Episode 5 - Jonny on the Spot - What's Still Sitting with Me

In this Jonny on the Spot episode, Jon takes a step back after the first five episodes of The Honoring Educators Podcast to reflect, process, and share what’s starting to stick.

These solo episodes are unedited, unscripted, and intentional — a chance to pause between conversations and talk through what’s being learned in real time.

What Jon Is Noticing

After five episodes, one thing stands out: the conversations feel real.

Despite microphones, headsets, and a recorded format, the discussions reflect the same genuine, day-to-day interactions Jon has had with these educators for years — giving listeners an authentic look at who these people truly are.

What’s Still Sitting With Me

Jon reflects on a few lasting takeaways from recent conversations:

• Mary LeFevre (School Social Worker) – The power of honoring others. By telling stories of the people around her, her own story naturally shines through.
• Sarah Baird (Special Education / Behavior Specialist) –
  
  
  • The real work happens before the school day begins — in preparation, intention, and proactive planning.
  • The emotional power of recognizing others and naming their impact.
• Kate Kawiecki (Occupational Therapist) – Even as a high school student, Kate demonstrated deep intentionality — thoughtfully considering environment, regulation, and student needs in a way that foreshadowed the educator she would become.
• Jessica McKee – A shoutout for stepping into an unfamiliar role and facilitating a thoughtful, meaningful conversation.

What Surprised Me

• How relaxed and natural guests have been during conversations
• How quickly 90 minutes of conversation can fly by
• A personal realization: Jon says the word “extremely”… extremely often (working on it)

What I’m Starting to Believe

• Energy matters more than we admit.
  Words like passion, caring, engaging, and curious aren’t passive — they’re active choices educators make every day.
• Stories matter more than advice.
  This podcast isn’t about quick tips — it’s about real stories that show not just what works, but how and why it works in real classrooms and real relationships.

This episode serves as a checkpoint — a moment to reflect, connect the dots, and continue building something meaningful alongside the listeners and guests who make it possible.

To continue the conversation and connect with other educators, head over to the Honoring Educators Facebook page and join the community.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

All right, and welcome back to the Honoring Educators Podcast. This is episode five, and it's going to be one of these Johnny on the spot episodes. And if you're scratching your head saying, What is a Johnny on the spot episode? We've never had one of these before. Well, here you go. Basically, every so often I'm going to record a podcast like this that is unscripted, very unedited. Thank you to my buddy Mark Lines for all the amazing editing he's done already. But on this one, I'm not going to have to send it over your way, buddy. Um, this is going to be an unedited podcast, so it's going to be a little rough around the edges, and that's okay. Um, so there's no guests today. There's no editing, there's no ever, no overthinking. It's just me talking and reflecting a bit after these first two episodes have been wrapped up. Um, my goal with these is, you know, again, maybe every four or five episodes, or if there's kind of a gap in having guests on or something like that, just give me a chance to talk about some reflections, maybe what's sticking, what I'm noticing, what I'm learning as I go. I am really somebody that learns well through listening. So I can even go back and kind of listen to this episode and say, all right, these are things that I'm taking away, and maybe I can hammer those home in my brain a little bit to get a little bit better at what I'm trying to do. Because if you haven't picked up on it, I am rough around the edges. This is all new to me. So I appreciate you guys kind of hanging tight with me and letting me learn my craft while I interview some really amazing educators along the way. So the first thing I wanted to talk about is kind of what I'm noticing. And the first thing I'm going to say after five episodes is this these conversations feel real to me. Um, I'm the one that knows these people, like kind of day in and day out, what that those conversations feel like at work, in the hallways, in a conference room, wherever they may take place. Those conversations that take place at work are the reason this podcast started. And I was a little nervous that when you put a microphone in front of people, I got headset on, we got a computer, we're either sitting at my dining room table, in Sarah Baird's she shed, in Jessica McKee's living room. Um, all of those factors can really disrupt in my mind the the flow of a conversation. Is it going to feel awkward and scripted? And in my opinion, I walk away and I go, that felt like a very normal conversation with these people. So to me, that's a huge part of this, is I feel like as the audience, you are really getting to know the people as I know them. The profound, the impactful, the engaging educators that I'm trying to invite on as a guest. You're getting the glimpse into who they are that made me want to have them on as a guest to begin with. So I think that's really important. And that's kind of one of my key takeaways so far is I feel like you're getting a great um, a great behind-the-scenes view of what these conversations feel like day in and day out for me. And I think that's really awesome. Um, so that's one of my biggest takeaways. You're hearing who these people actually are. The next thing I really wanted to talk about was um kind of a key reflection, maybe from each episode. You know, some of these episodes now were recorded three, four weeks ago, and there are still things that sit with me, and things that I still think about and reflect on. So it's to me, it's important to pause here and just say these are the these are the moments within an hour and a half long episode that for some reason are still sitting with me. So let's kind of start here with my mom's episode. Really, what stuck with me was this idea that she told other people's stories. She didn't want to focus on herself, but the beauty is her story still came through. And that's maybe one of the most powerful things that I've had to really learn and appreciate about what I'm trying to do with this podcast. Is I think a lot of people are gonna are gonna be like that. They don't want to come on and talk about themselves. It feels like bragging, or it feels like they're shining a light on themselves. Nobody wants that. None of the people that I know do. Um so the beauty is you don't have to come on and talk about yourself. Just come on and talk about the important work you've been part of, the people that have been part of it with you, um, the the highs and the lows and all these things in between. By by engaging in a way that allows us to kind of like reflect on all the amazing people that we have been blessed to work with, we we still hear your story shine through. And I think that's one of the most powerful things that I've I've come to realize is yes, you're gonna have to sit through the awkward honoring section at the beginning of each episode where I just need to take some time to really reflect on why you're sitting across from me right now. What have I seen in you day in and day out at work that made me say, you're the type of person I want to sit with and interview? There's a story there, there's a message there that I can appreciate, and maybe you can't as the guest. Um, but in order to get that story out and to tell your story, sometimes it's good to shine the light on others. And I think we've noticed that in each episode as people have had a chance to maybe reflect on people that impacted them, that supported them, that nudged them, that inspired them, um, people that they've learned from, um, people that they've appreciated. And the beauty is that the common thread in my mom's story was my mom. But she got to talk about a pals program and administrators she worked with and colleagues that she worked with. And I think that felt really good for her to kind of give kudos to all these people along the way. But the beauty is that my mom's story comes through because she's a common thread in all of that. So if you're a future guest and I ask you to come on and you're nervous about that, just take that moment and go, hey, I don't have to talk about me. I just get to talk about we. And that's a beautiful part of this podcast, is the stories will shine through no matter what. Um, when I think about Sarah Baird's episode, um, so many things kind of stick with me. But the number one thing is when she said something to the effect of the real magic happens at 7:30 in the morning, long before a student ever walks through that door, long before the bell rings. She maybe prepped her classroom, got materials out, maybe dimmed the lights and got some soft music playing, knowing that when those students come in, she wants them to feel that calming presence. Um, how powerful is that to understand that a major part of what we do is done in a controlled environment where we have the ability to really take the temperature of that room and move that needle up or down. Um, we can have a lot of impact on our environment just by the way we set it up and the way we plan and prepare. And I think that was a very powerful message that Sarah talked about. Another thing that she did that I kind of keep thinking about is the power of recognizing other people. Um, there was a couple moments in Sarah's episode. I know it hit me in an emotional way, and I know it hit other people in an emotional way because I've had people comment to me, you know, in person, but how powerful it is to recognize and reflect on the impact that other people had on us in a way that can really elicit pretty strong emotions. I felt like that was going to be a part of this podcast, but you never know until it happens. And with episode numero uno, essentially, my mom's episode is number one, but in terms of colleagues that I'm working with currently, Sarah was episode number one in that respect. And so, right out of the gate, we got that kind of strong emotional hit. And I think that's really cool. I think that's very powerful to be able to move an audience member almost to tears to say that's how important some of these things are. And it's it's important to pause and reflect on those things. So that's one of the key takeaways that I think about when I reflect back on Sarah's episode. And then finally we get to my friend Kate, uh Kate Quickey, the occupational therapist, uh, my most recent episode. And the one thing out of all of the things that she talked about that I thought were so amazing, the one thing I can't get out of my brain is this that when Kate was a high school student, charged with the responsibility of being a tutor for a young man with autism, and she started to display in that moment as a high school student the type of skills that you would love to see in a seasoned special educator, thinking about how am I going to take this environment and tweak it to best fit that student? So maybe I'm gonna draw the blinds a little bit and turn on some white noise uh in the background when I know there's a storm coming. That student doesn't do well during storm. So I can change the environment just enough to make that student feel comfortable. Oh, by the way, the students are really interested in Batman. So how can I include Batman and get some Batman stickers and things? I can't get over the fact that Kate was a high school student and already thinking about that stuff. Um, so it's no wonder that she became a um just this incredible occupational therapist, which so much of her time and energy and resources are spent to doing very similar things. How do I tweak the environment? How do I meet a student kind of where they're at? How do I incorporate interest areas? How do I do all of these things? And she was doing it long before she stepped into a college classroom to learn some of those very specific skills. So I just think that's it, that's an incredible testament to her as a professional that you started to see some of those things emerge when she was still a student. And then finally, to my friend Jessica McKee, a special shout out to Jessica. And something that's just sitting with me is I knew she was going to be the person that I just felt like was going to do a great job of interviewing me. And I thought she, I thought she knocked it out of the park. And Jessica's definitely somebody that I want to have on as an actual guest in the future, where I'll have a chance to reflect on things that she talked about in her in her career and in her professional world. Um, but here it's more just me reflecting on how awesome of the job she did with a very difficult task, if you think about it. Um, she's never recorded a podcast in her life. And here she is being charged with the responsibility of interviewing me and um to welcome me into her home and to facilitate a great conversation and ultimately have an episode that I thought was a really, really wonderful one. Um, I just wanted to give another shout-out to my friend Jessica. And um, don't think that you're off the hook quite yet. Like I said, I'll be having you come on at some point so we can hear all the amazing work that you've done and the stories that you have to tell. And I've listened to enough of them to know that that's going to be a great episode in and of itself. So thank you. A quick little segment here on this episode are Johnny and the spot about things that have surprised me. So here's a couple things that as I step away from the first four to five episodes, some things that I think kind of stood out to me or surprised me in some way. Number one, I've kind of alluded to a little bit already. Um, it's just my guests. If I'm if I'm asking you to come on this podcast, it's because I already have a belief in you as a person and then as a professional. Um so I'm not shocked that you handled the idea of being on a podcast well, but I am shocked at how well you handled it. Um, every one of my guests um have come on here and demonstrated professionalism, but also like being a real human and being able to laugh a little bit, almost cry a little bit, um, to engage in this long form kind of storytelling. Um this is unique for all of us. Nobody I've interviewed, and myself included, we are not professional podcasters, but we've still resulted with, or we've still got this result with like what I feel are like maybe unpolished a little bit and maybe not um so well put together. Like we don't know what we're doing. We're just doing it. And we've ended up with four or five episodes that I think are really wonderful in terms of capturing information, learning about the person being interviewed, learning about the people that impacted them. And those stories come out because they're calm, cool, collected, and they're really great storytellers. So part of this, this Johnny on the spot is just me kind of tipping my cap again to each of my guests so far and just saying thank you. Um, it makes the end result, no matter how clunky I am as a as a host at this time because I'm still learning and developing my skills. I am just so thrilled with the guests that have come on and how they've been so composed and able to articulate some of their thoughts that I walk away and I go, that's what I wanted my my listeners to to capture and to hear and to understand. And those stories come out because my guests have been awesome. So thank you. You've made my job a lot easier. Um, the second piece here on this section is a little bit of uh self-deprecating humor. I use the word extremely a lot. And if you've not picked up on that, uh I don't know what you're listening to. It's it's kind of smacking me in the head every time I listen to an episode. I'm like, my God, there's the word extremely again. So just know that I'm a work in progress here. And uh a little bit of self-awareness for me again, as I listen back to these episodes, I learn. And that's maybe the part of the reason I want to do Johnny in the spots anyway, is I can reflect back on the things that I'm picking up on, patterns. Um, and the fact that I use the word extremely so often is a bit concerning. So I'm gonna continue to work on it. The final one is the amount of time that these episodes have taken. Um, and by that I mean I'm recording anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half long podcast with educators. It feels like that should be a daunting task. But I believe I know where my thoughts are, and I think every guest that I've had on would probably say the same thing is once the conversation starts, it does not feel like it's 60, 70, 80, 90 minutes long. Like when we're done, it's like, all right, we're done. How long do you think that was? And they're like, it didn't feel like 90 minutes. So that's one thing that's really kind of stood out to me as a host, and I listened back. Um, it doesn't feel as daunting as it as it should, the thought of a 90-minute podcast. So again, if you're listening to these and you might be scratching your head going, boy, I wish these were a little bit shorter. I'm a long-form storyteller. Like the podcasts that I gravitate to are the longer versions of those podcasts. I like listening to a two-hour podcast. So I'm very comfortable recording them. Um, and I know that's not for everybody, and that's okay. Um, maybe you can, you know, take uh the elephant and break it into chunks and eat one chunk at a time, I guess if this isn't your thing in terms of the length of many of these episodes. But just to any future guest out there, if you're nervous about coming on, because you're like, how in the heck are we gonna fill 90 minutes? Do not worry about that. That has not been an issue at all. Quite frankly, I've actually had to cut out some questions um on each episode. So just kind of sit with that thought if you're a future guest. Uh the time will fill itself. You need not worry about that. Don't overthink it. Um John LaFever telling you not to overthink something, that's funny in and of itself. Um, my next section is maybe some things that I'm starting to believe. Um, number one is that energy matters. When when I ask each guest the core word that they can think of, the individual word that uh represents like an ideal educator, those four words so far have been passion, caring, engaging, and curious. And my key insight there are these are not passive words. Those are choices, those are active words. Those are people that are saying, I am going to come into these environments and I'm going to be an active participant. I'm going to ask questions, I am going to engage, I'm going to demonstrate passion, I'm going to show caring and concern for my students. Um, so I guess it's one of those key takeaways is as a host, and how do I make my own practice better? But as listeners, how do we show up for our students and our colleagues? Think about how those words really matter and the energy that we bring to our work. Um, each person that I've interviewed is, and I see it day in and day out. So I'm not shocked by this, but the words, even the words that they choose to define an ideal educator, are some of those very active words. So making sure that we're bringing that energy day in and day out, um, that does not surprise me that the people that I'm that I'm communicating with is they are those active, passionate, engaging, caring people. Um, so those words that we're we're collecting that I do plan to use in the future in terms of like almost a word cloud of sorts that says, hey, you interview enough people about education. These are the core words that we think uh represent an ideal educator. That's kind of the big picture of capturing those words. But after the first four or five episodes, we've gotten four unique words, but they're all very active in nature. And I think that's really something. Um one other thing that I'm thinking about here is that stories matter more than advice. This podcast could be just that. Hey, sit down and give us a bunch of advice as you know, educators. We're all listening. Tell us, give us some advice. But that doesn't feel as powerful as the idea of storytelling. And maybe that's why these episodes become a little bit longer because we are telling stories. Um, through those stories, we paint these pictures of what works and what doesn't, how they work, why they work. Again, I could just say, hey, greet your students at the door and maybe try to use their name if you can as your kids are coming in. And you could go, well, that's good advice, I guess. But when I say this is why I do it, this is why it matters, this is how the kids respond, this is the outcome that I get, this is the benefit of that. And it sometimes needs to come out through a little bit longer of a story. And um, I know that that's kind of my preferred way of communicating and talking is through a little bit of a storytelling method. And I think some of my guests have done a really, really wonderful job of using some storytelling about, hey, this is something that happened, this is why we did it, this is how it how it impacted the students, maybe how it impacted staff. Um, so that's just kind of one thing is like advice is one thing, but stories are another. And I think it's really important to just understand that that long form storytelling is is a very powerful method. Um, and it's something that I know that we'll continue to use here. So um, so anyway, five episodes in, that's where I'm at. I'm still learning, I'm still figuring things out. I'm trying not to let perfect get in the way of good. Um, and these Johnny on the spot episodes are a kind of a reflection of that. I am gonna hit record, I am gonna talk, I'm gonna share, I'm gonna reflect, I'm gonna celebrate, and then I'm gonna close. And that's where we are at now. So I want to thank you guys. If you've been with me from the start, you've now had four or five episodes. I hope you like the content. Um, I have thick skin. If you want to reach out to me and say, hey, how about a little more of this and a little less of that? Hey, I like the podcast, but your Facebook episode or your Facebook content, what if we do a little bit of this or a little bit of that? Like, this is our podcast, this is our community. Um, and I want you to be active participants in it. So feel free to share your feedback. Try to do it in a in a delicate manner and in a polite and friendly manner, and I will respond accordingly. And um, but I really mean that. I I think uh I'm doing things that feel good to me, and uh, you know, there's a bit of a barometer factor here as you as my guests, or you as my listeners, or you as like people that are are commenting and sharing on Facebook. Like I can take the temperature of the room a little bit and learn from that, but just feel free to to be open with me. If there's things that you want more of or less of, let me know because we're only five episodes in. And without even scratching the surface, I got 45 more names of people that I want to interview. So you got a long time to sit with me if this is the podcast that you're gonna choose to listen to. So let's uh let's make it the best that we absolutely can. And in order to do that, I'm open to feedback, thoughts, and uh areas to improve on. So, with that, I'm gonna wrap up our very first Johnny on the spot episode. And until next time, and until next time, I'm sitting down with an actual guest. It's just me and you today. So I hope you guys are all having a great one. Love you guys, and we'll talk to you soon.