Episode 100: 100th Episode Celebration

We’ve reached 100 episodes, so we’re celebrating. On this episode I've invited the wonderful Educator Forever team to join me in celebrating not just completing 100 episodes but all of the amazing work that they've done beyond the classroom.

Besides discussing our favorite episodes were, the team let’s me know what they love most about working with Educator Forever and how it’s empowered them. It gets a little emotional! But it’s a wonderful time and made me so happy to work with such fantastic people.

 

Topics Discussed:

  • Our favorite parts of helping educators

  • How we’ve all evolved as educators

  • What has made for some great episodes

Resources mentioned:

Related episodes and blog posts:

 
 
 
 

Read the transcript for this episode:

Welcome to Educator Forever, where we empower teachers to innovate education. Join us each week to hear stories of teachers expanding their impacts beyond the classroom and explore ways to reimagine teaching and learning.

Welcome to our 100th episode of the Educator Forever podcast. I am super excited to celebrate having done 100 episodes, and I've invited the wonderful Educator Forever team here with me to celebrate. One of my favorite parts of running the podcast has been having a chance to reflect with so many amazing educators about all the things they've done beyond the classroom and building. In that time for reflection has also been a time for celebration that I think sometimes we are so go, go, go in our daily lives, that we don't even see how far we've come, and we don't even see all the things that we've accomplished on our road to wherever we're trying to get. So I've invited my amazing team members here with me today to celebrate not only 100 episodes of the podcast, but all of the amazing work that they've done beyond the classroom and that we've been able to collaborate with and witness for other educators beyond the classroom. So I'm going to go ahead and have my amazing team members start by introducing themselves.


April Brown  

Awesome. Hi everybody. So excited to be here to celebrate our 100th episode. I'm April Brown. I'm the director of learning and development and Educator Forever, and I support in many different ways with the network and curriculum programs and other course development. So very happy to be here with everybody, and I'll pass it to Evonne.


Evonne Hall  

Hi everybody. My name is Evonne Hall, and I'm the program coordinator here at Educator Forever. So excited to be a part of this celebration and looking forward to supporting you all as you move forward.


Mandy  

Hi, I'm Mandy. I'm the newest member of the team. I'm the Editorial Manager. I've been a part of the network for many years, and I'm so excited to be here today.


Blair  

Hey everyone. I'm Blair, and I'm the marketing manager Educator Forever, and I also love helping with other programs and our agency work too. So glad to be here.


Allison Williams  

And I am Allison Williams, and I co-teach the Grow your education business accelerator and also host the creativity workshops. Yay.


Lily Jones  

Well, celebrating all of you and thank you for lovely introductions. One of the most amazing things about working at Educator Forever is being able to support people at various stages of their education journeys. And I maybe should have mentioned this, but maybe it's obvious that we are all former teachers and have been in the classroom ourselves, and we get to help other educators moving beyond the classroom, staying in the classroom, expanding their skills, really creating the education careers that they want. And so I wanted to start by thinking about our favorite parts of supporting educators as they go into their work beyond the classroom.


April Brown  

Yeah, I love this question, and I think that it's hard to be, like, really honed in on just one thing that I love about supporting educators beyond the classroom. But I think that you spoke to it Lily as well, when we just sometimes as educators, we can box ourselves in, right? And so I think that educators that we work with, whether they come to us through the network, whether it's through one of our programs, often they come in and they're curious, right? Like, they're curious like, what does it mean to work flexibly in education? What does it mean for my identity as an educator? And so I love being able to see folks blossom, and I love to be able to see folks really tap into the wisdom that they already hold. Like, of course, we are there to support them with skill development and in a multitude of other ways, but I love just seeing folks just blossom. I guess that's the best thing that comes to mind. And I think that the other thing that's really beautiful to witness is that everybody's journey and story is different. And so although there are, like, typical, you know, career pathways and phases that we see in an educators journey, um, there, it's also so specific, depending on your talents, your skills, your passions, um, aspirations you have for making a difference in the world. So that's what comes up for me. Yeah.


Evonne Hall  

And this is Evonne. I think one of my favorite things about supporting teachers and educators as they're moving forward in the next step on their educator journey is is very similar to April's, and that you get to see everybody blossom. But speaking as probably one of the more mature members of this team, being able to see educators who are more mature and maybe have, as April mentioned, put themselves in a box, just in terms of what I've been doing this for so long. You know, I can only either, do you know, be an educator in the classroom or I can become an administrator. But I'm not really feeling that, you know, giving mature educators, all educators, the opportunity to reimagine for themselves what is possible still in the field, so allowing them to stay in the field that they love, but also acknowledging that there are many paths to success and that they are individualized, and they really can play to their individual strengths, something that we often don't hear enough, so I'd say that's my favorite thing.


Allison

So I hear a common thread. We're all speaking on the growth, and I put that as my favorite thing as well. I love seeing the growth because it does take a lot of confidence to kind of step out of the classroom and to try something new. So seeing a lot of the members start off kind of well, I think I want to do this, or maybe I should do that, and then along the way, becoming more certain in themselves and more confident in their skills, and saying, you know, this is what I am doing, and I am going to try this out, is definitely my favorite part. But other than that, I like seeing the connections that have been made, seeing how the members are working together to develop new programs or to partner up and do things, and even personally, I've worked with a few of members to help with different projects that I've been doing, and vice versa. So I like the growth, but also the connections that we make.


Lily Jones  

I love all those and I love how each of you shared really, how it's a journey, and how along the way, people get to realize things about themselves and what skills they want to develop, what things they're naturally drawn to, where they want to challenge themselves. And I think it's so affirming to be part of a community of grown ups who are committed to doing new things and to doing new things that are scary and to not always succeeding. And I know that I find constant inspiration being around people who are going outside of their comfort zone and really learning by doing these things. And I know that you all have been doing these things too and on your own journeys beyond the classroom. So I'd love to hear what you would like to celebrate about your own experience as an educator, evolution as an educator.


April Brown  

Yes, this is another thought provoking question. So I think for me, I'm going to kind of piggyback off of what Allison just said, because I think connections have been really epic for me when I got started working flexibly in education beyond, you know, teaching, it's been almost a decade now, and I just think back to all of the amazing relationships that I fostered through all of the different, you know, contracts that I've had, obviously all of the folks that I get to support and work with here at Educator Forever. But I'm just proud of expanding my world in that way. I think that I've always been a pretty expansive person, like I love just being around people and connecting with others, but when you work flexibly and especially remotely, like I have for so long, I'm able to connect with people all over the world and in many different ways, and it's been really, really cool to do that, and also, I think, be part of projects that I wouldn't have been part of if I had stayed a full time classroom teacher. And so like, whether it's like supporting with designing mental health curriculum for schools, or whether it's supporting with, you know, co teaching a curriculum program and reviewing curriculum for students, like all of these different things. It's tapped into a different part of my brain, and it's also challenged me in many, many different ways that I probably thought was never possible. And I've developed my skills in that way. And also, like, I love modeling that for my daughters, you know, like I have a two and a half year old, I have an eight year old, and I think that seeing me constantly putting myself out there, which is, like, Lily, what you kind of spoke to as well. I think that that's really important for them to see that I don't box myself in, that I take risks, that I take on new challenges, and I'm expansive in my thinking. So that's what I'd like to celebrate, is more expansive thinking. If that's even makes sense. I don't know if it makes sense, but sort of yeah, cool, all right. 


Evonne Hall  

And once again, I feel like I'm kind of piggybacking off of April in terms of, you know, the expansive thinking, but just, I think this really gave me this question, gave me permission to really stop and think. About some things that I had not for a while. And truthfully, I would say one of the things that I am most proud of, most pleased with, is being able to reach a point after, you know, some years, where I can say that we've managed to create a life that we want. You know, I've managed to create a life for myself that I wanted and could not necessarily see years ago while working in the classroom. I love my students. I love my job, I love education. And there was always a part of me, though that yearned for something that was a little bit more. And so, for instance, last week, my husband was nominated to a state board of education, and he had to go take an oath, and, you know, as a governor appointee and and we decided after this affair that we were going to go out and have breakfast and a cup of coffee and sit and talk for a little while. And at one point, my husband looked at me in the coffee shop and he said, we never could have done this if we had stayed where we were, you know, in the classroom those years ago. And it was that moment of going, Yes, you know, I still get to do the things that I love. I still get to work with young people, I still get to support educators, I still get to work with technology. I still get to make connections, but I get to do them in a remote and kind of truthfully, like all over environment, right? It's a much more holistic existence that we've managed to create. So I do, I would say that's the thing I'm most proud of, is our ability to just to take the risks right, to step out into spaces that may not have been initially very comfortable, but we learn over time and and really embrace a different way of creating the freedom financially and personally that we were hoping to have for our family.


Mandy

That's great. I love what both April and Evonne said about their celebrations, and I celebrate both of you and everyone on this team for all the great stuff that we've done. I think my I'm going to choose a word, and I think my word for celebration is resilience. I've received a lot of no's applied for lots of things, and I'm gonna get emotional because it's just so empowering. But I've also received some really good yeses, and I've got to work on some really cool projects. I'm very proud to be part of the Educator Forever team. That's a very big win for me, and I just hope that that we can continue to help educators find their wins and find their yeses. And I do really believe that the no's I wasn't supposed to do those things, and the yeses were the things that I would was meant to be a part of, and I wouldn't have seen that without this community and without the network and Educator Forever. So I am so thankful for that, and just to piggyback on April and Evonne, just creating that life that you want and being able to expand your options and and, you know, think outside the box. I loved being a teacher. I may go back to that one day, but, yeah,


Lily Jones  

Those are beautiful reflections and celebration, and truly celebrating all of you for doing these things that are really admirable and really hard. And so I think that for me, being a teacher, I always wanted to have kids be able to live a life of their own design, you know, to be able to do whatever they wanted to do, you know. And of course, not everybody is on equal footing there and has all the supports that they need. But like, let's try and have that as a goal post that, like, we can have some agency and support each other to do the things we want to do. And I think teachers are not often given that, you know, we don't often think we can build these lives of our own design making the impact that we want to make. I know that I felt like I had to be a classroom teacher if I wanted to make the impact that I wanted to make, and that was really hard, and I had to make a lot of sacrifices, as I know most of our listeners have. All of us have to be a classroom teacher. And so being able to, going back to what you were showing April, like, have an expansive view of, like, what if I could, like, what if I could make the impact that's important for me to make in my life, in the world, and also not sacrifice my well being, or my family's well being, you know, or whatever it might be, what if you could, you know? And I think that is a challenge that we can all ask ourselves, like, what if it was possible? And it doesn't mean that it's easy, you know, I feel like sometimes I can say, I think. Being like, oh yeah. Like, create the life you want. And it's like, it seems really easy, but it's not easy. And I love, Mandy, your Word of resilience, because it is really hard. And we are many obstacles, and many different obstacles for all of us that come up along the way. But I think, like you shared too, Mandy, like that resilience, those moments of being like, this is something that I wanted, it didn't work out. Like, we see people all the time giving up in those moments, right? And it's understandable being like, oh, it's not meant for me, like, and we've all had thoughts really like that, right? Like, it's not meant for me. It's not working out. But in those moments when you get to choose resilience is really when you get to bet on yourself, and when you get to try different ways, and know that there are always ways of getting there. So thank you so much for sharing those reflections and celebrations and really just normalizing again, that it is a journey that is not a straight line, and it's bumpy and it's Rocky, but there's so much beauty in the journey and in the rockiness. So I'd love to shift to something that as you know, I'm proud of the podcast and doing 100 episodes, I feel like I had to push myself outside of my comfort zone to commit to doing a podcast episode every week and talking to people that I felt aligned with what they were doing in education, and really just learning so much along the way. So I would love to hear from some of you about your favorite podcast episodes that have been done.


Blair

Yeah, there's so many great ones. We've had so many awesome educators on one of them that stands out to me, and it kind of goes along with everything we've been saying about how it really is a journey and a winding road beyond the classroom. And that episode that stands out the most to me is stages of an educators career journey. And it's episode 82 and I just love this episode. And we actually heard from so many people about how much they loved it, too. It's really honest and relatable, and it's always a treat to hear from April and Lily and hear them interact together. And in this episode, they really talk you through the stages that educators go through when moving beyond the classroom. And the stages were created based on our work that we've done with 1000s of educators over the years, and it really gives you a sense of what to expect in your journey beyond the classroom, and it helps you feel less alone, I think, and that no matter what highs and lows you're going through or that you will go through, you'll know you can at least see a path forward. And it's the episode I think I wish I had when I was considering a career change, and so I just it's a really great starting point for anyone considering pursuing a career beyond the classroom, and it's also a great episode if you're feeling stuck, so definitely check out episode 82.


April Brown  

So my favorite episode goes along with Blair's because it's episode 80, and it's all about re redefining your identity as an educator. And I think it goes truly. It goes everything that Blair just said. I mean, I think that if I had had this episode as a young teacher, I think it would have also related to more expansive thinking, because it really allows you to understand that we can move into different career pathways while staying in education and still be an educator. And so I think that's what you know, that's what, obviously, that's what we're about an Educator Forever, because it's literally in our name. But also I think that for me, moving beyond the classroom that was a hard thing, right? Like I my daughter was young when I started doing it, and I just really did not want to have to go through all of the hoops. So we moved a lot, and like trying to get recertified all the time after I already had my masters, and it just felt so overwhelming. But then I did start to question myself, and I think that sometimes as educators, our worth is somehow wrapped up in our identity as a classroom teacher like, you know. And I think for myself, it did go along with some of the martyrdom, some of the like saviorism As an educator that, like I experienced, like, I need to save the world, and I'm going to save the world. And here's the many things, but then I had this like little child that I also needed to spend time with, and it just felt like so overwhelming to think about how I could do all of the things. So then finding Educator Forever and being like, Oh, wait, I can actually still be an educator and do all of these different things that are going to light me up and still drive change in education, felt so empowering. So I think this episode is really truly for anyone, whether it's like trying to overcome, you know, feeling doubtful about like taking the transition or the next steps, or whether you're like, oh, but if I leave the classroom, who am I? Because, like, that might sound epic, but true. That's the question that people ask, and that's the question that people feel. And so I feel like episode 80 really allows you to understand that you're so much more than just a classroom teacher, and ways that you can redefine yourself so that it feels good, so that it sets you up for success and for more sustainable and, you know, sustainability and joy-filled living.


Allison

So I'm a little biased, because I love all of the episodes, but I really love the ones that are related to business, and so my favorite is episode 75. It's called using design thinking to build an impactful education business. And it just takes me back to when I first my whole introduction to Educator Forever was when I took the accelerator course. And I think one of the most profound things that Lily taught in the or teaches in the modules, is about the design thinking process. And I'm the type of person who stays in the ideation phase, like, I can come up with ideas for days. I love it, um, but Lily really guides you through, like it's a cycle. It's a process. You gotta move past the idea phase to get to the next part. So I love in the podcast, how you know, how you mentioned, basically how to spend, how to find that idea that where you could spend the least amount of time and money and just get it out there. You know, I like how you kind of coined that phrase of, like, that scrappy version. You're the first person for me that I heard use that phrase and get that prototype out there to, you know, your target audiences, even see if they if it's something that they need, if they like. And I like the idea of keeping the audience, you know, keeping them in the center of the focus. So instead of always building something that you want, you know that you think that they're going to love, you know, you're really focused on what does the audience need? So I love that the episode talks about that, and then also, the quicker that you get the idea out there, the quicker you can get some feedback on it to even see if it is what they need, and you can go back to the drawing board and tweak it and make it better and improve on it. So, and it's something that even going into my fifth year of business, I still think about the design process, because, you know, it's, it's a journey, like it always changes. Like your business idea doesn't just stay stagnant, like it as your customer changes, your services and products have to change as well. So it's just a reminder of always kind of being in that process. And it reminds me, actually, of the engineering design process like that we teach our students for stem right, like you have the plan, and you ask the question and you improve on it. So it really connects with me. And so I recommend that episode 75 to anybody who's thinking about starting a business to start there.


Lily Jones  

Wonderful. Yeah. I mean, I think the design thinking process, or even engineering design thinking. It's like, good for everything, like, even if it's not starting a business, even if it's just something in your life, like, let me find something that I want to test and see how it goes. And it kind of takes the pressure off. Because I think, as you were saying with ideation, I've definitely been stuck there too, and that can just turn into, like, procrastination, where we're like, Well, you got to find the best idea. You know, it's like, how will we know if it's the best until we test it? And so I think whether it's applying for a job, you know, whether it's starting a business, just trying it out imperfectly, and seeing it like an experiment can be really freeing, and also cause you to move forward and really learn the thing by doing it. So I know all of us being former classroom teachers and involved in schools in various ways. You know, we know all these things that are frustrating about education. And I think many of our listeners who are classroom teachers, they're frustrated with many aspects of education. But I also think there's so much amazing thinking and work going on in the world of education, and there are so many people. I mean, case in point, the people I've interviewed for this podcast, all of you you know who are doing inspiring work in education really aligned to what do we know works best for kids, what works best for teachers? And so I would love to conclude our celebration by hearing from some of you about what excites you about education?


Blair

Yeah, so several things come to mind for me. I'm really inspired by how empowered educators are becoming, just seeing how teachers are stepping up and innovating and improving education and also improving their own lives along the way and using their voices to advocate for change, for meaningful change. And like you were saying, Lily, we've had so many awesome guests on the podcast who are a testament to this and showing us what's possible when educators lead the way and reimagine what education can. Look like, and what their own careers and their own lives can look like too. One of the things I do is search for flexible jobs for educators each day, and I continually come across new and different organizations doing really exciting and innovative things to make education better. So seeing these opportunities and seeing these organizations, it's a great reminder that change is happening and it's possible, and also that there's so many ways to make a difference in education. And so that makes me really optimistic overall. And you know, I think there's growing recognition and understanding about teacher well being and student well being too. And we can see these small shifts or small pockets of change happening, and I think that that is what will create momentum for even greater changes in education to come, too.


Evonne Hall  

So I totally agree with everything that Blair has said, and that was full of a lot of amazing ideas that I'm even sitting here like, Oh yeah, that was really good. I should have thought about that. But one of the things that really does jump out to me kind of in alignment with, you know, how educators are really becoming more empowered and learning more about the different pathways that they can take is just the amount of of technology and Ed Tech and fascinating uses of different apps and programs and software, not just for teachers, but also for students, and the potential for real deep learning to happen with utilizing those. And I think it's wonderful that we as educators have these kinds of tools available to us. I know that they can be concerning in some areas, but for the most part, overall, I sit back and I think of you know, lessons that I may teach and how I can use technology to augment those lessons for my students, and it truly is amazing to think of what really is available to help our lessons, our teaching, come to life in ways that are practical and applicable to our students, ways that they really want to engage with the materials and draws them in on a deeper level. So the technology is something that I find very hopeful. I also love that it is not just for schools and systems that have more money, but it's actually another way for schools and systems that are in more rural areas to access higher quality of education and material educational content for both teachers and students. So I would say that's one of the things I'm really hopeful about moving forward.


Mandy

Yeah, thanks, Evonne. Really, really great points tech is has come a long way, and it's really cool. You know, I only left the classroom two and a half years ago, and even since then, it's changed dramatically what we're able to do, and that is so fascinating, and provides all these opportunities for teachers to be a part of it, right, and for us to kind of support teachers. And how do we make that tech usable? You know, it's great to have tech, but how do we incorporate into the classroom? And my thing that I'm most hopeful for is just seeing all the great people that are still in education and still want to make a difference, and just knowing that we just have such a great support system, and being there for each other to make education just so much better. And even though we have AI and all this tech it is, it does still come down to the teachers and the people that are there to support our students. And I just know that there's so many great educators out there, and I'm so thankful to be able to help support them, and therefore support our students and support the world just in general. 


Lily Jones  

Yes, absolutely. Well, celebrating all of you and all of that, and all the people who are out there really like you said Mandy, trying to make a difference in the world of education, staying in education, knowing that doesn't necessarily have to mean staying in the classroom, but that we need educators in all different ways, doing all sorts of things. And so thank you so much everybody for coming on. It's always such a joy to hear more about what you're excited about and to celebrate with you all. And if folks want to join us more, we'd love to invite you to join our Educator Forever network, which we'll put. The link down below, it's learnt. Educator Forever.com/network, and through the network, we really support educators at all stages of their education career journeys, whether you're a classroom teacher looking for some more support in a community to really lift you up, whether you're looking to use your skills beyond the classroom, moving into curriculum design or education consulting or starting your own business, whether you already have an education business that you really want to see flourish, we're here to support you and really elevate your work, so we'd love to have you try that out and again, thank you to all of you, and we'll be back with our 101 episode next week. 


Transcribed by https://otter.ai

Lily Jones