← Hillsdale College K-12 Classical Education Podcast
Hillsdale College K-12 Classical Education Podcast
Modeling Excellent Instruction: Hillsdale’s Master Teacher Program
00:16:58
Loading summary
Transcript27 lines
- [00:00]
A
Hi there, it's Bill Gray from Hillsdale College. Before you skip ahead, can I ask you a question or two? If you could teach 50 million Americans one thing, what would it be? Would you teach our great American story that this nation is unique, founded on self government and individual liberty? Maybe you would teach the truth about free enterprise, how hard work and opportunity allow anyone to rise? Or would you teach the gospel and the Christian faith that helps us live good and meaningful lives? At Hillsdale College, we're doing exactly that. Teaching the best that's been thought and said. Through our free online courses, K12 programs, Imprimis, podcasts and more, we reach and teach millions every year with the principles of liberty that make America free. And with your help, we can reach even more. Your tax deductible gift today will help us teach millions more people to pursue truth and defend liberty. Just text the word give to 7 1844. You'll get a secure link to make your donation in seconds. That's give to 718 44. Thank you for standing with us. Now back to the show.
- [01:16]
B
Welcome to The Hillsdale College K12 classical education podcast, bringing you insight into classical education and its unique emphasis on human virtue and moral character, responsible citizenship, content, rich curricula and teacher led classrooms. Now your host, Scott Bertram.
- [01:35]
C
Thanks for listening. The Hillsdale College K12 Classical Education Podcast is part of the Hillsdale College Podcast Network. More episodes at podcast hillsdale.edu or wherever you get your audio. You also can find more information on topics and ideas discussed on this show at our website, k12 hillsdale.edu. we're joined by Julie Apel. She's assistant headmaster at Hillsdale Academy and also Master Teacher Liaison for the Hillsdale K12 network of member schools. Julie, thanks so much for joining us.
- [02:09]
B
Thanks for having me, Scott.
- [02:10]
C
Discussing today, the Master Teacher Program inside the Hillsdale K12 network, as I mentioned, you serve as the liaison for the Master Teacher Program. Tell us about what it is. How's it structured?
- [02:23]
B
Yeah. So the Master Teacher Program, first and foremost, it's an opportunity to honor some of the excellent teachers and schools across the network. There's something really unique about being a part of a network of schools with shared mission, shared curriculum, and a shared understanding about what makes for great teaching. There are many teachers who are giving themselves fully to this endeavor, and so we think it's, we think it's a worthy endeavor to honor them for the work that they do and to give them an opportunity to share their expertise across the network. So that's kind of the second Purpose is to give them an opportunity to really share what they've learned with boots on the ground in the classroom.
- [03:02]
C
So who are these master teachers? How do you become a master teacher? And then once you do, what do you do?
- [03:08]
B
Well, the master teachers, they are first and foremost, they're recommended by their heads of schools. So they're are teachers in their school who are respected for their excellent teaching in the classroom. They're the leaders of their school. Recognize that they are, even if it's in unspoken ways that they're leaders within their school, they really understand the curriculum, they understand their students. They understand how their part that they play in the classroom contributes to the larger whole of the students education. So master teachers decide that they want to apply. Um, they participate for one year at a time, and they form a cohort. I think of them as a cohort because I see them as iron sharpening iron. They teach a wide range of grade levels and content areas, from upper school history to art and music, even kindergarten teachers, or I might even say most significantly of all kindergarten teachers. But the main thing is they know their content, they love their students, and they, they can really see how they contribute to the larger mission of classical education as a whole. And our Hillsdale K12 efforts specifically.
- [04:18]
C
And your role as a liaison for the master teacher program, what do you do?
- [04:23]
B
Yeah, well, I love it. I have the opportunity to participate with the K12 education office in terms of meeting and walking through the application process with the teachers. Once we select our master teachers for the year, as I mentioned, they kind of form a cohort. And so I walk them through the year, the seasons of the year, the ways we discuss, the different ways that they might serve the network. All of them participate by giving recommendations, offering their own resources that they've created, mentoring other teachers. And so I help connect them to the K12 education office, who then helps connect them specifically to teachers who can benefit by having someone come alongside them. But the part that I really love is the cohort meets about once a week and we discuss timeless principles of sound pedagogy. So there's this element of continuing to grow and develop as classical teachers, even when you're esteemed as one of the experts. And so the wealth of experience they all possess, they kind of come together as very best teachers. And they know that they don't want to grow complacent. They know that the art of teaching doesn't need to be overly complicated, but it can't be neglected and you never arrive. So they're wanting to Continue to refine their craft. And they recognize that teaching is the overflow of a full life. And so we have the opportunity to participate in that together, to pursue becoming that kind of deep well and, and to share our insights with others.
- [05:57]
C
I think you touch a bit on that there. But what kind of a person would make an excellent master teacher? Do you need 30 years of classroom experience to be able to be called a master?
- [06:07]
B
No, you don't need 30 years. I think you could teach for 30 years and sadly maybe not become a master teacher. But I think that's born from complacency. So master teachers are those who haven't become complacent. They think that teaching is a craft and you always refine your craft, you've never arrived. But they also are pursuing that craft on behalf of someone else. Right. So they, they steward it for the love of their students, for the love of the content that they teach, and for just the act of participating and helping another person learn. The other thing I think that makes an excellent master teacher is somebody who recognizes that education is a key component for the pursuit of happiness. So they're not just thinking about what's happening in the four walls of their classroom. They're thinking about the students whole education. And so master teachers, they master their content, they master maybe the grade level or the kind of students that they have, but they think about the scope and sequence and how they're contributing. What's happening in their classroom is contributing for the whole. So that makes them interested in the whole of kindergarten through 12th grade education beyond. So master teachers are learners in and of themselves because of the things that they love and they are being formed by the curriculum. I think as much, maybe even more than the students.
- [07:34]
C
How does the master teacher program help to support the work of The Hillsdale College K12 office?
- [07:41]
B
Yeah, so I like to think of the master teacher program as an extension of a particular team within our K12 office called the teacher support Team. And they work closely with teachers and administrators at all of our schools, helping to coach and provide resources and offer just general support in the practices that we recommend with our curriculum and our pedagogy. So the teacher support team has seen all of the master teachers in action in the classroom and they know their unique experience. And so they're able to, as I mentioned before before, refer them to teachers, specific teachers for support and advice. The master teachers also, we lean into them for help with those trainings and equipping our newer schools and we seek their advice on recommendations. I think there's also a mutual benefit for our master teachers. Kind of a give and take between the K12 education office and the master teachers. Like I mentioned, I think iron sharpens iron. And. And so our master teachers, they also get to participate in a level of experience. Maybe they don't want to leave the classroom. You want your excellent teachers to stay in the classroom, but you want to give them an opportunity to grow and learn and mentor other teachers. So I think there's sort of a mutual support between the master teachers and the K12 education office.
- [08:59]
C
You mentioned refining the craft of teaching in the classroom. I teach journalism here at Hillsdale and that I don't want to say it's easy for me, but technology is changing. The way you report things changes. The way people get that information changes every time I do a course. Refining the syllabus and changing to update for new things inside a K12 classroom. What does that refining of the craft look like?
- [09:25]
B
That's a really good question. I think a refining of the craft, sometimes it's learning new curriculum. You're right. Sometimes it's tweaking the syllabus. Sometimes it's really looking closely at even how you structured the grade book. What is the grade book for you? Thinking deeply about what kind of assessments you're providing, what they're telling your students and the parents and what that grade is reflecting about what the student has actually learned. At the end of the day, it can be as nitty gritty as that. It can also be principle driven. So when you think about maybe you're excellent 11th grade history teacher, what can you learn from a PE teacher of second grade? Right. They understand something about human nature and the teaching of virtue and collectively teaching students how to participate well in a classroom environment, the gym as a classroom environment. And so I think refining your craft has a lot to do with observing other excellent teachers and watching for what you can learn about students, students and about education as a whole from those teachers.
- [10:31]
C
Talking with Julie Apel, who's assistant headmaster at Hillsdale Academy, also master teacher liaison for the Hillsdale K12 network of member schools. How does this master teacher program align with classical education principles and best practices?
- [10:48]
B
Yeah, that part that we just touched on about really refining your craft, you know, that's a component, I think, of what does it mean to be human? We desire, we were made to learn, to discover and to grow. And so teachers find their deepest satisfaction when we recognize that we're participating in that. And so the master teacher program aligns with that general value, that general principle Just in the nature of what it is that even our master teachers find satisfaction in continuing to grow, continuing to cultivate their virtues as a teacher and as a human being. And so education and growth isn't just for our students, it's for us as well. And I think it also reflects that idea of how we were made to learn oftentimes best in the context of community. And so master teachers are doing that together and in that sense, of a cohort. But they're also inviting other teachers into that through the way that they come alongside teachers in our network.
- [11:56]
C
Do you think that a program like this serves to address a greater need, a bigger need inside the education sphere?
- [12:05]
B
Yeah, I do. Actually. I was thinking about the master teacher program, and what do I enjoy about it, and why do I think it's so satisfying for the teachers who participate in it? And I think one of the things is that it's a bit subtle, but it meets a need in that our master teachers have decided to multiply themselves. They're stepping outside of, like I mentioned, they're stepping outside of those four walls of their own classrooms, and they're thinking about the larger movement in America toward a thoughtful education in the liberal arts and sciences. And that has a direct effect on the cultivation of virtue and moral character, civic virtue in our country. And they offer themselves specifically in the realm what's happening in the K12 network. But so many of those things are also stewarded and given away for the greater good. So I think about things like this podcast. I think about the Hoagland center for Teaching Excellence that many of our master teachers have presented at the blog that we provide through the K12 education office. And those are all small, but I think together are pretty significant ways that anybody who's interested in really thinking not just about classical education, but about a human education and learning more about what that means are people who can learn from our master teachers.
- [13:31]
C
We talked earlier about the fact that both sides can benefit from being a master teacher, the teacher, and of course, the K12 program and teachers involved in the Hillsdale K12 program. What's expected of these master teachers? What additional duties, responsibilities? What do they do over the course of a school year?
- [13:50]
B
Yeah, that's a good question. It looks a little bit different depending on the season, but in particular, a few things that they do. Like I said, we spend time together roughly once a month discussing classical concepts of pedagogy. They write regularly for the the Classical Classroom blog. They make themselves available if. If we are thinking about a particular topic or see a particular need and we, we ask them if they would be willing to speak on a topic they make themselves available to that they contribute once a month. They share with me. They think through what did I teach this month? And if I were a new teacher trying to tackle this content, what could I provide as sample resources, not lesson plans to copy. Every classroom is a little bit different, but something that a teacher could look at and kind of sink their teeth into and recognize the principles contained in there. So how is a good lesson structured? What are some thoughtful questions, discussion questions? Wow, this teacher really planned out this many questions in preparation for this discussion. What kind of questions did the teacher ask on a quiz or maybe a writing assignment or something they're doing in a fine arts class? And so they think about what, what are some thoughtful resources in the content that I teach that I would provide and share those as a, as something that we can share within the network to, to teachers in our network. They also speak every year at our summer conference to where teachers from all over the country come together at Hillsdale to learn about classical education and cultivate their crafts as well. So there's, there's a wide variety of things. We, we sort of make it as manageable as possible because we recognize their first job is happening in the classroom and in their schools. And so we, we don't want to take away from that, but we basically ask them to just pull from the very best that they have and then share that with others.
- [15:53]
C
If our listeners want to access some of that advice, some of those writings that the master teachers are providing, how can they do that?
- [16:03]
B
Well, I would encourage them to go to our website, to go to the K12 website @k12 hillsdale.edu. there's so many resources there for educators and just interested parents in general. And many of those have been curated or, or advised by our master teachers. And then as I mentioned, I, I think any of the episodes of the podcast here in which one of our master teachers are speaking, I always tune in closely to those. And then something. I love that I think if you're really wanting to get a window into the mind of an excellent teacher or a glimpse inside the classroom of a classical school is the Classical Classroom blog. So our master teachers write on there regularly. And to be honest, that's my favorite part. I love to see what they have to say, whether it's speaking about a particular virtue, speaking about a work of literature they're teaching, or telling a story about a science lesson or a student interaction. You just really get a taste of something that is really satisfying to see.
- [17:09]
C
Julie Apoll is Assistant Headmaster at Hillsdale Academy and also Master Teacher Liaison for the Hillsdale K12 network of member Schools. Find some of the some of those things she was talking about at K12. Julie, thanks so much for joining us here on the Hillsdale College K12 Classical Education Podcast.
- [17:30]
B
Thanks, Scott.
- [17:31]
C
I'm Scott Bertram. We invite you to like us on Facebook search for Hillsdale College K12 classical education. You also can follow us on Instagram hillsdalek12. That's Hillsdale K12 on Instagram. Thank you for listening to The Hillsdale College K12 classical education podcast, part of the Hillsdale College Podcast Network. More at Podcast Hillsdale Edu or wherever you get your audio.