High School English teacher, and author, Kathleen Trace, chats with us about motivating new teachers, changing the narrative around teaching, and pushing through fear.

Kathleen talks about the importance of changing the perception of being a teacher, the excitement of seeing changes in education, and why it’s great to not know all the answers.

Episode Highlights

1:44 – Chatting with Rae about changing the narrative of being a teacher, mentorship, etc.
6:00 – Previewing the episode with Kathleen Trace.
9:34 – Kathleen introduces herself.
10:24 – Kathleen shares a little about her books:
- And the novel Have Mercy (in which one of the main characters is a teacher)
- A Wannabe Teacher’s Guide to Getting Hired, Having Fun, and Staying Sane.
11:28 – Kathleen’s failure: Planning an awesome feedback experience without realizing her students did not know how to provide strong feedback.
15:48 – Kathleen’s success: A student who struggled with writing now being an award-winning journalist.
18:14 – What’s got Kathleen excited about education right now: Starting to see changes in education, versus staying the same. She mentions a cool organization called School Retool.
19:55 – Rae recalls some amazing notes from Episode #33 with LaVonna Roth.
20:58 – Kathleen’s advice for new teachers: Know you are so needed.
23:38 – Discussing how we change the perception of the life of being a teacher, so more people are attracted to the industry.
29:48 – 6 questions answered in 15 seconds or less.
33:24 – How to connect with Kathleen.

Kathleen’s Recommendations

EdTech Tool: Everything Google, docs, teams, forms
Book: I just finished The Other Bolyn Girl, sucker for historical fiction
Who to Follow: @BrewerHM @Justintarte @dintersmith
YouTube/Podcast/Website/Blog: Samantha Fecich
- Check out Episode #38 with Samantha Fecich and a few of her awesome pre-service teachers.
Daily/Weekly/Monthly Routine: I wrote a blog post on new teacher morning musts. Check it out at wannabeteacher.com/7-morning-routine-musts-for-new-teachers
Best piece of advice you’ve ever received: “Don’t take it personally unless it’s good.”