September 3, 2025 • 41 mins
Peel Back Education with April Braithwaite
Educators are the backbone of society, yet their stories often go unheard. In this episode of My EdTech Life, I sit down with April Braithwaite, founder of Peel Back Education, a new project dedicated to telling the authentic stories of teachers. April shares how a late-night reflection sparked her mission to capture educator journeys in writing, giving teachers a platform that isn’t about products or checklists, it’s about dignity, recognition, and impact.
We talk about the ripple effect of great teachers, the importance of narrative in sustaining educators, and how storytelling can bring healing, validation, and even systemic change. April opens up about the teachers who shaped her life, why she believes “you’re here for a reason,” and how she’s building a space where every educator can feel seen.
If you’ve ever doubted whether your work matters, this episode is a reminder that your story could change lives.
Timestamps
- 0:00 Welcome and sponsor shout-outs
- 2:00 How April and I first connected at TCEA
- 3:20 The toothbrush epiphany that sparked Peel Back Education
- 6:00 Moving beyond products: Why teacher stories matter
- 8:30 The mentors who shaped my own journey in education
- 11:20 April’s inspiration from her own teachers who believed in her
- 14:30 How storytelling gives educators recognition and dignity
- 19:00 The ripple effect of teachers and the seeds they plant
- 24:00 Education as the backbone of society
- 25:30 How educators can share their stories with Peel Back Education
- 28:45 The overwhelming response after launch
- 34:00 Future plans: from blog to clips to podcast
- 36:00 Lightning round: EduKryptonite, billboards, and role swaps
- 39:00 Closing reflections and ways to connect with April
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (00:09):
Hello everybody and welcome to another
great episode of my EdTech Life.
Thank you for joining us onthis wonderful day and, wherever
it is that you're joining usfrom around the world, thank you
, as always, for all of yoursupport.
We appreciate all the likes,the shares, the follows.
Thank you so much for sharingour content and for all your
your support.
We appreciate all the likes,the shares, the follows.
Thank you so much for sharingour content and for all your
wonderful comments.
And I definitely want to takesome time to shout out our
(00:30):
amazing sponsors.
Thank you so much, book Creator, eduaid and Yellowdig.
Thank you so much for believingin our mission to be able to
bring these amazingconversations into our education
space so we can continue togrow.
And if you're interested insponsoring our show, please make
sure you reach out to me atmyedtechlive.
But I am excited today because Ihave been able to meet well,
(00:53):
actually not meet in person.
Wait, have we met in person?
Yes, we did meet.
Did we meet in person?
Yes, we did.
I can't remember.
I was like, yes, we did runinto each other, and this was
over a year ago, because I'velost track of time and it was at
TCEA a year ago and I tell you,from that moment on, it was
just great.
I walked in into the conventionarea, the exhibit hall, and all
(01:16):
of a sudden I get approached byApril, who I am excited to
welcome to the show, and it hasbeen just something amazing.
April is doing some amazingwork.
She not only is a listener ofthe show, but now she's working
on a great side project, and avery important one.
So I'm just thankful to haveApril Braithwaite here with us
(01:39):
today, joining us from the UK,to talk a little bit about this
amazing, amazing project thatshe's working on.
That, I think, is somethingthat is beneficial to our space
and I'm just excited to welcomeher to the show.
So, april, how are you doingtoday?
April Braithwaite (01:53):
Thanks, Fonz.
Yeah, I'm doing really well.
It's getting darker rainy overhere in Cardiff, but what do you
expect?
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (02:00):
Well, thank you so much, April.
Like I said, I just couldn'tbelieve it.
It's already almost well.
It'll be a year in February, Isthat correct?
I think that's when we firstmet and running into you and I
was just like this is amazing.
So it's great that I did get tomeet you in real life and now
have you on, am chuffed to bitsto be speaking with you today,
(02:26):
so I'm excited about that.
So, april, tell us a little bitabout your context in education
, and then let's go ahead andtalk about your wonderful
project, peelback Education.
So yeah, tell us a little bitabout yourself.
April Braithwaite (02:42):
Sure.
So I got into education throughworking with book creator, so
I'm on a marketing andoperations team with them, which
meant I've been able to go toevents, speak at conferences
it's how I met you funds at TCA,which is my favorite conference
, I try and make them send meevery year and kind of being in
that space meant that I got tospeak to educators every day and
(03:03):
hear their stories, andobviously I'm not necessarily a
salesperson, so sometimes wewould just be talking about
their doing, what their life islike, and it was a really
eye-opening kind of space to bein, because I would have
teachers telling me about thingsthey can do, can't do, things
they're worried about, thingsthat maybe are not always the
(03:27):
funnest challenges to comethrough in the classroom.
And this is kind of where peelback education came into it.
So I was it's kind of a buddy'sdoor.
I was brushing my teeth onenight.
I was just thinking to myselfabout all of these things.
I was thinking about, uh, likefarmer forbes, you, claudia
fisnoti, all of these amazingeducators I'd spoken to very
recently about how they becameeducators and what motivates
(03:49):
them, and that's when I kind ofhad this phrase come into my
head of.
I'd love to peel back theirstories and tell those stories
for them.
And I just saw it.
I saw the logo and I saw allthis big idea of telling the
stories of these educators forother people, because there's
plenty of influencers in thisspace, there's plenty of
companies that are alwaystalking about education, but I
(04:10):
would love there to be a placewhere these educators could have
their story told as well, andthat's where it comes from.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (04:16):
I love it and I love this at this time, and
especially now, for a lot ofschools that are starting up,
and here in the US I knowthere's some schools that have
already started and maybethey're three weeks in, two
weeks in or a little bit longer.
But I think that educatorstories are so important and
they are just very useful in somany ways to hear how educators
(04:39):
are really masters of theircraft, how they are adapting to
the everyday things that cometheir way, how their ability to
overcome a lot of thosechallenges.
And I think, for a lot of theyounger teachers that are coming
in, whether they're first yearteachers, whether they're five
year teachers, there's so muchknowledge and experience within
(05:01):
a lot of the educators withinour space that can be very
useful to motivate and to helpand just to simply be there as
an ear, to listen and then justshare those experiences like you
mentioned being able to peelback, and I think that's
something that is so great andso important.
So when I saw you post that,immediately I reached out and I
(05:23):
was like, hey, do you want to beon the podcast?
Because I want you to sharethis amazing project, because
this is something that I feel isvery important to take off and
getting to hear your backgroundstating you know being in a
marketing team for an ed techcompany not necessarily within,
like you know, the confines ofthe education space let's say, a
(05:44):
brick and mortar school and soon but to take the time to know
and hear and talk to teachersnot necessarily selling, but
just hearing their stories Ithink that is so powerful.
So I really love that and Ilove the way that this all came
about.
I think a lot of the greatestideas that I've had to have
(06:05):
happened in the restroom whileI'm brushing my teeth or just
there, like in the mornings,combing my hair.
I think that's where, likethose epiphanies happen.
So that's something that'sfantastic.
So let's talk a little bitabout Peelback Education.
I know you have a website nowand everything, so tell us a
little bit about this.
What is your overall missionnow?
(06:26):
So we want to hear thoseeducator stories and what else
would we be able to find withinPeelback Education?
April Braithwaite (06:35):
Yeah.
So I'm coming at it as kind ofa medium, a storyteller, a
messenger for teachers thatmaybe otherwise don't have the
time or the platform to telltheir own story, or maybe
they're so busy sharing all thegreat things they do that we
haven't uncovered why yet, ortheir full history.
So what I want people to getout of Peelback Education is
(06:58):
almost like mini stories orbiographies about great
educators that could inspirethem, or even just a sense of
understanding and somebody'sbeen in a similar place to them,
so you know, when there'speople who have overcome
challenges or a sense of being adifferent teacher in a
difficult environment, how didthey overcome that?
(07:19):
Because that could help anyteacher today, whether that's a
first year teacher or a teacherin a new campus.
I want to offer a place whereI'm not selling a product to
anyone.
I'm not trying to get you touse this in curriculum, but I'm
also not giving you top 10 waysto use any kind of product.
It's just stories aboutteachers that might help other
(07:39):
teachers.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (07:41):
That is great and you know some of the things
that I do see here, uh, justamplifying that powerful,
authentic stories, and I love,like you said, you're not coming
at it, you know in in adifferent way.
Like I said, and I think that'sso important that I do want to
emphasize again, although you dowork in ed tech, you're not
really taking that ed techapproach.
It's really just the wholeeducator approach with those
(08:05):
stories and amplification.
And you know, just to kind ofgo back a little bit with what
you're talking about, I have toshare a little bit about my
story, which I know a lot ofpeople have heard, but I think
that it falls in line with whatyou're trying to do, because
oftentimes I get asked like,well, who inspired you to be a
teacher or things of that sort,and I always mention you know
(08:29):
just a couple of names, butbecause their stories and the
way that they worked with me andmade me feel, helped me
continue to move forward in this, and I think that it's a great
way for just to share the workthat they've done, the
inspiration, how they made youfeel, and then to ignite and
light that fire into some neweducators, some new motivation
(08:54):
for those five to 10 yearteachers, 20 year teachers, and
so for myself, when I first gotinto education.
I always say I fell intoeducation, not necessarily
wanting to be in education, butonce I fell into education not
necessarily wanting to be ineducation, but once I fell into
it I absolutely fell in lovewith education.
(09:14):
And it would be I wouldn't bewhere I'm at today if I hadn't
had some great mentors.
My first year teaching, whichwas Mr Nava, who was an algebra
teacher also as well, because Ijust started teaching algebra,
coming in from the sales andadvertising world into math but
(09:34):
the fact that he would take thetime to walk down the hall and I
had my door open while I wasteaching and he would just kind
of walk down the hall and justkind of peek in and I would see
him kind of go and come back andgo and come back.
And I remember one day Istopped him and I said hey, is
everything okay?
Like what's going on?
(09:54):
He goes.
No, he goes, I'm just observing, you know.
And then he told me this thatI'll never forget he said keep
doing what you're doing, he goes.
And if you keep teaching the waythat you're teaching, your
years are going to fly by sofast, fast forward, 19 years
later, still in education, andthen pursued my master's, just
(10:17):
recently, defended mydissertation too as well.
But it was because somebody withmore experience than me saw me
and said, hey, I just you know,I'm here for you, I just want to
share my knowledge, I want toshare my experiences, and that,
for me, was something that wasso important.
That has kept me in education,and so I love that.
(10:41):
These are the stories thatyou're trying to capture, those
moments in time that, for a lotof educators like myself, have
kept us in education, and thework that I do now is also to
give back to education, so itjust comes around full circle,
and I'm just so thankful thatyou're going to capture that and
(11:01):
those authentic stories fromour community, because this
could definitely be get the Ican see this being big April, so
I'm so excited for you in indoing these things and you know
people reaching out to you andsubscribing, you know, to hear
these stories, read thesestories and being featured
educators.
I think for a lot of oureducators out there, just to
(11:24):
hold them up in that sense ofthat experience that they have
is something powerful, so thankyou so much for that.
April Braithwaite (11:31):
And it's exactly that kind of exactly why
I'm coming at it.
So one thing I remember hearinga lot in the community space is
that oftentimes when teacherswant to get recognition or be
promoted, it relies on all ofthis stuff outside of the
classroom.
Other webinars, other peoplefeaturing you or some teachers
aren't even allowed to have thatand that's actually looked down
upon in some districts, and soI kind of came at it as this.
(11:54):
I'm not in education.
I can tell any story I wantbecause I'm not in the classroom
.
So whether you want to tell yourstory publicly and use that to
show how great you are and tryto access that career that you
want, or you have a story thatyou're not allowed to tell but
you want it out there in theworld, I want to be available
for both those teachers becauseI think of it as my way of
getting back, because I hadgreat teachers when I was in
(12:18):
school that really motivated meto keep trying with myself.
I was a bit of an absenteestudent for quite a few years
into, like high school level.
There's a couple of teachersthat made me remember that I
matter and, as an adult, thenkeep pursuing education or keep
trying hard because, well, theybelieved in me.
So why would I give up onbelieving?
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (12:38):
on me.
April Braithwaite (12:38):
And it was that sense of dignity and
respect that they gave me that Iwould like to give to teachers
today, because I think,hopefully, that I'm quite a good
writer and it's something thatis my.
My bread and butter is bloggingand putting stories out there,
so why not use that for thisgood?
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (12:57):
yes, absolutely, and you know I think
that this is so wonderful.
You know you're taking thoseskills, you know that you use on
the day-to-day, you know assomebody who's working in ed
tech and now using it for this,and I think that that's
something that is fantastic tobe able to market those stories
and share, and you knowvalidating educator work, but
(13:19):
then also, like you said, youknow offering a space, a safe
space, to be able to share thosestories because, as we know, as
much good as there is in theeducation space, you know there
are some tough stories and sometough situations that are out
there because of our systems,and maybe this could also be a
way to be able to help fix andremedy these things and be able
(13:43):
to get at it at the root level,make those changes and better
the situation for our educatorshere within our classrooms, and
I think that's something that'svery important.
So I love that you're justgoing to be open and honest in
really sharing these stories andbeing able to put these out
there and market education inthat way.
(14:04):
And so, again, I'm justdefinitely excited about those
things, education in that way,and so, again, I'm just
definitely excited about thosethings and now so kind of
falling in line with that, likeyou mentioned, there are those
teachers that it's how they madeyou feel and you know.
So tell me a little bit aboutyou know.
Just to kind of get back intothat peelback education, I want
to peel back a little bit aboutyou to amplify your story as
(14:26):
well and just so we can makethat connection of now why
you're doing this.
But as far as in your educationyou know coming up who might be
those, let's say, maybe two orthree teachers that you remember
that made a big difference inyour world, that maybe kind of
changed your trajectory or maybehelped you, like, move forward
(14:47):
in the same path that you landedin, as far as in the ed tech
space or, you know, now withthis new role, or as far as peel
back education is concerned,yeah, for sure, the number one
teacher I always think of andmaybe it's a little bit
embarrassing, maybe I'm afangirl.
April Braithwaite (15:05):
I probably think about this teacher more
regularly than you're supposedto when you leave education.
But when I was a junior andsenior year in America, when I
was in college in the UK, I hada philosophy and religious
studies teacher called MartinSinclair.
So you called your teacher byyour first name at that level,
so I'd called him Martin.
(15:25):
He had Einstein-like gray curlyhair.
He'd ride his bike through thepark into work and he was just
such a character and it was thefirst time that I'd really ever
met a teacher that was so uniqueand bold and curious and
creative.
He was a zen buddhist and hehad certificates in astrology
(15:49):
and he'd just talk to you aboutthe most random things, because
that's what he would do in hisphilosophy classroom.
And one thing that really stuckout to me really early on when
I met him was him saying that hedidn't necessarily go to
university did at his religiousstudies teaching degree he
taught uh well, sorry, wastaught by buddhists.
He went to, uh, monasteries.
(16:10):
He went through that religiousstudies education and then
became a teacher and then becamea college teacher and I
remember thinking at the timeI'd never really heard that you
could do that and I was alreadya kid that was thinking I don't
know if I'll be going to you, Idon't know what I want to do.
So having that reassurance thatsomeone I respected still could
make such an impact and be ateacher makes such a big
(16:34):
difference on how I looked atlife.
But it was actually somethingthat happened later, for the end
of my studies with Martin.
I was in my last year of class,like a two year class, and I was
just not turning up.
Really I think my attendancewas like three quarters of the
time.
I was just not there.
And I do come in one of hisclasses.
I sit down in the corner backcorner of my friends and he just
(16:57):
comes over just very quietly,just very calmly.
He says why are you never in?
And I didn't have an answer atthe time.
I was like, oh, I don't know, Ijust never in.
But it stayed with me thatwhole time Because he noticed
that I was never in and therewere so many teachers that never
really said anything orcertainly never made a big deal
(17:17):
out of it.
But in some ways, when you're astudent who's maybe just trying
to fade into the background,having that one teacher
recognize that you have aconnection or you do respect
them and being willing to say ithad been life-changing.
Because it's one of thosethings that I come back to.
I think why wouldn't I try, whywouldn't I show up for myself?
Because I always think thatMartin would like to hear that I
(17:39):
did or that I tried.
I think about emailing him allthe time like, oh, you never
guess what I do.
Now, martin, I work ineducation.
Now I tell these storiesbecause I think that I like to
remember.
I think he'd be proud of me andI think this is what I hear
regulate conferences thatteachers want to hear their
former students have, and I hadinterviews recently that are
going to go up on the blog.
(17:59):
They kind of solidified thatthat teachers want to know
they're making a good job, andI'm like, well, I know teachers
that did a good job and I knowteachers doing a good job today
that remind me of Martin oranother teacher.
Being Miss Portman, my Englishteacher, probably the only
subject where I thought I couldjust do it English language.
I got my first ever A star,which is like 97 plus percent.
(18:21):
And I remember we had thisfiction piece where we had to
write like a tension story andshe said your work made me cry.
I cried at the end and thatjust stayed with me.
Maybe, as I could be a writer,I could do these things.
And I never did go to uni forit and Pop didn't go that way.
But she reminded me that Ialways could and I always come
back to that and that's why I'mwriting today.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (18:43):
That is so wonderful.
See, these are the wonderfulstories that I think we
definitely need to honor andhear back or hear of more, and I
think that what you're going todo through peelback education
is something that is wonderfulin that sense of being able to
honor the work, but also itcould be a way, like we talked
(19:04):
about that motivation, but formany too, it could be like a way
of healing also as well Justbeing able to share your story,
share your heart and things ofthat sort, because this is a
labor of love.
I think education is one of themost noble professions that is
out there, because we areinvesting so much of ourselves
(19:25):
in our students.
And I just want to share onemore story, because it's just
the way that you shared aboutMartin.
You shared about Martin andI've said the story and shared
this before, but for me, I'llnever forget a substitute
teacher that I had in ninthgrade so you're looking at back
(19:45):
in 1994 when I was a freshman inhigh school, ninth grade, and
it's stuck with me forever andit's also been part of my
motivation in education is hisname, was Mr Rodriguez.
He was also he's a.
He was at the time a retiredbiology teacher, so he would
come and sub in our biologyclass and, of course, he was one
(20:07):
of those teachers that I thinkI might say that I'm, I was or I
am a little like him, in thesense that I was always just
thinking outside the box, so Ididn't.
He never really followed theteacher lesson plans when the
teacher was out, but we all knewthat we were in for a treat
when he would come in, becausewe were going to learn something
(20:28):
like just awesome and somethingthat was just going to, you
know, really make an impact onus, and I never forgot it was
mainly just the way that he madeus all feel, but I'll never
forget one of the lessons thathe shared with us was we walked
in, we sat down and he said, onthe board, you know, this is
(20:49):
what you're going to see.
And he wrote out and it's justreally kind of like in an
acronym form.
But he wrote out see, hopkinsCafe.
And we're all just sittingthere and he's asking, really
kind of like in an acronym form,but he wrote out See, hopkins
Cafe.
And we're all just sittingthere and he's asking us what do
you think this means?
And we're like, we're just likedumbfounded, like looking at
each other like I don't know,and then he just went into an
explanation saying, hey, theseare, you know, the seven or some
(21:12):
of the elements, but some ofthe seven most important
elements that you need as ahuman to survive.
And he just broke it down andit was C Hopkins cafe, which is
carbon hydrogen, oxygen,phosphorus, potassium, iodine,
nitrogen, sulfur, calcium andiron.
So I was just like, and itstuck with me and I saw him and
(21:35):
so, so this kind of ties intomaybe this might be one of my
favorite, maybe an entry that Imight put in.
But I remember seeing himseveral years later, after, you
know, I had just gotten intoeducation and he's a lot older.
We were in a doctor's officeand he walked up to the water
fountain to get some water and Ijust kind of, you know, kind of
(21:56):
followed him over there in thatway just to go say hi and I was
like, hey, mr Rodriguez, andyou know, take him back a little
.
You know, he was just like Idon't remember you, I'm not, you
know, and I just introducedmyself and I told him I will
never forget that you taught meC Hopkins Cafe in ninth grade
and I just wanted to let youknow that I really appreciate
(22:18):
you and thank you for the waythat you always made us feel,
and I saw his eyes get wateryand teary.
He got so teary eyed and Ithink that moment, too, was an
impact for me, in the sense thatback in 1994, when he was in
that classroom, he didn't knowthat he had planted a seed there
(22:48):
.
And now, many years later, youknow, I ran into him and I got
to share that story.
So he want to see and why.
I think for educators it'simportant that if a student can
remember them, just hey, how areyou?
Thank you so much for this.
I think that just makes a hugedifference for so many educators
out there to know that whatthey put in there, what they
(23:10):
planted, that time spent, thateffort, you know, was able to
bear some wonderful fruit.
And that effort, you know, wasable to bear some wonderful
fruit and you know, just, Ithink that's something that's
great and amazing.
April Braithwaite (23:22):
So this is why I'm just so excited, because
this is something so differentthan what we normally see, and
you know, I'm kind of taken backa little bit, like in a good
way, that this is happening andthat you're putting your efforts
into this to be able to sharethese stories and the heart of
teachers that are out there, tooas well yeah, ah, me too,
(23:44):
because I have been doing someinterviews, getting them ready
to go out, and I had acompletely almost full circle
moment in one where, almost justlike you, just then, I'm
interviewing educators to telltheir story and then they'll
start telling me about theirmost influential educator and
it's like this full goldencircle of implement on influence
(24:05):
and it's just.
It reminded me in this moment Ialmost kind of zoomed out for
myself and saw all of thesestories and people as the
generations of building blocksand community.
That's what it comes down to.
Education is the backbone ofall of society and when I'm
speaking to people who aren't ineducation, like my husband or
my friends, and I'm explainingit to them and trying to explain
(24:26):
to them what's happening andthe things that are happening on
a political level, or whyteachers can't buy pencils for
themselves, I'm realizing howmuch people don't know about
education when they're not inthat space.
And that's another reason why Iwant to tell that story,
because if we don't have thebuilding blocks of society, if
we don't have these teachers,what do we have?
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (24:48):
Exactly exactly.
So this is great and I'm justreally excited about this and
like so, you're tell us a littlebit more now as far as the
process.
So right now I know we'retalking about the types of
stories and you know how you'reworking alongside that as far as
putting them out and publishing.
So for our listeners here thatare just listening to about
(25:08):
peelback education for the veryfirst time, I will make sure and
link the website into our shownotes as well, but tell us a
little bit about the process.
How would a teacher go aboutand say, hey, I want to share my
story.
What should be the first thingthat I do, aside from going to
the web page?
April Braithwaite (25:26):
Yeah.
So I think the main thing thatI would do as far as coming
along is have an idea of whatmotivates you.
That's really my one ballparkquestion that it all comes from.
So there's no set questions.
There's no set way that we haveto speak.
What happens is I sit down forhalf an hour chat.
(25:49):
If you can't do video, we can docall or text.
It's really there's no barrierto entry.
You just have to be an educatorwho is willing to speak to me
for half an hour.
I promise I don't bite, so Iconsider it my job to ask the
questions that understand whatyour story is and to make that
into some kind of story.
(26:09):
All you have to do is come andtell me about you and that could
be how you got into educationor something you're currently
working on, because I believethat that can always be
different for every person.
It could be different thismonth to what it's going to be
in six months, and I like tothink that at the time you're
ready, you will just come homeand that these things are
(26:29):
somewhat predestined, if youwill, to just happen and the
best stories will come to life.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (26:36):
I love it and you know, kind of going back
even to what you're saying, andjust the ripple effect of those
stories because, like right now,just me sharing this with you,
I mean that was a ripple in timefor me, that you know, now I'm
here in this position, in thisrole, being able to do so many
things because of thoseeducators and there's many more
(26:56):
educators, but these are theones that really they're in my
heart and I will never, everforget that because of them, I'm
still here and I think thatthat is something that is
wonderful because, like you said, right now, just being able to
listen to this work that you'regoing to do, it's just really
I'm excited about it and I'mexcited to subscribe and hear
(27:17):
and read and learn from allthose stories, because it's just
something that we do and Ithank you too, like you
mentioned, you know, explainingthese things from not being in
education per se and being ableto put these stories out.
The importance of that forpeople that are not in our space
, in our bubble, in ourlandscape per se, the education
(27:39):
landscape, to be able to hearand read the story.
I think that could also, youknow, help have a ripple effect
Because, as we do, we all learnthrough storytelling and, you
know, in any other situationthere are people that they learn
from as well and be able to seethose moments and capture and
say, hey, this was, this is whythis person was a great leader,
this is why this person was agreat manager, this is why this
(28:01):
person was a great teacher,because there's just something
in them that they're able tojust share and engage and you
know, our students in curiosityand engage them with excitement
and things of that sort to beable to change their paths as
well, you know.
So that's really, reallyexciting.
So you've said that you havealready started and so you've
(28:24):
already had some.
You know people reach out to youand so on.
So tell me how that process hasbeen for you, that it from the
point of all right, here iswhere I got the idea, idea from
Peelback Education.
Now I put my website out andnow I'm getting people that are
reaching out to share theirstories.
How has that made you feel?
(28:45):
How has the response been toPeelback Education?
To this point, because this isshort-lived, right you just
posted this.
What was it?
Maybe about a week ago.
April Braithwaite (28:55):
Yeah, it's been.
It feels like it's been a lotlonger than it has.
It's been a bit of a whirlwindin that way.
I did not expect to immediatelyget kind of the support and
positivity that I did.
I really thought it would justsit there for a while and
probably not do anything.
Um, I'm kind of mission drivento a fault, so I won't really do
anything unless I truly believein it, and I've always I had my
(29:17):
own business years ago decidedto leave it because it wasn't
what I wanted to do.
At times I've always keptsaying to my husband like, oh, I
kind of want something, but Idon't know what.
It is not the right time.
You know, I have these skills.
I want to write, I want to doblog, social, but I didn't have
the.
At midnight I was up until like2am using like ChatGPT to help
(29:41):
me get some like structure ideasin my cake.
But how would I do that?
What system do I need for this?
I just did not sleep and thenext day I just spent like
fixated hours putting ittogether and released it to the
world and it's.
It's been really lovely to seepeople already believe in that,
and so one of the pages that Iadded later over the weekend was
(30:03):
be a featured educator.
I needed to put it together toshow someone.
And it was kind of a magicalmoment for me, because then it
had been up for maybe six-ishhours and I logged in the next
day and someone had just foundit from my social media and
booked straight in.
And then when I emailed them, Isaid, yeah, I just came across
it and it felt, you know, I readthe tagline they're not here
(30:25):
for a reason and it just feltright.
And so that was a magicalmoment for me, realizing that,
okay, maybe I'm doing somethingright here.
It wasn't just this randombrainwave, it is this mission,
it is worth something.
And so now it's been about aweek.
And so now it's been about aweek we've got some interviews
(30:45):
lined out, some things written,some things prepared.
Uh, originally I had said I'dprobably try to release one a
month because, again, I didn'tthink there's going to be that
much interest in it.
But I think it's going to be alot more than that.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (30:54):
But we'll have to see that is so fantastic and
I mean this is wonderful.
April, like again I.
I know that I saw this pop upand you know you and I both
being connected on LinkedIn andso on, I was, and you know
there's so much negativitywithin you know the education
space that is being spoken and,of course, so many things
(31:29):
happening politically that canreally just it weighs down on an
educator and I think the worstthing is is just having that
weight and feeling like, is whatI'm doing?
Does it even make a difference?
Does it even matter?
And I want to share with alleducators yes, it does.
Yes, it does, because you know,if it wasn't for me sitting in
(31:53):
that seat with that, with MrLurie is, or if it wasn't for
myself just coming intoeducation and having Mr Nava
walking around and just tellingme and reassuring me and just
supporting me, I mean those arethe stories that we definitely
need to hear and learn from andjust to continue to ignite that
passion for education and it'sthe same thing for our students,
(32:14):
that that is your future.
I just had a student on LinkedIn.
I think it was about fourmonths ago or something.
I think they graduated in thespring, so it was a couple of
months back and she reached outto me.
She's Georgia Tech.
She graduated and she was asixth grader, which was my first
year as a sixth grade teacher.
(32:34):
She was in that class, shegraduated from Georgia Tech and
now she's working as a softwareengineer for Spotify, and she
sent me a message and said thankyou so much for sharing
technology with us, andeverything that you did with us
in sixth grade really helpedmotivate me and stay on track to
do this now.
And so you never know, younever know who's sitting in your
(32:58):
classroom and you never knowwhat difference they will make
in the years to come.
And so please, for all myfriends and listeners that are
out there, please visit PeelBack Education.
The link will be in the shownotes.
Please make sure you connectwith April, connect with her on
all socials I'll make sure andlink all that out too as well
and be part, share your story,be part of this mission and help
(33:22):
the education space, help allof us.
You know sharing your wonderfulstories and just to you know,
you don't know the great impactthat it'll have, not only on
students, but just on ourselvestoo as well.
So thank you so much, april.
I mean, I'm just so excited, I'mjust so thankful for the work
that you're doing and thatyou're going to continue to do,
(33:42):
and I can't believe it Like it'sbeen a week since you've put
this out and just hearing howmuch that you know people are
already reaching out and theimpact that this is going to
have, and then again reignitingyour passion in that sense of
now writing, blogging,presenting and just taking this
(34:02):
to a different level.
Just like you know my podcastmany years ago, so I'm excited
that you get to do this too aswell and enjoy it.
So are you really excited, like, is this something that might
possibly turn later on into apodcast, or is this right now
just simply going to be blogs,uh, a written story of that
(34:23):
sense?
April Braithwaite (34:27):
oh, I mean I would love if it turned into a
podcast.
That would be really cool, Ithink.
For now I'm going to set somerealistic expectations will be
written.
However, if you do follow onkind of the video social medias
like instagram and tiktok, I'llbe putting out some clicks from
my interviews that are just kindof those distilled moments so
that not only hear the voice andthe writing but actually hear
(34:50):
the voice and that passion fromthose educators directly.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (35:02):
I said, it's just April, like if, if this
does come to fruition, where itdoes become a podcast, I'm
definitely excited about thattoo as well, and definitely
anything that you need.
I am here to help Because Itruly believe in this project,
and so I just want to thank youfor your time today, to share
your heart and your passion andthe great things that you're
going to be doing, and I'm justagain, this is something that is
refreshing.
I know that this isn't ournormal content that we normally
(35:26):
do here on Maya Tech Life, butwho cares?
It's my show and I can dowhatever kind of content I want,
and this is something that Ineeded, and I'm thankful that
you were here too as well,because it really filled my
bucket and it filled me with joyand it just it just reminds me
of why I do what I do, and ittakes me back to those basics
(35:48):
and to never forget where I camefrom and what I'm doing, and I
think that's something that's soimportant, and so thank you for
the work that you're going todo through peelback education,
because this is somethingfantastic thank you, and thank
you for having me as well.
April Braithwaite (36:02):
It's been a pleasure to talk about it and
just kind of give my brain childsome love, because I do love
talking about why it shouldexist and kind of making people
see that we should be tellingeducators stories.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (36:16):
Excellent, wonderful.
I love it.
Well, april, as you know and Iknow that you are a listener of
the show we always end the showwith these last three questions,
so hopefully you are ready togo.
So here we go.
Question number one as we know,every superhero has a point of
weakness, so I want to ask you,in the current state of
education, what would you say?
(36:39):
Is your current edu kryptonite?
April Braithwaite (36:46):
what would you say is your current edu
kryptonite?
It's been my kryptonite for avery long time misinformation,
fake news.
I wish far more people knew howto digitally read headlines or
how to look for the correctthing and use a little bit more
thinking and questioning timewhen they read things online,
because I think it's dividing uswhen it should not.
We should be bringing peopletogether above everything.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (37:07):
Excellent, great answer.
Love it All right.
Question number two, april, isif you could have a billboard
with anything on it, what wouldit be and why?
April Braithwaite (37:19):
It would say be kind to yourself above all,
and for flowers.
But also there would be atleast three pictures of my cat,
because I can't make anythingabout including a picture of my
cat, so he'll be on there too.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (37:31):
I love it.
Wonderful, all right.
And question number three is ifyou could change places or
search places with a singleperson for one day, who would
that be and why?
April Braithwaite (37:43):
I recently started following on Instagram
I'm sure it's on TikTok too, butMr Luke, who's likea and it's
like a first year or likekindergarten teacher and his
videos are just so fun.
He tells stories about thequestions he gets.
He's always so excited, hist-shirts crazy fun and I would
love to be Mr Luke for a day,because he seems to have the
(38:05):
best job in the world teachinghis classes.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (38:07):
Awesome.
Well, we'll make sure and taghim here on the episode too, as
well.
That way, we can go ahead andhear the big shout out to Mr
Luke.
So shout out to you, Mr Luke.
Thank you so much.
No-transcript.
(38:52):
Connect with her, too, as well,and stay connected as far as
any releases and, of course, allthose wonderful clips that
she'll be putting out too well,but also when you visit our
website.
Not only will you be able tocatch this episode, but you'll
be able to catch the other 334episodes that we have, and I
promise you you will find alittle something there just for
you that you can sprinkle ontowhat you are already doing great
(39:15):
.
So thank you so much as alwaysfor all of your support and
again, big shout out to oursponsors, Book Creator, EduAid
and Yellowdig.
Thank you so much for believingin our mission and, my friends,
until next time, don't forget,stay techie.
Hello everybody and welcome to another
great episode of my EdTech Life.
Thank you for joining us onthis wonderful day and, wherever
it is that you're joining usfrom around the world, thank you
, as always, for all of yoursupport.
We appreciate all the likes,the shares, the follows.
Thank you so much for sharingour content and for all your
your support.
We appreciate all the likes,the shares, the follows.
Thank you so much for sharingour content and for all your
wonderful comments.
And I definitely want to takesome time to shout out our
(00:30):
amazing sponsors.
Thank you so much, book Creator, eduaid and Yellowdig.
Thank you so much for believingin our mission to be able to
bring these amazingconversations into our education
space so we can continue togrow.
And if you're interested insponsoring our show, please make
sure you reach out to me atmyedtechlive.
But I am excited today because Ihave been able to meet well,
(00:53):
actually not meet in person.
Wait, have we met in person?
Yes, we did meet.
Did we meet in person?
Yes, we did.
I can't remember.
I was like, yes, we did runinto each other, and this was
over a year ago, because I'velost track of time and it was at
TCEA a year ago and I tell you,from that moment on, it was
just great.
I walked in into the conventionarea, the exhibit hall, and all
(01:16):
of a sudden I get approached byApril, who I am excited to
welcome to the show, and it hasbeen just something amazing.
April is doing some amazingwork.
She not only is a listener ofthe show, but now she's working
on a great side project, and avery important one.
So I'm just thankful to haveApril Braithwaite here with us
(01:39):
today, joining us from the UK,to talk a little bit about this
amazing, amazing project thatshe's working on.
That, I think, is somethingthat is beneficial to our space
and I'm just excited to welcomeher to the show.
So, april, how are you doingtoday?
April Braithwaite (01:53):
Thanks, Fonz.
Yeah, I'm doing really well.
It's getting darker rainy overhere in Cardiff, but what do you
expect?
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (02:00):
Well, thank you so much, April.
Like I said, I just couldn'tbelieve it.
It's already almost well.
It'll be a year in February, Isthat correct?
I think that's when we firstmet and running into you and I
was just like this is amazing.
So it's great that I did get tomeet you in real life and now
have you on, am chuffed to bitsto be speaking with you today,
(02:26):
so I'm excited about that.
So, april, tell us a little bitabout your context in education
, and then let's go ahead andtalk about your wonderful
project, peelback Education.
So yeah, tell us a little bitabout yourself.
April Braithwaite (02:42):
Sure.
So I got into education throughworking with book creator, so
I'm on a marketing andoperations team with them, which
meant I've been able to go toevents, speak at conferences
it's how I met you funds at TCA,which is my favorite conference
, I try and make them send meevery year and kind of being in
that space meant that I got tospeak to educators every day and
(03:03):
hear their stories, andobviously I'm not necessarily a
salesperson, so sometimes wewould just be talking about
their doing, what their life islike, and it was a really
eye-opening kind of space to bein, because I would have
teachers telling me about thingsthey can do, can't do, things
they're worried about, thingsthat maybe are not always the
(03:27):
funnest challenges to comethrough in the classroom.
And this is kind of where peelback education came into it.
So I was it's kind of a buddy'sdoor.
I was brushing my teeth onenight.
I was just thinking to myselfabout all of these things.
I was thinking about, uh, likefarmer forbes, you, claudia
fisnoti, all of these amazingeducators I'd spoken to very
recently about how they becameeducators and what motivates
(03:49):
them, and that's when I kind ofhad this phrase come into my
head of.
I'd love to peel back theirstories and tell those stories
for them.
And I just saw it.
I saw the logo and I saw allthis big idea of telling the
stories of these educators forother people, because there's
plenty of influencers in thisspace, there's plenty of
companies that are alwaystalking about education, but I
(04:10):
would love there to be a placewhere these educators could have
their story told as well, andthat's where it comes from.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (04:16):
I love it and I love this at this time, and
especially now, for a lot ofschools that are starting up,
and here in the US I knowthere's some schools that have
already started and maybethey're three weeks in, two
weeks in or a little bit longer.
But I think that educatorstories are so important and
they are just very useful in somany ways to hear how educators
(04:39):
are really masters of theircraft, how they are adapting to
the everyday things that cometheir way, how their ability to
overcome a lot of thosechallenges.
And I think, for a lot of theyounger teachers that are coming
in, whether they're first yearteachers, whether they're five
year teachers, there's so muchknowledge and experience within
(05:01):
a lot of the educators withinour space that can be very
useful to motivate and to helpand just to simply be there as
an ear, to listen and then justshare those experiences like you
mentioned being able to peelback, and I think that's
something that is so great andso important.
So when I saw you post that,immediately I reached out and I
(05:23):
was like, hey, do you want to beon the podcast?
Because I want you to sharethis amazing project, because
this is something that I feel isvery important to take off and
getting to hear your backgroundstating you know being in a
marketing team for an ed techcompany not necessarily within,
like you know, the confines ofthe education space let's say, a
(05:44):
brick and mortar school and soon but to take the time to know
and hear and talk to teachersnot necessarily selling, but
just hearing their stories Ithink that is so powerful.
So I really love that and Ilove the way that this all came
about.
I think a lot of the greatestideas that I've had to have
(06:05):
happened in the restroom whileI'm brushing my teeth or just
there, like in the mornings,combing my hair.
I think that's where, likethose epiphanies happen.
So that's something that'sfantastic.
So let's talk a little bitabout Peelback Education.
I know you have a website nowand everything, so tell us a
little bit about this.
What is your overall missionnow?
(06:26):
So we want to hear thoseeducator stories and what else
would we be able to find withinPeelback Education?
April Braithwaite (06:35):
Yeah.
So I'm coming at it as kind ofa medium, a storyteller, a
messenger for teachers thatmaybe otherwise don't have the
time or the platform to telltheir own story, or maybe
they're so busy sharing all thegreat things they do that we
haven't uncovered why yet, ortheir full history.
So what I want people to getout of Peelback Education is
(06:58):
almost like mini stories orbiographies about great
educators that could inspirethem, or even just a sense of
understanding and somebody'sbeen in a similar place to them,
so you know, when there'speople who have overcome
challenges or a sense of being adifferent teacher in a
difficult environment, how didthey overcome that?
(07:19):
Because that could help anyteacher today, whether that's a
first year teacher or a teacherin a new campus.
I want to offer a place whereI'm not selling a product to
anyone.
I'm not trying to get you touse this in curriculum, but I'm
also not giving you top 10 waysto use any kind of product.
It's just stories aboutteachers that might help other
(07:39):
teachers.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (07:41):
That is great and you know some of the things
that I do see here, uh, justamplifying that powerful,
authentic stories, and I love,like you said, you're not coming
at it, you know in in adifferent way.
Like I said, and I think that'sso important that I do want to
emphasize again, although you dowork in ed tech, you're not
really taking that ed techapproach.
It's really just the wholeeducator approach with those
(08:05):
stories and amplification.
And you know, just to kind ofgo back a little bit with what
you're talking about, I have toshare a little bit about my
story, which I know a lot ofpeople have heard, but I think
that it falls in line with whatyou're trying to do, because
oftentimes I get asked like,well, who inspired you to be a
teacher or things of that sort,and I always mention you know
(08:29):
just a couple of names, butbecause their stories and the
way that they worked with me andmade me feel, helped me
continue to move forward in this, and I think that it's a great
way for just to share the workthat they've done, the
inspiration, how they made youfeel, and then to ignite and
light that fire into some neweducators, some new motivation
(08:54):
for those five to 10 yearteachers, 20 year teachers, and
so for myself, when I first gotinto education.
I always say I fell intoeducation, not necessarily
wanting to be in education, butonce I fell into education not
necessarily wanting to be ineducation, but once I fell into
it I absolutely fell in lovewith education.
(09:14):
And it would be I wouldn't bewhere I'm at today if I hadn't
had some great mentors.
My first year teaching, whichwas Mr Nava, who was an algebra
teacher also as well, because Ijust started teaching algebra,
coming in from the sales andadvertising world into math but
(09:34):
the fact that he would take thetime to walk down the hall and I
had my door open while I wasteaching and he would just kind
of walk down the hall and justkind of peek in and I would see
him kind of go and come back andgo and come back.
And I remember one day Istopped him and I said hey, is
everything okay?
Like what's going on?
(09:54):
He goes.
No, he goes, I'm just observing, you know.
And then he told me this thatI'll never forget he said keep
doing what you're doing, he goes.
And if you keep teaching the waythat you're teaching, your
years are going to fly by sofast, fast forward, 19 years
later, still in education, andthen pursued my master's, just
(10:17):
recently, defended mydissertation too as well.
But it was because somebody withmore experience than me saw me
and said, hey, I just you know,I'm here for you, I just want to
share my knowledge, I want toshare my experiences, and that,
for me, was something that wasso important.
That has kept me in education,and so I love that.
(10:41):
These are the stories thatyou're trying to capture, those
moments in time that, for a lotof educators like myself, have
kept us in education, and thework that I do now is also to
give back to education, so itjust comes around full circle,
and I'm just so thankful thatyou're going to capture that and
(11:01):
those authentic stories fromour community, because this
could definitely be get the Ican see this being big April, so
I'm so excited for you in indoing these things and you know
people reaching out to you andsubscribing, you know, to hear
these stories, read thesestories and being featured
educators.
I think for a lot of oureducators out there, just to
(11:24):
hold them up in that sense ofthat experience that they have
is something powerful, so thankyou so much for that.
April Braithwaite (11:31):
And it's exactly that kind of exactly why
I'm coming at it.
So one thing I remember hearinga lot in the community space is
that oftentimes when teacherswant to get recognition or be
promoted, it relies on all ofthis stuff outside of the
classroom.
Other webinars, other peoplefeaturing you or some teachers
aren't even allowed to have thatand that's actually looked down
upon in some districts, and soI kind of came at it as this.
(11:54):
I'm not in education.
I can tell any story I wantbecause I'm not in the classroom
.
So whether you want to tell yourstory publicly and use that to
show how great you are and tryto access that career that you
want, or you have a story thatyou're not allowed to tell but
you want it out there in theworld, I want to be available
for both those teachers becauseI think of it as my way of
getting back, because I hadgreat teachers when I was in
(12:18):
school that really motivated meto keep trying with myself.
I was a bit of an absenteestudent for quite a few years
into, like high school level.
There's a couple of teachersthat made me remember that I
matter and, as an adult, thenkeep pursuing education or keep
trying hard because, well, theybelieved in me.
So why would I give up onbelieving?
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (12:38):
on me.
April Braithwaite (12:38):
And it was that sense of dignity and
respect that they gave me that Iwould like to give to teachers
today, because I think,hopefully, that I'm quite a good
writer and it's something thatis my.
My bread and butter is bloggingand putting stories out there,
so why not use that for thisgood?
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (12:57):
yes, absolutely, and you know I think
that this is so wonderful.
You know you're taking thoseskills, you know that you use on
the day-to-day, you know assomebody who's working in ed
tech and now using it for this,and I think that that's
something that is fantastic tobe able to market those stories
and share, and you knowvalidating educator work, but
(13:19):
then also, like you said, youknow offering a space, a safe
space, to be able to share thosestories because, as we know, as
much good as there is in theeducation space, you know there
are some tough stories and sometough situations that are out
there because of our systems,and maybe this could also be a
way to be able to help fix andremedy these things and be able
(13:43):
to get at it at the root level,make those changes and better
the situation for our educatorshere within our classrooms, and
I think that's something that'svery important.
So I love that you're justgoing to be open and honest in
really sharing these stories andbeing able to put these out
there and market education inthat way.
(14:04):
And so, again, I'm justdefinitely excited about those
things, education in that way,and so, again, I'm just
definitely excited about thosethings and now so kind of
falling in line with that, likeyou mentioned, there are those
teachers that it's how they madeyou feel and you know.
So tell me a little bit aboutyou know.
Just to kind of get back intothat peelback education, I want
to peel back a little bit aboutyou to amplify your story as
(14:26):
well and just so we can makethat connection of now why
you're doing this.
But as far as in your educationyou know coming up who might be
those, let's say, maybe two orthree teachers that you remember
that made a big difference inyour world, that maybe kind of
changed your trajectory or maybehelped you, like, move forward
(14:47):
in the same path that you landedin, as far as in the ed tech
space or, you know, now withthis new role, or as far as peel
back education is concerned,yeah, for sure, the number one
teacher I always think of andmaybe it's a little bit
embarrassing, maybe I'm afangirl.
April Braithwaite (15:05):
I probably think about this teacher more
regularly than you're supposedto when you leave education.
But when I was a junior andsenior year in America, when I
was in college in the UK, I hada philosophy and religious
studies teacher called MartinSinclair.
So you called your teacher byyour first name at that level,
so I'd called him Martin.
(15:25):
He had Einstein-like gray curlyhair.
He'd ride his bike through thepark into work and he was just
such a character and it was thefirst time that I'd really ever
met a teacher that was so uniqueand bold and curious and
creative.
He was a zen buddhist and hehad certificates in astrology
(15:49):
and he'd just talk to you aboutthe most random things, because
that's what he would do in hisphilosophy classroom.
And one thing that really stuckout to me really early on when
I met him was him saying that hedidn't necessarily go to
university did at his religiousstudies teaching degree he
taught uh well, sorry, wastaught by buddhists.
He went to, uh, monasteries.
(16:10):
He went through that religiousstudies education and then
became a teacher and then becamea college teacher and I
remember thinking at the timeI'd never really heard that you
could do that and I was alreadya kid that was thinking I don't
know if I'll be going to you, Idon't know what I want to do.
So having that reassurance thatsomeone I respected still could
make such an impact and be ateacher makes such a big
(16:34):
difference on how I looked atlife.
But it was actually somethingthat happened later, for the end
of my studies with Martin.
I was in my last year of class,like a two year class, and I was
just not turning up.
Really I think my attendancewas like three quarters of the
time.
I was just not there.
And I do come in one of hisclasses.
I sit down in the corner backcorner of my friends and he just
(16:57):
comes over just very quietly,just very calmly.
He says why are you never in?
And I didn't have an answer atthe time.
I was like, oh, I don't know, Ijust never in.
But it stayed with me thatwhole time Because he noticed
that I was never in and therewere so many teachers that never
really said anything orcertainly never made a big deal
(17:17):
out of it.
But in some ways, when you're astudent who's maybe just trying
to fade into the background,having that one teacher
recognize that you have aconnection or you do respect
them and being willing to say ithad been life-changing.
Because it's one of thosethings that I come back to.
I think why wouldn't I try, whywouldn't I show up for myself?
Because I always think thatMartin would like to hear that I
(17:39):
did or that I tried.
I think about emailing him allthe time like, oh, you never
guess what I do.
Now, martin, I work ineducation.
Now I tell these storiesbecause I think that I like to
remember.
I think he'd be proud of me andI think this is what I hear
regulate conferences thatteachers want to hear their
former students have, and I hadinterviews recently that are
going to go up on the blog.
(17:59):
They kind of solidified thatthat teachers want to know
they're making a good job, andI'm like, well, I know teachers
that did a good job and I knowteachers doing a good job today
that remind me of Martin oranother teacher.
Being Miss Portman, my Englishteacher, probably the only
subject where I thought I couldjust do it English language.
I got my first ever A star,which is like 97 plus percent.
(18:21):
And I remember we had thisfiction piece where we had to
write like a tension story andshe said your work made me cry.
I cried at the end and thatjust stayed with me.
Maybe, as I could be a writer,I could do these things.
And I never did go to uni forit and Pop didn't go that way.
But she reminded me that Ialways could and I always come
back to that and that's why I'mwriting today.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (18:43):
That is so wonderful.
See, these are the wonderfulstories that I think we
definitely need to honor andhear back or hear of more, and I
think that what you're going todo through peelback education
is something that is wonderfulin that sense of being able to
honor the work, but also itcould be a way, like we talked
(19:04):
about that motivation, but formany too, it could be like a way
of healing also as well Justbeing able to share your story,
share your heart and things ofthat sort, because this is a
labor of love.
I think education is one of themost noble professions that is
out there, because we areinvesting so much of ourselves
(19:25):
in our students.
And I just want to share onemore story, because it's just
the way that you shared aboutMartin.
You shared about Martin andI've said the story and shared
this before, but for me, I'llnever forget a substitute
teacher that I had in ninthgrade so you're looking at back
(19:45):
in 1994 when I was a freshman inhigh school, ninth grade, and
it's stuck with me forever andit's also been part of my
motivation in education is hisname, was Mr Rodriguez.
He was also he's a.
He was at the time a retiredbiology teacher, so he would
come and sub in our biologyclass and, of course, he was one
(20:07):
of those teachers that I thinkI might say that I'm, I was or I
am a little like him, in thesense that I was always just
thinking outside the box, so Ididn't.
He never really followed theteacher lesson plans when the
teacher was out, but we all knewthat we were in for a treat
when he would come in, becausewe were going to learn something
(20:28):
like just awesome and somethingthat was just going to, you
know, really make an impact onus, and I never forgot it was
mainly just the way that he madeus all feel, but I'll never
forget one of the lessons thathe shared with us was we walked
in, we sat down and he said, onthe board, you know, this is
(20:49):
what you're going to see.
And he wrote out and it's justreally kind of like in an
acronym form.
But he wrote out see, hopkinsCafe.
And we're all just sittingthere and he's asking, really
kind of like in an acronym form,but he wrote out See, hopkins
Cafe.
And we're all just sittingthere and he's asking us what do
you think this means?
And we're like, we're just likedumbfounded, like looking at
each other like I don't know,and then he just went into an
explanation saying, hey, theseare, you know, the seven or some
(21:12):
of the elements, but some ofthe seven most important
elements that you need as ahuman to survive.
And he just broke it down andit was C Hopkins cafe, which is
carbon hydrogen, oxygen,phosphorus, potassium, iodine,
nitrogen, sulfur, calcium andiron.
So I was just like, and itstuck with me and I saw him and
(21:35):
so, so this kind of ties intomaybe this might be one of my
favorite, maybe an entry that Imight put in.
But I remember seeing himseveral years later, after, you
know, I had just gotten intoeducation and he's a lot older.
We were in a doctor's officeand he walked up to the water
fountain to get some water and Ijust kind of, you know, kind of
(21:56):
followed him over there in thatway just to go say hi and I was
like, hey, mr Rodriguez, andyou know, take him back a little
.
You know, he was just like Idon't remember you, I'm not, you
know, and I just introducedmyself and I told him I will
never forget that you taught meC Hopkins Cafe in ninth grade
and I just wanted to let youknow that I really appreciate
(22:18):
you and thank you for the waythat you always made us feel,
and I saw his eyes get wateryand teary.
He got so teary eyed and Ithink that moment, too, was an
impact for me, in the sense thatback in 1994, when he was in
that classroom, he didn't knowthat he had planted a seed there
(22:48):
.
And now, many years later, youknow, I ran into him and I got
to share that story.
So he want to see and why.
I think for educators it'simportant that if a student can
remember them, just hey, how areyou?
Thank you so much for this.
I think that just makes a hugedifference for so many educators
out there to know that whatthey put in there, what they
(23:10):
planted, that time spent, thateffort, you know, was able to
bear some wonderful fruit.
And that effort, you know, wasable to bear some wonderful
fruit and you know, just, Ithink that's something that's
great and amazing.
April Braithwaite (23:22):
So this is why I'm just so excited, because
this is something so differentthan what we normally see, and
you know, I'm kind of taken backa little bit, like in a good
way, that this is happening andthat you're putting your efforts
into this to be able to sharethese stories and the heart of
teachers that are out there, tooas well yeah, ah, me too,
(23:44):
because I have been doing someinterviews, getting them ready
to go out, and I had acompletely almost full circle
moment in one where, almost justlike you, just then, I'm
interviewing educators to telltheir story and then they'll
start telling me about theirmost influential educator and
it's like this full goldencircle of implement on influence
(24:05):
and it's just.
It reminded me in this moment Ialmost kind of zoomed out for
myself and saw all of thesestories and people as the
generations of building blocksand community.
That's what it comes down to.
Education is the backbone ofall of society and when I'm
speaking to people who aren't ineducation, like my husband or
my friends, and I'm explainingit to them and trying to explain
(24:26):
to them what's happening andthe things that are happening on
a political level, or whyteachers can't buy pencils for
themselves, I'm realizing howmuch people don't know about
education when they're not inthat space.
And that's another reason why Iwant to tell that story,
because if we don't have thebuilding blocks of society, if
we don't have these teachers,what do we have?
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (24:48):
Exactly exactly.
So this is great and I'm justreally excited about this and
like so, you're tell us a littlebit more now as far as the
process.
So right now I know we'retalking about the types of
stories and you know how you'reworking alongside that as far as
putting them out and publishing.
So for our listeners here thatare just listening to about
(25:08):
peelback education for the veryfirst time, I will make sure and
link the website into our shownotes as well, but tell us a
little bit about the process.
How would a teacher go aboutand say, hey, I want to share my
story.
What should be the first thingthat I do, aside from going to
the web page?
April Braithwaite (25:26):
Yeah.
So I think the main thing thatI would do as far as coming
along is have an idea of whatmotivates you.
That's really my one ballparkquestion that it all comes from.
So there's no set questions.
There's no set way that we haveto speak.
What happens is I sit down forhalf an hour chat.
(25:49):
If you can't do video, we can docall or text.
It's really there's no barrierto entry.
You just have to be an educatorwho is willing to speak to me
for half an hour.
I promise I don't bite, so Iconsider it my job to ask the
questions that understand whatyour story is and to make that
into some kind of story.
(26:09):
All you have to do is come andtell me about you and that could
be how you got into educationor something you're currently
working on, because I believethat that can always be
different for every person.
It could be different thismonth to what it's going to be
in six months, and I like tothink that at the time you're
ready, you will just come homeand that these things are
(26:29):
somewhat predestined, if youwill, to just happen and the
best stories will come to life.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (26:36):
I love it and you know, kind of going back
even to what you're saying, andjust the ripple effect of those
stories because, like right now,just me sharing this with you,
I mean that was a ripple in timefor me, that you know, now I'm
here in this position, in thisrole, being able to do so many
things because of thoseeducators and there's many more
(26:56):
educators, but these are theones that really they're in my
heart and I will never, everforget that because of them, I'm
still here and I think thatthat is something that is
wonderful because, like you said, right now, just being able to
listen to this work that you'regoing to do, it's just really
I'm excited about it and I'mexcited to subscribe and hear
(27:17):
and read and learn from allthose stories, because it's just
something that we do and Ithank you too, like you
mentioned, you know, explainingthese things from not being in
education per se and being ableto put these stories out.
The importance of that forpeople that are not in our space
, in our bubble, in ourlandscape per se, the education
(27:39):
landscape, to be able to hearand read the story.
I think that could also, youknow, help have a ripple effect
Because, as we do, we all learnthrough storytelling and, you
know, in any other situationthere are people that they learn
from as well and be able to seethose moments and capture and
say, hey, this was, this is whythis person was a great leader,
this is why this person was agreat manager, this is why this
(28:01):
person was a great teacher,because there's just something
in them that they're able tojust share and engage and you
know, our students in curiosityand engage them with excitement
and things of that sort to beable to change their paths as
well, you know.
So that's really, reallyexciting.
So you've said that you havealready started and so you've
(28:24):
already had some.
You know people reach out to youand so on.
So tell me how that process hasbeen for you, that it from the
point of all right, here iswhere I got the idea, idea from
Peelback Education.
Now I put my website out andnow I'm getting people that are
reaching out to share theirstories.
How has that made you feel?
(28:45):
How has the response been toPeelback Education?
To this point, because this isshort-lived, right you just
posted this.
What was it?
Maybe about a week ago.
April Braithwaite (28:55):
Yeah, it's been.
It feels like it's been a lotlonger than it has.
It's been a bit of a whirlwindin that way.
I did not expect to immediatelyget kind of the support and
positivity that I did.
I really thought it would justsit there for a while and
probably not do anything.
Um, I'm kind of mission drivento a fault, so I won't really do
anything unless I truly believein it, and I've always I had my
(29:17):
own business years ago decidedto leave it because it wasn't
what I wanted to do.
At times I've always keptsaying to my husband like, oh, I
kind of want something, but Idon't know what.
It is not the right time.
You know, I have these skills.
I want to write, I want to doblog, social, but I didn't have
the.
At midnight I was up until like2am using like ChatGPT to help
(29:41):
me get some like structure ideasin my cake.
But how would I do that?
What system do I need for this?
I just did not sleep and thenext day I just spent like
fixated hours putting ittogether and released it to the
world and it's.
It's been really lovely to seepeople already believe in that,
and so one of the pages that Iadded later over the weekend was
(30:03):
be a featured educator.
I needed to put it together toshow someone.
And it was kind of a magicalmoment for me, because then it
had been up for maybe six-ishhours and I logged in the next
day and someone had just foundit from my social media and
booked straight in.
And then when I emailed them, Isaid, yeah, I just came across
it and it felt, you know, I readthe tagline they're not here
(30:25):
for a reason and it just feltright.
And so that was a magicalmoment for me, realizing that,
okay, maybe I'm doing somethingright here.
It wasn't just this randombrainwave, it is this mission,
it is worth something.
And so now it's been about aweek.
And so now it's been about aweek we've got some interviews
(30:45):
lined out, some things written,some things prepared.
Uh, originally I had said I'dprobably try to release one a
month because, again, I didn'tthink there's going to be that
much interest in it.
But I think it's going to be alot more than that.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (30:54):
But we'll have to see that is so fantastic and
I mean this is wonderful.
April, like again I.
I know that I saw this pop upand you know you and I both
being connected on LinkedIn andso on, I was, and you know
there's so much negativitywithin you know the education
space that is being spoken and,of course, so many things
(31:29):
happening politically that canreally just it weighs down on an
educator and I think the worstthing is is just having that
weight and feeling like, is whatI'm doing?
Does it even make a difference?
Does it even matter?
And I want to share with alleducators yes, it does.
Yes, it does, because you know,if it wasn't for me sitting in
(31:53):
that seat with that, with MrLurie is, or if it wasn't for
myself just coming intoeducation and having Mr Nava
walking around and just tellingme and reassuring me and just
supporting me, I mean those arethe stories that we definitely
need to hear and learn from andjust to continue to ignite that
passion for education and it'sthe same thing for our students,
(32:14):
that that is your future.
I just had a student on LinkedIn.
I think it was about fourmonths ago or something.
I think they graduated in thespring, so it was a couple of
months back and she reached outto me.
She's Georgia Tech.
She graduated and she was asixth grader, which was my first
year as a sixth grade teacher.
(32:34):
She was in that class, shegraduated from Georgia Tech and
now she's working as a softwareengineer for Spotify, and she
sent me a message and said thankyou so much for sharing
technology with us, andeverything that you did with us
in sixth grade really helpedmotivate me and stay on track to
do this now.
And so you never know, younever know who's sitting in your
(32:58):
classroom and you never knowwhat difference they will make
in the years to come.
And so please, for all myfriends and listeners that are
out there, please visit PeelBack Education.
The link will be in the shownotes.
Please make sure you connectwith April, connect with her on
all socials I'll make sure andlink all that out too as well
and be part, share your story,be part of this mission and help
(33:22):
the education space, help allof us.
You know sharing your wonderfulstories and just to you know,
you don't know the great impactthat it'll have, not only on
students, but just on ourselvestoo as well.
So thank you so much, april.
I mean, I'm just so excited, I'mjust so thankful for the work
that you're doing and thatyou're going to continue to do,
(33:42):
and I can't believe it Like it'sbeen a week since you've put
this out and just hearing howmuch that you know people are
already reaching out and theimpact that this is going to
have, and then again reignitingyour passion in that sense of
now writing, blogging,presenting and just taking this
(34:02):
to a different level.
Just like you know my podcastmany years ago, so I'm excited
that you get to do this too aswell and enjoy it.
So are you really excited, like, is this something that might
possibly turn later on into apodcast, or is this right now
just simply going to be blogs,uh, a written story of that
(34:23):
sense?
April Braithwaite (34:27):
oh, I mean I would love if it turned into a
podcast.
That would be really cool, Ithink.
For now I'm going to set somerealistic expectations will be
written.
However, if you do follow onkind of the video social medias
like instagram and tiktok, I'llbe putting out some clicks from
my interviews that are just kindof those distilled moments so
that not only hear the voice andthe writing but actually hear
(34:50):
the voice and that passion fromthose educators directly.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (35:02):
I said, it's just April, like if, if this
does come to fruition, where itdoes become a podcast, I'm
definitely excited about thattoo as well, and definitely
anything that you need.
I am here to help Because Itruly believe in this project,
and so I just want to thank youfor your time today, to share
your heart and your passion andthe great things that you're
going to be doing, and I'm justagain, this is something that is
refreshing.
I know that this isn't ournormal content that we normally
(35:26):
do here on Maya Tech Life, butwho cares?
It's my show and I can dowhatever kind of content I want,
and this is something that Ineeded, and I'm thankful that
you were here too as well,because it really filled my
bucket and it filled me with joyand it just it just reminds me
of why I do what I do, and ittakes me back to those basics
(35:48):
and to never forget where I camefrom and what I'm doing, and I
think that's something that's soimportant, and so thank you for
the work that you're going todo through peelback education,
because this is somethingfantastic thank you, and thank
you for having me as well.
April Braithwaite (36:02):
It's been a pleasure to talk about it and
just kind of give my brain childsome love, because I do love
talking about why it shouldexist and kind of making people
see that we should be tellingeducators stories.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (36:16):
Excellent, wonderful.
I love it.
Well, april, as you know and Iknow that you are a listener of
the show we always end the showwith these last three questions,
so hopefully you are ready togo.
So here we go.
Question number one as we know,every superhero has a point of
weakness, so I want to ask you,in the current state of
education, what would you say?
(36:39):
Is your current edu kryptonite?
April Braithwaite (36:46):
what would you say is your current edu
kryptonite?
It's been my kryptonite for avery long time misinformation,
fake news.
I wish far more people knew howto digitally read headlines or
how to look for the correctthing and use a little bit more
thinking and questioning timewhen they read things online,
because I think it's dividing uswhen it should not.
We should be bringing peopletogether above everything.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (37:07):
Excellent, great answer.
Love it All right.
Question number two, april, isif you could have a billboard
with anything on it, what wouldit be and why?
April Braithwaite (37:19):
It would say be kind to yourself above all,
and for flowers.
But also there would be atleast three pictures of my cat,
because I can't make anythingabout including a picture of my
cat, so he'll be on there too.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (37:31):
I love it.
Wonderful, all right.
And question number three is ifyou could change places or
search places with a singleperson for one day, who would
that be and why?
April Braithwaite (37:43):
I recently started following on Instagram
I'm sure it's on TikTok too, butMr Luke, who's likea and it's
like a first year or likekindergarten teacher and his
videos are just so fun.
He tells stories about thequestions he gets.
He's always so excited, hist-shirts crazy fun and I would
love to be Mr Luke for a day,because he seems to have the
(38:05):
best job in the world teachinghis classes.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (38:07):
Awesome.
Well, we'll make sure and taghim here on the episode too, as
well.
That way, we can go ahead andhear the big shout out to Mr
Luke.
So shout out to you, Mr Luke.
Thank you so much.
No-transcript.
(38:52):
Connect with her, too, as well,and stay connected as far as
any releases and, of course, allthose wonderful clips that
she'll be putting out too well,but also when you visit our
website.
Not only will you be able tocatch this episode, but you'll
be able to catch the other 334episodes that we have, and I
promise you you will find alittle something there just for
you that you can sprinkle ontowhat you are already doing great
(39:15):
.
So thank you so much as alwaysfor all of your support and
again, big shout out to oursponsors, Book Creator, EduAid
and Yellowdig.
Thank you so much for believingin our mission and, my friends,
until next time, don't forget,stay techie.
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