John Alexander and Olivia Pedersen
Recorded
April 22, 2023
Archived
April 22, 2023
39:01 minutes
0:00 / 0:00
Id:
atl004781
Description
Friends and former colleagues John "Mark" Alexander (52) and Olivia Pedersen (65) discuss teaching, how they became educators, and how learning more about racial equity and justice affected their teaching.Subject Log / Time Code
John "Mark" Alexander and Olivia Pederson say they are both introverts and educators and discuss teaching together for twelve years.
Mark asks Olivia why she asked him to be her conversation partner.
Mark talks about what he wanted to be growing up and shares his love of Spanish and history.
Mark discusses a trip he took to Madrid to teach English. Olivia discusses wanting to be an actress and how she often lost her voice due to nerves.
Olivia says that teaching is performing but without the nerves.
Olivia states that she never really feels grown up.
Olivia says teaching involves more facilitating than performing.
Mark discusses the way that technology has forced teachers to adapt.
Mark talks about a fight in the classroom where he was injured.
Olivia talks about funny memories and students mimicking her English accent.
Mark talks about a student wearing sideburns like him.
Mark talks about acting in A Christmas Carol playing Scrooge.
Mark talks about how his career choice was influenced by his family members and grandmother.
Mark describes RQ Thomas, an irreverent teacher who pushed the envelope.
Mark discusses his strengths, including patience, forgiveness, listening, adapting, reading the room, and allowing students to have a safe space to vent.
Mark talks about Outward Bound and his love of nature.
Olivia discusses retiring in 2021 and the murder of George Floyd. She explains her experiences seeing white privilege and how her past experiences picking out minorities in class may have hurt students.
Olivia discusses an ethics assignment where asking students about their parents and their past may have been hurtful.
Olivia explains that learning never stops and that it is a lifelong process.
Both Mark and Olivia explain how technology changed the way they teach.
Participants
- John Alexander
- Olivia Pedersen