TeacherCast

It’s rut time.  The days are running together.  I wear the same type of black pants every day, topped with a similarly dark selection of dull but at-least-they-are-warm shirts.  I yank on a pair of nondescript boots and trudge into another late-winter doldrum day. 

Monday was like that.  It was windy-cold—the worst kind.  Low hanging clouds, thick and blackish, could have been a mirror to my mood—but I did what we all do:  I got up and worked through it with a genuine smile on my face.  Then, after school, I went off to teach my graduate class, calling my husband on the way for a quick hello; after that, I drove back to my office.  I parked and walked in with my hair and coat and schoolbag swirling around in sync with the icy wind and snow. 

I was headed for my scheduled recording of a podcast for TeacherCast.net.  I was whipped; all I wanted, really, was to go home and watch some crappy TV with a bowl of tortilla chips perched on my chest.

And then!  Then!  I got all re-energized.  Because of a simple conversation with a comrade, I was inspired and lively and eager again.

The podcast was recorded with (and by) Jeffrey Bradbury, who is the smart and sassy founder and CEO of TeacherCast.  He records these podcasts with all sorts of different people and sends their voices out into the world.  Jeffrey’s work is admirable, and actually kind of astounding when you think about it, because in addition to being thoughtful and innovative and wise, he’s also a technology coach for his school district and dad to three reallllly young human beings.  Like, triplets.  Eeegads.  That’s a busy dude, there.  

But the two of us got going, and man, we covered some good ground.  We talked about how being a school leader—in any capacity, really, not just a principal—is a complex and tricky job, one that makes you feel simultaneously like you’re suffocating in people and like you’re all alone.  We talked about finding mentors.  About inherent drive.  About being a lead singer, and about being told you’re going to be a different person now that you’re the guy in charge.

It was good stuff. 

Here’s our conversation. 

I’m happy I got to talk to Jeffrey.  We put our minds together to create fabulous professional energy. 

Here’s the thing:  When we’re in the same-pair-of-black-pants-all-week kind of rut, we forget that having an energetic and passionate conversation about our work can make it do-able and awesome.  

Ruts feel deep and vast.  But there’s a cure, for sure… Seek, find, and talk to someone who’s different and new and makes you think really hard about what you believe in—and why you believe in it. 

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