Teaching Learning Leading K-12

Natalie Kuldell - Founder & Executive Director - BioBuilder: Educating a Future-Ready Workforce - 682

Natalie Kuldell - Founder & Executive Director - BioBuilder: Educating a Future-Ready Workforce. This is episode 682 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast.

Dr. Natalie Kuldell, founder and executive director of BioBuilder, which is a nonprofit helping to educate a future-ready workforce that will solve some of the world’s greatest challenges by bringing tomorrow’s science into today’s classrooms. 

Recognized in 2020 as a STEM Trailblazer by the Million Women Mentors and with the HA Rey Curiosity Award, Natalie is a highly regarded educator and curriculum developer who has taught for more than a dozen years in the Department of Biological Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She studied Chemistry as an undergraduate at Cornell, completed her doctoral and postdoctoral work at Harvard Medical School, and taught at Wellesley College before joining the faculty at MIT in 2003.

Our focus is on BioBuilder and creating STEM career pathways. 

So much to learn and think about.

Remember to share with your friends, colleagues, peers, family, and everyone else.

Before you go...

You could help support this podcast by Buying Me A Coffee. Not really buying me something to drink but clicking on the link on my home page at https://stevenmiletto.com for Buy Me a Coffee or by going to this link Buy Me a Coffee.

This would allow you to donate to help the show address the costs associated with producing the podcast from upgrading gear to the fees associated with producing the show. That would be cool. Thanks for thinking about it. 

Hey, I've got another favor...could you share the podcast with one of your friends, colleagues, and family members? Hmmm? What do you think? Thank you!

You are AWESOME!

Thanks so much!

Connect & Learn More:

https://biobuilder.org/

https://biobuilder.org/biobuilder-podcast/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/biobuilder-educational-foundation/

https://www.instagram.com/systems_sally

https://www.youtube.com/@BioBuilder

https://twitter.com/SystemsSally

https://www.facebook.com/BioBuilderFoundation/

Length - 34:25

Episode 40: Forestry with Mike Harrell

Forestry is an age old profession that should be attractive to people who have a knack for business (managing resources, purchasing, marketing, selling, accounting, and running a money making operation) and like to be surrounded by nature.  

You may get dirty, be surrounded by some amazing machinery and even have a few run-ins with the wildlife that calls the trees and the brush their home.

Mike is the VP of Stuckey Timberland. His world is the forest. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia’s Forestry program. Forestry is a life career that is in his family lineage.

You will hear Mike reflect on his career and his desire to be in the outdoors. He talks about the business and the misconceptions that those looking in often have about the business of growing trees for wood products.

I think that you will find this interview interesting as well as it might make you a little envious about Mike’s ability to be outside many of his work days.

If you know a young person who is thinking about future careers, ask them to take a look into forestry. It has a definite place in our future world, trained foresters are needed, and the profession offers opportunities to be engaged outside of a typical corporate office!

Here are some links that can provide you further information:

Sustainable Forestry Initiative

Stuckey Timberland

Logger Education

University of Georgia: Forestry

ABAC Forestry (Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College-Forestry)

Georgia Forests

Georgia Forestry Association

Enjoy!

Length: 50:21

Episode 38: Protecting the Performing Arts

Over the last 10 years, the performing arts have often been pushed to the side in the name of needing more math and science or simply cut to balance budgets.

It is unfortunate.

Whether its band, chorus, orchestra, theater, dance or a myriad of others; the performing arts have their place in our schools.

Students desire to study and perform in the arts often in addition to studying math and science or other academic content areas.

The Georgia Institute of Technology has one of the largest marching bands in all of the colleges and universities…and there are no music majors at GATech. Hmmm ... even future engineers like the arts...

In order to protect the arts in schools it takes commitment and a willingness to make cuts in other areas, instead of in these classes. It takes becoming good at creative scheduling and looking closely at what the students want over the classes they could do without. 

What could you do to help protect the arts in your schools?

Length: 33:37

Episode 37: Experience Education

Taking the classroom to another level is what experience education is all about. In this age of standardization and efficiency what has suffered most is the field trip. In the minds of many, these are waste of time...no way! 

Most travels associated with studies create the desire within kids to know more! Talk about ramping up learning! There is nothing better than exploring, touching the past, smelling the wilderness, and getting just a little bit muddy. As a principal and former Boy Scout Scout Master, I experienced some exciting adventures...and was able to find the right teachers who took Scout trips and made them part of experiential learning! 

Too often these types of trips suffer from financial cutbacks and political garbage...Kids need to have adventures and you can make them happen! 

You make kids want to learn more science, history and other academics if you just take the time and resources to make these trips part of your school culture!

Check out these links to know more!

Raccoon Mountain

Swim with Manatees

Jekyll Island Adventures

USS Yorktown

Don't give in...make these trips a part of the kids educational pursuit and watch the interest in learning skyrocket!!!!

Enjoy!

Length: 34:20

Episode 36: Growing Up in Poverty and Lessons Learned with Dr. Hayward Cordy

Dr. Hayward Cordy is the Executive Director of the Oconee RESA.

Hayward grew up in Wrightsville, Ga-Johnson County…the son of sharecroppers. As you listen to Hayward talk, think about the ultimate lessons that his family taught him. He could have complained and wanted someone to save him. He could have bemoaned his station in life. Instead, he focused on succeeding. He didn't let others derail his focus, he stayed the course and earned college degrees and eventually became the superintendent of the same school system where he had once attended class.

Listen for Hayward to explain … Damaged Goods, Choices and Consequences, The Greatest Lesson Taught to him by His Family, and An Improbable Dream Became Reality.

There are many lessons to be gleaned from Hayward’s memories.

I hope that you will come back and listen, again and again and share with others.

In a world where it is easy to be negative about all of life experiences…Hayward’s recollections make you realize that hard work and determination do pay off!

Thanks for listening! I hope that you will take his words to heart!

To discover more about the Oconee RESA or to connect with Dr. Cordy use the link or address blow.

http://www.ciclt.net/sn/clt/oconee/default.aspx?ClientCode=oconee

Dr. Hayward Cordy

Executive Director

Oconee RESA

206 South Main Street

Tennille, Georgia 31089

Phone: 478-552-5178

Length: 52:12