EduCatered: Season Finale

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Thanks again to BetterHelp for sponsoring this episode. Hey, come on in. Welcome to Educator, a podcast that’s catered to educators. I’m your host, Shani, and gettingsmart, food, education, and innovation

are at the heart of our recipe. This podcast mixes it all together to get to know teachers that are doing the work and making a difference. We start with the appetizer.

What makes these educators unique? Then to the main course, stories and experiences that have helped to shape their practice. Finally, dessert, some tips for what you can do next, creating a future of learning that works for everyone.

Let’s dig in. Thanks for joining us for our special season finale of Educated. I’m the producer, Mason, and today I’m joined by your top shelf host, Shani,

and one guest we just couldn’t quite shake, Victoria Andrews. Ladies, good afternoon. Hey, Mason. Mason, how’s it going?

Good to see you both. For our listeners, Victoria was a guest on Educated months ago, and afterwards, we added her to the Getting Smart team. So now we get to see her a heck of a lot more,

which is wonderful. And I’m happy to be here. So glad to hear that. Shani, I’m gonna start you off with the question that you’ve asked a lot and never told.

You had to add a recipe to a cookbook. What would it be? Gosh, this is so much easier when I’m on the other side of the mic, and I won’t be like Victoria

and give you like a slew of tacos like she did when she was on our pod in Austin. But I will kind of answer in a non-traditional way, and I’m gonna call this recipe Wednesday, and here’s why, because it’s not just like one set recipe.

However, it does revoke like a feeling of recipes. As I was growing up, every Wednesday in my grandparents’ house, where I lived at the time, but in my grandparents’ house, we had beans, like literally no matter what, we had some kind of beans.

So like a navy bean or not lima bean, but just, you know, great northern, and it was such a staple in our lives. And then on top of that, we had it with like a fried chicken or some sort of meat.

So I’m going to call this recipe Wednesday, and I’m going to make it with great northern beans, fried chicken, cornbread for the drink. I’m gonna have Kool-Aid, and it’s gonna be red or purple.

And for the dessert, right, for the dessert, I’m gonna have some sort of sandwich cookie. And I’m not a big dessert fan, but the sandwich cookies and the Kool-Aid just hits a little bit differently. So I’m going to incorporate Wednesday.

I love that. That is a beautiful answer. Thank you, Shawnee. Now, the Getting Smart team knows that you don’t enjoy when there’s two different meats in the same meal.

I’m curious, are the beans cooked with like a ham bone or anything? Thank you, Mason. That is an interesting question and an important one because yes, it is.

And so, surprisingly, no one. I’m very careful to eat around the meat of the beans. And so just like, so it always takes me a little longer. I’m always the last one at the table because I’m very discerning in how I’m eating

and I’m making sure that my food, that it doesn’t touch. So it’s a process, but I still enjoy it all the same. Thank you for that clarity. I think that’ll really help our listeners when they’re eating and know how to feel more like Shawnee

and just leave most of the flavorful parts and then just go with the beans. That’s good. It really is, it really is. Now, Victoria, I’d ask you, but we already know your tacos,

but if you had to add a recipe that’s not a taco because you’re not an Austin now, do you have one? I do. So the holidays, and I’m considering the holidays, like Thanksgiving all the way to New Year’s

are a lot of soups in my family. And like the two main soups, because anybody knows when I asked a question, I can’t just choose one thing. So gumbo, my mother is from New Orleans,

I mean, not New Orleans, Louisiana. She’ll kill me if I said that. Louisiana, and it’s a seafood gumbo. So it has soft shell crab. It has shrimp, it has some sausage, all of that.

She doesn’t put okra in it because she’s allergic, but that’s her issue. But everybody else loves it. And she’s great, she makes a vat of it. And so people, they know that when she makes it,

it’s great and people always want it. And the other thing that she makes that I would put in a recipe book would be clam chowder. Again, seafood, lots of clam. She even throws some, I think bacon in there.

She knows I’m pescatarian and she was like, I know you wanna make this recipe. You gotta throw bacon in there, get over it. It’s potatoes, some bacon bits on top, cheese, super creamy. So those would be the two that I add

because when I think of those two, when I think of the holidays, and I think of this time of year, I think of those two soups. Amazing.

Now listeners, if you’re having people over this holiday or afterwards for a dinner party, I would not refer to their allergy as their issue. So just take notes on Victoria there on what not to say about loved ones with allergies.

But thank you for sharing those. Well, to anybody like that, but my mom because she knows I’m okay, she’s okay with that. I’m just teasing you, that’s great.

All right, so to carry the theme forward a little bit, I was thinking about before this episode, and obviously through this whole podcast, we’ve been running this food theme, a kind of education leadership self-care theme.

And so I started to think about how setting a table is very similar to maybe setting up a classroom. Both of you have been in a classroom at various points in your lives and in varying capacities. And you want everyone to have what they need,

what they want, and also to set the right tone for belonging, conversation, et cetera. So I got a couple of questions to sort of help set your scenes. First one’s gonna be food related,

and then I’ll ask it again in a classroom capacity. So you’re having a food-based gathering What music are you gonna play? Ooh, Mason, oh, Mason, this is a tough one. Gosh, it really depends on the vibe,

but it’s probably, it’s gonna be a mix, and it’s gonna be old school, of course. And it’s gonna have probably some brandy, some Monica, maybe even some Latifa, the queen. And then, you know, probably some Tupac Biggie.

So just literally just like a mix of all the songs that people know and love and can just vibe to, and just, you know, that are just like instantly recognizable by the time the first beat drops. When you said old school, I was like,

you come in with like Schubert? You’ve got a BC behind you. I don’t know how far back you’re going here, but. We’re going like Boy is Mine, and like, you know, those kind of old school.

Yeah, got it, okay. That is probably a more conventional old school. Yo, Sam. Hey, my bad. All right, Victoria, how about you?

I think it depends on who’s coming. So like, if it’s friends, and I have different groups of friends. So if it’s like my teacher friend, education friend group,

and I’ve known them for like over 10 years, then I just want something that’s kind of mellow in the background. So I’m probably gonna pronounce their name wrong. Kirkubon, Kirkubing.

Crungbin, or yeah. I’ll put a link in the notes and we’ll challenge our listeners to say the name. Group knows that they can’t pronounce their name, right? But something chill like them

with like maybe some Alex Eisley or some like Leon Bridges. So something where we can talk, but it’s like, oh, I kind of know this song. Or I might enter, you know,

somebody that may not be familiar, so it can be introduced. But then if it’s friends, like I have a group of friends, like from church and just from neighborhoods and stuff like that.

So them, oh, we’re playing. I’m playing Beyonce. I know they’re sick of me. I’m not even a part of the hive, but they’re sick of me. I’m playing Renaissance.

I’m playing like, Shani said, some old school R&B 90s. So Jagged Edge, 112, Jodicy. And then mixed in with some like even further old school of like Eisley Brothers and like Marvin Gaye.

So just like everybody, it just evokes like good times. It’s familiar. I want everybody to like relax and chill out. Beautiful. All right, I may have to get you both to make some playlists

to share with the listeners. We’ll see. No need to make. Yeah, I figured that you might already have one. Victoria does stay ready.

All right, so same question, but for setting the tone in a classroom, I feel like music plays some role in a classroom, depending on the teacher more. But I’m curious if you were to welcome students

into the classroom, what are you playing? I don’t know. I’m gonna think about this for a second, Mason. I’m ready. Yeah, go ahead, Victoria.

Okay, so I was fortunate enough to teach like elementary, middle and high school. So elementary school, they surprisingly like classical music. Like they like this, cause they can’t sing to it and they’re just,

and everything is like new to them and they would be very chill. And then middle school students, they like something that they can kind of know the words to, if people break on the song, you’re not totally irritated.

So it was like whatever we were listening to in 2009 and 10, that was appropriate. And then in high school was different because everybody had their cell phones in their own playlist.

So we would either let, I would let students listen to their AirPods or their, yeah, it was AirPods by then. Or like I would let somebody share their playlist. And then you got to know a student more

because it was like, oh, you like this music? I would have never thought that. So that was, I remember that and I liked that. So. Yeah, I’m still thinking a little bit,

but I do like love the notion of introducing students to music that maybe they wouldn’t normally listen to. And one of the things that I absolutely love is Broadway. And so, and I know there are like some different vibes at Broadway, but just like in the Heights or Hamilton

or even something like, okay, not all of rent is appropriate, but rent and, so like are legally blind. So just really kind of introducing them to those genres. But then also connecting them back to still Broadway, but like the new one like in Juliet

where it’s all very common songs, but just like reworked a different way. And so helping them to understand like, oh, I can love these songs, but I can also hear them in a different way.

That’s also very cool. And so, while normally I may hear them as like R&B, but if I hear like the acoustic version, maybe that’s something cool. So just really expanding their musical vocabulary.

But I think I would go with Broadway. Love it. Got some diverse classroom playlists here. So they can find anything they need in that group. All right, next question.

Gonna go to back to the dinner table. What is your go-to conversation starter with people at dinner? I know it’ll vary depending on if it’s new people or familiar people, but for the sake of this,

let’s say you don’t know the people super well. Where are you starting? Oh gosh, I feel like I’m gonna be judged for these. Oh, thank you. For anyone who wasn’t already where the goal was

to make sure Victoria was judged by the end of this episode. With that, we’ll let Victoria answer first. Oh my gosh. Okay, so I love things that kind of make people think,

but also make people or catch people off guard. And if people have been out to eat with me, these are questions that I have asked. And we can, like people get, they get, they are passionate about it.

So like top two, one is if you had to be an heiress to like some kind of product, what would it be? And so you hear people to like 3M or the Kellogg’s or like I would like my family to be known for like, bluebies.

And then you hear like the reasoning and you hear what people are tied to. Some people make their like choice about money. Some people make it about legacy. Some people make it about like the most silliest thing.

Like somebody’s like, I wanna be, you know, a porta potty guy or you know, whatever it is. So I love that question, especially for people I don’t know. And then the other one is if you had to have a food court with five eateries and you had to eat there

for the rest of your life, what five would they be? Again, I think it’s very telling. I like food. You still have to pay for the food. It’s not unlimited.

You still have to pay for it, but it’s the only place you can eat and you can invite people to your food court, but those are my top two. Okay, so my icebreaker, and I’m assuming this is at my house.

And so I’m a really big game player, not like I play games, but like we play games. Like, okay, I do play games, but in this pretty good case, I’m talking about board games. And so I feel like that’s a really great icebreaker

in conversation starter when people don’t really know each other, just like jumping to a game. And then all kind of shenanigans ensue. And you learn so much about someone very quickly.

And then after the game is over, you’re already laughing because you’ve had a good time and now you connected and you’re kind of re-re-re-reminicing hard work, obviously, on the game that you just played. And it’s just like kind of starts the conversation flowing.

So I really love doing that. And then also because I’m such a huge sports person, regardless of the sport, I also love to start conversations that way, but it can get pretty, the device up pretty fast,

just depending, because if they’re not a cheese fan, I don’t know why they’re at my house. Or like if they want to KU or something, I also don’t know why they’re at my house.

And so, you know… Just shedding listeners right now. Yeah. I’m sorry, I would try to get you back, but I don’t know why you’re at my house.

So, so yeah, so you just starting with like a fun board game or talking about sports. It’s kind of some easy wins. Beautiful.

Okay, so now let’s take it to the classroom. What was a classroom icebreaker activity that you all employed in the past? Well, while Victoria is humming, I know, and this is a good question

because I truly believe in building relationships. But those relationships didn’t start when they came into my classroom, because obviously when you’re an educator in a building, all the students are yours.

And so, and I firmly believe that. So every day, you know, like when class was about to start or something, I would be at my door to make sure that I welcomed everyone,

but I also welcomed everyone who was walking down the hall on the way to their class. And so they knew me and they were familiar. And so when they came to my class, they were no longer strangers

because I say hi to them so many times. And so that was kind of a natural icebreaker. And then when they came to the class, it was really important that not only did I get to know them, but I also allowed them to get to know me.

And so we just had like some general conversations about fun things and a lot, you know, that people already know, like, you know, tell me something about yourself that, you know, people wouldn’t normally know

or just like the normal like two truths and a lie. But just making sure for me anyway, that the initial icebreakers were there, but also making sure that I continue, quote unquote, those icebreakers throughout the semester

and the year so I can continuously understand who they were. But most importantly, just making sure that the first time they met me wasn’t when they walked into my classroom. Very similar in that they were just hanging out and about.

So I would see students, whether it’s at recess, back when I was in elementary or even in middle school, just seeing them and knowing them and trying to get to know them. Like you said before, so that when they finally did get,

I taught at a K through eight school. So when I was a sixth grade teacher, so then it was like, oh, I’ve been seeing you for like three years, Miss Andrews. So finally I’m in your class

or I would have a lot of little brothers and sisters. So it’s like, I’ve heard about you. And I’m like, what’d you hear? And so most of the time I was good. Then there’s always, you know, a couple of haters.

So, but it’s, my philosophy on, or my, how I approach ice breakers has changed so much since when I was in the classroom. Now I don’t know, like I did the two truths and a lie as like, and it was fun for middle schoolers

and even for high schoolers. I don’t know if I would do that now because it just puts up a lot of pressure on people. So I would try to find something that maybe it’s hard to have, it’s not hard.

It’s just more challenging, I feel like, to find ice breakers that are, where people, you know, feel included, they warm up, they share some things, they feel like they’re connected, they feel like they’re seen and heard,

but also don’t isolate people. Cause everybody doesn’t, like, if you ask me two truths and a lie, I’m like, oh yes, I already know what lies I’m coming up with. But then like for a kid sometimes,

that’s like so much anxiety and pressure. And then they’re like, oh, all of these were true. It’s like, you don’t know how to play the game. It’s like, no. So just finding things that, you know,

where everybody can participate more freely. Cause the overall point is to build a culture of connectedness and that can be done through so many ways. And it’s not just the beginning of the year. It’s all throughout the year,

just little like tidbits about yourself, just so they can feel more connected and see that I’m a human being too. So like if I messed up or if I was running late or if I would, you know, mess up grading or something,

it’s like, hey guys, this is my mistake or I don’t think we’re ready for that. And so to let them know like I’m the teacher, but I’m also just a human being and they needed to see that.

All right. Thank you both. Next question may or may not have a fun answer. I acknowledge this is a place I’ve only been one time in my life and I think I was there on accident.

So what is a surprise must have in a teacher’s lounge? Oh gosh, I don’t know how many times I’ve been to a teacher’s lounge either. Because neither of you drink coffee. I assume coffee would be like the number one thing,

but it’s gotta be a surprise than otherwise. So I think a really good surprise would be just like a really good crush ice machine, like they have a Sonic, just that really just like nugget ice that just holds the coldness of the drink.

I don’t know if a lot of teachers lounge have it. And like I said, I don’t spend, I didn’t spend a lot of time because I made sure that my classroom was equipped for my needs.

However, if I walked into a teacher’s lounge, and that was there. Can we put a pause here? Because what in the world does equipped for your needs mean? Paint the picture.

Paint the picture. I’m gonna paint the picture and it may or may not have been legal, but I may or may not have allegedly had a refrigerator in my room.

Like my own personal refrigerator. Maybe you might have a refrigerator? Well, maybe from like a power of the school standpoint and the danger, you know. So, and I may or may not have also had a microwave in my…

Those are standard fare for me. Wow. Past that, I didn’t really need much. So those are the reasons why you would go to a teacher’s lounge. So, but if there was an amazing ice machine,

then I would have visited regularly to ensure that my drink was well-chilled. Okay. So are we talking about like in a perfect world or like something that’s feasible?

I think it’s feasible. So I’m gonna say like, I think it would… Two things. Surprised to know one. One, like a short order chef, you know.

Somebody like to just… Yeah. Yeah. The number of times you either have to go off campus to grab your lunch or like order something perfectly timed

so it can land in your class or in, you know, during your lunch at the specific time. Sometimes it just didn’t shake out like that. And like I taught pre-eat Uber Eats. I mean, I know it doesn’t seem like that long ago,

but that’s a huge game changer. Like I would have to order the pizza at like 10.30 in order for it to get to campus like at 11.30. But if there was a short order cook, not an elaborate setup,

something very simple in the teacher’s lounge, open for two and a half hours, love it. Victoria, I’m wondering if that’s called the lunch room. No, because I want to custom order what I want. Got it. Okay.

The second thing is like, okay, you know how you’re in the mall and they have those people that’ll do the massages for you in the chair, dream. I would love to do that.

If I walked into the teacher’s lounge and that was there, I would love it. You can only get like five to 10 minutes. Yeah. I think your third one would be probably infinite space

and world peace. Or like your two must haves in the teacher lounge. So you’re onto something, Victoria. That is… Come see me for further options for you to bring.

Yeah, teachers lounge, innovations with Victoria. Perfect. All right. So thank you both. That’s sort of our little segment on classroom

and dinner setups. However, I did want to just kind of end with the couple of things that we typically talk about in an educated episode. So real quick, I’d love to hear from both of you what you each do to find joy every day,

as well as voices from the past year that have resonated with you. They can be educated voices or otherwise. So, Johnny, I’m gonna start with you on the joy question because you think about it a lot.

Yeah, I do think about it a lot. And if people can’t tell from this podcast, one of the things that I do to find joy is I laugh a lot. And a lot of that is because of Victoria and you too, Mason.

And so just laughing a lot just brings me all of the joy. And I also love to dance. And so I just kind of go to a different space and that makes me really happy. And as you all know, poetry is a big thing

at getting smart. And so just reading it and breaking it down and talking about it with others brings me all the joy. And just hanging with little kids, whether it’s the ones that stopped by here uninvited

or even the ones that I see when I go out for the school visits, it truly brings me joy. Victoria and I went to a school in California, Cajun, and we saw the cute little boy who brought us both the joy. And he was a baker and he was like four years old

or something, three or four years old. And he was serving us cookies. And he was the cutest and had like an apron. And he looked up at the line and noticed that he didn’t have enough cookies and informed us

that he was gonna have to slice them and make sure that I stood in line instead of cutting the line. So, and that was really joyful as well. So just being able to go out and see kids and dance

and laugh is those are my gems. Yes, same, very similar. If I can’t laugh in my work, then it’s just, it’s draining. So, and for the longest, I used to feel so bad about that. Thinking that my work had to have some aspect of fun in it,

but knowing like where, like I chose education. So it’s like, that was fun to me. And anything else like has to be, has to have some fun. Like working with children is fun. They will literally say anything at any time.

They keep the weirdest things in their pockets. They get upset about like, it’s just fun. And it’ll, if you don’t allow it to like just enter your life, then you’re trying to control the joy and control the fun. So definitely laughter.

I, Mason and Shawnee are two of the people I probably laugh with quite a bit. There’s some other people on the team that are quite characters as well. But that is something that really brings me a lot of joy

as well as just movement, whether it’s like physical movement. Typically I’m trying to get back into working out and stretching and yoga or walking and taking the stairs. So that actually brings me joy because I’m just able to, I’ve not always been the best to my body.

And so to be able to just treat it well and to move it in the ways that I can brings me a lot of joy. I love to learn and not just like from reading books, but from podcasts, from music, from TV, from articles,

from Twitter. So just learning, whether it’s like a little bit of a tidbit, historical knowledge, political knowledge, learning about myself. So learning brings me a lot of joy.

And then seeing other people learn too. Going on the school tours, working with different administrators in their buildings and seeing how they like they unlock knowledge or how they’re like, ooh, this is something

I’m, you know, that they get excited about, that they want to try. That brings me joy. Even if it was just like I shared an article or just in conversation, you see their eyes light up.

So just knowing, I don’t think it was, you know, I’m the sole contributor to that. But to know that, to see that on their face brings me a lot of joy too. Awesome.

And then finally, the voices that have resonated with you this past year. Some things you love, books, podcasts, somebody you hadn’t met until this year. Go for it.

All the things. First of all, you know, I’m never gonna answer that question without saying something about Chris Aynan because you all know, right? I mean, he’s the guy.

And so to be able to have conversations with him, do the podcast, you know, and then to kind of be with that crew at Big Bang. And when we did the podcast, Shamika, Victoria and I was literally, I mean, if you wanna talk about joy,

that was joy. And so being in those spaces to meet all those different kinds of people is truly the best. And I mean, Mason, we often talk and talk about like how we get to meet so many great people

through this platform that we’re using here, of podcasts and blogs. And it’s truly been just so great. And just not only to be able to build connections within my own community, because we’re here in Kansas City

because we’ve talked to so many people from the space, especially our friends in Notre Dame de Sion or Sion, who have also been on the pod and to like meet them in person and to work with them and then to know them deeper has truly been amazing.

And then just across the country, we’ve, you know, I’ve been able to talk to people from ASU. I’ve been able to talk to people from Ramue. Dr. Tequila Brownie was amazing. And even to talk to like, even some of our partners,

our frequent bloggers like RDP, you know, are in all of the guests that we have from Hawaii and just like truly understanding like people’s cultures and perspectives and diversity and just the way that they care for others

and especially their elders. Like it’s just been a whole journey that I’ve personally been able to be on through podcasts, we’re getting smarter, but specifically educated.

And so just, you know, super thankful for all of these different voices that have helped to influence my thinking on, you know, how other people are thinking, especially educators and just to be able

to amplify those voices that maybe aren’t always heard has just truly been an honor. I’m going to echo the Chris Imnam. Ha. Yeah.

Cherry on the cake. So love learning from him, whether it’s through Instagram or through Twitter, him and Tim Jones, their hip hop on Tuesday nights is great, the dialogue.

Sometimes I’m not able to catch it, but you’re able to like catch the tidbits afterwards. There is, I know, I hate that I can’t remember her name. Her name is Valencia. And she is on Instagram and she was a teacher

for middle school students, language arts and reading. And she left public education and is pursuing her doctoral degree, but she is doing a lot of great research about how students read and comprehend

and even regarding focused and how to recall the information that they’re reading. And I’m going to get her name and I’m going to share it with Mason so he can put it in the call notes because she’s just contagious.

Her energy is contagious. She’s such a bright light and she’s just very transparent and authentic. And she’s even started her own consulting and professional development work

surrounding just reading and knowledge. So I really want to lift up her voice for just being so authentic in all of the shapes that she is in different paths that she’s taken. I really enjoy it.

It’s the students. It’s like, how do we lift up student voices more because they’re doing amazing things that I just, I’m blown away by knowing that students, like I think of like the students that I met in Florida

for my leave to learn. They were learning how to make movies and high production quality movies and they were MCs for events. And so uplifting the programs that support students

to help them be their best selves are also like just people that are in organizations that I want to acknowledge and just think because some people are like, oh, I’m so concerned about the future with kids and stuff. And it’s like, no, they’re fine.

The kids are fine. The kids are just fine. Well, thank you both so much for joining me today and for all of your educated contributions this year. Thank you both for joining us.

And I hope that you have a great end of your year. Thank you, Nathan, for being such a great hope. You bet. All right, we’ll be back next year with season two of Educated.

It’ll be coming to your feeds. And if you have not yet subscribed to Educated, I will put links in the show notes. So thanks so much for listening. Have a good one.

Thanks for tuning in today. We hope you found this conversation inspiring, illuminating and actionable. We love getting to talk with our wide range of guests about what makes us unique, alike and connected.

Know someone who will make a great guest on the podcast? Email mason at gettingsmart.com and don’t forget to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. It really helps to get more people around the table.

Bon appetit.