Last updated on 2 May 2020
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interesting humans podcast: episode six
What makes a good teacher? More important, what makes a teacher good? Just as with any professional endeavor there are character habits that lead to mastery. Teaching is no exception. And while there are fantastic teachers everywhere, some rise a bit higher.
The role of teachers today has never been more important yet also has not been as under assault as it is today. Tax cuts riddle school budgets, technology drives adults and kids to distraction, and expectations for how kids achieve has seemingly never been higher. Not to mention the more prevalent occurrence of shootings in schools. So is it a wonder that teachers feel hamstrung to teach with so much going on outside the classroom?
Today’s guest, Tracy Anderson, is a teacher I would have loved. Tracy’s students thrive in today’s educational landscape and she possesses a unique blend of individual talent and commitment that makes her exceptional.
Her career spans 23 years, the past 20 at Ann Arbor’s Community High School. Tracy has taught literature, creative writing and journalism for two decades to students who’ve gone on to excel as adults in life and any number of careers. She is highly regarded by her students, their parents and by the administration. In addition, she is the director of The Communicator, the award-winning, glossy 80-100 page magazine entirely produced by students five times a year. Last year the Communicator won a Pacemaker award for excellence from the National Scholastic Press Association and was up for another award this year.
Tracy is exceptional for two important reasons. First, she is clear on her teaching philosophy. Her clarity of purpose is obvious as we discuss different experiences from her classroom. She is inspired by the premise fundamental to Montessori education that respects the individuality of each student and their learning style and that students’ needs change as they grow.
Second, that respect for every student who comes to her classroom has led Tracy to commit to her career as a student of teaching, always challenging herself to understand the educational process more fully and whatever subject matter through which she is guiding her students.
One of the parts of the conversation I love the most is when she mentions that whatever exercise she has her students do she also does. Moreover, there is an absence of ego in Tracy’s classroom. She talks about several instances where she admits to her students mistakes she made in approach or a question she asks of students. This humility serves as a great example for her students and inspires them.
“I treat them like individuals and like adults. I trust them,” Tracy says,
Armed with a clear sense of fundamentals–she possesses bachelor and masters degrees in teaching as well as a substantial amount of education credits toward her Phd–and with a joie de vivre for young minds, Tracy is a fascinating conversation as well as a lovely person.
Links:
You can find Tracy Anderson here: https://tracyanderson.org/
Detroit Poet Jamaal May’s poem There Are Birds Here
Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way
VOICE, Community High School’s Literary Magazine
I hope you enjoy today’s conversation with Tracy on Interesting Humans.