The Teacher Activist Podcast: Recent Episodes
Alexander Denham
Welcome to Activism with The A. D. In this podcast series, I will be discussing modern activism topics from the lense of an educator. This podcast feed is a space for me to reflect and share my thoughts on topics discussed in my graduate school experience. This podcast series will include book reviews, final projects, modern reflections and implications, and interviews with experts. This podcast is part of the Out of School Suspension podcast family.
“Same As It Never Was” is an account of Gregory Michie’s return to teaching Middle School in Chicago Public Schools. Michie left teaching to become a university professor, teaching the next generation of teachers. Although hesitant to return to teaching, Michie accepted is old/new position at an inner city, high minority public school in south-side Chicago. Against the backdrop of teacher strikes and anti-testing protests, the movement for Black lives and the deepening of anti-immigrant sentiment, this book invites readers into an award-winning teacher’s classroom as he struggles to teach towards equity and justice in a time where both are elusive for too many children in our nation’s schools. (from description) For many teachers, this book resonates as real life; and for non-educators, this book is a wake-up call for them to be more active in their school communities.
“Language Across Difference” follows the studies of Django Paris in South Vista High School as he studies the effects of language on inclusion of student population groups. South Vista’s community is majority Latinx/Hispanic, followed by African Americans, and many Pacific Islanders, like American Samoa. “Paris offers the voices and experiences of South Vista youth as a window into how today’s young people challenge and reinforce ethnic and linguistic difference in demographically changing urban schools and communities.” (book description) Paris follows three distinct language groups: Spanish, African American Language, and Samoan. “Paris illustrates how understanding youth communication, ethnicity and identities in changing urban landscapes like South Vista offers crucial avenues for researchers and educators to push for more equitable schools and a more equitable society.” (book description)
On a Thursday in November of 2013, every Latino man who drove away from a shared apartment above a small auto repair shop had failed to return – arrested, one by one, by ICE agents and local police. William Lopez writes a narrative of that day, addressing modern implications of police brutality and psychological trauma in mix-status communities. As one Latina remembers, “the soldiers came into the house. They knocked down doors. They threw gas. They had guns. We were two women with small children…The kids terrified, the kids screaming.” (taken from description of Separated)
Lopez also creates a correlation between the police brutality of African-Americans to the brutality of the home raids on potential “undocumented immigrants”. Lopez also ask white Americans and police officers to “reflect on their casual acceptance of extreme violence meted out on Black and brown community members.” (Lopez, Loc 2775)
“Unsettled Belongings” by Abu El-Haj adds to the discussion of educational inclusion of Palestinian-American students. As conflict continues to rage in the Middle East between Palestinians and Israelis, many of these Palestinian students have dual nationality, both to America in which they were born, and Palestine in which their family belongs. El-Haj follows a group of Palestinian-American students at Region High as they come to terms with their inclusivity, and how the concept of the American Imaginary creates a exclusionary barrier for these students. At the crux of this book is this question: What makes you an American?”
“Shifting Boundaries” by Alexis Silver discusses the implications of immigration policies on a federal, state, and local level by looking through the perspective of citizens of Allen Creek, NC. A small, rural town, Allen Creek is influenced by local prejudices as well as state and federal immigration policies. Although President Obama opened an avenue of inclusion to Latinx community members through DACA and DAPA, those policies would soon be taken away by President Trump, adding to the already shifting ground Latinx immigrants already stand under. DACA, TPS, Educational Clubs, Teachers, and Activist Groups promote inclusion of the Latinx community members; while the removal of DACA and DAPA, financial and institutional barriers, racialized ethnic discrimination, and harsh law enforcement policies promotes exclusion. Again, we are specifically talking about Latinx youths that lived their lives in America, went/go to American public schools, work in American economy. Are they not American by virtue? Or does paperwork define Americans?
Hello everyone and welcome to the Teacher Activist podcast, my name is Alex Denham and I am your host. This is the final podcast in the book series on Globalization efforts in Education. The final book in this series is called We Don’t Need Another Hero by Gregory Michie. Again, I will summarize the book, and then talk about two topics, leading to our conclusion at the end. My hope is that you learn something from my experience reading this book, and hopefully spark an interest in reading it for yourself.
Welcome back to the Teacher Activist podcast series. I’m your host, Alex Denham, and in this episode I am going to discuss the book Juarez Girls Rising by Claudia Cervantes-Soon. Set in Cuidad Juarez, Mexico, right across from the El Paso, TX boarder, sets Preparatoria Altavista. Altavista is different from the other government run schools in the area, focusing on students in poverty and in need of a different kind of curriculum. Following the story of 10 female students at Altavista, Juarez Girls Rising gives a unique take on how school structure can positively and negatively impact female lives in Cuidad Juarez.
TESL 6206: Book Series A Home on the Field
Welcome back to the podcast series Teacher Activist. In this episode, I am going to discuss the book A Home on the Field by Paul Cuadros. Set in the small town of Siler City, NC, Paul stumbles upon a poultry factory town with an influx of Latinx population. His way of bringing together the community…a high school soccer team. Thank you for listening, and I hope you enjoy the episode.
Welcome back to Teacher Activist podcast. I’m Alex Denham and this episode we are going to discuss the book Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario. I am going to be discussing the book in full detail, so spoilers ahead.
In this podcast, Alexander Denham, a student at UNC Charlotte, will summarize (briefly) and address two topics from the book "Accommodation without Assimilation" by Margaret A. Gibson.
ELED 6260 Final Project
The goal of this final presentation (via podcast) is to inform and inspire educators to become teacher-activists in their school communities. Teacher-activists are proponents of culturally responsive teaching, advocating for their students at a community, school, and district level. This presentation will define teacher-activist and culturally responsive teaching, highlight four problematic areas teachers must address in education, give resources for learning the basics of teacher-activism, and propose solution to incorporate culturally responsive education in school communities. The impacts of creating more teacher-activists in schools are measured through student growth assessment data and socio-emotional intervention measurement tools.