Teach Middle East Magazine Apr - Jun 2020 Issue 3 Volume 7 | Page 37

Educators who create content
NATHAN BOWLING
the Washington Post and the Seattle
Times and have been interviewed
on CNN International, PBS and CBS.
I
am a teacher and podcaster
originally
from
Tacoma,
Washington, thirty miles south
of Seattle. I'm in my fourteenth
year in the classroom. Currently, I
teach AP US Government & Politics
and Global Studies at the American
Community School in Abu Dhabi,
where my wife and I relocated to,
in August of 2019. I love traveling
and decided to move to the Middle
East in an attempt to blend my two
loves: teaching young people and
traveling the world. I'm a decorated
teacher in the states.
I n 2014, I received the Milken
Foundation's National Educator
Award. In 2016, I was named the
Washington State Teacher of the
Year, and that same year, I was one
of four finalists for National Teacher
of the Year. I am also a writer; I've
been published in Slate Magazine,
My podcast, the Nerd Farmer,
is a bi-weekly interview show
about my wandering curiosities:
books,
politics,
housing
policy, philosophy, education…
sometimes soccer. The title of the
show references my instructional
philosophy. It is my job to get kids
to 'nerd-out' about the world in
order to become better, more
informed global citizens.
I
honestly
dislike
many
education
podcasts
because
they pretend that education
happens in isolation, rather
than being impacted by forces
like housing, healthcare access,
and government stability, so
I try to make sure my show is
interdisciplinary. Nerd Farmer is
at its best when
my audience
and I are learning from experts
in their fields. Since the show
launched in 2017, I've interviewed
2019 World Cup MVP Megan
Rapinoe, members of Congress,
university presidents and dozens
of professors and journalists. My
goal each episode is to learn more
Class Time
about something I'm interested
in, give someone whom I respect
a platform to share their views
and to try to make the audience
think about a topic differently, all
while laughing (when possible).
I think it is important for educators
to create our own content and to
have our own blogs and podcasts
so we can tell our stories on our
terms. There are so many myths
floating in society about what is
happening in schools and what
students and teachers need or
should be doing in our classrooms.
Controlling our own platforms
means we get to tell the public
our own stories, on our own terms.
It's a way of empowering and
humanising educators. We need
more of that.
Twitter: @nate_bowling
Podcast: www. nerdfarmpod.com
Blog: www.natebowling.com
Term 3 Apr - Jun 2020
37