Episode 11: Interview with Joshua Buckley

In this episode I chat with Joshua Buckley who is a high school social studies teacher in Mesa, AZ and also serves as the president of his local teachers’ union. He is married to an awesome principal and has two children, one who is about to start their sophomore year in college and the other getting ready to tackle remote learning as a 4th grader.

When not talking about government and economics with his seniors, he advocates for educators and education in Mesa and Arizona. In the last few years he has co-chaired a state wide ballot initiative on education funding, helped his district organize successful campaigns around bonds and overrides, knocked on doors for several pro-education candidates, and has worked to bring educator voices into the decision making process in his district. Joshua is also the co-host of Punk Rock Classrooms, a podcast dedicated to bringing the punk rock ideas of passion, unity, and DIY to schools.

During our chat, we discuss that schools should be places where all students succeed and thus the importance of using our voices to fight back against systems that deny our students access to their fullest potential. He insists on being loud because that is how change happens. Josh and I also talk about the need for putting ourselves in uncomfortable situations by trying something new as continuous growth for educators is essential.

Twitter:

@JoshRBuckley

@PunkClassrooms