The Broken Copier

Jim and Marcus sit down with Dr. Chris Jones to talk about his run for Governor of Arkansas. After a viral campaign launch video that took Twitter by storm (currently with 5.3 million views), Dr. Jones has been clear that education in Arkansas is a top priority in his campaign. He's got a tough road ahead of him: he's running against Sarah Huckabee Sanders, former White House Press Secretary for President Trump, and daughter of former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. But his calls for empathy, innovation, and systemic change are refreshing for two tired teachers. Dr. Jones shares about his journey in the classroom as a graduate of Morehouse College and MIT, as well as leading a 9th grade Algebra classroom of his own. He shares his vision for education in Arkansas, what he thinks the stakes are for this election, and the impacts that arguments about Critical Race Theory are having on students and teachers. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebrokencopier.substack.com

Jim and Marcus debrief the recent report from The Teacher Salary Project, "Teacher Salaries and Teacher Shortages: The View from the Classroom." They walk through their reactions and experiences around compensation in both rural and urban contexts, and discuss the role they think salary plays in teacher retention from both a systemic and personal lens. Since they recorded the episode on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, they also close with a reflection on how they approach talking about the day with their students, and how as white teachers they think about decolonizing and diversifying their own curriculum beyond single a single holiday or a single month.Link to the report: https://www.teachersalaryproject.org/uploads/1/3/9/1/139153593/tsp-report-final.pdf This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebrokencopier.substack.com

Marcus & Jimmy catch up after all the hustle & bustle of the holidays, and discuss how they're thinking about their jobs in the midst of some really serious questions emerging about the relationship we should have with work itself. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebrokencopier.substack.com

Jim interviews Matt Wright, the Superintendent of the Marked Tree School District. Matt was Jim's principal when he started teaching in 2011, and has been a significant mentor for him throughout his career. In this episode, Matt shares some insight into how he led his district through the transitions around shifts to remote learning during the pandemic, and how he approached some critical decisions as a school and community leader during the onset of COVID-19. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebrokencopier.substack.com

Jim talks with his former Master's thesis advisor, Dr. Patrick Comstock, about his own journey in education and some of his current research on mindfulness in the classroom. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebrokencopier.substack.com

Jim & Marcus return to the conversation about pivoting from remote instruction. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebrokencopier.substack.com

Jimmy, Brandon, and Marcus talk about their goals and mindsets as they go back in person into an uncertain school year. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebrokencopier.substack.com

Jim reconnects with his old college friend and track teammate, Whitney Koch, to talk about her journey in the classroom. Whitney dives into her own process of discovering her love of teaching a few years into her teaching career, some of the people who helped her along the way, and her current efforts teaching high schoolers about sexual health, identity, relationships, and wellness. They also discuss some of the overlap with literacy skills in science classrooms, and how Whitney thinks about her job as a literacy teacher in STEM. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebrokencopier.substack.com

Hosts Jimmy and Brandon dive deeper into their remote learning discussion (since there's a lot to talk about). This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebrokencopier.substack.com

Brandon and Jimmy reflect on their transition to remote learning, how that felt, and the ways in which they had to adapt during the pandemic. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebrokencopier.substack.com