Teachers on Fire

ATTENTION as CURRICULUM: Designing Schools as Walled Gardens – with Andrew Cantarutti Teachers on Fire

→ Why must attention become the curriculum of our schools?→ How are classrooms disrupting student attention and learning?→ What is the important choice that our schools and districts must make?Welcome back to another episode of the Teachers on Fire Podcast, airing live on YouTube most Saturday mornings at 8am Pacific, 11am Eastern. My name is Tim Cavey, and my mission here is to warm your heart, spark your thinking, and ignite your professional practice.About this guest, Andrew CantaruttiAndrew is an educator and writer with over a decade of experience teaching in public and private schools across Canada and the world. His work bridges classroom practice with educational theory, drawing on insights from philosophy, developmental psychology, and cognitive science to reimagine how learning environments can cultivate focus, depth, and intellectual resilience. Connect with Andrew Cantaruttion LinkedIn, on X @walledgardenedu, on Instagram @walledgardenedu, and at https://walledgardenedu.substack.com.In This Conversation0:00:00 – Andrew Cantarutti is an educator and writer with international experience1:12 – Imagining schools as walled gardens for deep attention and critical thinking4:54 – Teacher reactions to "Why Attention Must Become Curriculum"7:38 – How are we disrupting student attention in the classroom?12:49 – Why schools must avoid the Marketplace Mirror Model16:29 – Gamification of learning, "engagement"18:22 – How do we make attention the curriculum itself?27:19 – Andrew on the role of AI in schools 34:29 – The choice facing schools today37:56 – Where to connect with Andrew Cantarutti onlineVisit the home of Teachers on Fire at https://teachersonfire.net/.Song Track Credit: Tropic Fuse by French Fuse – retrieved from the YouTube Audio Library at https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/.
  1. ATTENTION as CURRICULUM: Designing Schools as Walled Gardens – with Andrew Cantarutti
  2. How a Running Habit Transformed Life and Work – with EDMOND CHIN
  3. Powerful Productivity for School Leaders – with RICH CZYZ
  4. The Power of Direct Instruction – with Dr. Zach Groshell
  5. 5 Boundaries for Teacher Flourishing – with RAE HUGHART
  6. Assessment Practices for Student Success – with KARLEY ALLEYN
  7. How to Humanize Parent-Teacher Conferences — with JEFF SMITH
  8. Supporting Student Learning Beyond the Classroom — with SCOTT NUNES
  9. 3-Minute Leadership RESET: Rekindle Your Fire for Education — with SEAN GAILLARD
  10. Rethinking Kahoot and Blooket – with MARCIE SAMAYOA

Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood.

Marie Curie