The redefinED Podcast: Recent Episodes
Xaiver Williams
The RedefinED podcast aims to focus on how we can amplify and highlight the voices of Black male educators from across the Commonwealth of Virginia to discuss possible solutions to the challenges that are being faced in the classroom.
Xaiver Williams is a Music Education major with a minor in Honors Interdisciplinary Studies at James Madison University (JMU) in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
For this episode, the podcast is going mobile and recording from the JMU Honors Symposium on the campus of James Madison University. During this episode, I will engage in conversations with students and faculty as they share their thoughts about the research I have conducted for my Honors capstone and the podcast.
It is important that we move from talking about the next generation and talk with them. On this episode, I take the podcast to Hampton University to talk with two Black male gentlemen to learn about their experinces in education and what led them to study at a HBCU.
Get connected with Xaiver:
Email: Xwilliams316@gmail.com
LinkedIn: Xaiver Williams
Website: https://xaiverwilliams.weebly.com
Instagram: @thexaiverwilliams
The U.S. Census Bureau reported that 14.6 percent of the United States population is Black or African American. Nationally only seven percent of teachers are Black, and only two percent are Black men. On this episode, I sit down and talk to a professor at James Madison University to discuss why this statistic is true in our nation and what needs to be put in place to increase this percentage in the future.
Get connected with Xaiver:
Email: Xwilliams316@gmail.com
LinkedIn: Xaiver Williams
Website: https://xaiverwilliams.weebly.com
Instagram: @thexaiverwilliams
Climate and culture do not just relate to weather and what is happening with celebrities, but it is a key part to the educational environment students learn in each and every day. On this episode, we sit down with a Principal who shares his thoughts on what climate and culture really means, how we can implement it in our school building, and invite other educators in sharing the vision of what the climate and culture in the school building should look like.
Get connected with Xaiver:
Email: Xwilliams316@gmail.com
LinkedIn: Xaiver Williams
Website: https://xaiverwilliams.weebly.com
Instagram: @thexaiverwilliams
There is no success without educators having a relationship with their students families. We take a dive into a world of a band director who thrives on building relationships with his students families and how that helps the band program reach success.
Steve Urkel is best known for the 90s hit show “Family Matters”! But on this episode, there is a Superintendent in Hampton, Virginia that believes community matters in best supporting student success. We will discuss the role community partnerships in education, how schools and communities partner together to helps students and their families, and how to build a better relationship with businesses in the community.
Get connected with Xaiver:
Email: Xwilliams316@gmail.com
LinkedIn: Xaiver Williams
Website: https://xaiverwilliams.weebly.com
Instagram: @thexaiverwilliams
At some point in life, we have all faced adversity. Well, on this episode, we talk with Dr. Herb Monroe, the Assistant Superintendent of Caroline County Public Schools, who has faced some adversity of his on and now uses his role to serve as motivation for each and every student he comes in contact with. Dr. Monroe will help us understand how we can support our students still see the light at the end of the tunnel despite the adversity they have faced in life.
Get connected with Xaiver:
Email: Xwilliams316@gmail.com
LinkedIn: Xaiver Williams
Website: https://xaiverwilliams.weebly.com
Instagram: @thexaiverwilliams
Some of the greatest educators in our lives are those that serve as mentors. The famous proverb says, “If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.” One solution that scholars have noted to support Black male students in the classroom is engaged mentorship. On this episode, we talk about the role mentorship has in truly redefining education success, what mentorship looks like today in our K-12 schools, and how we can best serve as mentors.
Get connected with Xaiver:
Email: Xwilliams316@gmail.com
LinkedIn: Xaiver Williams
Website: https://xaiverwilliams.weebly.com
Instagram: @thexaiverwilliams
We cannot begin to think about solutions without recognizing that there is an achievement gap amongst Black men in K-12. For this episode, we sit down with a superintendent who has focused his educational journey on providing students with an opportunity to reach their full potential and close the achievement gap in the classroom.
Get connected with Xaiver:
Email: Xwilliams316@gmail.com
LinkedIn: Xaiver Williams
Website: https://xaiverwilliams.weebly.com
Instagram: @thexaiverwilliams
On this episode, we will speak with the City of Hampton Assistant Chief of Police to discuss the recent events between Black males and law enforcement. How do we best address these challenges we are seeing in the schools, community, and at home?
Parents are educators too! For this episode, we will dive into the internal perspective of growing up in Black household through four generations by discussing the relationship between Black sons and Black fathers, ways to be involved in the success of your student and addressing the role fathers play in the lives of their children.
Welcome to the Podcast!!! My name is Xaiver Williams and in this episode I hope that you will learn more about me, the purpose of this podcast, and the journey it took for me to get here. I am excited to also have my capstone advisor, Dr. Tim Thomas, joining me on the podcast as well. Here's to the beginning of RedefinED.
Get connected with Xaiver:
Email: Xwilliams316@gmail.com
LinkedIn: Xaiver Williams
Website: https://xaiverwilliams.weebly.com
Instagram: @thexaiverwilliams