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ChangED
ChangED is an educator based podcast for Pennsylvania teachers to learn more about the PA STEELS Standards and science in general. It is hosted by Andrew Kuhn and Patrice Semicek.
ChangED
Ryan Reynolds Isn’t Here, But Career Readiness Is
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Ever wish career readiness felt real, local, and within reach for every student? We sit down with Debbie Reynolds, VP of CCA Works at Commonwealth Charter Academy, to unpack how a statewide cyber school built hands‑on pathways that match the economies right outside students’ doors. Debbie’s lived in nineteen homes across multiple states, and those moves shaped a grounded view of what schools share, where they differ, and how to create opportunity that travels well.
We trace the origin of AgWorks in Harrisburg’s farm belt, TechWorks in Western PA’s innovation corridor, and MedWorks in Malvern’s healthcare and pharma hub. Debbie opens the doors to these labs: a K‑12 aquaponics facility that produces a literal ton of lettuce, clinical mannequins and anatomage tables for high‑fidelity healthcare practice, and robot dogs and arms that bring automation to life. Because CCA is cyber, access scales—virtual field trips, shipped STEM kits, and mirrored resources let a student in Erie explore med tech and a learner in Pittsburgh grow produce on a tower without leaving town.
Threaded through the tour is a philosophy that makes pathways stick: normalize failure as feedback, model the risks we ask students to take, and never assume background knowledge. Debbie’s stories—from DC policy work as an Einstein Fellow to running STEM camps in China—show how credibility grows when educators do hard things, then narrate the process. We also tackle union vs. non‑union cultures, funding differences, and the trade‑offs families make between roots and mobility, all with an eye on one outcome: students choosing futures with confidence, not guesswork.
If you care about workforce development, STEM education, CTE, AI and robotics in schools, or just want practical ways to widen access without diluting rigor, this conversation delivers. Subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a review with the one lab or pathway you wish you had in high school. What should every district build next?
Want to send us a show idea or just say hi? Email us at: thechangedpodcast@gmail.com!
Cold Open And Banter On “Turn To”
SPEAKER_03Welcome back to Change Ed. Change Ed. Your favorite podcast to turn into and listen whenever you want to know the 411 when it comes to education. They're doing it.
SPEAKER_01They're turning into it. They're turning into it.
SPEAKER_03Oh yeah. Well, tune, tune.
SPEAKER_01Who turns into a podcast?
SPEAKER_03Oh man, I turn to the podcast.
SPEAKER_01You're like, oh, this is an accidental. Oop, we're gonna go left here into this podcast.
SPEAKER_03And that's what I do. I'm like, let me turn into this one. All the kids are saying it.
SPEAKER_01You don't All the kids? Yeah, you don't. You sound like a pop pop when you say all the kids.
SPEAKER_03You don't talk to your kids about turning into podcasts? I really don't.
SPEAKER_01I am not 95 years old.
SPEAKER_03I would say you should turn down.
SPEAKER_01Turn down the podcast. They should turn down this podcast if you can turn it back already.
SPEAKER_03You should go say that to your kids. They'd be like, wow, mom, you are hip. No, they won't. Anyway, I am Andre Kuhn. Your favorite turn to podcast host.
SPEAKER_01Turn to makes sense. Turn to a podcast host. You don't turn to a podcast.
SPEAKER_03Turn to podcast host. An education consultant from Montgomery County Intermediate Unit. And here with me is everyone's favorite critic.
SPEAKER_01I'm the best, Patrice Semichek critic. Wow. Wow. I you're usually like really slow and like look at me like I have got 12 heads when I introduce myself. But okay. My name's Patrice Semachek, also out of the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit, and I am forever a project consultant.
Meet Debbie Reynolds And CCA Works
SPEAKER_03We have with us today on the show that everyone is turned to. Oh my gosh. A friend of the podcast. We actually connected with this guest in Philadelphia for the National Science Teaching Association conference. I had an opportunity to connect up with her again at the Pennsylvania Science Teaching Association conference in Erie. So this individual will travel. She's not bogged down by geographical location. She helps support science wherever it may be. So welcome to the show, Debbie Reynolds. We are so glad to have you. Thank you.
SPEAKER_00Thanks for having me. Thank you.
SPEAKER_03If you wouldn't mind introducing yourself to the Change Ed Nation and just telling us a little bit about you.
SPEAKER_00Sure. Thanks for having me today. My name is Debbie Reynolds. I am the vice president of our CCA Works programs. I work for Commonwealth Charter Academy. I've worked there since 2020. Started our TechWorks program for CCA back in 2020. It's one of our career readiness workforce development programs to get students involved with all things technology, drones, AI, virtual reality, robotics, manufacturing, anything. So we I built that program. And this past April, I took on the role of the vice president of CCA Works. So now I oversee all of our workforce development programs. So not only the TechWorks program, but we have an AgWorks program out in Harrisburg. Yeah. And then we just built a new one in a Malvern called MedWorks. And so that's close to you guys. And then we're starting to work on some new ones that will open at some point, a TradeWorks, a MediaWorks, and an aviation program. So really excited about all these opportunities. Yeah, it's it's been great. And before that, I've lived all over and I've been a science, math, STEM teacher for my whole teaching career until I came to CCA. That's awesome.
SPEAKER_03Thank you. What was fascinating, which you just alluded to, is that we were talking off-air before we started recording. And you told us that you are at address number 19 in your adult life, which I uh we want to lean into that. Before we do that, though, I'd love for you to tell us a little bit more about your relationship to Ryan Reynolds, the actor, because we'd love to have him on the show. We've been uh reaching out to his his agent, but they're not getting back to so now that you're related to him, how does that work? Can we come to a family function? Wow.
SPEAKER_00I I I will have to talk to him. I would love to bring him on the show with you. Um, but I need to run by, you know, family dynamics first and see. But yeah, I love Ryan. He's awesome.
SPEAKER_01Well, I love the assumption that because someone has the same name as it's spelled the same way. I mean, they're you know I know it is.
A Career In Motion Across States
SPEAKER_00Come on. I do I do like the joke around that. Um, but I'll tell you a fun fact about Reynolds. I was named Debbie Reynolds after the actress Debbie Reynolds. And I ended up marrying a Reynolds, so it ended up being that way of the game. Yeah, well, my name wasn't Debbie Reynolds as my maiden name, but my mom named Debbie. I was like, wait, you were Debbie Reynolds and married a Reynolds? That's crazy. And then I met my husband, and the last name was Reynolds, so it was like my mom knew I was. Your mom had a yeah, yeah, reminiscent. Fun fact.
SPEAKER_01That's awesome.
SPEAKER_03Well, when we were talking before and you were telling us about this, you were spouting off all of these spots that you've lived. And I guess I'm wondering, you've lived in a lot of places, you've seen a lot, you've experienced a lot. What has your involvement in education been like through all of those moves? Did you find your way to education? Have you been in education that whole time? Kind of what does that journey look like for you?
SPEAKER_00Um, I have been in education the whole time that we've moved. Um so I grew up in Texas, went to college in Texas, actually went back and taught in the same district that I graduated from. And another fun fact, my high school science teacher, while I was in college, became an administrator. And so when I graduated college to come back and teach in my district, she actually was my assistant principal at my school. And then she actually introduced me to my husband. So yeah, it was super fun. But anyway, I taught in Texas for about six and a half, seven years. And then my husband is the reason we moved all over the country. He was working for educational software company, and he got in at the beginning of the company growing. And so as they grew, they asked him to take on bigger roles and that involved us moving. So after we left Texas, then we went to Illinois and we were in a suburb outside of Chicago and Hoffman Estates and Schaumburg. So we lived there. My two boys were born in Texas. My daughter was born in Illinois, and then when she was four months old, we found out we were moving to Philadelphia area. So Pennsylvania for the first time. Yeah. And I did get my teaching license in Illinois, but I didn't end up using it because we ended up moving after a year and a half. So we went to Philly area. And so I was teaching in Percumin Valley School District right now. Yes, I taught there for five years. Then we left there and we moved to Minnesota and we lived in Chanhassan. And another fun fact, my neighbor was Prince. Um, yeah, and he used to drive through our neighborhood, and it was hilarious because we had some ladies on my cul-de-sac that were absolutely drop dead gorgeous. And he would drive through in his little purple prowler and he would drive up and you would he would stop and the window would come down and the sunglasses would come down, and then he would like smile at all of us and then he would leave again. So it was it was fun. That was a fun time. That's amazing.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. He probably loved it as much as the ladies did.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it was it was before he got married. Um he did, you know, he didn't do that after that. But um it was it was fun just to say that. And he would open up Paisley Palace in June when the Purple Rain movie had come out, so you could go there and see it. So that was some fun things that we did. And I got my license there, but we moved after that. We went to Florida outside of Jacksonville, and so I taught in Florida at both a private school and at the public school. That was my first foray into high school because I always taught middle school all the time. And I taught high school physical science at the public school. And then we got moved yet again and we came back, and this time we went to Pittsburgh. I started teaching in Pittsburgh, and I was at the same district all the way until 2020 when I came on to CCA. But all the time I've been in mostly middle school, when we went to Pittsburgh, I ran a gifted program. So I built our gifted program at the school I was at, and that was for high school nine to twelve. And I absolutely loved that job so much. It was awesome working with all kinds of students, and then we had a really high Nepali population that were refugees. And I started finding out some of those kids were never identified, and so they started coming to some of the programming, and it was just a really great experience. I finished my career at that district being a STEM supervisor program there. And now we're living in the middle of the state. So when I got this new role to take over the works programs, we're now out in Central PA. So we're gonna be able to do that.
SPEAKER_01You had it to move this time. It was your reason your fault for moving this time. That must have felt nice. Like you've been dragging me everywhere. Let's go.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So it worked out really well. So I work out of both the Harrisburg office and the Shippensburg office. So that's kind of the long story I've taught in every single place, just about, except for Minnesota. That's awesome.
SPEAKER_01I've always said, and this my brain just like totally went somewhere, but I've always said like it's important for people to step outside of their comfort zone and and and teach in different places because it gives you a perspective that someone who has stayed in a district for 20 years has. Uh, because I grew up in Florida, no shock to anybody. I know every episode has to come up, but my experience in Florida is different than an experience in Pennsylvania. And so having those experiences help shape who you are as a teacher. And I think that everyone should have an opportunity to do different things like that, maybe not 19 different places.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. I think it also shapes you as a person too, because if you stay where you've lived your whole life, which a lot of people do, and that's amazing because you get to have roots and your family. I remember when we left the very first time, it was scary because you know, I'm taking two little kids and my husband and we know nobody, and it really solidifies your family unit because you have to really lean on each other because you don't have that network anymore. So it it makes you grow up too.
Union And Non‑Union Cultures Compared
SPEAKER_01I was gonna say the same thing too. I I moved up here. I mean, I had a network family. But they were none of them were really close. So they weren't 45 minutes or an hour or three or four hours away. So I moved up here at 22. I didn't really know anybody. I didn't like it made me grow up real fast. Real fast, right? Like it was it was a really great experience that I think everyone should have an opportunity to at least try one time. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03I'll tell you in my personal experience, I moved a lot as a child. The beginning our moves were uh were promotions for my dad, and then the early 90s hit and he was downsized. So then it was like, okay, we got to find where the job is and we're gonna go to wherever the job is. And it might not might have been a a good fit for the moment, but not a good fit forever. So we moved around a bit. I didn't I can't spread out as far as you did, but we did move around, and with that came a lot of different experiences. And it it actually helps me to understand and appreciate local norms in a different way because I'd be like, no, no, no, that's not how that works. This is what we what we do, and they're like, I we don't even know what you're talking about. Or in Pennsylvania, the big conversation right now is not the Mason Dixon line that's on at the bottom of Pennsylvania, but the Sheets Wawa line that is in the middle of the state. And now that sheets line is Buckeys, it's Buckeys and Buckeys, yeah.
SPEAKER_01And Wawa's creeping over like well, right, now it's getting blurred. I have yet to be to a Bucky's. I feel like I need to do that.
SPEAKER_03Sorry, ADHD by the way. But I guess what I'm saying with with that is that they each have a different experience. You know, when you go into one or you go into the other, you're you're going for a reason. You could be a diehard or because you're looking for that certain something that you can only get at that spot. And you're moving around. I'm curious what were the commonalities that you found that were like these are through and through. It could be in education, it could be in communities, it could be in interactions. But then I'm also curious, what were the differences that you found? What were the things that that maybe shaped who you are now and how you look at education? Because I would imagine that Debbie from Texas thought about it one way, and then you know, Debbie in Chicago a different in Philadelphia, and and it kept evolving to become who you are now, where you're in the central part of Pennsylvania. So you're pulling it all together.
SPEAKER_00So I think a commonality, no matter where you go, is that parents want the best for their kids, no matter what. They may talk to you in a different manner. Some people might be gruff and some people might be sugary, sweet, like the sweetheart thing. But at the end of the day, everybody wants us to do the best job with their kids, no matter where. So I think that's a commonality. And another thing that is a funny thing that's a commonality is insert, you know, uh professional development. You know, all the ones are used through and you're like, oh my gosh, why are we doing this? And then the whole every year there's a new initiative and every, you know, that thing that's everywhere. I think one of the differences I noticed has to do with whether you're a union state or a not a union state. And I've taught in both, and it's really a completely different experience. Yep. People may not realize it, you know, because the obviously the points of the union are to help us get the best pay and the best conditions and things like that. So it creates an environment too where you're not always encouraged to do above and beyond that's not in your contract. And when I was in areas that did not have a union, you saw a lot more of a group of people working together and like more people would come to the dances or the sporting events or stay after and do things because that's just what we did. And it wasn't whether it was intercontract or not. And that's one thing that that was a hard adjustment for me when I left the South and came to the north. That was a big adjustment for me to see the difference in that. Because, you know, like even our principals would have parties and we would all work together as a faculty and have a Christmas party together. And I didn't see that as much in some of my other areas because it was very, you know, we're administrators and you're the teachers. And so I think that's one of the things that that, like I said, I did struggle with that recognizing the value of why we have a union, but also struggling with the fact of, you know, just because it's not written in our contract doesn't mean it shouldn't be done. And that's where I struggled sometimes, if that makes sense what I'm saying. Complete sense.
SPEAKER_01I felt it too.
SPEAKER_03Something we talk a lot about on the podcast is compliance versus best practices. And where do we draw that line as human beings? How do we have good balance in our own lives, a work-life balance? And how do we also make sure that we are showing our our students that we really care? That this is yeah, this is this goes beyond a job for us. But then how do we protect ourselves so that we can be healthy and show them how to be healthy individuals? One of the things I thought was fascinating from what you said that I never really thought about was when you said parents want the best for their kids and that they all express it in a different way. And so again, leaning into there are social norms that change not even per state, but per region. Yeah, depends you know, the the southeastern part of Pennsylvania operates different than the the western part and southwest. And right, they all operate differently. So the mindset of a one size fit all fits all, I imagine, is debunked easily for you when you're like, well, yeah, every every part, every state has something different, but even within that, the communities are different.
SPEAKER_00I'm sure you had a different perspective moving as a student too.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I was just about to ask before you started there.
SPEAKER_00Because I know my kids did for sure. You know, that it was it was harder on them different places than others. Uh-huh. So I imagine you were in the same boat.
Roots, Trade‑Offs, And Parenting Perspectives
SPEAKER_03Yeah, moving moving around as a as a student, it actually really formulated a lot of who I am now as an adult, but even unbeknownst to me was creating the foundation for my educational philosophy as I was going through that process. Seeing different cultures, seeing different interests, seeing different values, but also then trying to find those commonalities. So you know, I've shared this before, but I could see the value of standards because I as I moved around, there was a span of three years where I was in three different states and three different schools. I was progressing each year, but we were reading the same book in ELA. So not that I really read it the first time, but by the second time I was like, I got this. And the third time I was like, oh my gosh, right? Then I might have started to become a problem because I was like, let's do anything else. And so just what does that look like to kind of say, you know, uh in education where we're like, we want to set the bar high for everyone, but we also don't want everyone to be the same. And that can always be a struggle for us in education. But yeah, it was it was fascinating moving around because I didn't get that stuck. And now actually, ironically, as an adult, I've really like dug in my roots and said I want to be in one spot.
unknownInteresting.
SPEAKER_03I am fascinating.
SPEAKER_01I don't know if I'd go that far, but what you said was interesting. I I wonder too, because like my kids are being my kids are in the same school district the entire time. Like they're going to stay where we are because no plans on moving. But I also, having grown up where I grew up, uh, have the fear that they are having a very myopic view. And I wanna I've got to do things to make sure that they don't have that myopic view.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. It's interesting. When you were talking about the union versus non-union states, which thank you for having that conversation.
SPEAKER_01I think that's pretty important for me.
SPEAKER_03I appreciate that.
SPEAKER_01I also don't think people realize just how impactful and important unions are. Because if I was still teaching in Florida, I'd still be making$35,000 after a million years in teaching. Like it's kind of crazy how I think this is probably not where we need to go for this podcast, but uh having been on the negotiation side of the union, I feel like people tend to forget that we are paid really well in the north and that um, yes, working conditions are getting worse or harder or all of the things, but I think sometimes we forget that it could always be worse.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, a hundred percent. Yeah, and that's why I said I wasn't knocking them. I I was just saying it's different, you know.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, no, you made a really good point. It's just different. Yeah. And I feel like too, the resources were different. When I was in Florida, the it was a countywide system. Yeah. And the county were everything. And here it's like you could have one elementary school, one middle school, and high school, and they're all their own little and it's all based on a tax base. So like it's very different in terms of resources. And so to you your both of your points about like changing you don't even have to cross state lines in Pennsylvania to be able to have such a very drastically different experience. Experience. Yeah. 100%.
SPEAKER_03For me, it's it's all about the trade-off. Like there is some trade-off, whatever you end up doing. So just in my own life. So I moved around as a child, kid, student, yeah, person, young person. All of the above. Yes. And there were trade-offs that were made. I, you know, I didn't grow up near family and we found our different communities, all sorts of things that were traded off. So I I don't have a best friend from kindergarten who I grew up with and who I knew. I just have people that I touch base with at different points in my life, and that worked. I made a conscious decision choice for my children that I was like, I want them to be able to have that best friend that they met at some point in their school career, and they grew up with them and they knew them. But that also has its fair number of trade-offs. There are things that my children think or believe because of their lived experience that's different than my philosophy because of my lived experience.
SPEAKER_00I understand exactly what you're saying. But yeah.
SPEAKER_03I think anywhere we go with any part of this, our experiences inform us on not only the past, but really in our beliefs moving forward and going into the future. So we talk a lot about as an educator, it's really beneficial to have an experience outside of even your immediate community, right? To be able to serve students in a different capacity because you learn so much that could really fast forward you in your philosophy, but also your your purpose. And then even later, later in your career, when you're established, to be able to pull back on those memories and say, okay, you know, it might not be the same now, but but what do we what do we learn from that?
Why Pathways Matter In K‑12
SPEAKER_01I think that's also important to note the work that you're doing in all the little like agriculture and the data and the tech and all the things, all the little workforce subcategories you're developing does just what we're talking about. So if I'm in a space where I'm there consistently, I think the cool thing about what you're doing by building all of these subcategories of that works position is that you're providing opportunities for people who may or may not have had them just organically. And I think the work that you're doing by creating multiple versions is a phenomenal thing because you're giving kids an opportunity in a safe space where we don't have to know what we are doing. I know we decided 18 for some reason, but in the safe space to kind of figure out maybe I love ag and I want to go into it because I love cows. And then you get there and you're like, oh, this is not what I thought about. But it's a safe space that allows them to have opportunities and experiences that will still continue to shape who they are as a human in a safe environment that like propels them forward at the same time. So I think it's phenomenal that that's what you guys are doing. My kids would have the opportunity to go to the Western Tech Center here in Montgomery County. I know there are opportunities for them in the Western Center. My oldest is seriously considering going there for. the med track, but I wish I had something like that when I was a kid. Oh, I did too. Yeah. Like I became a teacher because that's that's what my family did, right? And forensics was too hard. Let's be real. Forensics was too hard. I was like, okay. You don't only touch dead bodies so many times before you're like, eh, I think I'm out of here. But I wish I had an opportunity to have an experience that would allow me. Because the experience I had was my mom said, hey, come work in my preschool. And I was like, yep, I guess I'm a teacher. Like this is just how it is. So can you talk a little bit about how you guys decided which categories to go into?
How CCA Chooses Ag, Med, Tech Hubs
Inside AgWorks, MedWorks, And TechWorks
SPEAKER_00Sure. Well first of all, I just want to address one thing that you said about giving the students the opportunities to try out things. I think the word that we left out of that piece is failure. So the kids can fail as well and there's not a consequence. I mean obviously if it's a class, you know, there's a consequence for the grade, but I'm talking about in the works programs if they have a consequence, yeah. If they try something and it's not a good fit for them, then that's okay if they didn't spend time in college spending money or at a tech school or something. So that's another thing that I like. And as far as how the ideas come up, I'm so fortunate our CEO is such a visionary. He's always looking ahead at the future of what's coming down the pike. And he actually started, you know, these programs and the different ideas. And so I I love that. And I'll go, what about this? Okay, try it. And he lets you run with it. And I think that's having that autonomy is is amazing. So the way that these different works programs have been decided is what are the industries in the state that are in the different areas that are present. So central PA is farming and agriculture. So it was natural to put agworks at our Harrisburg location. Out in Western PA, it's technology. I mean we're now one of the tech capitals of the world. So having tech works located there. And then we could have had medworks very easily in Western PA as well because of UPMC and everything. But out in Malvern they put it out there because of all the pharmaceutical companies and the hospital associations and so forth. And so we've just been very intentional about looking at the industries of the different areas across the state and what are the strong industries because our whole goal as a lot of workforce programs are is we want to keep the students here in Pennsylvania. So we want to keep the jobs here. So if you train them here and you help them get certificates here and help them get into programs here, then hopefully they want to stay here. And you know with all of the stuff that's going on with AI and building the new data centers and now with the semiconductors and different things like that, that's going to be another whole area of development that that we need to look into. I mean we are doing AI and stuff already, but just some other things that are coming up down the pike that there's going to be job opportunities here for our learners. And so we want to make sure that we're providing them cutting edge opportunities and technologies and hands-on experiences to do that. So that's what's been really cool. Have you guys had a chance to go to Harrisburg to the Agworks facility? I have not okay well whenever you have a chance I want you to come to all three of them but our aquaponics facility is the largest educational aquaponics facility K to 12 in the country. So it's second to Disney. Wow if you've ever been to Epcot on that ride that water you can get your food that one yes so that's what we have it's all aquaponics, hydroponics, aeroponics that's great. We have the fish tanks everywhere with all of the nutrients coming from the fish to grow the plants we produce our own lettuce crystal my director just said last week that they've actually we always say they make a ton of lettuce but she said this year they've actually produced a ton of lettuce. Wow that's crazy. So it's it's just really amazing. So and then MedWorks is beautiful with we have those actual mannequins that you can they look lifelike that you can do all kinds of different procedures on and we have a phlebotomy station and we have all the microscopes and we have anatomash tables so the kids can learn all the different things. And then techworks we have everything robot dogs, robotic arms. I mean that's not stuff that you normally see in a in a high school in a brick and mortar high school and we're very fortunate like I said my CEO is awesome about what he wants the kids to have experiences on and how we can get that. So that's kind of how we got to all that the long way around.
SPEAKER_01No that's great. That's great. I love it. I love that you're looking locally like where it's at instead of just doing something globally. Like you could easily do farming wherever agriculture wherever but I love that you're targeting I think that's important. The whole point behind the ELIT standards.
SPEAKER_00Well the other thing too is is because of the fact that we're a cyber school, we do have opportunity to do things virtually. So the kids can come in person to these locations and experience some of the activities and the equipment but we also do virtual offerings so that we, you know obviously a learner that's up in Erie can't get to Harrisburg really quickly. So we do virtual field trips. We also send home kits if they're in some of our programs so that they have some of the materials at their house. So they can do things online and get the same experience. And then what we're developing across in all of the programs is opportunity to let's say that you live in Pittsburgh and you're really really interested in ag but that's a tech works facility. We have a grow tower now in Pittsburgh so the kids can come in and actually grow and we can do some stuff with that. And we we got an Adamos table so if there's a student interested in medical they can come to the Pittsburgh office and have some experiences and we've done that at all of the locations. So we're trying to create that opportunity so just because you live at AgWorks you don't you're not stuck doing agriculture.
SPEAKER_03I love that I love that yeah Debbie, because you are related to Ryan and we want to offer to you the second to last final word or final thought for this podcast. But you want a mic drop and this is the thing that you want to drop the mic on.
Cyber Access: Virtual Labs And Kits
SPEAKER_00I would really like to meet Ryan Reynolds. That would be amazing. I'll tell you a couple fun things I know you interviewed Stephanie Clixbull before NSTA. She's one of my friends Stephanie came after me I was the very first Einstein fellow in Washington DC to work for the Navy in 2019 I went to DC for the year and so I was the first one. So they always call me the OG, which is awesome though. But they all are younger than I am but but it's fun. But I that was just an amazing experience until COVID came. But I loved every minute of it. And the other fun thing about me is I got to teach two summers in China. I ran a STEM camp there. And I did that before. So to get back to everything that we've been talking about I think all those experiences just have made me a more well-rounded educator and also gives me a different perspective of, you know, that that's a small thing to worry about. Let's look at this or how you work with different children that don't speak English or they don't understand you or how to have more patience. So different things like that. And then the final thing I think it's helped me do is it's hard if you want to take have your students take a risk if you've never taken a risk. And so I think when you're talking to learners and they're struggling and they don't want to do something or they think it's dumb or it's too hard and you can talk about times that you tried something that was new like flying around the world and you didn't speak the language or I kept telling all my kids to try out for all these programs and they were like well you need to do that. You need to get your masters you know so things like that I think that gives you more great cred with them to say you try it because I did. And I always tell teachers take that risk because it may make your change your life and you may change a student's life by doing that. So I love that.
SPEAKER_01That's perfect. You don't have to say anything else. Okay. I'm talking I'm talking to Andrew not you Debbie. Debbie you can keep going Andrew unless unless doesn't need to do a final talk.
SPEAKER_00Well right maybe we need to put this on a mint mobile commercial with him and maybe he'll see it and then he'll like want to come on the talk.
SPEAKER_03I can replace Andrew it's my cell phone carrier.
SPEAKER_01No no no no we we all have to be on I have to be on it too. Well no you can be it'll be you and me Debbie andrew doesn't need to be here.
SPEAKER_03I mean one of the things we're famous for is keeping everything low budget. We can do that with the podcast no problem. I was really struck by what you just said and I think it's so important for us to remember that a big part of teaching is modeling. So modeling what we're expecting from our students it's hard for them to be able to do it and live into it if it's not being modeled for us. And it looks different for us as adults than it will for them as students but we are able to do that as well. Like if it was modeled for us as students then that's kind of that that base level and then we're we're scaffolding it and we're building up into this what it would look like for you as an adult to be able to do that.
SPEAKER_00With that too I just thought of one other thing that I think is important. There's that assumption factor and I think with you living around all over and me moving all over that changed me a lot because I used to assume that everybody had the same experiences that I had. And I'll never forget I took some students to the ballet and we were sitting there and we got through the whole first act and then it was over and then there was an intermission and then we went to the second one and after the second one some of the girls turned around to me and they said Mrs. Reynolds when are they going to start talking? And that was like the biggest wake up call to me is I should have explained to them what that was going to be like and I just assumed because the fact they were in high school that they knew what a ballet was. And so that's another thing I like to tell teachers is don't assume that everybody's had that same experience in your life. So that completely changed like after that this is what's going to happen. This is what to expect so kind of like what you were saying Andrew it's just we want them to take a risk. We need to model things but we also need to make sure that there's not that assumption part with that as well that they have that background that we haven't scaffold that background. Yeah.
Risk, Failure, And Modeling For Students
SPEAKER_03You know I had never thought of this until you just said what you said about assumption. But I actually believe that I ask more questions because of that because I don't necessarily have a shared common experience with that person. I'm more intrigued to ask questions so I can understand it better. Because I I didn't just grow up in the same area and we're both from the same county and we went to similar schools then then there are a lot more questions to be asked so that we can find that common ground and find that commonality. So that explains why I'm so weird. So thank you for calling that baby I I don't think that's the only reason.
SPEAKER_01I think there's a plethora of reasons.
SPEAKER_03Well listen you you dropped a lot of yeah great nuggets for people wherever you are in your educational experience. I loved how you talked about learning to fail and that's something that we again need to model. We need to model that and what that looks like will be different in each place but how can we model that for our students so they can learn how to learn from failure and see that it's a positive not a negative and two other really big things. One is that we need to seek out perspective it doesn't just find you it doesn't just happen. It's something that we have to intentionally seek out and actually all the time. So was it in Dead Poet Society where they stood up on the desk just to get a different perspective and see the world from a different lens. So I'm saying that because it doesn't require you saying well I guess I'm going to have to move to get that perspective. You can just shift your paradigm a little bit or shift the lens with which you're seeing the world and look at it from a little bit of a different spot and you can gain tremendous perspective by doing that. So it doesn't have to be an interstate move it just could be crossing the street a different way or doing you know something in your routine doing it a little bit differently and it provides a lot of perspective. And lastly for all of our listeners I think the most important thing is that no matter where you go in the continental United States and apparently China as well. Just ask them if they know Debbie Reynolds that will that is your end because everywhere the teacher not the actor. Yeah yeah yeah no one cares about the actor stuff do you know Debbie Reynolds the educator? Thank you again. Thank you for coming on thank you for giving us your time and for all our listeners make sure you continue to turn to this podcast.
SPEAKER_01Like subscribe and share with everyone you know everyone on your Facebook is that still a thing I think on your Facebook social media social media it depends on your age range. Facebook is for older ish people our age all right Instagram I'm I'm young I'm young so I'm on Instagram and TikTok but whatever.
SPEAKER_03Okay. Well make sure you find one of those things that she talked about and share it out and be part of it.
SPEAKER_01I'm sure there's other ones. Final thought stop it last word. Oh my gosh we're done