Don't be surprised if you find someone named "TBA" teaching your child's class. There will apparently be A LOT of TBAs in charge of classes this fall. School districts across the country report record numbers of unfilled positions at the start of this school year. My state, California, reports a shortage of 50,000 teachers going into the 2022-23 school year. It's not just teachers either. Madison, Wisconsin, says 199 teacher vacancies along with 124 non-teaching positions . This means districts ...
Aug 14, 2022•1 hr 13 min•Season 2Ep. 31
Hey, it’s Anne. Welcome to another episode of Transparency in Teaching. As summer vacation is ending, I was wondering if you are beginning to get a nervous tick when you hear, “Back to School Sale?” Or do you find yourself tearing up when you walk by the school supplies aisle? Or do you awaken in the fetal position, gripping the crumpled notification of your preservice professional development days? If any of these situations apply to you, you might be a teacher. I'm retired, but I know Jen, Sha...
Jul 31, 2022•40 min•Season 2Ep. 30
Thank goodness teachers can put the 2021-2022 school year behind them! If ever there was a school year that deserved a "middle finger" 🖕🏼🖕🏼that was one! Many teachers felt this year was beyond their job description and called it quits. I'm sure parents and students may have similar stories to tell about what they learned from the school year from Hell. But as with any challenge survived, there are valuable takeaways. In this episode, we discuss 5 lessons learned from the school year from hel...
Jul 16, 2022•55 min
Happy 2022! Let's hope this year makes up for the last two! It's always good to be hopeful. And on that note, I hope public education survives. Last year brought educators and their curriculum under the microscope in a way I don't remember ever seeing. Much of the uproar seems to come from the usual media rabble-rousers and pot-stirrers. Today's episode delves into our side of this twisted narrative. Listen and see where you land. For years, some politicians have claimed to be "education candida...
Jan 03, 2022•56 min•Season 2Ep. 27
I'll be honest, in 35 years of teaching, this has been the hardest year so far. And that's not just because I'm old and kind of worn out. I think this whole Covid thing did way more damage to kids than just their academic abilities. A year and a half of unsupervised living and no responsibility to live up to any standards has ruined so many kids' abilities to cope with structure and navigate in a socially productive manner. Distance learners turned off their cameras and microphones and did God k...
Nov 01, 2021•1 hr 9 min
The very first episode we produced remains one of our most popular. Why teachers quit should be something every would-be teacher should ponder before taking out loans to pay for college. You don't want to be one of the 44% of newbies who quit within the first five years , because then what will you do with all that useless college loan debt you accrued? We contacted a teacher friend of ours who had recently fled the classroom to preserve her sanity. She gave up the wear and tear of teaching for ...
Sep 18, 2021•1 hr 12 min
Critical Race Theory (CRT) has become the latest way to demonize public schools. I admit when I first heard CRT I thought it was some medical test for the heart. Now it has become the fear-raising focus of concern among many people inside and outside of education. To better understand what CRT is I spent a lot of hours looking at where it came from in the first place. The research makes me believe that most people don’t really understand what CRT is or its purpose. An article from The Journalist...
Aug 16, 2021•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 25
My husfriend and I just got back from a trip to Hawaii. It was his birthday gift to me. Nice huh! We had to jump through a few hoops to get there. Our vaccination cards made it possible to avoid a 10-day hotel quarantine. (Get vaccinated, already!!🙄). It was a quick 7-day trip. Too short, but it’s always too short when I visit the islands. On the plane ride home, the flight attendants, take advantage of people’s recent trip to paradise. They encourage passengers to sign up for the airline’s cre...
Jul 29, 2021•33 min
What makes an effective teacher effective? That's a pretty subjective question, isn't it? I'm beginning to believe that so much of what people think makes education good is subjective. Like, who decides what kids need to know for state tests and how to decipher those scores? Or who decides what is important and should be taught in schools. Not to mention, who comes up with the best way to prepare college students to become teachers? It's all someone's opinion. Somehow the "Powers the Be" (and wh...
Jul 04, 2021•51 min•Season 2Ep. 23
This school year is FINALLY ending (thank god for small favors) and we are packing up our minimally used classrooms. For many teachers, this will be their last time having to do this. Covid caused many to throw in the eraser this year and turned in keys. They will look forward to new challenges this coming fall that don't entail lesson plans and students. But for others, who are holding newly minted diplomas and teaching credentials, this summer offers time to plan for a new classroom and get re...
Jun 12, 2021•47 min•Season 2Ep. 22
The National Center for Education Statistics reported that in the 2017-18 school year there were 3.3 million full and part-time traditional public school teachers. That is the most recent count available. That's a lot of college tuition and credentialing fees. So does all the investment in a piece of paper that supposedly certifies a person is a competent teacher really mean anything? What does a teaching credential really prove? Every state requires public school teachers to jump through the ho...
Apr 26, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Season 2Ep. 21
Here's how the school year progressed. It started as "We won't likely be returning to campus this year." Then it changed to "I doubt it will happen." Which changed to, "Maybe it will happen." Then to, "It's happening," and finally... "It happened!" Last week we were back in our classroom with students! Well kind of... Families had the choice of returning to campus or continuing with the distance learning protocol we had been following since school started. We weren't sure how many would show up ...
Apr 14, 2021•34 min
In 2005 then-governor Arnold Schwarzenegger wanted to make changes to California's teacher tenure, increasing the time to achieve tenure from 2 to 5 years. He also proposed that teacher pay be based on merit, not length of tenure, and that continued employment be tied instead to performance, not, as he put it, “just showing up.” He called the system, “an educational disaster” “Our education system,” he said, “is in desperate need of reform with the current tenure system locking problem teachers ...
Apr 02, 2021•47 min•Season 2Ep. 20
We are rapidly approaching the end of our 3rd quarter and it looks like a pretty done deal that after spring break, we will be going back to school for real this time! So what does that really mean? We've been polling our students and so far it seems like most will be opting to stay right where they are, at home on Google Meet. So does that mean I'll have a class of three little people sitting at their desks staring at me through their plexiglass barriers and mumbling answers through their masks...
Mar 06, 2021•59 min•Season 2Ep. 19
It should have been expected that the attack on the Capitol last month (has it been that long already?😳) would prompt controversial classroom discussions. Students want to explore their questions and find answers to their concerns. This puts teachers in an awkward space, where discussions must be guided without involving a teacher's implicit biases. But given the current political climate in this country and the seemingly growing divide between sides, educators often wonder if this discussion i...
Feb 06, 2021•59 min
So it's Winter Break and we've had a little time to collect ourselves and get refreshed for round two of Online Learning. I wish.... I don't know about other teachers but, Sharyn, Jen, and I are feeling a little burned around the edges. Actually, I think a lot of teachers are feeling like toast. Covid is raging on. Here in California, it doesn't look like the end is anywhere in sight, vaccine, or no vaccine. But, forget Covid. A viral teacher depression pandemic is killing us. Ok, maybe not lite...
Jan 03, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 17
So the election is over (or is at least supposed to be over...) and Biden has a lot of work to do to help put the country back together. Of course, being teachers, we're rather focused on Mrs. DeVos's replacement. In this episode, we discuss a few of the possible people who are on the radar to replace her. Sharyn shares a little history lesson on the Department of Education and Biden's education platform. Biden has pledged to choose a public education teacher to fill the Secretary of Education p...
Nov 22, 2020•49 min•Season 2Ep. 16
Hello Faithful Listeners! So, yeah, this episode is a bit late, (or a bit early if you want to pretend last week didn’t happen). Here’s why: The end of our first quarter of distance learning has just come to a close. If you’re a teacher you know that means it’s student desperation time. The students who never looked at their grades the entire quarter, decide to the night after everything is due. Then it’s the “Huh? How come you gave me a D (or F)?” reaction. (emphasis on the YOU GAVE like it’s m...
Nov 01, 2020•34 min•Season 2Ep. 15
Our guest co-host, fellow co-worker and single parent, Angel, joins us today to share her unique (or not so unique, depending on your family dynamic) situation of juggling two elementary school aged children during distance learning, while also wearing the seventh grade science teacher hat. She discusses how she often must excuse herself from teaching her junior high students, to help her daughters as they stand just off camera, staring at her, while quietly mouthing the word " Mom...Mom...." an...
Oct 05, 2020•42 min•Season 2Ep. 14
I think distance learning is finally getting to us. We're tired. We're punchy, We talk about alcohol more than usual. Today we get into how parents and students are coping with the situation from the teacher's point of view. We talk about how we are dealing with lesson planning and the myriad of emails and virtual meetings. The situation could be dire, but thankfully we still have a sense of humor. Ever been in that situation where you start laughing so hard that you almost end up crying? Yeah? ...
Sep 18, 2020•29 min•Season 1Ep. 13
We are feeling swamped with back to school Covid Style. Planning lessons for 2 1/2 hour synchronous classes and 150 minutes of weekly asynchronous work is time consuming. So until we find our rhythm we are bringing you mini lunchroom conversations about topics that are on our minds now and updates on how teaching virtually is virtually killing us. Today we discussed what our first week back in front of our computer monitors was like. We talk about what is good, getting to interact with our stude...
Sep 05, 2020•34 min•Season 1Ep. 12
There's no more waiting for it to arrive. It's here! School has started and teachers are in a frenzy to get on board the Distance Learning Train! In today’s episode, we try to stay optimistic as we talk about what we are thinking about as we get ready to start our own school year next week! What’s the latest with Covid? What are other teachers saying about returning to school? And what do parents wish we would consider when developing our protocols? Stay tuned as we finish this episode with an a...
Aug 21, 2020•1 hr 43 min•Season 1Ep. 11
Today we get into ways teachers can save money on travel (once travel is a "thing" again!) Never too soon to start planning! We discuss ideas for social distancing conscious travel and how to make your "safer at home" quarantine seem more vacation-like. You'll also get an update on the HEALS Act education funding, which is still being debated. (I want to know who the person is who stays up all night thinking of these "catchy" acronyms!) And Anne and Jen share their own news that's awesome but co...
Aug 07, 2020•52 min
(My sound engineering still sucks, as you'll hear in the beginning. I need a tutor! Any volunteers? See how transparent I am!) In today's episode, we start with some news about the current bill in the State which is geared toward protecting school districts from Covid related lawsuits, also the reversal of the student visa deportation issue. Special guest Heather, a middle school teacher from Orange County shares how she brought restorative practices to her school and why they work....
Jul 24, 2020•1 hr 21 min•Season 1Ep. 9
We are a bit concerned about what August might entail as pediatricians and the president push to reopen schools, but at whose expense? We start the episode with a discussion of what the California state budget holds for education, plus a little history of how education is funded in our state. Then we get into the debate that surrounds what school might look like in the midst of the current rise in Covid cases. There are so many factors to consider that it seems impossible to be truly prepared. P...
Jul 10, 2020•1 hr 18 min•Season 1Ep. 8
In Episode 007 you'll hear: Discussion about what we think this next school year will be like Two new education laws that were passed having to do with prohibiting cell phones in schools and incorporating suicide prevention classes for K-6 students What are different states' requirements or lack thereof for becoming a substitute teacher The advantages and disadvantages of subbing Suggestions on how to make subbing better and Jen's sex education 🍆🍑and barforama 🤮 substitute teaching stories. F...
Jun 26, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 1007
On today’s episode Sharyn and Anne Zoom with co-workers Jimese and Diedre, who bring their perspectives as black educators to the conversation about what we all need to be thinking about and doing differently in our classrooms to ensure equity for our students. As the dialog about race and racism in our country once again comes to the forefront, we felt it was important to have an honest discussion about what teachers need to be aware of when dealing with the diversity within our own classes. We...
Jun 13, 2020•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Jen, Sharyn and I start the show by discussing the latest education news which in this case is what the proposed 10% budget cut might mean for schools (for me, it might mean retirement!) These could be the single biggest cuts to education in the history of California! Write your state representatives people and let them know we need to leave our schools out of this! I’ve included a letter template you can use.I feel a fight coming on. Teaching is a tough profession. I’m thinking now that many pa...
May 29, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Hey Anne here, wanting to thank you again for taking time to give us a listen. We really do hope that you find these episodes informative and hopefully a little entertaining. Too. This week’s episode starts off with personal updates about what we’ve been doing with our Covid time. Then, in a new segment, we discuss some Education news. We hope to bring to light information about laws and regulations that are currently being discussed federally and at the state level. Today we talk about the 355 ...
May 19, 2020•54 min
SHOW NOTES: Hey, Anne here. Thanks for hitting the “Listen Now” button. I know there are sooooo many other things you could be doing with all your free time now. Glad you chose to spend some of it with us. In this episode Jen, Sharyn and I discuss how we’re keeping sane at home. Then we get into the good, the bad, and the crazy of Emergency Remote Teaching. Finally, I interview two “Teacher Mommies” who are navigating how to manage homeschooling their own small children while trying to teach eve...
Apr 07, 2020•1 hr 31 min•Season 1Ep. 4
