Ryan and Howie take a walk on the weird side and try to recapture their shadows! On today’s show, we welcome CJ Casciotta author of Get Weird. Discover the Surprising Secret to Making a Difference and creator of Ringbeller.
CJ is a writer and self-proclaimed serial media maker that has a passion for encouraging people to find or reconnect with their inner weird. As a writer and communicator, he’s traveled all over the world, inspiring communities like Lululemon, The Salvation Army, TEDx, and Charity: Water. As a media director and producer, he’s collaborated on projects with MGM Studios, The United Nations Foundation, and more. He created the popular podcast, Sounds Like a Movement and has been featured by MTV, RELEVANT, Catalyst, and Q.
We hope you enjoy our conversation with CJ as we talk about how we can encourage ourselves as educators to tap into our inner weird and how that can benefit our students. We also talk about valuing our student’s inner weird and what we can do to encourage it. Ringbeller was created by CJ and can definitely be one tool we can use to help in this endeavor. Ringbell is a series of video lessons that help teach kids creativity and kindness through interviews conducted by children. These children interview adult professionals about how they use creativity and innovation in their daily work lives. The premise is that aliens have recruited these students to help them learn about our planet, but what we all learn is how unique all of us are and how tapping into what is special about us will help us to find our true passions and best life. CJ has called Ringbeller “TED meets Mr. Rogers” for the modern classroom.
We think you will enjoy finding your inner weird with us today and be inspired by CJ like we were to value the individual traits in us that make us unique, special and helps us create the magic in our classrooms.
