Milestones, progress, and recognition are part of every successful endeavor. One year has elapsed since the inaugural episode of Lead. Learn. Change. was released and another valuable lesson about teacher-leaders has been made clear to podcast host David Reynolds. A word of gratitude, for great teachers everywhere, is always a good use of a few minutes of your time. David shares his thanks with a number of people for making this podcast possible. These short episodes are lifted from life’s lessons, challenging us to make decisions that matter. In a Moment segments are published intermittently, punctuating guest-focused Lead. Learn. Change. episodes. As you listen, reflect on your recent learning, recognize your potential to make a tremendous impact on others’ lives, and take decisive action that will lead to the change you seek to make.
One year podcast anniversary
Pilot episode guest Hannah Talley’s huge contribution
Teacher-leaders help others move forward
Great teachers are consistently generous
Step by step–and interaction by interaction–is how meaningful change happens
We all have teachers around us, whether we are “in school” or not
David Reynolds: We all have the chance to lead, learn and change every day. These opportunities are often hidden in plain sight. We simply need to look for the lessons, consider the possibilities and take action. Lead, learn, change, in a moment.
May 31st, 2020. That date is important because on the same day in May in 2019, episode number one of the Lead. Learn. Change. podcast was published one year ago. The guest, my friend, Hannah Tally, is one of the most thoughtful and effective educators I know. When Hannah agreed to speak with me for the pilot episode of my podcast, her true teacher herself was clearly evident. Why would I say that? What is it about great teaching that Hannah exemplified that day? Well, think about it for a minute. What did Hannah actually do during that first episode's recorded conversation? I'll tell you what she did. She was willing to join me in a conversation about her work, knowing full well that I just barely had a grasp of the most critical components for a podcast and that my editing work might keep her from sounding as insightful and inspiring as she is.
It hit me, when thinking about this anniversary milestone, that that is what great teachers do all the time. They work with those who are learning, wherever they are on the acquisition curves of skill and understanding, they help the student to keep going and in doing so create momentum and success as they do. And great teachers are willing to attach their names to the effort, no matter their results standardized testing, anyone? Subjective and alleged connections between student test performance and teaching quality. Dedicated teacher leaders work with each and every one of their students. And they understand that any single metric does not capture the learning leaps that are made as a result of the focused support they consistently and generously provide to the learner. That is exactly what Hannah did for me. Hannah spent time engaged in an activity where I needed to improve my skillset, and she was not worried about how she sounded on the other side. She was helping me.
Growing out of that first podcast experience was the confidence to keep the good bits of what I learned, embed at least one more idea into the next episode and begin honing the process one component at a time. My production timeline has not been overly ambitious, but it has been steady and it has become more efficient. Each interview, every bit of work on a sound file, and any adjustment I make are all simply newer and better iterations of that first discussion with Hannah. This is how things work.
Now, just over one year. And one day after that first episode, you are listening to episode 24. It's simply impossible to take the next step without taking the first one. Great teachers are there for our first ones. A sincere thank you is warranted for all of these people, these teachers, regardless of their titles, who are there for me in my first podcasting steps. For Hannah, for her confidence in this podcast, for Seth Goden, Alex DiPalma, Maria Sanado, Adam Ashton, David Dubinsky, and countless others in the Akimbo community, for their work as catalysts for all things podcasting that have unfolded in the past 12 months, for my family, for their nonstop, unwavering support of this undertaking, for every reader and listener, that's you, who takes time to dip into this work.
And for every teacher leader who came along before these great people, good teachers who literally changed lives and, by extension, changed the world one corner of the world at a time. And that is not a rose-colored glasses cliche, is a fact. It's how things actually work. One person with another person, one interaction at a time, one step at a time, one change at a time, one learning moment at a time. Thank you all. Thank you, Hannah. Moments matter, take notice, make a decision, impact others. Please subscribe to Lead. Learn. Change. and share this podcast with a family member, friend, or colleague. You can contact me, David Reynolds, at leadlearnchange@icloud.com. Until next time, lead, learn, change in a moment.