Beyond the Bell
A college-and-career counseling podcast designed to provide students with tools and tips to look beyond the bell of their high schools into their futures (be it, college, careers, trade schools, or gap years) where bells do not exist. Beyond the Bell is hosted by Evelyn Lauer, who has worked in education for nearly 25 years, serving primarily as a high school English teacher, but also assuming roles as an instructional coach, college writing instructor, workshop leader, and journalism/media advisor. Lauer is also currently a graduate student at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago where she is studying school counseling. She is a mother to two sons, who are in 10th and 7th grade. She also serves on the board of Friends of Amundsen High School. Topics discussed will include: college admissions, college essays, trade schools, gap years, finding one’s passions and future careers.
Lauer's work has been published in The Huffington Post, Education Week, The English Journal, Sentence, and elsewhere. She served as the PR/Publications director for the Journalism Education Association for six years and is currently serving that organization as a mentor teacher. BTB was highlighted in the New York Times Education Briefing during the pandemic. Episodes from 2020-2022 are about teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. They include interviews with educators from across the United States about their experiences teaching remote, hybrid, and in-person during the pandemic.
Beyond the Bell
Abdel Shakur
English teacher Abdel Shakur and host Evelyn Lauer discuss creating a community during remote learning, holding conferences to connect with individual students, and working on a podcasts while teaching.
Shakur teaches 9th and 10th grade at Evanston Township High School in Evanston, IL. He is a writer and teacher concerned with telling the stories of Black teachers. A Catalyst Chicago Classroom Story Slam winner and a 13th year veteran in the classroom. On his podcast Black Teacher Matters, Shakur and his guests reflect on an essential question: Why are Black teachers so important to the lives of children?
You can connect with Abdel on Twitter at @misstraknowit.
You can connect with host Evelyn Lauer on Twitter and Instagram, @evelynalauer