John B. King Jr. On Inspiring Students In His New Book 'Teacher by Teacher'

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4.4 • 4.3K Ratings

🗓️ 8 May 2025

⏱️ 37 minutes

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Summary

John B. King Jr. has worked in nearly every role an educator can — teacher, principal, administrator, higher education chancellor, and education secretary (under Barack Obama).

Some big changes for education in America could be coming. The Trump administration has signaled its intention to close the Department of Education. That could have far-reaching ripple effects on parents, teachers, and, most importantly, students.

We discuss what it takes for teachers to impact students' lives for the better, and what can teachers do to steer them to success in school and in life.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This is Irid Glass, the host of This American Life.
0:02.9	So much is changing so rapidly right now with President Trump in office.
0:07.3	It feels good to pause for a moment sometimes and look around at what's what.
0:10.7	Just try and do that.
0:11.4	We've been finding these incredible stories about right now that are funny and have feeling,
0:16.1	and you get to see people everywhere making sense of this new America that we find ourselves in.
0:21.4	This American Life, wherever you get your podcast.
0:24.0	A quick note before we start the show. You may have heard that President Trump has issued
0:28.6	an executive order seeking to block all federal funding to NPR. This is the latest in a series
0:34.1	of threats to media organizations across the country. The executive order is an
0:38.9	affront to the First Amendment rights of public media organizations. It's also an affront to the
0:43.7	First Amendment rights of the American people. NPR remains committed to serving the public. That's you.
0:49.9	We lay out the facts and we tell it like it is. This is a pivotal moment.
0:54.5	It's more important than ever that every supporter who can contribute comes together to pitch in as much as they're able.
1:00.9	Visit donate.npr.org now to give.
1:03.8	And if you already support us via NPR Plus or another means, thank you.
1:09.2	Your support means so much to us now more than ever.
1:13.2	You help make NPR shows freely available to everyone.
1:17.8	We are proud to do this work for you and with you. Think back to your time in school.
1:33.5	What memory stand out for you?
1:34.9	Maybe a challenging project you presented to your class, a sports team or a club you were part of,
1:40.5	maybe lifelong friends you made.
	...

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