Why A Podcast?

A few years back I was chatting with some students and they asked me if I had seen the show Between Two Ferns. I hadn’t but I went home and watched the episode they recommended: Zach Galifianakis’ interview of President Obama. I loved it. I loved the lack of formality, the humor, and the banter back and forth between the two of them. A few days after watching it, I decided, on a whim,  to host my own version of Between Two Ferns. It was a Friday, the kids were tired, and we needed to switch gears fast or I was going to lose them. So I sent them on a break, found a picture of two ferns on the internet, put it up on the screen and asked for a volunteer. An eager, but naive student volunteered and I put them in the hot seat. I interviewed them and the student loved it, the kids loved it, and my little talk show was born.

Over the next few weeks I interviewed one student per class every Friday and I began to learn so much about them. They shared their hobbies with me, their passions, who they want to be when they grow up, their life quote, their favorite book, and so much more. Our interviews were filled with laughter, joy, and oftentimes with tears and heartbreak. Those I interviewed embraced vulnerability and shared their struggles. My students loved it, so much so that they got to the point where they begged me to insert “special episodes” throughout the week.

One day I decided to switch things up and ask a teacher to be my guest. I went out into the hallway and asked whomever it was that had hall duty if they wanted to be a special guest on our show.This turned out to be one of the best decisions I have made. 

As I interviewed my first teacher guest my students sat there mesmerized.   I began asking questions and my guest began sharing from their heart. They bragged about their kids, they talked about where they went to college, they described what they were like in high school. They talked about what they struggled with, and where they excelled. They shared and shared and shared. When the 45 minutes were done the kids no longer saw a “teacher” but they saw a human being who understood them, and loved them. Their teacher had become more real to them.

Every week from that point on the students could not wait for the following Friday and could not wait to see who the guest would be. Each week we all sat there as teacher after teacher “wowed” us with their talents, enlightened us with their wisdom, and made us laugh after sharing their most embarrassing moments. The lesson learned from all of these interviews is that teachers are human, teachers make mistakes, teachers experience success and failure throughout the day, but most of all…teachers are truly amazing.

Now I want to share these amazing teachers and their stories with as many people as I can. People need to hear their stories because people will change as a result. These teachers that surround me are some of the most passionate, driven, and committed people I know. Their stories are inspirational. So, it is time they get to share their stories.

I love podcasts. I tell my students I attend “Podcast University” every single day. It is a form of education I absolutely love. I subscribe to over 150 podcasts. I hope this podcast is inspiring to the listener. I hope the listener, student, parent, grandparent, or fan walks away as awed about teachers as I am. Teaching is the greatest profession…scratch that…the greatest calling on earth, and I am surrounded by the greatest teachers around. These are their stories.

*You can find the podcast Between2BlueDevils on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Anchor, Google, and just about every other podcasting platform around. Come grow with me as I embrace podcasting. Here is the link to the Apple podcast. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/between2bluedevils/id1499278749.

**Special thanks to the following podcasters and teachers who have inspired me to take risks, like this: Dave Burgess, Tim Cavey , the entire Teach Better Team, Justin Sua, Joshua Stamper, Danny Bauer…to name a few! Follow them on Twitter and listen to their podcasts. They are amazing.