nearly $4,000 for the Foundation Fighting Blindness. Cooper and My Disney Class all hope that researchers will find a cure for this and all the eye diseases out there!

We hope you enjoy this show and hope that this show serves as a reminder that all of us are carrying around hidden struggles and sometimes the simple act of kindness can make all the difference.