Every Electives teacher has a unique story that makes them special. It's their lived experiences and stories coupled with their content that has such a memorable impact on employees’ learning and development. So, who are our teachers and why are they so passionate about the topics they teach? What are their stories?

Today, we’re excited for you to get to know Jeff Rogers. Jeff teaches four electives: Understanding Racism, Intersectionality & Equity, What Growing Up Mixed Teaches You about Race in America, and Working Across Differences.

Q: Who is Jeff Rogers? How did you get to where you are in your career?

Jeff: I started working with youth with severe emotional disturbances, from ADD to bipolar disorder. It turned out that I had a gift for it and an interest in this, specifically the psychology of how humans work and how they change. So I started to train people how to work with these youth and then before I knew it, I’m training adults and working with adults but centering around how people strip themselves to the bare bones and rebuild themselves and change. So I really focus on how people change and what it takes for people to actually change.

Q: What inspired you to become a teacher with Electives?

Jeff: Working with groups is something I do. I talked to Jason and I really liked what he was trying to do. The team is trying to connect people who want to learn and improve the world to people who have an opportunity to do that. So for me, it was a no brainer. Electives has a great model that is understandable - even the name Electives. Electives are things that enrich you in school, and Electives is trying to enrich people at work.

Q: Why do you teach the electives you focus on?

Jeff: My practice is based on the solution focused method and radical candor. Those are useful things you can bring into any interaction or situation...but with Electives I do a lot of diversity and equity inclusion work. It’s particularly needed because race and equity are so taboo and people struggle to even talk about it. So for me, it’s so important that we can’t fix racism and equity until we can first talk about it. Someone needs to be able to help people build the skills so that they can talk about race in a way that's unifying, not dividing.

Q: What is your go-to song to kick off your electives? 
Jeff: Stevie Wonder’s “Love’s In Need of Love Today.”  That is my theme song!

Q: What do you hope employees will gain from attending your electives?

Jeff: I hope everyone leaves my elective knowing that having the space to examine your ideas, thoughts, and beliefs can make your life more meaningful and can help you understand society better. And after attending my elective, if you come away with action items, you can actually apply those ideas and action steps to help make the world better. 

Also, after some of my electives, I work with the audience to build a vision around what change could look like, and I challenge them to do something within the next week to help them get closer to that vision.

Q: What advice would you give to anyone who wants to teach with Electives?

Jeff: It’s easy to stand up and lecture people - and we are used to that in our education system. But you’re not really teaching people because that’s not how people learn. Don’t be a content expert; be an expert in connecting people to why they should care about the idea. Focus more on engagement than content. If you want to be a teacher with Electives, have a narrative and content that resonates with people during and after the class. Use examples, have crowd interaction, and expect people to engage. If people are listening and just on mute, you’re failing. If they are chiming in, you’re doing it right.

Q: Is there a statistic in the world that makes you nervous? 
Jeff: A trend that makes me nervous - politicians are trying to pick the voters and that’s where democracy fails. I’m afraid that democracy is failing because of anti-voter movements and poll taxes. This scares me because there should be a healthy debate over all the decisions made about our government - not politicians who are trying to silence voters just because they don’t like what they have to say.

Q: Can you share a book or podcast that should be added to our reading/listening lists?

Jeff: I vouch for the podcast People I Mostly Admire by Steve Levitt

Q: What do you personally want to learn more about throughout 2022?

Jeff: I have a bottomless stack of books that I want to read, like most people do, so I want to tackle that. Two examples are Bell Hooks’ Feminist Theory and The Analogical Mind (which is not a fun read).

Every Electives teacher has a unique story that makes them special. It's their lived experiences and stories coupled with their content that has such a memorable impact on employees’ learning and development. So, who are our teachers and why are they so passionate about the topics they teach? What are their stories?

Today, we’re excited for you to get to know Jeff Rogers. Jeff teaches four electives: Understanding Racism, Intersectionality & Equity, What Growing Up Mixed Teaches You about Race in America, and Working Across Differences.

Enjoy our conversation with Jeff below!

Q: Who is Jeff Rogers? How did you get to where you are in your career?
Jeff: I started working with youth with severe emotional disturbances, from ADD to bipolar disorder. It turned out that I had a gift for it and an interest in this, specifically the psychology of how humans work and how they change. So I started to train people how to work with these youth and then before I knew it, I’m training adults and working with adults but centering around how people strip themselves to the bare bones and rebuild themselves and change. So I really focus on how people change and what it takes for people to actually change.

Q: What inspired you to become a teacher with Electives?
Jeff: Working with groups is something I do. I talked to Jason and I really liked what he was trying to do. The team is trying to connect people who want to learn and improve the world to people who have an opportunity to do that. So for me, it was a no brainer. Electives has a great model that is understandable - even the name Electives. Electives are things that enrich you in school, and Electives is trying to enrich people at work.

Q: Why do you teach the electives you focus on?
Jeff: My practice is based on the solution focused method and radical candor. Those are useful things you can bring into any interaction or situation...but with Electives I do a lot of diversity and equity inclusion work. It’s particularly needed because race and equity are so taboo and people struggle to even talk about it. So for me, it’s so important that we can’t fix racism and equity until we can first talk about it. Someone needs to be able to help people build the skills so that they can talk about race in a way that's unifying, not dividing.

Q: What is your go-to song to kick off your electives? 
Jeff: Stevie Wonder’s “Love’s In Need of Love Today.”  That is my theme song!

Q: What do you hope employees will gain from attending your electives?
Jeff: I hope everyone leaves my elective knowing that having the space to examine your ideas, thoughts, and beliefs can make your life more meaningful and can help you understand society better. And after attending my elective, if you come away with action items, you can actually apply those ideas and action steps to help make the world better. 

Also, after some of my electives, I work with the audience to build a vision around what change could look like, and I challenge them to do something within the next week to help them get closer to that vision.

Q: What advice would you give to anyone who wants to teach with Electives?
Jeff: It’s easy to stand up and lecture people - and we are used to that in our education system. But you’re not really teaching people because that’s not how people learn. Don’t be a content expert; be an expert in connecting people to why they should care about the idea. Focus more on engagement than content. If you want to be a teacher with Electives, have a narrative and content that resonates with people during and after the class. Use examples, have crowd interaction, and expect people to engage. If people are listening and just on mute, you’re failing. If they are chiming in, you’re doing it right.

Q: Is there a statistic in the world that makes you nervous? 
Jeff: A trend that makes me nervous - politicians are trying to pick the voters and that’s where democracy fails. I’m afraid that democracy is failing because of anti-voter movements and poll taxes. This scares me because there should be a healthy debate over all the decisions made about our government - not politicians who are trying to silence voters just because they don’t like what they have to say.

Q: Can you share a book or podcast that should be added to our reading/listening lists?
Jeff: I vouch for the podcast People I Mostly Admire by Steve Levitt

Q: What do you personally want to learn more about throughout 2022?
Jeff: I have a bottomless stack of books that I want to read, like most people do, so I want to tackle that. Two examples are Bell Hooks’ Feminist Theory and The Analogical Mind (which is not a fun read).

Check Out Jeff Rogers' Electives

Meet Jeff Rogers, one of the teachers with Electives, as he shares his advice on teaching at Electives and why he teaches. 

Teacher Spotlight: Meet Jeff Rogers

Tue Apr 05 2022

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