This week we start off with a rant about Christmas decorations already being out in the stores (it’s only the middle of October!) which turned into a just-for-fun check-in question about our favorite Halloween treats from our youth. The heart of our conversation today stemmed from an impromptu conversation Matt had with a campus visitor about the Education profession, and the prospective student was definitely not planning to become a teacher. Their conversation prompted our discussion: why aren’t people coming into the profession today? We think around some of the narratives about the profession, and what parts are true, and what parts are…less true. Dave shares his take on why–and how–educators can work to elevate the profession and we brainstorm ideas about how those of us who teach can help encourage other people to join us in the joyful challenges and rewarding work we get to do as teachers. We have some specific words of encouragement for you all, listeners, to help encourage your own students to consider becoming teachers–we hope you’ll have those conversations too!

• Hallway Conversations is sponsored by the Center for the Advancement of Christian Education. You can learn more about the good work CACE is doing at https://cace.org/