On our show today, Tracey Sanderson! She’s an agriculture teacher at Hinckley-Big Rock High School. She not only teaches classes like Intro to agriculture, she’s also teaching woodworking, welding, engines, horticulture, pre-veterinary science -- the list goes on and on.
And sometimes she needs to add another skill to the utility belt for one of her students. Recently, she had a student super into music and so she decided to learn how to build guitars…and reached out to a guitar maker for lessons.
“He literally starts laughing! He goes, ‘either you're the best teacher ever or you have no idea what you're doing,'" she said. "I was just chuckling. I have a kid who has this need. I can reach the kids need by learning this new skill. I'm going to learn this new skill.”
Her students also farm a plot every year and do comprehensive scientific research on it. We talk about why it’s important for her students to have access to all of these programs and trades, why she’s passionate about all of this, how she found herself teaching ag in Kenya, and so much more.
If you’ve never listened to Teachers’ Lounge 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 teacher, coach, counselor or professor, is nominated by our listeners.
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SHOW NOTES
Educator in this episode:
Tracey Sanderson
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 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!
