Latest / Live in the Lab Schools / Ep #20: Put Me in Coach - Teachers on the Field, Beyond the Classroom

Transcript

Ep #20: Put Me in Coach - Teachers on the Field, Beyond the Classroom · Live in the Lab Schools

0:09
Andy Goveia: This week on Live in the Lab Schools, we're talking to a group of dedicated, awesome professionals who really do try to do it all.
0:15
Andy Goveia: They're coaches, they're teachers.
0:16
Andy Goveia: I think all of them have families.
0:18
Andy Goveia: And so we talk about that delicate balance between teaching, coaching, being a parent, and what it looks like when you try to do it all.
0:24
Andy Goveia: Stay tuned.
0:34
unknown: Mr.
0:35
Ben Webb: Govay.
0:36
Ben Webb: Mr.
0:36
Ben Webb: Webb, we're back again.
0:38
Andy Goveia: How's your unique year going so far?
0:40
Andy Goveia: Still not canceled in multiple ways.
0:43
Andy Goveia: Uh it's been good.
0:44
Andy Goveia: You know, we're hitting the end of October.
0:46
Andy Goveia: First quarter's over.
0:47
Andy Goveia: And I know high school runs on semesters, really.
0:49
Andy Goveia: So we don't really care about quarters.
0:52
Andy Goveia: And even for me, I teach a year-long class.
0:53
Andy Goveia: Technically, even the semesters don't really mean anything.
0:56
Andy Goveia: Uh, but our kids switched classes for their studio rotations this week.
1:00
Andy Goveia: So there's a new quarter creates some different energy.
1:04
Andy Goveia: Um, and so it's a nice little blip in energy for everybody, but also then not a blip of energy in other ways.
1:12
Andy Goveia: So it's good.
1:13
Ben Webb: How is how are you?
1:14
Ben Webb: I mean, the seasons have changed, and so that's where I'm like, okay, pumpkin spice season is now upon us.
1:20
Ben Webb: Yeah.
1:20
Ben Webb: And then the energy in the classroom changes to where it's like they just want to be outside.
1:24
Ben Webb: We survived homecoming and all that.
1:26
Ben Webb: So it's just a different thing.
1:28
Ben Webb: There's just nothing to look forward to.
1:30
Ben Webb: Well, and this week, too, it's like a full moon, and also like there's three other reasons why everyone is sugared up.
1:36
Ben Webb: Mercury's in retrograde, I think maybe.
1:38
Ben Webb: I don't know.
1:38
Ben Webb: That's what people say.
1:39
Ben Webb: And here comes Halloween.
1:40
unknown: Yeah.
1:41
Andy Goveia: Well, Mr.
1:42
Andy Goveia: Webb, that's not why we're here.
1:44
Andy Goveia: We're not here to talk about Mercury and retrograde or whatever.
1:47
Andy Goveia: Uh, we're talking about coaching and teaching and the balance of life when you are in multiple roles.
1:53
Ben Webb: Yep, there's 24 usable, usable hours in the day, and we somehow fill every single one of those.
2:00
Ben Webb: Bless us.
2:01
Andy Goveia: But hey, enough about you and I.
2:04
Andy Goveia: Let's get to our guests.
2:07
Ben Webb: We are you do the intros.
2:09
Ben Webb: I usually intro.
2:10
Ben Webb: It's your turn.
2:10
Ben Webb: Well, uh, okay, so and I would just mention, so we've we've done this in two parts.
2:13
Ben Webb: So we've got two wonderful teachers with us now, and then the second half of the episode is the other two.
2:19
Ben Webb: So I'm trying to make sure we get a little bit of a balance between arts and athletics.
2:23
Ben Webb: Yeah.
2:24
Ben Webb: And we've got teachers and we've got coaches.
2:26
Ben Webb: And so um, let's just kind of to go off of that first.
2:29
Ben Webb: So I got to go to my English colleague first.
2:31
Ben Webb: You've technically got the title of coach.
2:33
Ben Webb: So who are you?
2:34
Ben Webb: How many years have you been here at UHI?
2:36
Ben Webb: And what are you coaching?
2:38
SPEAKER_06: I'm Rebecca Hoffman.
2:39
SPEAKER_06: I've been teaching at UHI since 2015.
2:42
Ben Webb: Forever.
2:43
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, so for a really long time.
2:45
SPEAKER_06: Um, and I interned here back in 2012.
2:48
SPEAKER_06: And so I've been coaching speech since then, and I've been coaching debate since 2015 when I came back.
2:56
unknown: Yeah.
2:56
Ben Webb: And so that's at IHSA level, and then you also go to nationals, right?
3:00
SPEAKER_06: Yes.
3:01
SPEAKER_06: So we compete at IHSA, and then we attend the National Speech and Debate Association's national competition every summer, which is the largest academic competition in the world.
3:12
Ben Webb: Dang.
3:13
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
3:14
Ben Webb: And then on the other side of the tracks, so freshman program teacher, but also infamous coach.
3:19
Ben Webb: So who are you?
3:19
Ben Webb: How long have you been here?
3:20
Ben Webb: All that.
3:21
SPEAKER_00: I'm Kayla Sher.
3:23
SPEAKER_00: This is my eighth year here.
3:24
SPEAKER_00: I've been teaching here since um 2019.
3:28
SPEAKER_00: I teach in the science department, um, which for me becomes a variety of things depending on the year.
3:34
SPEAKER_00: So it's freshman biology, AP biology, environmental science, or chemistry.
3:39
SPEAKER_00: Or sometimes I get thrown like an advanced biology.
3:43
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
3:43
SPEAKER_00: It's just, you know, whatever the whatever the cards are that uh that that year.
3:48
SPEAKER_00: But um as far as coaching goes, I have actually been coaching here since I was a 216 student in at in the College of Ed.
3:57
SPEAKER_00: And so I coached softball in 2017, and then again in 2018 when I was an intern.
4:05
SPEAKER_00: And then when I made my way back here, um I coached volleyball, basketball, and softball for three years, I think.
4:12
SPEAKER_00: And now I just do volleyball and softball.
4:14
Ben Webb: And your programs have kind of done pretty well, if memory serves me right.
4:18
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
4:19
SPEAKER_00: As of recently, you know, state championship was was pretty exciting and fun last year in volleyball.
4:24
SPEAKER_00: So yeah.
4:25
unknown: Yeah.
4:25
Ben Webb: And then Becca, same thing with you.
4:27
Ben Webb: You you don't have like, you know, you're very humble, but also you guys have an awesome, huge program.
4:33
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
4:34
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
4:34
SPEAKER_06: And so we um we've been, I think we've won the regional in speech every year for the past 15 years.
4:43
SPEAKER_06: There might have been one year in there where we didn't win it.
4:46
Andy Goveia: Um that wasn't, but that wasn't a year you were here.
4:49
SPEAKER_06: I don't think so.
4:50
SPEAKER_06: There you go.
4:50
Andy Goveia: So yeah, it wasn't when you were here.
4:53
SPEAKER_06: Um, and in debate, we're actually we've won the varsity state championship for the last three years in public forum.
5:03
SPEAKER_06: So we're really excited about that.
5:05
SPEAKER_06: And the team that did it the last two years, they're seniors right now.
5:08
SPEAKER_06: So we're hoping to do it again.
5:12
Ben Webb: So you want to ask the first question here?
5:13
Ben Webb: Because I would just love to.
5:16
Ben Webb: I just because I think the the thing is kind of hard.
5:18
Ben Webb: So, like as a theater person, like I finish my nine to five and then starts my second part of the job, which is also feels like a five to then even past nine p.m.
5:29
Ben Webb: Especially in theater.
5:31
Ben Webb: Well, at the same time, you guys are the same way.
5:33
Ben Webb: So like I'm gonna hand it over.
5:34
Andy Goveia: Well, and like athletically, Kayla, like we're in the CS8, right?
5:37
Andy Goveia: So Central State Eight.
5:38
Andy Goveia: And so, like, you have some very long bus rides sometimes.
5:41
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
5:42
SPEAKER_00: Um, to Jacksonville is the farther center conference.
5:45
SPEAKER_00: We're going like almost two hours on a school night, and then we gotta be here the next day.
5:50
SPEAKER_00: It's super fun.
5:51
Andy Goveia: So that leads really well into our first question, which is how do you balance being full-time teachers and what really probably feels sometimes like full-time activities?
6:00
Andy Goveia: How do you balance all of that and make it a the joy that the two of you bring to it, also?
6:07
SPEAKER_06: That's a really good question.
6:09
SPEAKER_06: Um, so lately using nap times, so I would say the thing that is the most difficult for me is trying to figure out how to make sure I'm still spending a good amount of time with my 18-month old and making sure I get everything graded.
6:30
SPEAKER_06: So I would say just being really efficient with the times when he's asleep, right?
6:36
SPEAKER_06: So if it's nap time, if it's after bedtime, that's when I'm trying to get grading done.
6:42
SPEAKER_06: Because we compete all day every Saturday.
6:46
SPEAKER_06: So the last three weekends, we've been up in the suburbs.
6:50
SPEAKER_06: And for debate and speech specifically, you compete all day and the adults judge all day.
6:57
SPEAKER_06: So there's no real downtime while we're at the tournaments.
7:00
SPEAKER_06: So you just have to get really efficient with how you use your time and rely on other people.
7:06
SPEAKER_06: I'm really lucky.
7:08
SPEAKER_06: I teach one of my classes with Garrett, Mr.
7:11
SPEAKER_06: Roth, and the two of us like split up the planning just like right down the middle.
7:16
SPEAKER_06: And so if there's a day or a weekend where I'm overly stressed, he'll take on the burden of some of the planning for at least one of my classes.
7:24
SPEAKER_06: And then once basketball season gets super intense, I do that for him.
7:28
SPEAKER_06: So just like relying on the people around you would be a big way.
7:33
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
7:33
SPEAKER_00: I feel like kind of what you meant, you hit on it, like the efficiency.
7:36
SPEAKER_00: I really try to do as much work as I can during my free periods here.
7:41
SPEAKER_00: So I could take as little home.
7:43
SPEAKER_00: This year I have three preps, so that's a little different.
7:46
SPEAKER_00: I am taking more work home than I probably have in the last few years.
7:50
SPEAKER_00: Um, but I try to be as efficient with it as possible.
7:54
SPEAKER_00: I look ahead, I see, okay, these are the activities I'm doing next week.
7:58
SPEAKER_00: What can I slowly do during my prep hours this week to prepare myself for next week?
8:03
SPEAKER_00: So getting really efficient with that.
8:06
SPEAKER_00: Um, and then kind of same as you said as well.
8:09
SPEAKER_00: I was gonna mention just like working.
8:11
SPEAKER_00: I had teach two of my three classes with Maggie Proctor.
8:14
SPEAKER_00: And so, like, we just we split a lot of that work by doing it together.
8:19
SPEAKER_00: Um, and so she kind of helps me out, I help her out, and it works really well when it comes to like balancing all of that.
8:28
SPEAKER_06: One thing I'm trying to do this year too is start to build up our leadership.
8:34
SPEAKER_06: So we have five senior captains in the speech and debate or for the speech and debate team, and we haven't had captains for the last few years.
8:44
SPEAKER_06: And I'm really excited about the five seniors who are heading our team this year.
8:50
SPEAKER_06: And so when I can, I'm trying to offload some stuff to them too, while also recognizing they're all also overcommitted, right?
9:02
SPEAKER_06: But if it's a small thing like, hey, so-and-so hasn't signed up for a coaching in a couple of weeks, can you reach out to them?
9:10
SPEAKER_06: Trying to empower our senior leaders is has is something that I'm trying to do this year too, just to like help with balance.
9:22
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, like I've done something similar this year because I usually do like team bonding, like it's a whole thing that you had to plan in prep for.
9:29
SPEAKER_00: And this year I was like, you know what?
9:30
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna the captains plan the team bonding, and then it gives them some ownership and lets me have less on my plate.
9:40
SPEAKER_06: And I think they've done a really good job because I follow you high volleyball on Instagram.
9:44
Andy Goveia: I do too.
9:45
SPEAKER_06: And they seem like they're having a blast.
9:46
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, they seem like they had a more fun this year than other years I've seen.
9:51
Andy Goveia: I'm not that you believe everything on social media, but their posts and their takeovers of the account made it seem like they found a lot of joy.
9:57
SPEAKER_00: Enjoying each other more, which is really nice to see this year, like senior to freshman, they're like all involved in enjoying each other.
10:05
Andy Goveia: So this kind of I think this question kind of uh builds off of that slightly.
10:09
Andy Goveia: And how what role does the culture of your respective programs play in helping you find that balance?
10:19
Andy Goveia: And maybe what I'm actually asking with this question is what are the things that have happened that make you go, yes, I can still do coaching and teaching and I still want to do it?
10:28
Andy Goveia: So, like, what are the things that you've created in those programs that let you still feel like, yes, this is something you want to keep doing?
10:35
SPEAKER_06: With speech and debate, our kind of philosophy is just that we want to help them achieve whatever they want.
10:41
SPEAKER_06: Some kids come to speech and debate wanting to win a state championship.
10:48
SPEAKER_06: Some come to speech and debate just wanting to get a little bit more comfortable in front of an audience, and they might be with us for a year and then fade away.
10:59
SPEAKER_06: And our philosophy that speech and debate is for everyone, and that we just want to meet you where your goals are, is what drives everything.
11:11
SPEAKER_06: So that kind of keeping that philosophy at the forefront helps because then the kids really get out of it what they put in and they know from the jump that that's what's gonna happen.
11:25
SPEAKER_06: So it helps us to not have to put more work in than a kid does.
11:34
SPEAKER_06: That helps a lot with the balance, right?
11:38
SPEAKER_06: Because if kids are asking me to do stuff outside of coachings, I absolutely will, but only if they're asking me to, right?
11:46
SPEAKER_06: Otherwise, I make myself available like between like 10 to 15 hours a week for them during the week.
11:53
SPEAKER_06: And so we kind of keep all of the work confined to that amount of time.
11:58
SPEAKER_06: It doesn't always work that way, like this past weekend I cut a play down to eight minutes, and like you have to do that on your own time, right?
12:09
SPEAKER_06: You can't do that in 30 minutes.
12:11
SPEAKER_06: But just like remembering the philosophy of the team and what you're really there for helps a lot.
12:19
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I feel like um one thing in like the big team sports is like creating this family culture that like we're all we're all in this together, we need each other, and it's kind of like a family.
12:31
SPEAKER_00: Um, and one thing that this year I started doing because I have a five-year-old, and so he's a little more independent and can handle like these spaces.
12:40
SPEAKER_00: Um, he I've started bringing him to practices or games um for a little bit and just watching the girls just like love on him and latch on to him has been like, okay, I can keep doing this because this is a space that like he can come, he's welcome.
12:55
SPEAKER_00: Um, they they aren't gonna be like, oh my gosh, he's this kid.
12:59
SPEAKER_00: Um and so it's been really cool to see that.
13:01
SPEAKER_00: I think it's good for them.
13:02
SPEAKER_00: I think it's good for him to see like what mom does um on a nightly basis.
13:06
SPEAKER_00: This is where she's at when when I'm at home.
13:08
SPEAKER_00: And so that was something this year that like really made me see like I can keep doing this um and like my family can be integrated into it.
13:18
SPEAKER_06: And that's the nice thing about having a culture where the kids know you as a person, is that like things can happen and things can come up and they're gonna give you grace.
13:30
SPEAKER_06: Like the over the last two years, I've taken two extended leaves over the last two years.
13:36
SPEAKER_06: One was very conveniently timed.
13:38
SPEAKER_06: I had my baby in April, and that's when speech and debate season is over.
13:44
SPEAKER_06: And so the kids, well, it's not we're like prepping for gnats, but they can kind of do that without me.
13:50
SPEAKER_06: Um last year I ended up taking an extended leave during state series.
13:57
SPEAKER_06: And so it was like the kids were, you know, like reaching out, they were sending gifts, um, but they were also relying on the other coaches because they knew what needed to happen, right?
14:11
SPEAKER_06: And so building up those relationships where the kids meet your five-year-old and they understand who you are as a person helps a lot.
14:22
Andy Goveia: I got that experience this fall.
14:24
Andy Goveia: My oldest played softball, and you know, you go to games, and I think this is a really, a really weird lab school thing that like we go to games, my youngest is there, she's in first grade.
14:35
Andy Goveia: And when my oldest would go play the JV game, my youngest decided she wanted to go hang out with the varsity players who were my eighth and seventh graders.
14:45
Andy Goveia: And so she would just walk over and sit next to them.
14:48
Andy Goveia: And it's like what you described, Kayla.
14:49
Andy Goveia: They would just go, Hey Maddie, how you doing?
14:52
Andy Goveia: And like she thought it was the coolest thing in the world that these big kids learned her name and cared about her.
14:59
Andy Goveia: But then the payoff that is then then had in the classroom, like you said, my wife had surgery last week.
15:04
Andy Goveia: My kids, the minute I got back, a lot of those eighth graders are like, How's your wife doing?
15:08
Andy Goveia: How like when you have that space and kind of maybe even that educational culture within the activities culture, like you get a lot of grace and and connection from those moments.
15:19
Ben Webb: You're more than just like that hour of teacher, you are a real human being.
15:24
Ben Webb: Become a person out of them.
15:26
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
15:26
SPEAKER_00: And they ask me about him all the time, and they're like, How's he doing?
15:30
SPEAKER_00: What's he doing today?
15:30
SPEAKER_00: What do you do at school?
15:32
SPEAKER_00: And like that brings you to life for them.
15:35
Ben Webb: Yeah.
15:35
Ben Webb: So with that culture that you're trying to cultivate, like what are the life lessons that you want to impart to your artists, to your performers, to your athletes?
15:46
Ben Webb: The stuff that doesn't go in the grade book, but the stuff that you you think will help them in their future wherever they want to go.
15:53
SPEAKER_06: Ours is really always just that you have a voice and you should use it, right?
15:57
SPEAKER_06: So speech and debate, especially, it can get really competitive in other parts of the state, in other parts of the country.
16:07
SPEAKER_06: You'll have coaches passing down scripts that people should use, topics, right?
16:17
SPEAKER_06: Our hope is always that the kid at the front of the room is talking about something they care about, or they're growing as a performer in a way that they care about.
16:29
SPEAKER_06: So we'll have a student who's maybe always done humor events come to us and be like, I want to try something dramatic.
16:37
SPEAKER_06: Or they'll only ever have done acting events and they'll be like, I have a thing I care about.
16:42
SPEAKER_06: I want to try oratory this year.
16:44
SPEAKER_06: And we stay super open to that.
16:48
SPEAKER_06: So we always, depending on their goal, want to drive them toward what's gonna help them be competitive and successful.
16:56
SPEAKER_06: But I've never really had a kid who has something they want to talk about that we can't find a way for them to talk about it.
17:06
SPEAKER_06: So just helping them understand rhetorical situation, right?
17:13
SPEAKER_06: Not just I have a message I want to get out, but what's gonna be the most important and effective way to get that out, those are the things that I'm hoping they're always taking away.
17:24
Ben Webb: What about you, Taylor?
17:25
SPEAKER_00: I would say um from like a team, like a team sport perspective, um, like the skill of working together with other people.
17:34
SPEAKER_00: I feel like a lot of them, especially coming to the lab schools, um, they kind of get really into this like individualized place, even uh in a team sport of like, well, this is my job and this is what I'm supposed to be doing, and I've never worked with these people before.
17:48
SPEAKER_00: And so it takes like two-thirds of the season, I would say, especially in volleyball, um, to really get them to start thinking about how we can all do this together.
17:59
SPEAKER_00: Um, and so and I and I coach freshmen, and so that's a big, big factor for me and my team is the um the building of that because this is the first time they have all been playing together before.
18:12
SPEAKER_00: Um, so like teamwork in general, because that's something that no matter what sport they play or what field they go into, they're gonna need to be able to work with other people and know their role in their team wherever it's at.
18:24
SPEAKER_00: Um, then the other thing is just that like hard work does pay off.
18:29
SPEAKER_00: Um, and so like through the drills that we do in practice and the activities that we do, we really try to create practices that are incredibly hard for them, but they will see that each of those drills plays into something that happens on the court in the game.
18:47
SPEAKER_00: And so like we'll have a game where I'll be like, hey, did you see like how when we got all of our serves in, like we won the game?
18:56
SPEAKER_00: I don't know, like I don't know, did that like correlate with any of you?
18:59
SPEAKER_00: That's why we've been doing this drill where every time you miss a serve, you're like you're running for it or like there's a certain consequence for it, like because it shows.
19:07
SPEAKER_00: And so that's kind of like the things that we're trying to instill in them is like looking at their hard work and seeing how it's paying off.
19:14
Ben Webb: Wait, practice matters?
19:15
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, apparently it does.
19:17
Ben Webb: I thought this was a coaching uh episode.
19:20
Andy Goveia: Right.
19:20
Andy Goveia: I think though that leave you both, I think talked about this without talking about it.
19:24
Andy Goveia: And you both in both of your activities, trust is a huge component of what you have to build.
19:29
Andy Goveia: Not only like Kayla, you said, for your players who have to learn, they may be a setter, but they've never set with any of those other hitters or the defensive specialist behind them, right?
19:40
Andy Goveia: And like Becca, when you talk about speech and finding voice, there has to be trust for that voice to be heard.
19:45
Andy Goveia: And I think one of the pieces that gets lost so often when we do any activity is it's not just you.
19:51
Andy Goveia: You're not the only people that are working with these, these speakers, these athletes.
19:56
Andy Goveia: So to kind of wrap up this conversation, who are the people you'd love to shout out that have you've built trust with in this process that you go, they help make this a successful thing?
20:07
Andy Goveia: Who are the people you trust?
20:08
Andy Goveia: You go, hey, these are awesome people that you'd want to shout out.
20:13
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, I have a squad of amazing assistant coaches, right?
20:18
SPEAKER_06: So especially like Abigail Cash, right?
20:21
SPEAKER_06: One of our other English teachers, Shannon Maney, Chad Talon, Brian Aitken.
20:27
SPEAKER_06: We also have some ISU students who are helping us out.
20:30
SPEAKER_06: Cheyenne, Cam, Ben, Ollie, they're all phenomenal.
20:35
SPEAKER_06: Um, but the thing with speech and debate too is that they're like taking what they learn from every little part of this school and applying it as best they can, right?
20:48
SPEAKER_06: So something that they're learning in their English class is helping them write their speech.
20:54
SPEAKER_06: Something they're learning in theater is helping them perform it.
20:58
SPEAKER_06: Something that they're learning in science is probably inspiring the topic that they want to write about.
21:04
SPEAKER_06: So for us, it's this huge community-wide effort.
21:10
SPEAKER_06: And we're really lucky to have the support that we do at this school, right?
21:15
SPEAKER_06: The AD's office is hugely supportive of activities in a way that I think most activities coaches are probably really jealous of.
21:29
SPEAKER_06: Like we're really, really lucky to have the admin support at UHI that we do.
21:35
Andy Goveia: Shout out to Steve Evans.
21:36
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, honestly, shout out.
21:38
SPEAKER_06: Big shout out to Steve Evans.
21:40
SPEAKER_06: Um, and he's always been like that.
21:42
SPEAKER_06: He was like that as an assistant principal as well.
21:46
SPEAKER_06: We also, sorry, this is long.
21:48
SPEAKER_06: The we've worked really hard in central Illinois to make sure that the coaches, the coaches in central Illinois are all excellent role models.
22:00
SPEAKER_06: And really supportive of each other.
22:02
SPEAKER_06: So I know, like, let's say we're at a tournament and a kid has a bad round and they can't find me for whatever reason, or they can't find Abby.
22:12
SPEAKER_06: They know they can go to the Bloomington coach.
22:14
SPEAKER_06: They know they can go to the Olympia coach.
22:16
SPEAKER_06: And that those people are gonna support them and help them, whether it's emotionally, whether it's like fine, just finding me, whatever it is.
22:25
SPEAKER_06: So our system, and that was all set up by Brian Roman.
22:30
SPEAKER_06: So he also deserves a really big shout out.
22:34
SPEAKER_06: Um, that whole league was set up by him before he switched over to the IHSA.
22:40
SPEAKER_06: So we are super lucky um to have like our entire coaching staff and all of the former coaches.
22:49
SPEAKER_06: It's just been like this pipeline all the way down from like Mark and Lori Adams, who were the the head coaches when I got here.
22:58
Ben Webb: And that's something I often like think back on.
23:00
Ben Webb: It's like I was handed a program that was ready for me.
23:03
Ben Webb: Yeah.
23:04
Ben Webb: And then we've been able to grow since then.
23:06
Ben Webb: But also having an organization or organizations.
23:09
Ben Webb: So like if I'm going to festival and I've got the ITA, who's also got my back, being mentors for their thespian troops, but then I also go to Educational Theater Association for their support.
23:19
Ben Webb: Like it's all people with the same mission.
23:22
Ben Webb: So that's got to be really inspiring and helpful.
23:24
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, absolutely.
23:25
SPEAKER_06: And I rattled off that big list and I can already think of like three people I forgot, but I'm not gonna.
23:30
SPEAKER_06: That's right.
23:30
Andy Goveia: We'll tag the IHSA on the social media post and make sure Mr.
23:34
Andy Goveia: Roman knows he's been mentioned at him on the post.
23:38
Andy Goveia: Uh Kayla, what about you?
23:39
Andy Goveia: Who are the people you'd want to shout out that have helped build that trust and support that have made volleyball a joy for you?
23:44
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I I would say like when I got here, I started coaching with three head coaches that had either a lot of experience or a lot of success.
23:53
SPEAKER_00: In volleyball, it was Mike Bulhois, who had high success um going to state championships, whether it was with UHI or at some of the other schools in the area.
24:02
SPEAKER_00: Um so like getting to coach under him for like five or six years, I learned a lot um from him.
24:09
SPEAKER_00: And then when I coached basketball, it was Coach Sellers, Laura Sellers, who is incredible at building a program um and having structure and routine and her practices and focusing on the skills.
24:20
SPEAKER_00: So I learned a lot, even though I don't coach basketball anymore.
24:23
SPEAKER_00: I learned a lot about how she structures and routines things.
24:26
SPEAKER_00: Um, and then um in softball with Al Tolliver, like he comes with a plethora of experience and success because he was at Olympia um before he was here and he had a lot of success there.
24:38
SPEAKER_00: And so just like learning from all those coaches, they all have different things that they were good at.
24:44
SPEAKER_00: And so it's been interesting to kind of like look at all those different perspectives.
24:49
SPEAKER_00: But who I would shout out for like the success of our teams are the unpaid coaches that we have in both sports, volleyball and softball.
24:59
SPEAKER_00: There's probably like three unpaid coaches in every single sport.
25:02
SPEAKER_00: And they're just, I mean, maybe they get paid$500, but like that feels unfair.
25:08
SPEAKER_00: And so I did that for a couple of years in volleyball.
25:11
SPEAKER_00: So I know what that's like to like be showing up every day and not getting like that, even though the like the stipend isn't incredibly um like crazy or anything, but it's it's more than the than nothing.
25:22
SPEAKER_00: And so I think like in volleyball, we've got um Lauren Brewer, um AJ, sorry, AJ, I can't remember your last name because it's your first year, you're an ISU student.
25:33
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, AJ.
25:35
SPEAKER_00: AJ.
25:35
SPEAKER_00: Um, and then Caitlin Smith, who's a teacher here as well.
25:38
SPEAKER_00: They help out with volleyball.
25:40
SPEAKER_00: And then for softball, we have Rick Edwards and Mike Kuhn, which those two are incredible wealth of knowledge um that I've learned a lot from.
25:47
SPEAKER_00: And so, like, I learned as much from our own paid coaches as anyone else, and they're the ones that are showing up day in and day out.
25:53
SPEAKER_00: Like, it's just them putting their heart and soul into these kids because they're not getting anything from it.
26:00
SPEAKER_00: And so that that's definitely who I would shout out.
26:03
SPEAKER_00: That's awesome.
26:04
Andy Goveia: Our theme this season is that we have a unique school system.
26:09
Andy Goveia: And you heard Ben and I riff on it at every every episode we drop unique somehow into the opening.
26:14
Andy Goveia: Or that we're getting canceled, or that we're getting canceled.
26:16
Andy Goveia: That's just gonna be a running gig until we are canceled.
26:18
Andy Goveia: If you two could take just a second, I'll and I'll fill time.
26:22
Andy Goveia: What would you say is the most unique thing about working in the lab schools?
26:24
Andy Goveia: And I'll give you a second to think and I'll look at Ben as we often do when we need a pause.
26:30
Andy Goveia: Like he read that I didn't have the questions pulled up yet earlier, and he had a nice little riff that let me get the questions open.
26:36
Andy Goveia: Um, so if you could in like two sentences, because time-wise, I think I know we're getting to the edge of time.
26:43
Andy Goveia: Ben keeps looking at me.
26:44
Andy Goveia: We've got so much time.
26:44
Andy Goveia: We've so much.
26:46
Andy Goveia: Um no, it was great.
26:48
Andy Goveia: We'll he'll edit me, him and I out.
26:49
Andy Goveia: It'll just be cuts of all of you talking.
26:51
Andy Goveia: Uh, what is, would you say, is the most unique thing about the lab schools?
26:56
SPEAKER_06: I do think part of it is the systematic support that I just talked about.
27:01
SPEAKER_06: I think, especially in activities, it can be really easy to like cut us, right?
27:09
SPEAKER_06: Um, because nobody's making money off of a speech tournament.
27:13
SPEAKER_06: Nobody's making money off of a debate tournament in the way that you might make money off of ticket sales for other sports.
27:20
SPEAKER_06: So we're really lucky to have the support that we do from our building, and that's the teachers as well.
27:30
SPEAKER_06: Being really good at speech or really good at debate is a really big commitment.
27:35
SPEAKER_06: And our other coaches, our teachers, our other sponsors are so flexible with the kids, and we try to be really flexible with the kids too.
27:45
SPEAKER_06: Um, and that that would be, I think for speech and debate, that's what's so unique.
27:51
SPEAKER_06: I think almost any coach would kill to tea to coach at this school.
27:57
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
27:58
SPEAKER_00: I would say what makes this place unique, um if we're talking about from like an athletic standpoint, too, is like the choice.
28:10
SPEAKER_00: Like they chose, they wanted to come play here.
28:14
SPEAKER_00: And it's that choice of the dedication that I see here that might be a little different than other schools, is because um they pre the ones that I see, they chose to come here because they want to be a part of this and they want to be a part of it.
28:29
SPEAKER_00: And so usually it leads to an easier time getting some buy-in, not always, but usually um that become it comes a little bit more natural because they they wanted to be a part of these teams.
28:42
Ben Webb: Very cool.
28:43
Ben Webb: There we go, Mr.
28:44
Ben Webb: Webb.
28:44
Ben Webb: I'm gonna take a quick commercial break, and then when we come back, I'm gonna talk to a golfer and a singer.
28:50
Ben Webb: And some that do both.
28:51
Ben Webb: Do they golf and sing at the same time?
28:53
Ben Webb: Uh we did talk about one person who did.
28:57
Ben Webb: Yes.
28:57
Ben Webb: And they were in the musical and they were on the state-winning team.
29:01
Ben Webb: Oh, I love that.
29:02
Ben Webb: You might joke, but yes.
29:04
Ben Webb: Both of you guys are awesome.
29:05
Ben Webb: Thank you for coming on.
29:06
SPEAKER_06: Thank you.
29:06
SPEAKER_06: Thanks for having us.
29:18
Ben Webb: So we're hearing how do they do it all in 24 hours?
29:21
Ben Webb: Because apparently they use almost every minute of those 24 hours.
29:25
Ben Webb: So if I can just kind of ask, who are you?
29:28
Ben Webb: What year are you here at UHI?
29:30
Ben Webb: And then besides what you teach or what you're like nine to five is, what's the other thing you do?
29:36
Ben Webb: Because I feel like that sometimes becomes even more than the day job.
29:41
Ben Webb: So Chris, I'll kind of hand it off to you first.
29:44
Ben Webb: Yeah.
29:44
SPEAKER_01: Uh Chris Hedrick, uh, one of the school counselors here.
29:48
SPEAKER_01: And outside of that, I am also the boys' varsity golf coach.
29:54
Ben Webb: Which they're they're known for some pretty good accolades.
29:58
Ben Webb: They're doing pretty good usually.
30:00
SPEAKER_01: It's been a good the last few years have definitely been strong.
30:03
SPEAKER_01: It's also just been a strong program.
30:05
SPEAKER_01: I think we right now have the second most first place trophies in the state.
30:12
Ben Webb: I like that you sometimes toot your own horn, but you're also pretty modest about it.
30:17
Ben Webb: Very good.
30:18
Ben Webb: And then on the other side of the tracks.
30:20
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, this is Daniel Provis.
30:21
SPEAKER_02: It's uh my third year here at the lab schools, uh, and I do all things choir and vocal music between the two buildings.
30:28
Ben Webb: Very nice.
30:29
Ben Webb: And then you guys, it's so, and I think with that as well, like you've got your curricular classes, but then you've also got the extracurricular groups.
30:36
Ben Webb: And I feel like that list takes at least three pages just to get through because you've got like IHSA, I L M E A, you've got Yeah.
30:45
SPEAKER_02: So we have the magical program, which is our magical singers and court singers, two different groups there where we put on our magical dinners every um holiday season.
30:52
SPEAKER_02: Uh we have ILMEA, which are honors groups that both the middle school and the high school audition for.
30:57
SPEAKER_02: There's the concert choir at the junior high level, the concert choir at the senior high level.
31:01
SPEAKER_02: There's also vocal jazz, which leads into the second semester.
31:04
SPEAKER_02: We have our vocal jazz program here uh at UHI where we prep jazz night with the jazz bands.
31:09
SPEAKER_02: Um we also have our student-run a cappella groups, which they do a lot of the work for that.
31:12
SPEAKER_02: I help them organize concerts and get their music going.
31:15
SPEAKER_02: Um, but we've got some great student leaders with that.
31:18
SPEAKER_02: Uh, and then we have our spring musical in the spring as well, which uh this year, Phantom of the Opera.
31:22
SPEAKER_02: Gonna be awesome.
31:23
SPEAKER_02: Shameless plug.
31:24
SPEAKER_02: Buy tickets when they're on sale.
31:26
SPEAKER_02: Um Yeah, and then ILMEA also leads to Allstate in January, um, where hopefully more students will be selected this year to perform in that.
31:36
SPEAKER_02: Um yeah, lots of lots of fun groups to work with throughout the year.
31:39
Ben Webb: Okay.
31:39
Ben Webb: So like you stop your day job and then you do your other day job.
31:43
Ben Webb: So how do you how do you guys do it all?
31:45
Ben Webb: Like at some point you have to go home and see your families, right?
31:49
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you know, um I really try to keep um a really clean calendar that I um that has everything in it between school and at home.
32:00
SPEAKER_02: And I try to be diligent about, okay, this is time for school, this is time for home.
32:04
SPEAKER_02: I think I've I've gotten really good about when I park my car in my garage.
32:09
SPEAKER_02: For the most part, I can turn off school Mr.
32:12
SPEAKER_02: Provis and be um, you know, a husband to my wonderful wife Jenna, a dog dad to our dogs and be, you know, be ready to enter family stuff.
32:19
SPEAKER_02: There occasionally I get emails or phone calls that have to be addressed in the moment.
32:24
SPEAKER_02: But um yeah, I try to keep school at school and you know, so I can be present at home for for my family.
32:31
Ben Webb: Which I think sometimes is a trick to also teach that skill to students is like, okay, no, I I do have to stop being the teacher, I need to stop being the coach when I go home.
32:41
Ben Webb: I need to actually be a human outside of school.
32:44
Ben Webb: Chris, is it the same different for you?
32:46
Ben Webb: Because as a counselor, I feel like there's almost like it's gotta be really hard to turn that off after you leave.
32:52
SPEAKER_01: I think the hard part for not just my job, but then also with coaching golf.
32:58
SPEAKER_01: For golf, we're leaving, you know, at 10 o'clock in the morning and missing a good portion of the school day.
33:06
SPEAKER_01: And so when I on days that we leave early, I might not be getting home until 9, 9.30 at night.
33:13
SPEAKER_01: And I sometimes I try to be good at when I get home, yes, it's important.
33:22
SPEAKER_01: I I think part of it is the kids are in bed when I get home.
33:26
SPEAKER_01: And because I leave school early, I do feel like I sometimes have to go do a little bit of work at home.
33:33
SPEAKER_01: Um just because we left I'm I'm gone from here most of the day.
33:40
SPEAKER_01: So I think that's kind of the balance, um, you know, is just understanding that you know, if I'm if I'm uh leaving work early to go and do this, there's gonna have to be some days where I have to do a little bit of work at home.
33:54
Ben Webb: Yeah.
33:55
Ben Webb: So kind of you kind of both kind of alluded to this.
33:58
Ben Webb: So like what are the lessons that you're teaching outside of the classroom?
34:02
Ben Webb: Like you talked a little bit about like being able to time manage and just be a human.
34:06
Ben Webb: Like I can do work at work and I can leave work at work.
34:09
Ben Webb: I imagine that's a hard thing to teach kids.
34:11
Ben Webb: But like, what are some of those other life lessons?
34:13
Ben Webb: Because I especially, I mean, you get home at a certain time at night.
34:18
Ben Webb: I'm thinking like for musical for us, like we're lucky to get the kids at home by curfew sometimes, but we're also trying to teach them the time management.
34:27
Ben Webb: We're trying to teach them like being dedicated to your craft and also like you know, be there for each other.
34:33
Ben Webb: So, like, what are some of the life lessons you're trying to teach on the court, on the course?
34:39
Ben Webb: Um, you know, I think I think you've got like a couple of like overnight conference, not conferences.
34:44
Ben Webb: I'm thinking like you kind of go to a conference as well.
34:47
Ben Webb: Yeah, it's like what are some of those life lessons you're trying to teach outside of there?
34:50
Ben Webb: Because I'm pretty sure that's not in uh in the gradebook, so to speak.
34:54
Ben Webb: Sure.
34:54
SPEAKER_02: Um, kind of going back to time management, um, kind of a spiel I give quite a bit to my groups is that um if you put in a little work every day, that's a little bit of added stress to your schedule, but that's much better than if you put off this work until the end of the process of a project, for example for the musical, for example.
35:14
SPEAKER_02: Um, oftentimes music and musicals is hard.
35:17
SPEAKER_02: You know, it sounds like, oh, it's just so fun, we're singing and dancing, but the music is really, really hard.
35:21
SPEAKER_02: And if we put off um getting these things under our belt, we add a monstrous amount of stress to our schedule at the end.
35:29
SPEAKER_02: And all of a sudden, that week leading up, it's like, oh my gosh, I feel like I'm I'm drowning.
35:33
SPEAKER_02: Like I don't know what to do.
35:34
SPEAKER_02: But in the music world, if we spend a little bit of time every day, you know, running something, addressing a couple measures, then you have more of that time in your schedule to do the other things that make you a human because you've put in your work, now you can go and do something else.
35:48
SPEAKER_02: Now, if you put it off, you may have that time earlier to be like, oh, I can do this and this and I'll get to it.
35:53
SPEAKER_02: But then that week, when it's due and you're like, hey, I have to make sure this is done, then you lose all that extra time.
35:59
SPEAKER_02: And it, as you said, these kids are here so late to put on a musical and it it makes that really, really difficult.
36:05
SPEAKER_02: So spreading out the work in music, in school, in life always makes for a less stressful life and a more enjoyable life outside of the craft.
36:16
SPEAKER_01: I think too, like remembering that these kids and trying to remind them like you guys are student athletes.
36:25
SPEAKER_01: Like you are students first, and then you know, in our in my world here, you're an athlete second.
36:31
SPEAKER_01: And so school always comes first.
36:34
SPEAKER_01: Um, and it is a real skill for them to learn how to manage their time effectively, especially during the middle of the season.
36:43
SPEAKER_01: I think we spend about 300 hours together in a 10-week period.
36:48
SPEAKER_01: And so that's 300 hours that they're not focusing on school, that they've got to somehow do outside of that time.
36:56
SPEAKER_01: And so you're really trying to emphasize that, hey, like this is great that we get to do this.
37:02
SPEAKER_01: This is fun though.
37:03
SPEAKER_01: But like what also matters more than what we're doing right now is your ability to be a student while doing all of this.
37:14
Ben Webb: So if we can just keep going a little bit on that thread, so you're talking through because you talked about the academics, but then you also were talking about wellness.
37:22
Ben Webb: So like the balancing act of that.
37:25
Ben Webb: I think I I have I have students who do shows where it's like they will say, I come to school for this activity, I come to school for this extracurricular, and then I have to come back and say, no, you have to be eligible, you have to be academically here.
37:42
Ben Webb: I think the same way that we want to be able to like that whole student.
37:46
Ben Webb: We want that whole student to be better.
37:48
Ben Webb: So like you talked about wellness, now I want you to talk about the academic side.
37:54
Ben Webb: You talked about the academic side, now I want you to talk about the wellness side.
37:57
Ben Webb: So like keep going with like those things that you want your student athletes to know about themselves and about their world.
38:05
Ben Webb: What do you want about your musicians to know about themselves and the things that will make them better learners?
38:12
Ben Webb: So kind of turn it back to you, Chris.
38:14
Ben Webb: You go first though.
38:16
SPEAKER_01: So I love what I love about golf is you can there's so many life lessons to learn.
38:22
SPEAKER_01: You get so many bad breaks out on a golf course, or maybe you start off the round not exactly how you had it planned.
38:29
SPEAKER_01: And somehow you've got to learn how to bounce back.
38:32
SPEAKER_01: You gotta be resilient.
38:33
SPEAKER_01: And so we talk a lot about the bounce, like our ability to bounce back in the middle of a round.
38:39
SPEAKER_01: Our in other words, our ability to be resilient.
38:42
SPEAKER_01: And I think it's just an awesome life lesson for us to learn that, hey, golf course aside, you know, in life, there's gonna be things that don't go as planned.
38:52
SPEAKER_01: And how well we do is oftentimes measured by how resilient we are.
38:59
SPEAKER_02: I love it.
39:00
SPEAKER_02: That's fantastic.
39:01
SPEAKER_02: And then so the academic side of things, you touched on it a little bit.
39:05
SPEAKER_02: One, we want to make sure our students are coming to school to get an education, not just to be eligible for our activities, but also to become well-rounded individuals and prepared to um go off and do do whatever they plan to do post-secondary, whether that's attending a in a college, a university, going into a trade, going right to work, whether that is a future in the arts that we work in or something totally different, um, you can't have tunnel vision and just be focused on your one activity and you can't let that allow you to um, you know, put off other things.
39:37
SPEAKER_02: So I think it comes back to the wellness.
39:39
SPEAKER_02: Like if you are um just you keep putting this pressure on yourself to succeed in this one thing, not only are you neglecting other things, but if you're not taking care of yourself, you're wearing yourself down to the point where you don't I I like to use the bucket analogy, right?
39:52
SPEAKER_02: If your bucket's not, if you're not filling your bucket, you have no water to fill those other buckets, right?
39:56
SPEAKER_02: So um I think it does come back to being able to keep a really good schedule and understanding, hey, here's where I'm doing time on my homework.
40:05
SPEAKER_02: Here's the time I have to do the arts.
40:08
SPEAKER_02: And then, you know, here at UHI, one thing that's awesome is we have kids involved in so many things.
40:12
SPEAKER_02: So, for example, we had a student last year.
40:14
SPEAKER_02: Do we do we mention students on the pod or I would I would say maybe initials, maybe?
40:19
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
40:19
SPEAKER_02: Or even a student.
40:20
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, senior.
40:21
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we had a great student last year, very talented golfer, very talented singer and performer who um, you know, he did a great job of keeping a good balance and um, you know, helped you guys win a state title and also contributed such great music to our program while maintaining great grades as well.
40:38
SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, not always easy, but I think it's because, you know, this student was able to uh keep to a schedule and also take time for himself to realize, like, hey, if I need to recharge, I need to recharge so I can be successful on the course, on the stage, in the books.
40:53
SPEAKER_01: Can I also add to like one of the things that I love about this school is that the culture here promotes that.
41:02
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
41:02
SPEAKER_01: Like it is students see each other working hard in all these different areas.
41:08
SPEAKER_01: And they're like, okay, that's how you do it.
41:11
SPEAKER_01: Right.
41:12
SPEAKER_01: And so, like, whether it be their academics or the activities that they're involved, I think like in the classroom, students are like, all right, I want to be a better student because I see my peers caring about this, right?
41:22
SPEAKER_01: Like it's it's cool here to to care about school.
41:26
SPEAKER_01: All right.
41:27
SPEAKER_01: It's cool here to be involved in all this different stuff.
41:29
SPEAKER_01: Um, it's what makes our school who it is.
41:32
SPEAKER_01: And so I I love that the students get to learn that and pick up that from each other.
41:36
SPEAKER_02: I I see that culture a lot too.
41:38
SPEAKER_02: Um one thing that touched my heart, we had a concert this past Tuesday and we were doing warmups before and kind of running a few sections of different songs, and um, our magical singers are killing it.
41:48
SPEAKER_02: They're they're doing Mary Did You Know by the Pentatonics, and they're just rehearsing this ending section.
41:53
SPEAKER_02: And the looks on the faces of the freshmen who, you know, some of them who, you know, in chorus one, you know, we've got some kids who come in and they're like, Oh, I love to sing.
42:01
SPEAKER_02: There are some kids who are like, I'm getting my fine arts credit, and you know, that'll be that.
42:05
SPEAKER_02: But seeing some of those students who, you know, thus far I'm like, yeah, I think they're enjoying singing.
42:09
SPEAKER_02: I'm I'm not sure if they're gonna continue, but their reaction to our upperclassmen doing something so awesome and then reading their reflections of, whoa, like they're awesome.
42:17
SPEAKER_02: And this this inspired me to I I want to continue to sing.
42:20
SPEAKER_02: Like, it's I there's such a great supportive culture amongst our students that want to support one another, and then that inspires them to want to participate in things too.
42:28
SPEAKER_02: So I yeah, right there with you.
42:30
Ben Webb: Yeah, and I think something that's really unique about our school is like it only works because we have a 600 student body that all of them are involved in several different things.
42:40
Ben Webb: I think you you talked about that uh golfer last year as a senior.
42:44
Ben Webb: I remember back when we had a person who's on the state-winning basketball team who then as soon as practice was over, they were going on stage to tap for the musical.
42:53
Ben Webb: Yeah.
42:53
Ben Webb: So it's like we only are able to exist because our kids are so invested in multiple, often very different activities.
43:02
Ben Webb: Um, we've got a number of kids who are gonna be doing a couple of different academic competitions and then immediately then go into a fine art or go into a different uh program that we have.
43:12
Ben Webb: And we have so many different clubs.
43:13
Ben Webb: We have too many clubs.
43:14
SPEAKER_01: I think too, like, and then tying it back to the teachers, right?
43:18
SPEAKER_01: The reason why we're able to offer all of these things is because you also have all these teachers who are saying, All right, I'm gonna be involved in this, this, and this, right?
43:29
SPEAKER_01: And so it's not just the students who are involved in all these different things that make it work, but your your teachers were guilty as much.
43:36
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, are are also you know, saying, All right, I'm gonna beside my nine to five, this is what I'm gonna do to help contribute to the school.
43:45
Ben Webb: I like that.
43:46
Ben Webb: So thinking through a couple of years, you've been here for a couple of years, you've been here for a couple of years.
43:53
Ben Webb: Uh what are some of the things that drew you to this place?
43:57
Ben Webb: But then also what are some of the things that you want to see in?
44:00
Ben Webb: Terms of where we go.
44:02
Ben Webb: So like I'm I'm very curious to kind of know, like, okay.
44:06
Ben Webb: In the case of you, Mr.
44:07
Ben Webb: P, I remember working with you when you were student teacher.
44:10
Ben Webb: Yeah.
44:11
Ben Webb: And so like you kind of were drawn back to this place after doing student teaching because you were gone for was it two years, three years?
44:18
SPEAKER_02: That would have been I taught three years before before coming back, come back over here.
44:25
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, I um it's funny.
44:29
SPEAKER_02: Uh shout out Chris Corpus.
44:31
SPEAKER_02: Fantastic.
44:32
SPEAKER_02: I didn't realize how close to retirement she was.
44:34
SPEAKER_02: So I when I was here, I didn't even think this was a possibility.
44:38
SPEAKER_02: But I was like, yeah, I just really loved the the um, you know, it's got that small school feel, but with like the perks of like a big school being it, it's it's just so it's Uh is such an awesome place.
44:49
SPEAKER_02: And I just didn't think I'd be able to come back.
44:51
SPEAKER_02: So I figured, oh yeah, Chris has got like 10 more years and I'll be I'll be totally settled in where I'm at.
44:57
SPEAKER_02: And like I'm just not gonna want to make that move.
44:59
SPEAKER_02: And it was um the beginning of her last year, and she texted me, she said, Hey, this is my last ride.
45:04
SPEAKER_02: Get ready, like, get your resume updated.
45:06
SPEAKER_02: You know, you gotta put it in.
45:08
SPEAKER_02: And so when I heard that, I was like, Yeah, I want to come back because I love how much um we collaborate with you know kind of like our partner programs at the university.
45:17
SPEAKER_02: It's very cool to work in that way.
45:18
SPEAKER_02: And um again, it comes back to that sense of community that Chris uh Chris Hedrick now, not talking about Chris Corpus, Chris Hedrick talked about that these kids really want to see each other succeed, whether they're in the same, you know, program or uh same clubs, same classes or not.
45:33
SPEAKER_02: They um I just see a lot of camaraderie and support across across programs and students that are so motivated in the things that they do.
45:42
SPEAKER_02: I mean, you have to apply to come here.
45:44
SPEAKER_02: And so they uh they're it's it's awesome to just be like, hey, we're gonna try this in class.
45:49
SPEAKER_02: And the kids are so ready to and eager to try it out.
45:53
Ben Webb: So what what brought you here?
45:56
Ben Webb: And then and then we can kind of go through the like, what do you want to see from the future of here?
46:01
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think I think what I love about this place and a and a big draw for it is the flexibility we as educators have to try new things in our area.
46:12
SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, innovation is such a is it's a it's a buzzword that is talked about in education all over the place.
46:19
SPEAKER_01: But I truly feel like here it actually means something.
46:22
SPEAKER_01: And, you know, we live on this idea that, you know, research, research, research.
46:27
SPEAKER_01: And I really do think that we are supported whenever we want to try new things in our classroom.
46:33
SPEAKER_01: It also helps, like you said, Mr.
46:36
SPEAKER_01: Provis, when we have students that buy into that same thing.
46:40
SPEAKER_01: And we have just an awesome student body that's embraced this idea that, hey, our teachers are gonna try the new things throughout the year, and that's okay with me, you know.
46:48
SPEAKER_01: And so that is um I think it's an awesome, awesome um thing that we have to be able to offer here and definitely draw for for myself and other educators too.
47:00
Ben Webb: So besides additional state titles, what else do you want to see from your school, your programs in the next decade?
47:10
Ben Webb: Man, what a loaded question.
47:12
SPEAKER_01: Besides state titles.
47:14
SPEAKER_01: Definitely state titles.
47:16
SPEAKER_01: Um I think that, you know, as we kind of look ahead, you know, I'll start with my program.
47:23
SPEAKER_01: Um I want to continue seeing like right now, we're we're starting to kind of bust out the seams with um the number of golfers who are interested in playing.
47:35
SPEAKER_01: And you kind of just what we've been talking about, the thing what we've been talking about, students being involved.
47:39
SPEAKER_01: And I want to keep growing this program and we got to have serious conversations of kind of what that looks like, I think.
47:46
SPEAKER_01: Um, but I think that more than anything, the thing I care most about, golf is a lifelong sport.
47:53
SPEAKER_01: And I want kids to buy into this idea that, hey, I want to golf in high school because it's fun.
48:00
SPEAKER_01: And whether they're gonna be varsity golfers, JV golfers, and they've never golfed before, it doesn't matter.
48:05
SPEAKER_01: Understanding that, hey, an opportunity to come out and play, something that you're gonna probably gonna play for the rest of your life, you can do it in high school for free.
48:14
Ben Webb: Yeah.
48:15
Ben Webb: Uh yours is a little bit more unique, I think, almost because you you also have them at little at the littler age.
48:21
SPEAKER_02: Right, which is so, so awesome.
48:23
SPEAKER_02: I'm already starting to see some of these students that I first had at Metcalf coming over here and watching them grow is fantastic.
48:31
SPEAKER_02: I I want the program to can continue to grow to where I can offer even more choir ensembles during the day.
48:37
SPEAKER_02: Um, and the big thing for me is whether a student decides they want to do music after high school or not, that's okay because I mean music can be involved in everybody's life in in different ways.
48:48
SPEAKER_02: You don't have to continue to be a singer in a choir, a singer on a stage to still appreciate what music does in your life.
48:54
SPEAKER_02: And I think music is such a great creative outlet for where, you know, there I don't know where the who said the quote, but where words fail, there's mus music succeeds or something like that.
49:05
SPEAKER_02: Where, you know, where it's a universal language where sometimes we can't find the words to say, as right there, I couldn't find the words.
49:12
SPEAKER_02: But through music, we're able to express these emotions we have.
49:15
SPEAKER_02: And it's such a safe creative outlet.
49:16
SPEAKER_02: And I I hope that when students graduate, they think back and they're like, hey, in the choir room, in Stroud, I could be unapologetically myself.
49:25
SPEAKER_02: And I was able to experience new music that, you know, helped broaden my per broaden my horizons.
49:31
SPEAKER_02: And um, it's not just the pitches and the rhythms, it's the stories that we're, that we're telling, the um, the perspectives that we're sharing, that we're studying.
49:38
SPEAKER_02: Um and whether a student decides to sing after high school, I hope that they still are able to connect with music in a way that, you know, helps them find that um that outlet, that expression, that peace.
49:49
SPEAKER_02: Um so yeah, I'm hoping I'm hoping to kind of create more opportunities for students in that realm and uh continue to watch my students grow who who do um have that desire to improve that technique and they do have that drive to sing after high school.
50:03
SPEAKER_02: Um we've we've got some great students that have graduated that are currently in the program and students that are coming up.
50:08
SPEAKER_02: There's uh I'm really excited for next year's freshmen that are currently at Metcalf.
50:12
SPEAKER_02: There's um a lot of great musicianship there.
50:14
SPEAKER_02: So we've got some great students that are seniors right now.
50:17
SPEAKER_02: These upperclassmen are wonderful, great leaders.
50:19
SPEAKER_02: Um, but the future of the program is bright too.
50:21
Ben Webb: So I'm excited to see where it goes.
50:23
Ben Webb: Well, and and you kind of mentioned like the person you had for student teaching who was, you know, you I what I'm trying to get to is like we are in programs that have thrived and are continuing to grow because of the people who came before us.
50:38
Ben Webb: So in in your case, Chris Corpus kind of handed you a program that is that's ready for you.
50:43
Ben Webb: Yeah.
50:44
Ben Webb: Like take it, you go for golf.
50:46
Ben Webb: Any colleagues that you want to do shout-outs on in terms of like assistant coaches or even like parent helpers that really set you up for success?
50:54
Ben Webb: Because I I would I would be remiss to say that we stand on our own two shoulders with no other giants who have set us up.
51:01
Ben Webb: I am I am getting to reap the benefits of colleagues like in the music department as well as people who came before me who then set me up for success with theater.
51:10
Ben Webb: So any shout-outs that you want to throw out there?
51:13
Ben Webb: Because you are you there's a reason why you guys won state.
51:16
Ben Webb: It's you and others.
51:18
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
51:19
SPEAKER_01: Well, I mean, the success of the program dates back to previous coaches well before me, you know, Cal Hubbard, Darren Rick, like those guys and helping really just shape like our program and getting students in the community to say, hey, I'm a golfer.
51:37
SPEAKER_01: Where do I want to play golf at in high school?
51:40
SPEAKER_01: University high school, you know, is mainly because of guys before me, you know, have who have basically created this culture um for that program.
51:50
SPEAKER_01: And then also, like I'd be remissed if I didn't give, you know, a shout out to um my assistant coach, Coach McDowell, who also coaches basketball along with other things, right?
52:01
SPEAKER_01: Like um, he is awesome with the kids, and I truly think that a reason why they love playing golf and coming out to practice is because of the impact that he has on them.
52:12
Ben Webb: Rovas Hammond, anyone else you want to throw under the bus besides Chris Corpus, that is?
52:16
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean, I'm super lucky to be um in a music program with my amazing colleagues, Grant Sauter, Jason Landis, Hunter Landstrom, all do fabulous work with our instrumentalists here.
52:26
SPEAKER_02: And, you know, I mean, when it comes, we've talked a lot about the musical.
52:29
SPEAKER_02: I mean, Pitt Orchestra is such a huge part of those programs, and having their fantastic expertise in the instrumental side of music is wonderful.
52:38
SPEAKER_02: I love getting to work with them every day, and I love being able to collaborate with them.
52:43
SPEAKER_02: Um, yeah.
52:51
Ben Webb: Some pretty cool conversation.
52:53
Andy Goveia: What a joy this has been.
52:54
Andy Goveia: I was sitting and listening to the conversation that we were having, and it was so very cool to be reminded whenever we have guests on, the really freaking cool people that work here, like we are very fortunate that A, people want to come talk to us.
53:09
Andy Goveia: Yes, but B, that we get the best of education in these schools, people that genuinely love working with our students.
53:19
Andy Goveia: I think that's just so cool.
53:22
Ben Webb: And and they they care about these students on the court, yes, on the stage, and in the classroom.
53:28
Ben Webb: And the overlap of what you're teaching them in the classroom and out in the real world.
53:34
Ben Webb: It's it's amazing.
53:35
Ben Webb: And I love hearing it from them.
53:37
Ben Webb: Sometimes when I hear my own voice, I'm like, uh-uh.
53:39
Ben Webb: Oh, yeah.
53:40
Ben Webb: Well, I don't want to hear that guy.
53:41
Andy Goveia: And I coached for I coached track for two years as an assistant coach.
53:44
Andy Goveia: You don't want me talking about that balance because there was none.
53:48
Andy Goveia: But to hear all four of them talk about the joy it brings them.
53:52
Andy Goveia: I mean, they all had a there's a light to what they shared that you can tell this is what they love to do, and to see that passion exist in multiple spaces, I think is just really cool.
54:04
Andy Goveia: Yeah.
54:05
Andy Goveia: Well, sir, hope you have a good week.
54:07
Andy Goveia: And to our listeners as well.
54:08
Andy Goveia: Hope you guys have a good week.
54:09
Andy Goveia: And hey, if you're listening, we've teased out some threads that maybe we'll have a special episode dropping soon.
54:18
Andy Goveia: And if you are interested in what's going on with lab school leadership and what's coming next for us, there might be a fun episode for you coming soon.
54:29
Andy Goveia: A bonus episode.
54:30
Andy Goveia: A bonus drop.
54:33
Andy Goveia: Stay tuned and definitely be ready for that next one.
54:42
Andy Goveia: Live in the lab schools is a production of the ISU Laboratory Schools recorded on the campus of Illinois State University.
54:50
Andy Goveia: Connect with us on Facebook or Instagram at Live in the Lab Schools.
54:54
Andy Goveia: We'll see you next time.