Teachers' Lounge

An Ottawa teacher helping her special ed students transition to college | Teachers' Lounge Podcast

On a new Teachers’ Lounge Podcast, an Ottawa High School special education teacher helping her students transition to college…from knowing their rights to picking their classes.

How an NIU music educator teaches music like a language | Teachers' Lounge Podcast

On Teachers’ Lounge, it's Ann Montzka Smelser.She's the Director of the Suzuki Strings Program at Northern Illinois University.Ann’s a practitioner of what’s called “the Suzuki method of music learning.” It’s based on the idea that music talent isn’t inherent, it’s something that’s nurtured through positive encouragement.

A Crystal Lake teacher's adventure across Illinois | Teachers' Lounge podcast

On a new Teachers' Lounge, Bob Chikos! He’s a special education teacher at Crystal Lake Central High School.He's involved in education policy at the state level, working on reports about the teacher pipeline and school psychologist shortages.Bob also recently took a fascinating trip around Illinois

The Four Freedoms and Beyond | Teachers' Lounge Classic

We're revisiting our 2022 chat with Princeton middle school social studies teacher David Gray.He and his students worked on a project called “The Four Freedoms & Beyond," based on President Franklin Roosevelt’s 1941 State of the Union speech just before the U.S. entered World War II.

An Illinois superintendent says public education is a gift not to take for granted | Teachers' Lounge Podcast

A fateful trip to Haiti showed Vienna superintendent Joshua Stafford why public education is a gift. We also talked about the history of education in America, standardized testing, school safety, and his recent journey to Singapore through the Fulbright program.