An unpredictable workplace. A world of unforeseeable technological developments. A society influenced by developments and factors unknown to us today.
As foreign as this world seems, it is one future graduates will enter. In their podcast “Education Evolved,” Dr. Laura Leathers, Eugene McDermott Head of School, and Laura Day, Director of Innovation and Collaboration, discuss this challenge each month.
“We have kids on campus now who will graduate from Hockaday in 2039,” Leathers said. “The world continues to evolve outside of Hockaday. How do we prepare 1,100 girls to enter that world in the future? That’s where our sights are set.”
The podcast stemmed from their shared passion of exploring the future of education.
“We talk a lot about this stuff all the time with each other,” Day said. “We also talk and think a lot about culture shift and how we get people to keep believing in things and heading in a positive direction educationally.”
As opposed to emails, Leathers and Day have found that the podcast makes the information they share more accessible.
“People will listen to a conversation,” Leathers said. “It just feels different. It’s a different way of reaching people, hopefully to spark some new thoughts and new ideas, to generate enthusiasm and help people think about things in a new way.”
For the creation process, Leathers and Day keep a running document of topics and decide on a specific theme the week they record a new episode.
“We both read a lot and listen to a lot of podcasts, and we both throw ideas on our document and then we meet fairly regularly,” Leathers said. “We look at it through a lens of how to make our content as broad as possible so that it does apply to parents who have girls at Hockaday, parents who don’t have any students here, teachers here, teachers at other institutions and people just wondering about what is important to us.”
Collaborating with Middle School Cross Country coach and Leathers’s husband Kevin Leathers for podcast production, Leathers and Day have gotten into a rhythm with their process.
“We’ve done three episodes all in one take,” Day said. “It flows probably because we talk to each other so much.”
After releasing their first two episodes, Leathers and Day received heartwarming support from the Hockaday community.
“I think it’s great to hear from our faculty and staff that they’re listening to it, and I’ve heard from a lot of parents who have listened,” Leathers said. “It’s important to continue to share what we’re doing and what we’re focused on so that who we are as a school can be known to the community, both Dallas and larger.”
Leathers and Day hope that their podcast also finds an audience beyond Hockaday.
“I hope, outside of Hockaday, we get people to think about education differently,” Day said. “I think a lot of times in life, we just go through what we go through, and I think that people have to look differently at education. I’m hoping that this is a catalyst for that.”
In the premiere episode, “How Students Should Learn in the 21st Century,” Leathers focused on the role of language and technology for students.
“I think technology is providing new tools to translate between different languages and make communication easier between people who don’t speak the same language,” Leathers said. “Technology also continues to shape our word choice, syntax, grammar and size of information that we share.”
Day also shared how synthesis and connection are at the forefront of her mind as she does innovation and collaboration work at Hockaday.
“I call myself a problem spotter, and I’m always looking for either problem solutions or moments,” Day said. “I’m everywhere talking to people and trying to find those connections.”
In the second episode, “The Secret to Shifting Culture,” Leathers outlined culture as a set of shared values, beliefs and events that shape a group’s identity.
“I always go back to the mission statement, and everything ties to believing in the limitless potential of girls, and everything we do here at Hockaday should be driving in that direction,” Leathers said. “We overlay our strategic plan on top of that to do the mission in a rapidly changing world.”
Day has already seen the impact of her discussion of synthesis on campus.
“I hear almost daily from someone who’s heard the podcast, or teachers will reference something,” Day said. “Ms. Perani in Pre-K decided to walk her students to lunch like they were on a safari walk, and she said it went really well. I think it’s exciting, and we’re hearing from all kinds of people.”
For Leathers, the podcast serves as a way to share the incredible work at Hockaday.
“This is a big community, and we’re doing fabulous work,” Leathers said. “We should be able to tell that story of what our faculty, staff and school are doing in developing the next generation of leaders. This is a pretty amazing place, and we should be able to share what we’re doing and what’s working with others who might want to try new things.”
