Episode 14 - Pub Talk 1:Teaching during an election and a pandemic

Today’s episode features the first ever Teatime Teaching Podcast Pubtalk. One of the things that I’ve missed as a result of the pandemic is the chance to talk with other professionals in a relaxed environment. For me that usually involves a beer, a coffee, or a cup of tea. With the wonders of the internet, I was able to chat to friends of the podcast, Chris and Megan, and meet Jared, someone I hadn’t spoken to before. We decided that as we are in the final days of an election campaign, we would alleviate some of our anxieties and talk about the state of all things education in the context of the election and of course the ongoing ramifications of the COVID 19 global pandemic. We all share a history of working in the same school district at various points in our careers, and the things that happen there are like the stories I hear from other school districts around the country, so I’m sure there will be things that resonate with you as you listen in.

As you know, usually I like to keep episodes to less than 30 minutes, but as with a real pub talk, there was a lot that we all had to say. For the purposes of this episode, I’m sharing the highlights of our conversation. There is so much we could continue to talk about, so it’s likely that we will have another pub talk soon.

I cannot thank Jared, Chris, and Megan enough for taking the time to talk and share their thoughts at this time. There is a lot for us to ponder and reflect upon. However, this is a time where educators are working hard to make a difference for their students in challenging circumstances. The more we can do to hear their voices and their stories the better. I look forward to learning more from our participants, and from other folks willing to speak out, share, and try new ways to make public education better for all students.

This podcast is a proud member of Edjacent, a design collaborative made up of educators who dream of a better world for our students and their teachers. We create, write, talk, teach and learn about the things that matter most in education. To find out more, point your browser to www.edjacent.org. That’s w w w dot e d j a c e n t dot o r g.

For me, it’s the stories of teachers, students, and school communities that matter. As such, this podcast is only possible with the help and support of its listeners. Please leave positive reviews wherever you are able. If you are an ITunes or Spotify subscriber, leaving a good review can really help our visibility.  Also, please don’t keep this podcast to yourself. Tell your friends to subscribe and listen too.  

One thing we all have in common is that we’ve been to school. So, if you would like to contribute to the pod in any way, if you have a story to share, long, short, tragic, or comic, if you have comments to make about the podcast, or just want to say “hi”, you can send an email to TeachersTeaTimePod@gmail.com. I love to read what you have to say.

Or if social media is your thing, you can follow me on Twitter @markdiacop and on Instagram as markdiacopoulos

You can find suggestions for topics, copies of the show notes, and you can download previous episodes of the podcast at www.teachersteatimepod.com

The podcast artwork was created by Phaedra.

Opening and closing music is by Bryan Boyko.

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