This is a new episode, but perhaps a little different than most! We have had a terrible time getting the three of us to be in the same place at the same time with the mindset and wherewithal to record new episodes. (Never fear–new episodes are coming soon! Once we’re all back from our summer travels, we’ll get back into our normal routine.) :-) In the meantime, this one is made up of two elements: both a snippet from an earlier conversation that Dave had cut out during the editing process, as well as a solo recording Dave made of a piece that came from his old blog. We hope that both of these will offer encouragement for novice teachers…and their more experienced colleagues as well.

• If you’re interested in reading the original piece from Dave’s blog, you can find it here: https://iteach-and-ilearn.blogspot.com/2014/01/a-good-teacheror-great-teacher.html 

Greetings, loyal listeners! We are into full summer mode now, but don't worry--more new episodes coming your way soon. This week is a replay of a popular episode from about one year into this podcasting adventure; hopefully, you'll enjoy re-listening (or perhaps listening for the first time!) 

And so, for today, one from the archives. In this episode, we begin by reflecting on our first year of podcasting. Listeners, we are SO grateful for you! And we want this show to be the sort of thing that encourages, challenges, and blesses you, so we would love to hear your feedback, questions, comments, and wonderings. You can always contact us at [email protected].

This episode was prompted by an email we had from Emma, a recent college graduate with a bunch of great questions, seeking our advice for how to navigate the beginnings of entering this profession. She had some great questions–thanks for asking them, Emma! We offer our on-the-spot advice to a variety of questions, from how to get to know the culture of the building, to getting how to build relationships with students, to what to do if you disagree with a seasoned colleague’s approach. We hope that if you are new to the profession, or joining a new school, or if you have a new colleague coming aboard in your teaching team you’ll find some encouragement in this episode.

Greetings, loyal listeners! We are into full summer mode now, but don't worry--more new episodes coming your way soon. We plan to work around our travel schedules and different pace of the summer months, and we will still have an episode for your listening pleasure every other week as has become our pattern. But we probably be alternating new episodes and replays throughout the summer--hopefully, you'll enjoy re-listening (or perhaps listening for the first time!) to some of our earlier episodes.

And so, for today, one from the archives. In this episode, Dave kicks things off by sharing a story about how he has changed his mind about some things in education. We then have a robust conversation about the ways teachers probably should change their minds over time, which is a hallmark of learning, after all. We hope you'll enjoy and be blessed by this summer replay.

Original episode including show notes here: 

After our last episode where we interviewed two of our graduates who are right at the beginning of their careers, we thought it could be interesting to hear from some folks who are wrapping up long careers as professional educators. So we were delighted that our good friends, Kim and Ed Starkenburg, were willing to join us for this episode! Kim and Ed recently retired from teaching after 40+ years teaching. They have such great stories to share–from how they came into the profession, to how they have seen things change over their long careers, some of the joys and challenges they experienced, and the things they miss (and don’t miss!) now that they have retired. There is a lot of collective wisdom here that they shared, and whether you are new to the profession, are an experienced educator, or just think back fondly on some of your own teachers, we know you’ll be blessed by listening in. Blessings to you, dear listeners, as you wrap up this school year and transition into summer mode.

In this episode, we were blessed to be joined by two of our now-graduated students, Shanoah De Waard and Josh Schouten. These are two amazing people who are right at the beginning of their careers as professional educators. We were so delighted to have had the opportunity to teach these two, and even more delighted to have them join us on the show! It was wonderful for the three of us to get to visit with them, and hear their stories about their experiences in their teacher preparation program and student teaching, as well as what they are headed into as they begin their work as professional teachers. Whether you are relatively new to the profession, or an experienced veteran educator, hearing from Shanoah and Josh will inspire you and give you some ideas about how you can encourage and mentor colleagues who are just joining us in this vocation. We hope that as you listen in, you’ll reflect on your own induction into teaching, and how you’ve grown in your understanding of the important work you do, serving kids through education.

This week, we are joined by our friend and colleague, Ross Douma, who serves as Director of Athletics at Dordt University. Ross is a longtime educator and coach in both faith-based and public schools, and has a wealth of insight and experience to share. We asked Ross to share some of his vision for a distinctively Christian approach to athletics, and he has plenty of wisdom to share. If you are a coach, parent of athletes, teacher of athletes, or an athlete yourself, we are sure there will be things in this episode to both encourage and challenge your thinking! From the way the emphasis on athletics has shifted over time, to the need for redemption of athletics in contemporary culture, to advice for parents for how to encourage kids, to reframing “extra-curricular” activities to “co-curricular,” we talk about it all! 

• In the episode, Ross references the Defender Way, which is a coaching philosophy that guides the athletics department at Dordt University. You should definitely read up on it here: https://www.dordt.edu/athletics 

Our discussion this week was sparked by a hallway conversation about all the grading we are doing these days. Abby shared a couple of resources (posted below) that she has shared with the future teachers we serve–some really good prompts! As we looked at these pieces, we saw many ways we are already implementing some of these strategies, and some strategies we might like to try in the future as well. We hope there are some great nudges here for you in ways to be more effective and efficient in getting feedback to your students, no matter the grade level or content area you teach.

• Check out this infographic full of ideas for efficient grading from Todd Finley: https://twitter.com/finleyt/status/1597809178827190274?s=20

This week, we are joined with our good friend and colleague, Dr. Val Zonnefeld, who teaches in the Dordt University Department of Mathematics. Her expertise is in math education, and she teaches multiple courses for the future teachers in our program–both math content, and math methods. We start this episode by sharing our own “math stories”: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Val has extensive knowledge from the research in math education as well as a ton of practical experience from her years teaching math in middle school, high school, and college classrooms. Throughout our conversation, Val shares lots of wisdom and ideas for teachers and parents alike in helping the kids in their lives wherever they are with mathematics–whether they feel the math anxiety (which is very real!) or if they are high-achieving “mathletes.” We hope this episode is an encouragement for you!

• In the episode, Val mentions the book Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics, by Peter Liljedahl and recommends this one for teachers. You can find it on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Building-Thinking-Classrooms-Mathematics-Grades/dp/1544374836 

Abby kicks things off for this week’s conversation as it’s “hiring season,” and she is serving on a hiring committee for teachers at her own kids’ school. We also see our students, future teachers that they are, heading into interviews, and know that they are highly sought after! (You might not have heard, but there is a bit of a teacher shortage going on!) All joking aside, in this episode we discuss the challenges of the teaching profession today. In particular, we wonder how schools can acknowledge the hard work teachers do, facilitate ways to make that work more doable, and also attract new teachers to the teaching profession? We have lots of questions, and a few ideas for ways to schools to address the ongoing challenges of hiring and retaining great teachers. We would, as always, love to hear your feedback in response. You can always drop us a line at [email protected].