Ep 223 | Think Fast! Inside Ransom Middle School’s Academic Team

SPEAKER_01 0:00

And it gives them that place to be. And it's rewarding. So I add academic team on top of my already stressful teaching middle school because it's that pretty bow on top of the present of like, you found a spot.

SPEAKER_00 0:21

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 child in Escambia County. You'll meet the real people behind the titles and learn about the amazing resources to support your child's success. Every school has kids who don't fit the mold. The athlete who's secretly a walking encyclopedia. The quiet kid who's never raised his hand but knows every answer. Today's guests have spent years building a place for exactly those kinds of kids to shine. Think Jeopardy, but for middle schoolers. They are the middle school teachers at Ransom who also coach the school's academic team, a team that's been punching tickets to nationals since 2016. Today they're pulling back the curtain on buzzers, bonus points, and why an academic team might be just the key to finding your people in middle school. Bonus round believers and trophy case builders, Clarissa Brown and Madison Bass. Welcome to the show, ladies. Thank you. Thank you. Absolutely. I am so pumped that you're here. I know I told you this before we hit record, but I can always tell when teachers are like super into what they're teaching or coaching because it's not like one email exchange. It's like a string of dripped emails over the two weeks leading up to our recording. Oh, Anne, you should know about this. And here's a video to where my students are doing their thing. And look at this article and also read this. So I feel like I have had taken a class on academic team atmosphere, you know? Yes. It's been fantastic. We're gonna hire you on. I am pretty pumped about it. Well, here's the thing middle schoolers don't have a great reputation. You know, we think of them as smelly, awkward, misbehaving, sneaky, you know, just like we're just waiting for you not to be middle schoolers. That's the only reason we're tolerating you kind of thing. But this whole academic team situation, it kind of blows it all out of the water.

SPEAKER_01 2:29

It brings those people out, shows you some of the other middle schoolers that you don't see.

SPEAKER_00 2:33

Absolutely. And now you both have had kids on the team, which gives you like this double-sided perspective. What have you witnessed as the benefits the kids experience, both from the parent point of view and from the perspective as a teacher?

SPEAKER_01 2:49

As a parent, I see the eagerness and the hunger to learn. Once my son, starting in fifth grade, doing academic team, I noticed that once he felt that knowledge that he had that he didn't know that he had, he had that hunger to find more. Where he wasn't just settled with the English, like the language arts, math, science, stuff like that. He was like, Oh, I'm really good at sports. Like, I know a lot about sports, or some of the religious history, the conversations that he had growing up with my dad and my brother, who were very into biblical history, going in and being like, Oh, I actually know that, and digging more into it. And then on the teacher side, I see those same students that once they find out that they have the knowledge, they come in and they ask me. So I teach personal development in the middle school. So I have a little bit more of the openness and availability to be able to have conversations outside of the math textbook. We talk about the real world. So they'll come and hey, we get to do a project on something that we're interested in. Can I choose this? Because I found out I really know this. And we expand from there. And I just it gives them more eagerness and that hunger again to dig deeper into what they are learning and what they show an academic team.

SPEAKER_00 4:11

Okay, that is so fascinating. There's so much there. First of all, that you teach personal development to middle schoolers, you're doing the Lord's work. Yes. And that the conversations that you're describing are like they're finding their little personhood. Yes. That's so precious and how important.

SPEAKER_01 4:29

Yes. Cause they, I mean, they come into middle school, and I tell them the first day of school when they come in. I'm like, you little sixth graders, you know, you come in and you don't know your spot in the world. You're gonna find yourself in these next three years, you're gonna figure out who you are, what your interests are, where you want to go. You may not know what your career is gonna be, but you're gonna find what you're good at. And you know, it's here that you figure yourself out, and then it's high school and college where you polish it. And then by the time that they get through eighth grade, I mean, I'm on my sixth year teaching. And so I've gotten to see a huge chunk of kids go through my classroom and by the end they're like, Miss Bass, this is what we're learned, this is what I'm gonna do. You know, I'm gonna go to high school and I'm gonna do this at academy. I've gone to Whataburger and I've found some of my kids and they're like, Yeah, I'm dual enrolling and I'm going into engineering. And I'm like, What? You know, cute little sixth grader in my class several years ago. I would have never imagined that. And they're like, Yeah, those research projects that you had me do. I was like, see, you got it.

SPEAKER_00 5:32

You're figuring it out. And your own son was fifth grade when he started. How old is he now? He is 13. He's in eighth grade now. Eighth grade. And do you see any ways that the academic team participation has helped him with that transition into eighth grade?

SPEAKER_01 5:50

It has, mostly socially. Really? Because he's always been a very shy child. Okay. You know. We all grew up. I mean, he grew up with my mom and dad mostly and myself. And so we kind of stick to our clique. We have a big family as it is. And so he stuck to the little click and talking to outside people were not his go-to necessarily. And going to the academic team and seeing all these kids that he's gonna be going to school with, he is I mean, he socially he talks to more people. He's in this dip now going into eighth grade, you know, where the hormones are really setting in and figuring out who he is, the voice crack and you know, stuff like that. But I mean, he's socially it's helped him a lot and more confidence, you know, the eagerness to learn about history and sports and everything. He's now one of the starters on his football team because he did more research and watched more videos on football. Oh my gosh, I love this kid. Yes. And he has gone deep into talking about the Navy. He wants to be a Navy pilot, like my dad was. And so as we talked about in academic team, a little bit of like the military history and everything, he dove deeper into that. And he was like, Did you know that back in 1930 something we did this and that and this plane flew and I wish it was still around and mechanically too. And so it even went into the mechanical aspects of airplanes and repairing cars. And I mean, it's literally seed that was planted that has turned into a giant forest of webs of things that he has researched and found out.

SPEAKER_00 7:28

This is so fascinating. Just when I thought, there was nothing new that we could talk about during our interview because surely I'd read it all prior to being in this moment. What you're talking about, in my perspective, is the difference between passive curiosity and active curiosity. Passive curiosity is the very popular form of what we loosely call curiosity. I scrolled past a bunch of things today during my 20 minutes on my phone. Look at me being so curious. Active curiosity is I read something on social media. I got off social media and went and read three articles and learned more about it. And then I talked to, you know, my grandfather about his experience about that thing. And now I think I may want to add another layer of real life experience when I'm older.

SPEAKER_01 8:16

Like, wow. And it's even dug me into it because we'll be into the car. We'll be in the car driving someplace. And he's like, Mom, do you know about this, that, and the other? And I'm like, no, I've actually never thought about it. Pull it up on your phone. Let's Google it. And we go through a whole history lesson or how things are built. And did you know over in Dubai they did this? And I'm like, I never would have even thought to research any of that. Like, what in the world?

SPEAKER_00 8:42

So wait, Madison, you're saying you have conversations with your 13-year-old son because of this. I know, right? In between fact acquiring. Yes. Yeah. Yes. Oh my gosh. Okay. So, Clarissa, what about you? You have like this crazy history with the academic team. I don't even know where to start with you because you uh well, actually, let's start with Tristan Harris because she was on the show a while back and she was bragging about a particular student who was on a particular game show. Let's start there.

SPEAKER_02 9:15

Well, before I answer, I have to jump on what Madison said. The academic team gives kids a way to think about something that they knew a little bit about, and they'll hear a question, whether they get it right or not. And wait a minute, I know about the Indian USS Indianapolis, or they'll start researching things, or they'll go, wait a minute, I learned that in my social studies teacher's class. Oh, we just went over that in science. The ability to make those connections from hearing a question that brought more meaning to what they learned in their classes. And in several of the reports we've made about what has happened with the team, that's one of the main things that sticks with me in practice. They're so proud. I knew that one because of my math teacher. I knew that one because of my personal development teacher. And I think that brings in making school so much more real and meaningful and relevant to the kids. And I guess that's part of what lights me up about doing academic team.

SPEAKER_00 10:16

Yeah, because you see the light go off in their brain, like, oh, I get it. I get it, and I know it, and I got a point for it.

SPEAKER_02 10:22

Yeah. Oh, well, that too. It always helps. But as I mentioned to you previously, Tristan Harris, I had the team at Tate, and my daughter Samantha was on her team, and they were trying to build the middle school program. And Tristan innocently asked in class, does anybody know any middle school teachers? And that's how we began. She raised her hand and said, My mom teaches at ransom. So here she was. She brought her players, they trained ours. And so that's how we actually got started. But as a result of having these experiences of using knowledge for competition, well, the next step is to go back to where they were born, and that was game shows. So the year that Millionaire and Jeopardy, there was also a third one, Family Feud actually came. Oh wow. But one of my daughters wasn't in town. So we were like, we are not going to compete without all of us here. So we just did Millionaire and Jeopardy. Just like just. And I'm laughing because we were doing it for fun because we just saw the news. So they came to Pensacola. They came to Pensacola and had well, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire came to Pensacola. Actually, Jeopardy was an online test.

SPEAKER_00 11:37

Oh.

SPEAKER_02 11:38

And so after Maggie took the test, they actually invited her to New Orleans. And that's where the casting call was in New Orleans. And they had a morning and afternoon session. And Maggie was like, these people are so smart. And then when the results came back, she was the only one from the whole session that had been called back. Whoa. Yeah. So she was, we were just thrilled. But it was in the news article. Samantha's tryout was in June. Maggie's tryout was later that month. We got the call from both organizations on the same day. While I was at a workshop at West Florida, and they're like, what is it, Clarissa? And I said, Oh my gosh, I had the one call. My daughter made it. And then not two hours later, I got the other call. I'm like, okay. So we were just delighted that they were both able to be recognized for what they had learned. And I credit their experiences at ransom and at Tate and in Pine Meadow. I mean, my children are very proudly products of this school system. And they were so proud to go to where they went. Oh, who, you know, what school did you go to? I was in Scambia County. What's that? And I'm like, oh, it's the public school system in Pensacola. And a lot of the other contestants were like, oh, I mean, they had come from all these elite private schools, and here was perfectly brilliant public school educated children. Yes. Their parents went to public. We also went, well, actually, we all went to Tate. That's all right. But yeah, so that's how the story of them being on the two game shows started because of Ms. Harris having us do all these competitions at school and in the uh region.

SPEAKER_00 13:22

So and then are Maggie and Samantha, are they still coaching? Are they well they're both coaching?

SPEAKER_02 13:28

Yeah, actually, we've had a couple of opportunities. The most recent ones were well, there was one in Mobile, my history one, and then we had one of the local schools sponsored a competition, uh Beulah Academy.

SPEAKER_01 13:39

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 13:40

I sponsored a competition, and so they were actually both coaches of teams there.

SPEAKER_01 13:44

Wow. And they come to practices occasionally. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:46

That's so cool. I think a lot of people know what these game shows look like, you know, because we've at least seen a clip of it, right? If not watched a whole episode. Even just the bloopers, the funny things that happen in them. Well, I haven't seen bloopers. I need to look that up. But just come to practice. There we go. Bloopers live. Is that pretty much what the competitions look like? They're very much like a game show.

SPEAKER_01 14:12

Yeah, I would definitely say so. It seems a little more low-key. Not, you know, you obviously don't have the live audience like that. I mean, I guess you do. You've got us coaches and then the parents in the back. Yeah. You know, you don't have the lights and everything, but it is just as stressful sitting watching these kids answer these questions and they ask a question that you know, and you're like, they better know that. They better know like oh my god. You're there with them in spirit. And then they're like, time. And I'm like, you knew that one. And then they get out their scratch paper and they like jot down what the answers were. Because they're like, Oh, I need to look more of that up.

SPEAKER_00 14:47

Yeah. Well, competition, you know, it's it's a another level of cognitive recall. You know, when you're under the pressure. And Clarissa, you sent me an email saying that when you go to nationals for the team, it brings out completely different competition styles within the kids. The conservative player, the aggressive buzzer, and the captain. Kind of unpack what those styles are and explain how you've observed those styles work together.

SPEAKER_02 15:16

It's an interesting dynamic because once you unify them in a goal trying to score points and possibly win, you start to see where their strengths are. I think in middle school, they don't actually know what their strengths are. They just start doing it and we go, oh, okay, you like doing that. Oh, you're good at that. And that that is the nature of academic team coaching is helping fine-tune their style. So the the kids will come, they'll know what they know. And that's why when I remember when Madison's son came, you don't think that you know stuff until you get asked a question and you go, wait, I know that. Okay, oh, I know that. And there's such a confidence that that gives you that you don't, you feel like, oh, I'm not as smart as somebody who could be on a game show. But wow, a five-year-old knows my little pony.

SPEAKER_00 16:06

Okay, tell the tell the my little ponies.

SPEAKER_02 16:08

Oh my goodness. We were at a competition at Pentacola High School, a middle school one. And as I said, we have a strong belief that as middle schoolers learn to put themselves out there, that it's such a treasure to have the parents right there to tell them, it's great, that's a good job. Okay, okay, or giggle about, you know, what you don't remember at Bible study, whatever. You know, it all happens. But I'll never forget that one of my eighth-grade players who was as tall as a senior in high school, was sitting there at the buzzer. And his little sister, who was as patient, she's actually a student at Washington High School now, she was so patient and waiting through all the questions. But when the the toss-up was giving all these clues, I don't know anything about my little pony, but she sure did. And I turned and I looked at her and she was jumping up and down like she was a cheerleader because she was so stunned that her big brother didn't know what. But I thought that was such a cool reason why having the families there, because they do, they literally play in the back. And when we were talking about knowing the answers to questions, so many times I'll look at the parents and we're like, they're too young. One question, like we had a question about the IRS. Well, you know, middle schoolers don't know a lot about the IRS. And I'll just look at the parents and go, yeah, they haven't lived long enough, have they? And we all just go, because they want to get on the buzzers too. And so when we do play for fun, the parents will come on and we'll all be sitting on the buzzers with the parents, and it becomes a family bonding thing, too, to have the families playing.

SPEAKER_00 17:38

So I could totally see that. I could totally see that. Okay, so walk me through these different competition styles. The conservative player, what does that look like in competition?

SPEAKER_01 17:51

It seems to be, yeah. They hold the buzzer and they don't move. Oh, they're frozen. Even if they know the answer, they're so afraid. They're afraid of getting it wrong and penalizing their team. So maybe a little anxious.

SPEAKER_02 18:04

Yes, very much. That's probably the reason we practice is so they can get past the fear. Believe in yourself.

SPEAKER_00 18:11

Well, we could definitely see like the practical life, you know, speaking of personal development paramedics is the personal development that comes from being confident in yourself and like trusting your your inside voice.

SPEAKER_01 18:24

An academic team surely brings that out in them. And um in the competition, when they go to answer a question for like the bonuses, they can defer to a different player, even though the captain's the one that's supposed to answer.

SPEAKER_02 18:38

Well, they can consult each other. The toss-ups are by themselves, but the bonuses they live for because they can whisper.

SPEAKER_01 18:44

What do you think? But the captain has to give the answer. Well, if there's that conservative player that's there, a lot of the times they're like, I'll defer it to so-and-so, and then they're like, Oh, well, I have to answer. But if they've said the right answer, it brings out that confidence in them of like, no, say it. You're the one who said it. Because nine times out of ten, the answer is something that nobody else can really pronounce. You know, it's a series of words that are supposed to be together or a word that's a little more complex. And they're like, I am not messing that up. Because if I mess that up and you knew it, I am not costing our team. So they defer it to brings that the conservative player, their voice out. And even though they're shaking, they're like, say it again.

SPEAKER_00 19:25

And like, speak louder. And so it builds that body of evidence, yes, of confidence, the I can body of evidence. So would the aggressive buzzer be the total antithesis of that?

SPEAKER_01 19:37

The overconfident middle schooler? Yes. But they make it two words into the question and they're buzzing, and you're like, you don't even know what the question was. I mean, a lot of the times they still get it right, you know, sometimes they know the answer, but other times that's my pet peeve. I'm like, how do you know what you're answering? Like, you got to listen and process the question at some point.

SPEAKER_00 19:59

So they're learning to listen. Yes. They're learning self-control. Yes. And I'm sure maybe a little humility, right?

SPEAKER_01 20:07

And that's what's great about putting the conservative and the aggressive buzzer in the same team.

SPEAKER_02 20:12

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 20:13

So then maybe we can like pull them in just a little bit. I've been like, okay, you get a little more aggressive and you get a little more conservative, please.

SPEAKER_00 20:22

And think about how that is setting them up so beautifully for collaborative work in high school and beyond. Yeah. So the last one is the captain. Is this just like the natural-born leader? What is the captain?

SPEAKER_01 20:35

A lot of the times, yes. That is her football player. My football player boy.

SPEAKER_02 20:40

He he he has it's a rare skill to be able to know knowledge, but to have that awareness of the team.

SPEAKER_00 20:46

Oh yes.

SPEAKER_02 20:47

And and he's had a lot of experience, but he's had that natural ability, even coming from elementary school.

SPEAKER_00 20:54

You're right. That is a really beautiful quality because you have a sense of empathy. Like you can feel the vibes of the team and go, okay, this person needs a boost. I'm pretty sure they have the answer. Let's have them answer.

SPEAKER_01 21:10

And a lot of the times walking into practice, I mean, at the beginning of academic team practices, at the beginning of the year, we tend to have a lot of interest when we put it out there for like more kids to join. So there'll be a practice or so where there's tons of kids in the room. You can walk in and look and be like, that's gonna be the captain. Because they're the ones that gravitate, like everybody gravitates towards them, first of all. They just have that that modern day, that aura about them that all the other kids gravitate towards them and want to be with them. But as themselves, they have that sense of like, Okay, y'all, you need to calm down. Okay, we need to go sit down. Like that captain, that control welcoming feeling, but the control over the atmosphere where Okay, this is what we need to do. And that's what you need for an academic team when you have the conservative player and the aggressive buzzer, then you have that captain that's like, guys, stop.

SPEAKER_00 22:09

I love this. Chill out. I feel like we're writing a sitcom right now. You know what I mean? We've got all the characters, they're all there. And speaking of characters, Clarissa, you said the team isn't just all the Sheldon Cooper types, like from Big Bang Theory, that it's actually pretty diverse. Who are we not picturing when we picture an academic team? Who do you think people are skipping over when they're envisioning that?

SPEAKER_02 22:33

Skipping over? I've had so many different kinds of players. I don't know if there's ever been a type. Oh. If you assume the common denominator is knowing something you didn't think you knew that other people don't know, that I guess that's become a real unifying thing. I mean, I've had students that are at the top of their class. I've had folks who school isn't their thing, but they're athletes and they can tell you which quarterback from which year or which Super Bowl.

SPEAKER_00 23:00

Okay, that's so interesting to me because that's definitely who I'm not thinking of is the sports people. And like I was just thinking of my husband, he could tell you almost anything about cars, especially like JDM cars. He can tell you all about F1 cars, he can tell you all about it. And he would thrive in this. But I don't think of him as, or you know, the child version of him in my mind, as someone who would be plugged into the academic team. This is so fascinating because I wonder maybe there are parents listening also who don't think of their child in that way. In the same way the child doesn't see themselves in that way. You know, you don't ask a fish, how's the water? Right? What water? That this might be a real eye-opener to help our young people feel more confident within themselves. And that rest assured, school is the only time where we expect you to be kind of good at everything. And then after that, real life kicks in. You don't have to be good at everything. But in the meantime, you should acquire some confidence. Right. So what a cool thing. Sorry, I stopped you. You can keep going.

SPEAKER_02 24:09

But I was just trying to think. Gosh, I don't know if I've ever thought of a group of folks that couldn't find something that they knew that could make them feel like they were a good competitor on the team because well, things I had never thought about, the the district has the battle the books competition and they you know host that every April. But we have found that students who like to read, whether they compete in battle the books or not, have a grasp and a memory of information that they don't give themselves credit for because they think they're just reading books for fun. But then when we start asking questions about particular books or particular styles of literary patterns, they don't realize they know it. So they wouldn't have never known to even try the academic team. But I said, come on, you know, let me take on Battle of the Books and let's see. And some of our best players were also good at Battle of the Books. We have math students who didn't think they would know anything, but the math problems are killer because you have to do it just listening. Oh no. And they have to do it in 10 seconds. But some kids can do it. It just freaks me out.

SPEAKER_01 25:14

How do you know that? That's amazing. I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 25:16

So and then because we have families that become a part of the team, we've discovered families who were well traveled, so they remember things from going around. We've had some families that maybe weren't traditional. I've had some grandparents that were raising their grandkids, and I mean this with all due respect. They're the ones that had the resources and time to come to practice and bring the kids to competition sometimes. So they have a world of understanding from current events. They didn't realize grandpa talking about World War II was going to matter someday, and then they can remember it for competition. And I'd go, How'd you know that? Oh, grandpa talks about it all the time. So I know all about World War II history.

SPEAKER_00 26:03

That's so interesting. I'm wondering like what the importance of doing this in middle school is because when you're talking about they didn't think that they would be good and then they're good, they're getting recognition from their family and their peers. And obviously, you guys are killing it with like winning, you know, at nationals. So, how do you think that this sets them up for success when they're faced with subject matter in high school and beyond that, you know, they might not come to naturally?

SPEAKER_01 26:33

I think that it opens up the confidence that they can research, that they learn the research skills.

SPEAKER_00 26:39

I think I know what you're saying, like that nothing is unfigure-outable. Correct. That not knowing the answer doesn't mean that it's not a reflection on your intelligence.

SPEAKER_01 26:51

And it also teaches, like the academic team teaches them not to be defeated by something. So then when they get to high school, they're seeing that they are not, okay, this doesn't come naturally. Instead of being like, I'm defeated, I'm done. Like, I don't know this, I'm really bad at this class. They're like, no, I'm gonna figure it out. One, I know how to lose. And two, it's major. I learned how to build from it. Cause we have a lot of what my family calls the participation trophy. We got that generation coming in and out. And so this competition vibe is much needed.

SPEAKER_00 27:30

Oh, okay. So this is so fascinating. So if I'm hearing you right, what you're saying is competition is the antidote to the participation trophy attitude. Yes. Wow.

SPEAKER_01 27:44

Yes. It's teaching them that just because they showed up doesn't mean that they achieve everything, that they're good at everything. Like you're gonna be knocked down and you got to get back up. I just got done talking to my students about growth mindset. And we talk about Poppy from Trolls. You get back up again. We sing that song, and that's the academic team is teaching them you get knocked down. I mean, there's been times where in the competition we've sat there and a team has not been able to answer a single question. They sit there and they are so defeated. We leave that room and you look at just the the sadness and the defeat of some of these kids and it breaks your heart, but at the same time, it's like, okay, what are we gonna research after this? What are we gonna learn? You know, it's okay, it's fine. It's you know, uh you can get back up again, brush it off, because in five minutes we got to be in another room. And chances are those questions they're asking you in this next room, you're gonna know some of them. And if you let this beat you down, how like are you gonna be ready for the next time?

SPEAKER_02 28:51

Right.

SPEAKER_01 28:52

You can't let it take you down. And so if they learn this while their brain is still developing in this time of puberty and change, then as it molds and they get into high school, it's like, whoa, I can recover from this. You know, I failed that history test doesn't mean I'm gonna fail the entire class, like bring it back and let's get going. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:18

So how to fail, how to win, how to collaborate, yes, how to research, how to learn. I mean, these are so major, major things. I love that this is happening in middle school. I think most people recognize that it's a challenge to be a middle schooler, but also it's a challenge to teach middle schoolers, right? So for a position that already has that unique set of challenges, why coach on top of it?

SPEAKER_02 29:49

I get so much satisfaction at seeing them grow. I taught high school before I taught middle school. And there's a lot of things I enjoyed about high school, but sometimes I just kind of like thought to myself, I wish I could get them earlier and build up their confidence earlier. And so every time they do feel really bad and they do work through it and get back out there again, I'm like, that's what makes it worth it for us as academic team coaches and middle school teachers, if for that matter, to keep going. Because we're at the jumping-off place where they're giving themselves permission to take that growth step. And that's it's worth it all to us just to see that happen. It really is. And I know we were talking about the kids who don't get it right or they're so dejected. But I know I have some of them that will come to me, Miss Brown. Why can't they all be bonuses? I can't get to the buzzer fast enough. Because if they can get the bonus right, they really do love discussing it with each other. And when you have a captain as capable as that captain, then everybody, it's worth it. You know, even if you don't get them all right, the fact that your intelligence and your knowledge has been validated at least in the bonuses, let's go get ice cream.

SPEAKER_01 31:10

And the question on doing that on top of teaching middle school, one of the reasons why I stuck to teaching middle school, I mean, I used to be Clarissa's teacher's assistant. That's right. And then I got offered the position to be a teacher, and I'm like, do I really want to teach middle school? But then I remembered back when I was in middle school. And it's one of those how I explain it to my kids, you know, it's that traumatizing time that I had. I didn't have a place. I was so scared of switching classes that I have some events from middle school that stick with me, but the rest of it I blacked out. I protected my own self. And there's a lot of stuff that I don't remember. And I walk into my class with sixth graders and say, Y'all, I teach middle school because I don't want y'all to feel the same way I felt in middle school. And so then when I couldn't figure out my place, I couldn't find my friend group, I was just bouncing around. You know, I don't want my students to feel that. So then I do academic team on top of that because it's like this is a place. You know, nobody in that room knows everything. Some of them seem like they do.

SPEAKER_02 32:19

It depends on what which which specialty it is. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:22

But there's not a single person in there that knows every single thing. And to be in a group of people that even the smartest one can look, quote unquote smartest one, can look at you and be like, I don't know. Like sports. Yeah, like I don't know. And then somebody who doesn't feel like they have a place, like, I actually I know. And it gives them that place to be. And it's rewarding. So I add academic team on top of my already stressful teaching middle school because it's that pretty bow on top of the present of like you found a spot. And even if it's not a spot there, we can find you someplace else, you know, connect you with somebody.

SPEAKER_02 33:05

Practice shopping for spots.

SPEAKER_01 33:07

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I can help you find someplace where you belong.

SPEAKER_00 33:11

I love that. Thank you so much, ladies, for all of this, for sharing it with me, for sharing your enthusiasm with me and sharing the spirit of competition with your students. I am wishing you the best of luck that you clearly don't need for what's next. Again, thank you so much. Yes, ma'am. Thank you. Thanks for listening. Be sure to subscribe and share. Voices United in Education is a production of Escambia County Public Schools.