Join Executive Principal Jesse Kraft as he reveals the missing piece in most classrooms: the "why" behind every lesson. While teachers excel at explaining what students will learn and how they'll learn it, Jesse discovered through his classroom observations that students rarely understand why the content matters to their lives.

In this insightful episode, Jesse shares a pivotal moment observing an excellent fifth-grade teacher whose students couldn't articulate the purpose behind their learning beyond "it'll be on the test." This eye-opening experience led Jesse to advocate for explicitly establishing the "why" in every lesson—creating age-appropriate, compelling reasons that connect learning to students' real lives.

Jesse draws powerful parallels between student engagement and adult professional development, demonstrating that understanding relevance is crucial at every age. He provides practical strategies for incorporating purpose into lesson design and delivery, showing how this simple shift leads to deeper learning, better classroom behavior, and increased student investment.

The episode concludes with Jesse's actionable framework for teachers: name the purpose at the beginning of each lesson and end with reflective questions—"What did we do today? How did we do it? Why?" This approach transforms passive learners into engaged participants who understand not just what they're learning, but why it matters.

Whether you're a classroom teacher looking to boost engagement or an administrator seeking to improve instruction, this episode offers concrete tools for making every lesson meaningful and relevant to your students.

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