My Teacher is a new initiative from North Carolina Public Radio - WUNC. We're traveling the state, finding teachers and students to tell their stories. You don't have to wait for us to show up to record and submit your story, though.
You could write to us, and tell us a story about your teacher. (Put 'My Teacher' in the subject line.) Or, you could record the conversation yourself with your smartphone!
Simply make an appointment with your teacher.
- Explain you will need a few minutes
- Explain that this will be a recorded interview
- Explain that the interview might be put on the radio or archived on the web.
This is your chance. You can ask your teacher all the random things you might have wondered when you sat in his/her class.
Ask questions that say something about both you and your teacher.
- Why did you become a teacher?
- What was it like to teach me?
- How did you get me to remember stuff?
- What's a good day look like for you as a teacher?
- What does a bad day look like?
- Did I ever ruin your day?
Remember to follow the most interesting responses with follow-up questions like "Why?" or "What happened next?"
Also, this is a conversation, so respond the way you would in real life, by laughing, and commenting.
More than anything, though. craft questions that are interesting to you. What have you always wanted to know about your teacher?
Technology
It's super easy to record audio these days. Open the Voice Memo app on your iPhone. For Android devices, download and open Voice Recorder for Android, or use the built-in Voice Recorder that ships with many Android phones.
- Place your phone on a stack of books or something that will keep it at mouth level and close to both you and your teacher throughout the interview
- Press record
- Introduce yourself and your teacher: "I'm Jesse Pinkman, a graduate from Las Lunas High School, and I'm speaking with my old Science Teacher Walter White…"
- Ask the questions you've prepared.
- Say goodbye/thank you
- Press the stop button
Submitting Your Interview:
Your phone should show you the audio file and an option to share it
If it's five minutes or shorter:
- Press the "share" button
- Choose "email"
- Type "WUNC Teacher Project" in the subject line and send the file to wunc_audio@wunc.org
If it's longer than five minutes:
- Save the audio on your phone or computer
- Upload the file to https://www.wetransfer.com/ and follow the instructions to send the file to us at wunc_audio@wunc.org
Still having trouble? E-mail our digital editor Carol Jackson: cjackson@wunc.org and we can help.
