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The Wired Educator Podcast

The Wired Educator Podcast: Becoming a Better Educator Now So You Can Make a Greater Impact and Enjoy a Higher Quality Lifestyle. The Wired Educator Podcast will deliver content to help educators make a greater impact, be more productive, increase their efficiency, and improve their lifestyles. I really want to emphasize my love and passion for learning and teaching. I truly want to make a difference in the lives of students and help inspire the next generation of educators. I share methods that I have learned from some of the most amazing educators around the globe on how to become a better educator, while expanding their classroom as a writer, speaker, and professional. There will be many guests on the Wired Educator blog. Thank YOU for listening! This podcast will share what teachers have discovered "works" in and outside the classroom.
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Now displaying: April, 2026
WEP 262: Answering Why an Interview with Mark Perna Hosted by Kelly Croy 0
Apr 16, 2026

The Wired Educator Podcast, Episode 262: "Answering Why" with Mark Perna

I first heard Mark Perna speak at Kalahari in Sandusky a few months back, and I'll be honest. I counted him out at first because he didn't come from a traditional educator's background. Five minutes in, I realized I was listening to one of the greatest educators I've ever met.

This conversation is a game changer. We dig into the engagement gap, the real role of AI in preparing students for the future, and how to give hope and opportunity to the bottom half of the class, the top half, and everyone in between. You're going to walk away with a fresh framework for helping students find their "want to" and build a competitive advantage that carries them for life.

About Mark Perna

Mark Perna is the founder and CEO of TFS Results, a weekly contributor at Forbes, and the multi-award-winning author of Answering Why: Unleashing Passion, Purpose, and Performance in Younger Generations. His book has gone through 14 printings in seven years and won eight national book awards, including the prestigious Nautilus Award. Mark is the creator of the Career Tree and Skill Tree strategies and speaks to tens of thousands of students, educators, and employers across North America every year.

What We Talked About

  • Why Mark was in "the half of the class that made the top half possible," and why that makes him uniquely qualified to reach today's students
  • The massive engagement gap, and why we keep treating Gen Z and Gen Alpha like previous generations
  • The three parts of competitive advantage: academic knowledge, technical competencies, and professional and life skills
  • Why a 4.0 student and a 2.5 student can both be wildly successful, or both fail, and what actually makes the difference
  • The employer question Mark asks every audience, and the near 100% response he gets every time
  • How to frame the importance of education so every learner sees the payoff
  • What AI and the smart machine age mean for career decisions, and why adaptability matters more than picking the "right" field
  • Why younger generations are not a problem to be solved, but an asset to be unleashed
  • The power of creating space to think and reflect

Favorite Quote

"Younger generations are not a problem to be solved. They're actually a tremendous asset to be unleashed within your home, your classroom, and your place of business."

Books Mentioned

Resources and Links

A Few Updates From Kelly

  • Honored to be keynoting the Miami County ESC Opening Day this August. Welcoming teachers and leaders back to the classroom is my favorite thing to do.
  • Big announcement: the relaunch of kellycroy.com is live. Everything is finally under one roof. Speaker, author, educator, podcast, all of it.
  • Coming soon on the podcast: Bobby Dodd and Ben Johnson on Intentional Influence, and Frank Poland from Buckeye Career Center on leadership and organizational excellence.
  • Four online presentations for the Ohio Leadership Advisory Council (OLAC) are on the calendar for next school year.

Connect With Kelly

Subscribe and Share

If this episode moved you, share it with a teacher, a principal, or a parent who needs to hear it. Subscribe to the Wired Educator Podcast wherever you listen so you don't miss what's coming next. And come check out the new kellycroy.com, sign up for the KnockAbout Newsletter, and let's stay connected.

Go out there, stay positive, and make a difference in the lives of others. You're awesome.

A quick note on the Amazon links: those are affiliate links, which means if you grab a book through them it helps support the podcast at no extra cost to you. Thank you.

WEP 261: Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships in the Age of AI 0
Apr 1, 2026

WEP 261: Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships in the Age of AI

Guest: Casey Cuny, 2024 California Teacher of the Year

"AI can be an engine for equity, but only if we maintain the heartbeat of the classroom: the relationship."

In this high-energy, live-recorded episode, Kelly Croy sits down with Casey Cuny, the 2024 California Teacher of the Year. Recorded live at the 3rd Annual SEL Symposium, Casey shares his moving journey from a 13-year-old bone cancer patient to a leader in educational innovation.

Casey and Kelly dive deep into how AI shouldn't just be a tool for "offloading" work, but a thought partner that fosters differentiation, upskilling, and deeper student inquiry.

 Key Takeaways from the Interview:

  • The Human Connection: Why Casey’s teachers became the "central characters" in his survival story and how those relationships remain the most powerful tool a teacher has.

  • Limb Salvage & Resilience: Casey shares the surreal moment he had to choose between amputation and experimental surgery at age 13, and how that shaped his empathy for students facing invisible challenges.

  • AI as a "Thought Partner": Moving beyond "cheating" to using AI for Socratic tutoring, real-time differentiation for ELL students, and "upskilling" for the future workforce.

  • The "Screenshot Hack": A brilliant tip for using visual context in ChatGPT to solve any tech support hurdle instantly.

  • The AI Divide: Why we must be careful not to let AI become the new "digital divide" between title-one schools and affluent suburbs.

The Resource Rack (Affiliate Links)

Support the Wired Educator Podcast by using the links below!

 Notable Quotes:

"Courage is not being fearless. Courage is being afraid but going ahead anyway."

"Our English language learners don't have a cognitive deficit; they have a vocabulary deficit. AI allows them to access the content immediately."

Level Up Your Leadership

Kelly is currently booking Opening Day Keynotes and accepting inquiries for his Coaching Cohorts. If you are looking to start a podcast, write a book, or take the stage as a speaker, let's work together.

Email Kelly at: kelly@kellycroy.com

 Connect with the Show

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