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Showing posts from 2021

Aleta Margolis: Unleashing the Power of Inspired Teaching

I can personally attest to the difference individual teachers can make when they are seeking to inspire students instead of treating them as empty vessels into which they can pour academic standards. I’m grateful that even when I attended large, under-funded public schools, I still had individual teachers (shout out to Sr. Sierra, Sra. Ortiz, and Mr. Glasser, to name a few) who used their creativity to spark curiosity, inspiration, and learning. They more than made up for those who were teaching by rote. Changemaker Aleta Margolis, founder and executive director of the Center for Inspired Teaching, has dedicated her life to helping teachers refine their craft as "instigators of thought.” Her goal? To ensure that all students have access to “inspired” teaching in their classrooms. Since its founding in 1995, the Center for Inspired Teaching has worked with more than 15,000 teachers to build their practice in engagement-based teaching. In 2011, Aleta launched the Inspired Teaching D

Journalist Katharine Mieszkowski: Exposing Problems, Holding People Accountable, and Inspiring Change

Katharine Mieszkowski is a Yale-educated investigative journalist whose work has earned her a myriad of awards. Most recently, she was part of the Center for Investigative Reporting’s Reveal podcast team that received accolades for American Rehab, a serialized investigation that exposed how thousands of desperate people were exploited for their labor when they sought out treatment for addiction. That podcast has won top prizes from the Edward R. Murrow and Investigative Reporters and Editors awards in addition to the 2021 Gerald Loeb Award for audio, which recognizes the most distinguished business and financial journalism. American Rehab, done in collaboration with PRX, was also named one of 2020’s top podcasts by The New Yorker, and The Atlantic.  When and why did you decide to become a journalist? Have you always thought of yourself as an investigative reporter? When I graduated from college, I really wanted to be a writer. I found I loved journalism, because I enjoyed meeting peopl

The Elephant in the Room: Classism at Boarding School

I tend to blog about social issues that are regional, national, or even international in scope. But last spring, I wrote an OpEd for our school newspaper broaching a very uncomfortable topic for our tiny boarding school community: Classism. It has sparked numerous conversations since then and my hope is that these discussions will help make our school a little more welcoming and inclusive. The (slightly edited) text is below, for any who may be curious. OpEd: The Elephant in the Room When Jose C. was a freshman, a classmate from his history class made a comment about how Jose didn’t deserve to be at our school because he was receiving financial aid. According to Jose, the clique this classmate belonged to ordered food frequently, went skiing on weekends, and dined at the most expensive restaurants in the area. Their extravagance ensured that their friendships were limited to those who could afford such activities.  “I never felt close to them because they made it clear that they were

Jennifer Bennett of Zazie: Transforming the Food Service Business, One Restaurant at a Time

(Photo: Jennifer Bennett and Zazie co-owners Mario Rojas, Megan Cornelius, and Francisco Romero) Jennifer Bennett is on a mission to prove that restaurants can offer good jobs with benefits and even long-term careers for staff. One of her insights -- that people will live up to whatever expectations we have of them, so we might as well expect the best -- is applicable to so many settings. My family has been going to Zazie for as long as I can remember. (Check out the photo of toddler me enjoying a piece of toast with jam at Zazie). When I was old enough to understand just how differently Zazie does business compared to other restaurants, I loved Zazie even more. Read on to learn about Jennifer and what led her to change the way restaurants do business. And if you are ever in San Francisco, please do patronize this wonderful Cole Valley eatery and say hi to the new owners for me. When did you first start working in restaurants? When did you decide it would become not just a job but a ca

Eric Garcia: Changing the Autism Conversation

(Photo of Eric Garcia by photographer  Kristin Herbruck) One of the people I love most in the world is autistic. They have shaped who I am in profound ways and made my life far richer, more interesting, and even more fun. I’ve never felt that they needed to be  “cured,” even when it has been challenging to figure out how to support them best. Neurotribes author Steve Silberman   helped shift how we think about autism by sharing a well-researched historical perspective. Today’s interviewee, Eric Garcia, wrote a book that takes this conversation even further by combining his personal experience as an autistic man with his understanding of public policy as a DC-based political reporter. His book, We’re Not Broken; Changing the Autism Conversation , urges us to focus not on how autism might be “cured,” but on how we can better support autistic people so they can lead fulfilling lives.  When did you first realize you were autistic and when did you finally accept and embrace that identity? H

Friends of San Quentin News (FoSQN) Hosting Virtual Fundraiser

According to William Drummond, author of the book Prison Truth, there were 250 prison publications in the 1950s. Today there are only 10.  The oldest and best known of these is the San Quentin News, which is distributed to all 36 California prisons. I wrote about the newspaper in News Decoder last year and highlighted the publication’s impact on its staffers. As I mentioned in the article, working on the newspaper teaches critical skills, provides a creative outlet, and plays an important role in rehabilitation. So far, the rate of recidivism among San Quentin News staffers is ZERO.  Keeping the San Quentin News going takes money, however.  If you’d like to contribute to the cause, please consider participating in the Friends of San Quentin News online auction (August 23 - 31) or the upcoming virtual event at 7pm EST today, August 26th.  You can register and get more information here .  Auction items include original art and tickets to the SF Opera and Hamilton for culture lovers. Spor

Summer with the Prison Journalism Project

((PHOTO: Jonathan Chiu of the San Quentin News)) I've spent my summer so far working as an editorial intern for the Prison Journalism Project (PJP) , where I’ve been helping to edit and publish stories by incarcerated writers. When I was first invited to join the team, I assumed that I would be transcribing submissions -- these are typically written by hand and transcribed by interns and volunteers. I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to actually use my editorial skills.  This was probably because the Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of PJP, Yukari Kane, knows that I’ve been writing about mass incarceration and prison reform since 2017, when I wrote about James Forman Jr.’s book, Locking Up Our Own, and interviewed her about her volunteer work at the San Quentin News. I’ve been writing on and off about criminal justice since, most recently in an academic research paper about the impact of the Attica uprising on prison reform and in a feature story published in News De

Ronald Jenkins: Bringing the Power of Theatre to Prisons, Amplifying Incarcerated Voices

( Photo courtesy of Wesleyan University ) I first encountered Ron Jenkins' work because I was researching the 1971 Attica Prison uprising and saw that he was hosting an event commemorating the 50th anniversary. The presentation (only his latest prison/university collaboration) featured the voices of recently-incarcerated individuals as well as Wesleyan students and commentary from two survivors of the events in Attica. Turns out, Professor Jenkins is chairman of the Theatre department at Wesleyan University and a visiting Religion and Theatre professor at the Yale Divinity School, Institute of Sacred Music. He uses documentary theatre to promote social transformation and human rights, and has led workshops around the world. He is also a former circus clown. If you’re interested in reading some of my other work on criminal justice and prison reform, check out these posts: “Locking Up Our Own” by James Forman, Jr. , Yukari Kane: Volunteering at San Quentin , Covid-19 at San Quentin