<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:googleplay="http://www.google.com/schemas/play-podcasts/1.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Heather Dickens]]></title><description><![CDATA[Heather Dickens]]></description><link>https://www.thedickensapproach.com</link><image><url>https://www.thedickensapproach.com/img/substack.png</url><title>Heather Dickens</title><link>https://www.thedickensapproach.com</link></image><generator>Substack</generator><lastBuildDate>Sun, 21 Jun 2026 10:53:36 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.thedickensapproach.com/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><copyright><![CDATA[Heather Dickens]]></copyright><language><![CDATA[en]]></language><webMaster><![CDATA[thedickensapproach@substack.com]]></webMaster><itunes:owner><itunes:email><![CDATA[thedickensapproach@substack.com]]></itunes:email><itunes:name><![CDATA[Heather Dickens]]></itunes:name></itunes:owner><itunes:author><![CDATA[Heather Dickens]]></itunes:author><googleplay:owner><![CDATA[thedickensapproach@substack.com]]></googleplay:owner><googleplay:email><![CDATA[thedickensapproach@substack.com]]></googleplay:email><googleplay:author><![CDATA[Heather Dickens]]></googleplay:author><itunes:block><![CDATA[Yes]]></itunes:block><item><title><![CDATA[Hi, I'm Heather Dickens — and yes, the name is intentional.]]></title><description><![CDATA[Welcome to The Dickens Approach.]]></description><link>https://www.thedickensapproach.com/p/hi-im-heather-dickens-and-yes-the</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.thedickensapproach.com/p/hi-im-heather-dickens-and-yes-the</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Heather Dickens]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 19 Jun 2026 21:35:33 GMT</pubDate><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Charles Dickens wrote during the Industrial Revolution and didn&#8217;t hold back about the state of public education in his day. Here I am in 2026, back in a public high school by choice and at the precise moment AI is helping us reimagine public education as Dickens and I dreamed. The name fit.</p><p>I&#8217;m a teacher. I came back to the classroom in January 2026 after 22 years away, and I&#8217;m documenting the adventure of a revolution in education &#8212; starting now, while it&#8217;s still messy.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thedickensapproach.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p>I'm not the AI expert in the room &#8212; but I'm learning. I'm a seasoned teacher with a B.S. in Education and an MBA in Ethical Leadership. I'm also a mother of three grown kids, bonus mom to one, with many years out in the "real world" beyond public ed. Since school let out this year, I keep circling one question: how do I serve my students as AI waves through every facet of our lives?</p><p>Here&#8217;s what you&#8217;ll find in your inbox:</p><ul><li><p>Honest field notes from my classroom, flops included.</p></li><li><p>Conversations with the disrupters &#8212; teachers, parents, and students doing it differently.</p></li><li><p>The ethics underneath it all &#8212; who we want to be while everything changes.</p></li><li><p>Who we can be for our students &#8212; and real stories of how.</p></li></ul><p>If any of that is your kind of thing, subscribe and walk with me. Let&#8217;s learn together.</p><p>My next post is the longer story &#8212; why I left teaching, where I went, and why I came back now. It begins with a line from Gandalf. I&#8217;ll see you there.</p><p>Stay awake. Stay curious. Stay ethical. Stay human.</p><p>&#8212; Heather</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thedickensapproach.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item></channel></rss>