Send us a text This episode centers on a discussion about teacher pay, featuring Trina and Dr. Paul Bruno from the University of Illinois. The conversation highlights the complexity and inadequacies of teacher compensation systems, particularly focusing on the disparity in pay between veteran and novice teachers, the rigidity of step and column salary schedules, and the broader socio-economic challenges impacting education funding and teacher retention. Trina emphasizes issues su...

Send us a text In this episode, Amanda and Trina interview Kelvin Mak, a UC Berkeley and Standford educated teacher who quit the profession after only two years due to the oppressive pay system in place in our nation's schools. He reacts to the revelation he learned while listening to the previous epsiode that teachers are only paid a fraction of a complete salary due to the system sexism baked into our profession. Both Amanda and Trina struggle with his decision to leave feeling ...

Send us a text In this introductory episode of 'The Teacher Pay Mess,' Amanda and her co-host, both seasoned educators, delve into the convoluted and problematic structure of teacher pay. They discuss the historical roots of the pay system, which originated in the 18th century, and how it was designed based on sexist assumptions. They also elucidate 'step and column,' the mechanism dictating teacher salaries which they argue is archaic and oppressive. Additionally, they touch upon theme...

Send us a text In this episode, Trina introduces a continuation podcast discussing the teacher shortage crisis with Amanda and Dr. Paul Bruno, who co-authored an article attempting to quantify the problem. The discussion touches on the complexity and messiness of the data surrounding teacher shortages due to local control, where each district operates independently with little oversight. Dr. Bruno challenges the terms 'shortage' and 'crisis,' arguing that the data shows more teachers than eve...

Send us a text In this episode, host, Trina English, dives into the complexities of the teacher shortage crisis in the United States. Using AI and a scholarly article by Drs. Tuan Nguyen, Chan Lam, and Paul Bruno as reference points, the discussion touches on teacher job satisfaction, the dangers of accepting simplistic answers, and the lack of comprehensive data on teacher vacancies. The speaker also highlights the uneven distribution of teacher shortages across subject areas and socio...

Send us a text In this episode of the Rebel Teachers Rising Podcast, Trina and Jess host part two of an interview with Theresa Copeland, known on Instagram as True Life. I'm a Teacher. Theresa shares her experiences of facing administrative challenges and being fired despite being an effective educator. They discuss the systemic issues within the K-12 education system, focusing on the lack of support for teachers, poor administrative decisions, and the urgent need for a national governing bod...

Send us a text In this episode of the Rebel Teachers Rising Podcast, hosts interview Theresa Copeland, known on Instagram as 'True Life, I'm a Teacher,' who shares her harrowing story of being fired from her K-12 school. The discussion touches on various themes including teacher autonomy, the challenges of CAN curriculum, the teacher pay mess, and the detrimental effects of school administration's lack of experience and insecurity. Theresa reveals the struggles of maintaining professionalism ...

Send us a text In this episode of the Rebel Teachers Rising Podcast, the hosts continue their introduction to the series, discussing various 'messes' within the K-12 education system in the U.S. They stress the need for a national K-12 educator governing board to address issues like poor literacy rates, ineffective reading curriculums, inequitable working conditions, and the lack of teacher autonomy. The episode highlights the systemic flaws exacerbating these messes, such as income inequalit...

Send us a text In the first episode of the Rebel Teachers Rising Podcast, hosts Trina English, Jessica Martin, and Amanda Werner introduce their mission to create a teacher-led space to address systemic issues in K-12 education. They emphasize that the podcast is apolitical, welcoming diverse perspectives from public and private K-12 teachers nationwide. The hosts discuss their educational philosophies and the motivations behind starting the podcast while highlighting several critical 'messes...