性爱巴士

Meet our host, Ana Torres.

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In each episode, 性爱巴士Bilingual and Multilingual Specialist Ana Torres gathers teaching tips, lively stories, and hard-won lessons from veteran teachers around the world. Over her 30 years in teaching, Ana has developed a passion for biliteracy and multiculturalism. And on Beyond My Years, she鈥檚 excited to connect with legendary educators from all subject areas about their lives in education鈥攁nd what they wish they鈥檇 known as younger teachers.

Episode 5: Teaching is listening, starring Patti and Rod Lloyd

Today on Beyond My Years, host Ana Torres takes you to the northernmost region of Alaska to sit down with Patti and Rod Lloyd. Patti and Rod are longtime educators in a rural school district where caribou outnumber people, the village is only accessible by plane, and the Indigenous culture of the I帽upiat people goes back 10,000 years. They teach Ana about how they make the content matter by connecting it to student life outside of the classroom, the honor of teaching where children are the most valuable part of the community, the importance of listening more than you speak, and they offer advice for teaching responsibly as an outsider. They also share stories of how the first week of every school year is spent connecting to the land and having the village elders teach about their culture, emphasizing the joy to be found when you open yourself up to what your students have to teach you. Throughout the conversation, it is clear that despite teaching in a unique landscape, the lessons that Patti and Rod have learned are applicable to teaching any student anywhere. Taking all those lessons back to the classroom, Eric and Ana discuss the benefits of building genuine community relationships, making learning culturally relevant, and the importance of focusing on effective teaching methods.

Episode 4: Teaching with determination, starring Khamphet Pease

Today on Beyond My Years, host Ana Torres learns all she can learn from the life stories and lessons of Khamphet Pease. As a refugee from Laos, Khamphet shares the difficulty she experienced navigating a home culture that did not encourage education or career ambitions for women. Despite that, she laughs over her stubbornness that she sees as an integral part of what has motivated her to chase her dreams, spend over 20 years as a STEM teacher, and what earned her the presidential award for excellence in mathematics and science teaching. Due to gendered norms and expectations, she almost lost out on the future she truly wanted. Since then, she has made it her mission to champion a learning environment where young girls feel they belong and can thrive in STEM fields. Khamphet takes Ana on a journey through all the lessons she learned along the way of managing work/life balance, creating a classroom culture of trust, and the importance of finding a mentor during the hardest teaching years of your life. Once back in the classroom, Eric Cross and Ana check in on Eric鈥檚 first two weeks of back-to-school and discuss practical ways to take care of yourself first so you can then take care of your students.

Episode 3: Teaching with resilience, starring Fawn Nguyen

Today on Beyond My Years, host Ana Torres learns from Fawn Nguyen, a math educator with over 30 years of classroom experience! Fawn tells Ana the story of her near-death experience being lost at sea while escaping Vietnam, and explains how it shaped the sense of gratitude she leads with in the classroom. She also discusses what it means to be yourself in the classroom, the importance of sharing your mistakes with your students, and the merits of practicing advocacy vs. authority with students. Taking all those lessons back to the classroom, Ana and Classroom Insider Eric Cross then discuss connecting with students through shared struggles and challenges.

Episode 2: Teaching for life, starring Eric Jones

Today on Beyond My Years, host Ana Torres becomes a student of Eric Jones, an educator who came out of retirement at 80 years of age to help with a national teacher shortage鈥攖hus becoming the oldest paid teacher in Britain. Eric shares his insights with Ana about building a collaborative classroom and what it means to teach children, not content. He also reflects on how the trajectory of his life changed when one man recognized and encouraged his desire to be a teacher.

Episode 1: Teaching with heart, starring Joyce Abbott

Today on Beyond My Years, host Ana Torres soaks up wisdom from Joyce Abbott, an educator so passionate about her students that she inspired one of them to go on and write the hit show 鈥淎bbott Elementary.鈥� Joyce tells Ana all about her experiences working in a Title 1 school and what it means to know the community of Philadelphia. They also discuss how Joyce鈥檚 time serving in the military informed her work as an educator, how she transformed a challenging classroom during her first year teaching, how it has felt to witness the success of 鈥淎bbott Elementary,鈥� and the passion she sees as her driving force. Taking all those lessons back to the classroom, Eric and Ana then discuss teaching tips and strategies for connecting with students.

Episode 0: About Beyond My Years

Join host Ana Torres and her classroom insider, Eric Cross, to learn what the new 性爱巴士podcast Beyond My Years is all about. Together, they dig into the essence of what it means to be an educator, the challenges that come with it, and how Beyond My Years will connect with it all. Plus, you鈥檒l get a sneak peek into what鈥檚 ahead, including conversations with legendary educators (like one who was an inspiration for a hit TV show).