National Service Series: Ben Gagne-Maynard
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My guest today is Ben Gagne-Maynard. After graduating from Boston University, Ben spent two years teaching in Hartford, Connecticut through Teach for America. After Teach for America, Ben continued his service in a different form. He currently works for the Tennessee Department of Education.
Ben and I discuss his teaching experience through Teach for America, decreasing the stigma of a gap year, and how to build better systems that support teachers. Ben also shares some good ideas around incentivizing service rather than making it compulsory. I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did.
The purpose of this podcast series is to talk through problems facing the United States and explore the ways in which national service may solve those problems. The more feedback, the better. If you have any questions, comments, or follow-ups to this conversation, please reach out!
Selected links from the show:
Call or text Ben at 413-250-9558
Email Ben at b.gagnemaynard@gmail.com
Show notes:
3:00 - Ben comes from a long line of service oriented family members.
4:30 - How Teach for America recruits.
5:40 - The challenge of not choosing exactly how you serve.
10:50 - How service helps you understand and value different communities.
12:20 - The importance of listening and getting to know people rather than imposing your worldview on them.
14:35 - On finding common ground. "If you treat a person with respect and love and actually care about them, then they're going to want to learn from you and let you into their world."
16:00 - Anger isn't productive. Action is.
21:05 - How to cultivate a desire to serve.
23:50 - Service shouldn't be compulsory, but we should make it a no-brainer.
27:00 - Decreasing the stigma of a gap year.
33:55 - Why Ben transitioned from teaching to education policy.
40:00 - Teacher shortage/retention problem.
48:25 - Improving education outcomes through adding teacher's assistants.
51:45 - "We need people who are committed to doing that kind of work - getting exposed to things that don't have an easy answer, and willing yourself to do something and working incredibly hard might not mean you're going to be successful."
52:20 - "I really needed to humble myself and learn to listen...It's so important for people to get to know one another, talk to one another, and really be a part of each other's lives. One of the biggest things that service can provide is a window into someone else's life."
