Rekindle the Fire

"We're in the people business. We are developing the future of our country." Mr. Roderick Sheppard Principal, Teacher, Coach On today's episode, we are speaking with Mr. Roderick Sheppard, a career changing trailblazer who stands on the shoulders of giants within the community as the first African American principal of his school. Roderick shares his journey growing up in Alabama, never having a Black educator (and remembering the fear he felt in 1st grade), and usually being the only Black student in class (his mother helped to integrate the school a generation before). "I can remember somebody telling me that there will never be a Black principal at this school." Principal Sheppard speaks about his experience running a school in rural Alabama, and the delayed gratification of working in education. He answers how he's dealing with the recruitment challenges (#Shoutout to the class for future teachers!), expresses the need for schools to do a better job of diversity training for staff ("there are bad police officers, and there are bad teachers as well"), and why he's driven to rekindle the fire of education within the community. Tune in to learn how Roderick rolls, what led him to pursuing a career in education, and what he's doing to create a culture where school is cool again. IG: @BlackEducators.Matter Website: www.blackeducatorsmatter.org Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BlackEducatorsMatter Store: https://teespring.com/stores/black-educators-matter