In the final episode of this season of 16:1, special guest Dr. Brandi De La Cruz, 2025–2026 Tennessee Teacher of the Year, joins us for an honest, grounded look at the teaching profession. Dr. De La Cruz’s nonlinear path into mathematics education has become a core part of her teaching identity, and she speaks candidly about trying new things, building community, and deepening connections between classroom learning and community impact. We also discuss graduation pressures, funding incentives, local workforce expectations, teacher retention, professional development, and the evolving realities of AI in the high school classroom.16:1 returns January 2026 with a new season. Happy holidays!00:30 Wrap up thoughts on teaching 198406:40 Dr. Brandi De La Cruz: An indirect path to the math classroom11:20 Learning to connect with students through lived experience20:00 Local industry and applied learning connections24:00 Why teaching is worth choosing27:30 Metrics, misaligned incentives, and honest accountability36:30 Finding your people in your school43:15 What makes for meaningful professional development?<a href="https://sixteentoone.com/archives">For a full list of episode sources and resources, visit our website.</a>

<description>&lt;p&gt;In the final episode of this season of 16:1, special guest Dr. Brandi De La Cruz, 2025–2026 Tennessee Teacher of the Year, joins us for an honest, grounded look at the teaching profession. Dr. De La Cruz’s nonlinear path into mathematics education has become a core part of her teaching identity, and she speaks candidly about trying new things, building community, and deepening connections between classroom learning and community impact. We also discuss graduation pressures, funding incentives, local workforce expectations, teacher retention, professional development, and the evolving realities of AI in the high school classroom.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;16:1 returns January 2026 with a new season. Happy holidays!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;00:30 Wrap up thoughts on teaching 1984&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;06:40 Dr. Brandi De La Cruz: An indirect path to the math classroom&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;11:20 Learning to connect with students through lived experience&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;20:00 Local industry and applied learning connections&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;24:00 Why teaching is worth choosing&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;27:30 Metrics, misaligned incentives, and honest accountability&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;36:30 Finding your people in your school&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;43:15 What makes for meaningful professional development?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://sixteentoone.com/archives"&gt;&lt;i&gt;For a full list of episode sources and resources, visit our website.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
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Special guest Dr. Brandi De La Cruz, 2025–2026 Tennessee Teacher of the Year, joins us for an honest, grounded look at the teaching profession.

Voices in Teaching: Dr. Brandi De La Cruz, TN Teacher of the Year 2025-26

This week, we’re looking through our history to ground ourselves in a turbulent present. Tune in for our discussion of Septima Poinsette Clark, the Charleston-born educator and activist Martin Luther King Jr. once called “the mother of the movement.” Her story bridges the segregated classrooms of the early 20th century and the civil rights movement’s front lines. Through the establishment of hundreds of citizenship schools across the U.S., she helped thousands of Black Americans gain the literacy skills necessary to vote, transforming communities. We also consider her complex legacy as a woman who challenged not only racism but also sexism within social movements that she helped to shape. 02:24 Septima Poinsette Clark: Family History & Educational Empowerment06:00 Teaching in segregated South Carolina and the fight for equal pay09:00 Adult Literacy & Citizenship12:20 Poll Taxes, Literacy Tests, and the Politics of Reconstruction14:00 Workshops at the Highlander Folk School16:00 Citizenship Schools and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference21:40 Septima Poinsette’s Civil Rights Activism: Legacy and Lessons<a href="https://sixteentoone.com/archives">For a full list of episode sources and resources, visit our website.</a>

<description>&lt;p&gt;This week, we’re looking through our history to ground ourselves in a turbulent present. Tune in for our discussion of Septima Poinsette Clark, the Charleston-born educator and activist Martin Luther King Jr. once called “the mother of the movement.” Her story bridges the segregated classrooms of the early 20th century and the civil rights movement’s front lines. Through the establishment of hundreds of citizenship schools across the U.S., she helped thousands of Black Americans gain the literacy skills necessary to vote, transforming communities. We also consider her complex legacy as a woman who challenged not only racism but also sexism within social movements that she helped to shape.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;02:24 Septima Poinsette Clark: Family History &amp; Educational Empowerment&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;06:00 Teaching in segregated South Carolina and the fight for equal pay&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;09:00 Adult Literacy &amp; Citizenship&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;12:20 Poll Taxes, Literacy Tests, and the Politics of Reconstruction&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;14:00 Workshops at the Highlander Folk School&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;16:00 Citizenship Schools and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;21:40 Septima Poinsette’s Civil Rights Activism: Legacy and Lessons&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://sixteentoone.com/archives"&gt;&lt;i&gt;For a full list of episode sources and resources, visit our website.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
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Our discussion of Septima Poinsette Clark, the Charleston-born educator and ciivil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. once called “the mother of the movement.”

Mother of the Movement

Two English teachers and a technologist come together for a lively discussion on George Orwell’s 1984 and teaching the text to high school students in the U.S. in 2025. Tackles complex topics (propaganda, surveillance, freedom of expression). Good for educators who are thinking of teaching the novel in their classrooms.02:00 Framing & historical context, George Orwell06:50 Making sense of Winston Smith10:00 Misogyny and modernity 13:00 Memory, individuality, and the alteration of history18:55 What is war in Oceania?24:45 Newspeak, language, and narrative control33:00 Art and entertainment in totalitarian Oceania40:45 Student engagement with 1984<a href="https://sixteentoone.com/archives">For a full list of episode sources and resources, visit our website.</a>

<description>&lt;p&gt;Two English teachers and a technologist come together for a lively discussion on George Orwell’s &lt;i&gt;1984&lt;/i&gt; and teaching the text to high school students in the U.S. in 2025. Tackles complex topics (propaganda, surveillance, freedom of expression). Good for educators who are thinking of teaching the novel in their classrooms.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;02:00 Framing &amp; historical context, George Orwell&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;06:50 Making sense of Winston Smith&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;10:00 Misogyny and modernity &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;13:00 Memory, individuality, and the alteration of history&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;18:55 What is war in Oceania?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;24:45 Newspeak, language, and narrative control&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;33:00 Art and entertainment in totalitarian Oceania&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;40:45 Student engagement with &lt;i&gt;1984&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://sixteentoone.com/archives"&gt;&lt;i&gt;For a full list of episode sources and resources, visit our website.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
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Two English teachers and a technologist come together for a lively discussion on George Orwell’s 1984 and teaching the text to high school students in the U.S. in 2025.

'84 in '25

This week, we’re covering one of the most explosive education controversies in American history, the 1974 Kanawha County, WV “Textbook Wars.” What began as a school board vote over new reading materials in West Virginia eventually escalated into boycotts, firebombings, and a national debate over who decides what children learn. From the cultural divides rooted in West Virginia’s founding to echoes of the Scopes “Monkey” Trial and the rise of outside agitators, this episode traces how faith and identity can collide in America’s public school classrooms.02:10 Setting the stage: The Civil War and West Virginia’s history of division04:15 The Scopes trial: How America’s first classroom media circus reshaped public discourse08:44 Labor and identity: Kanawha County’s legacy of protest and class tension09:40 Alice Moore & the textbook controversy23:30 Outside influence: How extremist groups amplified local outrage25:55 Aftermath & legacy: What this fight tells us about freedom, pluralism, and fear in public education<a href="https://sixteentoone.com/archives">For a full list of episode sources and resources, visit our website.</a>

<description>&lt;p&gt;This week, we’re covering one of the most explosive education controversies in American history, the 1974 Kanawha County, WV “Textbook Wars.” What began as a school board vote over new reading materials in West Virginia eventually escalated into boycotts, firebombings, and a national debate over who decides what children learn. From the cultural divides rooted in West Virginia’s founding to echoes of the Scopes “Monkey” Trial and the rise of outside agitators, this episode traces how faith and identity can collide in America’s public school classrooms.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;02:10 Setting the stage: The Civil War and West Virginia’s history of division&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;04:15 The Scopes trial: How America’s first classroom media circus reshaped public discourse&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;08:44 Labor and identity: Kanawha County’s legacy of protest and class tension&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;09:40 Alice Moore &amp; the textbook controversy&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;23:30 Outside influence: How extremist groups amplified local outrage&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;25:55 Aftermath &amp; legacy: What this fight tells us about freedom, pluralism, and fear in public education&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://sixteentoone.com/archives"&gt;&lt;i&gt;For a full list of episode sources and resources, visit our website.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
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Discussion of one of the most explosive education controversies in American history, the 1974 Kanawha County, WV “Textbook Wars.”

When Books Are Battlegrounds

<h2>The Stories Our Students Carry</h2><h3>Culturally Responsive Pedagogy</h3>Culturally responsive teaching begins with the recognition that learning doesn't happen in a vacuum. Teachers must carefully navigate curricular needs while building a foundation of trust and respect with students, each of whom carries unique stories and experiences into the classroom. In this episode, we explore the work of scholars who study those intersections: between school and family, the individual and their culture, classroom lessons and the many other concerns crowding a young learner’s mind.00:00 Intro + Announcements03:30 The US Education System: A Pressure Cooker05:00 Revisiting Social Learning Theory; Lev Vygotsky, Albert Bandura06:30 Dr Luis C Moll & Funds of Knowledge08:30 Research Contributions from Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings, Dr. Geneva Gay; culturally relevant and responsive pedagogy11:20 Culturally responsive pedagogy and practical applications in rural classrooms18:20 Culturally responsive teaching with varied student populations21:30 Discussion Questions31:10 What we learned<a href="https://sixteentoone.com/archives">For a full list of episode sources and resources, visit our website.</a>

<description>&lt;h2&gt;The Stories Our Students Carry&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Culturally Responsive Pedagogy&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;Culturally responsive teaching begins with the recognition that learning doesn't happen in a vacuum. Teachers must carefully navigate curricular needs while building a foundation of trust and respect with students, each of whom carries unique stories and experiences into the classroom. In this episode, we explore the work of scholars who study those intersections: between school and family, the individual and their culture, classroom lessons and the many other concerns crowding a young learner’s mind.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;00:00 Intro + Announcements&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;03:30 The US Education System: A Pressure Cooker&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;05:00 Revisiting Social Learning Theory; Lev Vygotsky, Albert Bandura&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;06:30 Dr Luis C Moll &amp; Funds of Knowledge&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;08:30 Research Contributions from Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings, Dr. Geneva Gay; culturally relevant and responsive pedagogy&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;11:20 Culturally responsive pedagogy and practical applications in rural classrooms&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;18:20 Culturally responsive teaching with varied student populations&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;21:30 Discussion Questions&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;31:10 What we learned&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://sixteentoone.com/archives"&gt;&lt;i&gt;For a full list of episode sources and resources, visit our website.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
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Culturally responsive teaching begins with the recognition that learning doesn't happen in a vacuum. Discover scholars who study the intersections between school and family, individual and community, classroom lessons and the many other concerns crowding a young learner’s mind.


The Stories Our Students Carry

16:1 is a podcast about education, teaching, and learning. Join veteran educators for discussions about the classroom, educational psychology, policy, technology, and more. New episodes drop every other week during the school year.

16:1 - Education, Teaching, & Learning

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