Released for Teacher Appreciation Week, but pertinent at any time, this episode consists of a brief compilation of comments from Lead. Learn. Change. podcast guests who highlight the importance of teachers and remind us of the impact that great teachers can–and do–have on the lives of those they serve. If you are an educator, listen and be inspired to keep making a difference. Whatever your role, consider taking a few minutes today to contact a current or former teacher and say, “Thank you.”
Links and episode descriptions below (for the Lead. Learn. Change. episode where the speaker was a guest of a full-length installment) for each person featured in this Teacher Appreciation Episode:
Information listed in the same order that each guest appeared in today’s episode.
Episode 23- Vamsi Reddy and Akul Munjal - Future Surgeons, Lifetime Learners
Published 5/22/20
Minutes - 35
Episode Summary
Medical school is an intense, focused, and sometimes seemingly unrelenting endeavor. However, when the investment of time is viewed through the lens of lasting benefits, and when the chosen specialty intersects with one’s area of high interest, the journey is potentially more fulfilling. And, as with all other learning experiences, teachers matter. Medical students Akul Munjal and Vamsi Reddy share a few of their thoughts about teaching and learning, and they each tell us about their favorite teacher.
Episode 33 - Debbie Reynolds - Diving into Data Privacy with the Data Diva
Published 3/29/21
Minutes - 42
Episode Summary
Facial recognition, rebooting your computer, your online twin, the GDPR, and FIDO – Debbie Reynolds the Data Diva shares common-sense guidance as well as updates about regulations, algorithmic bias, controlling your data, and many more facets of virtual privacy. Apps copying your clipboard, passwordless access to digital vaults, and how events in World War II led to legislation and robust conversation about privacy as a human right are just a few of the issues that Debbie highlights for listeners. A highly informative episode!
Episode 15 - Maria Xenidou - Share Now. Teach Now.
Published March 5, 2020
Minutes - 42
https://lead-learn-change.simplecast.com/episodes/maria-xenidou-share-now-teach-now
Episode Summary
Maria Xenidou, host of the Impact Learning podcast, explores how great teachers expertly balance resources, guidance, coaching, and discovery to create opportunities for students to learn. Maria’s mom created a solid foundation for a lifetime of learning and Maria’s teachers served as leaders and mentors, influencing her thinking to this day. Maria created the Impact Learning Fund and supports that endeavor in a way that truly defines dedication and commitment.
Episode 4 - Howard Malitz – What kind of chemistry? A former scientist answers this question.
Published August 16, 2019
Minutes - 38
Episode Summary
Scientist-turned-teacher Howard Malitz touches on the chemistry that matters most – the chemistry of connections and relationships between people. Howard describes just how fulfilling life can be when leading young people on the path to adulthood and success. And, he shares his thoughts with an honesty and intensity that will really make you think. There are many reasons that people pursue this noble calling, and if you are grappling with a career choice, or know someone who is, this conversation may provide the guidance needed to make this life-changing decision.
Episode 8 - Ivana Isailovic - Minimizing Bias, Acknowledging Diversity, and Fostering Empathy
Published November 1, 2019
Minutes - 35
Episode Summary
In this, the first of two episodes with this guest, Ivana Isailovic, Ph.D., reflects on the path she has taken from Yugoslavia to France to the United States and beyond. Along the way she offers keen insights about how teachers can successfully navigate increasingly diverse classroom learning environments. Ivana’s childhood was a happy and fulfilling one, even as military and civil conflict consumed much of the region where she was born. Her thoughts on education will resonate with anyone interested in what matters most in teaching and learning. Read the Show Notes for more details!
Episode 9 - Ivana, Part 2 - Students as Customers?
Published November 14, 2019
Minutes - 37
https://lead-learn-change.simplecast.com/episodes/ivana-part-2-students-as-customers
Episode Summary
In this, the second of two episodes with this guest, Ivana Isailovic, Ph.D., flips the conversation and temporarily fills the role of host, pushing David’s thinking deeper into the principles that undergird teaching and learning exchanges. Ivana also highlights differences she has observed during her educational experiences in Europe and the United States. Read the Show Notes for more details!
Episode 10 - Mark Garrison - Guilty! Of making a difference. Professional learning that matters.
Published November 30, 2019
Minutes - 66
Episode Summary
Dr. Mark Garrison, of West Texas A&M, founder of NewEdu, and research partner with the Professional Association of Georgia Educators, highlights what he has discovered after spending time with some great teachers, administrators and students in Georgia’s public schools. The conversation touches on many topics, including the origins of standardized tests, practical steps policy makers can take–immediately–to support educators, the importance of listening to what teachers have to say, and the value of a new approach to professional learning.
Episode 27 - Joy Robinson - We need more Joy in teaching!
Published 7/2/20
Minutes - 37
https://lead-learn-change.simplecast.com/episodes/joy-robinson-we-need-more-joy-in-teaching
Episode Summary
Graduating at the age of sixteen from a high school in a “failing school district,” lifting lessons from the Sankofa bird, and learning from those who taught her and from those she teaches now, Joy Robinson’s passion for building relationships and community shines through in a wonderful way during this insightful and inspiring interview. If you want to catch a glimpse of what great teachers do every day, you owe it to yourself to listen to this high-energy, optimistic and dedicated teacher-leader as she shares her story and her perspective.
Episode 5 - Scott Perry - Meaning, Purpose, Passion, Impact
Published September 6, 2019
Minutes - 31
Episode Summary
Creative on Purpose founder Scott Perry shares his thinking about finding meaning in one's work, and highlights core principles that maximize the impact of one's service to others. Today's guest emphasizes why relationships are vital to the teaching process, and how collaboration is a critical element of change. Author Scott Perry believes that we can all lead from where we are if we truly know "What's now?" and "What's next?"
Episode 2 - Anjelika Riano – Hope and Vision in a New World - Part 1
Published June 18, 2019
Minutes - 31
Episode Summary
From the Soviet Union to Chattanooga, Tennessee, listen to the story of Anjelika's incredible journey from one world to a very different one. Glean valuable insights about what learners truly need to be successful, and rediscover the universality of human resilience.
Episode 3 - Anjelika Riano – Hope and Vision in a New World - Part 2
Published July 17, 2019
Minutes - 26
Episode Summary
The final segment of a two-episode interview with educator Anjelika Riano. Anjelika extends her story–one that started in the former Soviet Union and is now playing out in Chattanooga, Tennessee–as she shares with us her vision for newcomers to our United States. Anjelika eloquently emphasizes the tremendous talent that teachers tirelessly leverage on behalf of their students, in the service of learning, and highlights a few examples of the success resulting from such an investment of effort, caring, and compassion.
Episode 1 - Hannah Talley – One Great Teacher’s Insights
Published May 31, 2019
Minutes - 20
https://lead-learn-change.simplecast.com/episodes/one-great-teacher-s-insights-hannah-tal
Episode Summary
Listen in on a phone conversation with Hannah Talley, a mom, wife, veteran public school educator, teacher, media specialist, and a true lifelong learner. Hannah shares her thoughts on what leads to learning–and what stifles it–and addresses the importance of adjusting to changes in technology and shifts in students' needs. She challenges us to embrace new opportunities for learning and to engage in self-reflection in order to maximize learning for ourselves and for others.
Episode 25 - Dale Rogers - School, Industry, School - Always a Teacher
Published 6/12/20
Minutes - 48
Episode Summary
National Board Certified Teacher Dale Rogers, a self-described technology evangelist, and an early adopter of teacher created video tutorials (before YouTube was “a thing”), has always viewed teaching through the lens of the learner. Join the conversation for some educator insights–from a perspective you may not have previously considered.
Episode 6 - Vlada Galan - Success at the Intersection of Leadership, Learning, Change, and Hard Work
Published September 26, 2019
Minutes - 39
Episode Summary
Political consultant and public school graduate Vlada Galan shares her perspective on working hard, beating the odds, and serving as a catalyst for significant change. The story of Vlada’s world provides a glimpse into the complex array of components that comprise an election campaign and highlights the incredible value of education–and of the great teachers who support learning in highly meaningful ways.
Episode 12 - Felicia Mayfield - A Class Act: Lessons For All of Us
Published January 6, 2020
Minutes - 73
https://lead-learn-change.simplecast.com/episodes/felicia-mayfield-a-class-act-lessons-for-all-of-us
Episode Summary
Dr. Felicia Mayfield will inspire you with her wisdom, educate you with her story, and compel you to make a difference with your talents and your time. This educator’s approach to life is deeply embedded in her view of the world, her interactions with others, and her hope for the change that relationships and learning can generate. Join Felicia as she provides insights from the perspective of a self-described “child of civil rights,” reflecting on the day Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated, her childhood growing up in a mission, nearly half of a century as an educator, and as a key figure in actions taken as a result of litigation addressing desegregation. Her faith, convictions, and professionalism have permeated all of her experiences, and her optimism about the noble field of education grows stronger each year. Join our guest as she touches on concepts such as social media, social justice, and social responsibility, mentions the role that historically black colleges have played–and can play–in advocacy for everyone, and discusses the balance between research and practice in the teaching and learning process. Felicia is a master gardener, a keeper of the dream, a mother and grandmother, and a true professional, in every sense of the word. This is an episode you will definitely want to share with others.
Episode 29 - Dr. Hayward Cordy - Choosing to Rise Above
Published 8/14/20
Minutes - 40
https://lead-learn-change.simplecast.com/episodes/dr-hayward-cordy-choosing-to-rise-above
Episode Summary
From a house with more than a dozen children, to a schoolhouse with hundreds of students. From sharecropper and stutterer, to serving as superintendent. From abject poverty to accomplished professional, Dr. Hayward Cordy's story will delight you and will inspire you to better your own life and the lives of others. With a heart for the soul of children as his focus, Hayward will lead to you reflect on life's purpose, as well as its promises and dreams.
Episode 23- Vamsi Reddy and Akul Munjal - Future Surgeons, Lifetime Learners
Published 5/22/20
Minutes - 35
Episode Summary
Medical school is an intense, focused, and sometimes seemingly unrelenting endeavor. However, when the investment of time is viewed through the lens of lasting benefits, and when the chosen specialty intersects with one’s area of high interest, the journey is potentially more fulfilling. And, as with all other learning experiences, teachers matter. Medical students Akul Munjal and Vamsi Reddy share a few of their thoughts about teaching and learning, and they each tell us about their favorite teacher.
David Reynolds (00:11):
What matters most in learning, the challenge, the thrill, the benefits, interacting with other people or something else entirely. What is the connection between leading and learning? Does change drive learning or does learning drive change? What's more important, teaching or learning? Is everyone a leader, a learner and teacher? Want answers, listen in, as we address these intriguing issues through commentary and with guests who share their thinking and tell us their stories. Lead, Learn, Change.
David Reynolds (00:56):
This podcast is being released for Teacher Appreciation Week. As this is being recorded, there is a lot of unavoidable construction noise, very nearby. That may seem like a distraction or an interruption, but it's part of life. Teachers also operate in an environment that can be punctuated by interruptions to learning and by obstacles that get in the way of a school's proper focus, but great teachers keep teaching. So their students keep learning no matter what is going on around them.
David Reynolds (01:26):
If you are one of these great teachers, you know how to lead a classroom full of people with unique needs, perspectives, interests, and dreams. As students, whether it's children or adults, each of us has had a great teacher who made a difference in our life. And in some instances changed our life forever. Sometimes that's through an act of kindness. At other times, it's opening the door to new and exciting information.
David Reynolds (01:51):
And perhaps most often the impact occurs because that teacher truly knew us and cared about us in our success. Guests on the Lead, Learn, Change podcast have shared their observations, experiences and insights with us before. And today's episode capture some of their thoughts together in one place, highlighting why Teacher Appreciation Week is such a good idea. The show notes include links to each guests full episode if you're interested in hearing more from any of them. Each guest approaches, teaching and learning differently, of course. And if you listen closely, you will hear some commonalities emerge and all of them align nicely with the larger concept and truth that great teachers change lives. Many voices, one message. Teachers Matter. [crosstalk 00:02:49]
Vamsi Reddy (02:54):
This is a moment that changed my life that an educator gave me was in high school, towards the end of my high school, 12th grade. I had to miss school for a few weeks, and I remember coming back and ha- having to make up a test in the hallway. And I was making a test in this hallway and this teacher that I, had never taught me before, but I just knew by association came up to me in the middle of the hallway and was like, "Hey, um, I know you've been gone for a minute. I hope everything's okay. I hope you're doing well. And I hope you're healthy and everything's fine."
Vamsi Reddy (03:25):
And just someone taking the time to notice and come up to me and say something like that. It had a huge impact on my life. And I think that's the impact that educators can have on their students' lives is just if they take the time to notice and to take the time to truly be engaged, they can make huge impacts.
Vamsi Reddy (03:43):
I just would love to thank everyone who has had that kind of impact and as me and Akul aspiring physicians. And I think the word doctor comes from, I, I don't know if this is correct, I think it's that doco- docore or docere or doctorate, but it's a Latin root, which basically means to teach. And just as doctors each day, have the responsibility to teach their patients about conditions and teach our population and educate them and like, and cure them and make m- lasting impacts. We often get a lot of credit for that.
Vamsi Reddy (04:18):
But teachers have the exact same thing. They make huge impacts on the, on the populations that they teach and just taking the time to truly understand where they're coming from and be a great teacher and a great mentor can go a long way and change a lot of lives.
Debbie Reynolds (04:35):
I was a drama major, and a lot of the things that I learned there helped me a lot in the, some things values every day in my career. Teaching is not just about information on a page, it's also about life skills or being able to learn how to communicate with one another, be able to, to convey a message. Those are all really important things that I learned. To me, it's, it's like education plus it's like learning, learning a skill learning information, but also learning how to move through the world.
Maria Xenidou (05:11):
Yes. And the way I think about it is like, if I did not have access to learning and education, I would not be here talking to you, David. I would not. There's a lot of things that I, it would be, it would have been very hard to do without learning and education.
Howard Malitz (05:31):
I would say my job as a teacher, leader, understand it's not personal. And remember someone is hurting. Uh, one of the great questions is instead of getting angry, why don't you get curious? See what happens. So when a student is off their normal kilter, when I, you know, 'cause I, students have just a routine and they have a normal disposition and all of a sudden over they are not the same kid I had yesterday, hang on a second. What's going on with them? I think it's my job to ask maybe not in an interfering or interrupting way, but in a, in a caring way.
Ivana Isailovic (06:06):
Certainly for me as a learner, what w- what is really important is that, is this the idea that my voice is heard? So I know that I would really learn the best when I see that the person, the teacher, or the person who I'm trying to learn, something from is concerned with my needs, has in mind, my experience, tries, tries to accommodate, you know, my story, whatever it is, you know? And of course I think that that goes with, as I mentioned, generosity, empathy, patience as well, because we are all so different.
Mark Garrison (07:02):
The level of inequality and hardship that people would face would be way worse if we didn't have public schools. And that they already have, although in ways we haven't fully documented helped a lot of people who would otherwise be in way worse situations than they are. The teachers who do that work, they could never be appreciated enough.
Joy Robinson (07:26):
You weren't supposed to make it right. Statistically, we grew up in a rough neighborhood, plagued with drugs, teenage pregnancy, gang violence, the kids weren't passing tests, then kids weren't graduating and we weren't supposed to make it. But when I look at the class that I graduated with, I graduated with people who are now lawyers, accountants, sports casters, chefs on television. I'm telling you just a group of phenomenal people. And when you think back to why that's happened, I'm not going to say we didn't come out unscathed, of course, but that all goes back to relationships.
Joy Robinson (08:06):
My experience growing up, I had the best teachers, the absolute best teachers, because they taught in a school district that was said, would it make it. So do you know what kind of passion it takes for teachers, many left, but the ones who stayed the passion that they came to work with every day, because they were teaching in a failing school system. And we benefited from that, because they truly were invested in us. They were invested in their work. They built relationships with us. And I could go from kindergarten to probably 12th grade and give you a teacher every year that meant something to me in a different way.
Joy Robinson (08:47):
And of course, because I wanted to be a teacher, I was just collecting tools in my toolbox the whole time. I'm gonna do this like him and I'm gonna do this like her. But these were teachers who were truly invested in us and the relationships with us. And I think it shows.
Scott Perry (09:06):
It's not so much to let students know when they understood or didn't understand the lesson or when they're doing it, quote unquote, right or wrong. But to encourage them, to engage with the process and engage with each other in the pursuit of better understanding of the concepts and the postures that we're trying to encourage.
Anjelika Riano (09:31):
Those are the kids, they in front of us and they're going to do our best so this world that they have done, our community will be the better place and you can make difference in their life and they need you. So you do everything possible that their life on this earth would be much better because of the skills and talents and education any, any single I've given you.
Hannah Talley (09:58):
I'm looking for a relationship with whomever I'm learning from, I want to be treated with calmness. It doesn't matter to me how intelligent, smart professional the person is. I want him to be calm to me. I want them to provide positive feedback. I also want, you know, critical feedback. I wanna be able to grow, but I want it done in a humane, kind way. I want communication, expectations. I want them to tell me upfront, "Here's what I expect," and give me a little freedom to figure out on my own so that I do learn from the situation, but be there for guidance if needed. And just, just the connection. Really. It's all about the relationship.
Dale Rogers (10:43):
As I entered my sophomore year, I took a drafting class. And all of a sudden I'm doing all this Math and applying it, doing Geometry and Algebra, and then later on took Electronics and applying Nome's Law and using Trigonometry and it all clicked for me. And that's part of what made me want to be a teacher. I want to be the teacher that could teach kids how to apply what they're learning in the other classes. Being a, teacher's not just being a teacher. And in retrospect, after the experiences I've had, it's, I've, you know, I've always had respect for my fellow colleagues, but even more so nowadays...
Vlada Galan (11:20):
I think that public school opens your eyes to the world. You see all kinds of people across all walks of life, and you are putting in an environment where you have to make real decisions that you have to be accountable for at that age. Being put in that environment before going off to college is an amazing experience. And I was able to take advantage of it. I had amazing A- AP and IB teachers that were able to guide me. And it was very exciting. I gained a lot from public school and honestly, I will always be grateful for that.
Dr. Felicia Mayfield (12:00):
How much is the advancement of one person going to be expensive to, uh, toward another person? And that is why we it, we call it a democracy. So to mitigate that, to mitigate that disparity, here we come with the nobility of the field of education. We need to get back to that original idea that teachers, teachers, educators are the individuals who make this experiment work and informed Citizen tree is what makes democracy work.
Dr. Hayward Cordy (12:44):
It's about Changed lives. And as a educator, my goal was, and continues to, to be a case to have to realize that and also realize that, uh, I didn't choose my location where I was born, or my family, but I can choose my destiny from that point forward. And David, I, you know, believe with all of my heart, uh, that, um, ability, test results, standards, those things don't matter until we reached the hearts of, of people. Because for me to, to excel, I had to believe that I, that I could.
Dr. Hayward Cordy (13:35):
And my teacher in first grade, Ms. Evelyn Williams and David, she looked beyond me being [inaudible 00:13:41] to th- to the smart boy who was gifted. You know, and it began with that. And so I've been wanting to give back to others w- w- what was given to me.
Akul Munjal (13:54):
I mean, the only thing I'd like to do is just thank you and thank all the other educators you guys sacrifice a lot to teach us. So I don't think we thank you guys enough. So I really, really appreciate all that you guys have done.
David Reynolds (14:13):
Thanks for listening today. Find the Lead. Learn. Change. podcast on your search engine, iTunes or other listening app. Leave a writing, write a review, subscribe and share with others. In the meantime, go lead, go learn, go make a change. Go.