Beyond the Bell
A college-and-career counseling podcast designed to provide students with tools and tips to look beyond the bell of their high schools into their futures (be it, college, careers, trade schools, or gap years) where bells do not exist. Beyond the Bell is hosted by Evelyn Lauer, who has worked in education for nearly 25 years, serving primarily as a high school English teacher, but also assuming roles as an instructional coach, college writing instructor, workshop leader, and journalism/media advisor. Lauer is also currently a graduate student at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago where she is studying school counseling. She is a mother to two sons, who are in 10th and 7th grade. She also serves on the board of Friends of Amundsen High School. Topics discussed will include: college admissions, college essays, trade schools, gap years, finding one’s passions and future careers.
Lauer's work has been published in The Huffington Post, Education Week, The English Journal, Sentence, and elsewhere. She served as the PR/Publications director for the Journalism Education Association for six years and is currently serving that organization as a mentor teacher. BTB was highlighted in the New York Times Education Briefing during the pandemic. Episodes from 2020-2022 are about teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. They include interviews with educators from across the United States about their experiences teaching remote, hybrid, and in-person during the pandemic.
Beyond the Bell
Doug Robertson
Fifth-grade educator Doug Robertson and host Evelyn Lauer discuss the challenges of in-person/full-capacity school during the pandemic and his decision to take a medical leave from his classroom.
Robertson is currently a 5th grade teacher just outside of Portland, Oregon. He is in his16th year of teaching overall, and in that time he has also taught in California and Hawaii OR. On the side, he is also an author, having published four books so far, three of which are education focused [He's the Weird Teacher, THE Teaching Text (You're Welcome), and A Classroom of One] and one novel (The Unforgiving Road). He is also a husband and has three children. He plays bass and rides a motorcycle.
You can find Doug on Twitter at @TheWeirdTeacher and also on Instagram at the same.
Follow host, Evelyn Lauer, on Twitter or Instagram, @evelynalauer.