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Teachers' Lounge
Host Peter Medlin connects with teachers, students and leaders in education as they discuss the biggest issues impacting classrooms.We want to hear your experiences as an educator. Send us a note to teacherslounge@niu.edu.Click here to subscribe to our Newsletter!

A high schooler & middle schooler talk pandemic learning + the Illinois Teacher of the Year | Teachers' Lounge Radio Show

Our podcast Teachers’ Lounge is now on the radio! We’ve got all of the interviews with Illinois teachers and education stories you love -- along with brand-new segments -- now in a monthly, hour-long show on WNIJ on the last Friday of each month at 11 a.m. You can also listen right here, right now!

Kimberly Radostits AKA “Ms. Rad” is a high school Spanish teacher in Oregon, Illinois. She was just awarded 2022 Illinois Teacher of the Year!We got to be there when she received the award in front of her class a while back. We’re so glad we got the chance to have a longer chat with Ms. Rad to talk about whatbeing Teacher of the Year means to her, the work she’s been doing with freshmen in Oregon and so much more.

And, we’ve got a conversation with two DeKalb studentsabout their experience learning during the pandemic. Destiny Hudson was in 5th grade when COVID-19 shut down schools back in 2020. Now, she’s finishing up 7th Grade. Devin Snow was a sophomore when it all went down and now, he’s graduating high school. They’ve both been through this weird learning experience, but at very different points in their education journey. We talked about challenges, silver linings, their teachers that made a difference and so much more.

We’re also bringing you more education stories and, as promised, a brand-new segment – classroom correspondent! Erik Czerwin returns every episode to document how it feels to go through a school year -- especially one as weird as this one.

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. Every educator we have on Teachers’ Lounge, whether 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 show!

Don’t worry – the podcast isn’t going anywhere. You can still catch episodes every other Friday on WNIJ.org or wherever you get podcasts.

Also, please subscribe to our Teachers' Lounge newsletterright herewhere you can stay up to speed on the show and share stories you think we should cover!

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