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The history of American motherhood & a course in human geography | Teachers' Lounge Radio Show

Teachers' Lounge Radio Show!
Spencer Tritt
Teachers' Lounge Radio Show!

In case you didn’t know, our podcast Teachers’ Lounge is also on the radio! We’ve got all the interviews with Illinois teachers and education stories you love -- along with exclusive segments -- in a monthly, hour-long show on WNIJ.

On this episode, we’re talking with Dr. Jodi Vandenberg-Daves. She’s a coach, consultant, mentor, editor, author and -- above all -- an educator.

Jodi spent the past 25 years as a professor at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. She was recently the chair of the Department of Race, Gender, and Sexuality studies.

She’s also an author of books like Modern Motherhood: An American History. Now, Jodi is teaching, career coaching and mentoring, & has created her own online women’s leadership course.

Also, our chat with Colleen Guccione! She’s a social studies educator at Bolingbrook High School. She’s also a 2024 Illinois Teacher of the Year finalist.

We talked with Colleen about her career in education where she’s done everything from writing curriculum to developing an open enrollment AP course in human geography.

We're especially fascinated about her human geography class -- which she describes as explaining the “why of where” instead of just the “where” you’d get in a typical geography class.

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.

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