Episode 26: Mike Buck and Public Education in Georgia

Join us as Mike talks with me about education in Georgia and tells us some things about what makes Mike…Mike.

Mike has served the families of Georgia through public education over 31 years.

He has been a teacher, administrator, high school principal, assistant superintendent and now the Chief Academic Officer for the State of Georgia.

We talked about the responsibilities of the Chief Academic Officer (basically, I asked him what he does…)

Listen to hear Mike explain that his greatest lesson learned as the Chief Academic Officer was... “I didn’t know... what I didn’t know.”

Mike reflected on the initiative called Career Pathways and the positive role it will play for the children of Georgia in their future planning.

I asked Mike what challenges he thought teachers faced today that are different than from when he was a high school principal…

One of his comments was …Time. Check out where we go with this topic.

Mike is the child of a soldier who moved with his career. This meant that Mike had to learn to make friends and to get along with others who were different than him. Mike talks about his love for diversity.

Mike is running for the State Superintendent of Schools of Georgia. He shared his thoughts about the race and what he would bring to the role if he was elected.

Mike is a fan of Jim Collins and John Maxwell as leadership writers and the lessons of life found in the Bible. Currently, he is reading a book called Praying Circles around Your Children by Mark Batterson. He says that he sees the greatest leadership challenge as that of being a parent and raising children.  He reflected on a couple of thoughts from the book that have had a huge impact on his interactions with his children and how he lives his life:

·         Teaching your own kids how to say and mean…please, thank you, and I’m sorry.

·         I try to live my life in such a way that those who know me best respect me the most.

You can find out more about Mike at his website www.buckforsuperintendent.com

Thanks for listening. Please share with your friends, family, and colleagues!

Enjoy!

Length: 26:29