PMP400: Celebrating 10+ Years of Principal Matters

In this week’s episode, Dr. Jen Schwanke and I celebrate 400 episodes of the Principal Matters Podcast. We stroll down memory lane, reminiscing about 10-plus years of producing Principal Matters content.

This podcast was created as an outlet for lessons I learned as an assistant principal and principal. Over the years, it has become a treasure trove of practices from education leaders across the U.S. as well as worldwide. I am so grateful to have reached this milestone and invite you to go back into the archives of the show to discover years of helpful lessons!

Here’s a short timeline as Jen and I look back at the history of reaching 400 episodes:

2013

The journey began with my first blog post on February 9th, 2013, as I launched my website.

2015

By December 23rd, 2015, I decided to transform the blog into a podcast.

2018

On January 31st, 2018, we celebrated the 100th episode of the Principal Matters Podcast.

2020

Jen joined the show in Episode 146, and fast forward to June 25th, 2020, when together we marked the 200th episode, reflecting on a year of distance learning.

2022

By June 29th, 2022, special guest Dr. Jeff Springer hosted the show, interviewing me for episode 300.

We could not have produced 400 episodes without the many talented and inspiring guests who have made this show valuable for listeners worldwide! Find all the Principal Matters archived episodes here.

2024 – Let’s Celebrate!

For this milestone episode, number 400, Jen and I decided to have some fun. Playing around with AI, we generated 10 lighthearted questions for educators and took turns answering them, which led to engaging conversations for nearly 20 minutes.

Light-hearted Questions for Educators

1. What would be the theme song of your classroom?
2. If you could take your class on a field trip anywhere in the world, where would you go?
3. What’s the most unexpected thing that has happened during your teaching career?
4. If you weren’t a teacher, what would you be doing?
5. What’s your secret talent that your students don’t know about?
6. If you could have a mascot for your classroom, what would it be?
7. What fictional character would you pick as a co-teacher?
8. What’s your favorite educational meme?
9. If you could invent a new school subject, what would it be?
10. What’s the most bizarre question a student has ever asked you?

Listen in to the entire show for some goofy responses to these questions and hopefully some good laughs as you learn something new about Jen and me.

A Few Serious Questions

Jen followed up with a couple of more serious questions on building parent support for schools and instilling ethical behavior in students.

Jen’s Writing Process

Then Will asked Jen for feedback on the process she uses for writing content and books. Listeners might find it interesting that Jen has been featured in content for at least 114 posts since joining the show in 2017, with her first interview being in episode 146, “Balancing Priorities with Jen Schwanke.” Find our first recording together here.

Let’s Wrap It Up

To wrap it up, Jen asked for insights into my process of reaching 400 episodes and the lessons we’ve learned about consistency, grit, momentum, and teamwork along the way.

Also, we give shout-outs to Emily Parker-Eaton for content and marketing editing, Aaron Fulbright for technical and website moderator, and Samuel Isaac Parker for composing and performing podcast music.

Shout-outs from Listeners

We could not do this podcast without wonderful listeners like you. Throughout the show, we include some audio recordings sent by listeners with shout-outs for the 400th episode, including Shenita Perry, Lisa Parry, Brent Kline, Tomas Macalusco, Russell Tillery, Josh Fine, and Eddie Payne. Thank you for taking the time to share your encouraging feedback!

As we step into the next season of the podcast, we welcome your feedback and suggestions for future topics or questions. Reach out to either of us through our email addresses: will@williamparker.com or jen@jennyschwanke.com.

Thank you for listening to this episode, and we hope you’re enjoying your summer.

Thank you for doing what matters! ~ Will Parker

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