Today on Beyond My Years, host Ana Torres learns from the best, sitting down with 2024’s National Teacher of the Year, Missy Testerman. Missy talks about always being open to new ideas and perspectives, offers tips on building relationships with families, and discusses the importance of slowing down. She also shares the story of being the “bossy” kid in the classroom, because she wanted to help her classmates learn.Today, she feels that being a dedicated teacher means advocating for her students, because she believes that showing up means creating a vital safe place. Missy does not shy away from tough topics, such as knowing when it’s time to step away from teaching, and managing the “who knows best” struggle between administrators and teachers, parents and teachers, etc. Taking all those lessons back to the classroom, Ana and her Classroom Insider Eric Cross discuss understanding your community, being more flexible and present in your lessons, and seeking mentorship and continuous growth.
Show notes:
- Submit your story about a seasoned educator who affected your life, and be entered to win exclusive Beyond My Years swag!
- Connect with Missy Testerman:
- Instagram: @missytesterman2024ntoy
- LinkedIn: @missy-testerman
- X: @missytesterman
- Subscribe to Beyond My Years https://amplify.com/beyond-my-years
- Follow us on Instagram @amplify.education
- Connect with Eric Cross https://www.ericcross.org/
- Connect with Ana Torres https://www.linkedin.com/in/anayansi-ana-torres-m-ed-26a10654/
Quotes:
“The reality is that the journey toward wisdom in any career, especially in education, has to be slow and steady.” –Missy Testerman
“I want them to be proud of where they came from, always, because that's part of their story. It's always going to be an important part of their story.” –Missy Testerman
“I had a mentor who said, ‘Sometimes you have to slow down teaching to speed up learning.’ Slowing down, allowing those spontaneous moments to happen, allowing it to interrupt your plan, and then going there and diving into that, because you got the engagement. You have these natural phenomena. You have this natural curiosity. And that's true learning. And that's what's memorable.” –Missy Testerman
Popular Podcasts
New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce
Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!