June 23, 2026

Monumental Moments from Season 3

Monumental Moments from Season 3
The Balancing Act
Monumental Moments from Season 3

In this season finale, we reflect on Season 3 of the Balancing Act Podcast and look ahead to Season 4. We revisit key conversations about education, parenting, caregiving, grief, and life in and around the classroom, including topics like technology, AI, screen time, class size, school funding, and the challenges new teachers face.

We also discuss standout moments from the season, such as interviews with educators and experts, our conversations at the NJEA convention, and our visit to The College of New Jersey. We close by sharing plans for more audience participation, new segments, and continued conversations with educators in the next season.

In this season finale, we reflect on Season 3 of the Balancing Act Podcast and look ahead to Season 4. We revisit key conversations about education, parenting, caregiving, grief, and life in and around the classroom, including topics like technology, AI, screen time, class size, school funding, and the challenges new teachers face.

We also discuss standout moments from the season, such as interviews with educators and experts, our conversations at the NJEA convention, and our visit to The College of New Jersey. We close by sharing plans for more audience participation, new segments, and continued conversations with educators in the next season.

Use the link below for registration for the Educate and Rejuvenate conference on June 30th and July 1st! Lots of awesome sessions. Be on the lookout for our special recording with Kelsey on July 1st at 11:30 am.

https://educateandrejuvenate.com/op/summer-2026-registration-organic?aff=238

Check out our article in the NJEA Review magazine!

We want to hear from you! Shoot over an email and say hi: podthebalancingact@gmail.com

Don’t forget to subscribe! Leave us a comment!

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Season 3 is brought to you by our principal sponsor Teachers Insurance Plan. Check out their website below for info and quotes for your auto insurance needs.

Teachers Insurance Plan: Auto insurance that brings exclusive educator savings and exceptional customer care to New Jersey and Pennsylvania Educational Employees.

Select Season 3 episodes are also sponsored by NJSchoolJobs.com.

Looking for a job in education? Teacher, principal, school support or coaching opportunities? Check out their website below for up-to-date job postings.

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Countdown. I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry, everybody. I had to do it. Hey, guess what? Well,

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that was a hey, good morning, wasn't it?

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Yeah, wasn't it. If you were listening first thing. Yeah, exactly. So, listen.

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Hey, we're officially recording. And we're officially recording our season finale, ladies and gentlemen.

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Season three finale, Mr. Vitale. Season three finale. Sorry, I'm so excited.

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I'm Joe Vitale. She's Jamie Wonko. We are the Balancing Act Podcast.

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And we are so happy that you guys are here joining us for our final episode of this season.

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And this whole season, season three. The whole shebang. The whole shebang was

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brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Teacher's Insurance Plan.

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Check out their website for more information and to get a quote.

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Teacher's Insurance Plan, auto insurance that brings exclusive educator savings

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and exceptional customer care to New Jersey and Pennsylvania educational employees.

00:01:09.128 --> 00:01:15.366
Yeah. and that means we're just a drop away from teacher week at the beach yeah

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we might as well mention that now

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um that's right for sure if you are are listening at the season finale um,

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teachers insurance plan does teacher week at the beak beach it is uh a little

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event that they sponsor it is jamie do you have the dates in front of you because

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i don't happen to have them in front of me teacher week

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so jamie'll look that up while i talk about it uh it's a couple days You get to register.

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You can go down to Point Pleasant, and you get to go on the beach by Jenkinsons.

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I mean, free beach passes and more, Mr. Vitale. Yeah. Free beach passes.

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You get a choice between the aquarium and also or mini golf.

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Yes. And, teacher, week at the beach registration is live. Yes,

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it is. So you can go on. You can register. And it's three days of summer fun.

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Wednesday, July 29th. Thursday, July 30th. And Friday, July 30th.

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July 31st. Yeah. Teachers and Insurance Plan is crazy excited to treat our New

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Jersey and Pennsylvania educators to complimentary beach passes for themselves and for a guest.

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Nice. Yes, it is. Along with their choice of aquarium or mini golf passes.

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Passes are limited, so be sure to register early. Yes. And you never know.

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You might even see your favorite podcasters there this summer. Who knows? And. Yes.

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Nick Ferroni. And Nick Ferroni. Maybe? Question mark? Maybe.

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Maybe Nick Ferroni. Yeah.

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I mean, if there's a guy you want to see shirtless, it's probably Nick Ferroni

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over me. That's for sure.

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I mean, you know, it's a handsome devil. The guy's always lifting on the...

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Nick, you know we love you. My man is lifting on the social media and,

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you know, collaborating. I mean, we're not going to look away.

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We are not going to look away.

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Collaborating with, like, Crunch or Retro Fitness, the only crunching I'm doing

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is potato chips, okay? that's uh yeah look at that segue i'm a pro um.

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We are stoked we were at teacher week at the beach last year yeah it was fun

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and um it was only 6 000 degrees um,

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yeah and then if you remember yes because we're going to get into today we're

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going to get into monumental moments from season three. Yeah.

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And I do recall from Teacher Week at the Beach, we,

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walked off of the sand for a little lunch parlay and we went into Jenkinson's

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and your son, who I am like, I'm a sucker for you, was like eyeing up.

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He couldn't decide which lunch to get.

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And there was a lot of discussion back and forth because you probably were you

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know looking and thinking of something else but and he you know should i get

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this and should i get that should i get this and he couldn't decide and i was

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like whatever he doesn't get i'm gonna get the other thing that he was like

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you know trying to figure which is what i did so i ended up with a lunch pail

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a sand pail filled with,

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french fries and nuggies and then you know it was like table sharesies and um and we actually,

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used that pail we did that's right for our questions at the njea,

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convention in november and i yes and i kept it it was like yeah oh shout out

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joey and his glitney i love you no,

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it was very good i mean you know it was it was really and it was very hot so

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it was a night we had to go inside for a little bit and and that's what's so

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great about jenkins boardwalk is that you could, you know, go over and go to

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the aquarium, take a walk through. The penguins are my favorite.

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Or you can go, you know, and have lunch. And it was. And you could stay late

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enough to go to Jenkinson's and fist pump it like we used to do back in the

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day. Oh, I mean, I spent two New Year's Eves at Jenkinson's.

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That's crazy. It was crazy. That's where actually I welcomed the year 2000.

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Oh, oh, mine was at Kathmandu in Trenton. Trenton, right by, yeah, I went there.

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Was that because your college was near there? Oh, yeah. Oh, my goodness.

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Because I didn't date anybody but Jason Wonka, but I may have known somebody

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that was from that area, and we may or may not have gone there several times.

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Wow. Oh, my gosh. That's so funny. We never talked about that.

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Imagine if we were there like, ooh, ooh, at the same time.

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We might have been at the same time. You were ooh, ooh. I was not.

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I was probably just hanging out drinking some beers in a corner somewhere.

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I was not a whoop whoop kind of guy. Trust me. That was not my jam.

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I was definitely whoa whoa. Yeah. Mine was, it was 99, 2000.

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So that was my first year teaching. And we did like, you know, Y2K.

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And we went to like, we dressed up and we went to Kathmandu.

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And we had like a big, like it was a dinner and drinks and the whole thing.

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I remember my best friend from Indiana. I remember going out on the boardwalk

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and being like, oh, are the cell phones working?

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Because that was a real thing. You know, everybody was. You know,

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we were kind of like, you know, it wasn't like we were, you know,

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putting water in our basements and gathering like the, you know,

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some people were like doom prepping, but it was definitely like, okay, are we good?

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Are we fine? Are we okay? Yes, we're good. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, good times.

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For sure. We're just waxing nostalgic today.

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With Junipration. I know. And we're celebrating season three.

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We're looking forward to season four. Yes. And we are already making some plans for that.

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But before we look ahead, we're going to take a minute or two to reminisce on

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our major monumental moments of season three. Yeah, for sure. Yes.

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So we interviewed some really fantastic people this year.

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And of course, just recently, we had Dr. Noelle Santorelli back on and she's

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had a banner year where she was on Tamron Hall and all sorts of really amazing experiences.

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We had, of course, Andrea, educator Andrea back. She just released her book.

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Which is awesome. And we had talked to her, I remember, like, way back in the fall.

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Was she our first guest this season? I think she was, yeah. She was,

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like, our season kickoff. Absolutely. Yeah.

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And I remember her, like, talking about the book...

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And the date the book was going to be coming out. And, you know,

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and now, of course, we're past that.

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And so we've had some some really, really superb guests and met some really,

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new and amazing educators.

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Yeah, we did. And experts in their respective fields.

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And so was there any particular person or any particular topic that really spoke to you this year?

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Well, I kind of, okay, they kind of go hand in hand.

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Number one, and you know this answer, like the favorite thing that we've done.

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My favorite thing, I think the best work that we've done, and I'll comment on

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a couple other things too, is the episode we did down at the convention where

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we did like the little, our sand

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bucket, and we asked questions of all the county teachers of the year,

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you know, and just, you know, the universe works in mysterious ways.

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We met a whole bunch of amazing people.

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And we also met Stephanie Lockenauer while we were down there.

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And within minutes of having a conversation with her, I was like,

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yep, she's just an absolute dynamo.

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And she's smart and wise. And I was...

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Somebody's heart was a flutter. Yeah, but no, she's just wrote a book on mindfulness.

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And the class that she teaches just like she's one of those people that you

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meet and you go oh this is a dynamic person um,

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and then it wound up you know we talked and talked back and forth and i was

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like you need to be on the show like we got to have you on i really enjoyed

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just that brief talking with you and even,

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and i was at the convention she's like let's do this absolutely she's like a

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she's like an improv artist like yeah and yeah let's uh-huh so she's like totally

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talking about coming from a place of yes yeah she's just uh you know just a

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dynamo and someone that I really enjoyed meeting.

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I think that's one of the great things about this,

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This show is, you know, it's a creative outlet for us, which shout out to Erica,

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who listens to the show. I mean, Erica will always not be Azar to me,

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but Erica, yes. Erica Theory. Erica Theory.

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Who I think is still on my phone is Erica Theory. Quite possible.

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Because I never change. I would never. I don't like to change.

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I don't like it. I did change. I did change Bizon's to Domingo.

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I don't know why. I did. No. I don't know why. I don't know. I can't.

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Um, so yeah, she had said, this is such a creative outlet for us and it is,

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and it's a way for us to have a, an additional space to be creative and talk

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to people and meet people and create something that we feel is helping as many

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people as possible, parents and teachers alike.

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Um, but sometimes you get to meet some cool people and do some awesome things.

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And, uh, that was one of them, you know, that was definitely something for me,

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that, uh, was a, it was a great interview. It was a great talk.

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And you know she's going to be on a little special preview for season four you'll see her

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next season two we've already started you know doing some planning and we want

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to have her on again because she has even more stuff to talk to us about which

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is great so really doing some cool stuff so

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yes absolutely talk about it so many people educator too right i'm on our pod page right now,

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which if you have not visited our pod page we highly recommend that you do it

00:10:46.137 --> 00:10:53.867
is linked right on our Instagram page and it has all of the episodes that we've

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ever recorded, which is over 100 at this point.

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And it actually organizes them with like how-to.

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Category of how-tos and self-improvement and education. So it's really amazing

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how it is organized on the pod page.

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And so there's just so many different talks and so much that we've learned throughout

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the course of this school year.

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And of course, talking just you and I together, which are some of my favorites

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and the things that we have experienced this year.

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Coming from the convention, we met the TikTok math girls who were,

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you know, remember I was sucking their youth and I can't get enough of it.

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And so, of course, and a big, so the two other really big, I think, themes of this year,

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were the college journeys that we went on as parents along with our,

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you know, your two kids and mine.

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So with the three, our three kids going and doing all of the portals and the

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applications and the Common App and then just talking to different experts like Jen Foldvery and,

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you know, how to handle it, what to do, what not to do.

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And then, of course, our one theme that has really strung through the,

00:12:24.012 --> 00:12:27.174
you know, really the fiber of the podcast from the very beginning,

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which is caregiving and, you know, and of course, grief,

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anticipatory grief as well as grief and dealing with loss.

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So, whew, 26, 25, 26, it really took it out of me.

00:12:46.934 --> 00:12:49.569
You've had a year. Yes. But also...

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That episode where we talked about your mom and we let people in on what had

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taken place and where you shared was just a raw emotional journey for you and for me because,

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I feel empathy and pain for someone that I greatly care about, you and your family.

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And I think that that was – I never want to phrase it this way.

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I don't mean it to sound like douchey, but it was great work.

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Like it was, it was a show that we put together that I think honors the spirit

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of your family and your mom.

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Your eulogy that's in there, I think was, was poignant and beautiful.

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So, and some people might not have been ready to maybe listen to that episode

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because they've experienced some loss of their own. Maybe they weren't in the

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headspace, but when you are, I hope that you'll go back and.

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I do too. Have you ever, have you ever watched or listened to Anderson Cooper's podcast? I have not.

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Do you know who they are? I do. Okay. So, you know, he's an author.

00:14:10.755 --> 00:14:14.895
She, you know, dabbles and is very comedian, very funny. And,

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you know, and so they were talking about the loss of their mom.

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And I just have to say, you know, there are so many different places that you

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can go to and people who say something that, you know, strikes a chord with you.

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And so Amy Sedaris had this whole line about, you know, like,

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my mother died and I wanted the whole world to stop.

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People were going to work. People were going to the store. They were shopping.

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And I wanted, like, to stand on the street and scream, like, my mother died.

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You shouldn't be doing anything. And it was, like, I felt like you are talking to me.

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And then her brother starts speaking, and I thought she could not be outdone, but then he did.

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He said, I have to write about my mother because I feel like the entire world,

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deserves to know who she was.

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And the way that he spoke about it, it was like, I really felt that way.

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Like, I felt this just into the marrow of my bones that I needed to write and

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speak because I felt like the world, everyone needs to know something about my mom, you know,

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and it needs to know how we all felt about her.

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And it was just like, I felt so connected to him in that moment.

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And so, you know, we have dabbled a little bit about anticipatory grief and caregiving.

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But if you are someone, you know, who's looking for a little bit more.

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You know, digging into that space.

00:16:00.743 --> 00:16:05.576
Um anderson cooper um who has lost like his dad and his mom and his brother

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um and he even did an episode on like the nanny who basically,

00:16:10.173 --> 00:16:14.933
raised him um and even talking about her um but he's interviewed some some people

00:16:14.933 --> 00:16:19.643
who um might be famous but they're regular people just like us and you know

00:16:19.643 --> 00:16:24.291
loss hits everybody um you know and so i would say,

00:16:24.796 --> 00:16:29.723
give that you know give give that episode for us, a look back and a listen.

00:16:29.723 --> 00:16:34.903
And I obviously would appreciate it because I feel the same way.

00:16:34.903 --> 00:16:36.830
I want the whole world to know about her.

00:16:37.219 --> 00:16:41.822
Yeah. And by no means will it be the last time we talk about her for sure.

00:16:42.002 --> 00:16:42.993
Oh my goodness. No. Yeah.

00:16:43.333 --> 00:16:48.868
I mean, I'm sure things will come up and I'm blessed to be.

00:16:50.232 --> 00:16:54.353
Pretty much side by side with you on the journey that you're taking and hope

00:16:54.353 --> 00:16:58.162
that I'm a good sounding board for you,

00:16:59.133 --> 00:17:05.232
as you try to navigate this space knowing that I have not piloted that ship. It's something that,

00:17:06.595 --> 00:17:07.519
I haven't gone through,

00:17:10.175 --> 00:17:16.435
as closely as you have. I've experienced loss in life, but not of a parent.

00:17:16.435 --> 00:17:19.134
And they do say that that changes you.

00:17:20.075 --> 00:17:21.195
And I could see that. But.

00:17:24.492 --> 00:17:28.375
I don't know if I ever really mentioned this. I just see you as the matriarch

00:17:28.375 --> 00:17:29.525
of your family at this point.

00:17:30.075 --> 00:17:34.332
And you might not want to be that person. I'm too young to be the matriarch of my family.

00:17:35.400 --> 00:17:41.485
But you are. And for a variety of reasons, you know, because of your caring

00:17:41.485 --> 00:17:44.013
nature, because of how people look to you for advice.

00:17:45.335 --> 00:17:48.975
I think that that's something that I know your mom would be very proud of,

00:17:48.975 --> 00:17:51.475
that you're kind of taking on the mantle for her.

00:17:52.035 --> 00:17:54.770
Yeah. And I promised her I would. Yeah.

00:17:55.350 --> 00:17:59.693
Yeah. For sure. So, you know, it is, it's definitely,

00:18:01.875 --> 00:18:05.265
changes. We have a lot of changes. Sometimes, you know, we question,

00:18:05.265 --> 00:18:10.595
like, how many things can you deal with changing at one time? Get a tray. You know.

00:18:11.615 --> 00:18:15.115
Remember? Oh, my God. That's awesome. Of course I do. There's too much on my

00:18:15.115 --> 00:18:20.498
plate. Get a tray. Oh, my gosh. Jessica Plesniak, you sexy thing. She...

00:18:22.986 --> 00:18:27.354
Oh my goodness there's a laugh oh my god it's gracious yes um,

00:18:28.393 --> 00:18:32.056
somebody once we were working with told her you are so sexy and i was like of

00:18:32.056 --> 00:18:35.356
course you know me i couldn't i was like say it again every minute so like for

00:18:35.356 --> 00:18:39.220
20 years i've said nothing to her but like you are so sexy um.

00:18:40.868 --> 00:18:46.646
You know in a russian spy accent i love it you are so sexy,

00:18:47.506 --> 00:18:52.366
mr bond oh my god but yes she was um And, yes, she was told,

00:18:52.366 --> 00:18:54.416
you know, I kind of needed to take something off of my plate.

00:18:54.416 --> 00:18:56.104
And they said, you should get a tray.

00:18:56.563 --> 00:18:58.746
Classic. Just get a bigger dish, you know.

00:18:59.715 --> 00:19:03.396
Aye, aye, aye. But, yeah, so, you know, and people are really,

00:19:03.396 --> 00:19:06.876
that's why, you know, people fascinate me.

00:19:06.876 --> 00:19:10.706
So it's, yes, the creative outlet of our space here in Season 3 and also,

00:19:11.066 --> 00:19:16.666
you know, just being observers to the amazing things that people are doing, for sure.

00:19:16.666 --> 00:19:21.646
So we met all of these amazing people in that network in the fall,

00:19:22.506 --> 00:19:27.660
and they have actually, you know, given the dates for the convention for the fall for next year,

00:19:28.466 --> 00:19:33.776
which the New Jersey Teachers Convention is going to take place November 5th

00:19:33.776 --> 00:19:37.621
and 6th with over 300 professional development and career opportunities for teachers.

00:19:37.935 --> 00:19:43.402
And we will be there. Yep. Yes, we will. And we are really looking forward to,

00:19:44.146 --> 00:19:48.826
you know, to continuing the man on the street interviews and all of that kind of stuff.

00:19:48.966 --> 00:19:53.986
Seriously, we're not famous or anything, but if you listen and you see us,

00:19:53.986 --> 00:19:56.214
please come up and say, hey.

00:19:56.434 --> 00:19:59.760
And we'd love to have you pick a question out of the bucket.

00:20:00.286 --> 00:20:04.146
We don't necessarily use everything that we record, but we'd definitely love to hear from you.

00:20:04.146 --> 00:20:07.963
We'd love to talk to teachers and parents about what they're experiencing and

00:20:08.195 --> 00:20:12.656
how we can make this profession the most noble profession, one of the most noble

00:20:12.656 --> 00:20:13.611
professions in the world.

00:20:14.786 --> 00:20:20.264
You know, better and, and more sustainable for future generations of teachers.

00:20:21.314 --> 00:20:23.834
Speaking of future generations of teachers.

00:20:25.960 --> 00:20:30.460
One of my favorite things we did this year was, you know, we were lucky enough

00:20:30.460 --> 00:20:35.919
to go back down to to go down to TCNJ and meet with my alma mater.

00:20:38.200 --> 00:20:41.450
Which was very much like a poignant full circle moment for me.

00:20:41.450 --> 00:20:44.195
And it was right after my kids had like decided, here's where we're going to go.

00:20:44.648 --> 00:20:50.110
So it was just this very like full circle activity of like I went there and

00:20:50.110 --> 00:20:52.150
I I learned how to teach there.

00:20:52.150 --> 00:20:56.200
And I went to, I met, you know, I met my wife at that school and like,

00:20:56.200 --> 00:21:00.330
there was just so much there of like a full circle moment that was really cool.

00:21:00.330 --> 00:21:03.781
But, um, you know, those young people that we met.

00:21:05.030 --> 00:21:09.585
Made you like i i know for me yeah just an exceptional group of people like

00:21:09.585 --> 00:21:13.355
and how like look it's a thursday night it's eight o'clock we,

00:21:13.995 --> 00:21:16.845
we had this little game that we did we didn't know how it was going to go and

00:21:16.845 --> 00:21:19.665
they were engaged and they were competitive because like we had whiteboards

00:21:19.665 --> 00:21:22.955
and they were like writing things down and like i don't know i did what,

00:21:23.555 --> 00:21:27.705
i need more time and it was like a whole they were totally into it um you know

00:21:27.705 --> 00:21:31.140
on on what we used to call back of the day, Thirsty Thursdays.

00:21:31.558 --> 00:21:34.835
Well, they were hyped up on Dunkin' Donuts. Dunkin' Donuts.

00:21:35.969 --> 00:21:39.661
Yeah. Hot chocolate. Refreshments provided by teachers insurance plan.

00:21:41.257 --> 00:21:44.990
But yeah, those young people just made me realize, you know what?

00:21:45.303 --> 00:21:51.335
I think that this profession is going to be way better off if more people like

00:21:51.335 --> 00:21:55.655
them are going to wind up in the classroom because they're They're engaging,

00:21:55.655 --> 00:22:00.060
they were fun, they were excited, they were enthusiastic, and,

00:22:00.594 --> 00:22:02.422
I really hope they don't lose that,

00:22:03.026 --> 00:22:05.493
because this profession can beat it out of you.

00:22:06.033 --> 00:22:10.718
Yeah. Right? You know, they were shiny and fresh, energetic,

00:22:10.921 --> 00:22:13.855
and I do believe— Sucking up the youth again. Yes.

00:22:14.351 --> 00:22:19.755
And I do believe that they will go out there into the world and and spread their,

00:22:20.714 --> 00:22:25.485
sparkle and leave a little dust behind wherever they go, because they were really they were,

00:22:26.475 --> 00:22:30.015
they were definitely a very bright light in the darkness of the winter.

00:22:31.407 --> 00:22:35.079
And I thought about them often since since we've left. And, of course,

00:22:35.370 --> 00:22:39.635
you know, the College of New Jersey does such a great job preparing teachers

00:22:39.955 --> 00:22:42.922
and getting them ready for the job. and um,

00:22:43.753 --> 00:22:51.094
And we had been on the NJEA podcast last year. That's right. Yeah.

00:22:52.094 --> 00:22:56.494
With Bianca and Chelsea. That's right. And now Chelsea graduated and she's going

00:22:56.494 --> 00:22:57.634
to be heading into the classroom.

00:22:58.154 --> 00:23:02.514
I mean, it's crazy. Little girls growing up. Yeah. Right before her eyes.

00:23:03.703 --> 00:23:07.634
Congrats, Chelsea, if you're listening. Yes. Congrats. Yeah.

00:23:07.634 --> 00:23:11.684
So that was a very cool experience. Yeah. I was, you know, and when we were

00:23:11.684 --> 00:23:14.589
trying to go into more colleges and meet with people and, and,

00:23:15.175 --> 00:23:18.494
and when we do that, we're not like publicizing our show.

00:23:18.494 --> 00:23:20.724
Like we mentioned like, Hey, we're podcasters, but we say like,

00:23:20.724 --> 00:23:23.302
Hey, we're teachers. We've been doing this for 28, 29 years,

00:23:24.237 --> 00:23:25.456
however many years it is. Right.

00:23:25.775 --> 00:23:29.784
And like, we want to give you the real, real of what this job is.

00:23:29.784 --> 00:23:32.574
Like, let's talk, like, let's do something fun where you learn,

00:23:32.574 --> 00:23:35.043
like the stuff that they don't teach you in the classroom.

00:23:35.513 --> 00:23:39.744
Like we can talk about that stuff because we are the boots on the ground people

00:23:39.744 --> 00:23:44.114
who've been doing this job for a very long time right so we have you know it's

00:23:44.114 --> 00:23:48.122
like on our vision board kane university monmouth university,

00:23:48.609 --> 00:23:52.774
yeah we want it we it's it's hard you know it because a lot of people are like

00:23:52.774 --> 00:23:58.205
oh we're recording and releases and i'm like we're not we'll do it no we're just coming in to like,

00:23:58.733 --> 00:24:04.264
have a talk and you know really because we're passionate about where the next

00:24:04.264 --> 00:24:06.465
group of teachers is going to come from um,

00:24:07.197 --> 00:24:14.047
we want to provide supports that we know are so necessary especially when we talked to dr lefkoe um.

00:24:15.225 --> 00:24:19.104
Yes let's go no i'm so sorry i'm confusing her with allison hitchens we talked

00:24:19.104 --> 00:24:25.374
to allison yeah professor from florida and she had some startling numbers on,

00:24:26.434 --> 00:24:30.452
how quickly many teachers leave the profession.

00:24:30.898 --> 00:24:33.074
I was very surprised by some of the numbers that she gave.

00:24:34.637 --> 00:24:39.297
I mean, you know, and I know like in my own children's school hearing stories

00:24:39.297 --> 00:24:42.166
of, you know, and they made it two years. Oh, they made it a year.

00:24:42.445 --> 00:24:47.987
You know, so we see this, you know, and and so we want to provide the support

00:24:47.987 --> 00:24:53.718
that we know is so absolutely necessary to our new and beginning teachers.

00:24:53.973 --> 00:24:57.127
And like so many of them have said, you know, you have that mentor for the first

00:24:57.127 --> 00:25:00.022
year. Sometimes they're not even in the same subject area or grade as you.

00:25:00.318 --> 00:25:05.367
And then after that, they're just pulled away from you or, you know,

00:25:05.367 --> 00:25:09.763
you might be a transfer teacher and you're starting somewhere else and you don't have a mentor.

00:25:10.030 --> 00:25:13.777
And so there's so many different scenarios of different things that might happen.

00:25:13.777 --> 00:25:18.436
And so providing support in the community of teaching is very important to us.

00:25:19.457 --> 00:25:24.455
And we will continue to do so and seek out others who are like minded. Absolutely.

00:25:25.357 --> 00:25:28.807
That's kind of the goal of what we're doing. Have you ever thought,

00:25:28.807 --> 00:25:31.843
I work in education. Why is finding a job so weirdly hard?

00:25:32.128 --> 00:25:35.637
Yeah, scrolling through random job boards where half the listings don't even

00:25:35.637 --> 00:25:37.462
make sense is not the vibe.

00:25:37.671 --> 00:25:40.858
That's why njschooljobs.com actually makes sense.

00:25:41.218 --> 00:25:44.577
It's a job board built specifically for New Jersey schools, public,

00:25:44.577 --> 00:25:48.187
private, charter, and parochial. Teachers, administrators, counselors,

00:25:48.187 --> 00:25:51.767
support staff, coaching opportunities. If your job involves a bell schedule,

00:25:51.767 --> 00:25:54.436
this site's for you. It's free for job seekers.

00:25:54.703 --> 00:25:58.327
You can upload your resume, set job alerts, and apply without jumping through

00:25:58.327 --> 00:26:02.367
hoops. Schools across New Jersey actively use njschooljobs.com,

00:26:02.367 --> 00:26:04.188
so these are real current openings.

00:26:04.339 --> 00:26:08.507
They also host virtual job fairs, where you can connect with multiple districts

00:26:08.507 --> 00:26:10.633
online. No driving all over the state.

00:26:11.003 --> 00:26:15.044
Those are coming up soon, so check the link in our episode description to register.

00:26:15.386 --> 00:26:18.144
Head to njschooljobs.com.

00:26:20.460 --> 00:26:23.946
Hey, Teacher Besties! I'm Andrea Forgham, and I am so excited to share with

00:26:23.946 --> 00:26:27.397
you that my book, They Never Taught Us That, is available right now.

00:26:27.658 --> 00:26:31.926
It is everything an experienced or first-year teacher needs to manage the chaos

00:26:31.926 --> 00:26:36.075
of the modern classroom, including some anecdotes to make you feel a little bit better.

00:26:36.406 --> 00:26:39.523
Because if there is a way that you can screw up, I've probably done it.

00:26:39.877 --> 00:26:43.516
It also has advice on how to build trust with families, how to manage grading

00:26:43.516 --> 00:26:45.216
and lesson plans and IEPs and

00:26:45.216 --> 00:26:48.213
everything else that they never went over in your teacher prep program.

00:26:48.649 --> 00:26:51.846
They Never Taught Us That is available everywhere right now. Yeah.

00:26:51.846 --> 00:26:55.976
So what are some other moments or times or things that stand,

00:26:55.976 --> 00:27:01.846
I know, so finding the words today, that are standing out to you about?

00:27:01.846 --> 00:27:05.046
You know what is, well, it's not a particular moment, but I do just have to

00:27:05.046 --> 00:27:10.316
comment quickly on one thing that always gets me as I'm still kind of,

00:27:10.316 --> 00:27:13.117
I'm looking at our, looking at the pod page a little bit here.

00:27:13.506 --> 00:27:16.886
And something that does get me is like, we have been using, we've been working

00:27:16.886 --> 00:27:19.112
with a It's a company out of California called Human Content.

00:27:21.466 --> 00:27:25.956
And so they put together our website and pod page for us.

00:27:26.287 --> 00:27:33.876
And anytime I hop on over to the pod page, there is one thing that still amazes

00:27:33.876 --> 00:27:36.486
me and has throughout this whole season.

00:27:37.948 --> 00:27:41.397
How many platforms we are available on. I know.

00:27:42.797 --> 00:27:46.348
Right? What's really funny is if you asked me right now to list them,

00:27:46.801 --> 00:27:49.680
I'd probably get like five. All right, hold on. Let me see.

00:27:50.208 --> 00:27:54.202
Four, six, eight, ten, twelve, four, ten, because there's 18. Yeah.

00:27:54.928 --> 00:27:59.781
I don't even know there's 18 platforms that existed. I mean, tell me a couple of them.

00:27:59.972 --> 00:28:03.147
So, I mean, obviously there's like the obvious ones. Yeah. Apple Podcasts,

00:28:03.147 --> 00:28:06.717
Spotify, YouTube. Yep. Are we on?

00:28:07.966 --> 00:28:15.929
IHeart Radio. We're on iHeart Radio. Yep. Good job. Get one more. We are also on...

00:28:17.157 --> 00:28:21.697
Oh my goodness. What's the... And now it's escaping me. I have the logo in my

00:28:21.697 --> 00:28:24.724
head. Do you want me to give you a letter? Yeah. P?

00:28:29.146 --> 00:28:32.672
Did I say Apple Podcast? I said Apple Podcast. Oh, there's two more A's.

00:28:32.933 --> 00:28:34.686
There's three more A's. Oh, my. Three more A's.

00:28:36.486 --> 00:28:42.446
Audacity. Yeah. Audacity is one. Very good. Also, A for Amazon Music and A for

00:28:42.446 --> 00:28:43.469
Audible. Amazon Music, that's right.

00:28:44.166 --> 00:28:47.875
And Audible, that's right. Yeah. I mean, Good Pods, Castro, Pod Cheaser.

00:28:48.171 --> 00:28:53.246
There are so many here. And not everybody listens on those platforms.

00:28:53.946 --> 00:28:57.766
But we do get a good amount of traction from different platforms, too.

00:28:57.766 --> 00:29:02.936
Which is like look our our company human content which by the way we'll take

00:29:02.936 --> 00:29:06.366
a moment to say some thank yous right thank you to the people human content

00:29:06.366 --> 00:29:11.565
and to todd at nj schooljobs.com and to um,

00:29:12.111 --> 00:29:15.714
uh chris and emma at teacher's insurance plan for like,

00:29:16.521 --> 00:29:21.363
you know believing in a little show that like when i tell you like we started

00:29:21.775 --> 00:29:27.056
literally from like an idea and nothing like literally it was like let's freaking

00:29:27.056 --> 00:29:32.949
do this we're doing it we're doing a thing and we didn't know what was going to happen like,

00:29:34.126 --> 00:29:39.822
i and and it's just something that was you know born out of great talks,

00:29:41.065 --> 00:29:44.908
that you and i would have and it's it's just so.

00:29:46.295 --> 00:29:52.276
Like cool to see exactly what this has become right and it's still like they

00:29:52.276 --> 00:29:55.476
you know human content calls us the little the little engine that could in their

00:29:55.476 --> 00:29:59.276
in their um catalog because yeah they help us do some stuff and they help us

00:29:59.276 --> 00:30:01.034
like set up ads and things like that but like,

00:30:01.806 --> 00:30:05.086
everything else is us like we're the ones doing the social media platform stuff

00:30:05.086 --> 00:30:07.846
we're the ones that are that are recording and joe does

00:30:08.166 --> 00:30:12.026
all of the editing and all of the wording and all of that yeah i mean that is

00:30:12.026 --> 00:30:17.477
a big you know process yeah and also you know jamie you know sets up the social clips and

00:30:17.844 --> 00:30:21.676
you know post things and boost stuff and like all that we didn't know what any

00:30:21.676 --> 00:30:24.846
of this was three years ago right and we're still figured it out. Yes.

00:30:26.341 --> 00:30:27.230
So, like.

00:30:29.642 --> 00:30:31.782
I want that to be a lesson to anyone that's listening.

00:30:32.588 --> 00:30:41.423
Just try. Especially because it gives us an outlet to talk about a job that we very much care about.

00:30:42.062 --> 00:30:44.112
We care about being in the classroom. We care about teachers.

00:30:44.112 --> 00:30:49.042
We care about our students, parents, and the journey that we are all on.

00:30:49.342 --> 00:30:52.042
It's something that we totally believe in.

00:30:52.662 --> 00:30:57.262
I don't mean it to sound hokey or corny, but our whole goal in the very beginning.

00:30:57.262 --> 00:30:59.842
But it doesn't. It sounds sincere. Yeah, the whole goal from us in the very

00:30:59.842 --> 00:31:02.199
beginning was let's help as many teachers and parents as we can.

00:31:02.686 --> 00:31:09.484
Yeah. And we ended up helping ourselves along the way, which is magnificent. Yeah, for sure.

00:31:09.761 --> 00:31:17.062
My standout this year is not necessarily a person, but the new experience this

00:31:17.062 --> 00:31:24.007
year for me by far was the collaboration and partnership with the New Jersey Hall of Fame.

00:31:25.591 --> 00:31:31.637
The studio, Isaac, I mean, having a producer, it was my childhood dream for

00:31:31.637 --> 00:31:37.237
someone to tell me, like, this is a multi-camera situation. Okay,

00:31:37.577 --> 00:31:38.652
look here, look there, look here.

00:31:38.913 --> 00:31:41.717
I mean, my God, it was like eight-year-old me was freaking out.

00:31:41.717 --> 00:31:46.146
Like, my Tiffany on the boombox, I think we're alone now. And now I'm looking

00:31:46.373 --> 00:31:49.377
at Isaac and where am I going? And there's a green screen. It was like,

00:31:49.377 --> 00:31:52.154
this is from my basement of Kiwami Drive.

00:31:52.474 --> 00:31:54.377
We are doing, you know, that to me.

00:31:54.917 --> 00:31:57.597
Oh, my goodness. I mean, there was a show every day in my basement as a child.

00:31:57.597 --> 00:32:01.402
So and we would sell tickets. And, you know, my mom's like, I don't want to buy another ticket.

00:32:01.558 --> 00:32:04.821
But we, you know, oh, no, you know, buy a ticket. It's fine. It's going to be great.

00:32:05.837 --> 00:32:13.087
And and so true. So to be in that space. And so I mean, it was just so beautiful.

00:32:13.087 --> 00:32:17.829
And I know we are already making some plans to go back there next year. We are stoked.

00:32:18.119 --> 00:32:21.834
And it is I will be in the karaoke booth.

00:32:22.966 --> 00:32:27.277
Oh, we got to do that. That is one thing so far that social media needs.

00:32:27.617 --> 00:32:31.037
I think we need to do that at least once. I should do that. We have to.

00:32:31.037 --> 00:32:35.400
Social media needs us. What was your go-to karaoke song? What are we choosing? Now, listen.

00:32:35.830 --> 00:32:42.177
I know you have one. Yes, I do. I do know that at the New Jersey Hall of Fame,

00:32:42.177 --> 00:32:47.327
you choose a New Jersey musical artist. If you're not from New Jersey,

00:32:47.327 --> 00:32:48.665
there are plenty of them.

00:32:49.837 --> 00:32:53.297
Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, Celia Cruz, Asuka. Uh, uh.

00:32:55.636 --> 00:32:59.877
She's my good. I, I, I, my Queen Latifah. I mean, there's so many, right?

00:33:00.197 --> 00:33:06.758
Oh, um, yeah. But outside of those, I mean, what would be your go-to karaoke karaoke song?

00:33:08.749 --> 00:33:16.295
You know, when you live musically, as I do, it's very difficult to have just one song.

00:33:16.789 --> 00:33:20.933
I mean, if you had to narrow it down, two songs. To one song?

00:33:21.049 --> 00:33:23.116
Yeah, you know, it's like two songs that you would do.

00:33:24.887 --> 00:33:28.404
I mean, I'm such a musical theater nerd that it would be very difficult for

00:33:28.404 --> 00:33:30.953
me not to pick something that's from a show.

00:33:31.674 --> 00:33:34.175
My all-time favorite musical is Gypsy.

00:33:34.974 --> 00:33:38.454
And, you know, I mean, just a little Mama Rose action.

00:33:38.914 --> 00:33:43.224
Gotcha. I mean, I could never be steered wrong. Also, this year I've gotten

00:33:43.224 --> 00:33:46.604
heavily into the Mean Girls musical, so I could do, I mean, it's hard to pick

00:33:46.604 --> 00:33:48.954
a song when you want to do the entire show.

00:33:49.273 --> 00:33:52.304
Yes. You know, from start to finish.

00:33:54.405 --> 00:33:58.283
Can you do it in your basement? We'll sell tickets. We'll get people.

00:33:58.660 --> 00:33:59.734
Buy tickets. It's going to be great.

00:34:00.394 --> 00:34:05.134
It's crazy, too, because my sister and I were often, And, you know, in the show is together.

00:34:05.134 --> 00:34:07.279
And then our friend Erin, my mom used to watch our friend Erin,

00:34:07.934 --> 00:34:11.494
and then her mom would work like really late, like 6.30, 7 o'clock.

00:34:11.494 --> 00:34:16.624
And I can only imagine like her coming home from at 7 o'clock at night.

00:34:16.624 --> 00:34:18.614
And we're like, get in the basement. You got to see the show.

00:34:24.288 --> 00:34:29.082
Ah, the 80s were a simpler time. Oh my gosh. I mean, it was just so much playing and so much singing.

00:34:29.082 --> 00:34:35.962
So, you know, and if you ask the students, I mean, like my students,

00:34:35.962 --> 00:34:41.552
I sing all the time in the classroom. I sing to them. I make songs up.

00:34:42.372 --> 00:34:45.341
It's always some sort of a show.

00:34:46.231 --> 00:34:52.047
Yeah. So I don't know. I guess I'd have to narrow down my one go-to karaoke song. Hmm.

00:34:52.842 --> 00:34:58.712
Yeah. Interesting. what's yours again uh listen uh i i i have a number of choices

00:34:58.712 --> 00:35:03.162
but i definitely would go with uh the humpty dance by digital underground it's

00:35:03.162 --> 00:35:07.330
more of a rap than it is i mean that's it that's true that's an absolute jam yeah um.

00:35:09.379 --> 00:35:15.052
Just you know because it's classic um but no we will be going back to um the

00:35:15.052 --> 00:35:16.164
new jersey hall of fame um,

00:35:17.308 --> 00:35:22.542
and i also you know a quick shout out to nick ferroni who I know works with

00:35:22.542 --> 00:35:25.406
them and does some social media posting and publicity with them,

00:35:26.472 --> 00:35:30.762
who introduced us to some people, specifically Allie, who helped us out with

00:35:30.762 --> 00:35:33.532
Isaac and the team that's over there. And yeah,

00:35:34.776 --> 00:35:37.850
This was just like, hey, you guys are a New Jersey podcast. You guys,

00:35:37.850 --> 00:35:40.380
you know, are trying to help parents and teachers. We have a cool space.

00:35:40.380 --> 00:35:43.199
Why don't you come and use it? And we were like, sure.

00:35:44.708 --> 00:35:48.420
And that's kind of literally how it happened. And it's so cool.

00:35:48.740 --> 00:35:52.220
And Jessica Hawk for coming and. Oh, my God. Yeah, we forgot about that. Like what?

00:35:53.305 --> 00:35:57.640
That episode that we did with Jessica was just like, you know,

00:35:58.020 --> 00:36:01.060
that was our like tech reset month where we did an episode with her.

00:36:01.060 --> 00:36:03.100
That is a fantastic episode. It is.

00:36:03.820 --> 00:36:06.740
A lot of our clips from that got a lot of traction on social media, too.

00:36:06.740 --> 00:36:11.040
But, like, you know, Jess is such a wealth of knowledge, even though she is

00:36:11.040 --> 00:36:16.520
a retired teacher, but she is on the pulse of, like, legislation as well as,

00:36:17.100 --> 00:36:20.570
you know, the changing landscape of education and what the classroom looks like.

00:36:20.570 --> 00:36:24.530
Like, she's really a knowledgeable person and very passionate about our job.

00:36:24.530 --> 00:36:28.520
And just so, like, what a great, great conversation we had with her.

00:36:28.520 --> 00:36:29.910
It's really, really was great.

00:36:30.258 --> 00:36:32.604
And her hair. It's everything. Yeah, it's everything.

00:36:34.194 --> 00:36:39.160
I mean, Mars LaPousse and the Tech Reset episodes, you know, that really,

00:36:39.700 --> 00:36:43.830
those really, that series struck a chord with so many people because we are

00:36:43.830 --> 00:36:48.190
really feeling the effects of, you know, the last, you know,

00:36:48.649 --> 00:36:53.960
10, 15 years of smartphones and now with social media and,

00:36:54.660 --> 00:36:59.299
you know, the last maybe five, six, seven years, COVID, post-COVID.

00:36:59.746 --> 00:37:04.768
Pandemic, post-pandemic, with, you know, having so many computers and devices in schools.

00:37:05.360 --> 00:37:09.100
And that series was definitely... Well, and the pullback, too,

00:37:09.100 --> 00:37:13.480
the districts that are pulling back. Yes. You know, we had Marcy on from California

00:37:13.480 --> 00:37:16.920
who talked about, I think this was Los Angeles Unified School District that

00:37:16.920 --> 00:37:19.540
she was in, you know, teaching in an AP class.

00:37:19.580 --> 00:37:21.720
It was like, yeah, put the devices away.

00:37:22.160 --> 00:37:25.167
We're not doing it. That's right. And...

00:37:26.159 --> 00:37:30.725
You know, it was a lot of districts are doing that. They're going back to carts

00:37:30.725 --> 00:37:32.365
or pulling back, you know, devices.

00:37:33.465 --> 00:37:38.595
Also the expense to generally. Yeah. Being more more aware of screen time and

00:37:38.595 --> 00:37:40.248
the contribution that school has to that.

00:37:41.409 --> 00:37:45.175
You know, navigating the space of all these different AI tools and how to make

00:37:45.175 --> 00:37:49.915
sure that they're properly used ethically in the classroom, which can which

00:37:49.915 --> 00:37:51.788
is a whole other conversation for another time.

00:37:52.745 --> 00:37:57.511
I recently had a student who asked me, like, what's your favorite AI platform?

00:37:58.387 --> 00:38:00.245
Yeah. I said, huh? Clippy.

00:38:01.125 --> 00:38:09.735
I said, I'm still, you know, still trying not to use it as much, you know? Me too.

00:38:10.265 --> 00:38:13.022
I don't, you know, but then, and then every once in a while,

00:38:13.260 --> 00:38:16.215
someone will say something like, oh, right, I could, you know,

00:38:16.215 --> 00:38:23.349
so I think I've been like that really always with tech. It's, you know, I like to know.

00:38:23.738 --> 00:38:27.315
I like to be in the know. I like to be able to use it, figure it out,

00:38:27.315 --> 00:38:31.765
see how it's applicable, and then also not, which is my approach in my classroom, I think.

00:38:31.765 --> 00:38:34.695
And I've always been, you know, someone who, like, yes, we're going to do it,

00:38:34.695 --> 00:38:38.615
but it's not exclusive, which is also why, and I'm sure that there are lots

00:38:38.615 --> 00:38:44.155
of teachers who agree with me, I don't like to be prescribed what I have to do.

00:38:44.155 --> 00:38:47.525
Like, don't tell me what is right for my classroom. I agree.

00:38:47.565 --> 00:38:54.899
Don't tell me that I have to or don't have to based on a day of the week or a time amount.

00:38:56.145 --> 00:39:01.225
I may not suit every class, every child, right? And when we talk about differentiating,

00:39:01.225 --> 00:39:06.065
that is another piece of it. Not every kid or group of kids can handle the same thing.

00:39:06.379 --> 00:39:14.367
And if I am the professional, I should be able to use my professional discretion and experience. Yep.

00:39:15.737 --> 00:39:20.071
Agreed. Right? I know. For sure. Yes. We've talked about this a few times and

00:39:20.071 --> 00:39:24.371
we both, we have, we are both on the same side of that. So, and of course,

00:39:24.371 --> 00:39:27.401
teacher pay with Kay, you know, she's a great guest.

00:39:27.781 --> 00:39:31.655
Yeah. We're going to, you know, we're definitely going to start off our season.

00:39:33.234 --> 00:39:36.981
Talk about being well-read and well-informed. And we got, we got to talk about

00:39:36.981 --> 00:39:38.921
school funding, something we haven't talked about.

00:39:38.921 --> 00:39:43.361
I think that's a topic in season four, because like, I mean,

00:39:43.361 --> 00:39:47.731
districts across the country are cutting positions and, you know,

00:39:47.731 --> 00:39:50.921
getting rid of afterschool programs, varsity sports.

00:39:52.217 --> 00:39:56.051
Even bussing. Yeah. So you can't have afterschool activities because you can't

00:39:56.051 --> 00:40:00.021
take the bus home. Yeah, because of the changing landscape of what it's like.

00:40:00.021 --> 00:40:02.641
And, you know, some districts are like, oh, your parents are going to have to

00:40:02.641 --> 00:40:05.386
pay $100 for freshman sports. And some parents can't pay that.

00:40:07.540 --> 00:40:11.870
And I think that those, that's a big talk.

00:40:12.421 --> 00:40:16.201
It's not a topic that we've shied away from, but I don't think that Jamie and,

00:40:16.851 --> 00:40:19.891
I, Jamie and I really just haven't been in the like, hey, we got to do a little

00:40:19.891 --> 00:40:23.931
research and read up on this a little bit more to kind of be more in the know about it.

00:40:23.931 --> 00:40:30.111
But it's going to directly affect, you know, the biggest wave that I see coming

00:40:30.111 --> 00:40:34.115
that I think we're going to have to fight as a profession is class size.

00:40:34.330 --> 00:40:38.971
We have to start looking at it's not, you know, yeah, technology is important

00:40:38.971 --> 00:40:40.981
and screen time and all that stuff. I get I get that.

00:40:41.341 --> 00:40:45.421
It is very important, but like class size is going to start becoming like a

00:40:45.421 --> 00:40:50.441
thing when we're, when we're, when we're packing 25, 28 kids in an AP English

00:40:50.441 --> 00:40:56.010
class and expecting it in multiple AP English classes. And then we are expecting a teacher.

00:40:56.573 --> 00:40:59.381
And I'm not saying this is specific to our district. I'm just saying like other

00:40:59.381 --> 00:41:02.241
teachers that I talk to that I, that I know that are like, yeah,

00:41:02.241 --> 00:41:06.738
I have 25 kids in my AP class. Like, first of all, how many of them actually belong in AP? Yeah.

00:41:08.090 --> 00:41:12.774
Second of all, how on God's green earth can you manage that workload?

00:41:12.977 --> 00:41:21.633
That is, it's untenable. It's impossible to teach writing and give individualized feedback.

00:41:21.755 --> 00:41:24.278
And then you're talking about, well, we could just do batch feedback using an

00:41:24.278 --> 00:41:31.878
AI tool or Brisk or ChatGPT. Like, no, like that's not viable, ready feedback.

00:41:32.830 --> 00:41:36.058
We're asking teachers to do more than they can actually do. But then we're saying,

00:41:36.058 --> 00:41:38.868
oh, there's an AI tool that could help you do that. But that's not like,

00:41:38.868 --> 00:41:42.554
that's not authentic to those teachers. They don't want to do that.

00:41:42.745 --> 00:41:46.530
No. And teaching is for people, by people, with people.

00:41:46.757 --> 00:41:52.781
So it takes away at the very root and heart of what makes teaching magic.

00:41:53.977 --> 00:41:58.948
It takes it and it diminishes the power of that. And that's something obviously

00:41:58.948 --> 00:42:04.608
as teacher, teachers, teachers, teachers, we are never going to be on that side

00:42:04.608 --> 00:42:06.370
because we are for teachers. Yeah.

00:42:08.681 --> 00:42:13.328
Let me ask you this. What are, as we transition to the end of our episode and,

00:42:13.328 --> 00:42:17.307
you know, that we start hearing the pomp and circumstance song playing in the background.

00:42:18.218 --> 00:42:23.438
And this episode is actually going to be debuting the day that our children

00:42:23.438 --> 00:42:30.148
are graduating from high school, which is a major monumental moment in and of itself. That's right.

00:42:30.757 --> 00:42:36.179
To look ahead what are you thinking about for season four that you are most looking forward to,

00:42:36.702 --> 00:42:40.408
um of what we've talked about and started to plan let's give the people a little

00:42:40.408 --> 00:42:44.428
tease about what they're going to see next season something that i'm really

00:42:44.428 --> 00:42:50.644
looking forward to next season is um we're going to change up the structure of the show a little bit,

00:42:51.201 --> 00:42:56.168
and have like some very specific segments so that way um our listeners can have

00:42:56.168 --> 00:43:00.778
like a specific uh things that they know are coming that we're going to talk about and then,

00:43:01.938 --> 00:43:03.804
also contribute to.

00:43:04.129 --> 00:43:07.872
And so we would love like more audience participation.

00:43:08.158 --> 00:43:12.638
And so I'm interested in, you know, those two things. Of course,

00:43:12.998 --> 00:43:17.939
I love talking to people, hearing their stories, their experiences.

00:43:18.241 --> 00:43:22.368
And like I said, you know, everybody has a shine and they just leave a little

00:43:22.368 --> 00:43:24.300
bit of that sparkle behind.

00:43:24.602 --> 00:43:29.658
And so I am really looking forward to the dusting of glitter,

00:43:29.658 --> 00:43:35.558
if you will, from the people that are just out there like us every day doing the work.

00:43:37.118 --> 00:43:40.335
And then just leaving something fantastic behind. So how about you?

00:43:40.612 --> 00:43:44.165
I think there's, this is going to sound like a weird one, turning people down.

00:43:45.200 --> 00:43:50.446
Oh, because we are not. No. And I don't mean that to sound humble brag to sound

00:43:50.446 --> 00:43:52.206
to sound like exciting job.

00:43:52.606 --> 00:43:56.129
We have a number of people that are reaching out to us, like be on the show.

00:43:56.397 --> 00:43:59.426
I like, hey, there's this author and this person and this person is sending

00:43:59.426 --> 00:44:03.166
us emails and stuff. And we're like, I don't necessarily know if that's the

00:44:03.166 --> 00:44:04.790
right fit, but thank you for asking.

00:44:05.144 --> 00:44:09.156
And that is it's just weird to be in that position.

00:44:09.156 --> 00:44:12.316
It's wild to be in that position. So, like, I'm not trying to sound arrogant.

00:44:12.316 --> 00:44:16.301
Like you know we're a little show that tries to help as many people as possible

00:44:16.487 --> 00:44:19.122
but that's that's pretty cool to be like hey uh.

00:44:20.691 --> 00:44:23.926
Not right now or maybe reach out in a few months or like there's been a couple

00:44:23.926 --> 00:44:26.806
where it's been like i don't know if that's the right fit where before we would

00:44:26.806 --> 00:44:28.226
have been like there's a guest,

00:44:29.326 --> 00:44:33.786
like we would have been like freaking out um but no we already have like a group

00:44:33.786 --> 00:44:36.880
of people that are lined up right like we want to talk to you about,

00:44:37.804 --> 00:44:43.036
how to change your toilet yeah like anything random sure no problem come on

00:44:43.036 --> 00:44:46.906
but now we have we have we actually have a slate of guests already where you

00:44:46.906 --> 00:44:51.356
know we might have to have more guest spots and change things up a little bit so like jamie and i

00:44:51.780 --> 00:44:53.905
you know that although we know

00:44:54.346 --> 00:44:58.346
although we know that summertime is a place to recharge the batteries and stuff

00:44:58.346 --> 00:45:00.916
like that you know jamie and i are going to be doing a lot of planning behind

00:45:00.916 --> 00:45:06.768
the scenes to make you know the season the next season of our show the best one that we can make it.

00:45:07.192 --> 00:45:11.749
Absolutely. And of course, we will be wildly active on social media all summer.

00:45:11.964 --> 00:45:17.183
You'll see us all summer. TikTok, Instagram, and even Facebook because we are

00:45:17.345 --> 00:45:19.278
moms. Old people, internet. Yes.

00:45:21.199 --> 00:45:23.296
That's what I call it. I'm like, oh, you know, Facebook, old people,

00:45:23.296 --> 00:45:25.306
internet. My students just roll their eyes and laugh at me. I mean,

00:45:25.306 --> 00:45:27.006
the FBI, you know, you got to keep it going.

00:45:27.826 --> 00:45:29.685
So definitely check out and follow along.

00:45:30.586 --> 00:45:33.426
And then go back into the catalog from the pod page, which is,

00:45:33.426 --> 00:45:35.926
of course, linked right on our Instagram and TikTok.

00:45:36.246 --> 00:45:40.163
It'll take you right to our website. And all of the episodes are there as well.

00:45:40.564 --> 00:45:45.826
Absolutely. And, of course, we're going to be interacting with our sponsor, Mr. Vitale. Yeah.

00:45:45.866 --> 00:45:49.986
Yeah, Teachers Insurance Plan Season 3 is brought to you by our presenting sponsor,

00:45:49.986 --> 00:45:51.139
Teachers Insurance Plan.

00:45:51.470 --> 00:45:54.616
Check out their website, which is linked in our episode, for more information

00:45:54.616 --> 00:45:58.796
and to get a quote. Teachers Insurance Plan, auto insurance that brings exclusive

00:45:58.796 --> 00:46:02.656
educator savings and exceptional customer care to New Jersey and Pennsylvania

00:46:02.656 --> 00:46:05.166
educational employees. Yeah.

00:46:06.198 --> 00:46:11.568
I am always excited and honored to do this journey with you.

00:46:11.968 --> 00:46:20.048
I'm pleased that three years ago you listened to my shirtless request to do a podcast.

00:46:21.372 --> 00:46:25.808
And, you know, it's really cool to do this with somebody who is a good friend

00:46:25.808 --> 00:46:30.508
and that whose ability in the classroom I also admire. So thanks for continuing

00:46:30.508 --> 00:46:31.496
to do this journey with me.

00:46:31.705 --> 00:46:37.668
Mr. Vitale, I want to say I appreciate all of your support, especially this year.

00:46:38.168 --> 00:46:43.528
I was here, there, and everywhere, and you always kept that space open for me

00:46:43.528 --> 00:46:46.268
to talk about, cry, freak out,

00:46:47.528 --> 00:46:51.738
and especially during some of the hardest times, moving things,

00:46:51.738 --> 00:46:56.428
scheduling things, changing things, and always making me feel like I was able

00:46:56.428 --> 00:46:59.852
to push something, change something, or not have to show up at all.

00:47:00.194 --> 00:47:05.744
And that is the sign of a true and genuine partner. So I appreciate it very much.

00:47:05.994 --> 00:47:11.508
Anytime, buddy. And so if we didn't mention somebody, like it's like the Academy

00:47:11.508 --> 00:47:14.268
Award speech, like thank you to anyone or any,

00:47:14.748 --> 00:47:19.908
person who's reached out or sponsored us or sent us a guest or helped us talk

00:47:19.908 --> 00:47:24.008
to someone or did a virtual electronic intro or whatever.

00:47:24.748 --> 00:47:28.388
You know, we we are excited about this journey and we couldn't do this type

00:47:28.388 --> 00:47:29.388
of stuff without you guys.

00:47:30.068 --> 00:47:34.960
And the most important thing that I learned is that you can get mono from a cow. You would know.

00:47:37.928 --> 00:47:41.228
Yes. Still my favorite moment from this season, hands down.

00:47:42.926 --> 00:47:49.428
So listen, we won't see, we will see everybody in September in season four of

00:47:49.428 --> 00:47:51.425
the Bouncing Act podcast. Yeah.