Education
Production team:Host & Producer: Maria XenidouIntroduction Voice: David Bourne Contact us:impactlearningpodcast(at)gmail.com Music credits:Like Lee performed by The Mini VandalsTransition sounds: Swamp Walks performed by Jingle Punks Where to find more about Christine Oliver:LinkedInTwitter Mentioned in this episode:Classroom, IncRead to Lead GamesLewis W. BernardThe Urban Assembly Listen to this episode and explore: Christina’s childhood: playing hide & seek and experiencing the joy of learning (4:50)How her parents inspired Christina’s interest in education and reading (7:00)Her love for history and humanity and her preference for hands-on learning in biology (8:00)The person who inspired Christina to become a teacher (9:05)What Christina learned about herself in her first job at a rifle club at the age of 13 (10:00)Why Christina delayed her teaching career and got involved in politics at the NY State Assembly (12:00)The role of representation in politics and how power can often lead to corruption (14:00)How working at the NY State Governor’s office and visiting NYC led Christina to become a teacher in the Bronx (15:12)Why teaching is the hardest job on the planet and why Christina loved it (16:45)How life took Christina out of teaching when family illness sent her back to NY state (17:40)How Christina started working on the intersection of politics and education in Washington, DC (18:25)Why Christina decided to pursue her Masters in Education at Columbia SIPA in NYC (19:15)How Christina’s interest in education reform led her to join the Urban Assembly (20:00)Her decision to join Classroom, Inc and her current role as Executive Director (22:45)The vision and mission of Classroom, Inc and their Read to Lead learning games platform (24:25)How game-based learning helps bridge the skills gap between middle school and career (24:58)How middle schoolers get exposure to over 30 different careers while building literacy skills (27:52)What the Read to Lead games reminded Maria of during her former corporate career (31:04)How the Read to Lead games, curriculum and resources develop and empower teachers to become more effective educators (32:45)How adaptive learning is built in the Read to Lead games design to help struggling readers (35:70)The three main Read to Lead learning games (39:65)How the students build skills and confidence to be the boss at work (41:75)The mission of Read to Lead: serving communities that lack resources and access to education (45:00)How educators can access the free Read to Lead games, curriculum and resources (47:70)What teachers love about Read to Lead: its unique value and impact on society (49:98)What Christina wants to leave her mark on during her lifetime and Maria’s reflection (54:64)