Teaching high school is one of the more complex and misunderstood tasks by those outside of education. The complexities of managing a classroom full of 25 teenagers to say nothing of the difficulty of planning a curriculum and providing targeted feedback for a full teaching load of 150 students over the course of a semester can be daunting. This is something that’s very difficult to explain to someone who has never stepped into the role of working in public education. It’s also one of the many reasons so many people don’t find themselves taking the professional route of public education. When we first started IDEA we had a unique chance to lure Ben Warner into joining our team in starting IDEA. Ben has a unique and accomplished professional life before teaching. After graduating with a Masters from the University of Washington in Urban Studies, Ben founded a non-profit dedicated to promoting skateboarding and skate culture in the Northwest

Lauren Anderson grew up in Arkansas and moved to the Northwest once she became a teacher. Her expertise is designing curriculum in science around the individual passions and interests of her students. Lauren is a veteran in science education, teaching at Renton High School and SAMI before joining IDEA's team in 2017. Lauren blends her passion in science with a background in ESL and language, creating a learning experience that is accessible to every student. Recorded in 2018, this interview has she and Jaleesa share their experiences working with students in STEM that have traditionally not been included or engaged. 

Nicholas Bradford defines 'restorative justice' as a relational approach to dealing with conflict. In this episode we talk about how conflict can be used as a tool in public schools and how teachers can use specific practices within their classrooms to harness conflict and empower students to think deeply about their own power, social status and relationships. Nicholas is the founder of the National Center for Restorative Justice and leads school groups across the country in trainings and coaching. 

https://www.nationalcenterforrestorativejustice.com

There really cannot be enough said about the role that experience plays in working in public education. There are high as lows as an educator, emotionally, academically and even sometimes physically. Every building has that teacher, that’s been through this before and encourages everyone around him to stay focused on what matters and not let the daily grind get to you. At IDEA, that’s Dave. Dave came to IDEA in the second year of the school, but with over 15 years teaching at a similar trade-focused technology school in Portland Oregon. 

Computer Science programs are still serving a small, largely white and male population in public schools. How can that change?  Jaleesa Trapp is one of IDEA's founding teachers and is currently working on her PhD at MIT's Media Lab. 

The school of industrial design, engineering and art opened in the fall of 2016 with 124 students and 10 teachers. This episode tells the story of the school along with two other schools that preceded it, SOTA and SAMI with the founder of all three schools, Jon Ketler.