Warriors of Education Podcast

On today's Warriors of Education podcast we catch up to my first interview with Kevin Higgins. Because of a medical condition Kevin is teaching remotely. We talk about the constant challenges between curriculum changing and getting students to show up, as well as the frustration of not being live.

Kevin Higgins is a Special Education teacher in the South Bronx. In the 8 years he has been teaching, he has taught/co-taught ELA, Earth Science, U.S. History, Global History and Creative Writing; as well as leading Advisory classes for both integrated and self-contained classes for grades 9-12. He has been on numerous committees, has run professional development seminars revolving around Special Education, and was chair of his school's Special Education Department for 5 years.

On Today's Warriors of Education Podcast I speak to Organizer and Activist Luke Amphlett from San Antonio Texas about how he is working with teachers across the country to create a collective movement of change in a unsafe and uncertain future of education. "It is on us (teachers) to make sure that it isn't worse than it already is. Educators are really in the only position to change that. Educators are the most organized, most unified and progressive people. National organizations are acting collectively- in Austin, Little Rock, Chicago, LA and with MORE( movement of rank in file) in NYC.

Luke Amphlett is a teacher and union steward at Burbank High School in San Antonio. He serves as a high school rep on the Executive Council of the San Antonio Alliance, a merged AFT/NEA local in representing school workers in San Antonio ISD, and is a founding member of PODER, a rank-and-file social justice caucus within the union

 

On today's episode I speak to Terry Kinder, a middle school teacher from north central Florida. Terry was featured on the national news recently speaking about the pressure of assessments during the time of Covid.  We talk about how her job was threatened if she did not give out these assessments at a time where teachers are just trying to navigate their way through remote learning as well as deal with the emotional fallout from this past spring.

This is Terry's 6th year teaching. She currently teaches 5 classes online and one class face to face.

 

 

 

On today's episode I speak to Suzy Devore, a professor of theatre at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, FL.  We speak about the challenges of teaching during covid on the college level, how she has successfully navigated through to have in person classes while still teaching remotely and addressing the changing social and political climate in the state of Florida.

Suzy DeVore is a professor of theatre, actor and director.  She holds an MFA from The Actors Studio Drama School, New School University in New York City and a BA in Dance from Point Park College, Pittsburgh, PA. She is currently the Program Manager for the Hillsborough Community College Theatre Program, Ybor Campus in Tampa, FL.  She is also the president of the Visual and Performing Arts Series of the college. While in NYC, she was the managing director of her theatre company of P.L.A.Y. Put Life Ahead of You, which focused on the integration of education through the arts, by both producing new work and pursuing the history of classical work.  Favorite theatre productions include roles in Extremities, Laura, The Shadow Box, Last Night of Ballyhoo, and In the Blood.  She is a member of Association of Theatre in Higher Education and has been awarded outstanding director for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, Region IV.

 

On today's episode I speak to Alexandra Haridopolos and Ilan Desai- Geller who both teach on the Grace Dodge Campus in the Bronx.  They have been a part of the ongoing protests against the NYC DOE and The UFT as teachers are returning to unsafe classrooms before the students come back.  There has been an effort to keep classes remote because schools are not meeting the safety standards with poor ventilation and windows that barely open. Teachers have had enough and are speaking out for their own safety and the safety of the students.

Ilan Desai-Geller is a high school educator in The Bronx and active member of MORE-UFT, the social justice caucus of the New York City teacher's union. Taking inspiration from the centuries-long tradition of Freedom Schools and ethnic studies, Ilan strives for his classrooms to provide his students with the context and skills to organize for liberation of all peoples.Alexandra Haridopolos is a high school educator in the Grace Dodge Campus in The Bronx, a UFT delegate and active member of MORE-UFT, the social justice caucus of the New York City teacher's union.

Alexandra Haridopolos has organized around educational inequities since high school, fighting for equitable admission policies, parent power in DOE decisions and now sounding the alarm on DOE's abandonment of vulnerable communities since the COVID19 pandemic began in March 2020. In the classroom, Haridopolos centers participatory action research projects and popular education methods to facilitate students' development of their own research on issues impacting their community culminating in a short documentary film presented at the local public library. 

 

On today's episode I speak to Shoshana Brown, a member of the steering committee of MORE (movement of rank and file) and social worker in NYC.  We talk about the complications of teachers reporting back to the classrooms , what MORE is doing to protect teachers.  With an  uptick of positive COVID cases with teachers there is a growing concern about how the NYCDOE and the union is protecting teachers and eventually students when they return.

Shoshana A Brown, LMSW is a school social worker in the NYC DOE. They are fierce in transformative justice, bold in tearing down the prison system, and joyful in leading healing circles.

Here is the link for MORE http://more.nationbuilder.com/join_us

 

On today's Podcast I talk to Kelsey Jean-Baptiste, a journalist covering the reopening of schools and how teachers and students are dealing with it in her YouTube Show Too Real, A Talk. We talk about not only her experience speaking to these teachers around the country, but her own life- growing up with a mother who is a teacher and a sister still in the public school system. Her talk show is "A Journalistic Discovery Through Critical Movements for Change and Current News" focused on social justice issues and movements. Here is a link to that show: https://www.kelseyjeanbaptiste.com/too-real-a-talk?wix-vod-video-id=7a17920350b74095b484858a8db41de6&wix-vod-comp-id=comp-kbmb9dp5   Chelsea New York City native, born in the Borough of Brooklyn. During her studies at Ursinus College, she became passionate about my major in Communications, which was one small step in attaining her goals for Broadcast Journalism.  Even though it was too late to explore the true realm of Journalism at Ursinus College, it  was not too late to challenge herself at Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. Her motto in life is "Carpe Diem" -- Seize the Day -- and it is what she intends to do in honor of her late brother, Kyle Jean-Baptiste. "Seize every opportunity and moment, always giving back to the community." https://www.kelseyjeanbaptiste.com/too-real-a-talk  

 

On today's episode I speak to Margaret Trissel, Fadwa Abbas, and  Eliza van Rootselaar all teachers from Brooklyn Friends School,  a private Quaker school in Brooklyn New York.The colleagues of Brooklyn Friends School moved to unionize last year with an overwhelming majority of employees (faculty and staff together) voting in favor of unionization. The  new head of school did not want to work in a unionized school. After significant layoffs and role reductions that had been negotiated with the union, the head of school and the board announced that they are taking advantage of new Trump administration NLRB policies that allow religious institutions to decertify unions. "Why is it the workers of Brooklyn Friends are being asked to give up the chance to organize and collectively bargain while taking tremendous risks to self care for ourselves and our students?"

Fadwa Abbas is an English teacher in the upper school at Brooklyn Friends School. She teaches adults as weak and has taught in both public and private schools in NYC

Eliza van Rotselaar is a 2nd grade teacher at Brooklyn Friends School. This will be her 7th year teaching as well as being an alum of BFS.

Margaret Trissel is a 5th grade Humanities teacher at BFS. She is a former faculty trustee.

 

On today's episode we speak to Badass Teachers(BATs) executive director Melissa Tomlinson about the need for teachers and parents to have a voice in the conversation of returning to the classroom during COVID.  BATs have been working on a series of actions and plans along with Demand Safe Schools, National Educators United and Journey for Justice including petitions, letters and emails to governors and those working around governors. She encourages all to engage in these conversations and surround yourself with those fighting for equality in education, corporate education reform and the demand for a safe return. 

Melissa Tomlinson, a special education teacher in NJ, found her passion for being a public education advocate when she joined Badass Teachers Association (BATs). Fighting for educational equity for all students, Melissa currently serves as the Executive Director of BATs and is an active member of the New Jersey Education Association.

On today's episode I speak to Meghan LeBorious, A high school teacher in Brooklyn who brought  a mindfulness program to her school, a tool that transformed the students and teachers. Not only did it help with coping with the pandemic, but provided a way "to eliminate the internal obstacles that stop them from stepping fully into their power, dignity, and creativity – essential tools on the path to racial justice, and essential tools on the path to real freedom and equality." These are also tools teachers can use as they step into unknown territory returning to the classroom.

Meghan is a freelance writer and mindfulness teacher at Cobble Hill High School in Brooklyn, where she lives along with her ten-year-old son. She writes extensively about mindfulness practices in daily life.