Author: communications

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. She is one of the most recognized morning radio hosts in the Salt Lake Valley. Amanda Dickson has been a staple on KSL NewsRadio in the mornings for nearly three decades doing what she loves, connecting with people and sharing stories.

On this episode of the Supercast, we hear about a newfound passion for the popular radio host. Amanda Dickson is now spending a lot of her time off-air in the classroom as a substitute teacher. Find out why she says students bring her such joy and why she believes kids in the classroom can do the same for others willing to try substitute teaching.

I'm here with Amanda Dickson, radio personality for KSL and substitute teacher extraordinaire for Jordan School District.

Amanda Dickson:
I don't know about that.

Anthony Godfrey:
And I'm actually in a classroom at Golden Fields where you've been substituting today.

Amanda Dickson:
Yes, I'm here in Miss Beck's class, her third-grade class and we had a really good day today.

Anthony Godfrey:
It looks like it's decorated for Hogwarts.

Amanda Dickson:
Oh yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
I don't know if it always is but the candles are floating in the air and pictures of children in robes are on the wall and it looks like a great environment.

Amanda Dickson:
Each group of tables is a different house like Slytherin, and this is Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor was particularly good today.

Anthony Godfrey:
No surprise there. That's how Gryffindor rolls. I have a lot of questions. So I assume that you interviewed me and others at Riverton High School not long ago, a few weeks ago, about just as part of your broadcasting out in the community. And that was a lot of fun. Everybody I talked with had a great time with that. I was amazed at how many things you can keep going all at the same time. You're talking to them, to the people on your earphones telling you what to do, you're connecting with me at the same time, you're looking at the screen, it's all happening in real-time. I suspect that prepares you very well to be a substitute.

Amanda Dickson:
Oh, that's brilliant. Yes, I think that doing, in fact, doing my show in particular, because we have to hit things at exactly the right time because people use us like a utility. So if they're not out the door by the time they hear three things, or traffic and weather, they know they're late, we have to be on time with those things. That makes us a little strange in the way we multitask because we're constantly looking at the clock and counting back in our heads, do we have enough time to do this? Will we hit at this precise time. I had a boss once that called me scatterbrained. I like to think of it more as multitasking.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's multitasking.

Amanda Dickson:
Multitasking, yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Lots of people think they can do it and can't do it. I sit in a lot of meetings where people think they can be looking at the screen and be very aware of what's happening all at the same time. They can't, but you absolutely can. I have witnessed it. And like I said, I'm sure that those skills are very helpful when you've got lots of children that you don't necessarily know that you're dropping in on. And that's the difficult part, is that you're dropping in on an established routine, established relationships among the kids, and then you're the new person. So tell me a little bit about what that's like.

Amanda Dickson:
Oh, it's wonderful. I feel like a grandparent Dr. Godfrey because I get to take them for the day and then I give them back. “So nice having them. Here you go.”

Anthony Godfrey:
That's a great way to describe it.

Amanda Dickson:
Because I get to love them for a day and then I give them back to the teacher who is so responsible, so I get perfect instructions. I mean today was a perfect example. You do this for a half hour, this for 15 minutes, here's the instruction, these are the books. I mean, I'm given a perfect roadmap of what to do.

But you're right, if I don't connect with them, then it's a very long afternoon. So I have to find a way to connect with them. And sometimes it's just as simple as energy. If I listen to their reading enthusiastically, they'll come to where I am. But sometimes it's more difficult.

I had a great class today because these kids were obviously proud of their work, of their reading skill, of their writing skill, and they wanted to share it. And that's beautiful. And it's so different from the news if you'll forgive me for saying that. Because the news can be, as you well know, it can be very heavy and negative and at a distance. Substitute teaching is joyful and in-person and focused on the future and not on the past.

Anthony Godfrey:
I love the focus on the future that's exactly it and the impact that you have keeps rolling. You're building momentum with these kids with a positive interaction. Listening enthusiastically to their reading is a great example of that. And you know, this is not to downplay the difficulties of being in a classroom or being a substitute teacher. It's a very difficult job but you also have some degree of control over what the climate is for that classroom. How do I want it to feel? And you've described that. I want to connect with them. I want to be sure that they feel loved and that I'm connecting with them but then I'm also going through the instructions left by the teacher.

Amanda Dickson:
Right.

Anthony Godfrey:
That gives them a sense of comfort that those routines continue and they stay in place and the teacher's gone.

Amanda Dickson:
Yeah because they'll try and get away with things as you well know.

Anthony Godfrey:
The news doesn't allow you to do that.

Amanda Dickson:
No.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, that comes at you and you have to deal with what's coming at you. But they do try to work it though. So what age do they try to work it the most?

Amanda Dickson:
Kindergarten on. I mean.

Anthony Godfrey:
All of the ages.

Amanda Dickson:
All of the ages in different ways. No junior high of course. It's junior high.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I was a middle school teacher so I do understand that at a deep level.

Amanda Dickson:
God bless you.

Anthony Godfrey:
I liked eighth graders. I know that is a rare person that loves eighth graders but I had a blast with eighth graders.

Amanda Dickson:
I have found many kids in middle school to love and classes to love, but those have also been some of the hardest experiences. Because I've been spoiled these 30-plus years at KSL that when I talk people listen to me. Until I went to middle school and then I realized this is a whole… They don't know who I am, they don't care who I am, they just want to see what they can get away with. And yet there are students of course there who are more shy and more studious. So how do you make, this is a question, how do you make it a good learning experience for those students who are applying themselves and address the difficulties, the behavioral issues at the same time?

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, you ask an important question. It's a question that I think teachers have to ask themselves constantly throughout the day. It's part of the stress of being a teacher. And you've understood this for a long time. At the end of the day, you've made so many decisions about, "Should I talk to that child? Should I talk to this child? Should I allow them to do that? Should I not?” That by the end of the day, you have decision fatigue. You're worn out. There's a lot of energy that goes into that.

I think what you have to do is connect with kids that aren't outwardly begging for it because there's behavior that is meant to draw your attention. There are kids who will try to draw your attention in other ways, but there are kids who are quietly working and doing what they're asked to do, not doing things to outwardly reach out for your attention. And if you actively give it to them, then that is very meaningful to those students who are quietly just doing what they need to. It takes time to do that, it's hard to do.

Amanda Dickson:
And in so many of your elementary schools, the teachers have set up processes for that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yes.

Amanda Dickson:
You know, and told me specifically something very similar to what you said. You know, here are the marbles. Give them marbles when they're on task. Give them marbles when they're reading. Or give the class a point, or take it away. So that reward structure is, it's structured in elementary school. In middle school, not as much, but yeah, that's good advice. I'll use that.

Anthony Godfrey:
But you're right, the feedback structure, however that is, is really important to students. It's important to the teacher because it kind of allows everyone to feel engaged no matter what's happening. And then you get to focus on the content because you don't have to be worried about whether people are feeling like they belong in the class or whether they're connected with the adult in the classroom.

When I visit classrooms for Outstanding Educator awards, we visit every school every year. So all 68 schools, we stop and we have a group from the Foundation and I like to play around with the kids and have fun. And one of the things that really gets the teacher's attention is if I notice what their reward structure is. I see the box of, you know, bucks, the teacher bucks that get handed out or whatever rewards or treats. But I really admire how teachers structure their classroom for maximum belonging and maximum teaching. I'm continually impressed as I see that.

Amanda Dickson:
Me too.

Anthony Godfrey:
Even though I've been in education for three decades, it's amazing what they do.

Amanda Dickson:
I mean like in this classroom, you can see the love.

Anthony Godfrey:
You can.

Amanda Dickson:
If you never met this teacher and never met her students, the walls are filled with their names and their likenesses, and their accomplishments. And the books are organized by mystery, adventure, history, biography. But this is not unlike all the classrooms I'm in. It's a version of love in color.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's such a great way of putting it. And as I look around, I see evidence of love. I didn't notice it the first. Like, wow, they've got potion bottles.

Amanda Dickson:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
And action figures and it really is a great way of describing it.

Amanda Dickson:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me, how long have you been substituting?

Amanda Dickson:
This is my first year.

Anthony Godfrey:
This is your first year.

Amanda Dickson:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
It feels like you've been doing it for a long time.

Amanda Dickson:
I wish I had.

Anthony Godfrey:
You understand it so well, you've just connected with this job.

Amanda Dickson:
I love it so much more than I anticipated. I had had people, and I'm embarrassed to say this now, but I had had people tell me, "You're not gonna like this, you shouldn't do it. You're gonna hate substitute teaching, what are you thinking?” But we had stories at the beginning of the year about how there weren't enough substitute teachers. And I get done with work like 11, 11:30, and I thought, well, would I ever be able to do this?

So I contacted the District Office and I went through the training and I take every afternoon that's offered that I can get because it's so joyful. Mostly in elementary, but I do some middle and some high school. And those can be joyful on different levels too, as you know.

So I started this year and I found it challenging. I look forward to it. When I leave KSL and I value that job, I don't mean to say anything, I value that job very much, but I feel like I come into a place where my spirit almost belongs more, that it's a chance to, goodness, I'm emotional about it, but it's a chance to be with, my kids are mostly grown. My youngest is 16, my oldest is 34, and I miss kids of this age, I miss that light. I had four girls present today to the class with their poster and they were so good and so nervous and so creative and I miss that.

Anthony Godfrey:
It is a beautiful thing to get to see kids in action, to watch them learning, and to see them grow. It's what drew me to education.

Amanda Dickson:
Yeah, I bet.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm so glad you found it so fulfilling and felt such a close connection to it.

Amanda Dickson:
I recommend it. If anyone out there is thinking about substituting, do not listen to the naysayers. Go and be in a classroom yourself. And I bet for every person, it would be different as to which age they connect with more or which subject matter. For me, it's elementary school, but there are lots of good middle school and high school classes too. I've had the chance to be in journalism classes in high schools and English. I was an English major in college. So for me, anytime I get to teach language arts, I'm happy. So there's--

Anthony Godfrey:
That was me. I was a language arts teacher.

Amanda Dickson:
Oh, were you? I mean, I love reading. I love reading and I love talking about books and I love reading the students' writing about books and their criticism of books and it just brings everything to life.

Anthony Godfrey:
You get to know a lot of people this way. You get to know a lot of people with KSL. You're always interviewing new people. If you'd kept track, I'm sure it's in the many thousands of people that you've spoken with. But it's so fun to see kids at this stage of their life. And like I said, to see them grow and to see the third-grade version of them doing their very best and learning what they can and becoming who they're going to be.

Amanda Dickson:
Yeah, I look at them sometimes and I think, I wonder, you know, but we have no way of knowing, of course, because it's like going to a high school reunion and the person who you thought was gonna be all that, you know, is not all that, you never, who knows? So even when I have a kid who's challenging, I think you never know. This kid could be the governor someday. I mean, I need to pay attention to this kid. He's very boisterous, he's very outspoken, he has complete confidence that he deserves the floor. (laughing) He deserves the floor at any given moment. Maybe he's a politician.

Anthony Godfrey:
See, that's the trick, is that you see this version of them and you have to imagine every possible version of them in the future so that the way that we interact with them doesn't limit in their mind what they're able to do.

Amanda Dickson:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us, more with Amanda Dickson when we come back. And learn how you too can become a substitute teacher in Jordan School District.

Break:
In Jordan School District, we like to support students in and outside the classroom along with their families. That's where the Jordan Family Education Center comes in, offering support services and a wide variety of classes for students and their families, free of charge. You can take a class called Blues Busters for children feeling sad or worried. Just Breathe is a class that helps students reduce stress. Or how about a class that supports parents in helping their children make and keep good friends. There are also support groups and free counseling, all provided by Jordan School District school psychologists and counselors. To find out how you can benefit from free family support services offered by the Jordan Family Education Center, call 801-565-7442 or visit guidance.jordandistrict.org.

Anthony Godfrey:
What have you learned about teachers as a substitute?

Amanda Dickson:
I had no idea how hard they worked. I thought they worked hard. I was way off. I mean, think about how hard I work in the four hours I'm in the classroom, but they leave all their papers to be graded the next day by the teacher who filled out an entire list of what I was to do. So when she comes in tomorrow, she has to not only have her whole lesson plan do that whole day, but then grade everything we did the day before.

Anthony Godfrey:
Right, they prepared everything for you. They'll grade everything afterwards.

Amanda Dickson:
Right, I did nothing. I'm exhausted.

Anthony Godfrey:
And you're experiencing only the real-time in front of the kids part.

Amanda Dickson:
The easiest part. Their workload is outrageous. And their love is enormous.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yes.

Amanda Dickson:
And their patience with we parents who are not supportive sometimes, their patience is like some kind of biblical thing. Frankly, Superintendent, I know one of my children has been a real challenge for his teachers. And I'm now going to go find their emails and write an apology email to each and every one of them because It's it takes an emotional toll on these teachers that they're not compensated for.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, there is an emotional toll it takes tremendous energy and you're right, teachers work very, very hard. No matter how hard you think they work you’re undershooting it.

Amanda Dickson:
It's hard. Yeah, because just thinking about what to cover, especially in elementary school when you're covering all these different subjects, what kind of an assignment will I give them that will bring them to life? That will engage them? That can't come straight out of a book. What do I have to teach them? What are the standards that I have to make? How can I make those two things jive? How can I give them enough work to challenge them but not leave them in the dust?

Anthony Godfrey:
You describe it very well.

Amanda Dickson:
Oy vey Maria. I gave myself a headache just saying it.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, it's stressful talking about that work, much less doing it. The difficult part of it also is that teachers love their kids and they feel this responsibility. And just like you described, you want to be at your best, you want to be providing the best for students, and it's messy, it's chaotic. Kids' needs vary, and they vary from day to day. And meeting those needs and being at your very best is a very difficult thing, and it's a difficult thing to sustain day in and day out throughout the school year.

Amanda Dickson:
Why has the respect for teachers, or do you agree with the statement that the respect for teachers has gone down in some cases and why?

Anthony Godfrey:
That is very puzzling to me because…

Amanda Dickson:
They were the heroes during the pandemic.

Anthony Godfrey:
They were the heroes during the pandemic.

Amanda Dickson:
We stand outside holding signs, thank you. And two years later what happened?

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm afraid that teachers have been placed in the center of a lot of debates that don't have a lot to do with the classroom directly.

Amanda Dickson:
I agree.

Anthony Godfrey:
And our teachers need to be championed at every turn. You are someone who walks the talk on that.

Amanda Dickson:
You know what I loved seeing, and I saw it today, is the support that the teachers give each other.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yes.

Amanda Dickson:
I saw the third-grade teachers hanging out by the door right before we were going to get the kids from recess, just swapping stories and offering words of encouragement. And it made me think when was the last time I did that for my coworkers at KSL? I mean when was the last time I just hung out with them and told them, "Wow, what you did there was awesome and you really put a lot of effort into that. And I'm sorry if that wasn't appreciated because I appreciated it.” When was the last time I said the kind of things I heard your third graders, your third grade teachers saying today. That was beautiful. I'm glad they have each other.

Anthony Godfrey:
I love that description. It's something I've experienced personally as a teacher and that I've been able to observe over the years and it's a unique culture. People who come from outside of education marvel at that because you don't see that everywhere.

Amanda Dickson:
No, you don't.

Anthony Godfrey:
What advice do you have for those who might be thinking about being a substitute? We always need more help.

Amanda Dickson:
If you can love children, you can do this job. I mean, you don't need to be an expert in-- I've taught science classes and math classes. YouTube is my friend. If I know what the subject is in advance, I'll go YouTube a little bit and get up to speed on something. But as long as you can come with an open mind and don't expect perfection, you're new. They're awkward around you. Imagine if it was your first day with a new person. They've had a woman or a man that they've trusted for months and months, and who's this stranger? So be patient with them when they're boisterous. They don't mean to be disrespectful. This is not about you. This is about them. So if you can go with an open mind and an open heart, you'll get so much love in return. And I have not been blessed with grandchildren yet. I hope I am someday, kids, if you're listening. But until then, I'm going to borrow your kids, Dr. Godfrey, and love them if that's OK.

Anthony Godfrey:
You can have them anytime. We're so grateful that you choose to sub. And I'm very appreciative of the energy you bring to it and the love for our students. So thank you very much for your time today and for everything you're doing to support our teachers and our students.

Amanda Dickson:
Thank you for what you do too, Dr. Godfrey, and for all your teachers.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thank you. If you want to find joy in substitute teaching with a flexible work schedule in our elementary or secondary schools, Visit employment.jordandistrict.org.

Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, education is the most important thing you will do today. We'll see you out there.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. It looked like a scene straight out of an old movie. We're talking about World War II Day at West Jordan High School.

On this episode of the Supercast, find out why history teacher Alyse Almond is so passionate about preserving American military history. She's giving students a real-life history lesson, with the help of World War II historians, hoping to connect today's students to the stories of those who served our country and sacrificed so much.

We're here with social studies teacher, Alyse Almond at West Jordan High School. And I'm finally getting to see this tradition of World War II Day. Tell me a little bit about this.

Alyse Almond:
So World War II Day started about eight years ago here at West Jordan High School. Me and my friends, we are the Utah Military History Group and we do living history from World War I through Vietnam. And our passion is World War II, so we wanted to bring the history to the students in a very tangible way.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, it's obvious you're doing that. I see vehicles, it feels like I'm on a MASH episode, I know that's the wrong era, but this particular ambulance gives me that feel. We've got uniforms, it looks like we've got all kinds of materials from the time period. So, and several vehicles that are probably getting the attention of people driving by, wondering if there's a military takeover of West Jordan High School. So can you talk me through what we've got out here.

Alyse Almond:
Yeah. So we have a World War II 1945 CCKW, which is a truck made by GMC.

Anthony Godfrey:
Let's walk over there.

Alyse Almond:
It was built in 1945. So this is Layne Schoenfeld and this is his 1945 GMCCKW.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about your CCKW, Layne.

Layne Schoenfeld:
Well, one of the most common vehicles used during World War II, it was used to transport troops and material. It was the backbone of the Red Ball Express. I don't know if anybody's familiar with the Red Ball Express but that was basically a supply route from the beaches in Normandy, France, up deeper into Europe and on into Germany, supplying the troops the front line.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about the state it was in before you refurbished it.

Layne Schoenfeld:
It was a rust bucket. It had been sitting outside for 20 years, just filling up full of leaves and dirt and the water raining on it. So it was all rusty and it was missing a few pieces here and there.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's pretty amazing. How long did this restoration take you?

Layne Schoenfeld:
I'm ashamed to say it took me 15 years.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hey, that's something that you just chip away at over time.

Layne Schoenfeld:
Yeah, life got in the way a couple of times.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, it's pretty exciting that West Jordan High School is the first event. How does it feel to have it out in the public now?

Layne Schoenfeld:
It feels good.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Layne Schoenfeld:
It feels good.

Anthony Godfrey:
What got you interested in World War II initially?

Layne Schoenfeld:
My father was a World War II veteran,  and him telling me a few stories.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, thank you for sharing it with the students here at West Jordan High School.

Layne Schoenfeld:
You're welcome. It's a pleasure and an honor. And hopefully, the students learned a little something and we can keep history alive. That's what this is all about.

Alyse Almond:
We also have two World War II Jeeps here. One is a 1942 Willys and one is a 1944 Willys. These are both quarter-ton all-utility vehicles that were used in World War II. And then here we actually have, this is a weapons carrier and this is Dave Vuyk.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hi Dave.

Dave Vuyk:
How are you?

Alyse Almond:
And this is his vehicle and have you-

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about this vehicle.

Dave Vuyk:
It's a 1944 Dodge weapon carrier. It's a three-quarter ton. This is a copy of the original build card that went through the factory with this truck.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh wow. So do you turn some heads when you're driving this down the road?

Dave Vuyk:
Yeah, for sure. And people love it. I think people find it fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
You might not beat people off the line.

Dave Vuyk:
Oh, we don't, yeah. No, we don't beat people off the line. My son Schyler, who's in here, he had Miss Almond for history. Kind of got the bug. And I have a little bit of it, but I'm not into the uniforms and some of that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Between you and Miss Almond, he's hooked, huh?

Dave Vuyk:
Oh, yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, thank you for sharing this with West Jordan High School.

Dave Vuyk:
We love it.

Anthony Godfrey:
So exciting.

Dave Vuyk:
This is fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Dave Vuyk:
And you know, a little bit of education is fun.

Alyse Almond:
So this is Brent Fordham. He is our medic in our living history group and this is his medic display and ambulance.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hi Brent. How are you?

Brent Fordham:
Good.

Anthony Godfrey:
This is, you have not only the ambulance behind you, which looks incredible, but you've also got all kinds of first aid kits it looks like, and first aid materials. So this is everything a combat medic would have carried. Tell me, can you walk me through this?

Brent Fordham:
A lot of what you see is just like an assortment of like random bandages. A medic’s sole purpose, they weren't licensed doctors, so they really just did like band-aid work just get them stable enough to get them to an actual hospital.

Anthony Godfrey:
What is it that got you interested in the medic aspect of World War II?

Brent Fordham:
Well, I've always been into history. My dad did reenacting when I was a kid, and I've just always kind of been drawn to the medical stuff. I don't really know why. I mean, as a kid, I wanted to be a paramedic.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, thank you very much for bringing all this here and for allowing students the chance to interact with this. I have no doubt that this will have a lasting impact on them.

Brent Fordham:
I hope it does, that's why we do it.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're at the board with lots of photos and bios, it looks like, from various veterans of World War II. Tell me about this board.

Alyse Almond:
So we do-- this is an honorarium for the family members of our faculty and staff who served in World War II. So I send out a message to all of our faculty and staff. And last year and this year, they sent me back their stories and their photographs of their family member veterans.

So like up in the corner, we actually have Principal Birch's dad, who was a World War II, he was in the Army Air Corps in World War II and he was on a B-17 and he was actually shot down over Germany on one of his missions and he became a POW. And he was a POW for six months during World War II.

And then we have the stories of like our, the woman who runs our Jag Stash here, her dad, was also in World War II. He was in the Army. He served on Okinawa. And so we have his story.

We also have the story of my great-uncles on here. We have the stories of one of our science teachers here, actually. Her great-grandpa, when she sent me his name, all she had was his name, that he died and where he died, and the name of his family, so his wife and his kids. They didn't know anything else. And I actually ended up researching him and finding out what regiment he was with, what division he was with, and what happened to him and when he was killed in action.

Anthony Godfrey:
So she didn't know all of this and you were able to uncover some facts about his life.

Alyse Almond:
Yep.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, this really ties it to the faculty as well. Again, another way of adding dimension to history and to make it personal.

Stay with us when we come back, more on World War II Day, and we'll hear from a student who came back to West Jordan after graduating to show off his own collection and express appreciation for his experience in Ms. Almond's class.

Break:
Are you looking for a job right now? Looking to work in a fun and supportive environment with great pay and a rewarding career? Jordan School District is hiring. We're currently filling full and part-time positions. You can work and make a difference in young lives and education as a classroom assistant or a substitute teacher. Apply to work in one of our school cafeterias where our lunch staff serves up big smiles with great food every day. We're also looking to hire custodians and bus drivers. In Jordan School District we like to say people come for the job and enjoy the adventure. Apply today at employment.jordandistrict.org.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're here with some of the students at West Jordan High School that have been able to be part of World War II Day. Tell me your name.

Brayden:
Brayden.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me a little bit about your experience.

Brayden:
It's been really exciting to see all the vehicles and all the stuff. I've had family members that served, so that's why I took the class. And my great grandfather was a pilot, so they let me hold the aviator stuff. So it was really good to see what he would have worn and what he would have done.

Anthony Godfrey:
What are some of the things that you've learned that might have surprised you in this class?

Brayden:
How brutal the war was in the Pacific, because I feel like most of the time we think of the war in Europe and not in the Pacific. And also the other countries that were involved besides the United States and most of the European countries, like Brazil and Mexico.

Anthony Godfrey:
How about you? Tell me your name and some of the things you've learned from the class.

Joseph:
My name is Joseph and it's been an absolute amazing time being part of the class. I was largely and vaguely into World War II beforehand and I loved World War II and studying it, but this class has opened up so many more opportunities to learn. It's shown me stories about men on the front, it's shown me stories about how different things were, how Miss Almond usually brings in these uniforms. You get to see what did they wear, what were they working with, and it's more focused on the individual rather than the whole entire aspect of World War II. So it's been an amazing experience taking her class.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's true when you think about it as individual humans going through this it's very different from just talking about it in broad terms.

Joseph:
It went from tactical to more with the person instead.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah exactly. Tell me your name and a little bit of your experience in the class.

Tiernan:
My name is Tiernan. My experience with the class is great. It's always easier to learn with a teacher who is very enthusiastic about the topic like Miss Almond is. Something I learned in the class that I didn't know before was how pervasive it was, not just in the battlefield or in the military branches but also everything in each of these countries just on a civilian level was also in aid of the war effort.

Anthony Godfrey:
Citizens were a key component of war effort. Tell me your name and some of the things that stood out for you in the class.

Peter:
My name is Peter, but I go by Pidge. And I've always had a love for strategic battles and tactical warfare, and I study World War I on the side. I learned a lot about Italy and their involvement, the blitzkrieg that went into the Balkans and Greece. I've also learned a lot about the Pacific and the brutality of Japanese imperialism.

We look at war through a iso commander.  We see the battles. We see these casualty numbers from official reports, but when you look down at the average day-to-day life, when you go down to the civilian level, you see the mass amount of destruction, the massive amounts of sort of these atrocities that happened and sort of this realization that War is a lot more grimace than we think it is because we are never exposed to the sort of nitty-gritty of it.

Alyse Almond:
So this is Schyler Vuyk and he is actually a West Jordan High School alum. You graduated in 2019? And then after he graduated he joined our living history group. His focus is on the Coast Guard and the Merchant Marine because his great-grandfather was in the Coast Guard.

Anthony Godfrey:
So wow, this is a whole different set of artifacts. Tell me a little bit about what you have here.

Schyler Vuyk:
Well, we have an assortment of both personal objects and objects that they would have used on the ship anywhere between combat or if they had some time off. These are some objects that would have been privately purchased.

Anthony Godfrey:
This looks like a little kit that folds up together with playing cards. Is that what that is?

Schyler Vuyk:
Yeah, so it's playing cards, you have checkers, you have dice, and then this is a recent purchase. This is a wallet and the calendar was never used. This is fresh.

Anthony Godfrey:
Calendar for 1943.

Schyler Vuyk:
It was never used. It was bought by a gentleman on eBay. He said he bought it and then never used it. It sat in his house for years and he never used it and he sold it. And then this one I have not a whole lot of information on him unfortunately but this is him, this is Bob Sherman and then here's another picture of him. He would have, it looked like he served in every single theater during the merchant marine, well he served in the merchant marine during World War II.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you have photos from him and you have a case, is this a case of his medals.

Schyler Vuyk:
These are all of his medals, yes. And then what's interesting is this medal is actually a Russian medal, this top one right here. This is actually a 1985 Russian Jubilee medal. And from what I can gather, just by having a Russian medal is that he most likely would have supplied, he would have done what they called the Murmansk Run, which was when they had shipping boats transport shipping and stuff to the Soviet Union through the Arctic Circle, literally going over Finland and Sweden to get to Russia through like below zero temperatures and stuff like that. And some of them earned Russian medals if they were in Soviet waters that shot down planes. And then I believe what would have probably happened is he probably was invited back because some merchant marine and some Navy men were invited back to Russia if they participated and supplying the Soviet Union and I believe he was given that when he probably visited in 1985.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you have moved your collection in all kinds of different directions I love seeing the personal effects and these personal medals it really reminds you that they were individuals that were involved in this. Now tell me about these uniforms that you have here.

Schyler Vuyk:
These are Alyse's uniforms but I could probably talk a little bit about them. This is a Navy wave uniform. This would have been something they would have worn anywhere that they went on duty and I think this was also used for ceremonial like funerals dances and stuff like that. They would have been able to wear something like this.

Alyse Almond:
That is their dress uniform.

Schyler Vuyk:
Their dress uniform.

Alyse Almond:
And it was actually a big part of what they used to entice women into the military in World War II was we're gonna give you a lot of clothes and they're gonna look really good on you. And so the guy who actually designed the waves uniform, he was a well known New York fashion designer and then he sold his pattern for that uniform to the Navy for a dollar to support the war efforts.

Anthony Godfrey:
His contribution.

Alyse Almond:
Yep and so this uniform would be one that would be worn for official purposes and then the one that's actually behind it which is a gray dress with a beret that one was a dress that the Navy nurse were issued and they would wear that if they were not on duty and they were say going out with friends or going to a dance or other places.

Anthony Godfrey:
So between Ms. Almond and your dad and your family history you've become a serious history buff.

Schyler Vuyk:
I think that's a perfect observation to say.

Anthony Godfrey:
A lot of effort by a lot of people from the community and it's a tremendous experience for students to get some hands-on connection to the war. Tell me what do you hope students take away from this experience.

Alyse Almond:
I hope that students walk away from this day understanding that history is not just something that you read about in a book. That history is something that actually happened and that individuals lived those experiences. And when you can see and interact with the artifacts and the uniforms that those men and women used, I think it brings it alive for these students and it makes it something that is not just two-dimensional.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, thank you very much for the time today and for creating such an incredible, immersive experience and unforgettable experience for our students.

Alyse Almond:
Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, education is the most important thing you will do today. We'll see you out there.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. In some parts of the world, they are kept as pets due to their peculiar appearance and interesting behavior. We're talking about the Madagascar or hissing cockroach.

On this episode of the Supercast, we head to Jordan Hills Elementary School, where hissing cockroaches are in one classroom helping students study science and insect behavior. Hear what students have to say about the unique project and how the ancient bugs are contributing to the learning process in a pretty big way.

We're here at Jordan Hills with third-grade teacher Melissa Reynolds and I can't take the smile off my face because this is perhaps the most unique school visit I've ever made and that is to visit your classroom cockroaches. Tell me a little bit about that.

Melissa Reynolds:
So last year, the FOSS program was new to Jordan Hills, and in the FOSS program, there is an activity about crayfish. And in Utah, it's illegal to transport crayfish from their natural habitat to your home or anywhere else or to another habitat without first killing them, and so we can't bring crayfish in for the FOSS part of that. We're supposed to learn about behaviors and adaptations.

Anthony Godfrey:
So so far, I've already learned that I to be more careful with crayfish. Not that I've ever transported live crayfish like a common criminal, but I will know not to do that in the future.

Melissa Reynolds:
Or you'll be imprisoned.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's right.

Melissa Reynolds:
No, but so there's an alternate activity in the book that says we can use hissing cockroaches instead. So I--

Anthony Godfrey:
No wait, hissing cockroaches.

Melissa Reynolds:
Yes, these are the Madagascar hissing cockroaches, not the yucky kind you find on your kitchen floor. Not my kitchen floor, but others.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yes, other unfortunate kitchen floors, yes.

Melissa Reynolds:
Yes, these are not the yucky, nasty cockroaches. So these are Madagascar hissing cockroaches. And the activity is somewhat the same. They still talk about the different adaptations that they use, the behaviors that they have. You identify different structures on the animals. And so it works well, and it's very guided through the FOSS system.

Anthony Godfrey:
So tell everyone what FOSS is for those who may not know.

Melissa Reynolds:
FOSS is the science program that our district is providing for us. It's really an all-inclusive program. It comes with a couple of bins for each unit that you teach, and I'm doing the Life Structures Unit this year. I say that I'm doing it because, just like Boston was saying, we each decided, as three of the third-grade teachers, we'll each take one and teach it to all the classes in third grade, mostly because the other teachers did not want to do cockroaches.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you are the designated cockroach teacher.

Melissa Reynolds:
Yes, yes. So the kids get really excited to come to my science group because they get to see the cockroaches, they get to hold them. One of the activities we do is what happens when we touch their antenna? What happens when we leave them alone with a cardboard tube, what happens when we touch their abdomen, what happens when we hold them? And they get to see what animals do to react and then we talk about why they have those reactions as instincts to keep them alive.

Anthony Godfrey:
What are the two little kind of antennae right down below the main big ones? Their two little dangly ones.

Melissa Reynolds:
These ones that are right by his mouth.

Anthony Godfrey:
And have you named any of them?

Melissa Reynolds:
No. No, there was. So we had originally two cockroaches when I first started doing it last school year and none of the other teachers were that brave and we weren't rotating. So I was just teaching my class and I wanted to have more cockroaches because the program says you need about eight to do everything that you're supposed to do. Because then you introduce them to other cockroaches and see what they do when they're around other cockroaches. And so I said, “okay, I want them to have more cockroaches.” So I talked to Mr. Squire in our school. He teaches second grade and he has had cockroaches before too.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, how about that? On purpose?

Melissa Reynolds:
Yes, on purpose.

Anthony Godfrey:
Right.

Melissa Reynolds:
And my son when he was in second grade, he's now in sixth, when he was in second grade he said, "Mom, can we please take home a cockroach?" And I said, "Heavens no. We are never having a cockroach. Never will you get to take home a cockroach." And he begged and begged and I said, "No, and here I am now with 140 or more cockroaches."

Anthony Godfrey:
And that was my next question. So you're supposed to have eight. You now have 140. You are the Outstanding Educator of the Year for Jordan Hills and when I came to give you that award, we talked about cockroaches. I had heard about this in your classroom and when you invited me back, you emailed me that all of the over 100 babies were all ready to go and I could come anytime. Tell me, why did you go from 8 to 140 cockroaches?

Melissa Reynolds:
Well, I only had those two and I kept trying to get them to have babies so I gave them a heater, made it really moist inside so that they would be happy because that's what Mr. Squire told me to do. And then they just had like maybe four or five last summer and I was really kind of bummed. I thought, "Oh, I just need some more," and then none of them really lived except for that one that I was just holding, the male. He lived. And then I bought two new females in November and those two females and that male, now there are over 140. And they had their first batch of babies in February, on the 10th of February. And then it seems like I keep looking in there and there's more babies every day. I mean, that's not true, but it feels like that.

Anthony Godfrey:
There are more and more cockroaches in your classroom.

Melissa Reynolds;
They start out as little tiny, about the size of a potato bug. And then they molt seven or so times until they're an adult.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, when you told me that there were baby cockroaches for us to come see, I was really expecting teeny tiny cockroaches. I was a little bit shocked when I came in and I saw cockroaches the size of, oh, what would you say that is, like a band-aid?

Melissa Reynolds:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
And I just thought, wow, that is an enormous cockroach.

Melissa Reynolds:
These ones we found a couple of days ago and they are teeny tiny.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh yeah, look at the little ones underneath the dish. After you've looked at the big ones, the little ones can actually look kind of cute.

Melissa Reynolds:
Yes, they are very cute when they start out.

Anthony Godfrey:
Although they move very quickly, which is alarming. It feels like they could be anywhere you don't want them to be in an instant.

Melissa Reynolds:
Yes. The baby ones are a little more quick and unpredictable.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now these, the big ones, are shiny and formidable, and they actually look like you could be seeing them in a terrarium at a zoo or on display somewhere because they really do look quite exotic I must say.

Melissa Reynolds:
They actually have them at the aquarium in Draper.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, do they?

Melissa Reynolds:
They have a display with some of them in there.

Anthony Godfrey:
And you said that initially, you were a little bit hesitant about this.

Melissa Reynolds:
Oh yes. I tried to pick them up for the very first time from the little container that I got at the pet store and they hissed at me and I screamed and I just couldn't pick them up. So for the first little bit, I used a paper towel roll and got them to crawl in the paper towel roll and then I kind of shook them into their enclosure and I was terrified of them. But now I'm used to them and they don't hiss at me quite as often and I've learned how to handle them and how to pick them up.

Anthony Godfrey:
And how do your students react to them?

Melissa Reynolds:
They think they tickle when they hold them. One of them actually last year got scared and screamed and it fell on the floor and it was okay, they have that exoskeleton. But they do different reactions. Some of them want to hold them every day, and I wish we had time to do that every day but we don't, and some of them don't want to touch them but most of them at least want to try one time and then they tell me it tickles.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay and what do you hope that the students take away from the experience of having cockroaches in the class and from the lessons associated with those cockroaches?

Melissa Reynolds:
Well, it's really actually quite neat that they get to see a full life cycle of these cockroaches because not only do they talk about their behaviors and their adaptations, they've actually seen them grow. They always come to the front right here when they're molting and so we get to see them push the molt off and it's really a neat process for them to see an animal life cycle full scale. They get to see it start out as a baby and they get to see it grow a little bigger and a little bigger and a little bigger and we talk about when they molt and it's neat that they can apply what they're seeing in the classroom to other animals. That they have different stages that they're growing into and just be a little more connected with science in the real world.

Anthony Godfrey:
I think that's fabulous.

Stay with us when we come back we take a tour of the Cockroach terrarium.

Break:
Hello, I'm Sandy Riesgraf, Director of Communications for Jordan School District, and we want to invite you to connect with us. So many exciting things are happening in your child's school, your neighbor's school, in every school here, every day. Don't miss out on following the fun or simply staying informed when there's important information we need to share. Join us at jordandistrict.org, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @jordandistrict. We can't wait to connect.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hope, tell me what you think about having cockroaches in your classroom.

Hope:
I think it's pretty cool that there's cockroaches in here, and I'm really excited to like hold one when we can.

Anthony Godfrey:
Have you held one before?

Hope:
Uh-huh like in fall when she brings them to the class. I hold held one.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh cool, and do you look at them everyday kind of as you walk by?

Hope:
Yeah, usually. Sometimes I don't because there's like everybody in front of it, but I usually do.

Anthony Godfrey:
So it's pretty popular to see the cockroaches?

Hope:
Yeah

Anthony Godfrey:
Hope, do you want to adopt one and take it home?

Hope:
Maybe if my dad and mom is fine with it I think my mom is fine with it, but I'm not sure with my dad.

Anthony Godfrey:
You think your dad might be a tougher sell?

Hope:
Mm-hmm.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, I understand Thank you Hope. What's your name?

Boston:
Boston

Anthony Godfrey:
Boston, tell me about this one right here.

Boston:
So the white ones have molted and sometimes, so we always catch them in the act of molting. So it's really common because they're 140 plus.

Anthony Godfrey:
So with 140 cockroaches you're generally going to see one molting pretty often.

Boston:
Pretty much every day we see one or two in the morning. Sometimes you can see their skin still on their butt.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow and what does it mean for them to molt?

Boston:
It means for them to lose their shell so they can get a bigger one.

Anthony Godfrey:
And you said I shouldn't touch the one that just molted. Why is that?

Boston:
You can touch it, but very lightly. If you press it too hard or squish it too hard, then it will get squished and die.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, because it's very soft right now and kind of vulnerable. Okay.

Boston:
They really like in the dark up there because, they also like a little tunnel, and it creeps me out so much when they crawl out of the tiki now.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, here in the terrarium, right?

Boston:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, we're looking in on several cockroach friends.

Boston:
Some of them can just sneak under that little hole in the cork rock.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, yeah.

Boston:
This is the one we named Big Mama. And the dad that's still alive which was original. We named him Big Daddy. I mean Tiny Daddy.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, Big Mama and Tiny Daddy. Well, how do you keep track of who the original mom is? Are there distinct markings on these kissing cockroaches?

Boston:
Yes, you can tell if they're male or females 'cause the bumps.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay.

Melissa Reynolds:
Which one has bumps?

Anthony Godfrey:
Where are the bumps and who has them?

Boston:
The bumps are always on the males. The females have tiny ones, but you just really can't see them at all.

Melissa Reynolds:
And where are they?

Boston:
They're on like the back of its head. So we're doing rotations and currently the last rotation for our class, Mrs. Alvies, is my mom's.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, okay, cool. The Tiki face looks to be screaming.

Boston:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
But it has 15 cockroaches on top of it, so I understand why it may be screaming. That may be very uncomfortable.

Boston:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Do you wanna see my impression of a cockroach?

Boston:
Sure.

Anthony Godfrey:
You can tell me whether you think it's good or not. Are you ready? You guys ready to see my impression of a cockroach?

Boston:
Yeah.

(Students laughing)

Anthony Godfrey:
What do you think?

Students:
Yeah. Good!

Anthony Godfrey:
Is that good?

Students:
It's true, it's true.

Anthony Godfrey:
All right, kind of the antenna moving independently. I worked on that for a long time, so I'm glad you like it.

Boston:
So that blue one is, that blue dish is supposed to be the food dish, but they would probably get stuck if they were the babies.

Anthony Godfrey:
So what's on the blue dish? Is that salt?

Boston:
No, that's a cotton ball.

Anthony Godfrey:
A cotton ball?

Boston:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Do they like--

Boston:
That's how they get their water.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's how they clean their ears? No, that's how they get their water.

Boston:
Yeah, and the dishes glow in the dark.

Anthony Godfrey:
The dishes glow, I'm learning a lot very quickly here. So the dishes glow in the dark, the cotton is to give them something to drink, and they really like being on top of Tiki Tower. And they're soft once they molt, so you have to be gentle with them. No problems here.

Boston:
And usually, it's the one that molted eats their own shell that they had just molted. But sometimes, since there's a bunch of cockroaches...

Anthony Godfrey:
Do they eat each other's shells?

Boston:
Yeah.

Melissa Reynolds:
That one's eating it right now.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, look at that. Let me get my glasses on so I can appreciate the fine detail of that. Yep. Can confirm. All right. Well, thank you very much for giving me a tour of the terrarium. Have any of you wanted to name the cockroaches? Have any of you named any of them?

Boston:
I named one Bob.

Anthony Godfrey:
You named one Bob? Is it Bob short for Robert or is it just Bob the Cockroach?

Boston:
Bob.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. How about you? Did you name one? Yeah. What did you name?

Student #1:
I named one of them like Luke.

Anthony Godfrey:
You named him Luke?

Student #1:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Is that after someone?

Student #1:
Not really. Just seems like the right name for that cockroach.

Anthony Godfrey:
Just seems like the right name for that cockroach.

Student #1:
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Now how do you know that Luke and Bob are not the same cockroach?

Student #1:
Because they're not, well cockroaches are not really not the same all the, both each other.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you can tell the difference between cockroaches now?

Student #1:
Sometimes, yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Something you did not know you were going to learn in third grade. How about you? Did you name any of them?

Student #2:
No, but really some people have been calling them spider roach because they were climbing up the glass.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, spider roach because they climbed up the glass. Okay. Oh no, wait. Oh, they're out in the world here. Look at those things. They are big and fat and juicy aren't they? Wow.

Melissa Reynolds:
To a lizard or someone who might eat it? Yes. So on their backs right here.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Melissa Reynolds:
This one that's crawling towards you. That one is the male.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh yeah, I can see the bumps very easily now.

Melissa Reynolds:
And a lot of people think that those are their eyes, but their eyes are underneath them. The heads are like an ant head underneath.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay.

Melissa Reynolds:
It's like busy. Anyway, so they have their heads underneath there, and many people think that those are their eyes, but those are just, they call them male bumps.

Anthony Godfrey:
Male bumps.

Melissa Reynolds:
So that's how you know that that one is a male cockroach.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, now is that dog food that they're eating?

Melissa Reynolds:
Yes, yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay.

Melissa Reynolds:
They eat dog food. It's the easiest thing to keep in there that won't mold unless it gets really wet or anything. But then once or twice a week, I throw in like lettuce, they eat fruits and vegetables, fresh fruits and vegetables.

Anthony Godfrey:
So a balanced diet, a balanced diet. Okay, very good.

Melissa Reynolds:
They really like the lettuce.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. Well, here's the important question. Do they fly?

Melissa Reynolds:
No, they do not fly, they do not bite. They don't do anything except for they have little like, I don't know how to describe them. They're kind of like little barbs almost on their legs, but they don't hurt you. It's mostly for them to be able to grip and also for defense so that when something's trying to grab them, they can push against with their leg and get away from that creature. That's the only thing that might feel like it's poking you or anything, but they won't bite and they can't harm you. So it's really nice.

Anthony Godfrey:
I’m building up to holding one. I'm not there yet, but hopefully, I can get there very quickly. So, what happens we're closing in on the end of the year. What happens when in a few days school is over and the cockroaches need continued care? What are you going to do with the cockroaches at that point?

Melissa Reynolds:
Well, I am planning to take them home. They've been home with me last summer, not all 140 yet, and over longer breaks because I want to make sure they get fed. But I have opened up to the third-grade students in our school too. I'm sending home an adoption form and they can have a parent permission slip signed saying that they can take a cockroach or two home with them over the summer as long as they'll treat them nicely. And then I also, maybe you could help with this, I don't know, if there are other third grade teachers that are doing the FOSS program and they would like to have cockroaches in their classrooms, I am more than willing to share my 140 because they can be pricey on Amazon. They're $20 to $30 for a pair of cockroaches. So I wouldn't sell them to you. They are yours for the taking and you can use them in your classrooms if that's something you're interested in.

Anthony Godfrey:
We can definitely email third-grade teachers with the email subject line, "Free cockroaches." Just see if we attract some attention that way. And if there's somebody listening who's dying to have a hissing cockroach in their life, by all means reach out and then let's see if we can help you out.

So Boston, your home becomes a cockroach hotel over the summer. How does that feel having them at home as well?

Boston:
It feels really good because sometimes the cockroaches hiss at Mom when she picks them us and sometimes they go like really really fast so it just turns into a funny thing.

Anthony Godfrey:
If I pick one up, do you think it's going to hiss at me? Because if it hisses at your mom, your mom is very good to these cockroaches. So if they're hissing at her, I really think they're gonna hiss at me, do you think?

Boston:
Yeah, because I think it's just like if they know you, like I think they can like feel you and smell you with their antenna or something, or they just might not be familiar to strangers.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well you know what, I'm gonna pick one up, I'm going to. So I'll let you know whether it hisses at me or not, okay?

Boston:
I'll even tell you how to pick it up so it doesn't just...

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, how do you... yes, how do you pick it up?

Boston:
Um, so you have to pick it up on its sides with your middle finger and thumb like this. Lightly pick it up and put it onto your hand. And if it gets too far up here and might fall off, you just do the same thing with your other hand.

Anthony Godfrey:
Just make sure there's always a hand for him to step onto.

Boston:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Uh, I might have your mom pick it up for me. Thank you for inviting me into your cockroach corner, your cockroach classroom, and answering some of the cockroach conundrums that have been plaguing me. This is very, very interesting and thank you for stretching yourself and going all in. I see it not just in the cockroach cage, but I see other stuff growing and happening all over your classroom that makes it a very engaging environment. So thanks for all the hard work you're putting into making this a great experience for these third graders.

Melissa Reynolds:
Absolutely. Thanks.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, education is the most important thing you will do today. We'll see you out there.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. It's not something students typically see every day, Queen Elizabeth making a grand and dignified entrance into one of their classrooms. But when the classroom belongs to Fort Herriman Middle School Science teacher, Gayle Dowdle, it is simply part of the learning process.

On this episode of the Supercast, find out how one teacher's love of cosplay resulted in something called the “Creators Club” for students. A club where creativity is sparked by making colorful costumes and transforming into beloved characters.

We're here with Gayle Dowdle, a science teacher at Fort Herriman Middle School to talk about cosplay. Thanks for talking with us today.

Gayle Dowdle:
Yeah, no problem.

Anthony Godfrey:
For those who may not know, if they were standing here with you right now, they would know what cosplay is because you are dressed to the nines. But describe what cosplay is just to start.

Gayle Dowdle:
So cosplay is a kind of mix of two words. It's a mixture of costuming and play. So the idea is that when you cosplay, you basically dress as the character and you pretend to be the character as well. So the cosplay character that I usually portray is Queen Elizabeth I, and I do the Utah Renaissance Fair and stuff, so I represent her at those. I've done a bunch of other characters too, but lots of it is involved with like FanX and comic conventions and things like that, but also people do it as like volunteer stuff too.

Anthony Godfrey:
And I can hear that I've already mispronounced it, cosplay instead of cosplay. Which is a common mistake I'm guessing.

Gayle Dowdle:
Yeah, my dad the first time he said he's like, "Have you heard of this cosplay stuff?” I'm like, "Yeah Dad, that's what I do.”

Anthony Godfrey:
Now I am a big pop culture fan and I have seen cosplay a lot at FanX, at San Diego Comic-Con, and at other venues for pop culture. You talked about the service aspect too, but let's talk about the fan experiences that you're a part of and where cosplay comes into play at those venues.

Gayle Dowdle:
Yeah, so FanX was kind of one of the first places that I really got into some of the more major stuff of doing costuming at a higher level and that was because I got pulled into one of the cosplay competitions there. Ro is the one that runs the cosplay competition and he was like, "You should do this." So I applied and got in and won my first cosplay competition as an Elizabethan vampire. And so that was really cool. And I was like, "This is amazing. This is exciting.”

What's really cool is when you go and interact, the community of cosplayers is really close and supportive a lot of times. And so made a lot of friends through that. So it's just kind of become this huge part of my life where I've got people. In fact, one of my friends is in the cosplay called Fame and she's actually gonna come next week as a guest to help the kids next week at our cosplay clubs. But basically, just everybody comes up with the character that they love and then they build it. Sometimes it's original characters, sometimes it's characters from pop culture like you were talking about.

And there is competitions. I've competed, well, except for during COVID when we didn't do it. I basically competed every year for the last five or six years, and I've won six or seven awards. Last year I won first place in Masters at FanX with my Spanish Armada, Queen Elizabeth gown. So yeah, it was pretty exciting. I was excited about that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, let's talk about the array of costumes that you have embraced.

Gayle Dowdle:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
It really, like you said, is next-level costuming. And I've seen a wide range as I've gone to FanX and other events.

Gayle Dowdle:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Transformer outfits that are made out of Igloo coolers and lots of different household items that are used as a part of a costume. But then there are those costumes that stand out that really are just very eye-catching, very compelling. Something that obviously took a ton of effort, not that the Igloo cooler costumes don't, but there are some that are really made to look completely realistic. So what are some of the Costumes over the years that you have created and won awards with?

Gayle Dowdle:
So a couple of them are different Queen Elizabeth gowns because I love that era and I love, even though I teach science, I love history. My husband's a history teacher so we love that era and kind of focus on a lot about Shakespeare. So I've done a Shakespeare costume for him that's based on the Cobbe portrait of Shakespeare. So it's a replica of that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Is that the one with or without an earring?

Gayle Dowdle:
It's a younger one that they're still arguing about whether they really think it's Shakespeare, so it does have an earring in it. Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
So he dressed as the maybe Shakespeare.

Gayle Dowdle:
Yeah. Yeah, he's the maybe Shakespeare. But so I did that, and that was one that won. I also have done, I did a steampunk Batgirl. Which steampunk is like Victorian stuff.

Anthony Godfrey:
I understand the steampunk.

Gayle Dowdle:
Yeah, so I did that that was a lot of fun. It had wings that opened and closed. Then my most recent one that won just this last Halloween at a cosplay competition at the aquarium. The Loveland Planet aquarium was a six-foot-tall Chocobo, which is basically a giant chicken. It's a chicken costume for what most people don't know what a Chocobo is, but it's from a video game and they ride the Chocobo so it's like the size of a horse but it's a bird. But I made that for my son and you're inside the costume and a scientist actually told me when she was judging it how much it looked like the skeleton of a bird, which being a scientist I felt very like complimented by that so that was cool.

Anthony Godfrey:
How do you get from Queen Elizabeth to an enormous chicken from a video game?

Gayle Dowdle:
Because I am a lot of kinds of nerds. So yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, so a wide range of nerd-dom appeals to you.

Gayle Dowdle:
Yes, yes. So we love video games in my family, but we also love history in my family. So the Chocobo came because my son wanted to be the Chocobo. So we worked on it together and built that. He actually tried to compete with it and we didn't win anything with it, but it was, I was actually just recovering from chemo at the time. So I wasn't able to put as much effort into it as I did. So we kind of revamped it this year and then it won this year. So that was really cool. But yeah, it's just a wide range. Anything that interests me, I'm like, I want to make that. We figure out a way to make it.

Anthony Godfrey:
As I've seen these costumes at FanX and other places, there are lots of people that get stopped to have their picture taken. And I've done that. I've stopped people. I was a Moon Knight fan before Moon Knight was cool. I started buying the comics in the 70s when I was a kid and whenever I saw a Moon Knight costume in the past, it was like somebody else remembers Moon Knight and I had to have my picture with them regardless of the quality of the costume. So let me ask you this, have you had a lot of photos over the years?

Gayle Dowdle:
Oh yeah. One year we actually, my husband kept track on his watch and just tapped every time somebody took a picture. And by the end of the first day, he stopped counting 'cause we had hit over 400 people that had come and taken pictures. So when we go to FanX, we don't get anywhere very fast ‘cause basically it's, we look at something, somebody takes a picture, we walk a few steps, somebody stops us, takes another picture, we walk a few steps. Yeah, we don't go anywhere fast. And at the Renaissance Fair, I have my own throne room with the other queens and the other kings. So people come to us there and get quests and stuff from us and take pictures, so it's a lot of fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us. When we come back more with the “Creators Club” and cosplay in the classroom.

Break:
Hello, I'm Tracy Miller, President of the Jordan School District Board of Education. There are seven members on the Board of Education, one in each voting district. We are committed to listening and serving our constituents as we work together to provide the best possible learning environment for the students we serve. As members of the Jordan Board of Education, we believe it is our duty and responsibility to: increase student achievement; provide parents with the choices they deserve and desire; recognize and reward quality in educators; empower school leaders through policy governance and professional development; and communicate with the public, legislators, business leaders, cities, and parents. We invite you to get to know the Board member who represents you in your voting district and to please join us at our monthly board meeting held on the fourth Tuesday of every month. Or listen from the comfort of your home, on our live stream. For more information and to find your Board member, visit jordandistrict.org. With parent and community input and support, we will continue our work to give students every opportunity to succeed in Jordan District schools and beyond. Thank you for your support. We look forward to seeing you soon.

Anthony Godfrey:
Let's talk about the craft around it and bringing it into the club. So it takes a lot of work, it takes some skills. What made you want to start a club at the school?

Gayle Dowdle:
So when I started getting into this, I didn't have all the skills I needed. I didn't know how to do foam work and make armor and I didn't know how to do war blood and I didn't like, there were a lot of pieces. I knew how to sew because my mom had taught me to sew, but I didn't know how to sew what I needed to know. And so many of these kids, when I walk, 'cause I'll wear costumes to school occasionally for not really any reason other than I wanna wear a costume. So when I do and the kids see me, they're like, oh my gosh, I love it, I wanna do cosplay. And I started thinking about it, I was like, I have all this knowledge and stuff that I've learned over the last 10 years, that it only makes sense that I find a way to share it with them.

And this was something that we came up with, that we came up with this idea that we could do this club and each kid won't get their own costume, but they're gonna get skills from it and they're gonna get things that they can take. And what I'm hoping is that some of these guys will take this and continue with it because, for some people, this is their living. And for me, it's a side gig and I do commissions for people, but for some of them, they may actually be designers. And we didn't call it the cosplay club, we called it the “Creators Club”, because we didn't want to disparage those kids who were not necessarily into cosplay, but who want to sew dresses because it's the same skills and it's the same ideas.

So yeah, I just decided, I'm like, this is dumb that I have all of this vast knowledge and skills and stuff that I've learned over the last decade that I'm not imparting to these kids who want that knowledge and who are excited about that. So we have about 40 kids that are on the “Creators Club” and some come more regularly than others, but when they do come, they just get to work and they get working on stuff and they're very dedicated to what they're doing.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's dynamite. I love that you've provided this opportunity and this outlet for creativity, but also the sense of connection and sense of community.

Gayle Dowdle:
Yeah, it's been a lot of fun to get to know some of these guys. And they're an interesting group. They have such passions about specific things that they love, so it's great.

Anthony Godfrey:
What are some of the great costumes that have come out of this club?

Gayle Dowdle:
So right now we're in the process, since it's only our first year, and each year we're basically focusing on creating one costume. And so we've got some that are Five Nights at Freddy's video game costume, we've got that one coming along. A lot of them were original characters. They didn't pick a specific character from something else, they designed their own stuff. And then they're coming up with how they're gonna do that on their own.

We've got armor that's gonna be made with scales and horns and lots of skirts, lots of petticoats, 'cause we've got lots of 'em that want the fluff. And, but yeah, we're gonna have them all put them on display at the school talent show in May. So that's our end goal, is to get those finished and then kind of have like a fashion show of all the ones. And whatever they have done, we'll put on display. If they've only got the skirt, we'll display it. If they've got the whole costume, great. That's good too.

Anthony Godfrey:
Fantastic, I love that. For those who are not lucky enough to be here, describe this costume to me, please.

Gayle Dowdle:
Okay, so this one is, I actually entered this in the geek-bound fashion show at FanX last year. It didn't win, but it was kind of a new thing for me, where basically you take a geekdom and you create like a modern something. And I entered the evening wear category. So there's like casual and then modern wear. So this one was my version of Belle. So a modern version of what I would think that Belle's gown would be. And I actually made it, specifically my goal to make it was that I couldn't spend any money. So I had to use anything that I had around my house 'cause I have a huge stash of fabric 'cause lots of people have donated stuff to me over the years. I should say we had a whole bunch of people who donated fabric and things to the club as well.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, yeah.

Gayle Dowdle:
And so but yeah, so this is my version of Beauty and the Beast Belle.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, it's fantastic. So you've got red roses, you've got gold roses.

Gayle Dowdle:
And the mirrors because of the enchanted mirror.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yes, mirrors along the bottom of the skirt is part of a pattern. A blend of gold and what would you call this red color?

Gayle Dowdle:
Kind of a burgundy almost, yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
And it's, yeah, it's a beautiful dress.

Gayle Dowdle:
Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
If you did this without making a purchase, then you really do have a significant stash at home.

Gayle Dowdle:
I do. These are curtains, actually. So's the stuff that the gold underneath this is curtains, and the red was curtains that were donated as well. So, yeah, my dress is basically made out of curtains, so.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, it's fantastic.

Gayle Dowdle:
It looks better than curtains, I promise.

Anthony Godfrey:
Curtains never had it so good with the design and all of that. That's wonderful.

Gayle Dowdle:
Thanks.

Anthony Godfrey:
All right, tell me your name.

Abigail:
Abigail.

Anthony Godfrey:
And Abigail, what grade are you in?

Abigail:
Seventh.

Anthony Godfrey:
And you're part of the "Creator Club". Tell me about what that's like.

Abigail:
It's fun. We come every Thursday after school, and we work on our projects.

Anthony Godfrey:
And tell me about the project that you have here. This looks akin to a wedding dress.

Abigail:
It is. We got it from the DI in like December.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Yeah.

Abigail:
And so we are making a fairy dress and this is our base for it.

Anthony Godfrey:
This is the what?

Abigail:
The base.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, this is the base.

Abigail:
So we're gonna take that, and then we're gonna take this and this, and put it on top. So it looks yellow.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. This is the bottom half of a white wedding dress with decoration on it. Does it have a bit of a train? It has a little bit of a train and so you're going to take this fabric and lay it over according to this design that you've put together Did you draw this?

Abigail:
No, me and my friends drew it.

Anthony Godfrey:
What was the inspiration for the design? Is there any movie or Anime that made you think of this particular design?

Abigail:
We just decided that we wanted like a foresty nature-like fairy dress and so we settled on yellow and green because they work together. We made a bag that is green and a flower crown.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, I love the crown. White daisies and a couple of pink flowers. It looks really nice. And then this, tell me about this bag. Did you sew this bag?

Abigail:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. And is that, it's in the shape of a leaf. It's green. You can see the veins of the leaf that have been stitched on and then two handles to it. That looks really, oh, it's soft too.

Abigail:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh wow, that's really nice.

Abigail:
Yep.

Anthony Godfrey:
And so this will be the accessory that goes with that.

Abigail:
Yes, so it will be the accessory. The rules were we had to make something with shoes, a headpiece of some kind, and an accessory like a bag or a purse.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow, this all looks so great. Holding this wedding dress, it makes me think, what's the story behind this dress?

Abigail:
We were at the DI. We went on a field trip to grab supplies so we went to the DI in someplace in Salt Lake City. And while we were at the DI, we were looking for a base and then everyone looked at the wedding dress and went, that's the one, that's the one we want. So we bought it for pretty cheap, I can't remember exactly how much, but it definitely wasn't full price for what it normally would have been if it were brand new.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Looks like you hit the jackpot.

Abigail:
Yeah, I'm sure the person there was confused why we were buying a wedding dress. Middle schoolers.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah probably. Not a lot of seventh graders in the market for a wedding dress.

Abigail:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay well that's awesome I can't wait to see how that product turns out.

Abigail:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're talking now with Julie Beaird the sewing teacher here at Fort Herriman Middle School and tell me your role in this club and talk to me about the evolution of this club.

Julie Beaird:
Well I started doing a Stranger Things Club three years ago.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh wow.

Julie Beaird:
With the request of a student. So we would get together and talk about episodes and it was kind of dying down so I thought we'd fit some sewing into it. So we made Christmas stockings for our fundraiser and stuff at Christmas time and but I still wasn't getting there with sewing so last summer Ms. Dowdle came and said what do you think of this idea. Yay, we could do more sewing! So I was really excited to do this. So it kind of morphed from the Stranger Things into the “Creator Club”.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's fantastic.

Julie Beaird:
I was already kind of used to doing a club-type thing.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, and because it's the “Creator Club”, cosplay is certainly a part of that, but it's not uniquely cosplay.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. So tell me some of the projects that students have been working on through the year as part of the club.

Julie Beaird:
Yeah, I think a lot of students, at least my Stranger Things kids, didn't want it called cosplay because they don't identify with cosplay as being like a cool thing. So we kind of voted on names and when we came to “Creator Club” it fit perfect because it isn't just about cosplay, it's about being a fashion designer in a lot of ways and problem-solving when it comes to like trying to make an outfit or your design come to life that's on paper. So I like the idea of a creator because then you could do anything with that.

Anthony Godfrey:
What are some of the skills that students have gained as they've been a part of this club?

Julie Beaird:
So a lot of them don't really know sewing. I have every seventh grader in CCA learn sewing, but some of the kids that have come here haven't been in my class yet. So they've had to pick it up pretty quick. And so they're learning to thread the machines, use the machines, unpick things when they've made a mistake so using a seam ripper, cutting things straight, that's a really big skill. I just showed a student how to cut a line and she accidentally cut too much and that's that's hard in sewing because once you cut it away it's gone. But the thing I love about sewing and this is a skill I hope they will learn, of a seam ripper because everything in sewing can be fixed just like everything in life can be fixed.

Anthony Godfrey:
I love that.

Julie Beaird:
So a seam ripper kind of represents there's no mistake that can't be fixed in life or in sewing.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's great.

Julie Beaird:
And I try and tell them you know there's not a lot of careers in sewing but it is a good life skill. Even if it's just someday you're gonna talk to someone and say I remember back in middle school when I sewed, and I still have my pillow or I still have golf shirts. Advanced though because sewing on knit it's hard.

Anthony Godfrey:
It may not be a skill that turns into a career, but there are going to be a lot of applications for it.

Julie Beaird:
Yeah, that's why I'm really glad the district still does it. There is a lot of life lessons to be taught at school, not just about careers, but about living your life.

Anthony Godfrey:
And a physical product that results from learning something you couldn't do before, that's tremendous value in that. Thanks to both of you for spending time with me today, and especially for putting all the time and effort into this. I think it's fabulous that you're making this available for students.

Gayle Dowdle:
Thank you. I appreciate you coming.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, education is the most important thing you will do today. We'll see you out there.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. It is a high school medical forensics class which focuses on the proper way of documenting and processing a crime scene and on this day, it does not involve work in the classroom.

On this episode of the Supercast, we take you on a unique field trip where forensics students are getting their hands dirty, with hands-on learning, digging deep into the science of medical forensics surrounded by police cars and crime scene tape. They are crime-solving students in action.

I’m here with Cynthia Cox out in Copperton, out in the field with her medical forensics class and with the law enforcement class as well. So introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about these classes and today's experience.

Cynthia Cox:
Well, my name is Cynthia Cox and I teach the medical forensics class at Bingham. All year long we've been talking about crime scene investigation, crime scene analysis, identification of evidence, analysis of evidence, packaging of evidence, and so this is kind of a culminating activity where the students come out and it's led by the police department. So the students are getting a real-world view of how to solve a crime from beginning to at least evidence packaged and sent back to the lab.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, we have a gloomy snowy day that you might have ordered for dark work like this. It's the perfect setting. Tell me about the skills that students learn in class that lead up to this experience.

Cynthia Cox:
Well, we talk all about observation skills and turning off filters during observation, trying to make sure that students are coming in looking at evidence unbiased. We try to, we teach them about how to package all different types of evidence, not just a screwdriver, a piece of wire, but biologic evidence, drug evidence, blood evidence. And so there we teach bone analysis, we look at fingerprint analysis, we look at blood spatter analysis, and through all of those activities we're working on, you know, other workplace skills like problem-solving skills and teamwork skills.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about the bone analysis and the blood splatter analysis.

Cynthia Cox:
Okay, so with blood spatter it can tell a story. We can, based on are we seeing large drops? Is this somebody that was maybe walking away from after they were injured? Or is this a really fine mist that may have come from a fast-moving weapon like a gun? So the angles that spatter hits a surface can tell us whether that person was standing up, whether they were sitting down, were they lying down. We can identify how many times a person might have been hit with blood spatter analysis. So there's lots of things we can learn from that.

With bone analysis and what they're looking at out here, a lot of animal bones that we've put out here, and we allow them to decompose before the students come out here. We can identify gender, we can identify ancestry, we can identify age from the bones, we can identify some of the injuries that might have occurred and left marks on the bones when we're trying to put all the pieces together and figure out what happened.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you indicated that you have animal remains out here that are used as evidence.

Cynthia Cox:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
So tell me about that. That's how you helped create the crime scene.

Cynthia Cox:
Yeah, so these are all legally acquired animal remains that taxidermists have given to me. And so we put them out here and allow them to decompose. And then the students collect the evidence that's already completely decomposed 'cause they don't like dealing with the flesh.

Anthony Godfrey:
You’ve really gone all in with getting things early enough to allow them to decompose. That's really, that's lesson planning at another level.

Cynthia Cox:
Well, we've been putting stuff out here every year for about nine years, so.

Anthony Godfrey:
You've got it down.

Cynthia Cox:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now tell me about the involvement of the police. As I drove out here, I saw the truck and the flashing lights and I knew something was up.

Cynthia Cox:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
It definitely gives that real feel. They're working with the police right now, walking through with police officers in uniform, walking them through the crime scene. It's pretty exciting.

Cynthia Cox:
Yeah, so I feel like that's one of the benefits to it. We get that work-based learning feel. It's one thing for a classroom teacher to stand up there and teach all these components. But when they come out here with the police officers who do this every single day, all day long, they get a little bit more of that real-world experience, trying to really bring work-based learning into the classroom as much as we can, or outside of the classroom as we may. So I set this up through our SRO, and then he reaches-- -

Anthony Godfrey:
School resource officer for those listening.

Cynthia Cox:
Yep. And then he reaches out to the forensics division at the South Jordan Police Department.

Anthony Godfrey:
So do you draw attention? Do people wonder what's going on when the police are out here and we're scouring the landscape with police tape and everything?

Cynthia Cox:
Well, just like it was interesting to you when you walked up, we've already had Rio Tinto security come up and check on us to make sure everything was okay and see what was going on 'cause they saw the police tape and the flashing red and blue lights and--

Anthony Godfrey:
You told them no problem, we're just solving crime.

Cynthia Cox:
Yep, that's right.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, it's about the most engaged learning you can imagine. I'm just looking out at a couple of dozen students with police officers and do not cross police tape and evidence and it's really exciting. So thank you for providing such a great experience for them today. Tell me, does this change their view of the crime shows and movies that they watch? Does it shift their perspective?

Cynthia Cox:
I hope so. We talk about that quite a bit in class, the fact that a crime is not solved in 45 minutes, that a collection of evidence alone can take 8, 9, 10, 12 hours, and then there's all the analysis and then all the legal work and the paperwork and everything. So we talk about that in depth in class.

Anthony Godfrey:
So what is it that draws students to a class like this? Is it they want to be in law enforcement, they want to be an attorney, they want to know more about you know a medical approach to solving problems? What is it that draws them?

Cynthia Cox:
I think most of the time they've they've seen the shows and those are interesting to them and so then they want to learn more. We talk about it throughout the school, they see some of our mock crime scenes that we set up during the school day as well.

Anthony Godfrey:
Mock crime scenes must be really good advertisement for that class.

Cynthia Godfrey:
Yeah, we set those up multiple times throughout the year in the building and the students are able to then go through and practice collecting evidence. They stage them so they create those crime scenes that we do in class and they moulage each other, and they practice but then this is taking it to a whole different level.

Anthony Godfrey:
This is impressive. We're now in the area of the decay and with the bones out there. Kids are measuring things on the ground, working in teams, scouring the landscape, packaging evidence all under the watchful eye of South Jordan Police. It's really exciting. It's really cool to see this level of engagement. So beyond the specific skills of forensics, what are some of the other general skills that you hope students take away from this class?

Cynthia Cox:
Number one, I want them to have an appreciation for law enforcement, right? I want them to understand what really has to go into crimes and evaluation. You think about a TV show and it lasts 45 minutes and they've solved the whole crime.

Anthony Godfrey:
Right. Everything gets tied up pretty neatly.

Cynthia Cox:
Yeah. And in real life, it doesn't happen that way.

Anthony Godfrey:
Right.

Cynthia Cox:
So, I want them to have that appreciation and kind of that real-world view. We teach a lot of analytical skills in this class, information processing, you know, how to put all the pieces of the puzzle together, teamwork skills. It's another big thing that we work on in this class.

Solving a crime isn't just a one-person deal, you know, you're working with a medical examiner, you're working with an investigator, you might be working with an attorney or law enforcement, everybody has to come together to try to solve that. So we work a lot with teamwork skills, some of those life skills that they can take with them into other professions as well.

Anthony Godfrey:
Outstanding. Well, it's a great class experience obviously given by an award-winning teacher and they're very lucky to have you and to have the chance to have experiences like this. So thank you for making learning so meaningful and real for these students.

Cynthia Cox:
Thank you. Thanks for coming out here.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us. When we come back, more with our crime-solving students in Bingham High's medical forensics class.

Break:
Does your student want to become a veterinarian? Commercial pilot? Programmer? Maybe they want to make a difference as a dental assistant. These are just some of the programs offered as part of Career and Technical Education. CTE in Jordan School District. CTE provides the technical skills needed to prepare students for future employment or for a successful transition to post-secondary education. Career and Technical Education provides work-based learning opportunities. We partner with industry experts to offer apprenticeships and internships with students working in the real world at real jobs while going to school. The CTE experience starts in our elementary schools with the Kids' Marketplace and grows through middle and high school. To explore all CTE has to offer in Jordan School District visit cte.jordandistrict.org today and let's get your child started on the pathway to a profession.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hi Lexi, we're out here in the field by Copperton doing investigative work. Tell me what class you're in.

Lexi:
It's the Medical Forensics class at Bingham. It's one of the awesome classes we teach there. We're just learning about investigating crimes and looking for evidence and it's a blast out here.

Anthony Godfrey:
And tell me what you're looking for out here.

Lexi:
Oh, we're looking for anything that could have evidence. So in the class, we've learned about all sorts of evidence, biological transfer, stuff like that. So we're looking for things that could have DNA on them, things that could have skin or hair, saliva or things that could be used as a weapon, so any tools that wouldn't grow in the middle of a field.

Anthony Godfrey:
What's the specific crime that you're trying to solve?

Lexi:
Somebody went out here, we had a missing person, but one of the teams has found a head so they're no longer missing.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, okay. So it has changed to a different kind of investigation at this point.

Lexi:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
All of this is fictitious for those of you who may have dropped in partway through the podcast. Now it is cold, it is kind of the perfect setting for grim work of the type that you're doing right now. Tell me about looking forward to this experience as you've been learning things in class.

Lexi:
It's just been awesome, it's cool because in most classrooms it's hard to find any sort of like hands-on, especially a class like this where we're dealing with like criminal things. You can't often find that, but it's cool that we have this experience.

Anthony Godfrey:
And is this something that you think you might want to pursue long-term as a career?

Lexi:
Not especially, not because of the class I just already have other ambitions, but it's been really good to apply to it. I want to be a nurse and so there's things that have been like applicable throughout and even different types of nursing this can still apply well.

Anthony Godfrey:
And problem-solving and working with teams and just there's a lot of that can be applied from this to becoming a nurse.

Lexi:
Definitely. Along with that, we just learn lots about like the human body and different stuff because like when we are looking for evidence, we're looking for hair and drugs and stuff like that. And then in nursing, we're looking for like evidence of things that could be wrong with the body. So it's cool to learn about the different structures and then apply them differently.

Anthony Godfrey:
And you'll look at every crime show or movie in a different way for the rest of your life now.

Lexi:
Oh definitely.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I'll let you get back to solving crimes and making this a safer place for everyone.

Lexi:
Okay, thank you.

Jody Skog:
My name is Jody Skog. I am the crime scene and evidence supervisor.

Anthony Godfrey:
So tell me about this experience with the students.

Jody Skog:
It is super fun to be able to come out here and have them see what we see and when they have all their markers I'm like oh this is an evidence person's worst nightmare because there's like 150 markers.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Jody Skog:
But just to see how excited they get is really fun because it's the first step of a career for them.

Anthony Godfrey:
So tell me what your day-to-day job is like when you're not helping students solve crime.

Jody Skog:
A lot of my job is running the evidence division and so it's booking any property that the evidence book in. It could be processing, looking for fingerprints, DNA, submitting stuff to the crime lab, processing actual crime scenes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, thank you for what you do, and thank you for taking the time to help these students learn these skills.

Jody Skog:
We just did an internship with or a job shadow with a 14-year-old.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh really?

Jody Skog:
And then she wanted to come back, so we had her come back and she actually helped us process some evidence.

Anthony Godfrey:
And do you think she might want to pursue this?

Jody Skog:
I think she will.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah?

Jody Skog:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about what sparked it for you, what made you want to pursue this as a career?

Jody Skog:
I was a police officer for seven years. And then this just kind of fell into my lap and now I run the whole division.

Anthony Godfrey:
And what made you interested in being involved in law enforcement?

Jody Skog:
My dad was a police officer for 30 something years. And so he always told me over his dead body. And so he got sick of me talking about it. And he says, "Do you wanna do it, do it.” And so I started when he retired.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh wow.

Jody Skog:
So I'm on my 22nd year.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow, that's amazing.

Jody Skog:
Three and a half years left.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. So you're going for 25, a little over?

Jody Skog:
I'm gonna do probably just the 25 and I’m tired.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Jody Skog:
And so Audrey's just started. She's been with us for four months. So what they teach you in college isn't necessarily what happens on the job. So it's kind of an eye-opener, but we were telling the kids, check with departments, get involved in like the cadets. Sandy City has the Explorer program.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Jody Skog:
So if they want to be a police officer, if they want to do crime scenes, it's a great way to start.

Anthony Godfrey:
Good. Tell me what do you observe as you are working with students? You see some different approaches I assume.

Jody Skog:
I think they have the way they look at things is really interesting but they're on the right path. Fingerprints, DNA, the females are a little bit more methodical than the boys are. It's kind of fun to watch because the girls are really slow and really think it out and the guys are just like.

Anthony Godfrey:
Running through, huh?

Jody Skog:
Running through.

Anthony Godfrey:
Let's crank it out. Do you ever get to enjoy any crime shows or any movies at all or are you just able to point out all the things that are wrong?

Jody Skog:
I laugh at them. Right. I'm like, we can't solve a crime in 24 hours.

Anthony Godfrey:
Is there anybody who does it right? Is there a show where you say this show is really pretty close to authentic?

Jody Skog:
No.

Anthony Godfrey:
[LAUGHTER] So there's nothing out there.

Jody Skog:
No. But I get a kick out of them. I love them all.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I can keep watching them in my ignorant state and enjoy them because I don't know better.

Jody Skog:
It’s fun. Right.

Anthony Godfrey:
Right.

Jody Skog:
So our labs are getting faster and faster, where a rape would take a couple of years to solve. And now we're getting the results back in a couple of months. So technology is increasing.

Anthony Godfrey:
What's an aspect of the new technology that might surprise people?

Jody Skog:
They're getting manpower, before they used to have like one expert.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Jody Skog:
And so we're getting more and more people that are loving forensics and they're getting, getting educated. So the field is growing.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, hopefully, the students here today can help create a pipeline for some other, some other great folks to come help out.

Jody Skog:
We need smart people.

Anthony Godfrey:
So Kelan you're here solving crime with your friends, right?

Kelan:
Yes, correct.

Anthony Godfrey:
And I see your shirt says Bingham Medical Forensics with a bloody B under a magnifying glass. I like the logo.

Kelan:
I do too.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about this class and this experience.

Kelan:
Well, we go through a lot of things, such as bone analysis and blood work, and we study some of the body, the body features, and anatomy, we really cover a whole lot in this class. It's really fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
And have you been looking forward to this field experience?

Kelan:
I'm really interested in the medical field. I don't know what I wanna do, but yeah, this really intrigues my interest. I'm really intrigued.

Anthony Godfrey:
So it's allowed you to learn some about the human body and sometimes it may be from a dark perspective, you know, the bad things that can happen and how you can detect how it happened and maybe who did it. So I like that you know that you wanna go in the medical field, but you're open to which direction that'll take you.

Kelan:
Yeah, exactly.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, it's great to talk with you and I'm glad you're having such a good experience in the class and good luck with whatever medical career you pursue.

Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, education is the most important thing you will do today. We'll see you out there.