MODERN ATHENAS Episode 26: Educating Esme / Navigating Life as a First Year Teacher

MODERN ATHENAS

Esme Raji Codell's book, Educating Esme, is about her first year teaching fifth grade in a rough and tumble area of Chicago. Esme takes the reader along during the summer before her teaching career starts, as she accepts a position in a new public school. Esme has the tireless energy of all young, new teachers and a deep-rooted belief that no matter what, it is the students that matter. As you listen to her classroom tales, you can’t help but draw parallels between Esme and her classroom, and new leaders and their teams in the workplace. The lessons are the same, and the results are predictable: leaders succeed when they own everything about their job and their team, and the team succeeds when the leader is engaged and the team is invested in the mission.
INDEX
0:00 Intro and Background of the Book
1:54 Why Did They Hire Me?
6:32 The Fairy Tale Festival Proposal
10:54 The Late Night Calls
18:37 Reframing and Finding Creative Solutions
33:13 Inventors
37:12 Greek Gods
39:50 Cajun Christmas
42:36 Read Aloud Time
45:03 We Aren’t Here to be Liked
48:43 Teacher’s Meetings
52:46 When the Team Doesn’t Perform
56:02 Storytelling Festival
1:01:31 How Do I Know I Am Doing It Right?
1:03:06 Outro and Next Episode
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