“I Was a Terrible Student” — Then She Became a Hall of Fame Teacher with Tonya Cogan | Ep 97

Tonya's stories are as funny as they are revealing: playing basketball as the shortest person on the court, working at a vet clinic instead of sitting in class, and watching the same Chaucer paper earn three different grades when her brothers turned it in. Struggling in school gave her a connection to students who needed a different approach.

After 29 years teaching first grade in the same room, she moved to kindergarten hoping for more space. The bigger room never happened. The detective hats, magnifying glasses, songs, and cardboard creations kept coming. She explains why that work matters—and why seeing a child finally “get it” never gets old, even after teaching three generations of families.

Samuel and Tonya also discuss her concerns about rising kindergarten expectations, including the 88 sight words she describes five-year-olds being asked to learn. She makes the case for purposeful play, patience, and remembering that children learn in different ways and at different times.

They get into classroom supplies paid for out of teachers' pockets, her local union work, and practical ways to support schools. Then there's retirement: Tonya is now tutoring 15 students in small groups, four days a week, for free. Mark gets the jobs of principal, janitor, and helping move a giant plant through a window.

• - The “terrible student” who always wanted to teach
• - One Chaucer paper, three siblings, three grades
• - 29 years in one classroom—and a bigger-room surprise
• - Detective hats, classroom characters, and making learning click
• - Teaching three generations of the same families
• - Tonya's take on kindergarten pressure and 88 sight words
• - The work behind purposeful play
• - Classroom spending, teacher advocacy, and respect
• - Her Hall of Fame induction and the family behind it
• - Free reading tutoring and a retirement that still looks like teaching

For parents, educators, former students, and anyone who cares about their local schools, this is a funny, candid conversation about keeping the joy in learning—and showing up for the people who make it happen.