Man. Christmas was tough. Busted pencils fully let it. Education talk educated. Educators
talking education, Dr. Johnny Lupin, not she, Jacob chairman, chairman of the board. And I cannot believe
that one whole year has almost gone into the, yeah, see you later, 2025. It is December 29th.
home room. And Jacob reminded us that this will be the last home room of 2025. And Johnny,
I was thinking is, you know, we're coming in and remembering back in those those those days.
You know, I don't know that home room was ever that time wherever, you know, had any reflections
of the past or any thoughts of the future. I was always more just lamenting the first period that
was coming after home room. But thinking about as we're going forward now, though, man, it's been
a whole year. And I was thinking, Johnny, I mean, do you have like favorite times in busted
pencils over the last year memorable things that, you know, maybe we can try something new here,
little reflection on the times that, you know, yeah, interviewing unique people like the person
in the background talking about. I heard I heard the nerdy bird interview.
Big time. Well, Tim, what a great home room. What a great way to end the year, you know,
thinking back about big moments for busted pencils this past year. I'm going to go with my top.
I have a few big standout moments when I'm going to go with my top. And this isn't just flattery
for the man on the boards. But my favorite, my favorite moment was our first producer's choice.
Love adding Jacob to the lineup with us. Miss Jess, a phenomenal producer started it's
off in 2025 strong. Loved everything we did with Jess. Big shout out to her. But adding Jacob to
the lineup. Wow, what a mix. Punfully intended as he has mixed master Jacob on the boards.
But he, he wowed me many a times over 2025. But especially when we did our first producer's choice
and right out of the gate, a highly produced polished intro. We know that had a funky beat to it.
And everything. And boy, I knew this was going to be something special. And it stuck, right?
Producer's choice now is one of my weekly favorites. Enjoyable to do. But yeah, that's my highlight.
Big top moment of 2025 was bringing Jacob on board. The wise decision from the execs over at
civic media to assign him to busted pencils. Boy, and that's where the magic just started
happening. And it's been, you know, a pretty amazing sense. So excited to carry that into 2026.
Perfect timed drops. Love it. Love it. So Jacob thinking about, you know, hearing Dr.
Johnny Lupinacci saying highlight of this past year is, oh, it's not just the producer's choice.
But I would say the addition of Jacob to the busted pencils team. And Jacob, I'm wondering,
though, too, you know, it's like, I, you know, the wise decision to get, yeah, have you put on
the busted pencils team? What were your thoughts in 2025 when, ah, they're giving me the job. And
I got to work with who? You know, you know, I mean, what were you like, like, I guess I'll do it.
I don't know. I mean, these guys, yeah, I just want to hear what you were thinking coming into
this position as producer of busted pencils. Tim, coming into this and being assigned to
busted pencils against my will, I was initially a little bit hesitant because I didn't know that much
about education specifically. And I guess as an outsider and someone who hadn't heard of the program
before, I think I had that thought that a lot of people have before they actually start listening
to the show where you think, oh, education is, it's a boring thing. It's all very technical.
This will be kind of a boring show. But it turned out to be anything. But you guys have been a
lot of fun to talk to. I've actually learned a lot of things about education. I think I've been
actually able to contribute because I didn't know that much about education, being able to ask some
of those questions that, you know, bring it back to basics, get you talking about some of these
concepts that some people might have go over their heads. I like to think of myself as the Joe
Rogan of this show where I don't know anything at all. And therefore, my questions are sometimes
helpful. I've had a great time. And my favorite memory from 2025 is actually one that you were
not here for Tim. It was Johnny and I interviewing that cool dude who started the gaming club at his
high school. Johnny, tell us more about that. Oh, yeah, we had on a colleague of mine who also
happens to be my brother-in-law. But we were co-teaching together beforehand, but Matthew Mooney,
who started an eSports program from a video game club. And, you know, we were talking about
extracurricular being essentials. And listeners, you know, I lean heavily towards the sports aspect of
things. And we talk a lot about sports as those essential curriculars. But Jacob and I got to
interview Matthew Mooney, who is, you know, a state champ. And then I think of national champs.
I can't remember the actual details of his accomplishments with his eSports team.
But he helped Jacob and I understand and listeners the difference between video game club
and eSports. And then dispel some myths about what eSports is folks. And it was pretty big for me
who was like, yeah, those are the kids that play video games. But he helped us realize they had like
training programs, the full, you know, kind of commitment similar to athlete students have.
And we loved that episode. It was really great. We learned a lot about eSports from him. But,
yeah, that was, that was a fun guest, Jacob. We had fun because I learned a lot. And then,
you know, he was a great guest to kind of represent that world of essential curriculars here at
busted pencils. And whether it's Matthew Mooney with eSports or Mike Bigley with all the innovation
going on with our rural school districts, that's kind of the stuff I have the most fun doing here
on busted pencils is talking to people in education about all the interesting things that are
happening, all the changes that are happening. I think we get a lot of really good information
out to people. And when we have a chance to define those stories that aren't being told as often,
I think that's a lot of fun. That's that's really where I think we thrive. Tim, do you have any
highlight memories from 2025 here on busted pencils? Well, Jacob, you know, I mean, it was,
it was the best of times and the worst of time. You know what? There's so much
that that happened in 2025. And actually, I mean, as it was a hell of a year for me personally,
just thinking about 2025, you know, started off a brand new year kind of in this space of
Dr. Tim Slecker. What do you do, Dr. Tim Slecker? And it was like, well, I do busted pencils.
And, you know, because I was looking, you know, for my next career opportunity. And it was that,
you know, that January, I got an interview finally and lots of opportunities, different ways.
And, you know, getting a new position and being able to come on to busted pencils and do a
little bit of like holy crap. I'm finally made, you know, or made or holy crap, someone figured out
a reason to, you know, not say no. But I think when, you know, you get to talk about those things,
you know, I just kind of remember that there are, and I don't really remember the episode as much as
I think back to just having that sense of having a, like a new sense of going like, man, you know,
I am an educated educator who can talk education. And so there was that lift to kind of come back
and try to figure this out. But I got to say, though, too, going with Johnny, to me, it's not just
producer's choice. It's actually the addition of you that has been a huge sense of going,
yeah, this is, this is a new direction that makes sense. It's the way, you know, and all that
just phenomenal, organized, you know, really kept Johnny and I on the ball. But, you know, you
come with that sense of, like you said, you were new to education, but you had a sense of
understanding the show and a contour after listening to it and being a producer with us being thrown
into it, you coming in then with feedback for sense of how it could go and your addition to
commentary, that's my biggest thing of 2025 is the addition and of Jacob producer chairman of the
board. And I'm really excited about 2026 because, you know, hopefully, you're going to be able to
like really do some cool stuff with us. And I'm just kind of like, man, if if Jacob's actually
given a little bit of extra sense of like, man, he could take this show on. It's like, man,
we are going to be going places. Johnny and I just always sit around and think we should be going.
So it's the addition of you that I think is going to take us to the next level.
All right. Well, I didn't want to say, but you both are absolutely right. That was the best
part of it. I'm not going to be too modest about it. Tim, I want to ask you this and I'll ask you
too, Johnny, do you remember, since we're doing a Jacob retrospective for busted pencils,
do you remember the first thing that you said to me and then I said to you when we first started
working together? I don't know. I do remember. Tim, you said Jacob, you know, you seem like a really
smart handsome guy. I said, thanks, Tim. What do you think about education? What's your stance?
And I said, it's good. Look how much I've learned about it since then. Now I know it's actually a
mixed bag. Now, I thought you were going to say, now I know it's good. It's even good error, Tim.
No, no, I, yeah, I don't, I don't remember that, but, but I do, again, just kind of looking
back, it was like, okay, like, like what? Wait, why are you in your 20s? No way. And I'm
in your ball. What's that about, dude? And I said, yeah, you're right, Tim. I don't know.
I thought that was something that civic media put you up to to hope, you know, to be producing
for us was a requirement. Like look, Tim and Johnny are bald. They're going to need a bald producer.
I've just been trying to fit in. They didn't pressure me. I just, I did it on my own.
No, I said, it's just that, but you know what, though, Jacob, you did remind me the two, I think,
it's so many different things. I mean, you know, the conversations we really started to have with
the AFT and Randy Wine Garden were just, you know, over the top and just really kind of pushed
in a different direction. But I really do want to say that I think, you know, with Mike Bigley,
Cease of Four, rural Wisconsin and the stuff that we found out about them, you know, that is going
on up up up there. It's just like that to me is the sense of what busted pencils we really want
to do here, which is talk about those places and times and people who are doing education in a way
that is almost to the point of going like, what they're doing that where? I thought that was supposed
to be like for other people, special people. And you're going, no, you know what, in rural Wisconsin,
here they are, they're cutting edge. And what is it? You've got Cease of Leaders like Brittany Waltz,
superintendents like Mike Bigley coming together with, you know, local partners Ashley Furniture
up there, holy crap, amazing. So I know, Jacob, that I look forward to that in 2026. So, you know,
other than that though, you know, I'd say with this home room, now it's time for your moment
of Zinn.
Protests beyond the law is not a departure from democracy. It is absolutely essential to it.
Thank you, listener, for tuning in and grabbing this episode of Busted Pencil's home room podcast
today. You can grab great other podcasts filled with more Busted Pencil's content on Apple podcasts,
Spotify, and of course, on the civic media website or at bustedpensils.com. Hey, and don't you miss
this week's class in session on Wednesday and find our special drop of producer's choice on Friday.
And of course, catch Busted Pencils on Saturday at 3 p.m. Central time across all the civic media
network stations for one hour of your favorite blue-collar scholars and keep Busted Pencils.