.png)
Rebel Teachers Rising
Even before the pandemic lock-downs, American teachers from sea to shining sea reported a critical shortage of teachers within their ranks, and have watched in horror at the crippling levels of greed, arrogance, apathy, and ignorance at every level of K-12 educational governance. While embattled teachers have continued to try in vain to draw attention to the issues, our leaders have failed to acknowledge the problems at all. But since covid, the nation’s teachers have borne witness to a break neck hastening pace of this downward spiral–and a total avoidance of a conversation from our leaders.
This a-political podcast, created and produced exclusively by teachers, gets into the nitty gritty details of why teachers are leaving the profession in droves, and uncovers huge contributing structural problems baked into the teaching profession which are not discussed or understood even within the K-12 educational world, which also explain why so much of what is done in K-12 is ineffective. These desperate, passionate, highly qualified teachers use this podcast series to insert teachers forcefully into the national conversation about the critical issues plaguing K-12 education, because no one else was letting them in–a fact which belies a central thesis about the roots of the problems discussed throughout the episodes. Listeners will be gripped by the reality that without substantial reforms which empower teachers to lead the work, the inevitable result is a collapse of our very ability to effectively self-govern–a process which they argue is already well underway.
Listen as they describe the problems in teacher pay, teacher preparation requirements, special education, climate and culture, reading instruction, the false promise of existing DEI based frameworks in K-12, and the problems inherent in outsourced canned curriculums. Become a part of the solution as they outline a framework to authentically fix these problems, which require all hands on deck from both inside and outside of K-12 education.
Rebel Teachers Rising
3. Intro to the Mess: True Life I'm a Teacher--Theresa Copeland Tells It Like It Is (part I)
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 while navigating administrative oversight and emphasizes the importance of thoughtfully curated, teacher-driven curricula. The conversation also underlines how teacher autonomy is being eroded, impacting teachers' mental health and the overall quality of education. Part two of the interview will further delve into Theresa's experiences and potential solutions to these systemic issues.
00:00 Introduction to the Podcast and Guest
00:07 Theresa Copeland's Story Begins
00:53 Theresa's Experience with Administration
05:14 Theresa's Instagram Controversy
09:04 The Fallout and Aftermath
22:02 Reflections and Broader Implications
30:47 The Complexity of Teacher Autonomy
31:27 The Role of Standards in Teaching
32:42 Challenges with Canned Curriculum
34:54 Teacher Health and Well-being
36:22 The Importance of Teacherpreneurship
39:09 Issues with Pacing and Curriculum Enforcement
47:11 The Problem with Decision Makers in Education
54:56 The Reading Instruction Dilemma
56:55 Conclusion and Call to Action
www.rebelteachersrising.com
Petition to Save K-12 Schooling and our Precious Democracy!
