During our time writing on MindShift we’ve been lucky enough to meet, talk with and see inside the classrooms of amazing teachers all around the country and world. We are inspired by the creativity and dedication of the teachers we meet. Most are constantly thinking about how to improve outcomes for their students and are putting in long, grueling hours to meet the expectations of state and federal regulators, while trying to satisfy their own professional integrity.
So, we're very excited to announce that MindShift is launching a podcast dedicated to showcasing the stories teachers share with their friends, families and loved ones. These are the stories they find themselves telling over and over again, the ones that have made a mark on them as people. Some are funny, others poignant, but all are told in the teacher’s voice, with their energy and thoughtfulness, something that’s often missing from the education conversation.
When asked why they keep teaching, many teachers will say they continue despite indignities and difficulties because they care about the kids they teach. There’s nothing so rewarding as watching a student “get it,” and kids are funny, sweet and thoughtful too. But teaching can also be lonely and isolating. It takes a lot of mental fortitude to continue being upbeat about math or reading, history or science, when some students come to school stressed or tired and others just don’t seem to want to listen. And since many teachers are experiencing those same things, it doesn’t always feel necessary to talk about it with one another, which can make it even harder to feel part of a unified community.
We’re launching this podcast to give a voice to those stories, the real stories of teaching beyond news headlines. Ultimately, we are all teachers and learners at some point in our lives, which makes us each uniquely able to empathize with these experiences.
To start, we’re bringing you seven stories including one about an English teacher who discovered something unforgettable about a student through a creative writing assignment. Then, you'll hear from a special education teacher who struggled through her first year to ultimately blossom as a teacher. We’ve got hilarious stories about the questions pre-teens ask sex-ed teachers when they're really allowed to let loose, and a touching story of a decade long friendship between a high school basketball coach and his player. But this isn’t the end. We’re constantly looking for more stories only teachers can tell.