Date Title Duration
November 28, 2020 8:00 pm The Courage of Being Head Girl
This week we speak to Head Girl Siena about her acts of courage in 2020
0:29:57
November 21, 2020 8:00 pm Courage Day
The 15th of November marks Courage Day in New Zealand. Liz and Chris discuss its significance.
0:17:40
November 14, 2020 8:00 pm Courage For Us Four
The team discuss moments in our school-related lives that we consider to be examples of acts of courage.
0:28:52
November 7, 2020 8:00 pm From India to a Rural NZ Classroom
Last week Abhishek applied to be our Head Student. This courageous young man will inspire you.
0:22:05
October 31, 2020 8:00 pm Digging Deeper in Alchemy Café
Renee, Chris and Anna head to our local café and Chris demands that they lay claim to an aspect of their identity
0:26:53
October 24, 2020 8:00 pm Intersectionality
Kathy, Anna and Chris continue exploring our differing takes on the importance of identity.
0:19:33
October 17, 2020 8:00 pm Your Podcasters' Identity
The SMAC podcast team explore elements of our own identity
0:20:03
October 10, 2020 8:00 pm Being Gender Non-Binary in a Rural School
Ollie discusses life as a gender non-binary student in a rural New Zealand school
1:01:29
September 5, 2020 8:00 pm How to challenge sexism
Kathy, Kelly, Renee and Chris discuss sexism amongst students and what the students are doing to challenge it.
0:23:43
August 15, 2020 8:00 pm Korero - Tawhiri, Taki and Hadley
We speak to three young men who have been actively working to challenge prejudice in our school. Introducing Tawhiri, Taki and Hadley
0:17:15
August 1, 2020 8:00 pm Back on Track - Gender, Sexuality and Race
After a rather large hiatus we are back! This week Kathy, Renee and Chris talk about some initiatives we've been part of to help the school develop itself in relation to Gender, Sexuality and Race.
0:19:17
June 6, 2020 8:00 pm On the Cusp
Just as New Zealand schools were on the cusp of returning to normal, Renee, Anna and Kathy looked at what lockdown has meant for them.
0:27:38
May 30, 2020 8:00 pm An Extraordinary Interregnum
For 8 weeks New Zealand secondary schools shifted online - midway through this time, Renee, Anna and Chris explored the world of the virtual classroom
0:37:47
April 4, 2020 8:00 pm Holidays in Paradise
While Chris and Renee are on a sudden holiday, Kathy contemplates civil disobedience
0:32:27
March 28, 2020 8:00 pm A Week in Isolation
Learning has gone online and we're all locked inside our houses. How does this look for us - and for our kids?
0:30:41
March 21, 2020 8:00 pm Bullying - What's Happening Out There?
A continuation of our series on bullying. Part Two: What's happening out there?
0:29:05
March 14, 2020 8:00 pm Bullying - What Does it Look Like?
This week we start our short series on bullying. Part One: What does it look like?
0:23:35
March 7, 2020 9:00 pm Pupil Power - An Interview with Bryan Crump
Chris was interviewed on Radio New Zealand National
0:16:47
March 7, 2020 8:00 pm A Good Week
Renee and Chris had a good week in the classroom.
0:18:45
February 29, 2020 8:00 pm Parent Conferences - Post Analysis
We look back at our Parent-Teacher conferences and find there's some room for improvement.
0:27:13
February 22, 2020 8:00 pm The NZ Education System
Our new podcast team take over! Anna and Kathy explore the New Zealand Education system, and how it works in relation to their own experience - in the United States and Scotland
0:28:17
February 15, 2020 8:00 pm Parent Conferences
A very robust conversation about the value of the parent-teacher conference.
0:26:47
February 8, 2020 8:00 pm Resolutions
Chris, Renee, Kathy, Anna and our students all set up some expectations for the new year
0:33:19
December 7, 2019 8:00 pm A Retrospective
Renee and Chris present a bit of a 'highlights reel' drawn from the first year of See Me After Class
0:38:40
November 30, 2019 8:00 pm Critical Reflection
Chris, Renee and Anna all look back on the year and each explore something that they'll do differently next time.
0:33:05
November 23, 2019 8:00 pm It's a Drought!
Not only has the meteorology been extreme of late - it appears that we're experiencing an English teacher drought!
0:19:17
November 16, 2019 8:00 pm Come Teach With Us!
Bagley's back this week. We've got a job vacancy. Anna and Chris talk about, well, everything, and Renee phones it in.
0:46:13
November 9, 2019 8:00 pm Pensive in the Supermarket
It's a short one - what do you do with Year 10s in the last weeks of the year?
0:13:29
November 2, 2019 8:00 pm Introducing Anna
Support teachers see the reality of the classroom like no other. We introduce Anna who shares some of her perspectives from that vantage point.
0:37:12
October 26, 2019 8:00 pm All Must Have Prizes
It's Week 3 of Term 4. What better time for the end of year prize-giving?
0:29:43
October 19, 2019 8:00 pm Rinse and Repeat
We talk through our plans for examination revision under some duress.
0:31:54
September 28, 2019 8:00 pm Did Renee Get it?
Renee fills us in on how her job interview went - and we share the outcome.
0:40:06
September 21, 2019 8:00 pm Renee's Applying to be a Dean
Renee is putting her hat in the ring for a new role in the school.
0:22:55
September 14, 2019 8:00 pm Happy Saturday
We're in the thick of exams, so displacement activities have come to the fore
0:18:33
September 7, 2019 8:00 pm Examinations and Self-examination
With the school's practice exams right around the corner, we discuss the impact they have on us and our learners.
0:25:53
August 24, 2019 8:00 pm Speaking Up When It Counts
Renee's students are speaking and Chris went to Auckland to speak too.
0:22:58
August 17, 2019 8:00 pm True Student Choice
We're the only department in the world where the students choose their teachers
0:21:01
August 3, 2019 8:00 pm Parent Teacher Interviews
Why exactly do we all engage in this elaborate charade?
0:45:28
July 27, 2019 8:00 pm Term 3 Begins
The "Holidays" are over, it's mid-winter, and the hard yards stretch out before us all.
0:27:11
July 6, 2019 8:00 pm Winter Tournament
We're off to Winter Tournament with our sports teams
0:27:47
June 29, 2019 8:00 pm Reports! What are they good for?
We discuss the value of reports and so do the students.
0:20:15
June 22, 2019 8:00 pm Show Some Respect
We explore the territory between respect and deference and our students give their view too.
0:43:56
June 15, 2019 8:00 pm What's School For?
We suggest what we'd like to see in a conference keynote - and some students tell us what they think school is for.
0:11:21
June 1, 2019 8:00 pm What Not to Say to a Teacher
Renee and Chris were not impressed with the content of a recent keynote presentation by Nigel Latta
0:17:47
May 25, 2019 8:00 pm Who Volunteers to do Extra?
Our students do, that's who! We're seeing some early signs of success in our credential project - and we couldn't be more happy.
0:21:37
May 18, 2019 8:00 pm The Formal
Every year at our school, Term 2 is dominated by this major social event.
0:29:39
May 11, 2019 8:00 pm A Day in the Life of a Teacher
Renee and Chris narrate the events of a single day in their ordinary teaching week.
0:31:55
May 4, 2019 8:00 pm Why Don't Students Speak?
Our micro-credential scheme is now live. We celebrate this moment and look forward at the term to come.
0:18:47
April 13, 2019 8:00 pm Shakespeare and Style
Last week of the term: we strive for depth on Shakespeare.
0:27:42
April 6, 2019 8:00 pm The Students Speak
With little discernible irony, we discuss measuring student agency in the same episode where the students speak for themselves
0:20:50
March 30, 2019 8:00 pm Shakespeare and Altruism
We discuss teaching Shakespeare in school and speak to Liz Breslin about how we might assess altruism and other human virtues.
0:38:47
March 23, 2019 8:00 pm Werk it, Teach!
We explore the problematic area of teacher workload and let the students do some talking.
0:20:37
March 16, 2019 8:00 pm Revise and Repeat
Sometimes just when you think you're done, a new thought comes to mind and you start all over again.
0:10:48
March 9, 2019 8:00 pm Money Laundering, Voice and Whipped Cream
Colleagues Christina and Emily share their first credentials and we discuss parties, valentines and the magnificent Waitaki valley.
0:19:01
March 2, 2019 8:00 pm Why Micro-credentials and Rosemary
Renee phones in 5 good reasons for micro-credentials and we interview Rosemary Hipkins.
0:21:34
February 23, 2019 8:00 pm The Pedal Hits the Metal
Renee's back in the room, we reveal our 5 typologies and Bagley finishes putting a lid on extrinsic motivation.
0:20:36
February 16, 2019 8:00 pm Keep a Lid On It
We introduce a new section where we slay some of the misconceptions that prevail in education. Renee quite literally phones it in, and the game of one-upmanship continues.
0:17:03
February 9, 2019 8:00 pm A New School Year
Chris and his colleague Renee are back at school for another year, and we've got some exciting news to share!
0:07:57

What is this all about?

Chris Waugh, Gena Bagley and Renee Plunkett are teachers of English and we share our teaching experiences with Kathy Dedo – a parent of two students who go to our school and Anna Brown, a learning assistant – both of whom add their perspective to our otherwise rather myopic perception of the school we work in. 

Threaded through the podcast are artifacts that we collect from an ‘ordinary’ school week that fill us with wonder, delight – and sometimes abject horror. 

We are embarking on an ambitious project to convert our system of assessment at the college into a modern microcredentialling system. In doing so we are looking far and wide for assistance and input to ensure the baby doesn’t go out with the bathwater. 

You’ll hear from some of our esteemed colleagues in the educational firmament in New Zealand – and abroad – as well as the voices of our students, their parents, our colleagues and community. 

You can be heard too – email us at any time on chris@edutronic.net or contact us via twitter on @edutronic_net

 

Get in touch with us