For a good part of this year, I did a segment called Feature Friday where I interviewed different educators from all different backgrounds. I interviewed teachers from elementary school, middle school, high school, and even college professors. There was a vast array of subjects these teachers cover and a diversity of students, communities, and backgrounds.
I had one teacher focus on COVID shutdowns in her interview.
I interviewed a mother and daughter duo that both teach second grade in different parts of Idaho.
One of my favorite professors from my undergrad.
And even our very own Mary Wade, the one and only that built this blog from the ground up!
You can see all of my interviews here.
Feature Friday naturally came to a close when school began and teachers were overwhelmed with navigating teaching online and in-person and hybrid and all of the above. Adding in an additional email to their ever-growing list of to-dos wasn’t helping anyone. It felt like a good time to retire Feature Friday and keep it in my back pocket for a rainy day.
I learned a lot from all of these teachers. What I found interesting is that oftentimes I asked the same question to multiple teachers and received a different response from each one. Different book recommendations, ways to use technology in the classroom, how they’ve seen the education system change, etc. We all have different ideas and views on teaching and it was fun to compile these into interviews.
There were also teachers that believed in fun, exciting classrooms, and teachers that believed in no posters on the walls and just connecting on a personal level with students. Teachers that value technology and those that don’t particularly find it necessary in the classroom.
But when it came down to it, all of them had one thing in common- They were there for the students. Not the pay, not the summers off, not anything other than their love of teaching students.