Spring Branch ISD Featured News

 

For two Spring Woods High teachers, the intersection of these seemingly unrelated topics was the departure point on a new adventure in podcasting. Welcome to Teacher Jargon, the brainchild of SBISD educators Mallory Lebel and Avery Moore. “The idea of a podcast was a dream of mine,” said Lebel. As to naming the series, she came up with Teacher Jargon.

 

“I like the name because it captures the essence of what the podcast is - just teachers talking about teaching,” said Lebel. “Our target audience is teachers all over the world. We truly want this to be a podcast for teachers by teachers as a way to create a safe community for educators to share their love for education,” said Moore.

 

After running out of exciting content in the True Crime arena, Lebel was looking for a podcast that fit her interests. Lebel’s passionate about education and wanted something inspiring. Unable to find the podcast of her dreams, Lebel did what most do when facing a similar challenge; she decided to create her own.

 

“I just thought to myself, “Well, if I can’t find it, maybe I can create it.” I bounced the idea off my husband and my mom. Both were supportive, and I figured if nothing else, at least they would listen. I ran the idea by Avery who was also supportive. I asked her to be my co-host, and the rest is history,” said Lebel. Podcasts are popping up all over the map and for a good reason. With no to low production investment and a tremendous opportunity for outreach, podcasting appeals to anyone looking to dip their toe into the radio waves.

 

Anywhere access was an ideal fit for the duo – driven by a desire to connect educators on a global scale. Another plus? The limited drain on time from a podcast. “Unlike a blog or videos, podcasts don’t require your full attention. Our listeners are busy, so we wanted to make sure that they can access our content in a way that doesn’t interrupt their day such as on their way to work or in the gym,” said Moore.

 

Both Lebel and Moore believe that educators should be driving the conversation about education. “Frequently, others who are not in the classroom make decisions for educators rather than listening to what we want,” said Moore. “It is time that educators take back their control and their voice both in and outside of the classroom and make decisions for themselves,” said Lebel.

 

Their campus principal, Jennifer Collier, believes in the project too. "I support Mallory and Avery because their podcast has empowered teachers to own their learning, meet their needs, challenge the profession, and enrich the teacher community," said Collier. "It is setting an example to our colleagues and students that your voice is important, it matters, and it can influence positive change."

 

Along with this sharing comes professional learning, personal growth, and asking for help. The entire process embodies the school district's value of collaborative spirit at its core. The pair explores hot topics such as project-based learning, mastery-based grading, and individualized instruction. The response the pair has received has been extremely positive.

 

“We have listeners from several countries,” said Lebel. “We are also especially thankful for the people at our campus and our friends and family who take the time to listen to our podcast every week.” Along with the listeners, the pair was blown away by the willingness of well-known authors and other professionals to be the on-air talent for early episodes. “We had two very well-known authors on some of our early episodes: Julia G. Thompson and Dr. Randy Sprick,” said Moore.

 

“All we did was send an email to them asking if they would take time to talk to us. Not only were other educators willing to talk, but they also took an entire hour out of their day to answer our questions.” While limited cost and audience investment is part of the appeal in podcasting, that doesn’t negate the ultimate price – time. Both educators spend countless hours of their time recording and producing the series. The payoff? “ I feel like this podcast is helping me be a better teacher,” said Lebel.

 

“We love sharing what we know. Just like we educate kids in our classroom, in a way, this podcast allows us to educate other educators and learn at the same time,” said Moore.

 

You can search for and listen to Teacher Jargon on iTunes, Spotify, Podbean, Google Play, and Stitcher. New episodes are released every Monday. Lebel and Moore will be on the dial. Do you have a topic you want to suggest? Share it with Teacher Jargon at teacherjargon@gmail.com.

 

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Submitted by Melissa Wiland, SBISD Communications, melissa.wiland@springbranchisd.com.