Week of January 27 - Episode 3: An Interview With Bradlee W. Skinner

Welcome:

Episode 3
Excited to be joined by Bradlee Skinner today
Looking at a couple aspects around the “so-called” teacher shortage
Exploring what that looks like from a teaching perspective
And maybe looking at how we can change it from the inside

But first let me introduce our guest. Brad is a former administrator, and a theatre teacher and director by trade. He was the Wyoming Theatre Teacher of the Year for 2018, and is the current Teacher of the Year for his District. Just this past summer he was selected by the Jostens Company as their National Educator of the Year. Brad is a man of many hat’s… on the weekends he goes by the name Phony Stark--I’ll let you go to his website to discover why that is, if he doesn’t let the cat out of the bag today. Brad is an amazing teacher, as I have seen firsthand; he is an expert in school culture, he’s an author, a playwright, and educational speaker, motivator, and thought-leader….and really an all around great guy to know, so welcome Brad!

Before we jump in…
Tell us a little about you and your background from your perspective
Summation of what brought you to today in your career

Let’s Jump right in:
It’s possible that we might meander a bit because both Brad and I through our conversations have discovered that we really share a lot of the same views, and pursue the same passions
Most of those have to do with educational leadership, improving school, and changing the lives of kids
Our subject as we said before is the teacher shortage
What we can do as teachers
What we maybe ought to encourage our leaders to do
Look at changing the perspective of students who might consider teaching

-- The teacher shortage and the cause

- What do you see, or hear about as, the main reasons that teachers are leaving the profession?

- You taught in other states (Utah, Nevada,) before coming to Wyoming like me as well, what was the dynamic shift from state to state?

-More opportunities to branch out from education in larger population areas

-Did student perception/school climate differ, and did that have any effect that you saw?

Article “We Can Prevent Good Teachers from Leaving the Classroom, and It Starts with Respect” “https://www.boredteachers.com/inspiring/prevent-good-teachers-from-leaving-classroom-respect?fbclid=IwAR3O-OEYlU8MVnrLRGowNQKoYzu6YhgAQAD02Fuwp78LDwGeLmK2eFXYJek

--As teachers watching this happen, I know I have read and heard stories that I can relate with. A new story circulates every month or so about a teacher who felt the last straw. Many teachers are aware or have at least experienced some form of it. One of the big issues is pay, and we happen to be lucky to live in a state with low cost of living and fairly high teacher salaries comparatively. I’m curious, and since you have been here in Wyoming longer… do you see the problem as evident here?

--What are the large governmental, societal, economic, or big picture issues that are pushing teachers out?

--What are the challenges in schools and districts themselves that are contributing to career changes or avoidance for teachers?

--Do you see any generational influences in students that are contributing to the shortage?

--I think as educational leaders; teacher leaders, department heads, veteran teachers, and administrators - it’s becoming more critical that we jump in and help. I know when I look at the teacher shortage, the number of jobs open every year versus those that were available 10 years ago… I often think “Our leaders (meaning state and federal agencies) aren’t doing enough to change the culture” and then I look at some districts around the US, and leaders in those districts, and wonder how they can enact the policies that they do. But until recently I didn’t view it as my problem because unless I have a direct link to district or state leadership, I can’t change a lot of minds. I think teachers who are working everyday in the classroom have plenty to worry about. But we may need to pull some extra weight … and those of us who can work toward this end and speak out need too. What do you think?

--Where do we start if we aren’t in a position to directly change policy, or affect some of the causes?

--Do we try to counsel colleagues out of this decision? My decision to teach is based on my passion for improving and changing lives. I know for a lot of our colleagues, this isn’t enough - and I would never belittle the decision to go. But what can we offer our colleagues?

-It’s easy for us to say when we have a better situation than a lot of other teachers.

--I haven’t worked much toward this end, but I certainly have noticed that there are less students in a classroom than there were 10 years ago who say, “I want to be a teacher”. Teaching was one of the more common professions chosen by students who loved learning. Have you noticed this trend?

--Can we and should we encourage students to take up the mantle?

--What does that look like in our classroom?

--When I take a look at my educational process; the planning I do, the lessons I create, and the activities that I focus on… I can say confidently that those things I choose to share with students are always meant to contain some form of inspiration for them. In college, I can remember the director of my department telling us that “You are all here because you loved your music teacher…. Some of you are really resting on that love and nothing else.” What she meant was that we had found something we loved to do in school that became a large part of who we were. What she also meant was that though we may love it…. It didn’t mean we could or should spend our life teaching it. How do we encourage kids along this path but for the right reason?

CLOSING THOUGHTS and SUMMATION

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