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Playlist: National Teachers Initiative

Compiled By: StoryCorps

Caption: PRX default Playlist image
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StoryCorps NTI: Al Siedlecki and Lee Buono

From StoryCorps | 01:52

Neurosurgeon Lee Buono and his eighth grade science teacher, Al Siedlecki, remember reconnecting after more than 15 years.

Siedlecki_small Neurosurgeon Lee Buono and his eighth grade science teacher, Al Siedlecki, remember reconnecting after more than 15 years.

StoryCorps NTI: Sarah Benko and Meliza Arellano

From StoryCorps | 01:46

Meliza Arellano tells Sarah Benko, her former seventh-grade teacher, about how she became a serious student.

Benko_small Meliza Arellano tells Sarah Benko, her former seventh-grade teacher, about how she became a serious student.

StoryCorps NTI: Ayodeji Ogunniyi

From StoryCorps | 02:15

Ayodeji Ogunniyi describes how the death of his father inspired him to become a teacher.

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In 1990, Ayodeji Ogunniyi left Nigeria, along with his mother and brother, to come to the United States. They arrived in Chicago, joining Ayodeji’s father, Abimbola “Yinka” Ogunniyi, who’d arrived a few years earlier, and was working as a cab driver.

Abimbola always wanted Ayodeji to be a doctor.  But while Ayodeji was studying pre-med in college, his father was murdered on the job.

At StoryCorps, Ayodeji talked about how his father’s death changed the course of his life.

StoryCorps NTI: John Hunter, Julianne Swope and Irene Newman

From StoryCorps | 02:53

John Hunter talks with two former students about what they learned playing the World Peace Game, which he created.

Hunterj_small When John Hunter started teaching more than 30 years ago, he wanted to get his students to think about major world issues.

So he invented the World Peace Game. Students are divided into countries, then Hunter gives them a series of global crises — natural disasters, political conflicts — that they solve by collaborating with each other.

Hunter’s classes are remarkably successful at resolving the crises peacefully, a fact made all the more remarkable because his students are in 4th grade.

Hunter recently sat down for StoryCorps with a two former World Peace Game players: 11-year-old Julianne Swope and 20-year-old Irene Newman.

StoryCorps NTI: Clairene Terry and Raul Bravo

From StoryCorps | Part of the StoryCorps series | 02:00

Raul Bravo tells his former high school automotive teacher, Clairene Terry, how she inspired him to stay in school.

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21-year-old Raul Bravo is an auto mechanic at a car dealership in Chicago.

Back when he started high school, Raul never thought he’d have a career working on cars.

But then Raul met Clairene Terry, an Automotive Technology teacher at Schurz high school.

At StoryCorps, Raul told Clairene just how close to dropping out he was when he enrolled in her class.

StoryCorps NTI: Kate Musick and Harleé Patrick, Jose Catalan and Carlos Vizcarra

From StoryCorps | Part of the StoryCorps series | 02:50

Two stories about teachers who went beyond the classroom to help their kids.

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For students who are struggling, sometimes the difference between success and failure can start when a teacher takes the time to listen.

In these two stories from our National Teacher’s Initiative, teachers go beyond the classroom to help their kids.

In 2004, Kate Musick was teaching third grade at T.C. Walker Elementary school in Gloucester, Virginia. When Harleé Patrick walked into the room, Musick saw a troubled child.

Harleé is now a teenager, and the two came to StoryCorps to talk about how she made it through that year.

The second story comes from Los Angeles, where 19-year-old Jose Catalan, who is studying to become a math teacher, sat down with his former high school teacher Carlos Vizcarra to talk about how they became friends.

StoryCorps NTI: Tyrese Graham

From StoryCorps | Part of the StoryCorps series | 02:16

Tyrese Graham remembers his first day as a teacher at John Marshall Metropolitan High School in Chicago, IL.

Grahamt_small Tyrese Graham is a second year science teacher at John Marshall Metropolitan High School on the West Side of Chicago. When he started teaching, Marshall was among the worst public schools in the city. At StoryCorps, Tyrese talked about his first day on the job.

StoryCorps: Antero Garcia and Roger Alvarez

From StoryCorps | Part of the StoryCorps series | 02:00

Antero Garcia (R) talks to his former student Roger Alvarez (L) who dropped out...

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Antero Garcia (R) taught Roger Alvarez (L) in his 9th grade English class at Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles.

That year, the school’s graduation rate was just 42 percent, and Roger was one of the students who didn’t make it through his senior year.

Roger dropped out in 2007 and hadn’t seen his former teacher until the two of them sat down together at StoryCorps.

When they recorded this interview, Roger was working the night shift at a loading dock, and he said he hopes to get his GED one day. Antero Garcia is now an Assistant Professor of English at Colorado State University.