The Teacher Story

This episode has a slight twist as it starts with my traditional interview with Hope Blecher, Ed.D., but in part 4 (last 15 minutes) I introduce a new Roundtable series with Hope, Sally Palmer, and myself about The Teacher Circle-a new LinkedIN group. I interviewed Hope Blecher, who is a co-founder of The Teacher Circle along with myself and Sally Palmer. She has worn many hats in education as an Educator, Supervisor, Administrator, ELL Specialist, and Educational Consultant. Hope shares her story of how she came into teaching, and how it stole her heart. She tells stories about community building and recognizing all members in the school ecosystem. She is a champion of teachers and creating positive spaces for growth. Her energy, creativity, and passion for creating a better educational system is inspiring. Our conversation then leads us to introduce The Teacher Circle. Sally joins us as the other co-founder to discuss our motivation and mission of this new LinkedIN group. This will be a group to support, inspire, and connect educators around the world. Also if you would like to learn more about the other two founders check out Ep.1-Jackie's Story and Ep.6-Sally's Story. Previous episodes, our LinkedIN contacts, and The Teacher Circle are all linked below.

Part 1-Inspiration (00:57-6:56)

Part 2-Teaching Experiences (6:57-23:06)

Part 3-Pandemic-administrator role (23:07-33:20)

Part 4-Intro to Roundtable-The Teacher Circle(33:21-45:40)

The Teacher Circle-a LinkedIN group

Jackie Scully’s LinkedIN

Hope Blecher’s LinkedIN

Hope’s website-Hope4Education

Sally Palmer’s LinkedIN

Ep.1-Jackie’s Story-“We have emerged from our cocoons to share our gifts and stories.”

Ep.6-Sally’s Story-“The Nature Brain”

I interviewed Jackie Turnwald, a former award-winning educator, Humancentric Certified DEI Consultant, speaker, political organizer + activist, focused on LGBTQIA+ equity and inclusion and anti-racism. Jackie shares their intimate story of what brought them into education, teaching in South Korea, building a culturally responsive curriculum, and transitioning out of the classroom to become a DEI Consultant. Jackie's mission is to disrupt the status quo and create real DEI in the workplace and in schools. We discuss trauma amongst teachers and students, teaching students with appropriate curriculum, the difference between CRT-Critical Race Theory and CRT-Culturally Responsive Teaching, and the dire situation of the American education system. One quote that stood out amongst many- “When we personalize our stories and people learn more about us, we close the gap of fear and anger.” Jackie is a brilliant mind, compassionate activist, and ready to transform the workplace and educational system. For me, this has been one of the most truthful and critical conversations particularly in the time we are living in right now in America. All of Jackie's information is below in the show notes if you would like to connect with them.

Part 1-Inspiration (00:57-3:21)

Part 2-Teaching Experiences (3:22-9:05)

Part 3-Pandemic/Culturally Responsive Teaching (9:06-22:37)

Part 4-DEI Consultant work->connected to education (22:38-36:25)

Jackie Turnwald’s LinkedIN

Humancentric-DEI Consultant

I interviewed Laurie Sjostrom, a former VIP Kid teacher (Chinese educational platform), and a current Anxiety Management Coach for parents. Laurie shares her intimate story of struggling with her own illness at the same time her daughter was diagnosed with severe scoliosis, and how this led her to become a VIP Kid teacher and starting her own business. The focus of this episode has a slight twist with an emphasis on the importance of the parent-teacher relationship, which is a topic that is very important to me. Laurie even asks me to share my own perspective as a teacher. I felt a complete heart connection in this interview. Laurie is doing wonderful work and helping so many parents, which in turn is helping to foster that parent-teacher relationship. All of Laurie's information is below in the show notes if you would like to connect with her.

Part 1-Inspiration/Struggles with illness (00:57-8:15)

Part 2-Parent-Teacher relationship (8:16-16:35)

Part 3-VIP Kid Teacher & Teacher life behind the scenes (16:36-30:43)

Part 4-Fostering parent-teacher relationships and Laurie’s work (30:48-36:45)

Laurie Sjostrom’s LinkedIN

Laurie Sjostrom Coaching website

Laurie Sjostrom’s Twitter

I interviewed Rachel Cicioni M.Ed, who is a certified French teacher who has taught in a k-12 classroom, and now is running her own business called "My French U + The Private Practice Teacher." Rachel came into teaching as a second career, and with the struggles of how her school handled the pandemic and lack of support she made the difficult decision to transition out of the classroom and start her own business. She is the ultimate teacher advocate, and wants to see teachers treated and paid as talented professionals. She is flipping education on its head and sees an opportunity for teachers to be their own entrepreneurs. Rachel is talented, savvy, dedicated, and has the drive to change the system. Bravo! All of Rachel's information is below in the show notes if you would like to connect with her.

Part 1-Inspiration (00:57-6:15)

Part 2-Early teaching exp.(6:16-16:08)

Part 3-Pandemic teaching (16:09-24:10)

Part 4-Rachel's business/Ideas for ed.(24:11-55:53)

Rachel Cicioni’s LinkedIN

My French U

The Private Practice Teacher

I interviewed Patsy Koay, who is a certified early education teacher, MTNA piano teacher, resilience counselor, and humanitarian spirituality light worker. She has taught in America, UK, and now in Malaysia. She currently teaches and counsels refugee children. She was recognized by the U.S. Embassy with a Certification of Appreciation for "Trainer in Workshops-Resilient Children and Competent Teachers: A Refugee Community Partnership." She not only is an educator, but she has a gift of connecting people and inspiring them to give back to their communities. Her whole message is about "pay it forward." I feel blessed to have met Patsy and to have her on the podcast. She is inspirational! Enjoy!

Part 1-Inspiration (00:57-7:29)

Part 2-Teaching refugee children (7:30-23:38)

Part 3-Pandemic in Malaysia (23:39-29:35)

Part 4-Ideas for the future (29:36-36:44)

Patsy Koay’s LinkedIN

I interviewed Jess Gosling MCCT, who is an international teacher, currently teaching in Taiwan and about to move to Poland with her family this summer. Jess is originally from England and shares a unique perspective in the teaching world. She has also taught in England, Japan, Egypt, and Vietnam. She shares her experience about teaching during the Egypt Revolution of 2011. While in Taiwan she started and continues to lead the #WomenEd chapter. She is also an author and her book "Becoming a Successful International Teacher." is linked below along with other contact information. Jess has accomplished so much globally, and she plans to continue to lead in education in her next role. I was absolutely honored to interview Jess and learn so much about her international teaching experiences. Enjoy!

Part 1-Inspiration (00:57-6:30)

Part 2-Early work experiences including Egypt Revolution (6:31-18:41)

Part 3-Pandemic in Taiwan (18:42-27:23)

Part 4-Ideas for the future (27:24-40:57)

Jess Gosling’s LinkedIN

Website (you can buy my book here) jessgoslingearlyyearsteacher.com

Jess’s book-”Becoming a Successful International Teacher

Twitter @JessGosling2

Instagram: instagram.com/jessgoslingearlyyears

#WomenEd

I interviewed Emily Long, M.Ed., who works in higher education and is passionate about the Learning and Development field. She shares wonderful reflections in this interview as she does frequently on LinkedIN. Emily shared many great ideas and this one quote stood out to me, "school needs to be looked at as an ecosystem and not a egosytem." We talked a lot about school sustainability, mental health, pandemic impact on teen->young adult transition, and holistic education. Emily's information along with her website and Strengthsfinder is linked below in the show notes. Emily is a bright light in education! Enjoy!

Part 1-Inspiration (00:57-7:55)

Part 2-Early work experiences (7:55-15:30)

Part 3-Pandemic (15:31-24:59)

Part 4-Ideas for the future (25:00-45:30)

Emily Long’s LinkedIN

On True North (Emily's website)

Strengthsfinder

I interviewed Dr. Angela Young, a former teacher and leader in DEI/Accessibility. She shares about the importance of starting with accessibility first when working with DEI. Dr. Young brings expertise, passion, and dedication to this work and wants to see all organizations thrive in taking care of their people. Great leadership is about observing talent and putting those people into decision-making roles. Dr. Young's information, my information, and Siteimprove (referenced in the interview) are all linked below in the show notes. She is an inspirational human being who is going to make great change in this world. Enjoy!

Part 1-Inspiration/Early work (00:57-3:56)

Part 2-Pandemic (3:57-7:10)

Part 3-DEI/Accessibility work & teacher/education perception (7:11-28:10)

Part 4-Ideas for the future (28:11-39:06)

Part 5-Dr. Young's work/podcast/goals (39:07-43:17)

Dr. Angela Young’s LinkedIN

RemeDEI Podcast

RemeDEI Consulting LLC

Jackie Scully’s LinkedIN

Siteimprove Website

Siteimprove LinkedIN

I interviewed Joel Felsenstein, a music teacher and the founder/CEO of RockstarX who is on the autism spectrum. Joel shares his intimate story of his time in school with being on the spectrum. He also shares his mission and work of his company he started called RockstarX. He has a goal to open up his own music school, and use music and the space to have conversations about autism. His information is down below in the show notes if you want to connect with Joel. He is an amazing human being, and it was such an honor to interview Joel and share his story. So many important ideas shared about autism acceptance. Enjoy!

Part 1-School experience (00:57-4:05)

Part 2-Teaching experience (4:06-8:45)

Part 3-His company and autism acceptance (8:46-17:33)

Part 4-Ideas for the future (17:34-24:18)

Part 5-Joel's company-RockstarX (24:19-30)

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelfelsenstein/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/rockstarx/

I interviewed Sally Palmer, an early education teacher and one of my new teacher connections on LinkedIN. I had such a great time talking with Sally about nature/experiential learning, early childhood, and teaching during the pandemic. She is an absolute rock star; one of the most dedicated educators I have had the pleasure to meet! There are many great takeaways in the whole interview but her stories of teaching in the pandemic and her ideas for the future of education are so insightful. So much passion in this interview. Enjoy!

Part 1-Inspiration (00:57-9:55)

Part 2-Teaching experiences (9:56-20:28)

Part 3-Pandemic (20:29-31:36)

Part 4-Ideas for education (31:37-44:20)