In this episode, I talk to Leslie, one of my former students who answered the calling to become a teacher. Leslie shares great insight into what it was like to teach in a Title 1 school that the state took over and managed because of low scores on state tests. She explains how “data does not shape or mold a child or determine who they really are or their potential.” Leslie also shares the heartache and the burden of the demands of making “learning gains” during the day at school when really all she can worry about is Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs and what is going on in her “kids'” world at night when they aren’t at school…are they safe?… are they getting enough to eat?… do they have clean clothes? This reality in teaching is so hard and can easily break a teacher’s heart. Yet, Leslie says that the greatest gift of teaching is “the privilege of working with little humans and all their unique and special personalities that will someday show up and make a difference in this world.” To all the true teacher hearts like Leslie’s, thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
In this episode, we have the great pleasure and honor of meeting Dr. Malik Boykin, the first Black professor in the Department of Cognitive,...
In this episode, we talk to Heather, a middle school Spanish teacher who shares the importance of creativity and making mistakes in the learning...
In this episode, you are going to meet many people…well, at least it will feel like that because this individual, Jennifer (author name, Ivy),...