Episode #60: Jill Speering - Trauma Informed Educators Network Podcast

Jill Speering is a 35-year career educator who taught kindergarten and first-grade students to read through writing and publishing their stories into classroom books. During her teaching career, Speering received many accolades including Distinguished Educator of the Year for Middle Tennessee and Master Teacher under the Career Ladder program. Although Jill suffered many failures throughout her life, she was not willing to allow students in her classroom to fail. Searching for ways to improve her teaching led her to seek a Master's Degree in reading, work toward a doctorate at Vanderbilt University, and a month-long visit to New Zealand where she observed the teaching and learning process in 19 schools in a country with a 99% literacy rate. After retiring from teaching, Jill continued her advocacy and activism for young children. She was twice elected to serve on the Nashville School Board against all odds. After serving for eight tumultuous years on the school board, Jill published her first book, entitled, "Rubies in the Rubble, An Educator's Transformation from Pain to Prominence, From Abuse to Absolution."