Season 1, Episode 7
Teaching takes joy, starring Rebecka Peterson
Today on Beyond My Years, host Ana Torres delves into the wisdom offered by Rebecka Peterson, 2023鈥檚 National Teacher of the Year (NTOY) and an educator whose journey began much like Ana鈥檚: as a young immigrant to the United States. Rebecka shares all that she has come to love and appreciate about the K鈥�12 environment after a tough transition from teaching college-level courses. She also reveals her most important lesson learned: Teach humans over content. Rebecka talks about her 鈥淥ne Good Thing鈥� blog, where she documented daily positives in her classroom that transformed her perspective on teaching. She shares personal experiences of feeling like an outsider and how those experiences drive her to create an environment of belonging for her students. Rebecka stresses the significance of building authentic relationships with students, as well as the impact of mentors in education. Taking all those lessons back to the classroom, Eric and Ana discuss strategies like 鈥渞ebellious joy鈥� that seem essential to sustaining a long career in education.
Meet our guest, Rebecka Peterson.
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Recognized as the 2023 National Teacher of the Year, Rebecka Peterson is a math teacher who loves stories. Rebecka has been teaching for 16 years, the last 12 of which at Union High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She believes that when we learn each other鈥檚 stories, we carry a piece of each other with us, enabling us to authentically advocate for our students, teachers, and communities.
In the midst of a challenging first year of teaching, Rebecka joined other educators in a daily practice of noting “one good thing” in her classroom. Together they found inspiration by embracing the motto: 鈥淓very day may not be good, but there is one good thing in every day.鈥� This shift in perspective transformed her work. Rebecka now collaborates with fellow educators, emphasizing the importance of cultivating 鈥渋ntentional joy鈥� as a means of sustaining oneself in the difficult but beautiful profession of teaching.
Meet our host, Ana Torres.
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Ana has been an educator for 30 years, working in both the K鈥�8 and higher education sectors. She served as an administrator and instructor at various public and private colleges and universities and as a bilingual and dual language teacher, dual language math and reading interventionist, dual language instructional coach, assistant principal, and principal in K鈥�8 schools. Ana is currently the bilingual and multilingual specialist on 抖阴成人版app鈥檚 product specialist team, and delivers literacy and biliteracy presentations across the nation. Ana鈥檚 passion and advocacy for biliteracy and multiculturalism has led her to educate leaders, teachers, and parents about the positive impact of bilingualism and biliteracy in our world.
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Meet our Classroom Insider, Eric Cross.
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Eric Cross is a middle school science teacher who hopes to someday be a lifelong educator, like the guests on Beyond My Years! In each episode, Eric connects with host Ana Torres to discuss her guests鈥� best insights gleaned from their long and rewarding careers in the classroom. Then, Eric talks about bringing some of their wisdom into his current classroom and busy life.
Transcripts and additional resources
- Connect with Rebecka Peterson:
- Instagram:
- X:
- 鈥淒ear Ana鈥�:
- Listen: Hear from Missy Testerman, 2024 National Teacher of the Year!
- Read Rebecka’s blog
- Subscribe to Beyond My Years
- Follow us on Instagram:
Quotes
- 鈥淭here were moments that I was missing because I wasn’t making space for them to land.鈥� 鈥擱ebecka Peterson
- 鈥淭his was like training my brain to become a good noticer and to take delight in my students鈥� quirks, and their genius, and their goofiness, as well as their beauty.鈥� 鈥擱ebecka Peterson
- 鈥淚t takes a lot of courage to stand in the present. It is mindfulness. It is joy.鈥� 鈥擱ebecka Peterson
- 鈥淭his is our profession. I think we reclaim it, and we reclaim it with a sense of joy. We reclaim it by saying, 鈥楾his is hard work. And this is really beautiful work. I am exhausted, and I am exhilarated. Yes, I’m ready to go home, and you better believe I’m going to be here tomorrow, ready to give my whole heart and soul and mind again.鈥欌�� 鈥擱ebecka Peterson
- 鈥淚 thought鈥 had to earn my seat at the table. I don’t want any kid to ever think they have to earn their spot. I want them to know they are in, exactly as they are. There is no need to perform. They are loved on their good days, their hard days, whether they make the 鈥淎鈥� or not鈥攖hey are in. And more than that, they are celebrated.鈥� 鈥擱ebecka Peterson
- 鈥淧hysicists have found that particles at the subatomic level move when they’re seen, so that bearing witness to them changes the trajectory of the particle. And I just think, on my good days, that’s what I do, right? When I see, I can change a trajectory. I think that’s our superpower as teachers鈥e see the invisible.鈥� 鈥擱ebecka Peterson
- 鈥淲hen you build that currency in students, they will jump鈥攍iterally, jump. They will do anything for you. It’s not a magic wand. No. It takes time. Seeing them, acknowledging them, and believing in them.鈥濃�擜na Torres
- 鈥淚 hope that the way I love is so radical that it changes the way my students love themselves and love each other. 鈥� I hope with all my heart that is true. But even if it doesn’t, it changes something in me. I am better because of this profession and because of my students.鈥� 鈥擱ebecka Peterson
- 鈥淭hat’s how we build our joy, how we build our resiliency鈥攚hen we do the work together.鈥� 鈥擱ebecka Peterson
