S02E04 - The Many Roles of the Rural Educator, an Interview with Ms. Laurie Smith, NREA’s 2021 Rural Teacher of the Year

In this episode of the Rural Voice, we interview Ms. Laurie Smith, a 4th-grade teacher in Sumner, Nebraska, and the National Rural Education Association’s teacher of the year for 2021. In this interview, we meet Ms. Smith and discuss her vision for rural education. We explore her approach to creating and maintaining relationships in the community and creating safe learning spaces for students. As noted by Ms. Smith, every child should come to school with empty backpacks meaning kids should come ready to learn without the challenges of stress and anxiety that come with being a child in the 21st century. She discusses the challenges of being a rural teacher, including curriculum development, instructor, counselor, and educational liaison. She discusses how the loss of a student changed her worldview on teaching. Ms. Smith will be a speaker during the 2021 annual meeting and will discuss her experiences, including how losing a student changed her worldview in the classroom. For more information on Ms. Smith and her important work, go to the following link https://www.semmustangs.org/vnews/display.v/TP/55b659b82db04 Check out our Podcast sponsor WinLearning at https://www.winlearning.com/nrea