Wednesday, March 21, 2007

For every teacher who has ever worked with a challenging student...

My new position with Montgomery County Public Schools has introduced me to something I've not had since I was in college-- a long commute (and for the record, the long part doesn't bother me as much as the stop and go congestion). Being proactive, I decided to finally jump into the deep end with podcasts by subscribing to lots of interesting shows so I could pass my time in an enjoyable and educational way. This has really been working for me.

On my way in to work very early this morning, I was listening to This American Life. The episode is called By Proxy. While the entire show is interesting, he last segment really hit me. This is not an educational technology, or even general education, podcast. However, the third segment part of this podcast, Redemption by Proxy, is about a teacher and a challenging student she once taught. If you've ever taught a challenging student---the kind that you pour your heart and soul into, the one you hope will listen to you and actually hear you, the one you pray will find his/her way and be successful, --- the one that occasionally makes you want to rip each and every hair from your head-- then you will want to listen to this chunk of the podcast.

If you want to hear just this section about the teacher, let the show fully load, then fast forward approximated 3/4 of the way through the show.... (unfortunately, I'm listening to it streaming right now and can't cite the specific time stamp) ... Here are a few auditory cues--- it's after the Iraqi Translator's story, then there's a song, then a brief transition talking about reputation.

Hope you enjoy!

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