Invitations to Learn Podcast
This educational podcast features classroom conversations on making learning more rigorous, engaging, and blended, which means a combination of online and face-to-face experiences.
Episodes
April 13, 2021 • 49 min
Join Nishi Langhorne & Kathleen Otal as we interview Tu Phillips, Educational Specialist in the Office of Equity & Cultural Responsiveness. Tu shares how she learned to “live with ambiguity” after being airlifted out of Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. She details her life as a refugee with her five brothers and sisters, and how she gained the ability to start again when she began a new life in third grade in...
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March 30, 2021 • 45 min
TRIGGER WARNING: This episode contains sensitive content including stories of sexual abuse.
In this episode, Dr. Rejane Martinez, School-Based Technology Specialist at Fort Belvoir Upper Elementary School, shares her incredibly powerful story. Growing up in Salt Lake City, Rejane faced unimaginable challenges in her childhood and managed to rise above with the personal mantra, "I want more." Rejane shares her many experien...
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March 16, 2021 • 38 min
Join Nishi Langhorne & Kathleen Otal, co-hosts of Invitations to Listen, as we interview Alanna Dushok, School-Based Technology Specialist at Westlawn Elementary. Alanna shares how she learned to be her authentic self when facing her greatest challenge in life. She details how she has learned to live into her values, lean into the people around her, and take one step at a time. Alanna embraces the vulnerability of having to ...
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March 2, 2021 • 48 min
Join Nishi Langhorne and Kathleen Otal as we interview Dr. Jacob Kohut, Fairfax County Band Teacher, Member of the National Guard, Musician, Composer and the list goes on! Jacob shares his varied story, including childhood experiences in Michigan, periods of love and loss, and his ultimate resilience over the adversities of his life. We learn from his story that grief and loss lead to opportunity, and that it is more important than...
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February 16, 2021 • 30 min
Join Nishi Langhorne and Kathleen Otal, co-hosts of Invitations to Listen, as we interview Lynbrook Elementary Art School Teacher and 2020 Virginia Art Educator of the Year Libya Doman. Libya shares her experience moving from a North Philadelphia neighborhood to the suburbs in New Jersey as a child, and how she decided to combine her love of art and her love of children to become an elementary school art teacher. She details how ...
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February 2, 2021 • 44 min
Join Nishi Langhorne & Kathleen Otal as we listen to Evie Ifantides' inspiring story. Evie is an ESOL Technology Specialist for Fairfax County Public Schools. Evie shares her challenging journey, starting with her time in Constantinople as a child, moving to Athens for some time and then immigrating to the United States after 7th grade. Evie shares powerful stories and insights like "it takes a village to raise a child,...
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January 19, 2021 • 37 min
Join Kathleen Otal as she interviews her Invitations to Listen co-host, Nishi Langhorne, Educational Specialist for Technology Integration for FCPS. Nishi shares her story of growing up in Pennsylvania as the child of parents who immigrated from India. Hear how Nishi’s teachers taught her the power of literature and writing, how she shared that power with her students as an English teacher, and how her mother’s selflessness and de...
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January 5, 2021 • 52 min
Join Nishi Langhorne & Kathleen Otal, co-hosts of Invitations to Listen, as we interview ESOL resource teacher for FCPS, Manny Gomez Portillo. Manny shares his inspirational story of growing up in El Salvador and immigrating to the United States at a young age. He details his journey through FCPS public schools both as a student and teacher, to China to teach, and now to obtain his doctorate in Educational Leadership. Manny emb...
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December 8, 2020 • 47 min
This episode features Ann Wong, Associate Principal at Robinson Secondary School. Ann shares the story of her parents who immigrated from China, her experience winning the Milken Educator Award, and her journey from FCPS Biology Teacher to Associate Principal. You will hear how Ann’s fifth grade teacher gave her a “second chance” that changed her life, how her teachers inspired her to focus on her strengths, and how her former te...
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November 24, 2020 • 32 min
Join Nishi Langhorne and Kathleen Otal as we interview Seth LeBlanc, English and Creative Writing teacher at McLean HS. He shares the experiences of coming out, meeting his now husband, and discovering his love of teaching English. Some nuggets of wisdom from our conversation: time heals most wounds, literature is a tool for personal growth, celebrate small successes, and in the words of Seth's grandmother, "love always win...
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November 10, 2020 • 30 min
Join Nishi Langhorne and Kathleen Otal, co-hosts of the podcast Invitations to Listen, as we interview Lynn Jimmo, fourth grade teacher at Union Mill Elementary. Lynn shares her experiences growing up in a multicultural military family, how being authentic and honest has helped her as a teacher, and how she balanced two jobs while raising her daughters and getting her Masters degree.
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October 27, 2020 • 38 min
Join Nishi Langhorne & Kathleen Otal as we engage in a conversation with Sarah Eqab, ESOL specialist and educator in FCPS. Sarah shares her story as a bicultural FCPS graduate. She emphasizes the importance of embracing identity, following passion, and giving people the benefit of the doubt.
Follow Sarah on Twitter @EqabEsol
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October 13, 2020 • 52 min
Join Nishi Langhorne and Kathleen Otal, co-hosts of the podcast Invitations to Listen, as we interview Dr. George Hewan, Assistant Principal at Woodson High School. In this interview, George shares his experiences immigrating from Jamaica to the United States as a child, how athletics helped to shape his ability to develop a strong work ethic, and the importance of using “Island Time” while pursuing one’s goals.
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September 29, 2020 • 54 min
Join Nishi Langhorne and Kathleen Otal, co-hosts of the new podcast Invitations to Listen, as we have an engaging and inspiring conversation with Summer Johnson and Kelley Brown, married FCPS educators who share powerful insights they've gained from their life experiences. We discuss, among many other topics, the importance of following your passion, cultivating curiosity, and recognizing the genius of every child.
Follow Sum...
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September 15, 2020 • 41 min
Join Kathleen Otal and Nishi Langhorne, co-hosts of the new podcast Invitations to Listen, as we interview our first guest, Dr. Beverly Parker-Lewis, a school psychologist at McLean High School. In this interview, Dr. Parker-Lewis shares powerful details, stories, and lessons from her life. She shares her experiences in segregated schools, her educational journey which culminated in her PhD, and many valuable lessons she's lear...
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June 2, 2020 • 37 min
I speak with Jenn Choumil and Jamie Heath, two McLean High School teachers, and they share their reflections on distance learning. We use Project Zero's 4 C's Visible Thinking Routine to frame our discussion and examine connections, challenges, concepts, and changes.
Follow Jenn Choumil on Twitter @jennchoumil and Jamie Heath @JamieHeath42.
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May 26, 2020 • 21 min
I speak with Beth Werfel, our school psychologist, about the importance of gratitude. We discuss the mental, physical, and emotional benefits of gratitude, the ways to practice gratitude in our lives, and the impact of positive psychology.
Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes so you know when my next episode is released and leave a review because your feedback counts!
Podcast website:
http://invitationstolearn.com/
Twitter: @M...
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May 19, 2020 • 62 min
Laura Venos, Career Center Specialist, facilitates a discussion among parents of seniors. Beth Werfel, Karen Gentry, Glenn Lebowitz and I talk about our experiences with our seniors and give advice to families with current juniors and other underclassmen.
Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes so you know when my next episode is released and leave a review because your feedback counts!
Podcast website:
http://invitationstolearn.com/...
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May 12, 2020 • 31 min
I speak with Beth Werfel, School Psychologist, and teachers Steve Walker and Annie Billingsley about the importance of self-care. We discuss the acronym GRAPES which is a collection of self-care strategies.
G: Gentle with self
R: Relaxation
A: Accomplishments
P: Pleasure
E: Exercise
S: Social
Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes so you know when my next episode is released and leave a review because your feedback counts!
Podcast web...
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May 5, 2020 • 17 min
REPOST: McLean teachers Erin Kreeger and Lizzy McManus share their experiences with using Pear Deck in the classroom. They discuss how to use this app to make student thinking and learning visible.
Subscribe to me on iTunes so you know when my next episode is released and leave a review so I can continue to grow!
Podcast website: http://invitationstolearn.com/
Twitter: @MrsLanghorne
Email: invitationstolearn@gmail.com
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