Distantly Socializing: Recent Episodes
Jennifer Grafitti
The world my students and I were comfortable living in changed drastically on March 13, 2020. We heard words like pandemic and quarantine and remote learning and stay-at-home and masks and...Coronavirus. We learned that "school" as we knew it was ending indefinitely, and we were faced with great tumult. The questions...How will we teach and learn from home? What will school look like? Will we ever see our friends, our teacher, our colleagues, our classrooms again? Will we ever go back? None of us had ever experienced anything like this and the fear of the unknown kept growing. After that day, the only comfort I could offer my students came through virtual meetings and daily messages online. So we started a podcast. I provided a place for them to share their struggles, fears, questions, experiences, and advice. We could finally talk and laugh again. Our ideas grew and we began talking to some of our favorite authors. Creativity, imagination and hope were all sparked again. Quiet students found their voices. Students with opinions finally had a place to speak their minds. This is our podcast. We hope it continues to grow and provide enjoyment for many people. I am just happy to be able to connect with my students once again.
PLAN. How many times have we used this word in the past few weeks? Summer is winding down, and the beginning of the school year is quickly approaching. The problem is...many of us have no idea how that will look. Will we be in the buildings, and if so- for how many days? Will it all be online, and if so- will it be better than it was in the spring? Will it be a combination of the two, and if so- how in the WORLD will that work?? In today's episode, ironically our 13th, I talk with two friends of mine who are both stay at home moms. Melani is a local mom of four girls, and is struggling with the decision to keep them in school or teach them at home. Tiffany lives in Florida, and has been homeschooling her four sons and one daughter until they reach high school. She is familiar with both home schooling and "regular" school, but is also finding it difficult to make the best choice for all of her children this year. I have always admired both of them as moms and was very interested in hearing their opinions of the challenges parents will be facing in the next few weeks. As a mom and a teacher, I can see things from both sides, and I truly feel for all the other parents and teachers out there. I hope you are all staying healthy and safe, and are able to make the best of the school situation, however that will look for you and your family this year.
Harrison Ford, John Candy, Chris Pratt, bobsledding, baseball, tornadoes and Ewoks...all featured in the movies we talk about today. Blake, Mason and I covered the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to movies. After we shared the movies we love and the ones we love to hate, we debated topics like what makes a "good" movie, the role of swearing in movies, and how to suffer through those AMAZING movies our parents tell us they know we will LOVE because they loved them as kids. Enjoy!
We are so excited to announce that we're starting a book club with "Distantly Socializing"! We have chosen the book Ghost by Jason Reynolds. We hope many people will join us- kids, parents, teachers, anyone! So, read the book, then come back in two weeks to listen to our second BONUS episode when we discuss the book. If you're interested in joining us on the podcast, please let me know! Happy reading!
Check out the Book Trailer for Ghost!You can also listen to Jason Reynolds read an excerpt of Ghost!
In previous episodes, I have talked to students about how the quarantine has affected them, and now it's time to hear from teachers! In this episode, I talk with my good friend and coworker, Michelle Gentry, and a parent of a student we had this year who also happens to be a teacher, Morgan Ramsdell. While we discussed the struggles we had with school ending the way it did, we also touched on other topics, such as racism, gender differences in students, and our ideal plans for moving forward with school. We hope you enjoy!
Books mentioned in this episode:
- Blended by Sharon Draper
- Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment (Perspectives on Gender) 2nd Edition by Patricia Hill Collins
- White Fragility: Why It's So Hard For White People To Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo
- Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes
- Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
- Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
Amoebae, "Saturday Night Live", flatulence, boxing presidents, and a toad named Merlin...you can't get the stories if you don't ask the questions. In today's episode, I was joined by Blake and his mom, Tonia, Logan and his mom, Dawn, and two of my own children, Jake (15) and Izzy (12). Parents and kids took turns interviewing each other. We had lots of laughs and I think everyone learned a little more about the people they love. At the end of the episode, Logan and Blake questioned each other in our "Two Minutes in the Hot Seat". We hope you enjoy today's show!
In this episode, we had the privilege of talking with bestselling novelist Jewell Parker Rhodes, author of Towers Falling, Ghost Boys, Sugar, Ninth Ward and her newest novel, Black Brother, Black Brother. We had a compelling discussion about racism, breaking down stereotypes, and tricky conversations. Jewell shared how difficult it was for her to take herself back to September 11th when writing Towers Falling, and the reason why she knew she had to keep writing it. on for her books. Noah, Blake, and Ryan asked their questions, and Blake's favorite "pandemic book" question got a pretty cool response! We hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it!
In this episode, we are thrilled to talk to Jerry Craft, author of New Kid, the Newbery Medal winner for 2020. New Kid is the first graphic novel ever to win the Newbery! I had asked Jerry for 5 minutes of his time and he ended up talking to us for about 45 minutes! Gracie, Noah H., Mason, Blake, Logan, Owen, Hunter, and Frankie joined me on this interview. We even got a sneak peek of Class Act, the sequel to New Kid, set to come out in October. Jerry told us how being a kid who disliked reading books, but loved comic books, actually inspired him to become a writer. We hope you enjoy our interview and Hot Seat with Jerry Craft!
In this episode, Blake, Sol and I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Alan Gratz, author of Resistance, Ban This Book, and one of my top five favorite books- Refugee. My 15 year old son Jake read Gratz's Code of Honor last year and it quickly became his favorite book, so he joined us for the interview. Alan shares with us why Refugee was so important to write, how Tuck Everlasting helped him find solace with a childhood fear he had, and how he has learned to put elements of empathy in all of his books. We hope you enjoy the episode!
For our very first episode, I interviewed Gracie, Isabella, and Logan to get some good ideas of how to pass the time while we are all stuck at home. We also introduced "2 Minutes in the Hot Seat". We even had two surprise guests at the end of the show! Enjoy! : )
(Originally aired: 4/16/2020)
For our 4th episode, we are honored to spend time talking with a favorite author of ours, Cece Bell! Her autobiographical graphic novel, El Deafo, has gone through many 5th grade hands over the past few years. Cece is hearing impaired so this was a learning experience for all of us! Frankie, Sol, Logan, and Blake came up with some great questions to ask her. In our interview, Cece tells us what parts of El Deafo are "true", shares with us how she struggles as a reader and writer sometimes, and even whets our appetites by describing an interesting dish her mom used to make! Enjoy!
(Originally aired: 5/12/2020)
In our third episode, Riley does some digging and finds several rumors that have been spreading relating to the Coronavirus. After some great fact-checking, she sets the record straight!
(Originally aired: 5/11/2020)
In our 5th episode, Blake, Logan, and I sit down with Jennifer Nielsen, author of some of our favorite books: A Night Divided, Resistance, and The False Prince series, just to name a few. She shares what book inspired her to become a writer, talks about her love of historical fiction, and even braves the Hot Seat! We had a great time talking to Jennifer. Enjoy!
(Originally aired: 5/12/2020)
In Part 1 of this episode, Ava and Noah talk about the good vs. the bad when it comes to covid-19 and being quarantined. In Part 2, Ava is back and joins Frankie and Blake to discuss their opinions on fear vs. fact vs. fiction. Then of course we each have our "Two Minutes in the Hot Seat"! Enjoy!
(Originally aired: 5/3/2020)
For our very first episode, I interviewed Gracie, Isabella, and Logan to get some good ideas of how to pass the time while we are all stuck at home. We also introduced "2 Minutes in the Hot Seat". We even had two surprise guests at the end of the show! Enjoy! : )