FutureReady: Connecting Students to Careers

How are schools tangibly preparing students for the future workforce?

Four years ago, Wichita Public Schools partnered with WSU Tech to launch its first FutureReady Center, giving students hands-on experience in manufacturing. Today, the FutureReady program has expanded from one center to three, with additional opportunities in the works.

In this episode, Eric Shipman, principal of FutureReady Centers, discusses why schools should focus on training kids for in-demand jobs, and he shares about the values that have guided his own journey in education.

Transcript

SPEAKER_05 0:02

Hi, I'm Livia, and I'm Kristen. Through artwork at Learning Labwitch Talk, we get a front road speed to innovation and personalized kindergarten through 12th grade learning. On this podcast, we share stories of how educators and parents are helping kids discover their passions so you can do the same for a child you love.

SPEAKER_04 0:20

Time to dive in, but let's get it personal.

SPEAKER_05 0:26

Hi everyone, and welcome to Let's Get Personal Real Real Talk about reimagining education. Uh today at Learning Lab, we are so thrilled and joyed to have a longtime friend of the podcast. I don't know if you listen to the podcast or not. But Eric Shipman is here. He's the director of the Future Ready Centers for Wichita Public Schools, right? And specifically for Wichita Public Schools.

SPEAKER_00 0:53

Yes, ma'am.

SPEAKER_05 0:53

Okay. All right. Well, we're happy you're here.

SPEAKER_04 0:56

Thanks. Thanks for having me. I have known Eric my whole life.

SPEAKER_05 1:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:01

So we're not we're not gonna get into all the secrets that we know about each other.

SPEAKER_05 1:06

I'm gonna I write that down as a note for later.

SPEAKER_00 1:11

Eric behavior. Go back to brandy behavior elementary.

SPEAKER_04 1:19

We went to the same element. I mean, it is like so funny. But it's crazy. I want to first just can you describe what your role is? Because I actually, and I think this is coming from an unbiased place. I think you have one of the coolest roles in the district, if not the coolest role in the district.

SPEAKER_03 1:40

For sure.

SPEAKER_00 1:40

Well, thanks. Um so my job as a director is a future ready centers. I oversee three of our Future Ready Centers, which are partnerships with Wichita Public Schools and WSU Tech. Um we provide um job and skill training for students that are interested in either going to college or careers in manufacturing, healthcare, or technology. Currently, they have got to be a junior or a senior to enter those programs. We we pull from all over town. So we actually have 11 different high school programs in Wichita Public Schools that students have attended from. All of our comprehensive schools, plus Northeast Magnet, Chester Lewis Alternative Program, our online school, which is Education Imagine Academy, as well as kids whose full-time school is Wichita Children's Education. So really our goal is to help kids prepare for whatever comes next after high school. And for a lot of kids, that is entering the workforce. So that might be a job as a patient care technician in healthcare, as a certified nurse aide or CNA, that might be working in the manufacturing field. Aviation production obviously is a big part of what we do. But it's also for kids that maybe are four-year college bound and maybe on a traditional route, maybe they want to become a registered nurse or they think they're interested in being an engineer, but they they want to know. And I think that's a big difference. One of the key roles that we do though is to help kids get internships. I talk a lot about to kids about what's a food you like and how do you know that? You know, like I like pizza. How do you know you like pizza? I ate it. Yeah. The only way you're gonna know if you want a career in healthcare is to go try that. And the best way to do that, in my opinion, is to either get an internship or go get a job. But let's not let's not go spend really seven, eight years to become a cardiologist to find out I don't like working in healthcare.

SPEAKER_03 3:41

A hundred percent.

SPEAKER_00 3:42

So um getting a job at the Kansas Heart Hospital when you're 18, you're gonna know.

SPEAKER_05 3:48

That's a super good point.

SPEAKER_00 3:48

You're gonna know right away. And so let's do that before we invest a lot of time and more importantly, a lot of a lot of money because those college classes aren't free.

SPEAKER_05 3:59

They are not. They're not free on the money side and the time side. I mean, like both of those are high cost, high cost things. Yeah, here at Learning Lab, we talk a lot with families and people who come through with all the equipment and the things that we have is that we want in our programs that we support, like we want kids to touch and feel and try the skills to say, okay, do that mental shuffling of okay, I like being a podcast studio and I like pushing the buttons and I like interviewing people. Kristen's great at it. Or do you want to be the person that's behind the camera for and doing the editing stuff? Kristen's great at asking questions. It's one of her best qualities. Did you know that?

SPEAKER_04 4:34

It's it's a joke because Connor literally will. Yeah, right, exactly. Yeah, yeah. Her husband introduces me like that. We're like, this is Kristen. She asks really good questions. And I'm like, thank you. It's a compliment. Um so for future ready centers, just for people who aren't familiar with the stuff that exists in the district, can you share how it got started? Because it's not a super old program that you have. And and I would love for you to share about especially the facility um over by North High.

SPEAKER_00 5:10

Yeah. So ultimately five, six years ago, um uh Kelly Bielefeld and some people at WSU Tech, um clearly Dr. Utash, Scott Lucas, uh, a few other people had an idea and they wanted to help high school kids get into some of these fields. They applied through the city of Wichita for an ARPA grant, which was COVID relief money. Um, the district in in which WSU Tech um secured right around three million dollars from the city to invest in um employees, employee training, employee prep. And so the district at the time owned a building right next to North High that's the 13th in Waco. It's an old Dillons.

SPEAKER_05 5:47

That's a grocery store. Yeah, you're not from here. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Grocery store.

SPEAKER_00 5:51

Um and I I joke, but at the time the district had bought it probably um like 10, 15 years ago, and they really bought it for the parking lot.

SPEAKER_01 5:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:59

There was not enough parking at North High, kids didn't have anywhere to park. It was actually like the grocery store would put police officers and security to keep them from parking when they were trying to, when they were still operating. Um the district was using the facility as storage, um, and and Mr. Bielefeld at the time just got the green light to dream up something big, and he did. And that's when they came with the manufacturing um center. Um, at the time when we opened it, um, there was not really an idea of how we were gonna get students. So they opened four years ago with um seven kids who came, four teachers, good ratio. Yeah, not what you're looking for. So they scrambled a little bit. North High helped out and ended up with right around 50 or 60 kids that first year. Um they quickly found that they needed someone dedicated to the Future Ready Centers full-time if it was gonna work. And so that was really before it was our CTE department, um, college and technical education department that was um really looking to figure out how to build this program. Um and and then I came on really year zero, year one, at the end of year one, I guess. I kind of call it year zero because like in education like we do, we did the ribbon cutting after kids had been in the building for months. Yeah. Yeah. So um we we opened the second year, we stayed right around that number, and we've slowly um slowly climbed in manufacturing. Um we had a right around 250, 300 students do the building. And we have lots of what we call ins and outs where kids will come for a semester and then maybe they get an internship and they go do something else, or or maybe it's just not for them. They learn that and they and they they go back to their base high school.

SPEAKER_04 7:29

But that's part of the purpose too, though, is like if you if you learn you don't want to do this, like absolutely go explore something that you like.

SPEAKER_00 7:38

It's not surprising that most kids don't have any idea what a a career in manufacturing looks like.

SPEAKER_01 7:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:45

Even if their parent works there, they really don't know. Um students, I think as they grow, um, get familiar with careers they see, you know. Um nursing happens to be one of those. Our healthcare future ready center grew grew very quickly. We were up from 75 to 300 students almost in the first year. Um and I think that is because kids, kids go to the doctor, they go to the dentist. They they know that career, um, they know teaching, they know education, they know um what it looks like to work in a restaurant, or at least they think they do. Um, where in manufacturing they just don't. And so really we were working hard to recruit and break down some of those myths and misconceptions of what manufacturing careers look like. We start with elementary kids and with WSU Tech. Again, the district's done a number of things, which still has to move some elective classes down to the middle school age. So we have some elective classes that kids can take that are in manufacturing. So it's a program called We Build It Better. Um, that we've almost I think every one of our middle schools, maybe all but one now, um, have that class up and running. And and so just a way to engage with kids and and help them experience something.

SPEAKER_01 8:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:51

It's amazing how many kids have never held a screwdriver.

SPEAKER_05 8:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:54

Never touched a power tool.

SPEAKER_05 8:56

We um had a woodworking camp, summer camp here last summer. And um we heard that over. I mean, like these kids had never never picked up a power tool. Like my husband taught it with my retired neighbor in like day one, lesson one was like, This is a screwdriver, this is a hammer, and we're just gonna practice doing both because they've never done it before. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 9:18

So it was totally like an extremely popular camp. I think it might have sold out. So um I think kids like there are a group, a number of kids who like doing things with their hands, and up until recently, there weren't a ton of really good opportunities in schools. I feel like we had shop back when we were in school, but like I worked at the largest high school in Kansas, Dury High, and they were phasing their shop program out. And so it's cool to me that the district, when they had this opportunity with the COVID funds, really focused on kids who maybe weren't going to go to pursue a four-year degree.

SPEAKER_00 9:59

Yeah, no, and I think the the important part too is while maybe in shop, the old school shop classes, I I took a ton of industrial technology or shop classes when I was in high school and made great stuff, but it was a bread box. Yeah. And I can I built an entertainment center that I hauled around for 25 years and finally gave it up. Fit an old tube TV. Great, didn't fit a flat screen at all. Yeah. Um, and those are great skills, but there weren't employability skills.

SPEAKER_01 10:27

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 10:27

Right. Especially in today's world. Sure, you can make a little bit of a side hustle for sure out of some of those skills. And you can sure build your house and you can sure sure fix things. And I'm I'm good with that. Um but they weren't, I didn't learn how to rivet.

SPEAKER_01 10:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:41

I didn't learn those skills. And so I think that's where we're we're in Wichita Public Schools, along with WHU Tech, just trying to move is to look at skills that we have, aviation production and aviation manufacturing. It's the heart of our economy here in Wichita.

SPEAKER_01 10:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:56

Um, in Sachwood County. And between that and agriculture, yeah, that makes up I don't know what percentage, but a large percentage of our industry. And so for for kids that live in Wichita, what better way than to at age 13 or 14 start to learn what it looks like to um to work in manufacturing? And it's a it is a good career. And it's a it's a high wage. And we know that the jobs we do what we call the comprehensive local needs assessment. We it's a requirement that that all CTE programs have to do. So it looks at jobs that are available in Wichita and high need, high-wage industry jobs. And there's there's a marketful of jobs in manufacturing that are still out there.

SPEAKER_05 11:37

Isn't that data available on the Kansas Educations website? Right. Like and they update it every year. Yeah. We had we had some friends come from KSD, um, and that's what she was like basically compiling at that time. It was really interesting. It's super fascinating. And it's super good. And I just don't feel like people talk about it enough.

SPEAKER_00 11:55

No. And most and to be fair, like in until you're in the CTE world in education, um, you don't even know that it exists. Right. And you don't maybe even know. We just did a summer camp with our middle school and elementary principals. So not a lot, but we had like 15 that came through this week that that traveled and toured all the future eddy centers, and we looked at all the some programs at WSU Tech. We're able just to have that conversation about maybe what it looks like for CTE. I I pick a little bit on elementary field trips because my kids have gone to them. Sure. They go to the zoo and they go to the pumpkin patch, and I'm not throwing shade. I'm not throwing shade anymore. 1995. We're throwing shade. Come on. I'm not throwing shade in the elementary schools, but um, we we plan those field trips because we don't know what else to do. Yeah. We need to go, we need to do something, and the kids want to do it. It's fun. And it's fun, yeah. And but uh just just thinking out how we can do a better job. Um, and I'll and I'll throw some props at uh Lindsay King, Dr. Lindsay King at Mays, May's School District. She did an amazing job of helping us in Wichita Public Schools. So we brought her in as a guest speaker for the event and lay out their Mays Mays District's elementary plan for field trips. And and and K through fourth, they get to go to the zoo one time.

SPEAKER_01 13:24

Oh, really?

SPEAKER_00 13:25

Yeah, yeah. And so, like, you know, there's nothing wrong with a zoo, but yeah, are we producing a lot of zoologists? Yeah, yeah, that's right. It's it's a great job, but let's let's help kids think of other jobs, other careers, and and maybe expand. And and that involves a lot of work, to be honest, and to even get industry partners because when you try to talk to an industry partner of can we bring in a hundred fifth graders?

SPEAKER_04 13:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:48

We've experienced we got ourselves. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 13:50

Um, Molly, our program and events manager, tries to get kids into businesses a lot of times, and it's more challenging than I thought it would be. Yeah. I thought people would be like, Great. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 14:02

Yeah. So maybe what I hear you saying is in um, so like, you know, education is meant, my my point of view is education is meant to help kids discover, develop, and apply their talents and skills, right? Some of those skills, though, we could say are just basic human life skills. So back to the woodworking example. Like, arguably, everyone to maintain your living space should know how to screw in a light bulb. Um, but then there's like a second tier of like useful, employable skills based off of like your interest area. And that is what the Future Ready Center, and that's what your argument for elementary school field trip should be is like, okay, yes, going to the zoo is great to be part of our Wichita community and have that social and cultural, you know, uh foundational point, life experience. But like if you want to be a zoologist, then that's a more intentional experience than just going and walking around the zoo. Like my son is at the zoo summer camp this week. Right. And they're they're out there and they're learning much more than he's ever learned at the zoo before. Absolutely. Because that was like an intentional choice. So that is did I capture kind of your sentiment? Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 15:15

And I think it's just helping kids to, um, especially in Wichita Public Schools, maybe maybe in an urban setting where and I've worked in all sorts of different districts, but yeah, um, when 80% of your kids come from poverty, it's really helping kids to connect to careers that that they don't know about and probably their parents don't know. And that's very stereotypical. I mean, we have plenty of parents in Wichita Public Schools who who do know stuff for sure absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 15:41

Yeah, I yeah, I so Eric was part of our Ed Collab leadership development program for education professionals, but you presented there. And I thought this topic was so interesting to think about education in this way, because I feel like uh, you know, as career educators, we've thought a lot about like common core and the standards and all these things that we're trying to get kids to learn, but they're not they're holistic, right? So they're not like necessarily like pointed to one career. And the way that you were talking about, especially because you have a lot of kids in poverty that probably don't have like the mobility to move. But so like the idea of our largest district looking at the jobs that are here and training basically the workforce, the upcoming workforce for the jobs that are here. It's like a a win-win for the city and for the families and the kids.

SPEAKER_00 16:41

No, yeah, I agree. I mean, that's the whole goal. The goal is to there and and we're making a little bit of news. We're making a little splash. We have people from Seattle coming down to learn what we're doing. Yes. And so that that's exciting. Like, hey, we're doing something wild.

SPEAKER_04 16:53

I mean, I just don't think, you know, because it's, you know, we it's a large system, our public education system in our country. I don't know that very many districts are thinking locally, how can we help fill the industry positions that are available?

SPEAKER_00 17:10

Great example. Um, the state of Kansas, obviously, all of our CT pathways in the state of Kansas, they have to have a local need. Otherwise, they're just not gonna keep existing. Right.

SPEAKER_04 17:19

It's really which I think is smart, but I didn't know that until you've said it that that thing.

SPEAKER_00 17:23

And so one just ended and it was pretty controversial. It's it's phasing out, and that's fashion apparel and design.

SPEAKER_01 17:29

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:29

And fashion apparel and design, like that's a it's it's a high interest, and I got it. And a lot of people have passions about it. But unfortunately, Wichita, Kansas doesn't have a large fashion theme that that exists, but right? That exists in New York, that exists in, I don't know, Milan, somewhere. And so it is hard. And we had a a really debate, yeah. I'll call it a debate last year at a conference. And I was in the thick of it, and that's probably not surprising to you. Because we were talking a CT.

SPEAKER_05 18:01

Did you start it?

SPEAKER_00 18:02

Uh maybe. Maybe. Uh we were talking about like how do we decide what classes to offer? And is it should it be based on student interest or should it be based on um interest of or industry need in that comprehensive local needs assessment? And and CTE classes are great, but they're not necessarily designed for hobbies, right? Yeah. Yeah. And like uh photography might be a great example. Photography is a great hobby and great skill. And there are people who make a career out of it.

SPEAKER_05 18:36

Absolutely. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 18:37

But in the in the great scheme of things, we we also need um career-oriented things. And that's really where districts in the state, in my opinion, and the education system should be investing our money and our time is in those careers that um and classes that are going to lead to long-term careers for students.

SPEAKER_04 18:57

Um did you uh did the state have good enrollment in that pathway in the Aviation Production? No, in the fashion pathway.

SPEAKER_00 19:05

Um, I think it was probably okay. Um, but like aviation production, there are three districts who have that pathway. Obviously, that needs to like grow. Yeah, it's a dependent because it's our largest industry.

SPEAKER_04 19:15

I I have like I listened, you kind of started a similar debate in our in our leadership group.

SPEAKER_05 19:22

And there were I think I missed this. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 19:26

And there were people um like vehemently against that point of view. I can kind of think it's a journalism too, didn't I? Yeah. And everybody got hired. And I was like, I'm not a journalist.

SPEAKER_00 19:39

Like I mean, it's my example. I mean, again, it's every high school in Kansas has journalism because every high school in Kansas produces a yearbook. And so we have to. And we have that pathway, and it's it's it almost exists. I would be surprised if a district, and I'm sure there are that don't have a pathway of journalism, but because of that, uh aviation production, for example, doesn't exist. Almost every every school district is gonna have the family and consumer science or facts pathway that exists. And and I'm not, again, not talking down facts, um, but we know for a fact that the the restaurant industry and culinary industry isn't struggling to find employees necessarily.

SPEAKER_01 20:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:22

Like restaurants don't shut down because they don't have enough employees. They shut down because they don't have enough business. Right. Yeah, right. Which would tell us that that industry is a little bit flooded. Opening up a restaurant, that there's plenty of choices here in Wichita to go find somewhere to eat. Yeah. Um but there are manufacturing places that will leave communities because they cannot find employees. Not that they don't have the work, not that there's not business. They just can't find the people to work there. And so, as educators, I think we have the duty and obligation to to kind of look at that and say we can help prepare our kids for something better.

SPEAKER_04 20:59

Um so, like the opposing argument would just be like that not all learning is for a purpose.

SPEAKER_02 21:09

We were just okay, I was drawing a big diagram to share the same point.

SPEAKER_04 21:13

Yeah, because I just think about um I'm still on the fashion like idea because I one of my girls was into that for a while and still like as a hobby loves to like style herself, right? But um, and she went to some like fashion camps. But I just think about like that was good for her because it made her feel like good at something. And you know, so there's like a love of learning that you can develop about something that doesn't lead directly to a career.

SPEAKER_00 21:45

Like I What was she passionate about? What part of it?

SPEAKER_04 21:51

Well, I think it was more uh along the lines of like design.

SPEAKER_00 21:55

So So I I would my counter argument to your counter argument. Is that the thing? Um it's just she's passionate about design. So where can we help your daughter in design, in a career, here locally? And there's a Harvard study that came out, I think it's Harvard, I could be wrong. That's like it looks at the number of kids who live within a hundred miles of their hometown. And it's it's 80 or 90 percent of people live eventually. Sometimes they what we look at all the three of us. We're back. They might boomerang, they might move away for a little bit. They're gonna come back. Yeah, they we boomeranged and came back. But um, so what can we do? She's interested in design. Well, how about architectural design? How about landscape design? How about interior design? Those are all things. I mean, as we look at this room, someone designed it.

SPEAKER_05 22:47

Her name is Lisa Schaefer. I was an LOA architecture. She's very talented at it.

SPEAKER_00 22:52

And so those are all things that you think about and and I think about with kids. Like for me, it you know, we talk to kids about what are your interests, what are your strengths? Because just because you're good at something doesn't mean you want to do it.

SPEAKER_01 23:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:06

You know, my I I use my dad as an example. My dad was really good at math, and my mom said he should have been an accountant. He'd have been the worst accountant ever. Yeah. The man can't sit still. Yeah. He has to be up and doing, he has to be working. He would never have sat in an office all day long. Yeah. And so just because you're good at it doesn't mean you want to do it.

SPEAKER_01 23:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:24

And just because you're not good at it, doesn't mean you can't work really hard for that. Yeah. And so it's that blend. Um, and I again I think fat I mean, and there's plenty of districts who are gonna continue to teach fashion, which is great. They still can. It just means it's not gonna get the extra funding that CT offers.

SPEAKER_05 23:41

So maybe so like I'm not disagreeing with what you're saying. I think uh Kristen, you could disagree with me here. I don't, I think my point of view is kids in education spaces, not everything has to have a purpose, like a like a deep purpose of like an output, right? So like them being able to pursue something of an interest. Like, I mean, think about us as adults, right? We have hobbies and we have interests, and like our whole world doesn't revolve just around something that has an output. I think that's part of what's wrong with some parts of our society is that hustle-driven, like everything has to have a purpose and we're all just grinding ourselves to death. That's a hot take. You don't have to believe that. Um, but there is something about hobbies and simply doing something for the joy of it that I don't I do wish that we had more moments in education that were focused on that. Now it absolutely can tell you something about like, yes, like you could pick apart the things and say, hey, I can see that you're really interested in uh, you know, cooking or what are like what but what do you love about it? Well, I like seeing what happens. Okay, well, there's some chemistry and there's some science and there's some experimentation elements underneath that. So that's just my argument is I wish our kids had more space in the learning process to simply explore. That's the absolute and pursue for the sake of focus.

SPEAKER_00 25:01

When we look at like when I talked about the elementary and middle school field trips, we're really talking about in early elementary is just exposure.

SPEAKER_01 25:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:07

We want to expose you to different careers, we want you to look, we want you to find different fields of interest, whatever that is. You know, your kiddos at the zoo camp. Yeah, he's taking science class and putting it into or marking it off on his work plan for the summer. Individual plan of study. We're checking that box off. And we're taking what we learn in science and putting it into application. Yeah. He's getting exposed to that field.

SPEAKER_01 25:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:32

And he may that may drive interest. Yeah. And then he may decide later on, hey, you know what, zoo's not for me, but there is another field in that science that's still there. There's going to be a huge agriculture that that would lead to as well. And then I think as you get a little bit older, we go from you know, exposure into more exploration. Yeah. And then we get into like junior and senior year. And that's where I'm at. I'm on the tail end of this example.

SPEAKER_04 25:56

Yeah, well, and I feel like barely speaking, we would align with that.

SPEAKER_05 26:00

I don't disagree with that. I I think, and I think we've talked about a little bit, there's just not enough moments currently for kids to have all those moments building up to junior and senior year. Right. And then we're forcing them to make a choice. And they're like, I have no idea. I mean, I had kids put in my entrepreneurship class because they told the counselor that they liked money. And I'm like, okay.

SPEAKER_02 26:20

I like money too.

SPEAKER_05 26:22

And you know, they'd be in my accounting class and I'd be like, What you hate math? Like, why are you here?

SPEAKER_00 26:29

Not to like flip myself 180. But um, there's also a point where sometimes kids just want a job.

SPEAKER_05 26:35

Fair, absolutely. I just want to go to work.

SPEAKER_00 26:37

I want to make a decent, like when I talk to kids about what they want to do someday, they get all like quiet about like, and I think we all do at some point. Like, hey, how much money do you want to make?

SPEAKER_01 26:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:46

Because I think sometimes we feel like I want this job that I'm passionate about and I care about and I love and all these things that gets me out of bed in the morning.

SPEAKER_05 26:54

And like what's that saying? Like, work's not work if you're having fun. I'm like, well, work is also a paycheck. It is.

SPEAKER_00 27:01

Like, yeah, like I tell kids, like, I'm gonna be real.

SPEAKER_01 27:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:04

Like, what would I do if I didn't need the money? Well, it would probably be a little bit different than what I'm doing today. Um, but like, let's let's get reading.

SPEAKER_04 27:13

You have to pick something that supports the lifestyle you want to lead. That can support a certain life.

SPEAKER_00 27:21

And there's plenty of something to say about um, you know, uh, we do at in the future eddy center along with WHE Tech, um, at Micro, so Dirty Jobs guy, we do his curriculum. So it's um micro works, is what it's called. And what he talks about is bringing your passion to work.

SPEAKER_04 27:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:36

And part of that curriculum.

SPEAKER_04 27:37

Like I love that idea too, because I think that if you have the right attitude, you can make any job. Yeah, you know, not maybe not any job. I know. He literally does.

SPEAKER_00 27:47

He literally talks about he talks about and and micro does in his curriculum, talks about sanitary workers or like somebody that is running a porta potty industry. Like no one is passionate about cleaning up porta potty. Yeah, no one's passionate about that. But if you if you have a passion for helping people, then that passion can come out.

SPEAKER_01 28:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:06

And and there's nothing wrong with kids going like, hey, I like to work with my hands. I want to make a decent income someday.

SPEAKER_01 28:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:13

And here's a job that I can do. And maybe my real passion is fashion or design or photography or whatever else in life it is. Maybe it's pickleball. I have no idea.

SPEAKER_04 28:23

Well, and there's Gen Z, I feel like stereotypically, but I think it's true, cares a lot more about work-life balance than even like our millennial generation or our parents, Gen X. Sure, you know. Um, so they're they're thinking about those things. They're thinking about job flexibility. And that's part, I mean, like I feel like even if you train a kid to be an aircraft worker, that I I hope we're still trying to talk to kids about what do you want your daily life to look like. And it's like that to me is so even when I was like, okay, I'll be a teacher, because I was never like, gosh, I've always wanted to be a teacher. I'm so excited. I was like, journalism is dying. I guess I'll be a teacher. Um, I did not realize like, oh, I never get to leave this room. Yeah. Oh, I don't get a lunch break. Oh, if I have a doctor's appointment, it's gonna have to be at 4 p.m. every single time.

SPEAKER_05 29:24

Yeah, you know, being sick is more work than just going to work sick.

SPEAKER_04 29:29

So so there are just things that I feel like we should talk to kids about that I don't know where that happens. So that's not really on the topic of future. No, it is.

SPEAKER_00 29:39

I mean, absolutely, because we when we talk to kids, it's simple things like what kind of house do you want to live in? Yeah. What kind of car do you want to drive?

SPEAKER_05 29:46

How many vacations do you want to go on a year?

SPEAKER_00 29:48

That's when do you when do you want to work? We have a lot of kids who uh welding. Um welding is a a hot field. Yeah. Um, unfortunately, on the comprehensive local needs assessment, there are too many concentrators for jobs that are available in the in the greater five county area. You're kidding. So there's more people in welding than there's jobs that are available. I would never have known that.

SPEAKER_05 30:08

I think that was something I learned when the KSD folks came to visit because I was like, wait, I hear about the trades being a super high. And not that it doesn't pay, but I expected it to be higher. And that was the point.

SPEAKER_00 30:20

But like the thing is welding is people know that job.

SPEAKER_05 30:23

Yeah, yeah. Oh, I want to be a welder.

SPEAKER_00 30:25

And I will ask kids like, why do you want to weld? Uh and they kind of hem haul around again. We're like, in the end, they're like, I hear it makes pretty good money.

SPEAKER_01 30:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:32

And I get to work with my hands. I'm like, well, there's a ton of jobs like that. There's a ton.

SPEAKER_04 30:38

So, Eric, this is not your first job in education. No. He just walked in the office one day and was like, give me that.

SPEAKER_00 30:46

I thought that. Like, uh I thought my my education career is almost uh able to legally drink. So this will be your 21. Oh, so my career. Wow, that's crazy.

SPEAKER_04 30:55

Public education and we're not that old. No, I didn't have a lot of people.

SPEAKER_00 31:00

It's like duty housing. Here comes 30 this year.

SPEAKER_04 31:04

Did you so I knew you as a kid, did you always want to be a teacher? Or were you why did you pick education?

SPEAKER_00 31:14

No, a hundred percent. So uh there's a a fifth grade yearbook, and it's what are you gonna be doing when you're older? And most of the kids had professional sports athlete or whatever we picked in the 90s, and mine was a teacher and a coach. I think uh what drove me into education was coaching at first. That's right. What kept me into education was was just the love of kids. And so um, you know, literally we did a I don't know if you remember this, we did a time capsule as as a El Dorado high school kid. You started it as a freshman and then you got it back at your tenure reunion, which I'm gonna do. Oh, that's so fun.

SPEAKER_04 31:46

You didn't attend your tenure.

SPEAKER_00 31:47

Uh no, we had a football game that night. So coaching first. And uh and I wrote in there, what are you gonna be doing in 10 years from now? And literally nailed it. And I think part of that is just who I am too, is it's just a really goal-oriented, like, here's the action plan, the steps to achieve this goal type person. And I think I got lucky. Um education is I mean, my passion, and and just uh helping young people and working with young people. Um I think there's a ton of avenues to do that. Um, you know, obviously a pediatrician does the same thing, just different. But um for me, um, education is just always where I was meant to be.

SPEAKER_04 32:25

I think I mean you didn't really have like your mom and dad are an educator. No, did you?

SPEAKER_00 32:32

So I have an aunt. Um my my grandfather was a chemistry professor at Butler County Community College for years. Um my uncle, my dad's brother, is uh is a teacher too. So there was there was definitely educators in my family. My great grandma, both of my great grandmas were teachers, the two of the four. So definitely a a history of education. It was like education or healthcare in my family. And that's kind of where where things have lied. Um but you know, education's just been and kids in general, if that's a youth group or a a club or a sports team, whatever it is, I think working with kids, it's just I don't know. It's both What do you love about it?

SPEAKER_05 33:09

Like, why is that special?

SPEAKER_00 33:12

Well, one, impacting people. So our we had our parent night, our orientation meeting for our healthcare and manufacturing technology programs last week. And you know, we had a young man come up to me and we we went through all the things and made sure they knew all the information. You know, if you have an IEP or a 504, here's what you have to do to make sure the college understands those accommodations that help you get the things you need. Uh he came up to me really nervous afterwards and he said, I'm really just embarrassed to say this. And I was like, hey man, there's we don't deal with shame. There's no reason. Like, let's go. What's up? And he's like, Reading's really hard for me. Like, don't worry about it. He said, You're coming here, we have a we have a pair of professionals that'll help you. You've got all the things you need. There's other kids that have gone through this journey too. Um he said, he just looked at me almost with a tear in his eye. Like he was getting choked up and said, Mr. I just want a job someday where I don't have to worry about rent and I don't have to think about where food's gonna come from. Yeah. And you're like, all right, I'll get out of bed tomorrow. Like I'm good, let's go. That'll keep me moving. And I think for me, it is a little bit like that I have to have a job or career that I feel passionate about. Um, and so you know, I started, I started in middle school, spent 17 years with middle school kids, and and had this opportunity to come to Wichita Public Schools for something that was exciting and new, and and I definitely needed it. I felt after 17 years, just a little bit of that burning.

SPEAKER_04 34:35

How long were you a principal? You so you worked in a smaller kind of rural district, and you started as a history teacher?

SPEAKER_00 34:43

Yeah, so I spent a social studies for um a number of years. So two years with sixth grade, and then oh geez, 12 years in eight with eighth graders, and then yeah, it was a middle school principal um for five years. It was actually a building that was fourth grade through eighth grade, so really interesting. A lot of fun, um enjoyed it. But you can do that that that I think not to blame COVID for everything, COVID wore us a lot, a lot of south. You burn that candle at every possible spot, um, just surviving COVID as a as an administrator, and and that was that was hard. So that refresh for me was was definitely needed three years ago and and feeling great about it now, and and just seeing this program grow and seeing kids um find passions. Um, you know, we talked about it. Not everything in education has to have a purpose, but a kid has to understand the purpose.

SPEAKER_01 35:35

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:36

And and when when kids don't understand the purpose, that's when you see all the missing assignments and you see all the disengagement. Um and and so I think those those ideas are really important for our young people too.

SPEAKER_04 35:48

When so I have always felt like looking back at our um like canary and through 12th grade education, which I don't think I've talked very much about on the podcast. Um I feel like our high school years especially were kind of like idyllic. Like I we had like a group of young teachers that were at our high school during the time we were there that were like enthusiastic. And yeah, feel free to disagree with me.

SPEAKER_00 36:16

No chat, but I was thinking when you said young teachers, we I think we had a really good blend. Yeah. I mean, that we had teachers that m Mr. Gardner taught my dad. Yeah, and then taught me. Mr.

SPEAKER_04 36:27

Wagner was my favorite teacher, he was my favorite. He was not young. Miss Fellers was not young. Well, that's true. But then I also just think about like the Mr. Hurst, Miss Fingman, Miss Um Brenda. I mean, there were sure, there were like at least some like young energetic. But anyway, I feel like for what was available at the time, that our small town had a pretty decent high school experience.

SPEAKER_00 36:51

I will say this, and and I talked about it with um Kristen's a year older than me. Oh yeah, more experience, upper class. Um, but one of my class reunions that we had, um, a classmate of mine, one of my best friends, and we didn't we didn't have a great showing. 20, maybe 20 kids out of a hundred and 130 that we graduated showed up. He just looked at me and he said, Eric, I think we have to understand that not everybody had a positive high school experience. Yeah. And I think it worked for us. I think it was because of the type of kid we were. Yeah, yeah. Absolutely. You and I, we we were we were compliant, we were sports oriented, you were a cheerleader, we were, yeah, we were academically successful, and and school came relatively easy for us. Yeah, yeah. Um, and that worked. But when we think about public education, like I thought of this the other day. Like, what has changed since 1940 in public education?

SPEAKER_05 37:42

Not a whole lot. We think about that a lot. Yeah. And then you think about like the health question.

SPEAKER_00 37:48

Think about like in the healthcare industry, what's changed since 1940 to today? Right. Like we're not doing prefrontal lobotomies anymore, right? But that was a common practice back then. Yeah. And I we're just slow in education to change. And I think that's a lot, there's a complex reason of why. And and part of it is societal. Like yeah, you mentioned common core math. Boy, that went over well when we're talking about we're trying to do something that that has shown promise and that some kids learn better with. And even when we think of now reading and things with dyslexia, and there's great things out there going on. And my my little five-year-old is benefiting from them. Yeah. She did not reading does not come naturally for her. And and she shot up 40 percentile in a school year in kindergarten. Um, and it was only because of this, this the science of reading. But but boy, that's a hot topic. It is a hot topic, yeah. And so I think I think it's it is. It's it's education is it works for some. I had I had no issue, K through 12, but I probably would have been fine no matter what.

SPEAKER_04 38:49

That's a really good good uh perspective. Yeah. And certainly like as an educator, I was really sensitive to that. But as a kid, I probably was just like, why doesn't that loser like math? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 39:03

And there's a ton of reasons, right? There's a ton of reasons that a kid disengages from curriculum. It may be, maybe stuff outside of school, it may be just things in school. Yeah. And and so I think the more that we can mold learning um to a variety, a wider field, the better off we are. But overwhelmingly, right? You can walk into classrooms that literally haven't had a facelift, the structure since 1950.

SPEAKER_03 39:28

Right.

SPEAKER_00 39:29

And and you'll also see some ed teaching that's the exact same way that it happened in 1950.

SPEAKER_04 39:35

Well, that's our whole purpose is making it look different. No, and if you walk into Learning Lab, every day is different.

SPEAKER_05 39:42

Every day is different. Yeah. I think what you know, you guys talking about this just makes me think about like one of one of my I don't know, hypotheses with the slowness for education to change is people have so much nostalgia attached to it.

SPEAKER_04 39:55

I think so.

SPEAKER_05 39:56

And like we hear that from a especially from a lot of high school parents, is like, well, no, I want my kid to have prom and I want them to have sports, and I want, you know, like we're just, you know, I you could not have paid me to go back to high school. Could I mean you literally had to pay me because I became a high school teacher. That was the only way I was gonna go back to high school.

SPEAKER_04 40:12

You didn't so do you feel like you didn't like high school or you were just over it by the time you were done?

SPEAKER_05 40:16

I think I was over. I mean, I went to school, I'm I think you guys probably the same that like El Dorado. I went to school with the same kids my whole life. Like and not and that wasn't bad. I just remember being I was like in this weird limbo space of being really athletic and being a great athlete and kind of like having that crowd of people, but also being very smart and gifted and having so like I had like this weird, I didn't really fit in either bucket a hundred percent. And I had like a handful of friends, and those are still my friend, you know, those are my best friends that I still talk to today. But it just it wasn't like I don't have I didn't mind it, but I think I've always had like an older soul where I was like ready, I was like, these kids don't care about what we're doing. I'm I was ready for like the next thing.

SPEAKER_00 41:07

Um I I would be back tomorrow.

SPEAKER_05 41:09

Yeah, I'm good.

SPEAKER_00 41:10

Like I think Kristen, like I I don't know why, because like the what you're describing was yeah, I was just blessed. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 41:16

So I always think about, I mean, we were I loved high school. Like I lived.

SPEAKER_00 41:23

It was a weird collection of time, maybe really at El Dorado High School too. Because all the things you described, we did. Yeah. Like my my best friend in high school was a two-time state champion in in track and field. Yeah, he was also in college level math. And yeah, and then we would hang out with kids that couldn't play sports at all and no one cared. I mean, I was thinking of the people. I mean, like my collection of friends were so I don't think I mean as diverse as Alvarado High School got in 1980. Yeah, there you go. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We were we were just unique and like and there weren't plenty of kids up there.

SPEAKER_04 41:58

That's what I was when I started the conversation. I wanted to know like why, like I didn't really like college. I I would not you could not pay me to go back to college. I think I just went to too small of a college. But um, and and it's weird that I wouldn't like college because I love learning and I love people. So I'm like, why wouldn't I like this? But I just the dynamic was totally different. But I just feel like our high school at the time was like good at sports. We had pretty strong like extracurriculars and and academics at the time. And I feel like not every high school has the culture that we had. We had a really great principal the whole time I was in high school. Absolutely the best. The best. Yeah. And so I don't know. I it makes me think about the question. I work for the National Principals Association, and I just think about like what does a leader do in a school that sets that type of a culture?

SPEAKER_00 42:55

I think we were just really blessed too, just with the the people there at the time, you know. Mr. Pets was our high school principal, and that was his whole life. And you know, Fran Martin was our high school athletic director. That was her whole life.

SPEAKER_04 43:07

She went on to work for Keisha. She did the student activity.

SPEAKER_00 43:10

And like those are people who dedicated their lives to that. And I think that's what it takes. Yeah. And and it's a different world today than it was in the early 90s or late 90s. Ooh, not that old. Um late 90s, early 2000s, where um where leaders maybe felt more supported sometimes. I think there's a lot of uh high school, middle school, elementary principals who just don't feel the support from society. And we that's a that's a whole psychological thing that we get into that we hold on to negatives more than we hold on to praise um as people. But like that that is a burnout factor.

SPEAKER_04 43:42

I feel like uh uh and you were an administrator, but working at the principals association, I would hear over and over that like they do principal is a lonely job. Kind of like a teacher could be. But because we get a lot of criticism. Yeah. Wait, where's she saying? Because you don't have yeah, like you're on an island and You have pressure from like the district office, and then you have pressure from parents and and the teachers are you like as a middle as an administrator school, you are the middle person.

SPEAKER_00 44:10

Yeah. Because you've got pressure from the kids, the parents, the teachers. You have the district level pressure. You feel it from the board of education. Yeah. And yeah. And sometimes it's just really hard to dis disassociate yourself from the job because you're at the grocery store and you see, and I don't care if that's Wichitaff, a big city or a small town. Yeah. Like you're gonna see people in the community and you're always kind of on the job, which makes it challenging. Um, it makes it great, but it makes it hard.

SPEAKER_04 44:35

I just feel, I mean, the point would just be that educators, good educators, have to make a lot of sacrifices to to do a good job. Yeah, and then they lose like a sense of privacy, they deal with a lot of unsolicited feedback.

SPEAKER_00 44:51

And you look at like you go back again to our high school principal, um, you know, never had kids. They just didn't. Um, his wife announced all of our sporting events. She was the PA announcer at every basketball, football game.

SPEAKER_05 45:03

Yeah, and so that you guys were their pseudo kids. Yeah. Oh, 100%.

SPEAKER_00 45:07

Yeah. Um, and I mean he literally took the homecoming King and Queens candidate, took the whole day off. You remember that? Yeah, it was awesome. Like we went out to dinner, we went to the movie theater. Like the photo shoot. It was so awesome. That's sweet. We came a big thing.

SPEAKER_04 45:20

And he used to drive the cheerleader bus at to every away game. Yeah. And so it was the cheer coach driving one bus and Mr. Pets driving the other. And like we love to be in either bus because we love both of those people. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 45:32

And that is the that's the administrator that that drives the culture of the building. And and that's why people stay in jobs and and places um so much longer. But it the word sacrifice is absolutely the key. And it's that's getting harder and harder, I think, yeah. In today's world to see that.

SPEAKER_05 45:51

No, for sure. It is interesting. Yeah. Like could you could we identify core things from that that would like, yeah, how does how do those things relate to culture? And could you replicate it in today's society? It's just interesting.

SPEAKER_00 46:03

Oh, I think 100% you can. I think you can.

SPEAKER_05 46:06

I think yeah, it's just like what are all those things?

SPEAKER_04 46:08

I also think it is different today because I just think there are different like amounts of pressure from both the district office and from parents. I mean, you always hear from teachers that like the parents are their boss, basically. So, like if a parent is mad, your principal is mad at you because the parent, the next step is to go to the superintendent, and the superintendent's mad at the principal. Yeah, there's plenty of times they skip that step. That's very true. That is true.

SPEAKER_00 46:36

I think, yeah, the difference again from the from the late 90s, um, too. I mean, that no child left behind legislature was really great for a number of things. You know, it got certified, qualified people in classrooms. Um, we didn't have the P teacher teaching biology class or whatever, because they took a couple biology courses and the district decided, yeah, you can do it, you'd be fine. Um but it also put a lot of pressure on schools, good or bad. Good and bad, probably. Where now we became, I mean, I I don't know. I don't know because I didn't work back then, but it felt like our first year, few years teaching, like data drove every decision and the state assessment scores. And I was working at the time in a school that was in need of improvement from the very beginning, and we finally got off of that at one point, and it was a big celebration for our district. But I that that was that was everything we did about state assessment scores or about, you know, we got kids with flashcards with prefixes, learning prefixes, because that was on the state assessment. And and maybe that was right, but that that pendulum swings sometimes. Yeah and it swings really far. So I think that it it definitely killed a lot of those culture building things because we just didn't we didn't really wasn't. Your incentives were missilated.

SPEAKER_04 47:48

Yeah, we were just talking about the rally that you have, like how it builds culture. But sometimes it's hard when you're planning those professional development days as an administrator to give time to building culture, which in my head I'm like, that should never be a thing. Like you should give all your time to building culture, but they have all these expectations that they have.

SPEAKER_00 48:09

It's a fine line too. And and and uh Mr. Bielefeld a long time ago, we worked in a previous district together too, and he just looked at me one time and I'm a culture, culture guy. Like I'll build culture with kids, I'll build culture with teachers, that's all I'll do. And he's like, we just can't love them to learn. Like they have to actually we have to have some professional development along the way. We we have to have some some interventions, we have to have some curriculum that goes behind it. So there's a balance.

SPEAKER_01 48:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 48:33

Um, you know, we the rally for those we'll we'll put on again and we'll do it. It's a rally at the roundhouse. There'll be 9,000 educators that come together in a building for a couple of hours and just just to have fun and celebrate, get back in the school year and and hopefully kick off the year the the way that everybody remembers their first year teaching when you have all the excitement and all the thrills and and you're gonna change.

SPEAKER_04 48:55

Is that how you remember your first year teaching?

SPEAKER_00 48:59

No, you don't remember like you weren't excited?

SPEAKER_04 49:01

I'm not gonna say I wasn't excited. I was I was I was drowning.

SPEAKER_05 49:05

Like, I mean, I just I got not it's not that I didn't love it, it's not that there weren't, I just uh I just remember like yeah, survival mode. Like I think a lot of first teachers feel that.

SPEAKER_00 49:15

I I will say, like, I saw a thing one time that was like I need to go back to my first year students and apologize.

SPEAKER_05 49:20

Hum humbly, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 49:21

Because I was I made some I had the this the distinct privilege, maybe the honor, I don't know, whatever you want to say. Because I taught that group in sixth grade and then I got to teach them again when I moved into the that's nice, that's really funny. It was like there's a group of them. Shout out Nate Jeffrey, shout out uh Darius Reder and a whole bunch of kids that um that I've got to. I mean, they're like 30 now. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 49:42

Oh, yeah. Isn't that crazy when they start getting careers? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 49:46

And yeah, and uh, but they were the they were my first homeroom group in sixth grade. And they were my kids.

SPEAKER_04 49:52

There is, I do have nostalgia about my first group of um yearbook and newspaper kids.

SPEAKER_00 49:57

I've I this is whatever, broke 24-year-old, whatever, making no money teaching sixth grade, and sprung and bought like 15 copies of Oh the Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss. Oh, yeah. And wrote them all like this message that I'm sure like half of them didn't get home with. Yeah. But for me, like that first.

SPEAKER_05 50:15

It meant something.

SPEAKER_00 50:16

It was yeah. I held on to those kids forever, too. Because then I moved, yeah. We did a high school youth group with them and like just kept hanging on to them until I moved from it was in Junction City, until I moved from Junction City. But just a fun group of people. And like, I don't know, that influence. For me, that's where it is. And and I weirdly struggle when when the kid or the parent tries to like thank me for it. Like just act like I didn't influence you ever. Because it may it just makes me feel super uncomfortable. Yeah, but it's good to know. Like, I obviously know like we I mean, like we impact kids, and I always used to tell my teachers that like we're gonna impact them regardless. Yeah, yeah. It's just what impact are you making?

SPEAKER_04 50:56

Actually, last night I had some girlfriends over, and none of them from El Dorito. Yeah, but um they were all the it just like gravitated and they started telling stories about like horrible things teachers had said to them at different points in their lives. And I looked at Mike and I was like, see, like kids are talking about you somewhere. Like you have to like you can't get complacent. 25 years later, and we're still talking about our high school principal. But it's like, but but that's a positive impact, and that makes a lot of difference. But I feel like to my husband, I was like, you can't get complacent, you can't be a jerk to a kid because they're gonna be in the backyard of somebody's house saying, Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 51:35

No, I mean I'm sure, like, right? Like we all had that. Yeah, you're not gonna have perfect moments. You're human. Yeah, you're gonna have days that you do the wrong thing, and and it's just trying to say, like, I'm gonna try to make those as infrequent as possible. Uh, I'm gonna try to love on kids more than I than I hate on kids, and and that's where we're at. Like, there's you're not gonna be perfect, and I think it's it's telling kids that too.

SPEAKER_03 51:57

Right.

SPEAKER_00 51:57

Like the next day you come in and go, man, that was bad. Yeah, bad. Yeah. Great one. Uh every kid needs a champion.

SPEAKER_05 52:06

Uh-huh. Uh Ted talk or whatever. Yeah, Rita.

SPEAKER_00 52:10

Rita.

SPEAKER_05 52:10

She's great.

SPEAKER_00 52:11

She is.

SPEAKER_05 52:12

Can't remember her last name, but yeah.

SPEAKER_00 52:14

Um I'll think of it later. But uh, but she talks about how she was teaching a math lesson and she goes, I taught that math lesson wrong yesterday. And she goes, the kid was, I know, man, but you were just so into it. They're so forgiving. She's saying that, like, hey, I I messed up. Yeah. And I wasn't great yesterday. Humility. Yeah. Yeah. And it's telling kids. I used to always tell kids too, like, I'm as just let we'll let you know that today is not a good day. Yeah. I didn't sleep last night. Yeah. Something happened, and and it's not personal if I look at you wrong or if I snap at you, I'm sorry. I'll apologize again tomorrow.

SPEAKER_01 52:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 52:47

Um, and most of the time kids understand. And they're they're gonna they're gonna roll with it.

SPEAKER_05 52:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 52:52

Um, but yeah.

SPEAKER_05 52:53

I think always think about that phrase of like you're the sum of the five people you spend the most time with. And our kids spend an immense amount of time with their teachers. So, like, positive or negative, they're gonna remember, might not remember what you say, but they're gonna remember how you made them feel, and like you are absolutely like one of those voices for them. That was always like my I made that like mental deal with myself as a first-year teacher. Like the day that I come in here and I am constantly cranky is gonna be the day that I'm going to figure out what my next step beyond teaching is. And I felt that way my fourth year. And so then I I started getting an accounting degree during my fifth year of teaching, and then I left. But I just think self-awareness and no, and I I totally agree. Apologies go a long way. My kids would like pat me on my back as they walked out the door and be like, You tried really hard. We'll see you tomorrow. During it tomorrow. I'd be like, Okay, see you tomorrow.

SPEAKER_00 53:45

No, I think for you I think for me in education, it's always been my like growth. And when I feel like I've mastered it, yeah, ready for the next thing. Yeah, yeah. Like I I don't I mean, I wasn't the perfect eighth grade social studies teacher when I left that. Um maybe the timing was right, but I definitely felt like, okay, I know how to do this. I'm really good at this right now. What's next? And I I sure was not the best middle school. I've got plenty of people that can tell you that principal out there as an administrator, but it definitely felt like, hey, I I I feel comfortable. Yeah. I think that's it's probably the best word. Like when I feel comfortable in a job, it's probably time for something. Yeah. That's well, I think that's good for the challenge, like life skills.

SPEAKER_05 54:23

Like so let's talk about that then. This is my question, and then Kristen, you can ask whatever other questions you'd like to ask. I always like to ask people like, what are your Eric Shipman professionally, personally, whichever way, what are your non-negotiables? What are the hills you will die on, the things you will not compromise?

SPEAKER_04 54:43

I know it's a hard question. That's a rough one, Lydia.

SPEAKER_00 54:45

Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 54:46

I've got to think about it.

SPEAKER_00 54:48

Think about it. Professional non-negotiables, obviously like all the big ones, right? Like we're not gonna mistreat kids or mistreat people. We're not gonna um we're not gonna harm or abuse all the all the child and protection custody is not gonna be here. All those things have to be there. I I think I think it it's the passion's gotta be there. And so when the passion dies, I'm out. Um and that doesn't matter if it's the school. Um I used to tell teachers that, hey, if this job isn't for you, hey, no problem. Yeah, I will gladly help you find the right spot. Yeah. Um, you deserve that, and we deserve that. You deserve to come to a place that you're passionate about. And I think the same for kids. And so for me, professionally, when the passion starts to flame out, just as you talked about, and that's probably where the comfort what I said earlier about being comfortable in the job, when the passion starts to wear out, it's time for something new. Um like I don't need to be like we're not, let's get real. You're not gonna be excited to work, come to work every single day. For sure. Yeah. We drag myself there. But like that passion has to be there, that flame and that excitement. So I think for sure that that needs to be there. Um personally, like I've got some heroes and she rose in the world. Um, I would fanboy out for Brene Brown in a heartbeat. If she was here, like, I gotta go. Gotta go. Um, and and so like just trying to be authentic with me, and that's been a long process for me, if you know me. Um, and like living a life that you can be proud of without shame, or or um, you know, I've got a Brene Brown thing from a podcast she did about like uh fitting in is the enemy of belonging. That's right. That's absolutely when you try to fit in with a crew.

SPEAKER_05 56:33

Did you read any of her books or yeah? Okay, okay, lots of yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 56:36

Read them all, listen to this podcast. But but uh yeah, so like when we try to fit in, like we never will feel like we belong. And so you've got to be you. And so that's something for sure um recently that I've been working on and still trying to get to.

SPEAKER_04 56:50

Do you know what your she talks about values? Do you know what like your gratitude? Yeah, I was gonna say we This is also an activity that we do during. I love gratitude. I I think that's a my top five. Yeah. Mine are authenticity and inclusiveness, and Lydia's are kindness and generosity.

SPEAKER_00 57:08

Those are great. They're all great for me. Gratitude has to be there. Um, I did an activity too, I don't I don't think it was Brene Brown. It wasn't. I'm trying to think of the author right now, but it was to post for 30 days or write down post, share three things you're grateful for.

SPEAKER_01 57:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 57:23

And that how it can shift your mindset um on it. And you're like, boy, that that's powerful.

SPEAKER_01 57:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 57:30

Um, and so gratitude's always big to me because we can be grateful no matter what, right? Like and it's it is about like um I saw a post the other day by by an individual that was driving and hated driving in Atlantic traffic, and he was like, Nope, I'm gonna stop. I'm grateful that I have a car and I love that I've live live in a gorgeous city. Yeah. And like, yeah, that is hard when you're stopped on K96.

SPEAKER_05 57:50

I mean, Atlantic traffic does really suck.

SPEAKER_00 57:52

So I mean when K96 backs up and we're in which it's hard for like two minutes. Oh my god. Yeah, just being grateful that you have that. There's a would someone trade, would you trade your troubles for someone else? Right. If everybody put the thing that they have the biggest struggle with in the bag, would you trade it? And I'm like, I'm good. I'm good.

SPEAKER_05 58:10

I'm good. Yeah. Yeah. Well, you would also have you heard of Dr. Susan David? I have Susan David. She we don't have to get into it because we're gonna end this podcast at some point today. Um her research is about emotional agility. Just to your point about loving Brene, Brene and Susan are like buddies.

SPEAKER_01 58:28

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 58:28

Um, them and Esther Perel too. And I'm like, what a group. I mean, but anyways, um, emotional agility is about managing your emotions in alignment with your values. So, like when you have an emotion, you know, whether you deem it to be more positive or negative, it is telling you something about something that you value and it's at risk or it's being amplified. Um, and I would like that's the thought I have a lot. And I wish more teachers had that in their brains too, to be like, okay, why am I getting frustrated with this student? Is it because I feel like I'm teachers?

SPEAKER_00 58:56

I used to get so mad at kids and I look back on it like and she's not like a she's done a lot of research, Mel Robbins. Yeah. So she's really not the trained professional, if you will. But she does the let them theory. Yeah, yeah. And really it's about eight seconds. And the the research says that if you can regulate for eight seconds, eight seconds, and then weirdly too, like when that person um I was listening to her podcast on them while ringing the bell for the Salvation Army, handing out candy canes. Had one earbud in, it's freezing cold. I'm handing out candy canes if you donate or giving them to kids. And um kind of a rough, rough grocery store in town. And a guy, a guy walks out and I didn't see that he donated, and he got mad. Where's my candy cane? Some choice words involved in that too. I was like, hey man, it's right here. Do you want it? He's like, nah, forget it. Yeah. And I I thought to myself, and I'm listening to the podcast, eight seconds here. Yeah. Eight seconds. Let them be upset. Let me remember why I'm here. Yeah. And weirdly, too, and she says that in her research, that they find that you will feel better about yourself. Look how because you'll feel pride. Look at me, I regulated. I didn't yell back. I did it. I did it. I didn't flip them off when they cut me off in traffic because I don't know what they maybe they are in a bigger range. And there's another, there's another author that talks about maybe the maybe, like maybe, maybe they need to get somewhere because they're an emergency. And I just allow them to get to the hospital on time. So I think it's that mindset shift. It's hard. Boy, it's hard, isn't it?

SPEAKER_05 1:00:25

There's a great video, I can't remember what it was called. I used to show it to my students at the beginning of each semester or each new group of kids call it's like the fish bowl, like fishbowl video. And just the idea of like a fish doesn't even know it's in water because it's surrounded by water. Like it only knows this world, but like, can we look outside our fishbowl? And exactly that point. Like the person behind you in the grocery store is in a hurry because XYZ. It just gave good perspective, rooted in gratitude of like, I am here, I am me, I can control me. I don't know what everybody's living a different life.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:54

You are living the dream that someone else wishes you could have.

SPEAKER_05 1:00:57

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:58

You know, whatever that is. And there are someone out there that's like would be so blessed to have your troubles.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:04

Right, right.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:05

And and that's so hard and easy. Because when you're in the fire, right, you can't see it. Yeah. When you're in the fire, you can't can't understand. When when your three-year-old spends the whole night up last night, right? Like I just want to sleep.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:19

See, I don't think I really struggle with gratitude, but I struggle with understanding why other people don't feel gratitude. So I don't know what value that is wrapping, but it's like I always feel grateful for what I have. But empathy? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:35

Empathy?

SPEAKER_05 1:01:36

I'm like trying to go down a values list to be what, but I think it it could be also rooted in gratitude. I mean, like it could be still rooted in your gratitude value. Like that's why it bothers you, is because you try to be grateful and you just would want somebody else to feel that way too.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:49

Well, it makes you happy to be grateful, right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:52

Like you get to choose.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:54

Yeah.

unknown 1:01:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:55

Like you get to choose how you react. And like that's a hard lesson to learn. And Brene talks about it in one of her books. It's like it comes to the point where you realize that all of our parents mess us up. They did the best job that they can. We're gonna mess our kids up too. Yeah. But at some point you have to be like, no, I'm gonna take charge.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:11

I'm gonna take charge of my future and understand that I can control the outcome and move forward with whatever I got left. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:02:20

So thanks for answering my my fun question. Oh, yeah. Kristen, do you have any final questions?

SPEAKER_04 1:02:27

I could think of all kinds of arguments.

SPEAKER_05 1:02:30

I did write down that what I was gonna ask about secrets, but I've been told that we're not sharing any secrets about Kristen as a child.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:38

She's not an excellent swing dancer. She took a running across the floor and just jumped and I cut the legs. I feel like that's probably on her.

SPEAKER_05 1:02:54

Probably in the remembrance. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:02

That's so funny. That's that's the best economy. It needs to be perfect. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:03:09

I was gonna say, we'll save that for a different time. Well, thanks for joining, Eric. Is there anything else you'd like to share, I guess, with about the Future Ready Center or to other teachers, of course.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:20

Um, you know, we're always looking, you know, future ready centers, which taught public schools on just what's next. And so we're we're hopeful we've got a bond issue going to voters in November. So we're hopeful that that a fourth future ready center might happen.

SPEAKER_05 1:03:32

What would be the the focus?

SPEAKER_00 1:03:34

Yeah, it's construction and building trades. Oh, sure. So electrical, HVAC, plumbing, that's awesome. So those are all on the CLNA Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment of high need jobs and we don't have enough concentrators. That's cool. Um and so just giving kids opportunities and again expanding.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:49

Well, and I don't know if we emphasized enough like how amazing the manufacturing facility, the future readiness center is over there. Yeah, yeah, we're proud. It's it's amazing. And I don't some people don't know it's there, and when they see it, they are mind blown.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:05

Yeah, and it's well, we talk a little bit about riveting and things, we're also talking about automation and robotics and the future of manufacturing and and really moving to where that is because there are. I mean, manufacturing jobs, we we're doing um CNC work. So for those of you who don't know, taking a computer and and teaching it how to cut something out. And so expanding where kids really can go in the future of the industry. And so we're proud of what we do. It's a lot of fun. You know, they can check out our website if they want and search Future ReadyCenterwich.kans if you're gonna find us.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:37

That's right.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:37

Um and and we're we're proud of the work we do. It's been uh it's been a lot of fun and we're still still growing, still expanding, still finding new ways to to talk with kids and and adults and the community about how we can maybe not just improve uh school, but let's face sex, improve our community, yeah, improve our economics, because as as the economy goes, so does Wichita and so um and the surroundings the state of Kansas. So if we can produce better employees for places like Textron or Spirit and and we can have better healthcare workers, and that's gonna just benefit everybody.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:12

Yeah. Well, it's an amazing program. And I'm I'm very thankful, really pleased Wichita has that for kids. So yeah, again, you have one of the neatest jobs in the district.

SPEAKER_05 1:05:21

Yeah. Thanks for joining, Eric.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:23

Thanks for having me.