Have you ever had an idea for a new project but just couldn't quite get started? Sometimes, you just need to talk out your ideas. And that is what I'm doing with teacher and reading support specialist Raj McCowin.

In this episode, you'll hear Raj's idea for her podcast, the audiences she wants to serve, and the ideas we come up with to best support them while also supporting her business. I love how passionate Raj is about bridging the gap between parents and educators, and I can't wait for her to take action and get started.

⭐️ Resources Mentioned:

• Follow me on Instagram @podcastingforeducators 

🔗 Connect with Raj: 

• Check out her website
• Follow her on Instagram and TikTok @lone_star_tutor

🎤 Recommended Podcasting Resources:

• Hosting: Captivate.fm (Get a free 7-day trial!)
• Transcription: Otter.ai
• Project Management: ClickUp
• Private Podcasting: Hello Audio
• Podcast Playlist Toolkit
• Launch Your Podcast: Free Podcast Launch Guide & Podcasting for Educators Prep School
• Level Up Your Podcast: Podcast Like You Mean It
• Leverage Podcast Guesting: Free Guesting Planning Guide & Guesting for Educators Mini-Course

Show Notes: https://podcastingforeducators.com/episode146

Some links mentioned are affiliate links. This helps to support this podcast at no additional cost to you. 

Topics in this episode: tips for podcasters, educational strategies, marketing tips for TPT sellers, online educator tips

Sara Whittaker 0:00

Have you ever had an idea for a new project but just couldn't quite get started? This happens with aspiring podcasters all the time. Sometimes you just need to talk out your ideas and that is what I'm doing with teacher and reading Support Specialist Raj. Raj has a great idea for a podcast but wanted to talk through exactly what it could look like in practice. So that's what you'll hear in this episode. She'll share her idea for her podcast, and we'll brainstorm what this could look like how it could best support her audience and support her business. I love how passionate Raj is about bridging the gap between parents and educators and can't wait for her to take action and get started. Raj specializes in phonological awareness, phonics and reading fluency. And tutors cater for students addressing Foundational Reading gaps to ensure a smooth transition to middle school on grade level. Beyond one on one tutoring, she supports homeschool parents navigating their child's literacy journey. Raj firmly believes that allowing progression without mastering essential reading skills in grades K to two is unjust and has dedicated herself to guiding numerous families from reading struggles to fluency with competence. Your Podcast is a powerful tool that serves your audience and your business. But how do you manage it all bring in new listeners and convert those listeners into customers. That's what this show is all about. Welcome to podcasting for educators. I'm Sara Whitaker, classroom teacher turn podcast manager. And I'm here to help you get the most out of your show, all while making an impact on other educators. All right, I am here with Raj Raj. Welcome to the podcast. Thanks so much for being here.

Rajalique McCowin 1:42

Thank you for having me. Absolutely.

Sara Whittaker 1:45

I had sent out an email to my email list about inviting people onto the podcast. And you are one of the people who responded and it's been really fun getting to sit down with some of you and hear a little bit about your story because everybody has their own place where they're at and their own vision for podcasting. And so I've just really enjoyed this. So thanks, again for being here. Can you start out by telling us because you do not yet have a podcast, but you've been thinking about starting one for a while now. So tell us a little bit about where you are in this process and kind of what you are envisioning for your podcast.

Rajalique McCowin 2:26

So I am in the brainstorming phase of the podcast, my podcast journey. And I kind of envision my podcasts being like a bridge that connects educators with parents, because I am an online reading tutor. And I have noticed like in doing consultation calls, like I've noticing there is a disconnect between parents and educators and me being both being a former teacher for over a decade and being a parent. I'm kind of like, okay, I see both ins, like we're both people both sides are coming from. So like my thought process is like, Okay, our children have a huge need, like they're not able to read, and the communication between educators and parents. It's not there, or there's like a missing link and a disconnect. And our kids are in the middle of that. And so if I can provide a safe space for both educators and parents to come on and be like, Okay, so this is what's going on in the classroom. And this is what this looks like to me. And the parents be like, Okay, well, this is what I'm seeing at home. And this is not being communicated to me, how can we meet in the middle, so that our kids are being serviced? And we can really close those learning gaps that we're seeing in America today? That is just so detrimental to our kids?

Sara Whittaker 4:05

Hmm, yeah, no, this is a really cool idea. And you're so right. I feel like we're in such a weird place with literacy right now. Because, I mean, I'm a former teacher, myself, and I'm learning about all these new things that are coming out that I wish I knew when I was in the classroom. And parents are like, Why can't my child read? And so I think this is a really cool way to provide support for both of these audiences. And I, you know, I see, I work with a lot of podcasters in the education space and in their mind, and on paper, they're speaking to teachers, but then they'll get, you know, feedback from their podcasts audience or they'll get podcast reviews that say like, I'm not a teacher, I'm a parent, but your resources have helped me so much. And so I think it's really smart. or to be aware of those two audiences, because they definitely do overlap, and they have very similar needs. So I think that your idea is really cool. So are you thinking that you'll be sort of like a teaching podcast where you're teaching both teachers and parents?

Rajalique McCowin 5:20

I'm kind of stuck on that, like, so I don't, I don't know, like, I have this envision of like, a round table. But I also see that need for like, parents to be taught, and even teachers kind of to really be taught like to understand that, you know, like, I'm guilty of it as an educator, I was always like, oh, parents just don't understand. They don't want to they don't want to like, that's just hate to say it, but I was guilty of that. Right. Yeah. And then having this business, I've learned that, okay, no, it's not that we have to take responsibility as educators that sometimes we are not communicating effectively for the parents. And we're not cognizant that they don't understand what that is. So, for example, like, we understand the bureaucracy behind why students aren't getting the grades that they are yet they're not performing at the level, they should pay us on understand that like, so when I have a parent on my consultation call that tells me, my child has been making A's and B's. And I had no idea that they could not read. That's an issue. And so in order for that to be resolved, like I think we as humans have to be like, Okay, we have to come together. And we have to really just be honest, and say what it is about law, I have to put this but your child really can't do this. Yeah. And so how can we communicate that effectively, and we parents, we have to understand that, okay, she's still a human, she's a teacher. So I need to be able to communicate my needs for my child effectively. And as a teacher, we need to be able to communicate, okay, here's how you can help your child or here's what's going on, like, so I think that just that disconnect. So I don't know if I want it to be like roundtable or a combination of both where it's what I'm teaching, and then I have, you know, like, I don't know. Yeah,

Sara Whittaker 7:17

no, I think this is, this is a really neat idea. And I think that you totally could do a combination of both. And you could even do I mean, I think, you know, in an ideal world, it would be Yeah, it'd be really cool to have like, a parent and teacher, like, the teacher is the teacher of this parents child. On together, that would be really neat. I don't know that I feel like it would heart be hard to get the logistics set up for that. Yeah, I mean, that would be amazing. And you could kind of like act as this facilitator to make sure that the communication is, is going well, between the two of them. And maybe that could happen. But I think you could also have, I mean, even having a roundtable of teachers and parents, they don't necessarily have to be directly linked to each other. But also, you know, having just one single guest on or having people write in their questions to you. And you kind of talking through that, from both perspectives of a parent and a teacher would all be really neat ways to approach this. And you could do a combination of all of these things, as well as direct teaching episodes.

Rajalique McCowin 8:29

Sounds pretty cool.

Sara Whittaker 8:30

Yeah. And it's, it's one of those things where you'll probably have to, like, try out some different formats, and see how it goes. Before you get, like a good feel for what feels good, what people are responding really well to. But I think I think it's really neat, and I've never seen it come at from this perspective where you are, like, I just think it would be really eye opening for both teachers and parents to like, see the other person's perspective?

Rajalique McCowin 9:04

Yeah, that's kind of where I was thinking, because I'm just like, something has to give. Yeah. Yeah. Like our kids are suffering in this. And that's going back and forth. It's not working. It's not working at all. Yeah,

Sara Whittaker 9:18

absolutely. And, you know, I think the, I'm just kind of like trying to think through of what this would look like. I think probably the most simple way to start this would be to either have people like send in a question to you or have them on as a guest, like, have a parent on as a guest. These are my concerns. This is what I'm seeing in the classroom, and you being able to like offer that feedback to them like that. And that would be kind of a good way to jump into this and still offer both of those perspectives and, and also just being super cognizant of both audiences when you are creating Eating like your podcast brand, from the beginning, really speaking directly to parents and teachers alike putting that in your episode titles, putting that in your show description in your marketing materials. So that it is very, very clear that it's not just for teachers or it's not just for parents, it's for both. Yeah,

that's something I have, I'm really thinking through and mulling over because they can, you know, by human nature, unintentionally default to one or the other. And so,

yeah, absolutely. And so I think that's why like having a, and this, this probably might sound really simple, but it can be really effective is like when you're doing your podcast planning, coming up with like, a little tagline for your podcast that says something like the podcast to bridge the gap between parents and teachers, or the podcast to bridge the literacy gap between parents and teachers are something that will be associated with your podcast, and that you can have like in the intro of your podcast, and in the in your social media captions when you're talking about your podcast, that way like that messaging, kind of like not only gets embedded into your audience's mind, but yours as well. So you are addressing both parties when you're doing your episodes.

Okay. Okay. I like that. That makes sense. And it's something that it's visible. And I can see.

Yeah, yeah, definitely. And I mean, you, with you having your tutoring business, I think another great place to start would be, you know, having people having some parents on, that you have worked with, whose children you've worked with. And even having them share their experiences of like, why they came to you in the first place. Okay, and probably because there was a disconnect at school, I would, yeah, I'm making the assumption that they're not feeling the support at school, or they're confused about what their child is learning or not learning at school. And so they're coming to you for tutoring services. That's another great way to get the parent perspective, straight from the mouth of the parent, which would be very interesting for the teacher to hear. Yeah,

yeah, I, I totally agree. And I was kind of thinking about that, too. And I was like, Okay, how can I honestly, like, support my parents and ensure that their voices are being heard, and that they're, you know, that we can kind of ease their frustrations, because that's, at the end of the day, if you're a parent, the only thing you want is the best for your child. And at the end of the day, 90% 95% of educators go into education, to serve their students and parents. And so I feel like, if I can approach this with sensitivity, and grace, and just discernment, I genuinely feel like this could be something that can really start to kind of mend and heal that lost trust that I'm feeling. That's an education as a whole. And start to like, we can see like a turnaround in this. That's been going on for forever.

Yeah, no, absolutely. I mean, I think something you said at the beginning of this conversation reminded me like, I think back to when I first started teaching, and you think that you're communicating well with parents, but when I became a mom, man, I had such a different perspective. I realized, like how much better I needed to communicate with parents.

That's how it was with me. And I didn't make that connection until my he's 17. Now, but into my child, he struggled with ADHD so bad. And I ended up having to go up there and sit in that role as a parent. And I was like, you know, as you really need to, you see how you're feeling. Now, as a parent, you're you're like, and you're an educator, and you're just like, at your wit's end because you don't know what else to do. And so you need to really think about and be cognizant how you approach parents and, and have grace, just like you want that grace extended to you as a parent. So, yes,

yes. And, and it's, I just think that I mean, there's so many cool ways that this could play out because you want to show grace to both sides. And like, share just I think in this situation, just hearing people's stories like having a teacher come on and share about maybe like a conflict that was had with a parent and how they mended that, like that would be a great thing for both parties to hear. And because Some parents don't know how to advocate for their children in the right way. They might not feel comfortable advocating for their children, or, you know, there's parents who maybe are very aggressive and could come at it from a different angle. So there's so many things to be learned on both sides. Yes,

there is there really, really is. And I don't know, I'm just this topic in this conversation has been something that I've been really, really in prayer in, in really seeking, you know, seeking God's guidance in Christ, like really just Lord helped me to direct this because that is something like a content pillar of mine that I really like, I'm like, Okay, I genuinely want to help people, especially parents, and advocate for their children effectively, because I do believe that parents are a part of their child's success team. And a lot of parents aren't aware of that. And in order for them to be able to successfully be a part of their child's academic team, and it lightens the burden of the teacher as well, like, so the teacher is able to fully support that child in the best way that they can. And so that's kind of like the mission, like my overall mission of my tutoring business is not only to bridge, that foundational reading gap, but just really empower parents to be to take ownership of being part of their child's sixth learning success team.

Yes. And those are the kinds of points like for you, I would probably start out by having your first one or two episodes be about your mission of like, this is what I'm so passionate about. This is what I want this podcast to be accomplishing, to kind of set that standard for what's to come. Okay, you know, yeah, yeah,

that makes sense. And

even I mean, like, when you were talking about how, you know, a parent is part of their child's academic team. Like that could be an episode in itself, because maybe a parent has never heard that perspective before. Okay. And just explaining, I mean, I think what parents don't understand is teachers are also in a really weird place right now, too, because they, up until this point, have been given some misinformation and haven't been provided the training that ideally they would have, you know, during college before they became teachers. So, raising that awareness around like, what is even going on right now? Would be another great episode in the beginning. Okay,

that's good. I'm glad I got some glad. Like, not crazy about this idea. No,

I think it's really cool. And I think there's, like I said, I just think there's a lot of angles that you could come at this from, and it's going to be some trial and error. And it's going to be, you know, you have to see like, what kind of what kind of participation you'll get in the beginning from your audience. And that will also kind of like, guide, how are you going to structure your episodes? Okay? You know, like some people's audiences, everybody's audiences are different. But some people might be hesitant to come on the podcast, so maybe there'll be more comfortable, like writing in a challenge that they're facing or writing in a story that they have to share. And then you could kind of like, be that voice for them. Whereas other people might be more than happy to come on and share their story.

Okay, okay. And that's giving me another idea. Like, oh, what is it? Have you ever like back in the day there was like that Dear Abby column? Yes, that's

what I'm thinking. Yeah.

So I was thinking about that, like, just when you sit there like, dear Raj,

yeah. Yes. Absolutely. And I'm sure that you already have some messages like that, you know, from parents who have come to you for tutoring. Yeah, like every comment and question that you've gotten from parents. That could be a topic for a podcast episode because you know, if you're getting them from one parent, there's other parents who feel that same way.

Yes, there is. There is an even like the shift in like, the homeschool like how kids are being pulled out in droves to homeschool like, that is also like, you know, I support and support homeschool, like I love I enjoy working with homeschool students and even even they really need to, like understand the learning process of of working with their child, especially if their child has struggled in the past with academics in and really okay creating a success map so that their child can be successful and they can meet their, their goals and their whatever objective they have for their child. And the reason why they pulled them out for homeschool, like, it's just no judgment. You know, the whole goal here is that, you know, kids have to know how to read point blank period. And however, that needs to happen. I feel like we as adults should be able to come together to ensure that that happens.

Yes, absolutely. Yeah. Like we have the information to teach kids how to read like, this is how you do it. And everybody, every child deserves those resources and that opportunity to read write.

However, it needs to get done. Yeah,

exactly. Yeah. So I mean, really, you have kind of three audiences, you have, you know, teachers in a traditional school, and then you have your homeschool parents. And then you have your parents who maybe their child is in a public or private school, it's sort of, you know, a traditional school, but they know that they need additional support at home.

Yeah, yeah. I don't know, I've just been kind of mulling over this and kind of, like, I guess, apprehensive to take that leap. You know, I you feel like something is going to be really, like, it's something that's needed. And you're just like, yeah,

absolutely. And I promise you every single podcaster has felt like, oh, like, I know, I want to do this. And it's a great idea. But how do I actually start and you really do just have to start I was actually, I had another podcast interview before this one. And we were talking about she has been podcasting for about five years. And she was talking about how her messaging and her content and structure has shifted over the years. And that's what I always see is like, in the beginning, as long as you like, I for sure think you need a clear audience, which you have, you need a mission, which you have, like you're very you know what you want to do, and you know who you're serving. But the way that you're going to serve them the exact type of content, you're going to create the exact way you're going to structure your episodes, it's going to change over time. 100%, like, where you start for your first few episodes, one year, two years down the road, you're probably going to have shifted in some way. And that's just part of the process. And that's what's really exciting about it is like, you have to kind of jump in, at some point, like either you got to rip that band aid off. Know that it doesn't have to be perfect in the beginning. And it's it really is that trial and error. And over time, you can fine tune things as you go. Okay. Okay. I know you have a really cool idea. And you have all of those really important factors like your audience and your mission. You just have to kind of start.

Okay. That's the hard part. Yeah.

Exactly. Exactly.

That's good to know. That's good to know.

Are you feeling some clarity and like some some ideas popping up for you as we're talking? Actually,

yeah, like I just mentioned, like that deer kind of like, spin off Dear Abby, and even addressing, like I said, because I have consultation calls, and I kind of like talk to parents, before I book their child to you know, book them for services. And even kind of like using that as a starting point until I can build up one my audience listeners and then to, like, get people comfortable enough to like, Okay, I want to come on. And that way, I'm not just like making up stuff. It's actually it's actual concerns that are being brought to my attention. And that way I can ensure that it's beneficial to the people that I feel as if I'm called to serve. Yeah,

absolutely. I mean, you're in a really good position because you have your tutoring business and you're speaking one on one to these families, you know, what their, what their challenges are, you know, what their desires are, and you can utilize that for your podcast episodes. Because, I mean, you could, you could like record those consultation calls. I was also thinking it would be well first of all, anytime that you're doing like if you start out doing like a teaching style episode, use those experiences that you've had in your tutoring sessions and treat it almost It's like a case study, you don't have to use names or anything like that. But as you're teaching, you can weave in those examples of what you do in your tutoring sessions, what kind of progress your students have made, what your parent like what transformations the parents have seen in their children, like all of your clients really are kind of these case studies that you can share about anonymously, unless they want to come on, of course, one on one, but you can use all of that, like all of that is great content for your podcast and great storytelling for your listeners to hear. I also think like it would be really cool to do like a live tutoring session, or, you know,

I've never thought about that, because I do record. I record all my consultations, and I record my tutoring sessions, specifically, what consultation calls specifically for me so that I am able to really hone in on my messaging and really ensure that by service is exactly what my people need. And then my tutoring services, I just love to for parents to click on and see what their babies are learning. So I think that would be pretty cool to do a live tutoring session. Yeah, upload that as a podcast.

Yeah, I think it would be really neat. And I mean, you could, like I even see that. You could do like these little mini series where maybe you have like a teaching episode. Or maybe even backup, like you could start with maybe a parent concern, like a specific skill that their child is struggling with. And so you could address that in one episode. And then the next episode could be like a teaching style episode where you're teaching about a strategy that you use, or like how you would teach this skill. And then in the next episode, it would be like, Okay, this is that skill in action. And it could be that recording of the tutoring session, I think that would be really cool. Yeah,

that would, would you recommend like a video style podcast or just an audio? Because I know they have like the YouTube type podcast things? Or?

Yeah, I think that it depends on what you can handle. Doing a regular audio only podcast and a video podcast is more work for sure. Because you you have to do the video editing and audio editing, if you have the capacity for that. 100% I think that this could be a really cool video podcast. You could also at least in the beginning, even you could only do video for certain episodes. Like if you were going to do that live tutoring session. That's one that you could put on YouTube. You don't you wouldn't even have to put all of your episodes on YouTube at first, kind of like ease your way into it. Okay,

because that's kind of thinking that I was just like, yeah, so I can record them anyway.

Right. Yeah. And I mean, I guess for something like that. I mean, I don't, for something like that, like a tutoring session, there probably wouldn't be much editing that you'd have to do. Right? Yes. Okay. Because people would want to see that like raw. Yeah. So yeah, I mean, that would be really cool. And that that type of episode serves really two important purposes. It helps teachers and parents like see how to teach these skills, like they're seeing it in action, but it's also very organically promoting your services, as well.

Okay. Okay. Yeah. And I was I was gonna ask about, like, how would I promote my services within this context? So I'm glad that was a Yeah, thought,

Oh, yeah. I mean, any kind of tutoring session would be a great way to showcase your services, as well as like, having any of your clients on like, that's an authority builder right there, like they are working with you or they have worked with you. And this is the transformation that they've seen. That's a great way to share about your services and, and how you can help parents, as well as like, I mean, I saw that you have some testimonials on your website. So even, you know, sharing about those like, just like I was saying before, just kind of weaving in those case studies of like, this is the success that this family saw when we did this together. Okay. That makes sense. Yeah. Yes. Hopefully, this gives you some good ideas.

It does. And I'm glad you took the time out to, of course to speak with me.

Oh, my gosh, of course. Thank you. I love talking through stuff like this. And I love being able to like, give you an action step to kind of walk away with so let's think about maybe what you could do in the next like week or so to to get moving with this idea. I'd say number one, do you have a name for you? A podcast yet?

No. Okay, I don't, I would, I would like

sit down and get out a piece of paper and do like a brain dump and just brain dump words or phrases that come to mind when you think about what you want this podcast to be, okay? And that can that like little exercise can sometimes help put together a name for your show. And I'll check in with you. And we can like bounce some ideas around. Okay, I would do that. And I would think about what you'd want maybe your first five episodes to be. And one of those could be having some sort of guest on. So think about maybe a client or somebody, you know, in your circle, parent teacher, another tutor somebody who could be a good first guest for your podcast. Okay. Sounds good.

Yes, ma'am. Yes, it sounds amazing. I'm really, really excited about this.

Good. Good. I'm excited to see it come to life.

Thank you.

Yeah. Do you have a date in mind that you're hoping to do this by I'm

going to relaunch my tutoring services in March. So I am thinking probably that might be my second launch my podcast, so probably around April or May. Okay. Yeah. Perfect. No, that so? Well. No, I

That's good. You want to have time to get all your stuff together and get some episodes in the lineup and all of that.

Yeah. So I'm really thinking about that being my second lunch, probably April or May, leaning towards May. Yeah.

And that's a good time. Because, you know, teachers will be getting off school for the summer parents will be available and all of that. So yeah, excited for you.

Oh, thank you so much there.

Of course, thank you so much for coming on and being willing to toss some ideas around.

Oh, thank you for having me. I'm really enjoyed this course.

Can you tell people where they can find you online?

You can find me online at my website, the Lone Star tutor. It's www dot the Lone Star tutor.com. Or you can find me either on Tik Tok or Instagram. And my handle for both of those is at Lone underscore star underscore tutor. Perfect

and we will put those links in the show notes. Raj, thank you so much again for being here.

Thank you for having me.

Thanks so much for listening to today's episode. To keep this conversation going connect with me on Instagram at podcasting for educators. I'm always looking for an excuse to talk about podcasting. If you're looking for support and launching, managing or growing your podcast, check out my online course the podcasting for educators prep school at podcasting for educators.com/prep school. I'll see you here next time.