"Being a Part of Their Village" with Jireh Keys

For the last Broken Copier episode of 2024, Marcus was able to speak with Jireh Keys, an early-career elementary school teacher in Fordyce, Arkansas—who also just happens to have been a freshman back in the first English class Marcus ever taught back in 2012.

In this conversation, Jireh shares about her path into the classroom, the experience of returning to teach in the community that raised her, and all the meaning she has found in her new identity as a teacher.

(And yes, you can imagine Marcus smiling wide this entire conversation as he listened to his former student talk about absolutely thriving in the classroom as a teacher herself!)

Thanks, as always, to:

Alberto Lugo, one of Jim’s former students, for writing and recording original intro music; Tom Csatari for allowing us to use his band’s recording of “Woodstock” from their 2020 album, Garden; and Courtney Milavec for graphic design.

Find Tom’s work at uncivilizedtom.com, and on Instagram @banduncivilized.

Find Alberto’s work at djsynchro.weebly.com, and on Instagram @djsynchro.

Email us here with feedback or any other questions as well: thebrokencopier@substack.com.

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