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Leaving it Better: A Special Educator's Journey of Advocacy and Impact with Nicole Greene, NBCT
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Join us for an inspiring conversation with Nicole Greene, a National Board Certified special education teacher and passionate advocate for neurodiversity. Nicole shares her personal journey as a neurodivergent student and how it shaped her dedication to creating inclusive learning environments. Discover how the National Board Certification process reignited her passion for teaching and propelled her into leadership roles. We delve into the alarming statistics on violence against students with disabilities and Nicole's work with Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence. Hear her powerful message for educators and learn how you can make a difference. This episode is a must-listen for anyone who believes in the power of education to create a better future for all.
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Transcript
Introduction to Nicole Greene
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome back to National Board Conversations. I'm your host, Edward Santiago. And today we're joined by the incredible Nicole Greene, a National Board Certified Special Education teacher making a difference in Westchester County, New York.
Recognition and Advocacy Work
00:00:12
Speaker
She is a fantastic teacher and a powerful advocate for equity and inclusion, serving on committees for the Council for Exceptional Children. and as an ambassador for Teachers Unified to End Gun Violence.
00:00:22
Speaker
Her dedication has earned her well-deserved recognition, including the 2024 National Center for Learning Disabilities Everyday Champion Award. Join us as we explore Nicole's inspiring journey and her passion for empowering educators, ensuring every student reaches their full potential.
00:00:39
Speaker
Here's my conversation with Nicole Green.
00:00:43
Speaker
Nicole Green, thank you for joining on the podcast. are you doing today? Hi, Eddie. I'm so good, and I'm so happy be here. How are you? Doing well, doing well. It's finally warming up here in D.C. Hopefully we'll be on the ah a trajectory with with warmer weather. but ah Not here in New York.
00:01:01
Speaker
All right, so we'll get right into it.
Personal Life and Interests
00:01:04
Speaker
Can you give us a brief intro yourself? What's your current role and what you do? And then we'll get into a couple more personal questions to let you know you a little bit on personal side.
00:01:12
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. So currently I teach in a sixth grade. um ah Well, I teach sixth grade at a public middle school in Westchester County. For those of y'all who don't know New York, because it's a big place.
00:01:23
Speaker
You got Manhattan, you got Harlem, you got the Bronx, and then Westchester is just above that. So ah anybody who says we're upstate ain't true. We're closer to the city than the rest of y'all. Yeah.
00:01:33
Speaker
But yeah, I teach in Westchester County. um I teach both self-contained and and, you know, some people call it inclusion classes. In New York, we call them integrated co-teaching. um And I teach math, science, social studies, and an academic support period for my kiddos.
00:01:49
Speaker
Oh, that's pretty awesome. So what are your three favorite foods? Okay, this is hard ah because about a year and a half ago, maybe a little bit less, I got diagnosed with um an autoimmune disease and I found out I'm allergic to gluten and I am you know not super inspired by what's on the menu for me these days.
00:02:07
Speaker
um But I'll give you my three favorites, like pre-diagnosis. It's gotta be pasta, burritos, and sushi. All the gluten. Just all of it.
00:02:17
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. All the gluten. And now I can't have none. um I'm Italian-American. And my grandma was like, you can't be allergic to gluten. And I was like, baby girl, don't know what to tell you.
00:02:28
Speaker
Yeah, listen, it's not my fault. So what are your three songs that shaped you?
Journey into Education
00:02:33
Speaker
Okay, this is also a hard question um because I love, love, love music. I grew up on rap, hip hop, R&B.
00:02:42
Speaker
ah So like picking three top songs is like, I don't know, kind of like picking a favorite child. um So if it's okay with you, gonna pick three artists instead. Eminem got me through elementary and middle school, you know.
00:02:55
Speaker
um i discovered Bob Marley when I was like probably in seventh or eighth grade and my mom was like, what is happening? That was like blasting Buffalo soldier through the house.
00:03:06
Speaker
um But I stuck it out with Bob Marley for a long time. um I had my first son right when COVID hit and we he was five weeks old. We had nowhere to go, nothing to do, nowhere to be.
00:03:17
Speaker
So we would have Bob Marley dance parties with him, me and my husband when he was like a tiny, tiny baby. um And then finally, actually, A$AP Ferg. He's reps New York pretty hard, and he is my favorite, favorite rapper.
00:03:31
Speaker
um But now I'm sitting here feeling bad that I left out my girls. You know, Cardi, Beyonce, Megan, Aaliyah. Did you know Aaliyah is actually buried in Hartsdale in Westchester County? Oh, wow. That's pretty cool. Little did you know.
00:03:44
Speaker
Little did you know. man All right. So the one sports team that has your heart, and if you're not a sports person, a movie you can recite long for long. Okay, I love this. Currently, I'm really obsessed with track and field.
00:03:56
Speaker
I'm obsessed with Noah Lyle, Sha'Carri Richardson, Gabby Thomas. um But like I'm not like, i you know, I would love to be really fast. but I'm very short, um so I don't have those sprinting skills, you know. So um I like to watch track and field.
00:04:11
Speaker
um I grew up liking the Jets and the Knicks, but I have to be so honest. The Lakers have my heart. I i grew up obsessed with Kobe Bryant, right? And I was actually supposed to, my son was supposed to be born. I had scheduled for an induction on January 26th.
00:04:28
Speaker
And then Kobe got in that plane crash. And I was like, guys, I'm not coming in. Like we got to pick a different day because my son could not be born the same day that we
Experiences with Neurodivergence
00:04:36
Speaker
lost Kobe, you know? ah So, and then I've been a long time LeBron fan on and off the court. I love his work with kids. um So the Lakers actually, yeah they have my heart.
00:04:47
Speaker
All so you're big hoop head. I like it. I like it. Listen, played until ah maybe seventh grade. Like, I was five one when I was, like, in fourth grade. I was really tall.
00:04:59
Speaker
And then I stayed 5'1 in fifth and in sixth and in seventh and in eighth. And finally, I was like, yeah, no, there's just not. I didn't have the dribbling skills to be five one on the court, you know? That's usually how it goes. Like, all right, tall early, and then it just – And then it's over. And now my son is like, you're kind of medium.
00:05:19
Speaker
like, all right, you be quiet over there. At least he gives you that right hand calling you short. That's because he's smaller than me for now. We'll see.
00:05:30
Speaker
So can you share me why you became an educator and more specifically a special education teacher? Okay, yeah. So picture me, I'm in second grade, right? I was probably tall then too. um But like, I still hear schools doing this, which I think is so funny. But it's second grade and it's famous person day.
00:05:47
Speaker
And my classmates are dressed up like the Spice Girls. We got some NSYNC. We got some Princess Diana. And I am in a bonnet and an eighteen hundred style dress.
00:05:58
Speaker
I can still picture my like read my cue cards, my flashcards. And I'm sitting there telling my classmates how um ah my name is Ann Sullivan and I taught Helen Keller how to read.
00:06:09
Speaker
um i don't know when I decided that I wanted to be a ah teacher, um but it was as long as I could remember. um When I was little, I used to say going to be a lifeguard in the summer and I'm going to teacher the rest of the year.
00:06:23
Speaker
um i never really figured out the whole swimming thing. And I heard you can't save people doggy paddling. So that lifeguard thing never really panned out for me. um But I got my first teaching job right at 21 and I never looked back.
00:06:37
Speaker
um When it comes to special ed, I think that's really like it was kind of like equal parts serendipity and timing. um I had initially actually my undergrad was in Italian studies and secondary education.
00:06:51
Speaker
um School was really hard for me. I, uh, Italian was like the one area that I was really good at, not just good at, but actually advanced in. And there was not a single other class that I could say that about.
00:07:04
Speaker
Um, I loved the culture and the language and I really wanted to teach Italian because I wanted kids to fall in love with it the way that I did. Um, I also think like I'm from Long Island where there's lots of Italian people, right? So Italian kids take Italian class to reconnect with their culture. And I think that I really wanted to be a part of that.
00:07:22
Speaker
um But then during my undergrad career, um I started volunteering in pediatric oncology and then it kind of shifted. I thought I wanted to be a school reentry specialist, which is somebody who works in the hospital and helps like it's sort of like a liaison between schools and the and the child who's going through treatment.
00:07:41
Speaker
um So I really wanted to do that. So I took a school reentry training um and then I learned about the connection between like going through chemo and learning disabilities. So I decided I was going to shift again and sort of um I applied to get a ah special education degree at Hunter College in the city.
00:07:58
Speaker
um Right out of college, I, ah you know, actually, it's it's odd to say right now because there's this insane teacher shortage right across the country. um But at the time, the field was actually pretty saturated.
00:08:11
Speaker
So I was told, like, you take whatever job you can get, right? um So I got a call from this school. I think I, like, looked at their their, like, the early days of LinkedIn. I looked at their LinkedIn or something. I get a call from the school, and they asked me if I want to come interview um to to for a teaching job there.
00:08:29
Speaker
um And so i I go and I take this interview. um And that choice right there changed the course of my entire life. um I interviewed and got the job.
00:08:41
Speaker
And I'll never forget the head of the school at the time, Bill DeHaven. He said to me, what do you think about teaching math? And I remember thinking this man wants to ruin my life. um And Bill, if you ever hear this, I have to thank you for just about everything that I have and everything that I am today.
00:08:57
Speaker
um looked this man straight in the face and I was like, I can't teach math. I'm terrible at it. Like you're crazy. And he said, that's why you're going to be such a good math teacher. You know what it's like to struggle.
00:09:09
Speaker
um And I think, you know, from that point on, I just I never looked back um and I've been teaching special ed since then. That's pretty awesome. That's a a funny, fun story. Like it's a very, like you said, serendipitous and random, but it's kind of cool that you lead to there.
00:09:25
Speaker
Yeah. I don't know how I got there, but I'm here and I haven't gone, you know, haven't looked back since. So you talked a little bit about about you what you were like as a student. what were you like as a student? How does it influence how you teach?
00:09:36
Speaker
Yeah, so um how I was as a student really has everything to do with how I teach, the way I engage with my students. um I think, you know, when when Bill DeHaven told me I'd be a great math teacher because I struggled so much, um I came to realize that that was really my calling in life was to create a classroom where no kid felt like I did in school.
00:09:59
Speaker
um Needless to say, and probably the exagger the like exaggeration of the century is was really not the ideal student.
Career Growth and Impact
00:10:08
Speaker
um It's still like a running joke in my family that every single progress report and report card I had um in school, not exaggerating, every single one said talks too much, easily distracted and distracts others.
00:10:20
Speaker
um And I truly could not stop talking. um I don't know if you noticed, but that's still true. he I know you're not going to drag me, but I'll say it. I'll drag me. I can't stop talking.
00:10:32
Speaker
um I was also like extremely internally distracted. I remember like when I was in fourth grade, I would take the like my reading comprehension test and I would just tell myself these stories about like the questions. And then I would like tell myself stories about the the like answer choices. And then I would just pick one that was like based on the story that I was talking.
00:10:54
Speaker
you know, like going through internally. And it didn't like, it didn't even occur to me that this was a test that was going to be on my report. You know, like I was just, I was so out to lunch. Um, but you know, I think that, um, it it wasn't, it was more than that. Right. So from a young age, I think if I'm being really, really frank, the school system failed me.
00:11:16
Speaker
Um, was, was um You know, no matter how hard I tried, i just couldn't memorize any math facts. um I counted on my nose until I was like well into elementary school.
00:11:29
Speaker
um And my family kind of like teased me relentlessly about it. So I started counting on my fingers underneath the desk, which I still do, by the way. um And when I was reading, like learning how to read, I would track and I would like whisper the words, um which also drove my family insane.
00:11:45
Speaker
The truth is, like in the 90s, the knowledge on learning disabilities was just so different. And I don't blame my family. Right. They didn't know that they were like shunning me and like pushing me away from learning. It was just we didn't know what to look for.
00:11:58
Speaker
Um, when kids were like struggling, it was just such a different time, but I was so embarrassed and frustrated, um that it turned me off to like learning altogether. i stopped reading at home.
00:12:09
Speaker
My mom would try to bribe me with toys and i was like, I don't even care about toys. You know, like I was so against the idea of learning. I just felt so dumb and I felt so like embarrassed, um,
00:12:20
Speaker
um I hated books. I hated math. I just like, it wasn't for me. um And on top of that, I like really couldn't keep track of anything. Shirts, jackets, backpacks gone. But I would, you know, I would leave school and my parents would pick me up and they'd be where's your backpack? Like who leaves school without a backpack?
00:12:36
Speaker
It's pretty, know, like it it it's probably pretty obvious what's coming next. um But I actually didn't get diagnosed with ADHD until I was an adult. um But I was, you know, I was the kid that was telling my mom like, oh, I have a research paper on puffins tomorrow, right? But this was the 90s and they didn't have the internet. So like,
00:12:56
Speaker
The library already done had been closed. And my mom is like, that research paper on Buffins is not happening. OK. But like, you know, just like all of those executive functioning skills, the internal distraction, the struggling with like those low level concepts really made it hard for me um not just to learn, but to like feel good about myself, to feel confident,
00:13:19
Speaker
Um, and I, my parents were very, very strict about like my success in school. I was not allowed to bring home a grade that was below 90, um, which obviously like with my learning challenges was really difficult.
00:13:32
Speaker
Um, and so I had to develop a lot of coping skills, but I also just, it was so hard. I had to work so, so hard to feel so subpar. Um, and you know, not a single teacher noticed that I was struggling. Um, not a single teacher asked my parents,
00:13:49
Speaker
about um like the anxiety that I was experiencing because I had to do so well on tests. I would avoid them altogether because I felt like or I knew I couldn't do well on them.
00:14:00
Speaker
um I would fake illnesses, go home early, hide in the nurse's office. Like I was pulling all the stops. um and And no teacher was like, I think she has anxiety. I think she had, you know, like nobody noticed me. um And because I did well in school, um nobody you know There was just no intervention in place.
00:14:23
Speaker
um And I think carrying the weight of my school experience is really crucial to who I am as a teacher, ah both in the classroom and out. It's really my mission to make sure my students know they're not dumb, they're not lazy, they're not bad at math, they're just neurodiverse.
00:14:38
Speaker
um And they can do anything they set their minds to. I tell them that honestly, frankly, it's really frustrating and really exhausting, right? Like we have to work a million times harder than the neurotypical students do only to get results that don't reflect how brilliant and brave we are, that don't reflect how hard we worked.
00:14:57
Speaker
And I'm so proud of my neurodivergences. I have both ADHD and OCD and they really make me who I am. um i have more energy in a whole day than most people do in an hour. And when I get into like hyper focus mode, I can complete an insane amount of work.
00:15:13
Speaker
um But I'm also not like toxic positive about it with my students or with myself. Being neurodivergent is beautiful, but it's also really, really hard. um And so that's, you know, it's really the crux of like how I treat my students.
00:15:25
Speaker
But I also have come over the last few years to really realize um that if I want to help my students ah and my meaning really like all of the neurodiverse students in my district and my state and and even in our country, it's really, you know, in order to not create or recreate a me as a student, parents and teachers need more training. I don't want the school system to fail kids the way that it failed me. I don't want kids who have such obvious symptoms and struggles ah to go unidentified and unsupported.
00:15:58
Speaker
um So advocacy has become a really, really crucial part of my work. um i believe that in my heart or I believe in my heart that the problem really is bigger than the four walls in my classroom.
Gun Violence Prevention Advocacy
00:16:10
Speaker
I can help my students understand their brains and create a learning space that's accessible and engaging. um And I can help them see themselves as smart and brave and capable. But like what if teachers that came before me did the same thing?
00:16:23
Speaker
What if my work wasn't so focused on unbreaking kids? What if they just never became broken in the first place? um There are some really staggering statistics that I think schools and families should know about the neurodivergent community.
00:16:36
Speaker
um Eddie, did you know that one in three kids with disabilities are victims of maltreatment? No, that's actually, that's super high. Whoa. Yeah, yeah. That's in comparison to one in 10 non-disabled children um and kids with mental illnesses, cognitive disabilities, ADHD and ASD experience higher rates of violence, um which makes sense, right? Because a lot of parents who don't understand their kids and don't understand the behaviors and the challenges that they present, like it can feel really personal and it can feel really intentional.
00:17:06
Speaker
And they just think like, if I punish them, if I punish it out of them, they'll stop, right? um Furthermore, ah about 40% of kids with disabilities report being bullied by peers.
00:17:18
Speaker
And I think, you know, it probably goes without saying, for obvious reasons, students' experience um of emotional violence at schools is really difficult to kind of get your hands on. um But a 2018 study done by the northern ah michigan by Northern Michigan University, it included over a thousand teachers, and it asked questions centering on public shame and embarrassment.
00:17:39
Speaker
And only 14% of teachers, that's right,
00:17:44
Speaker
reported, um never witnessing another teacher emotionally abuse a kid. 14%. Wow. So, you know, I think I'm really, really passionate, not about just like what I do in my classroom matters. It's how I, you know, show up for my kids every single day.
00:18:03
Speaker
But I want and I hope um that more teachers, all teachers can see that kids are struggling, not just the ones that are like obviously struggling with grades, but the high performing students too.
00:18:17
Speaker
um And I feel like until these statistics change, I can't rest. um and And until we do a lot more for students with neurodivergence, I'm gonna use that ah that strength that I have to talk and I'm gonna keep on talking.
00:18:35
Speaker
Yeah, it sounds like your experience has been very informative to your ah views on neurodiversity and education. it's Yeah. So with all this experience, you decided to pursue National Board Certification, National Board Certified.
00:18:49
Speaker
What pushed you to pursue? Yeah, that's such a great question. So um there was a variety of factors. First, I was teaching at a small special education school at the time. um And don't get me wrong, it's not that there weren't great teachers there, um but with the exception of one colleague who wasn't in the classroom, she was more in an admin role.
00:19:08
Speaker
no one was like inspiring me. Right. And I'm like, I don't know if you can tell, I'm really passionate about teaching. um And there was just no one who was like kind of igniting my fire. So I was just kind of feeling, I was feeling kind of stagnant.
00:19:21
Speaker
um And then I also just believe really wholeheartedly that like my students deserve the best teacher that there is. Right. So whatever I need to do I'm going to keep moving the needle, pushing, pushing, pushing until I am the best teacher. And that's never going to stop because, you know, as we grow, even in the last like 12 years that I've been teaching, our understanding of neurodivergence and kids who think and learn differently has grown so much.
00:19:46
Speaker
So I think, you know, good teaching is founded in lifelong learning and in moving that ball forward. What's the new pedagogy? What's working? What's not? Right. And changing and responding as kids change and respond.
00:20:00
Speaker
um So I was feeling really stagnant. um I wanted to keep getting better. um I'm always sort of like on a new teaching project, a new fellowship, a course, a degree, a certification, whatever it is.
00:20:11
Speaker
um And so I was looking for something. um But I didn't want to. At the time, I was teaching in California. And listen, I love California. I love the Lakers. Right. But New York has my heart.
00:20:23
Speaker
um So I knew that we were going to move back there. So getting a master's degree and getting certified in California wasn't really helpful. um So I was like, what am I going to do next? And then I went to the National Network of State Teacher of the Year conference um In 2018, it was in LA and there was just teacher after teacher after teacher that was board certified and like everyone was cheering for them. Every time they said they're in NBCT, like people were losing it. And I was like, that's it, that's the thing.
00:20:49
Speaker
um And so I kind of jumped right in. I did all four components in one year, um which is not for the faint of heart, but I actually wouldn't change it. I wouldn't do it any other way. um It was, yeah, it was the best process.
00:21:02
Speaker
Yeah, one year is a, that's a lot. It was, um you know what, I actually think there are, you know there's lots of schools of thought, right, on the process of certification.
00:21:12
Speaker
And some people do like one and three together and two and four together, um based on like how they, you know, sort of how they are like
Invitation to Teaching Profession
00:21:20
Speaker
interconnected. But I really feel like I spent like one month on each certification.
00:21:25
Speaker
component two, three, and four. I studied for one, like for a long time. But two, three, and four, I spent one month on each one and then I would just sort of rotate, like go back to each one. um And I was finding that by doing them all together, like they really were so interweaved and just focusing on it just like I was yeah I was like was eating sleeping living breathing national boards and I think like doing it all in one year really like kept that fire going whereas maybe if I was doing them one at a time like it would just be easier to like kind of I don't know that was my experience yeah so what kind of impact did achieving have on your career
00:22:05
Speaker
Honestly, wouldn't even say it had an impact on my career. It flat out saved it. I know that sounds dramatic, um but it's true. The whole process right is based on reflection.
00:22:16
Speaker
um and I think that before going through the process, I really didn't know how to be a reflective educator. I think I thought I did. um But despite being neurodivergent and having this like really in-depth understanding of neuropsychology, of learning disabilities, of how kids learn, I was just super burnt out. I felt exhausted.
00:22:34
Speaker
um i was living break to break. I was surrounded by other burnt out and frustrated educators and I kind of just like fell in line with them, you know. um But becoming National Board Certified taught me how to be reflective in my practice.
00:22:47
Speaker
um It taught me to ask questions and dig deeper. i was teaching lesson to lesson, test to test, bucketing students as I got it or didn't get it, you know, evaluating myself and my students.
00:22:58
Speaker
kind of as like good or bad, yes or no. um And then through the certification process, I really learned how to reflect rather than evaluate. um I learned that like you can both look at the bigger picture and notice the details. And when you kind of like flip flop between the two, that's where you really like sort of see yourself and see your students.
00:23:18
Speaker
um I learned to see my students as like malleable and in progress. um And I became able to use my understanding of their brains more effectively. So, you know, in that process of of doing those things, I started to become less burnt out.
00:23:34
Speaker
I learned how to become more effective. I stopped taking things so personally. um And I really just became able to like reflect rather than like past judge.
00:23:44
Speaker
um It also I think this was really key to like ah the network of National Board Certified Teachers helped me um so much because like I said, like there are just, you know, it's really awful to say, but being student centered does not always make you popular in schools.
00:24:01
Speaker
um It isn't cool. It isn't funny. to be the teacher who like pushes back on the like sort of classic faculty room discussions and it can be really isolating and you know there i understand why it is the way that it is um but there are lots of schools that are really full of like disenfranchised and frustrated teachers um But becoming national board certified helped me find my people.
00:24:24
Speaker
um i Again, I'm so passionate about teaching and like the people who are taking the time to become national board certified and not giving up when they don't certify or not giving up when they didn't get the score they wanted on a component.
00:24:37
Speaker
Those are your people, right? So like when you find them and they empower you, you don't worry so much about being that oddball at your school. And it also really encouraged me to like walk away from schools where that was the dominant culture.
00:24:51
Speaker
um And so like it helped me not just be a better teacher in the classroom, but better be a better advocate outside of the classroom, find my people, which pushes you for like, you know, kind of pushes ball along further for you.
00:25:04
Speaker
um So yeah, like full stop, it saved my career. So what advice would you give other special education teachers considering pursuing national board certification? ah Do it.
00:25:17
Speaker
I know that's short, um not an elaborate answer, but I can't say it enough. It's the best choice I ever made. um i wouldn't be in special education without my homie Bill Dehaven, but I wouldn't have stayed in teaching without national board certification.
00:25:31
Speaker
um It saved me from being like begrudging and cranky and the students are the problem. And it really turned me into special education. somebody who sees myself just doing this year after year with love and excitement and joy.
00:25:47
Speaker
um You'll become more reflective. You'll become more patient. You'll become more thoughtful. And you will also learn so much about yourself. um So yeah, do it. So what do you enjoy most about being an educator?
00:25:59
Speaker
Okay, that's a hard question because obviously i really love it. um What do I love most about education? i would say what I love most is that um you have the opportunity like every single day to just like ignite someone's joy for life, it ignite their joy for learning.
00:26:26
Speaker
um But I'm really mindful. Like I also, i you know, there, I think there's a lot of, um, like there's some saviorism in teaching that I'm really mindful of. And and I can, you know, ah like I worry a little bit about that sort of idea.
00:26:42
Speaker
um But I think, you know, like there's this, well, let me just say this. I have this mantra that I that i live by. It's my decision making, my guidance, my planning, um and it's leave it better than you found it. There's a story behind it. My student, you know, kind of came up with it.
00:26:57
Speaker
um But I think what I love most about teaching is that every single day is an opportunity to do that. um I have the opportunity to, you know, work with families and collaborate and problem solve and take these humans that are malleable and excited, or maybe they're not excited, they're struggling, and help them understand themselves better. um I'm, again, like I don't, feel I don't like that deficit model. I'm not somebody who thinks you're fixing kids or saving them.
00:27:30
Speaker
um I don't like that idea that you can be the one person to change a kid's trajectory, right? um But when we lead from this place of leave it better than we found it, we can take a kid as they are and help them move the ball forward. We can help their caregivers better understand them and their brains.
00:27:48
Speaker
um We can help fellow educators better understand the students in front of them, help schools create new systems and organiz and sustain these systems that make schools more equitable and accessible. and and inclusive.
00:28:01
Speaker
So I think the idea that you get to like collaborate to make our country a better place, to make the people in our country a better place, to create, um you know, every job is going to add the, like create the people who are in every workforce, um whatever the it is. And in our lives, there's an it for everyone and everything.
00:28:23
Speaker
But I think if we all focus on just leaving whatever that it is better, um we could really create like an awesome place for future generations. Yes, yes, yes. All right. So you are an ambassador for Ending Gun Violence.
00:28:40
Speaker
What motivat motivated you to become an ambassador and what specific activities and initiatives do you get involved in? Yeah, that's a great question. So like when I was a senior in high school, um I had this amazing teacher, Mr. Paul.
00:28:52
Speaker
um I don't say that about a lot of teachers that I had growing up, but Mr. Paul was a social justice warrior. um And he he taught social justice class and he taught life and death. um And I signed up for every class he could or that he taught, um but he showed us bullying for Columbine.
00:29:09
Speaker
um And that was really the first time that like I had thought much about school shootings, um but but honestly, the image of that movie ah just has never left my mind. If I close my eyes, I can see it right now.
00:29:21
Speaker
um And then in my first week as a student teacher, Sandy Hook happened. And I'll never forget um at that time, like we had a ah department office and my phone, you know, my little iPhone 4 was in there.
00:29:34
Speaker
and I remember opening up my phone and reading it. And I can picture the colleagues that were in the room with me and like I can smell that space and, you know, that that feeling, that experience, it never left me.
00:29:48
Speaker
um it it was that moment, like a really pivotal moment where I realized that I was putting my life on the line to do this job. um And I think, you know, my teaching career really developed alongside school shootings and lockdown drills. My first year was 2012.
00:30:04
Speaker
And, um you know, we didn't do lockdown drills then and not when I was in school, but they grew in frequency and intensity each year that I taught. um And then when Parkland happened, I had already been doing some low level advocacy. But I think that like that shooting really, really broke me.
00:30:21
Speaker
um And the following school year, we had this like active shooter training, um a police officer, I think it was a police officer. They came into our classroom, our our school. It was the first day back. We had, you know, like our cafe gymatorium, which also happened to be my classroom at the time.
00:30:37
Speaker
um And in this training, they have a ah police officer playing 911 calls for us. We're listening to educators,
00:30:48
Speaker
talking on the phone with law enforcement. there's you know You hear gunshots in the background. You are you know hearing kids screaming and the teachers are frantic. And then they're having us analyze these phone calls. They're saying, what did they do right? What'd they do wrong?
00:31:02
Speaker
How could they you know get help for themselves and their students faster? um What could they have said to make it more helpful? um And I was 17 weeks pregnant.
00:31:13
Speaker
um I had the tiniest little baby bump and I just remember cradling this like tiny bump and sobbing and thinking like, what are we doing? This is insanity.
00:31:24
Speaker
um i don't want my son to grow up without a mom because I want to be a teacher. um i always say like, i have a small body. i will lay it across my students if I have to, but I really don't want to.
00:31:35
Speaker
i don't want to stuff them in closets. I don't want to have to lose my life or witness my kids losing their lives. You know, i I just, I don't want to die teaching. This isn't what I signed up for.
00:31:49
Speaker
um So since then, it's really been a no brainer for me to advocate for safe storage, common sense, gun laws, like nothing, you know, nothing radical here. Just like we need to keep children safe.
00:31:59
Speaker
um And unfortunately, i I really believe that gun violence is everyone's problem and no one thinks it's going to happen to them until it does. um Some of my students, when I taught New York City, were in gangs and gun violence was a very regular part of their lives.
00:32:14
Speaker
um Or my students had to like one of them. I remember had to leave school early every day because like in the winter, because he his his mom didn't want him like outside in their their neighborhood in the dark.
00:32:26
Speaker
um And actually a few weeks after my my um I had my second son. This was April 2022. family friend's son, he died by gun violence over a fight on the street after a night out. And I'm mindful that this is not my story to tell.
00:32:43
Speaker
um My family's sort of relationship with that family dissolved a few years before that happened. And I hadn't seen him in a long time, but I just I was so heartbroken for him and for his family.
00:32:56
Speaker
And then this past September, ah there was a shooting outside of the school that my sons attend. And, you know, I'm not exaggerating when I really believe that gun violence is everyone's problem. And it just it circles and then the circle gets smaller and closer.
00:33:10
Speaker
um And also, I haven't even yet mentioned that um that gun violence is the number one leading cause of death of children in our country. So I just, you know, I don't know how I live by my motto of leave it better than you found it um and how I'd be a good mom and a good teacher if i if I don't devote all my time and energy to this cause. Not all of it, obviously, of other things.
00:33:35
Speaker
Okay. So yeah, after Uvalde, I joined Teachers Unified and Gun Violence. Our organization was founded by two school shooting survivors, one from Parkland and one from Sandy Hook.
00:33:48
Speaker
um And our goal is just to bridge the gap between educators and the gun violence prevention movement. As educators, we're the most knowledgeable on that which impacts kids, right? um And we are the ones being asked to lay our lives on the line for them every single day. So we deserve a seat at the table.
00:34:04
Speaker
We deserve to have our voices heard. People should know, you know, what our kids' experiences are during lockdown drills. And every time there's a school shooting, they should hear our voices. um And so, you know, I feel so proud of the work that we do.
00:34:18
Speaker
um As ah an ambassador with Teachers Unify, I get to attend roundtables and lobby with members of Congress. I get to speak at rallies. um We have some other things that are coming out that are super exciting, but our leaders are doing really amazing work.
00:34:34
Speaker
um And you know our goal is to just make it a safer place for kids. So what message do you have for educators who want to get involved in addressing gun violence? I would say do it. um There are some really amazing organizations. I think if you you know want to be centered on the teacher end of it um and you want to um be a voice, I would say join Teachers Unify. it's you know It doesn't cost you anything to join.
00:35:01
Speaker
Our mission is ah to both educate people on gun violence prevention and to amplify the voices of educators. It's grassroots. It's teacher led. um But I'd also say, like, maybe you're not there yet and that's OK, but just speak up. Believe in yourself. Know that your voice matters. Your experiences matter. Your safety matters. Your students matter.
00:35:20
Speaker
um And it doesn't have to be this way. We don't have to live like this. And if you feel strongly about it, There are things you can do, um but the worst thing you can do is stay silent. So find your people, find your voice. If you haven't found either your people or your voice, call me. I got you. All right.
00:35:36
Speaker
going to get them in touch with you. All right. So a couple more questions. We're going to get some teachers. If you had to sell the education profession to someone looking to get into it in one to two minutes, what would you use as your elevator?
00:35:49
Speaker
Mm, elevator pitch. Okay. um It's hard to shorten something that you're so passionate about to one to two minutes. But I would just say like teaching is like no other profession. ah There's no right or wrong way to do it or to be a teacher.
00:36:02
Speaker
um I think whatever you bring to the table will help shape the shape the lives of the students, not shave the lives, shape them, ah shape the lives of the students in front of you. It's hard, it's intense, but it's exciting and it's exhilarating.
00:36:15
Speaker
You will laugh, you will cry, and you will fall in love. I believe this from the bottom of my heart. You will fall in love with humanity day after day, year after year, all over again. um our pre Our profession is so much more than the rhetoric um that politicians and social media want you to think it is.
00:36:33
Speaker
ah Your people are there. They're doing the work every day. You won't be alone. so come through. We'd be so happy to have you. All right. And we have a feature on the podcast called the shoulder tap is when you tap someone on the shoulder and let them know they're ready to become national board certified.
00:36:48
Speaker
You can get out on here and we'll encourage them to go through the process. so Who are you shoulder tapping today? Okay, she's going to kill me. I love this. She's going to kill me.
00:36:59
Speaker
ah But my friend Lorena Ducro, she is another special educator at my school. She runs our student council. She creates the most incredible events for our students. She is the advocate of a lifetime for her students.
00:37:12
Speaker
ah She's a teacher's teacher, but she's also a student's teacher, which like I don't know. It's so hard to be both, but she is. She's strong. She's brave. She inspires me. Lorena I'm to send this to you. You already embody everything that an NBCT is and so much more. So tap, tap, my love. It's time to put those letters next to your name.
00:37:33
Speaker
You are everything. Don't kill me. I love you. I heard I heard Lorraine you up. All right, Nicole Green. Thanks for joining me on the podcast. Oh, Eddie, it was such a pleasure.
00:37:43
Speaker
Thank you for having me. That was a great conversation with Nicole Green. I'm so glad she shared her expertise and experience with us. I was particularly struck by her passion for teaching commitment to her students.
00:37:55
Speaker
I would also like to thank Nicole for her work as an ambassador for ending gun violence. Her work in this area is truly commendable. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to National Board Conversation on your favorite podcast platform and leave us a review.
00:38:08
Speaker
We would love to hear your feedback. You can also connect with Nicole on Instagram at MrsG underscore NBCT. Until next time, keep learning and keep growing stay passionate about education. This is Edward Santiago signing off.