Conversation With a Teacher by Helen

Conversation With a Teacher by Helen - August 2018 Scholarship Essay

As a future educator, one thing I find myself constantly doing is seeking out the advice and processes that other educators utilize in their classrooms. Educators really form a community with one another; sharing classroom organization advice, curriculum pointers, free tools to utilize with their students, and more. This sense of community is something that I believe a lot of educators depend on to keep going. Knowing that we are not alone with out various challenges and questions is a very comforting thing to be reminded of when the going gets tough.
It is for this very reason that I feel a 'Conversation With a Teacher' type of podcast would be endlessly beneficial. Each week, a teacher from a different grade level would be interviewed in regards to what challenges they have faced, what pointers and advice have helped them, experiences from within their own classrooms, and much more. It would be designed to uplift educators and to offer various types of information to them. The conversation would be light and candid; full of hilarious, emotional, and inspiring content.
The idea is that by the end of each month, one teacher from each age group is represented in order to cater and relate to all educators: preschool, elementary, secondary, and post-secondary. The titles of each podcast would be a phrase taken from the conversation that catches and captivates the listener's attention. It could be an excerpt from an anecdote, a piece of advice they give their students, an inside joke between educators, and more.
The approach to this podcast would be a relaxed, candid type of structure. Some teachers may want to share an experience, some may really focus on classroom organization tips, some may even touch on various social issues that affect educators and schools. If there is a specific holiday or observance, this can be the theme of the conversations for that month or week. For example, if it is Black History Month, or National Women's Month, the podcasts for that month will be focused on that topic, and content for those observances from an educator's point of view can be the subject matter for those conversations.
My goal for this podcast would be a casual environment for educators to share their information, and a casual environment for all to receive it. It would be a beneficial tool for not just educators, but for parents, students, and administration to see the real-life challenges and experiences these educators face, and to find common ground with them in their own lives. This, in turn, can provide a better understanding between the public and educators and a new found respect that so many today do not have for the educators in today's society. It would be designed to up-build, inspire, and relate to not just educators but to everyone, and to provide information all can use and carry within their everyday lives.