On the Road at the 2025 NJEA Convention

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Location on location live from the njea teachers convention 2025 this is a little

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intimidating there's a lot of people here it's a lot of people but it's exciting

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and it's all educators and,

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you know this is our these are our people yeah so season three by the way in

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case you didn't know is brought to you by our presenting sponsor teacher's insurance

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plan check out their website which is linked in this episode for a description

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and for more information and to get a quote teacher's insurance plan,

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auto insurance that brings exclusive educator savings and exceptional customer

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care to New Jersey and Pennsylvania educational employees.

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So today we are going to be out and about all around Atlantic City talking to

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educators just like ourselves, asking them different questions,

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reactions, looking for... Yeah, a little man on the street interviews,

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man or woman on the street. That's right.

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New friends. We just saw Malala. You might even see some returning podcast guests

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if you stick with us on this episode. Wink, wink.

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So we're going to be asking teachers that are down here, you know,

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why they're down here, what's their passion, you know, why are they in the profession

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still, what are some key tips and tricks that they might have for new teachers

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in the classroom, what keeps them energized.

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It's really going to be an exciting day, it's a completely different episode for us as.

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Record live on location, walking around with a tripod. That's right. Yeah.

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So? Are you ready to do this? Uh, let's off. We're off and running.

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All right. So you're going to see a bunch of different people,

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uh, through the episode and we'll be back at the end giving you our thoughts.

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I mean, first of all though, before we do that, I mean, how amazing was the

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keynote? The keynote was absolutely incredible.

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Malala has been someone that I have followed her story, read her books,

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showed her documentary.

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And, um, and so seeing her live in person was a true gift.

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Yeah. And- Actually, it was just so awesome for the NJEA to put that on and

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to have like such a powerful speaker to start this off and the passion that

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she comes to the stage with as an advocate and as an activist.

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It really was awesome to see.

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So, yeah, we're excited to see some other things. We're here and steal some

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free stuff from the different exhibitors and also interview some great teachers along the way.

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So enjoy the episode. We'll be back at the end. See you later.

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Bernadette, it's Orsita, is that pronounced correctly? The Passaic County Teacher

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of the Year Royalty, New Jersey Royalty.

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Thanks a lot for being with us. My pleasure. Tell us, what do you teach?

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How long have you been in the profession?

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So I teach Spanish. I've been teaching for 18 years. I teach at Manchester High

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School in, what town is that? Heldon, New Jersey.

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Well, obviously you're very passionate about this profession if you're down

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here this weekend, right? Yeah.

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What are some things that you would say, tell a new teacher in the classroom

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that they might be, you know, if they're experiencing some difficulty,

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if they're having some problems in their classrooms,

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what are some things that you would suggest to them as a novice teacher in the classroom? Sure.

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First thing I would say is don't take it personal. It's not about you.

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Be patient. Everybody needs someone that cares.

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And when they see that you're patient and understanding and compassionate,

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they will respond differently.

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So those are the two key things I believe awesome

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and did you say how long you've been teaching for 18 years 18 years

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okay were you always in um did you say Manchester Manchester sorry it was my

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first teaching job okay so and my last I'm gonna I'm gonna retire there one

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day okay very nice so we have our little bucket of magical questions so we're

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gonna ask you to pick out a question and we're gonna we're gonna ask this of

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you so go ahead spin your no peeking.

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She's a professional. Okay. This is like a tricky trade. Can I get the best

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prize, please? Oh, good.

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So what do we got here? We got, who was a teacher that made an impact on you?

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And what did they do with that stuck with you? Okay. Well, that would have to

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be my professor in college. Her name was Dr. Tahes.

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And what she did that stuck with me was she was consistent, consistent, and consistent.

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And to me, that was so important because I was not your average learner.

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So I needed to understand what was going on. And it's very difficult when people

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are distracted or the educators are kind of like all over the place.

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She was very consistent, very on top of her game.

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And she was caring. Like she actually knew all of us by name.

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And she made it a point to find out how we were doing every time we walked in a class.

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So all of that together made her just an amazing teacher. I'm assuming that

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personal connection is something that you take into the classroom with your

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own students, right? A hundred percent.

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You know, the whole creating relationships thing that we hear all the time.

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That is my mantra, right? Awesome.

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I need to know my kids, their parents, the community. It's very important.

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Well, Bernadette, thanks a lot for being with us today. Thank you so much.

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Appreciate you very much. I really appreciate this.

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You are the Union County, big ups to Union. I'm from Union County originally.

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So would you tell us a little bit about your teaching experience?

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I've been teaching for over 30 years. I started in New York and I actually was

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a social worker first and realized that it was a lot, but I still wanted to work with kids.

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So I went back and got my master's in education and started teaching out on Long Island.

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Then I came here because I had to get married and he plucked me out of New York. I'm joking.

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But that's where I've been teaching for 30 years. I've been in my district for 26 years.

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And what district is that? Roselle Park. Oh, very nice.

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Okay. I teach gifted and talented, K through 8 now.

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For a very long time, I was 6 through 8, language arts literacy.

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Interesting when you're in the middle as we are then you know oh yeah oh yeah

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it's fun it's fun would you mind taking one of the questions from our bucket.

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No, I don't have my glasses. Oh, I can help you. What's a small classroom routine

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or trick that makes your day run smoother?

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Well, my first thing has to be I get there early. So I set my day.

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If I don't get there early and set everything up, it kind of throws me completely

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off. I know other people can walk right in and start.

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I need my routine of having my coffee, getting the classroom set up, and then I can go.

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Do you have one particular teacher that you'd like to shout out as having a

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great influence on you? A hundred percent.

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My fifth grade teacher, I don't know if you can tell, I'm a little hyper.

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My fifth grade teacher got me and she said to me, I will allow you to walk the

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back of the classroom, but you cannot talk to anybody.

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And I had the most productive and successful year because Shigamdi.

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So that was my Miss Wiki. Oh, hey.

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Well, thank you so much. Thank you for having me. Okay, we are here with Alyssa,

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the current Passaic County Teacher of the Year.

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Congratulations, Alyssa. Thank you. Thank you very much for joining us today.

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Where do you teach? What do you teach? How long have you been teaching? Give us the rundown.

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So I'm in my 12th year of teaching. I've taught at Manchester Regional High

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School in Hilden my entire teaching career.

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I started biology and chemistry, and then I recently switched over to STEM and

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engineering to build an engineering program.

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Um, where did you do your, uh, schooling? Where'd you go to college?

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My undergrad was William Patterson.

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William Patterson. Okay. Which they're also represented here at the, uh, at the convention.

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Right. So we have our little bucket of magical questions. Okay.

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We're going to ask you to pick one out and we'll read it for you.

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Okay. A little man on the street interview.

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So tell me, oh, this is a good one. This is my favorite question.

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Tell me about the funniest thing that has happened in your teaching career.

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Oh gosh. Um, the funniest thing has definitely become, um, with my third year

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engineering students currently, actually, we're a very tight group.

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They were my first cohort.

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I've had them from freshmen on up. Um, it's currently 10 boys that I've had now for three years.

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And we have started water fights in the classroom when things get a little bit

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out of control. It started off with the spray bottle I have for my bearded dragon's tank.

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And now it has just become our entire joke of them chasing each other around

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or me chasing them with the water spray bottle. It's pretty funny.

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Okay. Can we go back to the bearded dragon tank for a second?

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How did we come to have a bearded dragon in our classroom?

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We actually, my assistant principal had me apply for the pets in the classroom grant.

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Okay. And I was able to get Darwin, my bearded dragon, through that.

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And I've had him. He just turned two. I've had him about a year and a half now.

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And he is my entire personality. I am real life Miss Frizzle. I feel it.

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Absolutely love it. Awesome. Well, Alyssa, thank you. Congratulations again.

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Thank you. Thank you very much for joining us on our show today.

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We appreciate you very much. Thank you so much. Thank you.

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Congratulations on being the Burlington County Teacher of the Year. Yes, thank you.

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Would you tell us a little bit about your experience and background in your teaching career?

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It actually started in the military. I was a military instructor.

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And while I was in the military, I was able to actually go to Rutgers and serve

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as an associate professor from 2007 to 2010.

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So it was kind of progressive in nature.

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Military, collegiate. When I retired in 2012, I said, let me see if I could

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take this passion to the public school sector, which I did.

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October 2012, I started off at Seneca High School.

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I was there until 2017. Then I went to Northern Burlington and I've been doing

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it every state. So is that 13 years?

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Doing the public school math, about, yes. Okay. All right.

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And what exactly is it that you teach? I teach aerospace studies,

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which is like the genesis of flight.

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So when you think about like Grinelli's principle, lift drag from like the Chinese

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flyer, that's when flight was initially tried right through the F-22 of today's airplanes.

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Oh, so the opposite of what I teach.

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Would you mind pulling a question from our bucket, please?

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Uh-oh, drum roll. All right. If your classroom had a theme song, what would it be?

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All right. It actually does. All

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right. And it's not because I'm in South Jersey. I don't want to buy it.

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But it's the Rocky song from the very original Rocky.

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When he walks out and you hear the music, it gets you going.

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So when it's time for like an assessment or something to that nature,

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I'll put it up on my board. I'll run it and I'll say, let's go.

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I love that. And you're going to see the kids get pumped. Do you have one particular

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teacher that you felt influenced you in some way?

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At CT. Okay. First one is Mr. Sam Morris, who was my social studies teacher.

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In high school, he said, Sean, you can go out and that won't be anything you

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want through education. He was right.

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Number two was my junior ROTC instructor, Lieutenant Colonel Rubel.

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He's since passed away, but he served as like a mentor and a father affinity

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to me. So I owe a lot of my humble success to his children.

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And just think how many children now, you are that for them.

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Yeah. That was humbling. Yeah. Thank you. I have to jump in here and I have

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to say, how is your theme song not Highway to the Danger Zone? Oh.

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I mean, I'm down with the Rocky. Don't go wrong. Like, how is it not?

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I mean, come on. Right. There's an argument there.

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There's an argument. Okay. Thank you so much. You're welcome.

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Well, we are here with Shakita. By the way, this has been my favorite experience

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so far because here we are interviewing all these amazing teachers.

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And who's the shyest one than the one wearing the crown at the tables over here,

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thinking like she's going to hide from us that she's not going to be on this show.

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I was trying. She was trying, but there was no chance that we were not going

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to. Thank you very much for joining us so reluctantly.

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But anyway, tell us, Mercer County Teacher of the Year. Yes.

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Tell us a little bit about your teaching career and your journey and all about you.

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Okay. So again, my name is Shakita Fennell. I started teaching.

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I'm doing long-term subbing and subbing with Asbury Park and Neptune School District.

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I got my K through five teacher endorsement and then got my special education endorsement.

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I've been, I started my journey really introducing to teaching at the Children's

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Center of Monmouth County where I was a teacher's aide. Years later, I got my degree.

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And this is my 15th year in Trenton.

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It's amazing. And what do you teach? So this year I teach resource to sixth graders.

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I'm a special education teacher. Okay. So have you always been middle school?

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No, I've been everything from K through eighth. Okay. Yes.

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All right. So we have our little bucket of magical questions.

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Okay. So we're going to have you pick one out. I hope you get a good one.

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Okay. Here we go. What do we got? All right. Let's see. Let's see. Okay.

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What is the one piece of advice you have for a new teacher in the classroom?

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One of my favorite questions, by the way. So for a new teacher in the classroom,

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my most important advice is to be structured and classroom management.

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When you are structured and you have your classroom together,

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it makes your job so much easier.

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The students will be attentive to you. They will listen.

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Good learning goes along with all of that. When you have things in place,

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things are structured, you have good routines and procedures,

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it will lessen your stress.

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That's what I'm teaching tomorrow. Teacher wellness.

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Those social emotional learning things for your students, it all leads to not

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only your students being well, but you being well also.

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Awesome. Shakita, thank you very much. I mean, you were a natural.

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You were a natural. So thank you very much for being here with us.

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Thank you. We appreciate you very much. Thank you.

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You, Pamela, for being here. Thank you. And congratulations on being Middlesex

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County Teacher of the Year.

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Thank you very much. We are fellow Middlesex County teachers.

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Go Middlesex. And so can you tell us a little bit about your teaching experience,

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where you teach, how long?

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I teach at Lincoln Elementary School in Edison, New Jersey. I have been there

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for 11 years and I teach third grade.

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I bounce between third and fifth, but third grade is really where my heart is

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at. And what is your favorite subject to teach in third grade?

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So I teach all of them as an elementary teacher, but I love literature and reading

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like a novel study with a kid.

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Did you get to see Malala this morning? I did. Oh, fantastic.

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It was a dream, right? It was. It was fantastic. Yeah, I agree.

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So is there any particular teacher that you've had that had a wonderful influence on you?

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Sure. So actually teaching is my second career. I started in television production.

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And one night I ran into my second grade teacher in the grocery store and she

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asked me how work was going and I said, it's fun, but I don't love it.

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And she said, you need to find a job that you love. And then she looked at me

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and said, I always thought you would make a fantastic teacher.

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And so that kind of planted that seed that maybe I do need a job that I love

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and maybe I should make a change. And so here I am.

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Now, would you mind choosing a question from our bucket? Sure. Great.

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What's one thing you learned from your students?

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I've learned that while I know

00:16:22.370 --> 00:16:26.570
the academic piece, I need to know their story before I can teach them.

00:16:26.970 --> 00:16:31.790
So getting to know them and their background is more important than any of the

00:16:31.790 --> 00:16:32.930
academics that I could do.

00:16:33.310 --> 00:16:35.530
Wonderful. So will you be doing any gambling later?

00:16:36.110 --> 00:16:39.590
Possibly. I'll see you at the roulette table. Yes, absolutely.

00:16:39.850 --> 00:16:40.850
Thank you. Thank you very much.

00:16:42.990 --> 00:16:46.950
All right. I am here with Jody, the Cape May County Teacher of the Year.

00:16:47.930 --> 00:16:50.190
Congratulations. Thank you. First of all, Jody, tell us, you know,

00:16:50.290 --> 00:16:52.670
what do you teach? Where do you teach? How long have you been teaching?

00:16:53.210 --> 00:16:58.070
Give us all things, Jody. Okay. I have been teaching for 31 years. Totally.

00:16:58.710 --> 00:17:02.910
Wow. I need like a clapping track. 31 years. Good for you. Yes,

00:17:02.910 --> 00:17:04.850
and I still love it. I love it. Good for you.

00:17:05.490 --> 00:17:09.130
I teach at Lower Cammie Regional High School, and I teach Spanish.

00:17:09.930 --> 00:17:16.290
Spanish. Okay. And what is the number one thing, Spanish teachers,

00:17:16.450 --> 00:17:20.250
especially in New Jersey, world language teachers, there is a shortage, right?

00:17:20.630 --> 00:17:25.770
There's a number of positions across the state that are wide open still, right?

00:17:26.210 --> 00:17:31.750
What would you say to prospective college students that maybe want to go into

00:17:31.750 --> 00:17:36.730
teaching about the best part of your job, like being able to teach world language in a classroom?

00:17:36.930 --> 00:17:44.590
It's really rewarding because I teach at high school and we have the New Jersey seal of biliteracy.

00:17:44.810 --> 00:17:49.030
And so students can take that test and pass it.

00:17:49.170 --> 00:17:54.130
And then they get on their transcript, they get a seal of biliteracy and they

00:17:54.130 --> 00:18:01.090
have a, like a certificate that says that the New Jersey state thinks that they are,

00:18:01.230 --> 00:18:05.670
or says that they are biliterate, that they are bilingual.

00:18:05.990 --> 00:18:10.610
And so these students, that gives students so many opportunities to use in the future.

00:18:10.790 --> 00:18:14.550
So some students that I've had who passed the seal of biliteracy exam,

00:18:14.790 --> 00:18:19.330
they've gone on and get paid more because they have now they have proof like,

00:18:19.410 --> 00:18:23.110
hey, I am bilingual and they get paid a higher salary.

00:18:23.490 --> 00:18:28.270
And it just opens the door for so many students. So it's really exciting.

00:18:28.550 --> 00:18:30.970
There's a lot of opportunities that you can provide for your students.

00:18:32.773 --> 00:18:35.853
So we have a little bucket of magical questions. Okay. So you want to pick one

00:18:35.853 --> 00:18:40.073
out there and let's see what our magical bucket has in store for you. Okay.

00:18:40.453 --> 00:18:46.933
Oh, what is a teaching tool, tech app, or resource that you can't live without in the classroom?

00:18:52.233 --> 00:18:56.933
I actually don't really need anything. I can, I can, I like having,

00:18:57.153 --> 00:19:02.013
I just now, just this last week, I got a smart board. Oh, wow.

00:19:02.013 --> 00:19:06.033
I'm like the last one to get one in our building, but I got one and I love it.

00:19:06.173 --> 00:19:12.533
But I really, I can do, I've taught in circumstances where there's no electricity, no running water.

00:19:13.433 --> 00:19:18.073
So I, no material. So I, I'm pretty good with anything.

00:19:18.453 --> 00:19:22.773
Well, I mean, obviously now that we're named Cape May County Teacher of the Year, right?

00:19:24.013 --> 00:19:27.193
No, thank you very much for being with us and asking you a few questions.

00:19:27.453 --> 00:19:29.313
Thank you. Appreciate you very much. Thank you, Jodi.

00:19:31.315 --> 00:19:37.035
We are here with Sandra, the Gloucester County Teacher of the Year.

00:19:37.035 --> 00:19:43.215
We are at her convention booth today and reluctantly took a little bit of coaxing

00:19:43.215 --> 00:19:45.315
to get her over. So thank you so much.

00:19:45.855 --> 00:19:48.135
Would you tell us a little bit about your teaching experience,

00:19:48.135 --> 00:19:51.575
how long you've been a teacher and what you teach? For sure.

00:19:52.575 --> 00:19:59.955
I have been a teacher for 13 years and I love early elementary education.

00:20:00.535 --> 00:20:05.235
I started my journey in Medford where I grew up, and I started teaching first grade.

00:20:05.575 --> 00:20:09.315
And then I had some time off with my children to raise my children and then

00:20:09.315 --> 00:20:13.215
moved to Washington Township where I've been teaching kindergarten,

00:20:13.235 --> 00:20:14.775
and I absolutely love it.

00:20:15.115 --> 00:20:18.055
All right. I was born to be a teacher of early elementary education.

00:20:18.395 --> 00:20:22.595
I absolutely love the enthusiasm and excitement the kids bring to the table,

00:20:22.595 --> 00:20:24.855
and we just have fun every single day.

00:20:25.055 --> 00:20:28.655
Now, did staying home with your own kids affect your tier at all?

00:20:29.215 --> 00:20:34.195
It did. Yeah, it did. Yeah. So did you, were you from tier one down or?

00:20:34.655 --> 00:20:38.395
Well, they gave me my three year. They did give me my three years. Yeah.

00:20:38.615 --> 00:20:41.675
But I mean, that's a long time. I took a while off to be home.

00:20:41.895 --> 00:20:44.895
Yeah. Because we, you know, of course are promoting tier one for everyone.

00:20:45.455 --> 00:20:50.395
Would you mind picking a question from our bucket here? All right. Let's see.

00:20:51.192 --> 00:20:54.612
So what is your favorite part of the school day and what makes it special?

00:20:54.932 --> 00:20:58.652
All right. So in kindergarten, every single day when I greet the kids in the

00:20:58.652 --> 00:21:00.612
morning, it has to be my favorite part.

00:21:00.912 --> 00:21:03.932
Big smiles, excitement. They want to tell me what happened the night before.

00:21:04.492 --> 00:21:07.972
And then we sit down for morning meeting. And morning meeting is a time where

00:21:07.972 --> 00:21:12.552
we connect together and just facilitate our class family.

00:21:13.012 --> 00:21:17.072
We always have a fun activity to do and just get to know each other,

00:21:17.332 --> 00:21:21.412
look each other in the eyes, shake hands, and just learn those really important

00:21:21.412 --> 00:21:25.812
skills, social emotional learning.

00:21:25.812 --> 00:21:29.092
It's just so important for our kids, our kindergartners.

00:21:29.312 --> 00:21:32.372
Now, I teach eighth grade, but my sister teaches kindergarten. Yeah.

00:21:32.652 --> 00:21:35.712
So you are really the magic. It's a different world. You are the magic.

00:21:35.732 --> 00:21:38.212
But yet almost the same, too, in certain aspects.

00:21:40.326 --> 00:21:43.666
You just never know who you're going to run into down at the New Jersey State Convention.

00:21:43.986 --> 00:21:47.646
And wouldn't you know it? I run into one of my fraternity brothers that we went

00:21:47.646 --> 00:21:51.926
to college with back in the day in the aughts.

00:21:52.206 --> 00:21:55.266
Was it the 90s? It was the 90s. I left in the 90s. You may not have.

00:21:55.286 --> 00:21:57.806
I was out in 99. Oh, so was I. Yeah, we did.

00:21:58.266 --> 00:22:00.906
Yeah, we were there for a long time. Yes. Probably longer than we should have

00:22:00.906 --> 00:22:04.026
been. And I stayed after. And I went back. Yes.

00:22:04.646 --> 00:22:07.266
All right, man. It's great to see you. It's great to catch up.

00:22:08.986 --> 00:22:11.826
So we're here. Tell us a little bit about you, about Chris Bowman,

00:22:11.886 --> 00:22:15.246
and your teaching journey. My teaching journey started in Camden City.

00:22:15.686 --> 00:22:21.726
Camden County EAs over there. I'm now in Burlington County. I've been in Mount Laurel for 26 years.

00:22:22.206 --> 00:22:26.886
And I currently teach STEM and gifted. And now I am county president for Burlington

00:22:26.886 --> 00:22:29.086
as well. Thank you, big wig. Yeah.

00:22:29.686 --> 00:22:32.986
If, you know, heavy as the head that wears the crown. If we only knew back then.

00:22:34.266 --> 00:22:38.046
No, don't teach. But yes, no. And look where I'm at now. Nice.

00:22:39.086 --> 00:22:43.866
So were you always STEM and science? I was cut computers when I came out and

00:22:43.866 --> 00:22:46.846
I was fifth grade and then computers and then STEM and gifted.

00:22:47.126 --> 00:22:50.146
And what kind of involved? Did you mention what grade level it was? I forgot. I'm sorry.

00:22:50.306 --> 00:22:53.706
K to four. K to four. Wow. That's awesome. So we have our little bucket of magical

00:22:53.706 --> 00:22:55.786
questions. Okay. So you got to pull one out.

00:22:56.026 --> 00:22:59.726
All right. Let's see what we got here. What do we got? What are we going to ask you? Okay.

00:23:01.066 --> 00:23:04.586
If you, oh, this, this might be a perfect question for you.

00:23:04.706 --> 00:23:09.686
Okay. If you could instantly fix one challenge in education, what would it be?

00:23:12.113 --> 00:23:16.673
Instantly fix one challenge. There's so many different levels as far.

00:23:16.973 --> 00:23:20.133
I would make sure on the ideal level,

00:23:20.313 --> 00:23:27.573
make sure that our kids have the resources they need to succeed from fixing

00:23:27.573 --> 00:23:32.273
the food insecurity so that they're ready to learn, that they're safe in schools on the ideal level.

00:23:32.473 --> 00:23:35.993
There are so many things I can fix for my colleagues, but having kids that are

00:23:35.993 --> 00:23:40.733
safe, fed, and ready to learn makes a whole world difference and sets them up

00:23:40.733 --> 00:23:43.173
for success going forward. That is a fantastic answer.

00:23:43.853 --> 00:23:46.813
It's a tough one, but there's so many. And then tier one for everyone.

00:23:47.033 --> 00:23:51.373
Get them back to the pension system that we're in. Yeah, look at the pins. Yeah, it's tough.

00:23:52.013 --> 00:23:57.633
And make sure you vote. Make sure you get involved. Make sure our new teachers, they've got to invest.

00:23:57.813 --> 00:24:00.773
That was going to be the next thing I was going to ask you. What would you suggest

00:24:00.773 --> 00:24:03.813
to a new teacher in the classroom, right? You just graduated, right?

00:24:03.973 --> 00:24:08.633
Back in 20 years ago, 25 years ago when it was us. What would you go back and tell...

00:24:09.476 --> 00:24:12.556
Chris Bowman from 25 years ago. The things I didn't do, when you came out,

00:24:12.656 --> 00:24:14.836
you're coming out making more money than you've ever made.

00:24:14.996 --> 00:24:19.176
You have some debt. You have some student loans. But make sure that you take

00:24:19.176 --> 00:24:24.156
advantage of the disability retirement, short-term, long-term,

00:24:24.336 --> 00:24:27.376
put money away, 403B, whatever. Find out your financial plan.

00:24:28.076 --> 00:24:30.496
I would say don't go with certain companies. Research.

00:24:31.696 --> 00:24:35.356
We're security benefits. You know, that kind of thing. Do those kind of things. Research.

00:24:35.636 --> 00:24:38.476
Put the money away while you have it. while it's not a necessity,

00:24:38.496 --> 00:24:42.296
so that you can retire, especially now, until we get you back to tier one.

00:24:42.616 --> 00:24:45.756
It's funny. I was talking to my son, who's a high school senior.

00:24:45.956 --> 00:24:48.656
He's thinking about going into teaching, and we were having a discussion about

00:24:48.656 --> 00:24:52.516
what legislation might look like. How do we encourage more people to get into the classroom?

00:24:52.816 --> 00:24:55.596
And I even said to him, like, hey, you're not going to think when you graduate

00:24:55.596 --> 00:24:58.256
from high school about what it's going to look like when you're 60,

00:24:58.376 --> 00:25:01.016
65, but you kind of need to think that way, right?

00:25:01.516 --> 00:25:04.056
You need to at least have some forward thinking to see what is it going to be

00:25:04.056 --> 00:25:05.936
for me when I leave the profession.

00:25:06.076 --> 00:25:10.556
We have that now. We have that ability to look back now that didn't exist when we started. Yeah.

00:25:11.056 --> 00:25:14.276
The 80s and 70s and 80s when we were born were a different time.

00:25:15.516 --> 00:25:19.456
The households working, two working parents' households, the debt,

00:25:19.636 --> 00:25:23.936
the amount of things that cost, you know, the amount of things cost, the energy issues.

00:25:24.116 --> 00:25:25.536
There's so many different places now.

00:25:26.016 --> 00:25:28.836
But absolutely, you know, invest. Well, Chris, man.

00:25:29.416 --> 00:25:32.096
Pleasure. Good seeing you, brother. Yeah, good seeing you. That's not virtually

00:25:32.096 --> 00:25:33.476
this time, so hopefully it's soon again. Yeah.

00:25:36.050 --> 00:25:38.790
Now we're live now everything's working hey who

00:25:38.790 --> 00:25:41.570
look who we ran into hello hello all right

00:25:41.570 --> 00:25:44.310
it's good to see you again buddy thank you so much it's so great to see

00:25:44.310 --> 00:25:47.430
you i mean you were to us you were a podcast royalty because

00:25:47.430 --> 00:25:51.390
remember like we started this whole thing you were the first person i ever asked

00:25:51.390 --> 00:25:55.070
to be a guest are you serious yes i didn't know that yes you did so at the uh

00:25:55.070 --> 00:25:59.030
at the grand coffee house yeah when i met you that one time and i said hey we're

00:25:59.030 --> 00:26:02.670
gonna start a podcast what do you think there was zero hesitation and you were

00:26:02.670 --> 00:26:05.230
like absolutely you had me a teacher Yeah.

00:26:05.310 --> 00:26:08.650
So anything after that is, you weren't a teacher, then there's always hesitation.

00:26:09.330 --> 00:26:12.690
And you built such an amazing thing. Yeah. Thank you. Incredible.

00:26:12.970 --> 00:26:16.690
We appreciate it. I do it. Now I feel like, I feel like. Are you royalty,

00:26:16.910 --> 00:26:19.710
man? I felt privileged initially, but now it's after. We're very cool.

00:26:20.010 --> 00:26:25.170
I mean, and talk about privilege in between these two guys. I have a face for radio.

00:26:26.150 --> 00:26:29.790
And yeah. So you're hooked to a lot of things, man. You got to tell us what's

00:26:29.790 --> 00:26:31.370
been going on with you since the last time we saw you.

00:26:31.550 --> 00:26:34.170
Since last time, I climbed Mount Everest.

00:26:34.390 --> 00:26:36.330
Awesome. No, I'm kidding. I didn't do that. All right.

00:26:36.850 --> 00:26:41.750
I actually wrote, created, and hosted a history series called Historically Correct.

00:26:42.030 --> 00:26:46.330
And we started season one in New Jersey. It's in partnership with the American Battlefield Trust.

00:26:46.590 --> 00:26:49.170
And the whole point is to do what we do in the classroom every day,

00:26:49.310 --> 00:26:54.130
but take it outside on location. So instead of teaching about the battle trends, my students.

00:26:56.405 --> 00:26:59.305
I'd go to the Delaware River. I'm standing there. I'm on the boat.

00:26:59.405 --> 00:27:03.365
I'm literally in the boathouse where they came at him.

00:27:03.525 --> 00:27:06.165
So it just, it gave me an opportunity to teach history in a fun way.

00:27:06.285 --> 00:27:09.365
And of course, we're teachers. So I give pop quizzes to people on the spot.

00:27:09.945 --> 00:27:15.205
No matter how old the person is or how confident, the minute I say pop quiz, you could see that.

00:27:15.345 --> 00:27:21.525
You could see them being taken back to their childhood because it's such a triggering, and it's so funny.

00:27:21.985 --> 00:27:24.845
And of course, I give them a very tough first question that's not

00:27:24.845 --> 00:27:28.105
real just to oh and so i

00:27:28.105 --> 00:27:31.345
i just got back from virginia i did season two so again

00:27:31.345 --> 00:27:34.105
if you're a social studies teacher if you're a teacher who wants some

00:27:34.105 --> 00:27:38.865
short content that's informative and fun my students love it they were my test

00:27:38.865 --> 00:27:43.185
audience and so i just wanted to create something i know educators could use

00:27:43.185 --> 00:27:47.225
yeah i love ken burns but i can't show a 10-hour civil war documentary it's

00:27:47.225 --> 00:27:50.425
a lot so i just want son's been absorbing those recently yeah he's been watching

00:27:50.425 --> 00:27:51.465
like Vietnam documentaries.

00:27:51.845 --> 00:27:55.745
I love them. I could watch them, but it's like for class purposes and that's

00:27:55.745 --> 00:27:57.985
where you need something quick. Where would teachers find that?

00:27:58.165 --> 00:28:01.925
Where would they find it? It's on the American Battlefield Trust YouTube channel to start.

00:28:02.305 --> 00:28:05.125
And we're then going to license out to other streaming services as well.

00:28:05.625 --> 00:28:07.985
So, but it's YouTube, historically correct.

00:28:08.525 --> 00:28:11.865
Nicholas Ferroni, American Battlefield Trust, and it'll take them right to season

00:28:11.865 --> 00:28:15.025
one. Awesome. We will link that in our episode. So you'll check that out too.

00:28:15.205 --> 00:28:16.105
And it's all about yours.

00:28:16.405 --> 00:28:22.885
Yeah, it's awesome. That's great. So we have our little. So we are asking teachers

00:28:22.885 --> 00:28:26.325
around the convention to answer pop quiz questions.

00:28:26.685 --> 00:28:31.145
Speaking of pop quiz, I refuse to do this. I dish it. I do not take it.

00:28:31.245 --> 00:28:32.305
No, I'm kidding. So Hicks.

00:28:34.854 --> 00:28:39.454
Lion's question all right here we go he's not peaking it's very professional

00:28:39.454 --> 00:28:41.454
i gotta play the game yeah i

00:28:41.454 --> 00:28:47.274
know what's a moment in your career that made you think this is why a team.

00:28:48.594 --> 00:28:51.534
That is literally i know i've said this a couple times that is literally my

00:28:51.534 --> 00:28:54.674
favorite question you it's my favorite too yeah and i think we all have so many

00:28:54.674 --> 00:28:58.994
moments like that but i always go back on my desk i have a framed post-it note

00:28:58.994 --> 00:29:03.754
uh from a student's and it says Mr. Froney, thank you for looking out for me.

00:29:03.994 --> 00:29:07.234
I love you so much. You care, and I appreciate you so much.

00:29:07.354 --> 00:29:10.914
And the reason I got it framed was I had a student. We all have those students

00:29:10.914 --> 00:29:14.654
where we mentally prepare for them on a daily basis.

00:29:14.774 --> 00:29:16.554
What type of mood are they going to be in? Are they going to be in?

00:29:16.574 --> 00:29:19.414
How are they going to... We all have those students that literally live rent-free.

00:29:20.134 --> 00:29:23.654
And we all kind of take deep interest because we care. I had one student,

00:29:24.054 --> 00:29:30.374
we call her Ty, 179 days every day we battled. She came in late. She was aggressive.

00:29:30.854 --> 00:29:35.034
Every day I'd keep her after class. I did what I could to kind of just make

00:29:35.034 --> 00:29:37.434
her stand. I kept doing it. I said, what's going on? I'm like, this isn't right.

00:29:37.594 --> 00:29:40.534
Like I'm concerned every single day. I'm like, is there something?

00:29:40.754 --> 00:29:43.614
Do we need help? It's like, I just, I'm like, this is not healthy.

00:29:43.874 --> 00:29:46.454
And every day she'd be like, leave me alone. Nobody cares.

00:29:47.154 --> 00:29:52.754
Every day. I gave her, again, we all know phrase, everybody's like,

00:29:53.014 --> 00:29:55.534
everybody should be treated equally. That doesn't apply in education.

00:29:55.894 --> 00:29:58.674
It's equity, not Some kids have different needs than others.

00:29:58.874 --> 00:30:04.074
I gave her more opportunities to make mistakes than other kids because I knew about her past.

00:30:04.374 --> 00:30:07.634
To me, the fact she was sitting in a seat in a classroom was a miracle.

00:30:08.094 --> 00:30:14.034
So I did give her a looser leash than I did other students. But every single

00:30:14.034 --> 00:30:15.994
day, she would say the same thing like.

00:30:16.885 --> 00:30:21.105
Why are you talking to me and nobody cares leave me alone so the last day of school she was a senior,

00:30:21.885 --> 00:30:24.645
last day of school i mean this girl literally i would i would

00:30:24.645 --> 00:30:27.985
talk to my mom about she she lived rent free in my head and

00:30:27.985 --> 00:30:30.805
it was not because out of anger it's like what can i do like this it breaks

00:30:30.805 --> 00:30:35.705
my heart and so last day of school none of my seniors are benefited teaching

00:30:35.705 --> 00:30:39.465
seniors they're not there like the last two weeks so it's like empty classroom

00:30:39.465 --> 00:30:43.025
like i'll shut down my classroom early she's sitting in the middle desk she's

00:30:43.025 --> 00:30:46.405
the only student there and i walk in i'm like my time I'm like, what's going on?

00:30:46.605 --> 00:30:48.885
And she's like, I had to come because I don't have the days and I had to get

00:30:48.885 --> 00:30:51.885
my transcripts. And I'm like, okay. And the energy seemed different.

00:30:52.345 --> 00:30:55.245
So I sat down. I'm like, oh, is there anything I could do or you want it?

00:30:55.385 --> 00:30:55.845
She's like, no, I'm good.

00:30:56.145 --> 00:30:58.985
And she pulls her chair up and just sits across from me. And she's like,

00:30:59.405 --> 00:31:01.505
start having a normal conversation.

00:31:01.685 --> 00:31:04.265
Like, what are you doing for the summer? It's that telling me about what she's

00:31:04.265 --> 00:31:05.905
doing, how she's applying to community college.

00:31:06.885 --> 00:31:10.445
Best conversation I ever had. And just tell me about things we did in class

00:31:10.445 --> 00:31:12.585
that she liked, that I didn't even know she was paying attention to.

00:31:12.585 --> 00:31:15.545
And so long story short bell rings we

00:31:15.545 --> 00:31:18.925
stand up and i'm like i just wish you all best i'm always here if you need me yeah

00:31:18.925 --> 00:31:21.165
it shook me up a little bit same but she's like can i give you a hug i'm like

00:31:21.165 --> 00:31:24.385
i give her a hug and then as she walks out she's like miss friend i left you

00:31:24.385 --> 00:31:28.905
something my desk my first thought was like she got like she played me she did

00:31:28.905 --> 00:31:32.065
something and then i went over and i opened up and i was supposed to know so

00:31:32.065 --> 00:31:35.745
it's like that one moment negated the 179 days

00:31:36.145 --> 00:31:39.425
no but it's like again like there's no such thing as a bad kid kids make bad

00:31:39.425 --> 00:31:44.345
decisions kids have bad experiences, but you know, no kid wants to, to feel that way.

00:31:44.425 --> 00:31:48.605
So that's one of the many moments we all have on a regular basis. Yeah.

00:31:50.077 --> 00:31:52.757
I can't even like i'm speechless which as you

00:31:52.757 --> 00:31:55.557
know is almost never happens you i'm sure

00:31:55.557 --> 00:31:58.557
you all keep things i do even as you're talking like i'm

00:31:58.557 --> 00:32:01.237
i'm thinking about a couple of things that i have like notes from people that

00:32:01.237 --> 00:32:04.397
i have in a little folder in my desk yeah when you're having that crappy day

00:32:04.397 --> 00:32:07.577
and you just return to it that's what keeps you going in the job what's interesting

00:32:07.577 --> 00:32:11.117
like there's always sometimes there's pd's like find your wife we know our why

00:32:11.117 --> 00:32:16.277
yeah like we know our why so it's yeah yeah why not the phrase i hate the phrase

00:32:16.277 --> 00:32:17.957
and again i've been guilty of it's for the kids.

00:32:18.197 --> 00:32:22.917
Like I would say it's for the kids is an adorable way of exploiting people to

00:32:22.917 --> 00:32:27.277
accept low pay no resources and guilt them into doing it. It's like we're in it for the kids.

00:32:28.318 --> 00:32:31.578
If you were in it for the kids, we would be sustaining life.

00:32:31.738 --> 00:32:34.398
You wouldn't want your teachers to work two jobs. You would give them every

00:32:34.398 --> 00:32:36.778
resource so they're not online begging for supplies.

00:32:37.078 --> 00:32:38.958
So it's like, we're in for the kids. You're not.

00:32:39.318 --> 00:32:41.438
You're not supporting the people who are in it for the kids.

00:32:42.098 --> 00:32:44.518
Can you tell us? I don't want to go. I'll give myself a box.

00:32:45.098 --> 00:32:48.218
Can you tell us a little bit about what you do at the NJ Hall of Fame?

00:32:48.638 --> 00:32:51.158
So, perfect. As we're standing in front of the NJ Hall of Fame.

00:32:52.298 --> 00:32:55.818
I may be biased, but New Jersey has the best people. We are one of the only

00:32:55.818 --> 00:32:59.438
states with a state of an entertainment learning center dedicated to Hall of

00:32:59.438 --> 00:33:01.078
Famers because we have the best state.

00:33:01.538 --> 00:33:04.278
But I work with them. I work with their education consultant,

00:33:04.458 --> 00:33:07.918
Allie Genova. And the goal is, again, I love New Jersey history.

00:33:07.978 --> 00:33:09.438
I love New Jersey. I went to Rutgers.

00:33:09.918 --> 00:33:14.458
It's like we have so much profound history and so many people were shaped by this state.

00:33:14.758 --> 00:33:19.338
And it's not a coincidence that every industry from entertainment to science,

00:33:19.958 --> 00:33:24.258
you could find someone who either lived in Jersey or from Jersey who changed the world in some way.

00:33:24.258 --> 00:33:26.998
Whether it's location whether it's the water whether it's the food

00:33:26.998 --> 00:33:30.078
you know it's like it's the culture diversity so i

00:33:30.078 --> 00:33:32.838
work with them to help elevate their platform to bring more

00:33:32.838 --> 00:33:35.618
awareness in the education world to get more students in there

00:33:35.618 --> 00:33:38.458
to be inspired also they're doing such great things to just

00:33:38.458 --> 00:33:41.958
try to celebrate the people and and figures who

00:33:41.958 --> 00:33:44.958
came through the state whether they lived here or grew up

00:33:44.958 --> 00:33:47.578
here and just change everything and it's such it's such a

00:33:47.578 --> 00:33:50.398
great interactive museum yeah i haven't been

00:33:50.398 --> 00:33:53.378
i over the summer i had plans to go and

00:33:53.378 --> 00:33:56.618
unfortunately it didn't work out hopefully you'll experience it and then we'll

00:33:56.618 --> 00:34:00.278
have your podcast there and hope yeah i love that well yeah

00:34:00.278 --> 00:34:03.138
check out the new jersey hall of fame especially for all our new jersey listeners

00:34:03.138 --> 00:34:07.438
and nick again man we can't can't tell you how much we appreciate me thank you

00:34:07.438 --> 00:34:11.618
you know you're supporting us and being a great part of our show again not only

00:34:11.618 --> 00:34:15.718
you in the classroom but then you're providing teachers a space to think learn

00:34:15.718 --> 00:34:19.278
grow laugh vents and to me that's that's the essential thing.

00:34:21.684 --> 00:34:25.544
And I do TikTok dances now. Do you? I haven't gotten that out of there.

00:34:25.784 --> 00:34:28.244
Don't follow. He's really good at it. I'm not really good at it.

00:34:28.284 --> 00:34:31.464
She makes me do it. All right. Well, we'll see Nick.

00:34:31.844 --> 00:34:34.584
Check him out, of course, on all the socials. And thanks again for joining us

00:34:34.584 --> 00:34:36.044
tomorrow. I appreciate it. Thank you.

00:34:38.124 --> 00:34:42.584
Haran. Kieran. Kieran. Say that again. Kieran. Kieran. Yes.

00:34:43.264 --> 00:34:46.104
Congratulations. Thank you so much. On being a county teacher of the year for

00:34:46.104 --> 00:34:47.664
Somerset County. I appreciate it.

00:34:48.144 --> 00:34:50.884
Tell us a little bit about your background experience with teaching.

00:34:50.884 --> 00:34:54.144
How many years, where, what, all the things. Absolutely. All the things.

00:34:54.284 --> 00:34:56.784
Awesome. So I teach in Bridgewater Raritan School District.

00:34:57.084 --> 00:35:02.104
This is year 19 for me. I teach a program called AI, which is academically independent,

00:35:02.304 --> 00:35:05.744
not artificial intelligence, which is for the gifted and talented students.

00:35:05.744 --> 00:35:10.084
And I've been teaching that for about 16 of those 18 years.

00:35:10.384 --> 00:35:12.784
So yeah. And I teach English language arts.

00:35:13.144 --> 00:35:18.424
If you had to choose one educator that had the most influence on you,

00:35:18.644 --> 00:35:21.184
who would it Oh, that's a fantastic question.

00:35:21.444 --> 00:35:25.604
I think actually, I don't know if this is exactly an answer to your question,

00:35:25.664 --> 00:35:30.244
but I actually think it might be the lack of an answer that really is what motivated me.

00:35:30.384 --> 00:35:33.544
I think sometimes that when you are the middle of the road type of student,

00:35:33.804 --> 00:35:37.424
you get overlooked sometimes unless you're curing cancer or,

00:35:37.424 --> 00:35:38.904
you know, heading for jail.

00:35:39.144 --> 00:35:40.284
Unfortunately, it feels like

00:35:40.284 --> 00:35:42.644
those programs are not always in place for someone middle of the road.

00:35:42.764 --> 00:35:46.244
And that really inspired me to become an educator because I didn't want other

00:35:46.244 --> 00:35:47.444
students to feel the way I did.

00:35:48.244 --> 00:35:50.004
Yeah. Great answer. Would you

00:35:50.004 --> 00:35:52.864
mind picking a surprise question from the bucket? I would love to, yeah.

00:35:55.964 --> 00:36:01.344
Okay. What's a teaching tool, tech app, or resource you can't live without?

00:36:01.724 --> 00:36:05.384
Ooh, I love that. So I definitely love to use Kami.

00:36:05.764 --> 00:36:08.544
And I also use Canva.

00:36:09.064 --> 00:36:12.144
And I also, Google is like our best friend. We have Google.

00:36:12.384 --> 00:36:15.444
We use it for Gmail, for everything. Google Slides, Google Websites.

00:36:15.664 --> 00:36:18.324
So those are definitely some tech apps and tech tools that I use.

00:36:18.644 --> 00:36:21.964
Resources are my team members at work. I mean, they are just incredible.

00:36:22.424 --> 00:36:25.764
You cannot be a successful teacher, I think, without a solid team in place.

00:36:25.964 --> 00:36:30.804
So just from remembering due dates and organizing parent-teacher conferences

00:36:30.804 --> 00:36:34.864
and events, I just feel like those are my friends and I need them.

00:36:35.604 --> 00:36:39.264
Do you have any advice for aspiring teachers?

00:36:39.604 --> 00:36:44.604
Oh, I think that I'm always cautious of giving advice because I think everyone's

00:36:44.604 --> 00:36:47.964
journey and resources and privilege is always so different.

00:36:47.964 --> 00:36:53.664
But I definitely think that you have to find your own identity and know who

00:36:53.664 --> 00:36:58.584
you are and And don't be afraid to take time to take care of who that is and to find out who that is.

00:36:58.664 --> 00:37:02.704
So then you can pay it forward and create spaces for your students to also find it within themselves.

00:37:03.504 --> 00:37:05.824
Well, congratulations. Thank you so much. No problem.

00:37:08.244 --> 00:37:13.304
I am here with Jamie, not Jammie, because I would have mispronounced it.

00:37:14.304 --> 00:37:15.304
Congratulations. Thank you.

00:37:16.324 --> 00:37:18.584
Gloucester County Teacher of the Year. Gloucester. Gloucester.

00:37:18.664 --> 00:37:19.484
I still pronounced it wrong.

00:37:19.644 --> 00:37:23.524
I even asked her and still did it wrong. And I'm 2021 Gloucester County Teacher

00:37:23.524 --> 00:37:25.604
of the Year. Well, still congratulations either way. Thank you.

00:37:25.784 --> 00:37:27.504
So tell us a little bit about you, your journey.

00:37:27.964 --> 00:37:30.004
What do you teach? Where do you teach? How long have you been teaching?

00:37:30.244 --> 00:37:34.204
Sure. Give us the lowdown. Sure. All right. So I've been teaching for 13 years.

00:37:34.604 --> 00:37:37.904
I'm in my Taylor Swift era this year with being year 13. Yes.

00:37:38.244 --> 00:37:41.724
I'm a sixth grade ELI teacher in the East Greenwich School District,

00:37:42.224 --> 00:37:44.244
best district. I love the students there.

00:37:44.864 --> 00:37:50.024
And four years ago, I was the first group post-COVID for Gloucester County Teacher of the Year.

00:37:50.184 --> 00:37:54.724
So it was a really tumultuous time in education. And I'm so happy to be a positive

00:37:54.724 --> 00:37:57.864
light as now we're in a post-COVID education world.

00:37:58.184 --> 00:38:02.104
So you said sixth grade ELI. Yes, always sixth grade. Always sixth grade ELI.

00:38:02.344 --> 00:38:06.124
Nice. We are all, Jamie and I are, of course, both middle school teachers.

00:38:06.584 --> 00:38:09.984
And they're the best. It's madness. It is. I love their chaos.

00:38:10.124 --> 00:38:12.444
It's their world. I'm just living in it. You have sixth graders.

00:38:12.704 --> 00:38:15.904
It's like they're still cute. Yes. And they also still will like,

00:38:16.104 --> 00:38:19.904
if you told them like, hey, go to Miss Wonko's class and burn it to the ground

00:38:19.904 --> 00:38:22.444
with torches, they'd be like, oh, okay, I'll go do that. Yes.

00:38:22.704 --> 00:38:25.844
But when they're seventh grade, they're like, meh.

00:38:25.984 --> 00:38:29.684
I always feel like after Christmas, there's this shift where they go like feral

00:38:29.684 --> 00:38:32.504
on you and they come back and they're the seventh graders and I go,

00:38:32.604 --> 00:38:34.744
what did you do with my children? Yeah.

00:38:35.284 --> 00:38:38.324
So we have our little bucket of special questions. Okay. We're going to mix

00:38:38.324 --> 00:38:40.704
them up. Okay. No peeking. Okay. Why don't you grab one there?

00:38:40.844 --> 00:38:43.044
Okay. All right. Let's see what we got here.

00:38:44.982 --> 00:38:50.682
We got, what's one thing you wish people outside of education understood about teaching?

00:38:51.402 --> 00:38:55.162
Wow. That's a tough one. It is a tough one. That's a great one. It is.

00:38:55.402 --> 00:38:59.562
I think one of the most important things is that students are more than the content.

00:38:59.922 --> 00:39:03.462
And our job is to teach them not just the content, but to be good humans.

00:39:03.702 --> 00:39:08.022
And finding the balance between the content and being good humans is really difficult.

00:39:08.222 --> 00:39:11.902
So I wish people outside of the world education knew that we're not just educating

00:39:11.902 --> 00:39:14.602
with content. We're educating them to go and change the world.

00:39:14.982 --> 00:39:19.342
And my college once said, we're teaching students to become leaders in professions

00:39:19.342 --> 00:39:20.602
that don't even exist yet.

00:39:20.882 --> 00:39:24.762
And I think that's a really big challenge in our society. So I wish that the

00:39:24.762 --> 00:39:28.382
world saw that what we're teaching them isn't just to benefit them within our

00:39:28.382 --> 00:39:32.762
four walls, but to benefit the entire world so that they can impact and change it.

00:39:33.782 --> 00:39:38.302
That's awesome. I couldn't answer that question better. I want to, but I couldn't.

00:39:38.462 --> 00:39:42.402
I was very inspired by Malala this morning. I know. That was amazing. It really was.

00:39:42.922 --> 00:39:44.682
Jamie, thank you very much for joining us. Thank you so much.

00:39:44.682 --> 00:39:45.882
Appreciate you. Thank you.

00:39:48.042 --> 00:39:53.482
So as many of you may recall, we've met with Jen before as a guest on our podcast.

00:39:53.822 --> 00:39:57.182
Thanks so much for standing in with us today. This is great meeting them in person.

00:39:57.562 --> 00:40:02.562
Yes. So can you just remind our listeners a little bit about your education background?

00:40:02.902 --> 00:40:06.642
Yeah. Hi, everybody. I was the 2019 Camden County Teacher of the Year.

00:40:06.982 --> 00:40:12.602
I've been teaching 25 years in middle school. And I currently do a co-teaching

00:40:12.602 --> 00:40:18.242
connection where I do workshops, consulting, professional development, all about co-teaching.

00:40:18.602 --> 00:40:21.082
The best relationship. The best relationships.

00:40:21.682 --> 00:40:25.162
Exactly. That arranged marriage, but you can make it work. Yeah.

00:40:25.582 --> 00:40:28.802
Would you mind pulling a question from our bucket? Okay.

00:40:31.902 --> 00:40:36.102
What's your go-to way to recharge or manage stress during the school year?

00:40:36.842 --> 00:40:40.482
Honestly, it's gotten more and more stressful, I think, as the years have gone on.

00:40:40.602 --> 00:40:45.222
And my go-to is on my way into work, I actually listen to affirmations.

00:40:45.542 --> 00:40:49.542
And it really puts me in a positive space to get going for my day.

00:40:49.702 --> 00:40:51.902
That has actually been the most helpful thing.

00:40:52.182 --> 00:40:56.242
Oh. I try to do, like, the upbeat ones on Spotify. Oh, I was going to say,

00:40:56.362 --> 00:40:57.762
where would we find something like that?

00:40:57.982 --> 00:41:01.562
Spotify, yeah. Really? I think it's, like, Lavendaire. Her voice is great.

00:41:01.902 --> 00:41:07.042
It's very upbeat. I really enjoy it. Well, thank you so much. Thank you.

00:41:10.468 --> 00:41:14.768
All right, so we are here with Jacqueline from Ocean County,

00:41:14.848 --> 00:41:17.308
the Ocean County Teacher of the Year. Yes, thank you. Congratulations.

00:41:17.608 --> 00:41:20.028
Thank you. So tell us a little bit about your journey and what do you teach?

00:41:20.428 --> 00:41:26.188
I started teaching 25 years ago in Brick, Brick Memorial High School. I teach biology.

00:41:26.848 --> 00:41:32.748
I tell all levels of biology and I'm an AP bio teacher now and love it.

00:41:32.828 --> 00:41:35.068
Just love what I do. That's awesome.

00:41:35.628 --> 00:41:39.068
So we have our little special bucket of questions. Okay. So why don't you reach

00:41:39.068 --> 00:41:40.208
in there, pull one for yourself.

00:41:40.788 --> 00:41:47.508
All right. We have, what is one piece of advice you have for a new teacher in the classroom?

00:41:47.928 --> 00:41:52.608
Oh, one piece of advice I would give new teachers is really take the time to

00:41:52.608 --> 00:41:53.608
get to know your students.

00:41:53.888 --> 00:41:56.608
It's so important to build a relationship with them.

00:41:57.188 --> 00:42:02.088
And the safer they feel and the more they feel that you want to know them,

00:42:02.308 --> 00:42:04.308
the more they're going to get back to you in that classroom.

00:42:04.308 --> 00:42:08.728
Yeah, we talked to someone, I don't remember her name earlier,

00:42:08.948 --> 00:42:11.568
who said, you know, pretty much the same thing about making that. It's so important.

00:42:11.848 --> 00:42:14.648
It's cliche, right? Oh, you have to connect with these students to make a connection.

00:42:14.828 --> 00:42:19.068
But just having those conversations of, hey, how was the game this past weekend?

00:42:19.668 --> 00:42:22.748
So I have my kids write me a letter, which a lot of teachers do.

00:42:22.908 --> 00:42:28.288
But I write back to every single one of them. And I find something that I can relate.

00:42:28.468 --> 00:42:32.168
Like, even if it's, if there's nothing I can find it, but they mentioned pizza,

00:42:32.168 --> 00:42:36.648
I'll be like, I love pizza. You know, there's something then they know I'm listening

00:42:36.648 --> 00:42:38.108
to them. It wasn't just an assignment.

00:42:38.428 --> 00:42:41.648
Yeah. Did you have a teacher that did the same thing for you when you were in?

00:42:41.768 --> 00:42:46.928
I think I just remember my teachers that I felt really comfortable with and

00:42:46.928 --> 00:42:49.168
that I felt like cared about me. Some.

00:42:49.568 --> 00:42:53.948
And that was, I guess that's just the vibe I want to put out there too.

00:42:54.088 --> 00:42:57.088
Yeah, that's awesome. Well, thank you very much. Congratulations again. Thank you.

00:43:00.682 --> 00:43:04.262
Okay, we are here with Stephanie Lochnauer. Lochnauer.

00:43:04.602 --> 00:43:08.762
Lochnauer. Loch-en-hour. And we've talked off camera. She's said that about,

00:43:08.822 --> 00:43:10.962
I don't know, 6,000 times probably.

00:43:11.302 --> 00:43:16.442
Approximately. Once or twice. Okay, so congratulations to the 2025 New Jersey

00:43:16.442 --> 00:43:17.922
State Teacher of the Year. Congratulations.

00:43:18.402 --> 00:43:21.442
Thank you so much. It is awesome for you to join us, first of all.

00:43:22.682 --> 00:43:24.902
Tell us a little bit about you. Where do you teach? What do you teach?

00:43:25.062 --> 00:43:27.122
How long have you been teaching? Give us all things, Stephanie.

00:43:27.442 --> 00:43:31.002
All right, all the good things. So I've been teaching. this is year 19 for me.

00:43:31.282 --> 00:43:32.982
I started at 15, obviously.

00:43:33.622 --> 00:43:35.182
So hold it.

00:43:36.402 --> 00:43:42.942
Sorry. You're fine. It's not you. Go ahead. Okay. So I started teaching when I was 15, obviously.

00:43:43.282 --> 00:43:46.542
Thank you. Thank you. That's the only joke I have.

00:43:46.802 --> 00:43:49.782
Um, and I teach middle school. I teach seventh and eighth grade.

00:43:49.982 --> 00:43:54.242
I teach, I started off teaching social studies, but now I teach global leadership and skills for success.

00:43:54.622 --> 00:43:58.422
So I I care very deeply about students' social-emotional learning.

00:43:58.442 --> 00:44:02.402
I teach mindfulness in and out of the classroom, and I've created a couple different

00:44:02.402 --> 00:44:06.022
courses at school, Global Leadership, which we learned in the UN Global Goals

00:44:06.022 --> 00:44:07.862
for Sustainability, and Skills

00:44:07.862 --> 00:44:10.982
for Success, where mindfulness is now integrated into the curriculum.

00:44:11.202 --> 00:44:14.402
And what county and district are you in? I'm in Montgomery Township,

00:44:14.522 --> 00:44:16.222
and that's in Somerset County. Okay.

00:44:17.262 --> 00:44:19.622
Can you talk a little bit more about the class that you teach?

00:44:20.022 --> 00:44:22.522
Yeah. If you don't mind. Yeah, it's so cool.

00:44:22.962 --> 00:44:26.682
It sounds cool. That's why I'm asking. Yeah. So I teach middle school,

00:44:26.782 --> 00:44:29.342
which is obviously the best grade ever because it's so much fun.

00:44:29.502 --> 00:44:33.582
But I teach global leadership, which is all about the United Nations Global

00:44:33.582 --> 00:44:34.602
Goals for Sustainability.

00:44:34.862 --> 00:44:40.162
So I teach those goals. And then we talk about what can we do as middle schoolers to create change?

00:44:40.342 --> 00:44:43.942
And then we actually do the things. So we think about how we can create change.

00:44:44.062 --> 00:44:48.102
We take action. And then the kids create bigger projects based on something that they care about.

00:44:49.562 --> 00:44:53.482
I want to teach that. I want to be in that class. And I want to teach it.

00:44:53.642 --> 00:44:55.742
Can I do both of those things? Yes, come join me.

00:44:56.362 --> 00:44:58.902
We'll do it. We'll all do it together. Well, we have a nice little bucket of

00:44:58.902 --> 00:45:01.262
questions here. Oh, yeah. We're going to mix them up. No cheating.

00:45:01.522 --> 00:45:03.382
Okay. All right. So you have to peek in there.

00:45:05.409 --> 00:45:11.229
Out of our very fancy Jenkinson's bucket. Ooh. Okay. Ready? Shout out, Jenks. Okay.

00:45:12.569 --> 00:45:17.409
Oh, who was a teacher that made an impact on you? And what did they do that stuck with you?

00:45:17.929 --> 00:45:22.009
That's a good one. Okay, so my teacher would be Mrs. Parada.

00:45:22.229 --> 00:45:25.149
She was my Spanish teacher. I did not need to take a language.

00:45:27.122 --> 00:45:30.862
And I stuck with that language because I'd taken Latin first, which was very helpful.

00:45:31.342 --> 00:45:35.482
So I took Spanish with her and I loved her class and her so much.

00:45:35.702 --> 00:45:38.822
And what she did was she just cared about me, like as a person,

00:45:38.922 --> 00:45:40.762
like who I was. It wasn't just about Spanish.

00:45:41.022 --> 00:45:44.842
It was about connecting with their students. And that really informed the kind

00:45:44.842 --> 00:45:45.922
of teacher I wanted to be.

00:45:46.062 --> 00:45:49.322
And it created my love for the Spanish language.

00:45:49.602 --> 00:45:52.902
It's so many of the teachers that we've interviewed today have talked about

00:45:52.902 --> 00:45:57.362
not only making a connection with their students, But like the connection that

00:45:57.362 --> 00:46:02.302
they felt with the teachers that they had, that they felt, you know,

00:46:02.502 --> 00:46:07.522
connected to somebody that felt, you know, that the interactions were purposeful

00:46:07.522 --> 00:46:09.482
and important to their development.

00:46:09.662 --> 00:46:14.022
And that's why I think you probably bring that with you into the classroom.

00:46:14.102 --> 00:46:18.082
And I'm sure you're somebody's favorite teacher as well. I hope so.

00:46:18.082 --> 00:46:19.302
With all the amazing things you teach about.

00:46:19.542 --> 00:46:21.942
Yeah. I mean, you're New Jersey's favorite teacher for sure.

00:46:22.342 --> 00:46:25.922
Right? Thank you. Okay. So thank you very much for joining us,

00:46:26.062 --> 00:46:27.062
Stephanie. Lock and hour.

00:46:27.562 --> 00:46:31.422
Got it. Okay. Oh, the book. Yes. My goodness.

00:46:32.002 --> 00:46:35.942
So Stephanie has a book, which we always forgot about, which Jamie was pointing at.

00:46:36.042 --> 00:46:39.802
And I thought maybe I had my fly open, but actually this is much more important.

00:46:39.902 --> 00:46:41.242
Tell us about the book that you just wrote.

00:46:41.462 --> 00:46:44.902
So I had been writing this book for a very long time and it's finally out.

00:46:45.002 --> 00:46:49.182
It's on Amazon and I wrote it for middle school students. So this was like a

00:46:49.182 --> 00:46:51.162
love letter to my students when they left my class.

00:46:51.262 --> 00:46:54.502
I wanted to have, give them something so that they could have more mindfulness

00:46:54.502 --> 00:46:56.782
practices and a place to reflect and journal.

00:46:56.982 --> 00:47:00.562
And so the book is called Let the Glitter Settle. It's mindfulness for teens,

00:47:00.782 --> 00:47:02.862
but it really can work for all different grade levels.

00:47:03.062 --> 00:47:05.682
And it has mindfulness practices and journaling prompts.

00:47:06.042 --> 00:47:09.062
And yeah, it can be really supportive and helpful. That is awesome.

00:47:09.302 --> 00:47:12.402
And I'm sorry, I was so excited. I forgot to mention it. That's okay.

00:47:12.562 --> 00:47:16.202
Thank you again, Stephanie, for joining us. Appreciate it. Thank you. Appreciate you.

00:47:18.462 --> 00:47:21.642
Okay, well, I am exhausted. Tired, tired.

00:47:21.982 --> 00:47:27.002
There's nothing like teacher tired or teacher tired at the New Jersey Educator Advent.

00:47:27.522 --> 00:47:30.642
What? Adventure? What is it? I don't know because I'm so tired.

00:47:30.922 --> 00:47:33.402
Education Association Convention.

00:47:33.942 --> 00:47:38.942
Yeah, look, we've met, not, I mean, you saw the episode, but we met so many

00:47:38.942 --> 00:47:43.842
amazing people down here and people that are just willing to talk about education

00:47:43.842 --> 00:47:48.282
and advocates for new teachers in the classroom as well as, you know,

00:47:48.702 --> 00:47:51.182
pension reformers and legislative activists.

00:47:51.462 --> 00:47:55.262
I mean, it was just, if you've never been, you have to come.

00:47:55.422 --> 00:47:57.782
You have to come here at least once. You have to go see the exhibits.

00:47:57.922 --> 00:48:00.302
You have to get the free stuff. You have to load up on Sour Patch Kids.

00:48:00.962 --> 00:48:04.102
A lot of free Sour Patch Kids. So much delicious chocolate. Yes.

00:48:04.282 --> 00:48:06.862
Yeah. We interviewed some amazing people. We did.

00:48:07.442 --> 00:48:10.842
You know, and we're going to have some other of those people come on and be

00:48:10.842 --> 00:48:13.162
special guests, I think. I think so, too. Yeah, it'd be really cool.

00:48:13.382 --> 00:48:18.622
Nick Ferroni, the New Jersey Teacher Hall of Fame. It was a day of days. Yeah. Genuinely.

00:48:19.042 --> 00:48:24.302
Yeah. So we're here at the New Jersey, at the Teacher's Insurance Plan booth. Okay.

00:48:24.582 --> 00:48:27.922
And don't forget, Season 3 is brought to you by our presenting sponsor,

00:48:28.122 --> 00:48:29.022
Teacher's Insurance Plan.

00:48:29.342 --> 00:48:33.162
Check out their website linked in our episode description for more information or to get a quote.

00:48:33.522 --> 00:48:37.262
Teacher's Insurance Plan, auto insurance that brings exclusive educator savings

00:48:37.262 --> 00:48:41.382
and exceptional customer care to New Jersey and Pennsylvania educational employees.

00:48:41.602 --> 00:48:46.902
All right. Well, I am going to go take a nap. And I'm going to go to a roulette

00:48:46.902 --> 00:48:49.022
table and get some sweet action.

00:48:50.362 --> 00:48:53.342
All right, we'll see everybody next time on the Balancing Act podcast. Bye.