Maggie Clark and the “Real Talk” Podcast
White Bear Lake’s 2018 Teacher of the Year used natural authentic audience and podcasting to dive into self-selected inquiry topics.
“I think when you are excited and have enthusiasm, the kids naturally get more excited.” — Maggie Clark
I want to be Maggie Clark when I grow up. That is just pure fact. She is the type of educator that puts kids before all else. Those relationships drive everything she does and it’s the little extra things she does that pay off. Her keynote speech at this year’s back to school convocation sums up her mindset quite well. (her speech starts at the 13:30 mark)
Sometimes, all a great idea needs to get started is to say yes. The trouble is that the unknown can be intimidating. We naturally have moments in which doubt can creep in. Where do I start? Do I have the skills to pull this off? How much will this cost? How do I find time fit this in? It is easy to fall into a “Yes, but,” mentality. Good intentions without action can lead to missed opportunities. What if instead of “Yes, but,” we said, “Yes, and,”. That one word difference in mindset can lead to unforgettable experiences.
Mrs. Clark created one of those experiences when her 5th grade class developed their own podcast titled Real Talk. Inquiry projects drove their episode themes and the authentic audience created peaked engagement beyond what she could have imagined. I sat down to chat with her about this project’s beginnings, hurdles, and impact.
Getting Started — Just Say Yes!
The origins of Real Talk began with long car rides back and forth to Green Bay, Wisconsin. Maggie was taking trips to visit her sister, and often drove late into the night. Her girls would sleep in the back seat and to pass the time she started listening to podcasts. The hours seemed to go by quicker and in no time, she would reach her destination only to often stay up late finishing episodes.
She asked the question, “How can I use this to engage my students?” Her initial thought was very simple. Maybe she could have her Tier 2 reading intervention students record themselves reading and bring some fun to what can feel dry and routine.
At the same time, she had started an inquiry reading and writing unit with her entire 5th grade class. They had used Google’s Year In Search video and Google Trends to self-select topics they wanted to learn more about. Maggie wanted to give them a safe place to read and talk about issues that mattered in their worlds. Topics included:
- Animal Rescues
- Grit and Determination
- Mental Health
- Race Relations
- Refugees
The ideas of podcasting and inquiry evolved together and she asked herself, “Is there more we can do with this idea?” The answer was an astounding yes. In development of their class podcast she and her students determined that they would do monthly episodes based around a certain theme. Their goal being to connect and interview real people behind these issues.
Connecting to the World
“What are we learning from this person and why is this learning important?”
— Real Talk’s Driving Question
The true power of thinking big is that you have the potential to create moments that stay with students throughout the years. The learning sticks because it is associated with a feeling or memory and value is create.
With the Real Talk podcast, the students were given opportunities to interview and talk personally with some amazing individuals. They connected with:
- A Bosnian Refugee who shared his story of coming to the United States at the age of 10.
- Jeff Janis, formerly of the Green Bay Packers, to talk about grit.
- White Bear Lake Chief of Police Julie Swanson and social justice activist Rashad Turner on race relations in our community.
- An organ donation partnership featuring Craig Pittman and Bonnie Rowe-Howell. This story was picked up by the White Bear Press after they heard it on the podcast.
- Team USA Paralympic Sled Hockey Player Hannah Hughes on the impact of sports in her life.
- Brent Kallman, of the Minnesota United, on playing with your hometown team.
- Local author Joseph Kuefler around creativity.
- The executive chef of Manny’s Steakhouse to learn about his job.
- Cole Aldrich, formally of the Minnesota Timberwolves, on his college and NBA experiences.
Some interviews were conducted at the school in person while others were done over Google Hangouts. The class used the driving question, “What are we learning from this person and why is this learning important?”
How Connections Were Made
The back whiteboard gained a new purpose. The class would brainstorm ideas of types of people to be interviewed which filled the space. As they made connections names were erased. As they thought of new ideas, names were added. The board was also visible to anyone that happened to come into their classroom. People naturally wanted to help. Students reached out to their families and connections. They were searching for any connection to an idea on the board.
Maggie used her social media platforms. She posted on Facebook and Instagram explaining the project and asking for connections. Posts such as “Does anyone know an Olympian?” or “Who can connected us with a doctor?” were examples. The response was overwhelming and Maggie kept her class in the loop.
“Everyday I was showing the kids the responses to show them that they have people that are believing in this project. That helped build their momentum, pride and work ethic around it.” — Maggie Clark
Kid Centered. Kid Created. Kid Approved
One month. It took only one month for Real Talk to shift from teacher to student planned, recorded, edited, and produced. That is one of the truly astounding aspects of this whole thing. Maggie believed her students could and they demonstrated their capacity for independence. The podcast was theirs to own and various roles were created. There was a website team, marketing team, on-air talent, producers, and editors. They didn’t have sponsors but wanted a professional sound, so they developed a team to create brief transition segments for in between topics. The roles would change with each monthly episode. Kids were teaching kids and it was the former group’s responsibility to show the next one the ropes.
Maggie included her students in all decisions. The name, the logo, the show format, and topics all were a shared consensus. They struggled through the unknown together and celebrated successes as one. When speaking to Mrs. Clark about the fear of failure she responded with,
“No, I was never nervous. We will learn something from it even if it doesn’t work.”
It made an impact on her students as well. I was lucky enough to be on an email thread in which she reached out for some feedback from her now 6th graders. Here are what some of them had to say about the experience…
“I really enjoyed doing our podcast. I learned how to edit and set up a lot of equipment. We learned how to use technology and how to communicate with others. I really enjoyed it and working on the podcast was one of my favorite parts of the day.” — Sophia
“I really enjoyed the podcast because it was a learning process and it’s really fun to talk to people see what it is like to have a certain job or culture.” — Erin
“It was really fun, it helped us connect with others!” — Tommy
“Doing the podcast was so much fun!! A new skill I learned was to feel confident in what I’m saying to people and it felt like I could say anything.” — Hannah
“The podcast was really fun and exciting. I learned how to edit and try to not be awkward talking to new people. I worked with new people so we kinda got to learn how to be out of our comfort zone and meet new people.” — Grace
Asking for Help To Overcome Hurdles
Feeling like you have to have every answer can be overwhelming. Success often requires a team effort of knowledge and skills to accomplish. Asking for help is crucial. The best educators I know are the ones who don’t pretend they can do it all themselves.
Maggie approached her PTA for funding. She wanted to provide a full podcast recording experience so they bought a sound board, professional microphones and headphones. They used a free editing program called Audacity to edit and produce episodes.
Some of episodes involved heavy topics for 10 year old kids. That didn’t scare Mrs. Clark away. She reached out to her Literacy Coach Deb Thibault who helped find age appropriate resources for the students to navigate through. She had check-in conversations with her principal Teresa Dahlem in which they would discuss the issues and Ms. Dahlem could offer up advice.
She connected with her Innovation Coach to help work through technical training. He taught a team of students how to set-up and take down the equipment, record, edit, and produce. He supported the process for the first few episodes before turning it completely over to the student team.
Maggie used small conference room space as her recording studio. She wanted a place in which recording could happen when moments arose throughout the day. Her neighboring teachers were essential to success because of their flexibility.
Use the talented people and resources you have around you. Author Tony Wagner is quoted, “Isolation is the enemy of improvement.” Don’t be an island. Put yourself out there and try that new idea. It just might end up being powerful.
The Final Episode and What’s Next?
One of my favorite aspects of this project was what Maggie did for the final episode. She turned the process around on her students and interviewed them. They were the focus and reflected back on their elementary years and what they were looking forward to in the future. That final podcast was a space for students to recognize their experiences and look towards the future.
Parents were pleased that their children were able to navigate these topics in a safe guided space. Not on the bus or on the playground, but in a place in which respect was at the core of it all.
Maggie is now starting the process again, with a new group of students. She is excited to see how things will evolve with a new crew. She has dreams of moving the podcast to larger platforms such as iTunes or Spotify. That “Yes, and” attitude is alive and well. Wherever it goes, I know they have one committed subscriber who will continue to listen and learn from their work.
Look for more Innovate 624 Spotlights periodically in the future. We hope to highlight the amazing things that are happening within White Bear Lake Area Schools. Follow us on Twitter @innovate624 and let us know if you see something innovative using #innovate624.
