Today, we welcome author and Minnesota’s 2014 Teacher of the Year Tom Rademacher to the podcast. 

Hosts Donnie and Kathleen talk with Rademacher about his two loves of teaching and writing. His books, It Won’t Be Easy, An Exceedingly Honest (and Slightly Unprofessional) Love Letter to Teaching and Raising Ollie: How My Nonbinary Art-Nerd Kid Changed (Nearly) Everything I Know, combine both those aspects of Rademacher’s work.

Rademacher shares his reflections about the teacher shortage and what has and hasn’t changed for today’s new teachers compared to when he entered the classroom.  

He also discusses how he approaches diversity, equity, and inclusion in his practice as a white male and the need to continue learning. That learning often comes directly from students, he notes. He also mentions how he has learned to give space for others’ sharing and to recognize the amount of time he is the one speaking.

In closing today’s episode, Rademacher talks about how diverse great teachers are and how they don’t all fit the same make or model, but shares a vision for how joy, flexibility, and passion can combine to make a dynamic teacher.

Learn more about the Arizona K12 Center at azk12.org.