How ABCDE Days Made 6th Graders Love Science Again with Jessica Levine & Mitch Weathers
The Ruckus Report
Quick take: Jessica Levine restructured Wednesdays to unlock autonomy, connection, and deep learning in her sixth-grade science class. Joined by Mitch Weathers, this episode explores student voice, the power of routine, and why helping kids feel known is just as critical as teaching content.
🤝Meet Your Fellow Ruckus Maker
Jessica Levine is a sixth-grade science teacher who created “ABCDE Days” — a protocol born from pandemic chaos that now transforms how her students learn, reflect, and grow.
Mitch Weathers is an educator, author, and systems guru who helps schools build executive function and organization into the DNA of instruction. He co-founded Organized Binder and co-authored a new book on self-regulation in early grades.
🧠 Key Insight #1: School should center the whole child, not just content.
- What's broken: Treating academics and social-emotional learning as separate.
- The shift: Jessica’s “B” day prompts students to reflect on how they’re being — emotionally, socially, and mentally.
- Impact: Deeper student connection, emotional literacy, and trust in the classroom.
🧠 Key Insight #2: Systems aren’t stifling — they’re liberating.
- What's broken: Teachers winging it or relying on memory for every class routine.
- The shift: Mitch shows how naming and systematizing common tasks frees up energy for deeper learning.
- Impact: Students thrive with predictability, and teachers save time and sanity.
🧠 Key Insight #3: Every student deserves a caring adult connection on campus.
- What's broken: A shocking number of students report not feeling seen by a single adult.
- The shift: Simple routines like anonymous surveys and sticky-dot walls help identify who’s floating through school unseen.
- Impact: Schools proactively create connections — and prevent isolation-driven behavior issues.
Quotable Ruckus
“I’m not teaching content anymore. I’m teaching kids how to learn — and how their brains work.”
– Jessica Levine
📌 Your Do School Different Challenge
Ready to implement these ideas? Start here:
- Tomorrow: Ask students one “B” question: How are you being?
- This Month: Add structure to one routine that currently drains your energy.
- This Semester: Run a campus-wide check — does every student have one trusted adult?
Get the full episode transcript: here
Email [email protected] with your pitch.
Learn more at adorableredhats.com.
Ruckus Makers Don't Just Listen — They Act
If education ain’t a bit disruptive, then what are your students really learning?
This show isn’t about doing school better.
It’s about Doing School Different — and joining a growing movement of bold, creative school leaders who reject legacy models and reimagine what’s possible.
Here are four ways we can help you on your Do School Different journey
Subscribe to the Free Newsletter
An opportunity to Do School Different 3x a week. Tools, mindset shifts, and strategies that actually work: ruckusmakers.news
Read Ruckus Makers
Exclusive content on Substack. Premium leadership insights, AI prompts and custom gpts, new books before the bookshelf: ruckusmakers.media
Join The Ruckus Maker Club
Our private network + workshops, The Automatic School tools, AI Prompt Library, and more:
The Ruckus Maker
Apply to the Mastermind
Weekly coaching, peer mentorship, and our proven leadership system (The Ruckus Maker Flywheel) to help you transform your campus:
Apply Now
Today’s RUCKUScast in Partnership with:
ODP Business Solutions®
Looking to create the kind of campus experience students never forget? ODP Business Solutions® transforms ordinary spaces into extraordinary learning environments.
Visit odpbusiness.com/education and let's Do School Different.
IXL
Over 1 million teachers rely on IXL because it is empowering, it helps them make better decisions with reliable data, and it adapts instruction based on student performance.
Get started today at ixl.com/leaders
PLAY PIPER
Too many students love tech but don’t see themselves as scientists or engineers. Play Piper’s hands-on STEM kits and engaging curriculum changes that.
Learn more at playpiper.com
