Episode 40: Podcast Collaboration with Dr. Sam Fecich of EduMagic

Welcome to the Counter Narrative Podcast, a show designed to change the way we talk, and think, about education. By sharing stories of successes and triumphs, we aim to challenge the dominant narrative that often negatively portrays our disenfranchised populations.

I’m your host, Charles Williams. An educator for 15 years, a current school principal in Chicago, and an educational consultant.

Let’s get started.

This is a special crossover episode with Dr. Sam Fecich, host of the EduMagic Podcast, and will be airing simultaneously on both of our shows. If you don’t know Sam, she is a professor of education at Grove City College where she teaches preservice teachers about educational technology or special education.

During our conversation, we each shared 2 takeaways from the first half of a very interesting school year. Sam explored the very real fact that online teaching and traditional teaching are vastly different and that we need to be mindful of the unique needs of each as we launch into instruction. She also pointed out the need for ensuring accessibility, for both forms of teaching, if we expect students to succeed. Sam continued by challenging so called norms by encouraging teachers to set boundaries and focus on self-care. In fact, a potential 30-day challenge emerged from this idea on how we can commit to pushing back against toxic positivity. Of course I too shared my two ideas by reminding educators that they are not alone in the challenges they are facing as we are all navigating uncharted waters. And I continued to anchor my belief in the potentially cliched, but no less important, concept of Maslow over Bloom. We must take the time to build strong foundations, especially in a time of remoteness and often disconnectedness.

We dropped so many names in this show including Chey and Pav of the Staffroom Podcast, Traci Browder of the Intelligogy Podcast, LaKeisha Carroll of the Kickin it With Kee Podcast, Michael McWilliams and Hamish Brewer, two amazing principals.

Be sure to check out Edu Magic and all of the other amazing shows that we referenced and of course, if you have done so already, be sure to subscribe and rate this show on whatever platform you are using.

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