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, hourlong show on WNIJ.
Every year, we feature student correspondents on the show. These are students in a club or activity who we interview every month through their season or semester, and this spring our correspondents were from the Whiteside Area Career Center's CEO program.
They tour local businesses, connect with mentors and complete a class project where they have to throw an event, and it all leads to the spring where they're tasked with starting their own businesses from scratch and debuting it at a huge trade show with 1000s of people!
Also, our conversation with Leslie Bradley and Brooke May — they are the Vienna High School teachers who lead the Southern Illinois Future Teachers Coalition. As you can probably guess, it’s designed to find and recruit the next generation of educators.
It’s a collaboration between the Illinois State Board of Education, Southern Illinois University, a few community colleges, and 25 school districts down towards the state’s southern tip.
Just as importantly, they show students that there are opportunities to build a life and career at home in Southern Illinois; you don’t have to leave to be successful.
If you've never listened before, our show is based on a simple 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. Our next episode airs on Friday, July 25 at noon and Saturday, July 26 at 6 a.m.
