268: What is a Warm Demander?

When our students face challenges in the classroom, some teachers double down on control and rigor: tighter rules, firmer consequences, higher demands. Others lean toward grace and flexibility: easing up, giving extensions, and softening expectations because they know our students are carrying a lot. But what if the answer isn't either/or? Warm Demander pedagogy is an approach that pairs genuine care and deep relationship-building with unwavering high expectations. It's the belief that students need to feel seen, respected, and valued — and that we honor them most by refusing to lower the bar. In today's episode, I'm joined by educators Marcee Harris and Dr. Wendy Amato. They explain what Warm Demander pedagogy looks like in action, how it supports student agency and productive struggle, and why it's especially relevant for teachers right now. ___________________________ Thanks to Renaissance and SchoolAI for sponsoring the episode. To read Amato and Harris' article about Warm Demander pedagogy, visit cultofpedagogy.com/warm-demanders . To learn more about The Teacher's Guide to Tech , visit teachersguidetotech.com .

You can listen to 268: What is a Warm Demander? online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

268: What is a Warm Demander? is an episode from The Cult of Pedagogy Podcast by Jennifer Gonzalez.

This episode is 54:03 long.

This episode was published on Mar 1, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from The Cult of Pedagogy Podcast when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.