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Empowering Students Through Crafting Voices ft. Dr. Grodzicki | Ep.3
22 Plays1 year ago
Welcome to our third podcast episode, where we highlight the extraordinary career of Dr. Colette Grodzicki, an esteemed educator and community leader.
Join us as we delve into Dr. Grodzicki's journey, spanning 19 years of dedicated teaching and community service. In this episode, we explore her impact on students and innovative teaching methods. We discuss her sources of inspiration, creative process, and the challenges she has faced along the way.
Whether you're interested in education or community engagement, this episode offers a captivating insight into Dr. Colette Grodzicki's inspiring contributions. So tune in for an enriching conversation with this influential figure in the North Gwinnett community.
About Dr. Colette Grodzicki:
Dr. Colette Grodzicki is a high school teacher with 19 years of experience, has empowered students at North Gwinnett High to enhance language and communication skills. Known for breaking down writing and fostering individual styles, she's an active community member, recently co-chairing the Play-town Suwanee build. Her generosity and community involvement make her a respected figure in the North Gwinnett community.
To see the video version of this episode subscribe to the YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thezainabkhan
Website: https://thezainabkhan.com/
Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/zainabkhanpodcast/
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Transcript
Introduction & Guest Overview
00:00:00
Speaker
Hi, I'm Zainab Khan, your host, and I welcome you all to the podcast, where we explore the incredible stories of those shaping young minds.
00:00:12
Speaker
Absolutely, Zainab.
00:00:13
Speaker
Today, we have a remarkable guest, Dr. Colette Rodzicki.
00:00:18
Speaker
A devoted educator with 19 years of experience.
00:00:21
Speaker
She's not just a high school teacher at North Gunet, she's a force in the community.
00:00:27
Speaker
That's right.
00:00:28
Speaker
Dr. Karcziki has guided thousands of students in finding their voices and enhancing language skills.
00:00:34
Speaker
Her commitment to breaking down writing barriers has truly made a difference.
00:00:38
Speaker
Recently, she showcased her skills as a co-chairperson for the Playtown Suwannee community.
00:00:44
Speaker
Now let's dive into the conversation with Dr. Grodzicki.
00:00:48
Speaker
We've got some compelling questions lined up for her.
00:00:52
Speaker
Indeed.
00:00:53
Speaker
Let's welcome Dr. Grodzicki to the show.
00:00:56
Speaker
Hi.
00:00:58
Speaker
How are you?
00:00:59
Speaker
I'm doing well.
00:01:00
Speaker
How are you?
00:01:01
Speaker
I'm great.
00:01:02
Speaker
Thank you so much for joining in today.
00:01:04
Speaker
Yes.
00:01:04
Speaker
Thank you for having me.
00:01:05
Speaker
It's an honor.
Fostering Creativity and Language Exploration
00:01:07
Speaker
Let's kick things off with the delicate balance you navigate as a language arts teacher.
00:01:11
Speaker
How do you foster creativity while adhering to established English conventions?
00:01:18
Speaker
So I really try to help my students find their own voice in whatever we're doing.
00:01:26
Speaker
And we really talk about the standards of English conventions in
00:01:32
Speaker
in the instruction process.
00:01:33
Speaker
And then my goal is to let students find their own voice and creativity as they take those skills and then apply them to things that they really care about.
00:01:42
Speaker
That's great.
00:01:45
Speaker
Considering the power of words, how do you guide students in exploring the impact of language on societal norms and values?
00:01:55
Speaker
Specifically, we do a rhetoric unit where we really look at how words impact change and how words impact the meaning of things.
00:02:06
Speaker
We're constantly looking at vocabulary and we are using all of that to fuel our own understanding of the world and our place in it.
00:02:16
Speaker
You know, I don't think that in language arts, anything has to come in isolation.
00:02:21
Speaker
I think that it all
00:02:23
Speaker
really points back to learning more about yourself and learning more about your own values and morals and ethics and how that can help shape society one person at a time, really.
Empathy Through Literature
00:02:37
Speaker
Exactly.
00:02:37
Speaker
And language is a living thing.
00:02:39
Speaker
So it keeps on evolving.
00:02:42
Speaker
There's no limit to it.
00:02:44
Speaker
It's endless.
00:02:46
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:02:47
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:02:47
Speaker
Reflecting on your experiences, how have you seen the Frasier influence students' perspectives on empathy and understanding?
00:02:56
Speaker
So I see the biggest impact in students' empathy when we really talk about and have students dive into a character in a novel.
00:03:08
Speaker
You know, thinking about how you would feel as Abigail Williams in The Crucible sometimes can help you understand the choices that that person made.
00:03:18
Speaker
And so having some of those discussions is really how you build empathy.
00:03:22
Speaker
It's
00:03:22
Speaker
Building an understanding of something outside of yourself that truly allows you to engage with other people and give them grace because everybody has a different journey and everyone experiences different things that cause them to react different ways.
00:03:39
Speaker
So by having some of those conversations, it allows students to really learn from these characters and accept other people and in that sometimes other people make mistakes.
00:03:51
Speaker
Do you have any experiences where a student could relate to the character in a film or book?
00:03:57
Speaker
Oh, absolutely.
00:03:59
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:04:00
Speaker
You know, in 19 years, there's always someone in a classroom that, you know, will be reading The Great Gatsby and they say, oh, I really feel like I'm a lot like this character.
00:04:13
Speaker
And
00:04:14
Speaker
You know, there's something interesting that happens when you read narrative fiction writing, where you are comparing your own life to the lives of the character.
00:04:25
Speaker
And you may not be exactly like that character, but just having that opportunity to see yourself a little bit or see yourself a little bit more clearly is an experience that I love when they share.
00:04:37
Speaker
So, yes, absolutely.
Embracing Technology in Education
00:04:39
Speaker
In this era of technology, especially when everything is so visualized, is it challenging for you to teach your students through the conventional way of the book, like the book or like you rely on the technology and the book?
00:04:55
Speaker
Is it like, how do you go about with that?
00:05:00
Speaker
So technology is great at enhancing learning if it's used the right way.
00:05:05
Speaker
But obviously, you know, things like Chad GPT can easily be used for cheating, you know, and as a teacher, we're trying to navigate that piece of everything.
00:05:16
Speaker
But I try to embrace the technology.
00:05:19
Speaker
I try to use the technology and ask students to
00:05:23
Speaker
use this powerful tool for good and not evil.
00:05:27
Speaker
And instead of, you know, instead of using it to cheat, like use chat GPT to help you learn how to write a better paper.
00:05:36
Speaker
So speaking of chat GTP, can you like differentiate if the student has written from his, their own perspective or their own creativity, or they have copied from the chat GTP?
00:05:48
Speaker
Oh, certainly, certainly.
00:05:51
Speaker
So yeah,
00:05:52
Speaker
Most of the time when it's a chat GPT paper, you can tell that the vocabulary is quite different from what a normal high school student would write.
00:06:04
Speaker
But beyond that, when I start my school year, I have students handwrite in a notebook so that I can get a sense of where their writing is.
00:06:12
Speaker
Right.
00:06:14
Speaker
And then they try to use a chat GPT.
00:06:17
Speaker
I know that that is not how that student writes because I've seen
00:06:21
Speaker
their handwritten responses so many times that they can't, you know, hide as well.
00:06:27
Speaker
Exactly.
00:06:28
Speaker
Like when they keep on writing, you pretty much know the style of writing they have.
00:06:33
Speaker
So if there is something different or something of very higher status of writing, you can pretty much figure out.
00:06:40
Speaker
I understand that.
00:06:42
Speaker
Yes, sir.
00:06:43
Speaker
That's awesome.
00:06:44
Speaker
That's a wonderful technique.
The Power of Storytelling
00:06:46
Speaker
In the realm of language and literature, how do you believe storytelling contributes to our understanding of the human experience?
00:06:54
Speaker
I think storytelling is vital to the human experience.
00:06:59
Speaker
This opportunity to really relate to someone on a deeper level, to understand different human experiences and how every single person, no matter what, no matter where, no matter how rich or how poor or what color or what country, that every single person truly has something that they can be proud of.
00:07:23
Speaker
And something that they have struggled with and something that they have overcome really, I think, is a key piece of connecting different people in different cultures to one another in a way that really can ultimately make change.
00:07:37
Speaker
So I think it's the value of storytelling is that connection, that understanding, and then also that camaraderie, right?
00:07:47
Speaker
Because maybe we've experienced something similar and now we have found...
00:07:53
Speaker
some common ground.
00:07:54
Speaker
So I think it's vital to relationship building, to life building, to, you know, ultimately success.
00:08:01
Speaker
Cause if you can't talk to people and tell stories, you know,
00:08:05
Speaker
Right.
00:08:06
Speaker
Especially, I'm sure that you have students, most of the students from diverse cultures and backgrounds.
00:08:15
Speaker
So everyone interprets stories in their own way.
00:08:18
Speaker
So how do you like judge the stories or how do you rate them?
00:08:24
Speaker
Like since they have from, they are from different cultures and backgrounds.
00:08:30
Speaker
Like, is there any formula for this or you just go about with the way they have written, like the grammatical side or the story, how they have written?
00:08:43
Speaker
So I never grade the actual content of the story.
00:08:49
Speaker
Oh, okay.
00:08:51
Speaker
the organization of the story, the word choice, how did you tell the story?
00:08:57
Speaker
I'm grading the use of literary devices to bring the reader in.
00:09:04
Speaker
I'm looking for the engagement with the story, you know, the...
00:09:09
Speaker
just the general structure and grammar and the quality of how they told the story, because you can tell the same story, you know, 20,000 different ways.
00:09:18
Speaker
Yeah, exactly.
00:09:21
Speaker
And some are really bad, but it's not the story itself.
00:09:24
Speaker
It's how the story is told.
00:09:25
Speaker
So that's what I focus on.
00:09:27
Speaker
We have been talking about how students relate with characters.
00:09:30
Speaker
Let's talk about how you relate with any fictional characters.
00:09:34
Speaker
Oh, that is a big question.
00:09:39
Speaker
I can see a piece of myself in almost every character in a story.
00:09:43
Speaker
You know, I think that as humans, there's something that we all have in common.
00:09:48
Speaker
And so I see myself in those places.
00:09:52
Speaker
You know, when I read The Great Gatsby, I can see part of myself in Daisy and that she wants a big life and she wants some amazing things.
00:10:01
Speaker
But then other pieces of Daisy...
00:10:04
Speaker
I do not relate to at all.
00:10:05
Speaker
Like she's very selfish and self-absorbed and worried about money.
00:10:10
Speaker
And that's just not me, right?
00:10:11
Speaker
Like I am more into caring about people and how I can help other people.
00:10:17
Speaker
And so I think as you, as you go through stories, I think that the best stories are ones where you can find some sort of connection with every character because it will allow you to feel the story more and then impact your empathy more.
00:10:32
Speaker
That's right.
00:10:33
Speaker
What profound questions would you ask any fictional character about life and existence?
00:10:39
Speaker
That's another hard question.
00:10:41
Speaker
You know, I think I don't really have like a specific question that I would ask any particular character.
00:10:52
Speaker
I think that the biggest question that I would ever ask any one person in real life or any fictional character really is
00:11:02
Speaker
You know, what did you learn from that experience?
00:11:04
Speaker
What was your takeaway?
00:11:05
Speaker
Like what piece of advice or wisdom can you give based on what has happened to you?
Encouraging Writing Styles and Voices
00:11:13
Speaker
Okay.
00:11:13
Speaker
How do you encourage students to find their unique voice in writing while also appreciating the diverse voices that contribute to the literary landscape?
00:11:26
Speaker
Another fantastic question.
00:11:28
Speaker
Thank you.
00:11:30
Speaker
So ultimately, I really just want students to use their own voice.
00:11:33
Speaker
I want to teach them how to write and speak in a grammatically correct way.
00:11:41
Speaker
But I hope that in my classroom, the relationships that I'm building with every student make them feel comfortable enough that they can be themselves in their writing.
00:11:51
Speaker
And I think that that's how the best teachers get the best results from students.
00:11:56
Speaker
is that they really are in an accepting space where you could just be yourself.
00:12:02
Speaker
You don't have to worry about me judging the content, right?
00:12:06
Speaker
I'm trying to help you spread your voice in a more effective way and not dictate what your voice is.
00:12:13
Speaker
That's a sign of a great teacher.
00:12:16
Speaker
Reflecting on the evolving nature of language, how do you address the impact of technology and digital communication in the realm of language arts?
00:12:26
Speaker
So, I mean, I don't really address it at all.
00:12:29
Speaker
We use it as a tool.
00:12:31
Speaker
You know, it is what it is.
00:12:32
Speaker
I can't change what it is.
00:12:34
Speaker
And students communicate differently on their phones, hopefully, than they do in an in-class essay or a long paper or a short response or how they speak.
00:12:44
Speaker
And we do talk about how different styles and forms of rhetoric and word choice and syntax and structure can
00:12:54
Speaker
are appropriate in some places and not in others, you know, explicitly when we're doing the research paper, you know, I say you can't use symbols and you can't use slang words and you can't, you know, write the way you speak necessarily.
00:13:09
Speaker
You need to clean it up and make it academic writing.
00:13:12
Speaker
But just talking about how some writing is academic and some is, you know, personal narrative based, you know, that's,
00:13:21
Speaker
it sort of handles that digital breakdown that can happen with language.
Engaging with Traditional Literature
00:13:27
Speaker
What is the most challenging aspect of teaching in 2024, especially with all the technology and like students are more engaged in the visual things.
00:13:39
Speaker
So what is the most challenging aspect for you?
00:13:43
Speaker
Yeah, it certainly is challenging.
00:13:45
Speaker
I think that the biggest challenge is
00:13:48
Speaker
getting student buy-in to some of these older traditions that they don't necessarily see in their everyday life.
00:13:57
Speaker
You know, trying to get students to care about commas is a little bit harder.
00:14:01
Speaker
Exactly, right.
00:14:05
Speaker
So that student buy-in piece, I think, is the biggest challenge.
00:14:08
Speaker
Right.
00:14:08
Speaker
Are there specific works or authors that you believe every student should encounter and why?
00:14:15
Speaker
Oh, yes.
00:14:18
Speaker
All of them at some point.
00:14:21
Speaker
You know, I think that the more you're exposed to different writers and different people's voices, the better you are.
00:14:28
Speaker
You know, there's not anyone that is better or worse than the others because every single voice contributes to the overall takeaway of your experience.
00:14:39
Speaker
You know, there are some that
00:14:40
Speaker
I make sure that I always teach.
00:14:42
Speaker
Like I always teach something with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I always try to pull in something from F. Scott Fitzgerald.
00:14:54
Speaker
Maybe Shakespeare.
00:14:57
Speaker
So I teach American literature.
00:14:59
Speaker
So I leave him alone.
00:15:00
Speaker
He's not on my list.
00:15:02
Speaker
Okay, right.
00:15:03
Speaker
Okay.
00:15:06
Speaker
You know, Mark Twain, you know, all of mine are American stories.
00:15:10
Speaker
So I try to pull in as many as I can.
00:15:13
Speaker
Awesome.
00:15:15
Speaker
Can you share a memorable moment from your experiences as a language arts teacher that encapsulates the power of words and storytelling?
00:15:26
Speaker
So one of my most favorite memories was of a student that I had,
00:15:33
Speaker
he graduated 2013 maybe.
00:15:36
Speaker
And he was in my class his sophomore year for language arts.
00:15:40
Speaker
And he was kind of finding himself and trying to figure out who he was and what he wanted to be.
00:15:47
Speaker
And he was playing football, but he was also involved in church and student leadership.
00:15:52
Speaker
Um, and he was just finding his way.
00:15:54
Speaker
And by the time he was a senior, he was the president of our student council.
00:16:00
Speaker
Um,
00:16:01
Speaker
And he would speak at meetings.
00:16:03
Speaker
We had a different sort of meeting style.
00:16:05
Speaker
They were in the evenings and he would give these incredible speeches.
00:16:11
Speaker
And it was like he found his power through words.
00:16:16
Speaker
He found not just his voice, but the way that he can help people with his voice.
00:16:23
Speaker
And now he is a pastor at a church.
00:16:27
Speaker
And he has really kind of honed these speaking skills that we started working on when he was 15.
00:16:34
Speaker
Very nice.
00:16:36
Speaker
How do you believe fostering a love for language and literature contributes to students' broader personal and intellectual development?
The Importance of Communication Skills
00:16:44
Speaker
I think it's vital.
00:16:46
Speaker
I think that if you can't use words,
00:16:49
Speaker
and you can't write words, you are doomed to a very difficult adulthood.
00:16:56
Speaker
Not that you can't function, but you are going to be much more successful if you can communicate.
00:17:05
Speaker
That's true.
00:17:06
Speaker
How can parents and educators collaborate to instill a lifelong appreciation for language and literature in students?
00:17:15
Speaker
I think really just having parents, I mean, it's really as simple as it was in elementary school, right?
00:17:20
Speaker
Like in elementary school, they were constantly saying, make sure you're reading with your kids.
00:17:24
Speaker
Make sure your kids are reading.
00:17:26
Speaker
Read with them.
00:17:26
Speaker
Show them you read.
00:17:27
Speaker
It's the same thing as with teenagers and with college kids.
00:17:31
Speaker
You know, parents who read typically have kids who read.
00:17:35
Speaker
Very cool.
00:17:37
Speaker
And if a parent is reading a book, you know, at this stage, you know, when you've got older kids, you can say, hey, let's read this one together.
00:17:44
Speaker
Let's talk about it.
00:17:46
Speaker
That conversation, that opening of communication is a great way to foster that love of reading in an authentic way because you can both read books that you're interested in.
00:17:58
Speaker
You know, a family book club isn't a terrible idea, you know, and it really is the same as when you were six.
00:18:05
Speaker
Awesome.
00:18:05
Speaker
That's absolutely true.
00:18:07
Speaker
Do you do the same with your kids?
00:18:10
Speaker
Oh, yes.
00:18:11
Speaker
Oh, yes.
00:18:11
Speaker
They will tell you.
00:18:12
Speaker
We read all the time.
00:18:14
Speaker
I read my own books and they ask, you know, what's your story about?
00:18:18
Speaker
And like, oh, it's about this.
00:18:20
Speaker
And I'm like, what's your story about?
00:18:21
Speaker
And they tell me, you know, so it's just that communication is always there.
00:18:26
Speaker
As we grow up, we tend to get engaged more in life, like in life, and we tend to lose the aspect of reading and all this.
00:18:37
Speaker
So what do you think that reading is relevant and how one can continue with the reading for the rest of their lives as they become adult, as they go towards the adulthood?
Personal Advice and Encouragement
00:18:50
Speaker
So I think that it's really about figuring out what you like to read.
00:18:54
Speaker
You know, you're not going to read if you don't enjoy it.
00:18:58
Speaker
You know, and finding a time where there's really not anything else you could be doing.
00:19:02
Speaker
So, you know, I tell my students, you know, figure out what type of books you like.
00:19:08
Speaker
Right.
00:19:09
Speaker
But also find a time.
00:19:10
Speaker
You know, my time to read is every night before I go to bed.
00:19:14
Speaker
I don't scroll my phone when I go to bed because I scrolled my phone all day.
00:19:18
Speaker
So I put my phone away.
00:19:20
Speaker
And that's when I read, you know, and there's really nothing else that I'm doing during that time.
00:19:24
Speaker
So I'm, that's how I get my reading in.
00:19:27
Speaker
It's like, I don't have time.
00:19:28
Speaker
I'm like, put your phone down at the night.
00:19:30
Speaker
And unfortunately we are so addicted to this cell phones.
00:19:37
Speaker
Yeah.
00:19:38
Speaker
Yeah.
00:19:40
Speaker
Okay.
00:19:41
Speaker
As a conversation comes to an end, what message or piece of wisdom would you like to share or any advice you would like to give to your students or generally to anyone?
00:19:54
Speaker
So the best piece of advice that I can give to anyone is to just fearlessly be themselves.
00:20:02
Speaker
You know,
00:20:03
Speaker
Love who you are.
00:20:06
Speaker
Always be open to change in a positive way.
00:20:10
Speaker
But don't ever let go of who you are inside.
00:20:13
Speaker
You know, you are the only you that there is.
00:20:18
Speaker
So show us who you are.
00:20:21
Speaker
Don't try to be like anybody else.
00:20:23
Speaker
Very well said.
00:20:24
Speaker
Thank you so much for such a great piece of advice.
00:20:27
Speaker
As our enlightened conversation concludes, a heartfelt thanks to Dr. Colette Grodziki for sharing her wisdom and experiences with us.
00:20:35
Speaker
Until next time, this is Zainab Khan and this is Irvine signing off for the podcast.
00:20:39
Speaker
Thank you.
00:20:41
Speaker
Thank you.
00:20:42
Speaker
Thank you all so much.