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A school year in the life of a teacher | Teachers' Lounge Podcast

On a new Teachers’ Lounge Podcast, we’re got an extra special episode. We’re giving you a taste of what you’ve been missing out on if you haven’t checked out our Teachers’ Lounge Radio Show. Every month -- the last Friday of every month at 11 a.m. to be specific -- this show airs as a radio program on WNIJ. Our next episode is on June 24th.

The radio show has a segment that you’ve never heard if you just listen to our Teachers’ Lounge podcast. That segment is called “Classroom Correspondent.” And our correspondent is a teacher you know if you’re a long-time listener because he joins us for our “Top Education Issues” episode every year. Erik Czerwin is an English teacher at Guilford High School in Rockford and, as our classroom correspondent, he met with us every single month to check in on how the school year was going for him and his students in yet another, very strange COVID school year. This is how we try to get an accurate picture of what it’s like to be inside the classroom each day.

Now, we’re going to take every segment -- from October to May -- and tell the story of his school year – a year in the life of a teacher -- the ups and downs, holidays, tests, all of it. You’ll hear the pandemic come in and out of focus, you’ll hear about his students struggling to pass, you’ll hear them thrive and a few join his chess club. In some ways, the year was even more challenging than the last -- and you’ll hear him explain why.

If you’ve never listened before, our show is based on an idea -- we’ve all had teachers in our lives who shaped who we are. And we want to hear about the teachers who inspired you or deserve a spotlight in your community. Every educator we have on this podcast, whether a teacher, coach, counselor, or professor, is nominated by our listeners.

So, tell us about the person who comes to your mind. Shoot us an email and nominate an educator at teacherslounge@niu.edu and they could be on the podcast! And subscribe to our newsletter to keep up to speed on everything to do with the show.

SHOW NOTES

Educator(s) in this episode:

Erik Czerwin

Stories in this episode:

Music: Our show's theme music is from the northern Illinois-based band "Kindoves" and their songs "Popn," "Origins" and "Quiche." You can find more of their music on their Soundcloud page. You can also listen to the episode of WNIJ's own Sessions from Studio A where they were featured.

Teachers! People who know teachers! People with stories about teachers! Send us an email and be part of the show! Also, send us your topic recommendations: teacherslounge@niu.edu

Peter joins WNIJ as a graduate of North Central College. He is a native of Sandwich, Illinois.