Teachers Ed with Edward DeShazer

Fresh Starts, Real Talk in Education

• Edward DeShazer

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Hit pause on the urge to copy last year’s playbook. We open the year by making a clear promise to ourselves and our students: fresh slate, flexible mindset, and real relationships first. With educator and speaker Simone Walden, we dig into character education as more than a curriculum—it’s how we show up daily, how trust forms, and why students work harder for adults who keep their word and protect their dignity.

We get practical fast. Simone breaks down Monday share routines that humanize the room, the art of modeling honesty without shaming, and the quiet power of naming your own boundaries so kids know how to succeed with you. We talk about the early touches that win parent partnerships—quick praise messages, respectful updates, and the tiny moments of listening that pay off when a tough call arrives. There’s a candid look at staff culture too: who likes public jokes, who prefers private nudges, and how tailoring your approach builds stronger teams.

You’ll hear Simone’s unforgettable “sharing table” story—from diverting breakfast waste to a classroom table, to relying on that same table during a hard financial season, and later seeing the practice embraced at a student retreat. The lesson lands: communities work when giving and receiving are both normal, and when we stop turning basic needs into power struggles. We close with actionable ideas you can use tomorrow—relationship-first routines, low-friction supply systems, and trust habits that make classroom management lighter because students feel seen.

If you’re ready to trade rigid routines for responsive leadership—and to let character, trust, and small systems do big work—this one’s for you. Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with a colleague who could use a fresh start this year.

www.EdwardDeShazer.org

SPEAKER_00:

The first thing you have to do is embrace that it's a new year. You cannot drag the old things that happened from last year and what didn't work and a colleague that you didn't like and administrator didn't do what you wanted them to do. You have to come with a fresh start.

SPEAKER_01:

If you're an educator that's passionate, but you're tired and you're burnt out and you're wondering what to do next, this is the show for you. We're gonna learn together, we're gonna recharge together, and we're gonna grow together so you can be the best you and serve your students and your community to the best of your ability. What's going on, Pod? Welcome back to the Teachers Ed Podcast, the place where the best and brightest in education come to be inspired, to connect, to learn and to grow. I'm your host, Edward DeShazer. And as always, if you are listening on Apple Podcasts, please like, please subscribe, please download it, please leave it a review. If you're watching this on YouTube, please uh hit the little thumbs up button, leave a comment, uh do all that stuff so we can move and stay on the algorithm so other dynamic educators like yourself uh can find us. Uh but appreciate you all for joining me. This week I have Simone Walden on. So I am excited uh to have her. She is someone I have known um through presenting, through speaking. Um, so I am truly, truly honored uh that you are joining me today. How are you doing today?

SPEAKER_00:

Good, and thank you so much for having me. I'm I'm honored to be up here with you, so thank you.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, of course. So, what I want you to do just to jump it off, just let uh every listener know who you are, what you do in education, and just give them a little bit about yourself.

SPEAKER_00:

All right, so um, like the Edward said, my name is Simone. Um, some people know me as a student teacher. I've been in education for over two decades now. 20 of those years was middle school English, language, arts teaching, and now I focus on testing in the high school um as an instructional facilitator, and so um, you know, I'm a daughter, I'm a sister, um, I'm a friend, I'm a speaker, I do professional developments, and so um I'm excited to be on the podcast today with you, everyone and to all of you that's gonna listen. So thank you for tuning in.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and tell the people where you were not that long ago. Well, I know you've been a few places, but the one the one that I'm talking about.

SPEAKER_00:

I was in Osaka, Japan, not too long ago presenting at the ninth annual um international conference on multimedia in education, and that was definitely a um it was a great experience. And at work, shout out to Edward because Edward helped me prep for that presentation and it turned out to be really, really well. So I'm forever grateful to that and thank you for your help too.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, of course. No, we gotta let people know what you've been doing. You didn't just roll out of bed and and and do this work, like you've been across the across the world uh doing this work. So the first thing I kind of want to jump right into is talking about new teacher prep. You know, I know there's you know, speaking of the school year, we have new teachers listening, we have seasoned teachers, we have principals, we have, I mean, the range of people that I know that listen to this is anywhere from I just walked in and started this to there's some people that have been doing this for that I know for 35 plus years that have told me to listen. So um let's just talk about just teacher prep. You know, I know there's some new things, new teacher prep that you do, but what what's some some advice that you would give someone listening as a year starting on how to best prepare themselves for 2025 and you know what education now looks like for us?

SPEAKER_00:

So, because I would first say is that it's 2025, 2026 school year. Do we take the data, do we take the information, do we take the wins and the losses from the previous years? Yes, but the first thing you have to do is embrace that it's a new year. You cannot drag the old things that happened from last year and what didn't work and the colleagues that you didn't like and administrator to do what you want them to do. You have to come with a fresh start. And for those of you who are seasoned, it's so much more important for you to come with a fresh start because we impact and influence the new teachers that come, and so we're not influencing them in a positive way, they already start off on the wrong foot because they done got tangled up with the wrong co-workers or the wrong colleagues. So you first got to have a mindset to say this is a new year, it's gonna be a great year. Now, regardless of what happened last year. That's the first thing I'm gonna say. Make sure you have a new mindset and then come in ready to work. We know as educators, we do 55,000 things. We already know that, right? Praise the Lord, may not get an increase, pay increase, who knows? But we already know we do a lot, so come in prepared. I'ma do, I'm gonna do my what I do my part and carry my weight. We're not asking you to carry your teammates' weight, which you may have to do, but be prepared to carry your own weight for this school year.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and I and I I think that's so important because oftentimes I even say this with students. We have students that return to our school and we're like, you know, these are the things you did last year versus like, you know what, this is a new year. And I think hearing what you're saying, my big takeaway that I would really push home to educators is you you know, we may remember what kids did last year, but I want you to sometimes forget some of the things that you did last year. Give yourself the same, you know, same grace, same mercy that we say that we should give to students. I want educators to give that to themselves because there are some things that worked really well last year that may not work the same this year, and vice versa. There's some things that we did as educators that were like, man, I can't do that again. And it's okay, let it go. You have a new opportunity to try something, you know. You you have an opportunity to try something new. Um, maybe things that worked really well work work well again this year, and maybe things that worked really well last year didn't, and vice versa, maybe some things that you thought would work well didn't. But when you have a new group of uh students, when you have a new group of people in front of you, it could even be just your co-workers. You know, some things that work well for co-workers one year may not work the well, you know, as well. So I think being okay with being a little fluid and knowing that everything is not going to be the same as it was last year, and the moment we can accept that aspect, I think it goes into the year a little bit different because I know teachers are teachers and educators in general struggle with change. I think let me just say people in general struggle with change, but I really think educators do because we get into such a routine of like this is just what the day goes. You start your day a certain way, you have a class at a certain time, your students walk in at a certain time, the bell rings here, where a lot of other jobs don't have that. It's like you get to work, your lunch is usually around the same time, the end of the day is at the same time. Everything that happens in between can be very different. But I think with educators, it's like we have we are such creatures of routine, um, that giving yourself that grace, you know, as you're starting this year, it's okay if things didn't work. And they may not work again. But don't beat yourself up when they don't continue to work. But one of one of the things I know um that we talked about prior to get on the call, and I well I this I think where I want you to go the deepest into is the character education aspect. So if you can, you know, what are some of the things I guess let's start just talking about the character education, and then I'll just kind of pull some more stuff out of you um as we go through the conversation.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, so with character education, character education is us as the individual people, the educator. Well, let me now let me take back off that layer. As a man or woman that's stepping in front of a building, regardless of what your title is, who are you as a person? Because who we are as people translate into who we show up as a professional. So if you are an honest woman or man, you're gonna be an honest principal, you're gonna be an honest superintendent, you're gonna be an honest educator, right? If you are a person who is trustworthy, you're gonna be a trustworthy teacher, you're gonna be a trustworthy colleague. So building those principles, those character principles for us as people, because that builds trust now with your colleagues, it builds trust with your administration, it build trust with the people that you gotta lead. It definitely builds trust with the students and the parents. So who we are as people building that character education and their studies that talks about the great, the stronger the character education, the more that you will get when it comes to student outcomes and student performance. Because one, it's like I'm gonna do my best, I'm gonna work hard, and they know that from the educators that they have in front of them, the teachers that they have in front of them, the people that is leading. It's like I want to work hard because Mr. Um DeShazer, you know, he he trusts me, he pushes me, he loves me, he cares about me. Um, and they can feel that and they know that. And parents will side with you. Like parents are like our biggest allies. Like, you know, I know some come be turned out, but but when you get them on your side, honey, listen, that child knows if if if Miss Wild has to come, your mama or your daddy, you already know, and it's not even because I'm trying to get in trouble, but it's like I've built a relationship, and when people see that in your character, they will open up, they will trust you, they will do whatever they can for you, they'll work hard for you. And um, every you probably have experiences being, you know, in administration. There are certain teachers that they may tell somebody else no, but they'll tell you yes because they trust you, because they know that you you have their best interest at heart, they know that you're gonna do right by them, they know that if you come to them, it's because you have a need or desire and that you know that they're the one that can um you know fulfill that. So character education is a big thing.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, w what I guess so some of the things I'm just kind of rewinding and re-going back through one of the things that you said is people teachers and students will do things for people that they don't care about them. Critical. I I don't think there's anyone that would argue that if they would, they're wrong. I mean, I wouldn't say it often like you can have an opinion on some things, but that's just the reality of leading people. And whether you're a teacher, whether you're a principal, whether you're the you know, whatever it is, the coach, when you're leading people, people need to know that you care. Um, what are some of the things, you know, early on in the school year that you have done that you like to see to let the people that you work with know that you care, you know, whether it's students, adults, you know, what are some of the things that have helped you be successful in building that connection?

SPEAKER_00:

So one with the of course, because you meet your colleagues before you meet the students, right? So one with your colleagues is that you know, you'll have your professional developments and you get to introduce yourself to them. I don't introduce myself with titles and you know what I did. They want to know how long you've been teaching, what you've been doing, but who am I as a person? So you open up being yourself, getting to know them, getting to know their families, what are they like, what are they into? What ways do they work really, really well? Like, how is their temperament doing all of those things is you're building relationships. So I always like to build relationships, and I will always tell people I didn't have the quote unquote the best classroom management, but I had great relationships. And so where I could just say something to a student and they're gonna kind of get back in line, where other people have to go through, you know, these 55,000 consequences, right? So building relationships and getting to know who am I standing in front of with the students. When the students come, I share who Miss Walnut is as the person first. What are things I like? I share my family, I share, you know, you know, you do those things, just school, the education, all those things. But I will share personal things that's not like too personal personal, but I'll share my person who, you know, so you want to get on on the business, yeah. You ain't know about all that, you know. But I will share with them, you know, who I am as a person, you know, what do I like with teaching? What are some of the the great highs of teaching? What are some lows of teaching? And I will always share with them every weekend, right? We come back to the weekends on Mondays. I always blocked out time in the middle of the classroom. And you know, there's teachers, and you know how you said some teachers don't like change. We got this lesson plan, I gotta stick to my standards and I gotta stick to my objectives. But really, you know, if you don't build a relationship, none of that's really gonna matter anyway. But on Mondays, I always took time and said, Okay, guys, everybody has 30 seconds to share what you did over the weekend. And at first, you know, when it's first started back to school, some are hesitant, but some who love to talk, they're gonna take the floor. And what I would do, I would listen to their life, I will listen to who they hang out with, I would listen to the parents that they stayed with, and you know, the siblings that they had without them actually telling me that. And then you have more and more students who would want to share out every weekend, and so then you know, I would have to cut it down to you know, I said 30 seconds, and sometimes if it's not a lot, it's 60 seconds, but when everybody wants to go, you have to cut it down. But I'm learning about everybody, and then I share about my weekend, you know, the things that I did, and so that built built community with us, that built trust with one another, and that built relationship with each other, and that's how I really kind of like built that character thing. Because even if they would say they did something, or you know, sometimes with students, they'll share a story, and if they're not really getting a reaction that they want from their classmate, they start embellishing stuff. I start saying, Listen, we just tell them what really happened, right? We're gonna be honest in anything we say, even if they don't laugh, even if they don't like it, make sure you're telling the truth. And that's another one that came with carrots and me in me and encouraging and enforcing. If we're gonna tell our story, we're gonna tell the true story. Because if you can tell the truth about what you did on your fun times, if it comes something challenging in the classroom, I expect you to be honest about what happened in the classroom.

SPEAKER_01:

Yep, and one of the things I did as a teacher, and I still do this, I actually did this today, and now that I think about it, when I'm talking to students, I let students know you know, from my leadership seat, what's some of the stuff that really annoys me? Um, that students do. I don't don't tell them the stuff that annoys me that staff do, but I talked to them about I was talking to a student today about some of the things, the challenges I have that students may do. So she understood these are the things that make me upset because one of the things that we have to do as adults and as educators is we have to be honest with students that we have feelings. And sometimes we pretend we get all mad with students and we get frustrated, but then we don't express them like you know what, I'm frustrated because so I like to share, I share with a young lady today at work. Uh, you know, this is her first year, um, we're early into the school year, and I was like, these are the things I was just sharing to her, you know, her mom was there. There were there was some conversations being there was a meeting that was being had, and after the meeting, I'm just sitting with her in the office, just kind of really like you said, I'm trying to get to know her because I know she's had challenges at other schools she went to, and what I'm sharing with her, forget about what happened at your other schools.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Because I've seen kids that have struggled at other schools that show up to our school and they are dynamic. I've seen kids that struggle at our school and show up to other schools and they're dynamic. Like every environment is not gonna be for every person, student, teacher, whoever. And every person every environment's not for whatever season everyone's in. So I was sharing with her, you know, these are the things that when I'm in these meetings with parents and students, that students can do that really frustrate me. Um, and then I asked her, you know, what are some things that adults do that can frustrate you? Because some students just don't ever feel like that's not a question they've been asked because they're just told to get in line and do what the teacher asks. And she shared, I get frustrated when the adults, when I don't feel like the adults are listening to me. And it's you know, whether it's her parents, the teachers, the principal, when she didn't feel like she was being listened to, she shut down. But again, it goes back to what you're saying of taking time to get to know what our students need. And same with our staff. Like, what do your staff need? What frustrates your staff? Do like some I know the teachers in the staff rooms at a school that I can crack a joke and call them out in front of our staff. And they're gonna they're gonna enjoy it. I know they're good with it. Where there's other people I may do that, and they're gonna feel like they were put on the spot and they're not uncomfortable. So it all just goes back to the the original thing you were saying. Just getting know the getting to know the people that you that you work with, getting to know the people that you go to that you work alongside of, getting to know the students that you stand in front of. Um, because when you actually get to know them past that first layer, that's when those dynamic connections um start to take place. And when those dynamic dynamic, like you said, I wasn't a classroom management expert, but I was good at building connections. And ultimately, if you can build connections, the management stuff becomes a lot easier.

SPEAKER_00:

It really does. And you know, and what I would do is I would by what the students would tell me, that's how I built a lot of relationships also with their parents, because they'll say, Oh, I was, you know, me and my mama, whoever they were. And I said, Oh, okay, well, tell your mom and dad, and Miss Walden said hello. So then, you know, I would keep following back, did you tell your mom and dad what I said? And they was like, Yeah. So when I finally do meet parents, I met parents like on you know, uh parent teacher conference or back to school night, and it was like, I've heard so much about you, Miss Walden, by way of me building relationships with their children.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and that word of mouth carries, you know, for good and bad. The last thing I want as a kid going home, like, man, this guy, you know, because they don't, especially when you get newer kids, like they don't know you. Yeah, and they don't care, like you said, they don't care you got a title, they don't care what that title is. Like, kids, if they don't know you, they don't really care. Like, obviously, there are some kids that walk in and they're just like they're gonna respect every single adult that walks in front of them. But a lot of students, like, they need to get to know you before they really trust you and will lock in with you. And that word of mouth is the same with the parents. Some parents are coming to different schools and they are looking at your classroom, your office, whatever you do in a school under the same lens as the last environment that we're in. And they were hurt, they may have been hurt in that and no different than teachers, they may have been hurt in the last environment that they're in. So there's things that's gonna trigger our parents. So the best thing that we can do for some of for some of us and setting ourselves up as educators for success is like you said, building those connections and asking them, man, tell your parents I said I like one of the uh students today was talking about how they went to there's a skate land here. And I used to go to this exact same skate land as a kid, and telling them, like, man, we used to do that as a kid, and we used to do lock-ins, and his mom was there, she's like, Oh, I used to go to those too. So it's like automatically now his parents like, okay, this guy gets it. He's we've done some of the same things. And the more I mean, this is almost like a world thing. The reason people argue and don't like each other is because we really look at our differences, yeah, and it's no different with parents and with students. The more we can understand and get each other to know like we like a lot of the same things, the more that they're gonna lock in with you. Um, so that that's super important, you know, for anyone that's listening. Little ways that you can get your students helping you bridge the gap to the parents because if ultimately if you have that parent working with you, even when that student has a challenge, even when things are great, it just makes everything that much easier um when all three parties are pulling uh the rope the same direction.

SPEAKER_00:

Yep, and I agree. And when you have the relationships, the issues that you may have may not even be as severe as what somebody else may experience somewhere else because you do have that relationship. So it's like I might get out of pocket a little bit, but let me bring it back in because I already know Miss Wall, and then you know she probably gonna talk to my mom or she'll just talk to me. So yeah, it really goes a long way when it comes to that management piece.

SPEAKER_01:

Yup, yup. And what I want to do, I want to take a quick uh second. I want to acknowledge our affiliate partner, uh, Rise Coffee, R-Y-Z-E mushroom coffee, is something that I have been building relationships with and building connections with every single morning. We got to know each other really well. Uh, it is filled with six essential mushrooms that help me with bloating. It helps me reduce, it would helps reduce my anxiety and it helps me with stress. And the best part about it, it does not give me the jitters that when I have a bunch of coffee um that that I have. So if you're interested in checking it out, head over to Rise Superfood R-Y-Z-E Superfoods.com and you can use code EdwardDeschazer to save 15% off on the first order, the second order, and every single order after that. So, teachers listening, educators listening, if you like coffee, check it out. I do it boiling water with a little bit of honey, and it helps my day get started instead of all the coffee and Celsius and all the other stuff I used to drink that I know I shouldn't have been drinking. Rise mushroom coffee, R-Y-Z-E, Superfoods.com, code Edward DeShazer, 15% off. So go check it out. All right. Now that we got the ad out of the way, what I want to kind of spin and wrap up with. Um I wanna I want that the people listening to learn a little bit more about the sharing table uh that you did. So if you can, just let them know um what that was and you just give them the background to it because I think it's something that could be interesting for someone else to implement.

SPEAKER_00:

Alright, so I've been in education. This is year 23. And so um I I'm from North Carolina, so I taught across the state of North Carolina, and then I went to Maryland, and when I first moved to Maryland, there was a huge transition. And so um I worked at a Title I school, predominantly Hispanic, and um the students were required to get the breakfast every day. Well, the students would get it, and then it would come down the hall and they would dump it in the trash can, and they would encourage the students to get it because if they didn't get it, they would lose the grant. And so one day I went to my seasoned teacher's classroom, and I seen all this milk and all this cereal and all the little breakfast things on the table, and I said, Well, why do you have that? She says, Because I tell them, don't put it in the trash can because you never know who wants that at the end of the day or who wants extra. So I was like, Okay, well, I'm gonna start it in my class. And so I told everybody in my home, I say, Listen, guys, don't throw the milk and stuff away, bring it down the hallway and put it on the sharing table. And so I create a little space, a little table in the back, put it there. And so I would we had hallway duty. And for those of you who you know, it's important to be in the hallway to greet your students and just keep an eye on what's going on, right? So we sent to get this in the classroom, so you know, I could see if they was coming around the corner and it was about to dump, and I was like, No, no, no, and even for the students that didn't teach, I was like, Hey, don't dump that, you can give it to me. And so we'll put it on the table, and so some students will eat, you know, the graham crackers and all the things, you know, for breakfast, or we will have quite a bit in the afternoons, and so this is probably like the second third week of me moving to Maryland. This is probably like 10, probably like nine years now. And when I first moved, I was just in a really tight financial space, like moving from Charlotte to Maryland. I was promised one salary from the principal, but the principal don't determine that, and so when I got the HR, it was something different. So I really struggled, and I became the recipient of that sharing table, and so I would have probably I had like$20 to my name every week for food. And after I ate that food, I would sit after school, um, I would sit in my teacher's desk because I still had my stuff in um in North Carolina, I would sit in my little cushion teacher desk, watch the few cable channels, stay there to maybe 6 37, and then anything that was left, I would put in my book bag and I would take it home. And so then I became the recipient of the graham crackers and the juice for many months until I was able to get back on my feet. And I remember two years later, I was still teaching I was teaching sixth grade. Two years later, um, they was taking the children on a field trip, overnight field trip to like this nature thing. I forgot what it's called now, but they say, Miss Waddle, would you like to go with the eighth graders now? And I was like, Yeah, I was like, the eighth grade teacher don't want to go, like, nope. So then when all of them found out Miss Waddle's gonna say, it's so exciting. Like, I've been back with my sixth grades and now eighth graders. I remember when we got to the resort that day, it was about lunchtime, and then we all sat down like family style tables, and the camp director said, Hey, welcome to I forgot what it was, but welcome, and this is family style table, and you know, you'll go through the line and get your food, and he says, Anything that you don't want, we're gonna place it over there on the sharing table. And what I got so teared up at that moment because I was like, Lord, thank you. I remember two years ago, I was a recipient of the sharing table that I started in my classroom, and now I don't need a sharing table, and I gladly need to put my stuff over there for other people, and so that taught me even in that time that the students were helping me more than they ever knew privately what I was going through, and I was always so gracious and I was always so thankful, like you even put me, and someone told me before it was like the Lord put you in a Title I school so you could have that breakfast to sustain you because you could have been somewhere else where they did not have that, and so I'm forever grateful to that. And I always when I once that happened to me, I always made sure that we always had a surplus of things in the classroom, whether it wasn't necessarily food, but pencils, paper, whatever. Here you go. We're not making a big deal about that. I'm not gonna say why you don't got a pencil 55 times because I don't know. We're gonna just give you one, and that's just gonna be the end of that. And so that changed my perspective a hundredfold.

SPEAKER_01:

I love it. I love and one thing before we wrap up with this or that. I I love this that last part where you're like, I'm not gonna ask you why you don't have a pencil, because that was something I used to struggle with as a school leader and even as a teacher. It's like I see kids that come in with$250 tennis shoes, but they don't have pencils. And I'm like, you know what, you know better. You know, and I want to get on them, but the more I think about it, it's like these kids at that age, if you gave me a choice, Jordans or pencils, I'm taking Jordans 100% of the time.

SPEAKER_03:

Yep.

SPEAKER_01:

And but we get on the kids when they're not the ones making those purchases, their parents. Um, and it doesn't make it right. I'm just saying uh, like you said, shifting our perspective of does it matter if they don't know, like if I have 10 extra pencils and they don't have it, instead of spending my energy being like, why don't you have a pencil? Well, we know why, because their parents didn't buy it. We know why, because they got new J's, they got new, you know, Draco slides, whatever they're rocking. We know why. But it doesn't take we don't need to waste our energy going, hey, why don't you have a pencil for the 17th day in a row? Just have a pencil ready for them. You know their barrier, have the pencil ready, and when they you know they're gonna need it, maybe even have it on their desk waiting for them and tell them like, hey, I know you need it, but let's try to keep track of this one, you know. So just somehow just kind of resonating, just thinking about my growth um in education, things that used to really upset me with parents. Um, that's like, you know, just this it just is who some people are, you know, and and that's okay. And we just as educators, we just continue to know what barriers we're up against and do the best that we can to set our kids up for success, even when their parents may not always do that, um, or when society may not, or other teachers may not. Like, we as dynamic educators gotta do our best under every uh circumstance. So I definitely appreciate you sharing that that story, and I know there's gonna be someone that that resonates with, because I know you're not the only teacher that's gone through struggles where sometimes we're like you know, we're in education, we think we're the ones that are saving these kids, but it's actually the kids that that's and the kids in the schools that save us as educators. So definitely appreciate uh you sharing that. And what I always like to do, I want to end as we wrap up, I want to end with uh some this or that, and the this or that questions I have for you are gonna be movie related. All right. Alright, so quick, I'm gonna give you two. You just give me a quick answer. Because every once in a while you get someone that wants to give me a 10-minute keynote on their this or that, which is quick, quick, quick answer. So the first one is comedy movie or horror movie?

SPEAKER_00:

Comedy all day.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, let me ask you this. What's your favorite comedy movie of all time?

SPEAKER_00:

I like Asian Tour.

SPEAKER_01:

Nice. I really wanted to go in that movie when I was a kid with that. That's one of the moments I remember with my mom. I don't know why she had me in her watching that movie at like seven years old. But we had a good time together. Alright, the next one is let's go with would you rather watch a movie in a movie theater or streaming from your couch?

SPEAKER_02:

In a movie theater.

SPEAKER_01:

In a movie theater, okay. I love it. And then the last one, I'm trying to pick which one. Let's go with would you rather a villain movie or a hero movie?

SPEAKER_00:

Hero movie. Hero movie. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Alright. What is your if you had to pick one movie that you can watch every single day, what movie would that be?

SPEAKER_00:

Um Love and Basketball.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay. Love and basketball. That's a good one. All right. Well, what I want to do as we wrap up, I want to give you an opportunity to let everyone listening know where they can um find you, social media, website. Um, if they're interested in learning more about you, I want to give you some time to just let everyone know where they can find you and get more information about you.

SPEAKER_00:

All right, so again, thank you so much, Ever. So you can go to um any social media platform and look at Simone Walden. That's my name across all platforms. You can also go to Facebook and Instagram and go to Simone Speech. That's where I put predominantly my speaking with um at um education and organizations. You can also go to my website, simonewalden.com, and you can always reach out to me through the DMs or um any of my social media platforms.

SPEAKER_01:

Awesome. Thank you. Make sure you check her out, make sure you tap in with her Simone. I appreciate you for jumping on, appreciate you for joining me. I and I the reason I started this I actually started this podcast in during COVID, and the reason I started it was because of educators like you. So I'm just trying to continue to grow a platform where more dynamic educators can find more dynamic educators because this work is hard, this work can be lonely, even when you're in a building full of people. So I I always just say it's so critical that we surround ourselves with other great educators so we can keep doing this work um at a high level and stay doing this as long as we can because there's not a lot of people coming to save us. So I truly, truly appreciate you for joining us. Um I appreciate everyone for tapping in. Make sure you head head and follow her on Instagram, tap in with her on social media, um, check out our website. And again, if you have not, make sure you like, make sure you subscribe, do all that algorithm stuff to keep us moving up, download it, um, and make sure you share this with another educator you think um can find some value in hearing this conversation um that CMA and I had today. But again, appreciate you for tuning in. We're here each and every Sunday. Um, but yeah, thank you all for tuning in. Make sure you download, make sure you subscribe, and we will see you all next week.