Having a chat with two talkative teachers

In our last issue, we mentioned Two Talkative Teachers, a new podcast in which two passionate teachers talk teaching life in New Zealand. We wanted to know more about them and what they’re doing, so we tracked them down for a chat.

Who are Two Talkative Teachers?

We are Franska Harris and Kelly Mattock, and we are teachers at a primary school in Auckland.

What made you decide to do a podcast?

We’re passionate educators who like to share the ups and downs with each other. We both love listening to podcasts and noticed that there were not many from teachers in New Zealand that weren’t aiming to sell you anything. We wanted to be able to share what we are doing both in and out of our classrooms, and really give a New Zealand perspective on education. We are planning to interview other educators to highlight the amazing things that are happening in our own backyard. Unfortunately, lockdowns and restrictions put a stop to this, but we definitely have plans in the pipeline for the future.

Why together?

It’s quite daunting starting out doing something like this on your own. We’re both passionate about integrating digital technology into the everyday classroom. We have similar interests but teach at different levels. We wanted to be able to bounce off each other, challenge each other on things and include the junior and senior classes of primary school. We want our podcast to be like an informal chat amongst friends over coffee in the staffroom.

What’s been the reaction to Two Talkative Teachers?

It has been interesting. We are just two teachers who like to talk and share what we are doing. We don’t think that what we’re doing is right or better than the next teacher. We just like to share our own experiences and ideas. To be honest, we don’t really know what the reaction has been. We don’t tend to focus on how many listeners we have. Our own friends and wha -nau have given us great thoughts and advice. The Instagram community has also given us valuable constructive feedback.

Can you explain how you create and record the podcast, both on the technical and deciding on what to talk about?

We had to laugh at this question. We both teach in the same school, so we just meet during lunchtime and record. You can hear the background noise of kids in the playground. In some episodes you can hear the bell ring and we wrap it up. We are in the learning pit with all of this. You will see us sitting close at a table in the classroom with the handy phone for recording. There is nothing at all fancy about our basic set up. We wanted to start and see how we went before we purchased any fancy gear. No headphones or fluffy microphone just yet. We never have a problem deciding what to discuss. We often go with what’s on top for us at the time. We have a huge list of ideas and another list of educators we would love to have as guest speakers because we find them inspiring ourselves. On the technical side, again it is not fancy. We use a phone to record our audio. Then we put it all into the Anchor app, quickly edit if need be and click publish. We started by recording in segments, but we soon found that recording the whole thing in one go and then editing it out as needed was way more efficient and authentic. We have also recorded separately and put it together. We didn’t like the outcome for this as much as there was limited banter between us and we now know that we love good banter and sound natural. What’s been the most challenging part of the whole process?

At first, it was getting to know the Anchor platform, finding a tune and working that out. Now we are focusing on content and interviewing educators around the country. This can be challenging with current restrictions and making sure everyone feels safe. Zoom recordings is also the next step we need to master. We are conscious about maintaining our own point of view, not the school’s perspective. Any memorable moments you’d like to share?

The amount of people who found the podcast without us promoting it was amazing. It is always fun to hear what people we know think. Franska has friends in the UK that are listening and they laugh at hearing how her accent has changed!

TALKERS: FRANSKA AND KELLY

Students often walk into the classroom as we are recording, so there have been some funny editing moments. As well as laughing at each other while we rush in and out to record between lessons, bathroom breaks and scoffing our lunch. We generally try not to take ourselves too seriously.

How did you come up with the name?

We both love alliteration, so wanted to come up with something catchy, as well as a name that portrayed what we were doing. We really are two talkative teachers!

How does it feel to put yourselves out there in public, in the podcast world and share your thoughts and ideas?

It’s actually really scary. Everything’s all new to us and very daunting. We try not to read too many ratings or comments as we don’t want it to take away the fun that we have putting it together or to lose our vision of why we started it in the first place. What do you hope people get out of your podcast?

We hope that our podcast is relatable and sparks conversations, and that it helps other educators to feel like we are one big teaching team who go through the ups and downs of everything together. Social media can give a very skewed perspective on the realities of being in the classroom full time. We hope that people feel they can relate to our experiences, maybe gain ideas or spark conversations with their own colleagues. Do you have any plans for the future, either for the podcast or any other digital adventures?

We hope to learn and become more professional with our podcast. We’d love to get more people from around the country involved. If anyone’s interested to share your story, idea, experience, no matter how big or small, please get in touch with us. We have also been toying with the idea of filming ourselves recording, so that we can cover the visual platforms also. It’s hard to keep up with recording and creating content for social media while making sure our classes stay our main priority. Thank you.

Want to have a listen for yourself?

Check out Two Talkative Teachers at

anchor.fm/twotalkativeteachers