- Hello, everybody, welcome.
PBS Wisconsin Education, bringing you aka Teacher.
[upbeat music]
My name's Joanna Rizzotto, and I'm super excited
to be joined today by my fellow co-hosts.
Would you guys take a minute to introduce yourself?
- Sure, I'm Daniel Torres-Rangel.
I'm an educator of 16 years.
I've been in public charter and private schools,
in roles, everything from teacher to administrator.
And I now work for the local district
in the research and innovation team.
- Ooh, research and innovation, I love it.
- Hello, my name is Shelton Evans.
I'm a lead facilitator for a nonprofit.
I do affinity groups with kids of color,
and I also build cultural bridges for teachers
to provide effective student-teacher relationships
for those students and help those teachers,
empower those teachers as well.
- And I'm Angie Humphrey.
I am a high school science teacher.
This is my 15th year of teaching in Middleton, Wisconsin.
- And I should have added for myself.
I'm Joanna and I'm an alternative education teacher
who works in the Milwaukee metro area.
So, hey guys, we are together and here we are at it.
You know, part of this is to kind of share with everybody
different facets of the world of education
and wow, what a great group we have to represent.
And we hope that our audience connects with us
and enjoys it too.
But to get started out, just how are you?
What are some of the hats that you've worn
just very recently?
How's everybody doing?
Angie.
- Well, I'm doing really well.
I literally just got home from a soccer game
for one of my daughters 30 minutes ago.
Now, education, school, that's kind of my happy place.
And so now, even this right here is kind of like,
[inhales and exhales] compartmentalize and go.
So, I'm feeling really great.
Daniel, how about you?
Yeah, also soccer today, but in terms of education,
working at the district level,
we've all been supporting schools
these first couple of weeks of the schools being back.
And I was supporting at a middle school
and wore the hat of a substitute teacher,
which is a role that not only substitute teachers
are playing, but many staff within schools.
We know teachers, staff members wear so many hats during the day
and we know that substituting, filling in here and there,
all hands on deck is something that's happening everywhere.
- My role is a little different, non-traditional.
So being a lead facilitator, I usually, when I take,
I take the kids out of class,
so I like to let them get acclimated
the first few weeks of school.
So I'm not really in the schools yet,
but I am meeting principals and establishing calendars
and meetings, things like that.
And this year I've been facilitating all the groups
and now I have a co-facilitator,
so that's very exciting, I'm very excited about that.
Just to train that person and coach that person,
give me a little break so I can focus on admin and staff.
- And myself, oh, gosh.
Getting started and thinking of the different hats.
Lately, I've been actually really tuned in
to my own daughter.
I have a daughter who's in high school,
and all that's going on with trucking her
to and from her events, and she goes to school
in a different district that I work in.
So, that's always figuring out, "Can I be there on time?
Can I do this on time?"
And that's all starting to get settled.
And then within my classroom,
I kind of have a nontraditional setup
where I'm not just in charge of a class,
I'm in charge of like this program in this little school.
So same thing, it's a little more involved, figuring out,
entrance, exit, lunches, you know,
some of the things that are normally taken care of
by the larger school, the logistics.
So right, it's the beginning of the school year.
Here we go, right?
What has it been like these first couple of days?
Let's chat about it.
You know, we come out of that summer
and we go into the school year,
and it's something I think that is actually
hard for people to understand because they don't know
that other people's schedules really work like ours does.
Or they think it's like,
they think of it in kind of a fantasy way
where I always say, man, sometimes it is hard
to get what I call, slammed back into the school year.
Because you kind of go from your own thing
to something that's like, very fast-paced
and very structured.
But I am just curious and wanna talk to all of you guys
to hear wherever we're at in all of our positions
throughout the state.
Like, what is it like for that return?
What are some things that like go through your mind
or that you participate in?
What do you do?
- Well, I'm super pumped to be that,
participating in that transition back because honestly,
it's by this time that I'm kind of ready to stop
hanging out with my own children and get them to school
with the experts that know how to rear
and educate seven, eight, and four-year-olds
and then get back to my happy spot
with the high schoolers.
And so it feels like really good and energizing
to be spending time thinking about
what the curriculum's gonna look like,
thinking about how we're gonna make things work.
And then we've got a bunch of new staff
in our science department, and so then just thinking about
how we're gonna onboard those staff,
make them feel welcome, help them kind of get into like,
what is the culture of our school?
What's the culture of our department,
and kind of like how we do things curriculum-wise.
And so it's kind of fun to just dive into that water,
I feel like, and just start to get excited.
- We'll I'll say this, summer was unique to me in,
it was the first summer that I felt I really needed.
Last school year was really hard for me
and I had never really been a person to count down.
So even when I think about going into it,
like I kind of was counting, I was counting down last year
because I really had kind of run out of energy.
And so the summer itself was very restorative.
And my plan was to not have a plan, you know?
And so again, typically I do do a lot in the summer,
professionally, I do a lot for my union.
And I really had the calendar pretty open
in terms of that kind of stuff.
So my summer in its entirety was very different for me
in preparing for this school year.
It was the time that I just did really
need a break and some distance.
And so thinking about coming back
was also though kind of okay, because I was just kind of like,
I have to be in the, you know, like I was
in the moment every day this summer,
and then I was like, "I'm going to be going back."
And I didn't want to do some of the things
I had done before, so then on the other hand,
in the past too, I used to do countdown to when
I went back to work, right?
Especially when I had young kids like you, Angie,
where I'd be like, "Oh, my God,
there's only this many days left," you know?
And so I also didn't do that.
I was just kind of like, "I'll show up the day
I have to show up and I'll be ready."
So for me, this summer in particular
and me getting ready was very different than the past,
and I'm hoping that's a good thing.
- To double back off of that,
last year, the last couple of years,
as we all know was a little heavy.
So like you Joanna, this summer, well, let me start with this,
I wanted to quit working in schools.
Like I literally got two other, well, I had another job,
then another local agency offered me another job,
so I was ready just to be done 'cause I was over it.
But then as the summer goes on
and school starts to approach, I get that itch again
and I'm like, "I gotta stop making emotional decisions
after school is over."
So I learned a very valuable life lesson, but yeah.
So it's been a very subtle summer, I would say.
Just staying present, not doing much, and focusing on me.
Lot of health and yeah,
reading and spiritual stuff, and yeah, yeah.
So, but very excited to get back started to school.
- Interesting that we have that connection
'cause I was in the same place, where I'm like,
"What am I doing?"
Okay, you know, what am I gonna do?
What am I gonna do with my life? - Yes, yes.
- Yeah, Shelton, as you were saying,
it's been a rough couple of years as we all know.
And something I'm excited about are the lessons learned
that everyone's taking into this year.
During COVID, during the pandemic,
we're in this weird phase
where it seems like it's over, but we're still in it.
So I say during it as if it's over, but it's not over.
What did we turn to for our own wellness?
People got outside, people were going on walks,
connecting with the outdoors.
They were doing art projects at home,
really getting into the arts and outdoors and projects.
And I'm excited for the spaces
that are really emphasizing those and doubling down
on arts education, outdoor education,
project-based learning, and not seeing these
as add-ons anymore or enrichment,
but actually part of the core curriculum.
And in addition to that,
just reestablishing connection with each other
and really doing that by listening
and listening to student voices
and centering them, and all of those things that we do
to take care of each other and ourselves.
- And I think that's so important
what you just said about reconnecting with the students
and just letting them center themselves,
get their voices back.
'Cause I think a lot of them went through things,
through COVID, socially and emotionally
that they're not even aware.
They didn't even have the words to say what it was,
but the behavior started translating sometimes.
So I think that was a very good point, very good point.
- Yeah, for me when it's the summertime, I kind of find
this happy balance between,
I always say summertime Angie is like up for anything.
So like a weekday cookout?
Let's do it.
Like Concerts on the Square, home by 9:00 PM, I'm in.
And then like, school year Angie is like,
it's a weeknight, bedtime is like 8:00,
we better be eating by 6:00.
Come on, we gotta keep things moving.
But summertime Angie, she's like up for anything, anytime.
And so I just really try to revel in that like,
oh, I'm up for anything on this calendar,
what are we doing?
Should we have a bonfire?
I don't even care that it's Thursday.
[laughs] - That's what's up.
- Yeah, I know I did do a lot of just meeting with friends.
That's something that kind of really fills me up.
And in the same way, honestly,
it was a lot of educator friends.
Where it kind of has your summer Angie vibe,
where I'm like, go out to lunch on a Wednesday and get wine,
let's do it 'cause we can.
Where you feel like you can be in the world
is what I'll say.
So I do a lot of time with friends,
and then I do like to go up north a lot.
I love going up north Wisconsin,
and now my best friend moved up there,
so it makes it nice and easy in terms of,
I don't have to book a place to stay;
I really can roll up.
And so I like a lot of time outdoors, and then I have also
been reveling in just being with my own children.
I might have shared at some point, I have a son
who is, he's gonna be, he's a senior in college this year.
And I keep kind of counting down to how many years
is he really gonna come home in the summer?
And so this summer too, I just really enjoyed
being with my kids in like the everyday ways.
Like when they were younger, I did plan
a lot of events and activities.
And this summer, it was more kind of like,
right, just being at home, like let's cook breakfast,
let's hang out kind of stuff; it was really important to me.
- Is there summertime Daniel?
What's summertime Daniel look like?
[all laughing]
- Summertime Daniel's outside, getting darker in the sun.
And a lot of kids' activities.
My kids are five and seven and a half, so it's a lot of
staying energized through them and staying moving through them.
Started rock climbing recently, so always adding new things
to the repertoire.
- Daniel, what does your schedule look like
in the summer?
Because you're in a slightly different role than myself.
What do you, do you have to work in the summer?
- I recently transitioned.
So with this new role that is to be determined.
- TBD, good.
- This next part of the show is called True Story,
where we'll each get a chance
to share a personal experience related to today's topic.
So fellow podcasters, it's a new year,
beginning of new year.
Do you have any educational stories or any fun stories
or any experiences you went through
or something that you didn't know when you found out
that you've learned already this year that you wanna share?
And I guess I can start while you're thinking.
Me, personally, as I keep mentioning,
my role is nontraditional.
So I have the luxury to recreate myself every year.
So every year, I get the opportunity
to approach my job different.
So I used to do a lot of group work,
but now after the pandemic
and I have some coaching certifications,
so I like to do some one-on-ones and get down
and like I said, get those kids back motivated
and establish goals that they can reach
to get them feeling good about reaching short goals
and things like that.
So just the opportunity just to,
I love going to work and just getting to be myself,
to be myself 'cause I work with a lot of kids of color.
So my job is to teach what I live basically.
And what I don't know, I get to learn from them
or pull from other people.
So do anybody else, anybody else
got a educational experience they wanna share?
- Shelton, I'm curious as a follow up question,
that's been part of your work in the past
of meeting one-on-one, working really closely with youth
and having them set goals.
I'm wondering if you find that their goals have shifted any,
coming out of this summer or the past few years,
going into this next year.
Are they focusing on different things?
Are they setting different goals for themselves?
Are they similar or different?
- Yeah, that's a great question.
I would say previously when I used to do goals,
it was more, "I want to do better in school.
"I want to get good grades.
I want to..." it was more academic,
but now it's been a shift of feeling.
"I want, like, I just wanna feel better.
"I want the curriculum, I want it to reflect me.
Why am I the only Black person in my class?"
Or "When we talk about Hispanic,
everybody turns around and look at me."
So I think it's more getting towards feelings,
and they want to feel like they belong,
and they don't have that sense of belonging.
So I think sometimes when they go in that environment,
the school environment, it's a trigger sometimes
to remind them of what they're not and what they lack.
So I think that that feeling is starting to reoccur
a little bit heavier than before.
- Well, and that trigger that you mentioned for them
was actually what I wanted to share is a trigger for me.
In terms of, when I think about coming back
and my process of coming back, kind of my true story part
is that too, like I show up kind of ready,
full of excitement, and I am not even kidding you guys,
within about three hours this school year,
I was like, "Oh, yeah, oh, no, it's all this.
And because my work on myself and in my program
is focused on that external kind of stuff
that you mentioned, Shelton,
that the kids are literally asking for.
And yet everything that a school and that you're going over,
especially at the beginning,
is all the external circumstances.
And if there's anything that we've learned
is that like, external circumstances
don't necessarily change your internal condition,
and so right, there really is just this mismatch,
and I was feeling it for myself.
Again, when I kept talking about like my quest this summer
of like, it's my own internal needs
that aren't being like, greatly met
by kind of like the system and structure that I work for.
Not my specific work with students,
but I felt that again, within a few hours
of being back because my experience is that it's like,
all these again, logistical meetings
and it's not what I need,
that's not what I showed up excited for, you know?
I wanna talk about, how do we make people feel more welcome?
And there just is, there's something kind of like
really unhealthy, I mean, that is the thing.
There's something pretty, really unhealthy right now.
And we have to move beyond, for ourselves
and our students, the whole like,
we're gonna self-care our way out of it
or positive self-talk, uplift it.
So coming back, kind of my true story to share
is that like, the weight of our condition,
I kind of really felt in terms of turnover.
You know, some of you were mentioning, right?
The amount of people who are turning over,
and then just what I see as like, maybe the disconnect
between the practitioners and what my priorities are
and then like what the system
or what management is telling me the priorities are
as we start out.
- Just to interject, I love how you use the system
and you differentiate you and the system
and how the system is a different thing
than what you're really there for.
So yeah, I love that.
- And I felt that, that was me coming back,
being like, "Okay, I've been in the moment."
And then it lasted about, I'm not kidding,
it was about three hours; I kept track.
- Shoot, that's a bummer.
That system needs to change.
You need to feel good for more than three hours.
- Well, that's where I just settled in
after about three hours.
Anyway, that's my true story.
- You reminded me, I feel like...
Well, I feel like it's like, you're excited,
you have this energy, and then you're reminded of like,
"Oh, yeah, I gotta set up my grade book.
"Oh, yeah, I need to start doing the emails.
"Oh, I already need to start registering parent contacts
into Infinite Campus."
Like, you are starting to be reminded of like
the to-do list that just lives right here
as you're like, just enjoying the kids
and doing fun stuff with the kids.
And you're like, "Oh, crap,
don't forget about that to-do list back here."
- Yeah.
- I'm just thinking about how we're at the beginning
of the school year and we're talking about
how hard the job is and especially during the pandemic.
It's been really rough, and what we are all doing
to take care of ourselves and just thinking about new,
people who are new to the profession coming in.
And it's hard enough being an experienced educator
coming into the year and saying,
"How is it only the first two weeks?
"How is it only Labor Day?
Uh, it feels like May."
And being new to the profession and saying,
"What have I gotten myself into?"
I think more and more if you're...
I've been shifting my focus to who is there.
It's so easy to focus on, you know,
staffing shortages or mass exodus
from the teaching profession, but schools are up and running,
teaching and learning is happening, right?
Light bulbs are going off.
Beautiful moments are happening every day
because people are still there, right,
from teachers to nurses, substitute teachers,
cross categorical teachers, right?
Bus drivers, I mean, you name it, building staff.
And I think more and more people are entering the profession
knowing what they're getting into
because it's out there in the media.
People are hearing that teachers are overworked,
they're underpaid, and under-appreciated.
They're reading about these staff shortages
and right now, they're reading about learning loss.
They're seeing schools question and address systemic racism.
And any one of these issues is a lot to take on,
let alone being new to the profession.
So I think anyone who is in a school right now,
whether you're new to the profession or you came back,
they have their sleeves rolled up, they're ready to go,
they know what they're in for.
I mean, you still might have moments where you're saying,
"What have I gotten myself into?"
But I think people are ready to go.
And there's a lot of power and hope to harness behind that.
- Well, and when I share how I am feeling
or, I think it is important to note that
I think it's that awareness that is healthy.
Like I'm understanding where I'm at
and what my thoughts are.
So, right, I hope our audience doesn't hear it
and just think like, "Oh, she's bummed three hours in
and that just means that the whole year's gonna suck."
Like, no, but to be honest,
I've actually really worked on that awareness.
And I think it's a healthy part of working through
all of the things that you just mentioned.
Because with that awareness comes like,
right, what is my part of it?
And that I'm in control of?
And what is something that I've gotta connect
with others in community to chip away at?
So I just wanted to clarify. [laughing]
- Have you guys ever seen that TV showAbbott Elementary?
- Yeah.
- I've seen a couple of episodes.
- It's a real, like it's got like aOfficevibe to it
where they're interviewing the characters
kind of midway.
It's a good sitcom, touchy, makes you feel good
as you watch it, and there's like in that show,
there's like a first year teacher
that's like classic first year teacher.
Trying to do everything, like doing more
than they need to, maybe even fumbling
'cause they just never stop.
And then there's like some seasoned teachers
that this first year teacher is like,
"Oh, why aren't you doing more?"
And one of the seasoned teachers says,
"I know, I can't do more because I can't afford
"to be burnt out because if I get burnt out,
"these kids have no one.
"And so I have to take care of myself.
"I have to not do everything because if I do,
these kids won't have a teacher."
And when I watched that episode, I was like,
"Oh, I agree, write it down."
Because like, our kids need us, and at the end of the day,
I have to be like, "Okay, I'm done.
"I'm not gonna think about school at all this whole weekend
and I'm probably going to still."
But it's like, if I just pretend like I won't,
like I know that I'm striving for balance
because my kids need, my student kids,
my kids need me on Monday to be my best version of myself.
Bring the energy, bring the excitement
to even a boring topic because they need me.
- Yes; so you, you all mentioned being overworked
'cause I know we have some listeners who probably,
they hear that a lot, but they really don't know
what that entails.
Can you all like, explain some of the overwork things that
happened throughout your day or year?
- Well, I do have a funny, this would be a classic
like, beginning-of-school-year feeling overworked.
So it's like day four of school
and we just had back to school night,
like meet-the-teacher kind of night.
And it started at 9:00 PM or no,
it started at 7:00 P.M. and got done at 9:09 P.M.
And there's school the next day.
And I feel like that's a classic one where you're like,
who is asked to like, work a solid eight-hour day
then like, go home for maybe a little bit
and then come back and like, put on that face again
for a couple more hours, now to parents, and then notice,
and then go home and be like, "Okay,
"I need to like, slow down.
"I need to get some sleep here and then be right back at it
in the morning, ready to go." - Yeah.
- And I love that it was 9:09, you know?
That's school too, like who else does that?
- Yeah. - Count those minutes.
- Gotta get those minutes in, I was just gonna say. [laughs]
To Shelton, Shelton to your question.
I'm not necessarily thinking of myself,
but I mentioned that I was able to support a school
earlier this week and in one of the classes,
the class was being supported by multiple teachers,
a reading teacher coming in and doing reading assessments
with the students.
And there was also a special education teacher
who came in and was supporting students.
And she and I had the chance to chat a little bit
after the class was over.
And she was talking about how again, first two weeks
of school, it seems like it's May.
She put in 15,000 steps the other day,
And this wasn't a field trip; this was just literally
running around the building,
supporting every student on her caseload
and then all of the documentation after that.
Talking about being there till 7:00 PM,
writing emails to families, working on the documentation.
And I just kept thinking about those 15,000 steps
during the day too.
I don't think that was an anomaly,
I think that's every single day.
- When I think about a lot of the ways that I feel
like I'm doing a lot of work, it's a little bit different
because I do a lot for my local association.
And so, it's voluntary and yet I'm like, okay,
if districts themselves weren't such a mess,
our association work wouldn't be so intensive
in terms of really helping people understand
what their rights are, you know what I mean?
What their workday really is and isn't.
How we really establish kind of this,
the collegiality amongst ourselves,
so we plan outings and get-togethers.
The kind of things that like, can never be fit
into a school day or they think,
maybe like a half a Cousin's sub
and a bag of chips is okay at school,
that's the only thing we could do.
And so, we plan the more like, adult and real things, you know,
to really again, build a community,
build a community of professionals.
And so a lot of my time this week was that.
It's like the workday ends at this time,
but I'm on the phone with people.
Well, in fact, I helped somebody resign already.
I'm on the phone with people,
helping them figure out what to do.
I'm helping people just figure out their situation.
And then we have this great leadership team.
So anyway, I just think about that, whereas like,
the school day ends here,
but then my work with my colleagues continues.
And I just think because there's like,
we just kind of like have roles in school,
but there's really kind of not, at least been my experience
the past 27 years, not a whole like, organizational vibe.
And if so, it's been like, kind of just compliance-driven.
- What do you mean when you say roles?
- I mean like, here is school, and then you hire teachers
and they're teachers, and then you hire your admin
and they're admin, and you hire your paras.
And there's really not time or a real effort
in how are you really a team?
You know, it's more like, here's your duties,
here's my duties. - Yeah.
- How do you, you know, these are the duties I have to do.
And again, it's that internal need
that we're missing with people of like,
but what's the organization and how are we a team?
And is there even time to ever really be together?
So, I just see that missing in the structure and in my case,
that's where my association picks it up.
- Yeah, I agree, and I do think the past two years
have taken that even further away
because I feel like at my school we had,
pre-COVID, we had a really good staff culture
and staff energy that worked well with each other
that did really include all the different levels
and all the different departments,
from teachers to student support staff.
And then you had COVID, which separated us
and then it was difficult to kind of maintain that.
And then with that comes a lot of staff turnover.
And so when it came time to come back last year,
there was almost like a guard up.
Like you weren't quite ready to know who you could trust,
maybe you didn't give, I mean, I know for a fact
that there was a scenario where I didn't give a staff member
as much grace as I should have
and then I kind of got called on it and I was like,
"Why would I give them grace?
"I don't even know them.
I've been here for a long time," and it wasn't cool.
Like, I was out of line,
but like I said to my administrator,
I said, "We need more community
"so that we can have more opportunities
"to remind ourselves that these are our colleagues,
"this is our community.
"I trust what you're doing,
"even if I don't know all the pieces
"because I know you've got kids as the best interest here,
I know that I need to presume those positive intentions."
And so my dream is that we'll get back to an opportunity
for a stronger community so that we can get back
to that presuming everybody is putting kids first,
everybody is doing their best work to put kids first,
and we have trust there even if we don't know each other
as well as we did pre-COVID.
- Yeah, I feel pretty lucky that the team I'm on
is working on innovation within the district
and has learned that it only works if
these projects are working directly
with schools and with teachers.