Season Two Reflections Transcript

PART I TRANSCRIPT:

INTRO Aviva Levin: Welcome to Lesson: Impossible, an exploration of educational innovation. I'm your host Aviva Levin. As always, I'm chatting with educators of all types who are on the forefront of pedagogy or making effective changes to old practices. Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to reflect on all the wisdom shared in Lesson: Impossible’s second season. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is me, your host and mission coordinator, Aviva Levin, in Edmonds, Washington.

INTRO Aviva Levin: As many school years come to an end, so does Lesson: Impossible’s second season. I will be taking a break in July, and will be back in August with some episodes I’m really excited about, such as home-schooling partnerships, gradeless assessment, and trauma-informed teaching. However, for our last episodes I wanted to reflect on some of the wisdom my special agents/guests have shared, and pull a quote from each interview that really impacted me, and hopefully you as well. I hope you enjoy our journey through the season in this Part I of a two-part series of bonus episodes.

The first guest of the season was Agent Rebeca Rubio. Your lesson, should you have chosen to accept it, was to create busy, multi-modal, and democratic libraries where students see themselves represented and feel welcome. It was followed by a bonus episode where Rebeca talked about the role of censorship in school libraries. The quote that stood out for me was: “If everything you’re always reading fits perfectly and beautifully within your very contained belief system, I wonder how much your reading is pushing you to grow and be critical.” This really made me cast a critical look towards the texts I ask my students to engage with, along with those that I read personally. I need to be more cognizant of what books I read, as well as what books I recommend to students, and make a conscious choice to choose books with diverse perspectives and characters, specifically seeking out books with protagonists of color.

The second lesson should you have chosen to accept it, was to examine how science curriculum for female-identifying students can go beyond clichéd ideas in order to facilitate an informed exploration of their world. Agent Christine Primomo talked about how STEM education is often seen as a masculine pursuit. Christine works hard to push back against that narrative, and sees middle school as a chance to ignite a love of science in her female-identifying students: “Right now is when we kinda feed that fire, that set them on that path to curing cancer, or whatever they want to do”. This made me think hard about the types of barriers to engagement or harmful narratives that are present in my teaching disciplines of Social Studies and French (and spoiler: there are too many to spend time on in this recap episode, but trust me, there’s a lot), and ways that I can help to push back against them, as Christine does.

Third, Your lesson, should you have chosen to accept it, was to examine what your students need, whether it be representative books, positive attention or hygiene products, and try to find ways to meet those needs. Agent LaTezeon Humphrey Balentine is an incredibly compassionate person, and she says about herself: “I just love giving. I feel like I’ve been blessed… it’s okay to have a giving heart. It’s okay to be positive; that’s not a bad thing.” This interview really made me reflect on the ways that western individualist culture can see giving as weakness, and how it is in fact one of our greatest strengths when it comes to inspiring hope and bringing community together, not to mention forging meaningful relationships with students.

Following LaTezeon was Agent Suzannah Evans. Your lesson, should you have chosen to accept it, was to not underestimate primary students’ abilities to use technology, think metacognitively, and mentor their peers. And believe me, I really underestimated what I thought first graders were capable of, until Suzannah talked about how they were making podcasts, something that I’m still learning how to do, as well as doing deep reflections on their own abilities, another thing I’m still learning how to do! Suzannah herself is constantly amazed by her own students, noting, “It’s really exciting for me to think about if I can do this with first graders what will they be capable of in fifth grade or as an adult? It’s really exciting.” I can’t help but wonder, what are ways that I underestimated my own, considerably older, students, and how far could we have pushed our learning if I let go of my assumptions?

Coming at a very fortuitous time, as many districts were closing their school buildings due to COVID-19, I was able to interview Agent Kate Ames, a distance education specialist. Your lesson, should you have chosen to accept it, was to explore the diversity of engaging online learning experiences. Professor Ames had some great examples of doing online learning well, but when I asked her to give educators advice she said: “It’s easy to get overwhelmed. So we try to keep it pretty simple and just focus on the learning journey for the student, what’s best for the student”. This is fantastic advice that I think could apply to any new teaching situation, at any stressful time, and I should probably just listen to that quote on repeat when I start panicking!

The subsequent two episodes were also in response to Covid-19 and how teachers, students, administrators, and parents were adapting. Agent Rita Wirtz was focused on the struggle ahead, and the pressures being put on teachers to recreate in-school learning, saying, “we can not be expected to go into parents’ homes via a computer, distance learning, and reach and touch the same as reaching and touching in our classroom with the warmth of school culture surrounding our children.” Agent Charles Williams principal of Plato Learning Academy was looking forward to how Covid-19 could be the catalyst of change we needed to rethink our education system, saying, “I think there are so many things stemming from this crisis. If we go back into education and we keep doing the things we’ve always done, we’ve done ourselves a huge disservice”. I’m seeing so much discussion as we look towards to a school year in September where we are still unsure of what it will look like. For me, I think we need to keep Charles’ point at the forefront: we shouldn’t push ourselves to replicate the older, traditional model, nor should we have a return to that as our goal. Education needs some drastic changes, starting with dismantling systematic racism, which is unfortunately at its very roots. Whether we make major fixes, or start from the ground up, we do need to find a way, as Rita so passionately argues, to preserve the positive relationships that teachers form with their students.

Your next lesson, should you have chosen to accept it, was to help your students, and fellow teachers, use technology in a mindful and transformative way in the classroom. Agent Hedreich Nichols gave us some great examples of teaching with apps, and a sensible way of thinking about the idea of tech ruining this generation: “no one thing can make or break a child, can make or break what they’ll be in the future”. This is a great reminder of why, even though Socrates was worried the written word was going to ruin the minds of his students, as people we are more than the sum of the technology we use.

After Hedreich, Your lesson, should you have chosen to accept it, was to use social media to create connections with, and educate, your teaching colleagues. Agent Andre Daughty spoke candidly about the racism he has faced as a Black man in education, and the message he wants to communicate: “We are all in this together, and just because my skin in different, we are still educators, we still care for kids, we still want our students to be the best that they can be. And so we break down those walls that way”. Educators of color face so many barriers, and I hope we are asking the questions to those in power that need to be asked: what is the earliest grade our students are being taught by a teacher of color? What are our districts doing to recruit and retain teachers of color? What are our states or provinces doing to make sure our curriculum is anti-racist? What are our schools doing to help White teachers confront their own conscious and unconscious biases against their colleagues and students of color? And we need to not stop asking these questions until we get the answers we want to hear.

Another lesson, should you have chosen to accept it, was to teach students how to use a foreign language using authentic resources and relevant units. In my conversation with Agent Rebecca Blouwolff we spoke about educators we admire on social media, and how although we may be intimidated, “these are not celebrities like Hollywood movie stars. These are real people who will help you.” This made me reflect on the fact that we are constantly telling our students to ask for help if they need it, but as teachers we are sometimes reluctant to take our own advice. Teachers love to help, and reaching out to someone you admire will often yield positive results, which I should know, since I never thought Rebecca herself would reply to my interview request!

Agent Megan Schutt then asked us to find strategies, resources and school models that support gifted learners. Megan spoke about how at the beginning of the school year she doesn’t focus on a linear year plan, but gets to know her students while asking herself, “How do I see their needs playing out affectively, and how can I work that into curriculum?” In education we often say ‘begin with the end in mind’. But if that end is strictly academic, we miss out on key social-emotional learning opportunities. I really like the idea of having affective as well as academic goals in mind when beginning the school year.

I was actually able to connect Megan to my next guest, Agent James Fester, because of the amazing work he does with the Park Based Learning Project supporting teachers who want their students to engage with national parks and local landmarks using project-based learning, and game-based design, principles. In our conversation, James said “When you think about the traditional field trip: you see everything and you learn nothing” and if that doesn’t describe the typical museum visit with a class, I don’t know what does. This is a reminder that just because a student’s body is present, it doesn’t mean their mind is focused. Moreover, it made me ask myself what resources do I use where students see a lot of information, but don’t actually learn anything?

Next, your lesson, should you have chosen to accept it, was to examine how your various personal identities intersect and influence how you interact with students and colleagues. As Agent Kwame Sarfo-Mensah states: “In order to do this job successfully you need to have a strong sense of self” This hit home for me, as well as for several listeners I heard from. Personally, doing this interview resulted in a lot of self-reflection and I’ve come to realize that, like a lot of things, my teacher identity is constantly evolving as I learn and experience new things. Additionally, I need to move beyond self-awareness and be more aware of how my identity impacts others, and seek out teaching methods that allow students to feel safe bringing their own identity into my classroom.

OUTRO Aviva Levin: This brings us to the end of part one, and I hope you’ve enjoyed our exploration of Lesson: Impossible’s second season as I get a chance to share how every interview helps me, and I hope my listeners, become better educators. There’s so much more to learn, and I hope you join me for part two as I reflect on teacher guilt, building my metaphorical tool-kit of successful strategies, and why personal failures can make us better teachers.

OUTRO Aviva Levin: If you want to find out more about what innovative educators are doing around the world, you can find links to the full interviews of the guests featured on this episode, at lesson impossible dot com. On the website you can also get in contact with me to suggest future guests, learn more about the Lesson: Impossible mission, and follow the podcast on social media. And if you like the podcast, please consider forwarding it to your colleagues or rating and reviewing it on your podcast listening app. This has been Lesson: Impossible and I was your host Aviva Levin.

PART II TRANSCRIPT:

INTRO Aviva Levin: As many school years come to an end, so does Lesson: Impossible’s second season. I will be taking a break in July, and will be back in August with some episodes I’m really excited about, such as home-schooling partnerships, gradeless assessment, and trauma-informed teaching. However, for our last episodes I wanted to reflect on some of the wisdom my special agents/guests have shared, and pull a quote from each interview that really impacted me, and hopefully you as well. We ended our last episode, which was part one of this two-part series of bonus episodes, with my interview with Kwame Sarfo-Mensah about teacher identity.

I then spoke to Agent Evo Hannan who teaches innovation and design in the United Arab Emirates, as well as being a YouTube host, director of special projects, presenter and freelance designer. Evo finds that being busy with these other interests make him a better teacher: “They are watching someone practice what he preaches. If I’m asking them to be designers and innovators it’s very important that I am visibly a designer and innovator myself” This made me consider all the ways that I want to model the skills and attitudes that I try and teach my own students, whether it’s taking the risk of joining a French conversation club, or writing local activists thanking them for their work.

Your subsequent lesson, should you have chosen to accept it, was to create positive relationships with students and families in a kindergarten class for English Language Learners. Agent Mandy Yom spoke candidly about how teachers will sometimes judge new-comer families, assuming that they care less about their children than other parents because they are often less involved in school activities or parent groups. “What parent doesn’t want the best for their kids? Every parent wants the best for their kids. What we think is the norm might not be the norm for them. Or they might just not be able to help in the way that we would want them to.” Talking with Mandy was a fresh reminder that I need to be hyper vigilant about my racial and cultural biases, and be cognizant of how my personal identity, as discussed previously with Kwame, influences my interactions with parents.

After Mandy, your lesson, should you have chosen to accept it, was to examine the factors contributing to, and find strategies to prevent or recover from, teacher burnout. Agent Dr. Marquita Blades spoke about her own experiences, and this episode resulted in the most feedback from listeners, all of whom said that they were able to identify moments in their careers where they either experienced, or were on the path towards, teacher burnout. What really spoke to me was Dr. Blade’s push back on the idea that burnout is an essential part of being a teacher: “teachers are guilted to believe that we need to self-sacrifice and if we’re not self-sacrificing in all areas then we’re not devoted to the mission of educating students, and that’s a false narrative”. We can love our students and our jobs and still love our partners, children or friends. This interview, and quote in particular, inspired me to start asking my new interviewees about their own strategies for preventing burnout in the hope that I can start normalizing talking about mental health in education.

Agent Lauren Porosoff spoke about making lessons that are personally, practically, and culturally relevant to students in order to make the learning they do at school meaningful. Like all the episodes, there were so many quotes I could choose from, but the one that resonated with me the most was: “We don't teach students we don't actively teach students how to prioritize their work, how to think about what's most important to me. You know what don't I need to do or what? We send sometimes we send the message that students need to do their best on everything, but do they really need to do their best on everything?” It has taken me a long time to figure out when to say no to opportunities, to say to myself that something is good enough, or to be okay with not doing exactly what is expected of me. This is an important part of self-care, yet we all, as we saw with the previous interview, carry an incredible amount of guilt about it. Lauren’s remarks make me want to start explicitly teaching students how to prioritize, not based on their teachers’ ideas of what is or isn’t important, but their own.

Following Lauren, your lesson, should you have chosen to accept it, was to help students enjoy writing as they discover how to improve their written work. Agent Shannon Anderson, herself a published author as well as a teacher, gave a detailed explanation of how she would teach an engaging and informative forty-minute writing block. So much so that I felt I could turn around and do it myself immediately after. She also reminded me of one of the most important tools in my teacher tool kit: modeling, saying “I always model first… any time I've ever seen a writing lesson flop or I feel like the kids just don't know what to do it's usually because I've skipped the modeling part.” Not only is this a prompt to reflect on all the techniques I’ve gathered in my metaphorical toolkit, it solidifies for me that a good teacher is one who, when a lesson flops, asks themselves what they did wrong instead of blaming students for not understanding.

Another lesson, should you have chosen to accept it, was to incorporate computational thinking into all content areas. Agent Jorge Valenzuela talked about the importance of understanding the theoretical frameworks behind good teaching: “I now believe that, you know, every practitioner and myself included needs to understand why and how such practices help kids learn and should actively pursue ways of improving their own teaching practice as a lifelong process.” While I don’t think everyone needs to get their PhD, like Jorge did, it did encourage me to seek out some of the fantastic research that is being done to make sure that my classroom practices are evidence-based and as effective as they can be, including articles and books being written by some of my amazing guests!

Your next lesson, should you have chosen to accept it, was to be compassionate to yourself as you develop strategies for mental wellness. Agent Marie Kueny spoke on a range of topics from teacher perfectionism to trauma, but what stood out to me the most as we were talking was when she said “as school counselors yes, we are there to support the students, but we also are there to support the teachers because if the students are in a classroom where the teacher feels supported, they feel that they are in a healthy environment”. I really don’t think we give our school counselors enough credit for the role they play in the school, and I would advise any new teachers who are looking for mentorship that your school counselor can teach you so much about how to interact with students and families. I’ve personally had a lot of difficult conversations with families that went so much better because I got context and input from their assigned counselor and even ran through my major talking points to find the most clear and sympathetic language to use. Like with Rebecca Blouwolff’s interview, this episode is a reminder for me that there are so many excellent educational professionals that are more than willing to help me, as long as I ask.

Second-to-last in the season, your lesson, should you have chosen to accept it, was to explore how to increase engagement, lessen anxiety, and create real-world connections by teaching math through a Conceptual Based Instructional Model. Agent JoAnna Castellano spoke about her experience with her own subject matter as a student: “I struggled with mathematics. I unfortunately failed high school mathematics. I knew what it felt like to sit in the room and be horrified when the teacher might possibly call on me. I would purposely sit behind the tallest person. I am very much in an understanding with my students about that math anxiety.” What I love about this quote is that JoAnna, a math teacher and coach, is able to acutely empathize with her students in a specific way that not all teachers can. I think we all have different potential points of connection with students, and this made me reflect on how I can use my own memories of struggle to improve my teaching practice and relationships with students.

Finally, the last episode was with Agent Courtney Jones, who spoke about her ClearTheList movement to help teachers buy supplies for their classrooms. She described how “Back in August we had some celebrities get involved who did some like Twitter Live or Snapchap or something they were saying ‘oh my goodness I never even realized that teachers have to buy pencils for their classroom, like how ridiculous is that?’” While the generosity of strangers is very moving, the fact we need it is upsetting. There are academic studies that show, for example, that students understand mathematics better when there are manipulatives to help them visualize concepts. Not to mention, students learn how to read better when there are books to read, and write better when there are pencils to write with! And… this brings me to my final reflection: we have a lot left to do when it comes to changing the education system for the better. There are days when it seems hopeless and I can’t imagine an equitable system that is inclusive to all students and values the work that teachers do. But then, and I know this is a little maudlin, I think about the amazing things that the guests I interview do, and know that there are so many educational professionals out there that are doing their best to make positive changes every day. And really, that’s what this podcast was about from the start: finding teachers who are making the impossible, possible!

I wanted to end by thanking all my guests again for taking the time out of their busy lives to share with me, and the Lesson: Impossible listeners, the innovative things they are doing in their classrooms or larger school communities, as well as their setbacks so that we can feel less alone in our own not-so-amazing moments. And, of course, a big thank you to you, the listeners, for your support of the podcast! Have a fantastic July, and I look forward to returning with new episodes in August!

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