Ep 100 | Teachers Rock (LITERALLY)!

SPEAKER_01 0:00

I think coming from the Alcert background and not going through a traditional education program in college, you know, I I really feel like my best attribute is my ability to connect with the with the kids. And that my sort of you know, renaissance background of sports and theater and music and singing and art and cre you know, I think all those things, it makes it so that I can connect with a lot of different kinds of of kids.

SPEAKER_00 0:40

Welcome to the Voices United in Education podcast. Each week we showcase the teachers, administrators, and community members who go the extra mile to contribute to the success of every student in Escambi County. You'll meet the real people behind the titles and learn about the amazing resources to support every student's success. We all remember the first time we saw one of our teachers outside of school. Our mouths hung open as ontological shock said in, May Have a Life Outside the School. My next guest students moved from shock to awe when they found out that he not only leaves campus, but he is also in a band. He's the lead singer of the alternative rock band Unicorn Wranglers. And today he's going to share how his unusual hobby has helped him better connect and educate his students. Connecting and communicating, rocking and rolling. Joey Truncalli. Thanks for being here.

SPEAKER_01 1:39

Yeah, thank you. That is a very truthful introduction, I think. It's very fair.

SPEAKER_00 1:44

Isn't it though? I mean, I remember the first time I saw a teacher outside of school and she lived on my block. And I was like, you don't live at the school? What is this madness?

SPEAKER_01 1:54

I think having parents that were educators sort of broke that for me, where they would be, you know, at our house. And it's like, well, this is a little weird, you know, and you're also my teacher.

SPEAKER_00 2:06

The what is that called in theater? The third wall.

SPEAKER_01 2:09

Oh, yes, yeah, definitely.

SPEAKER_00 2:12

Way past the third wall. It's not broken, it's shattered in this case.

SPEAKER_01 2:15

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00 2:16

So you mentioned you come from a family of educators, and your sister's actually been teaching for 20 years, but you were a little bit of the black sheep because you wanted to do either wait for it, broadcasting, or Broadway.

SPEAKER_01 2:29

Yes. Yeah, I think growing up, I love sports. Sometimes I would listen to the sound of music on the way to my sports. So there you go. That's a real I love that's a real embarrassing fact about myself. And uh yeah, you know, I my parents were both guidance counselors, and my sisters both went into education as well, and they're a little bit older than I am. So yeah, I think that for me, I wanted to do probably anything other than that. And so when I was growing up, I was really into sports and sports broadcasting. And for a minute when I was at Virginia Tech, I double majored in communication and in theater. And that was difficult to do, you kind of getting pulled in both directions. And I kind of figured I didn't want to do the struggling actor route. So instead I did the struggling broadcaster route, and it's not that different. Yeah, exactly. So I was at Virginia Tech and I did a lot of like the Olympic sports, volleyball, women's soccer. I knew a lot about women's soccer when I was at Virginia Tech because I was calling women's soccer games on ESPN III online and stuff like that, which was cool.

SPEAKER_00 3:40

That is cool.

SPEAKER_01 3:41

And so when I graduated from Virginia Tech, I graduated a semester earlier, and my first job was with the Blue Oahoos and Pensacola, which was I think maybe their second year or third year, third year, I think, as a minor league team. Uh, we had like a little connection that got me down here. And I called baseball over the summer with Tommy Thrall, who's now broadcasting for the Cincinnati Reds, which is very cool. And I loved it, but it was a lot. I mean, it was a lot of hard work, and you kind of quickly figured out that you were going to be traveling a lot and the baseball season ends, and you gotta go somewhere different. So I went and was doing women's basketball at Radford University, which is very close to Virginia Tech, where I went to school, and so I did that for a couple years, and you know, eventually you start to figure out that it's just a hard industry. And as much as I loved it, I kind of wanted something that was going to help me settle down a little bit. And so I always knew in the back of my mind that I I liked education and I liked working with young people, and I had a pretty important experience actually when I was in Pensacola working in a volleyball camp with my cousin's wife, who was a teacher at Washington at the time. And it was just I had almost more fun in that one week, you know, than I had had the last few years, and I kind of felt like, you know, I I can I think I could do this. I think I have, even if I'm not I haven't done that path up until this point, I think I could be pretty successful with it.

SPEAKER_00 5:18

So then you did the alter alternative certification and took the dive and went and taught in the school.

SPEAKER_01 5:26

Yes. I went through the start program, did the alternative certification, so that was a you know multi-year process, and I just got really lucky to get a job at West Florida, in part because they said, Can you teach theater? I was like, Yeah, sure can. I did that for a while.

SPEAKER_00 5:45

Um I feel like I am already, this is this is cracking me up because I'm already seeing the connections between your varied life experience pre-educator and how that applies in the classroom. Because like as a broadcaster, it's very on your toes, right? You are observing your surroundings and you're calling the plays and theater, yes, and right? The improv and you've got all of that going on in a classroom.

SPEAKER_01 6:15

I do, I know this sounds very cliche and goofy, but I really do feel like I am putting on a little improv every class period. And every class, you know, every audience is a little different when you think about people that because that's a part of being in a show. You're doing what, seven, eight days a week? You're performing the same role. And technically that's kind of what I'm doing. I teach the same class four or five times. I teach another class a couple times, but each audience is different. So you have that interaction that's slightly different, and so it does sort of feel that way.

SPEAKER_00 6:49

You work out your bits. I do, I do.

SPEAKER_01 6:51

Sometimes the bit is perfect on the first go-round, and sometimes it's you know, the third class is like, I got the lap I was looking for there. No, I think you're exactly right. That's how I I did feel that way. Is like I'm combining my theater background, communication, broadcasting, and just my love of educating and and being to, you know, influence young people and putting all those together.

SPEAKER_00 7:16

I really appreciate the combination of the alternative certification teachers blended with the traditional past teachers because I feel like those powers combined. Yeah. You know, that it is such a powerhouse of a resource in the school system because of everything that you're talking about, all of the outsider advantage that you bring into the classroom. And I think the kids, there's an additional energy there, which actually leads me to my next question. I want to hear when they found out that you were in a band. Tell me about that moment.

SPEAKER_01 7:48

So that would have been my uh second year teaching. I kind of kept it under wraps for a while.

SPEAKER_00 7:58

Because you met the band members while working at the Wahoos?

SPEAKER_01 8:01

Yes. Yep. The bassist and and one of the brothers that started the band was someone I worked with at the Wahoos. So I started doing some stuff kind of uh you know tangentially with them around that time. I I honestly could not tell you how that conversation came up with you know, that their band versus me being like, well, I can kind of sing, you know, I could do that, and us kind of combining forces in that moment. But when I got back to Pensacola, it took a minute for me to get into it because I was nervous about the idea of being in a band. Because when I had performed in my you know life, it was a character. I was Will Parker, I wasn't you know, Joey Trincali. And that was different to be up there and be like, this is you now. So that was a little scary, and it took me a minute. And they'll still say I have a little bit of stage fright sometimes. I get a little ornery when I'm uh a little nervous about something. But so when I got going back with it, I remember I was off. I barely took off when I first started teaching, mostly because I didn't know how to get a sub. Um, I was nervous about having to contact anyone or tell them how to do anything with my class. So I was almost always at school. Um, but my family had come down to visit and we were going to Disney. So I took, I took the week or I took the Friday off. And I got a text from uh one of my bandmates who was like, Hey, someone's commenting something from like your class on our Instagram. Oh no. Like, oh boy, oh boy. So that it was sort of found out by a couple boys, and they kept it a secret. Did they really they did? So that was uh impressive. They kept it a secret, they were juniors, it pretty much didn't get out until the next year in the spring, and then the questions just start flooding in, and you're in the middle of talking about the story of an hour and Kate Chopin and someone raises their hand and you're like, Yeah, what's up? And they're like, Are you in a band? And you're just like, Yeah, yeah, that, yep. Doesn't feel like the appropriate time to have that conversation, but yes, I I am.

SPEAKER_00 10:10

If you're like maintain leadership, maintain control of the classroom.

SPEAKER_01 10:14

And uh, you know, most of the kids, they are pretty shocked, they're very surprised. They ask you what you do in the band, then I have to say, well, I'm the lead vocalist. Then they ask the name, then the the unicorn Wranglers gets a chuckle or two. So there's that element of it. And uh, you know, some of them are really interested, and then other ones probably have the, oh, your teacher has something outside of class. This is crazy and ridiculous, and they're probably internally embarrassed about the idea that I could be singing on a you know in a band or I'm on Apple Music and Spotify and things like that, I think is uncomfortable for them sometimes too.

SPEAKER_00 10:55

Oh my gosh. So now that they know, do you feel like it's just managing that knowledge as a distraction, or do you feel like it has a benefit for the classroom?

SPEAKER_01 11:03

Well, I think it's funny because every year um it's it's a week-long experience when it gets out. Right? Like the seniors now know, but the juniors don't. Okay. And then it'll be, you know, mid-October, and you'll get the question, and you'll get that question again in in fourth period, and then in sixth period, and then it gets discussed. And you know, every once in a while you have to kind of, okay, hey, we've got stuff to do. We gotta focus up. But yeah, I think coming from the Alcert background and not going through a traditional education program in college, you know, I I really feel like my best attribute is my ability to connect with the with the kids. And that my sort of you know, renaissance background of sports and theater and music and singing and art and cre you know, I think all those things, it makes it so that I can connect with a lot of different kinds of of kids. So it's not just that, oh, I know sports, so I talk to all the jock kids and whatever, or oh, I like art, so I talk, you know, I really feel like I can connect with a lot of different kinds of students. And so when they find that out, you know, for the most part, I think it's I think it's a deepening of our relationship and a recognition that your teacher is a real person that's done other things in their life. And so for the most part, I think it's been a good thing. I was I was really nervous about it at first. I mean, really, really when they when I heard that, you know, they're on the Instagram, like, oh Lord, here we go. I don't want this. But, you know, for the most part, I think it's been very positive.

SPEAKER_00 12:48

I love that. And you do have a knack for making those boring topics relevant with your, as you say, renaissance background. I love the way you word that. That's the best. So I need to know how you connected the Stanley Cup trend to Ralph Waldo Emerson. Please let the people know.

SPEAKER_01 13:05

Right. Well, uh, to be fair, this was I I want to give credit to the student who mentioned it. We were talking about being self-reliant. We're talking about individualism and how people sometimes conform. And I was like, can you think of any examples? And my student, Alex, raised his hand. He was like, it's like the the Stanley Cup, and all the girls have to have the Stanley Cup now. I'm like, you know what? That's a really good example. That's excellent. You're making Ralph Waldo Emerson, who some people find to be a little bit boring. That's a relevant connection. So I I, you know, I'm trying to, like you said, or like I was saying earlier about trying to make every period a little bit of a show. You know, there's there's elements of that. This the last couple weeks that we've been working, there is some subordinate clause indicator words. So you can know where the subordinate clause begins. I know it. Look, your face tells me that you're frightened that I'm gonna give you a grammar test. Oh my gosh. I totally understand. That does sound frightening. But we I've I've come up with this chant. And I start this chant, and I'm like, here's some of the words that you need to know, and they're gonna indicate that we're beginning a subordinate clause. And it's and it starts, and I start talking to them. I'm like, what, which, who, how that, when, where, whether, why. And I keep going. I go, what, which, who, how that, when, where, whether, why? I said what, which, who. And the kids are either think it's hilarious, or they are so mortified that I would I'm dancing. I'm literally in this class dancing and chanting and singing, and I'm like, I need you to chant back with me. Cause if I'm doing this just for me, this is really embarrassing. I need I'm not gonna stand up here and embarrass myself just cuz. And so I'm chanting, I'm trying to, I'm like, you're gonna have to do this in the hallway, you're yelling at your friends, you should be chan, what, which, who, how that, when, where, weather, why, and uh, and it so yeah, I mean, I guess if you want to associate that with V Vina a singer in a band, I think there's your there's your connection in the classroom.

SPEAKER_00 15:09

I love that so deeply. Uh it sounds like your creativity and your ability to make those connections between traditionally dry subjects and a little bit more fun, trendy, you know, things. Pop culture is contagious. Your students are catching it, and they're now, you know, becoming that also.

SPEAKER_01 15:30

I'm hopeful. I'm hopeful about that. You know, I try to I try to tell them that more than anything, I want them to be good people when they leave our school district, right? And that they have they have the education to be able to think critically and make their own choices, but that if we can get them out of here and they have a bit of knowledge and a bit of empathy and you know, maybe some creative chance as well, that that's that's what we're trying to do, right? And maybe in ten years when I see them, I tell them all the time, I don't think you're probably gonna remember the chant. I don't.

SPEAKER_00 16:07

But I bet they do.

SPEAKER_01 16:08

But maybe they will. But I'm I'm trying to set them up to have some success for when they leave Muscambia County.

SPEAKER_00 16:16

I can totally see them. At one of your performances, there in the corner in the back of the the, you know, the convention center, you hear this odd chant, and it's the the the one that you just did earlier. I can just see it now.

SPEAKER_01 16:31

I can just do the chant. We want to hear the chant song.

SPEAKER_00 16:35

Oh my gosh, yes. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 16:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:37

Hey, if Bobby Bones can make it and sing on stage, you know, he was a radio DJ personality who started a band as a joke. Oh. And now and now he charted. So if he can do it, I mean you can do it. You never know.

SPEAKER_01 16:49

Yeah. I mean, uh the other thing is the kids are like, we're gonna listen to your band. Like, go ahead. Like, get the streams up. Let's go. I mean, not in class, but you know, outside of class, go ahead. You can put it on loop if you want.

SPEAKER_00 17:02

Yeah, yeah, exactly. That's so funny. I love that you know, you're prioritizing fun in your own life is modeling to the kids that you know you can inject fun into things that aren't by themselves fun. And you are also injecting the priority of friendships, too, because of your bandmates, there's seven kids among the seven of you under under eight years old. And you have twin todthers.

SPEAKER_01 17:33

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 17:34

Which is which is bananas. So why make time for the band with everything also wanting your attention?

SPEAKER_01 17:41

Yeah. And I would say it has slowed down a smidge. Okay. Maybe a little more maybe a little more than a smidge. We're we are trying to ramp it back up. It had it was a little bit hectic there when we found out, my wife and I found out we were having twins. I bet. I was like, okay, I'm getting pulled in a lot of directions here, uh, literally, figuratively. But, you know, my my friendship with with Adam and Ian, and Ian's a teacher in the county as well, Mr. W for all the elementary school PE classes out there. You know, our friendship is really more they're brothers, but I I consider them brothers as well. And so our friendship and and and having something like music and that creative outlet and playing a show. I mean, there really isn't anything like playing a show and doing it well. So yeah, I I want to keep that alive because they're my good buddies and we love each other and we want to have a reason to be able to hang out and get together, and what's better than a band?

SPEAKER_00 18:42

Yeah, I love that. I mean, I spoke with this developmental psychologist once about the evolution of boy friendships, friendships that little boys have, and how as they grow older, they disintegrate. And how if they didn't, how much better society would be. That's the long and the short of it. And so what I love about what you're doing in the classroom and out is that you're modeling the kind of behaviors that will make society better. You know, you're showing to the young women, yes, this is what we want our young men to prioritize having friendships. And you're showing to the boys that you can love the sound of music while you're driving to baseball practice. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 19:27

No, I I mean I I hope. I hope they can see that we're we're actually we're reading a story right now called uh A Raisin the Sun, and one of the characters is trying her hand at a bunch of different hobbies, and the there's a little bit of a generational gap, and the mom and and even the older sister-in-law don't really understand. Why can't you just stick with one thing? And I mentioned that, I said, that's not how we should operate, right? We should try a bunch of different things. And whether that means you both want to play soccer or baseball and be in the musical and be in the orchestra, like your ability to be well-rounded because you've met a bunch of different people, and the people you meet in the football locker room are gonna be different than the people you meet backstage at your theater production. And that that sounds, again, it sounds so cliche, but I do feel that that is so vital because you're gonna meet different kinds of people and you're gonna empathize with those people because you've seen someone that's come from a different place from you, a different background, and uh you've done something together too, right? Whether that's play a sport or create something or make something, and that bonds you together. And so I I would hope that they could see that you could both love football and love baseball and also love music and a musical, and they'll probably, if they were listening to this, they'd probably laugh and be like, oh Miss Trent Alley, what are you talking about? But I would hope that would maybe through osmosis kind of be imbued in them.

SPEAKER_00 21:06

I think so. I think that's how kids learn is by copying what it is that they see. So good thing that you are teaching the kids and being genuine and authentic, because kids have a radar for inauthentic inauthenticity, don't you think?

SPEAKER_01 21:24

I do. I I mean I've always I think when you meet a teacher who's really good at teaching, you can tell right away. You know, you just have that sense of the person who has the control of the room, that has the connection with the kids. And we have uh, you know, at West Florida, especially we have so many of them that are that are authentic, good people, and that they can have a relationship with the students while also being able to get down to business when you know it has to get done. And and I think that's pretty vital in education.

SPEAKER_00 21:59

Yeah, yeah. Well, this was awesome. I really enjoyed this. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_01 22:04

Yeah, thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_00 22:07

Thanks for listening. Be sure to subscribe and share. Voices United in Education is a production of Escambia County Public Schools.