Why Interdisciplinary Learning Fuels Creativity: A Conversation with Alan Gratz
Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators
Release Date: 12/08/2025
The Questions Students Are Asking About AI: and the Mindsets that help Answer Them
Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators
Tricia and Jeff talk about what AI literacy actually looks like in K-12 — past the policy memos, past the vendor pitches, past the "ban it or adopt it" debate that keeps stalling schools out. They were very excited to receive questions from a student, and they used those as the structure for this conversation. The conversation uses the Shifting Schools as a loose map: Balance, Adaptability, Knowledge-sharing, Empathy. A mindset-first approach for leaders who want to think clearly instead of react fast. What Jeff and Tricia get into: How to explain AI to a 10-year-old without...
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Great gifts for Teacher Appreciation Week
Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators
This week Jeff and Tricia share their five top gifts to celebrate the special educator in your life. They take you through why these five gifts celebrate creativity, learning, wellness, and show personal recognition during Teacher Appreciation Week. Featured on the show: WoofPack SketchBox PlantWave Back To The Roots Waking Up App
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What we learn when we listen to students
Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators
What happens when you stop talking about students and start talking with them? In this episode, Jeff Utecht sits down with high schoolers and asks a question most adults skip: what do you actually need from school right now? Not what teachers think they need. Not what the policy documents say. What the students themselves would name if someone gave them the mic. What they share is honest, specific, and worth slowing down for. Some of it will confirm what you already suspected. Some of it will catch you off guard. All of it is a reminder that the people closest to the experience of learning...
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The Business of You with Marnie Stockman and Nick Coniglio
Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators
This week Jeff talks with Nick and Marnie about why we want to help students stop waiting for permission and start building a bridge to a career on your their own terms. In this episode, Jeff Utecht is joined by Marnie Stockman and Nick Coniglio, authors of The Business of You, a book that reframes career growth, personal branding, and leadership through a simple but demanding idea: you are already running a business, and that business is you. Using the story of Sydney, a young professional trying to stand out in a crowded job market, Marnie and Nick explore what it means to move from passive...
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Sara Amini: The Stories We Carry and the Friends Who See Them
Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators
What can a graphic novel teach educators about belonging, friendship, and the inner lives of young people? Sara Amini is an actor and author whose semi-autobiographical middle grade graphic novel Mixed Feelings started as a collection of essays before finding its real form. In this conversation, she and Tricia dig into why the graphic novel gave her a sharper way to tell a story about not fitting neatly into any one category, and what that means for the kids (and adults) who read it. They talk about humor as a way into hard topics like racism, xenophobia, puberty, and loneliness. Sara...
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Why Friendship Is Serious Business for Kids and Adults
Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators
Alyson Gerber joins Tricia Friedman to talk about The Liar Society, why friendship is serious business, and what mystery stories can teach young readers and adults about belonging, trust, competition, and connection. In this conversation, Alyson shares why friendship sits at the center of her work, how middle grade fiction can help readers think more deeply about loneliness and identity, and why the best friends are the ones who cheer for your growth. They also go behind the scenes of writing a mystery series. Alyson explains how she outlines her novels, why she uses the Save the Cat beat...
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Living at the edge of emerging technology
Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators
What happens when we stop asking AI to do everything faster and start asking how it might help us understand people better? In this episode, Jeff sits down with Andy Sitison, CTO of , for a conversation about empathetic AI, story collection, and why trust may be the real differentiator in the next phase of technology. Andy shares how his work uses AI not just as a productivity tool, but as a way to surface patterns in human experience by gathering and analyzing stories from real people. Together, they explore what gets lost when efficiency becomes the main goal, why intent matters so much in...
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Human Still Required: out now!
Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators
Jeff Utecht is back with a brand new book for schools looking to understand what to prioritize in the era of AI. Human Still Required is available for purchase, and you can get chapter one free: Learn all about it in this special bonus episode.
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Billy Ray on Writing Hope in Dark Times, and Building Future Worlds
Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators
What does it take to write a story that faces darkness without surrendering to it? In this episode, Tricia speaks with acclaimed screenwriter Billy Ray about his move into YA fiction with Burn the Water, a future-set story shaped by Shakespeare, political urgency, and a deep belief in young people’s capacity to lead us forward. Their conversation explores community, imagination, hope, and the discipline of creating when the world feels bleak. Billy also offers a sharp look at his writing process, including what changed when he moved from screenwriting to novel writing, and why he sees...
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Why Kids Need Stories About Belonging and Friendship Right Now | Jasmine Warga
Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators
What can a cheetah and a rescue dog teach us about trust, friendship, and belonging? In this episode, Tricia Friedman sits down with bestselling author Jasmine Warga to talk about her newest book and the powerful themes at its heart: vulnerability, unlikely friendships, and the courage it takes to let someone truly see you. Inspired by a real program in zoos where rescue dogs are paired with anxious cheetahs, Warga’s story explores how connection can help both animals—and humans—feel less alone. Through the voices of a cheetah and a dog, the book opens up conversations about anxiety,...
info_outlineIn this episode of Shifting Schools, bestselling author Alan Gratz joins Tricia Friedman to explore the craft of storytelling, the role of creativity in education, and why curiosity is the engine behind both great writing and great learning. Gratz shares how baseball has quietly shaped the structure of many of his novels, how he approaches character development with authenticity, and why understanding a character’s background is essential for emotional truth.
The conversation also digs into the need for interdisciplinary learning in today’s classrooms and the value of teacher collaboration. Gratz argues that creativity isn’t a mysterious talent—it's a skill that can be nurtured, practiced, and strengthened when schools design learning experiences that cross traditional subject boundaries.
Whether you’re an educator, writer, or lifelong learner, this episode offers fresh insights into how storytelling helps us understand the human experience and how curiosity fuels both art and education.
🔑 Key Takeaways
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Alan Gratz’s novel has stayed on the bestseller list for five years, a longevity he describes as “never taken for granted.”
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He uses baseball as a metaphorical framework when structuring narratives.
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Creativity is a teachable practice—not an innate gift.
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Interdisciplinary learning increases student engagement and deepens understanding.
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Strong character development depends on knowing a character’s background, motivations, and contradictions.
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Reading diverse perspectives cultivates empathy, curiosity, and creative thinking.
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Gratz encourages exploring multiple creative pathways in writing and education.
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Schools benefit when teachers collaborate across disciplines to build rich learning experiences.
🕒 Chapters
00:00 – The Legacy of a Best-Selling Author
02:57 – Baseball as a Creative Influence
05:43 – The Teachability of Creativity
08:46 – Interdisciplinary Learning in Education
11:37 – Character Development and Authenticity
14:20 – Curiosity and the Human Condition
ALAN GRATZ is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of several highly acclaimed books for young readers, including Heroes: A Novel of Pearl Harbor, Two Degrees, Ground Zero, Allies, Grenade, Refugee, Projekt 1065, Prisoner B-3087, Code of Honor, and Captain America: The Ghost Army, an original graphic novel. Alan lives with his family in the Pacific Northwest. Look for him online at alangratz.com.
Huge thanks to our show sponsor Poll Everywhere!