Our education 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, it’s Jennifer Burdette. She teaches social studies and civics at the Spoon River Valley School District in western Illinois.
We had a great conversation about what it means to DO social studies. You go to science class to do science. You go to math class to do math. What does doing social studies look like?
For her, it’s learning how to take action in society and in your community. That’s why she has a class called “Taking Action.” In it, students don’t just learn how local and state government works. They don’t just research problems they think need to be solved. They try to solve them — whether it’s fixing potholes or improving school lunches.
We also sit down with Dr. Nour Al Naber! She’s a business professor at Waubonsee Community College.
She shares a lot about herself, including her journey to the U.S. from Jordan.
"I talk about myself as an immigrant. I came to the USA in 2005 with my husband and my son. Back then I was struggling. English is not my first language," she said. "I'm proud to talk about my struggle when I started here, my financial struggle, because they're also struggling."
It is all to help build real, lasting relationships with her students — relationships that grow through extracurriculars like the business club, where students compete in national entrepreneurial competitions such as SkillsUSA. Last year, the Waubonsee team won the whole thing!
We also have a "classroom correspondent" on the show. They're the teacher we interview every month of the school year on the radio show to trace a school year in their life.
This year, our correspondent is Caio Gomes! He teaches English as a second language at Clinton Rosette Middle School in DeKalb.
This month, we talked about that classic feeling we've all had working on a frustrating assignment: "When am I ever going to use this when I'm an adult?" Sometimes he hears this from students when they don't want to read a book they're assigned or write an essay for his classes. It can be a challenge to convince his students of the importance of learning for the sake of learning, and that maybe money isn't everything.
Finally, we check in with our student correspondents for this spring: students from the Whiteside Area Career Center's CEO program, who are starting their own businesses!
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 hasn't gone anywhere. You can still catch episodes every other Friday on WNIJ.org or wherever you get podcasts.
