Ep. 137: Hiking the Wonderland Trail--Turning Your Bucket List into Real Goals
EQ: Why do white women sign up for rigorous outdoor activities to eat/pray/love/wild it up?
In this episode, Megan shares her recent accomplishment, hiking The Wonderland Trail, a 93 mile jaunt around Mount Rainier. She opens up about the factors that led to this adventure, how she prepared for this rigorous hike and the highlights from her journey. Additionally, Hope and Megan highlight the importance of turning teams into actually achievable goals. There will be no perfect time. Do something you want to do–something that will bring you joy. Do it now and don’t wait.
Do Your Fudging Homework:
Hope: Shout out to all the GCC ASCD leaders
Megan: Get outside. Stop putting off some dream. Just make it a goal and take the steps to do it.
Ep. 136: Nerd Farm Crossover: WTF Did I Just Watch
There’s no essential question here, folks. But you will love this episode. Nate Bowling, Hope Teague-Bowling, and Megan Holyoke join forces to talk about Running with the Devil: the Wild World of John McAffee, a new Netflix documentary film and Untold: the Girlfriend that Didn’t Exist, a series about the catfishing of Manti Te’o, then linebacker at Notre Dame.
Going Further
Ep. 135: Kent Educators on Strike
EQ: Why are Kent Educators on strike?
Guests:
Nathan Sun-Kleinberger– Teacher-Librarian/Tech Integration Specialist
Byron Strang–KSD employee, KEA member & picket captain
This episode was recorded on Sept 4, seven school days into the Kent School District Strike. Nathan and Byron lay out the reasons for the strike, including the union demands (which frankly are quite reasonable). Principal demands “KEA’s principal demands are: increased support for student mental health; reduced class sizes and caseloads for educators working with students receiving special education services; and a competitive salary with neighboring districts.” We discuss why Kent didn’t go on strike in 2018 when so many other districts resorted to withholding their labor. We compare the current strike to the 2009 resistance. Finally, learn how you can support KEA educators.
Related Sources:
South Seattle Emerald: Elevating various narratives/experiences from educators
Thousands of Southwest WA teachers Strike 2018 State Wide Strikes (Tacoma, etc)
WEA link to send email to KSD board/superintendent
TikTok produced by parents about district not feeding students during strike
YouTube music video made by Northwood MS staff about the strike:
Sun-K’s strike mix
What Can You Do To Support:
Please amplify the message of the educators!
Email the school board and superintendent!
Ep. 134: Back to Life, Back to Reality
EQ: What concerns, questions, ideas, or fears do you have for the upcoming school year?
In this episode of IWL, Hope and Megan recount the last few years in education. From ”we think the pandemic is over but wait, surprise it’s not” to ”we’re back to normal” to ”Pandemic is over now…maybe, we think.” They’ both excited and nervous about the return to school this year. There are a wide range of contextual factors shaping the upcoming school year. Their discussion centered on how teachers might “protect your peace” this school year.
Previous Back to School Episodes:
Do Your Fudging Homework:
Megan: evaluate your situation, cut ties with the negative folks, prune your circles or get involved in something that inspires you.
Hope: Belonging Through a Culture of Dignity: The Keys to Successful Equity Implementation Cobb, Floyd
Ep. 133: Tiktok Ya Don't Stop
EQ: To what extent would we miss out on trivial nonsense if we didn’t have Tiktok Summers?
In this episode, Hope and Megan catch up with the O.G. white lady, Annie Jansen. After an update of her journey to being an electrician, they take on the ins and outs of Tiktok. We’re sure you’ll learn a little about who to follow, how to prevent echo chambers, and some of the weird nonsense on the tok.
Referenced in the show:
Pink Sauce (Chef Pii); Taste of Home
Do Your Fudging Homework:
Expand your Tiktok bubble
Ep. 132: Spin the Bottle Elections
EQ: Do the results coming in from the primary elections inform what is to come in November or are politics in the United States a cluster and nothing makes sense any more ever? And what, if anything, can we learn from what happened?
Aug 2 was the primary elections, gearing up for the Mid-Term elections in November. Some interesting, disheartening, and hopeful things took place. Today, Hope and Megan focus on what happened through the lens of why and how we can use that to propel us forward into November in order to see the results that we want.
Related Links:
Key Washington primary 2022 election results | The Seattle Times
Abortion rights shockwave rocks the midterms and 3 other takeaways from primaries
Your Fudging Homework:
Find 1-2 people who aren’t registered or don’t usually vote—bring them along
Ep. 131: How to Cope with Living Through History
EQ: How do you best teach (learn) about the past in order to serve the present while at the same time understanding the present in terms of the past?
Today’s special guest is the one and only Nate Bowling from Nerd Farm Podcast.
In today’s episode, Hope and Nate discuss their recent trip to Munich and the takeaways from their experience. First, despite being years away from WWII and the effort to convert specific Third Reich sites, it is still on a journey to reconcile its role as the center of Naziism AND its identity as a metropolitan/thriving city. The conversation shifts to parallels in United States history, what makes our story here unique, and why we often can’t acknowledge the good/bad of our past at the same time.
Related Links
Conversion of sites such as Fuhrerbau to arts/theater/music halls;
Munichstadt Musuem is old site of Krishtallnachte (which BTW you have to do some deep internet sleuthing to find that out)
Jewish Musuem NOT Holocaust Museum—impact of that framing in curration as well as acceptance of the Musuem in the community
Ep. 130: A Book Challenge in our Backyard
EQ: How has anti-LGBTQ sentiment seeped in local school boards?
Hope is joined by guest Gavin Downing, a teacher-library in the Kent School district who recently experience a very intense effort by some community members to ban a young adult book, Jack of Hearts and Other Parts by L.C. Rosen. In this episode, we dig into the timeline of events, discuss the recent rise in book bans and how we can all be more proactive in our support of students’ rights to read diverse perspectives and experiences.
Related Links:
ACLU Threatens Possible Legal Action if KSD Board Removes Book
Author L.C. Rosen’s Statement
Do Your Fudging HW:
We can’t do this alone–reach out to SD, let them know/policies for district; shore them up BEFORE the challenge comes in; school board; public library
How folks can support you/prevent the banning of books in KSD or in their local districts
Ep. 129: Wheel of Nonsense
EQ: How do we manage life’s wheel of nonsense?
After a bit of a hiatus we’re happy to welcome Megan back to the show for today’s episode. It is a hodgepodge of topics chosen by the “wheel of nonsense”. We felt there was so much going on yet with summer looming we should temper the serious with the nonsensical. Enjoy!
Related sources:
Ep. 128: An Interview w/ The Writing Hippo aka Author Jesse Q. Sutanto
This is our third podcast in our authors of color series. Today, we are continuing to answer our essential question.
EQ: How has the commitment to authenticity and intersectionality by authors of color changed the writing landscape?
Jesse Q Sutanto is the author of Dial A for Aunties, The Obsession, and Theo Tan and the Fox Spirit. She has a master’s degree in creative writing from Oxford University. The film rights to her women’s fiction, Dial A for Aunties came out last year and was purchased by Netflix. Jesse lives in Indonesia with her husband, her two daughters, and her ridiculously large extended family, many of whom live just down the road.
Sutanto shares how her experiences growing up in urban places like Jakarta and Singapore shape your own experiences/your writing including several pivotal moments that shaped her identity as a writer. We dig into her passion to disrupt stereotypes about female protagonists and Asian representation in literature. We also discuss how her work spans a range of target audience and why she’s exploring different genres.
For more Sutanto Conversations check out:
Check out her other writing:
Ep. 127: On the Alito Leak and the Threat to Roe
We couldn’t resist coming together to discuss our reactions to Alito's leaked opinion. We reference a ton of articles so please check out the links below.
IWL Ep113: Tex-Yikes, Advocacy Has No Borders
Nerd Farm Episode: Black Conservatism and the Peril For the Democratic Party
Weeds Episode: “The Most Dangerous Branch Roe v Wade
Weeds Episode: What the Alito Leek Means for Roe
Race-ing Roe: Reproductive Justice, Racial Justice, and the Battle for Roe V Wade
A New Racialized Assault on Abortion Rights is Headed to the Supreme Court
DO YOUR HOMEWORK AND GO READ ABOUT THIS ISSUE!!!
Ep. 126: How and Why the Baddies Are Winning
Essential Question: How is the right leveraging social and economic conditions to pass such $h!* legislation (aka how and why are the baddies winning)?
Across the country bills are being passed that is limiting/censoring educators more and more. We have seen this with the CRT debate, Book Banning, and today’s topic, anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. In today’s episode we discussed the high profile cases everyone should be paying attention to but also why initiatives in smaller states matter too. This whole episode deserves one giant shame bell rung from start to finish.
Resources mentioned in the episode:
Florida “Parental Rights in Education” bill, aka “Don’t Say Gay” bill
Texas Anti-Transgender Directive
Do Your Fudging Homework:
Megan: Educate yourself about what’s happening & check out the links above. Donate money to organizations who are fighting these bills. Contact your members of Congress!
Hope: HCR ad “Let Us Play” will bring tears to your eyes; Facing History
Ep: 125: Cozy Mysteries Take On Colonialism
EQ: How has the commitment to authenticity and intersectionality by authors of color changed the writing landscape?
Guest: Raquel V. Reyes. Reyes’ short stories appear in various anthologies, including Mystery Most Theatrical, Midnight Hour, and Trouble No More. Find her on social media @LatinaSleuths.
Based on the recommendation of Mia Manansala in Ep 121, we invited Raquel Reyes to join us and share her own journey as a cozy mystery writer. We spend some time discussing her book, Mango, Mambo, and Murder, especially the integration of food and culture intertwined with a murder mystery. She shares some pivotal moments in her development as a writer, influential writers, opinions on Latinx representation in literature, and the changing landscape of the literary world.
Related Resources:
Book study discussion guide for Mango, Mambo, and Murder
Cozy Florida Group
Do Your Fudging Homework:
Hope: Facebook Group “Cozy Mysteries Crew”
Megan: Read Raquel’s work!
Raquel: Request books at your libraries or your independent bookstores. Give anthologies a try!
Ep. 124: The Power of a Hush
Essential Question: How much hushing could a husher hush if a husher could hush fools?
Today we bring back some of our favorite segments for a few laughs. We’re joined by Hope Bixby, “the New Hope” who is currently a Social Studies teacher at Lincoln High School and an all around badass. Bixby pitches the idea of a weekly “hush” here we get to highlight the people, topics, concepts, situations, etc who have received our “hush” of the week.
Favorite segments:
Yeah, No Yeah
Does it Venn?
Hush of the Week: Related links
White Girl Sticky Bangs aka Laying Edges
Josephine Baker was OG of popularizing baby hairs in the ‘20s
NiteCap Creator, Marantz Lindberg, who claims she invented Silk Bonnets
Do Your Fudging Homework:
Hope: The House Passes the “Crown Act” this last week! Supporting colleagues and students during Ramadan. Check out the resources here
Nate Bowling Episode: What Everyone Should Know About Ramadan
New Hope: Let’s learn about options other than war.
Ep. 123: The Scoop on Relationship & Sex Education at Home & Abroad
EQ: What is the importance of Sex Education in both the US and abroad, and how can you ensure equity for all students in the curriculum delivered?
Guest: Emily Zien, a health and physical education teacher. Please check out her website for more information.
In our third episode centering international schools, we chat with Emily about her work as a relationships and sexual education educator. We begin by learning about the present landscape, comparing what this work looks like in the United States and in the International School scene. We also discuss the role of DEIJ in shaping these conversations, how we can ensure equity in the curriculum and how child “safe guarding” is a growing field that opens the door for revamping school policies.
Do you Fudging HW:
Megan: Look into what you can do for the new policies Greg Abbott is doing in Texas.
Emily: Protecting children by developing an effective sex and relationship (SRE) program in international schools; Book Bans and Controversy in the Classroom? Sex Ed Teachers Have Been Here Before
Hope: Change our language to be more inclusive and representative of the shifts in this field—use relationships and sex education.
Ep. 122: The Scoop on International Schools, Part II
Note: This episode was recorded mid-February, prior to the invasion of Ukraine.
EQ: How are international schools uniquely situated to fight, perpetuate or contribute to educational inequities around the world
Guest: Yvette Santos Cuenco a school counselor at the Edmund Burke Independent School in DC.
Hope and Megan continue their conversation with the amazing Yvette about the inner workings and nuances of international schools. In this episode the three of them dive into what the DEIJ landscape looks like on the international level. They discuss how over the last several years there has been movement in being open about the work, but discuss how and why the work can feel so slow on the international level. Also, how International schools have unique responsibilities, barriers, and challenges to equitably serving all students in DEIJ work. The conversation focuses on what those might be as well as how International schools as well as educators in these spaces can continue to tackle the work within this. On the flip side of the challenges, they also discuss how International Schools are uniquely positioned to tackle this work in ways that schools in the US are not.
Related Sources:
Darnell Fine @de_fine
Champagne & Real Pain
🥂International School Services (ISS) pushing the DEIJ work in international schools
🥂 Raise a glass to all past students. Especially those celebrating Black History Month or Lunar New Year
🥂All those that are having honest and challenging conversations around DEIJ work.
👎🏻Book burning, cameras in schools, and overall the laws restricting teachers
👎🏻Any school district that is making it more difficult for their staff. Also those that are sending in bomb threats for HBCUs; HBCUs are undeterred
👎🏻Another no knock warrant murder of Amir Locke in Minneapolis
Do your fudging homework:
Hope: Educators, look into your options! Don’t stay where you aren’t appreciated!
Yvette: Find a place where you are valued as a teacher!
Megan: Find the right fit as a teacher, don’t leave the profession!
Ep. 121: Identity is Not a Plotline--On Cozy Mysteries & Representation
EQ: How has the commitment to authenticity and intersectionality by authors of color changed the writing landscape?
We’re so excited to announce our new author series! Joining us today is Mia Manansala, author of Arsenic and Adobo (Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mysteries series).
Find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: @MPMtheWriter
Check out her website: www.miapmanansala.com
In this episode we learn all about the cozy mystery, a subgenre of crime! As you might predict, it is often described as “hallmark movies with dead bodies in them.” Mia shares her writing journey shouting out key mentors such as Kellye Garrett and Lori Rader Day. We discuss how the publishing scene is a business rather than an art, thus is slow to change. However, the consistent effort by the “everyday” reader (and any allies who want to see more representation) is helping put pressure on the industry to expand the stories and authors they support. We really appreciate Mia’s openness with us about her triumphs and challenges as a newly published author transforming a genre!
Other Writers to Check Out:
Noodle Shop Mysteries, Vivian Chien
Mango, Mambo & Murder, Raquel V. Reyes
Do Your Fudging Homework:
Hope: Check out Mia’s books–library or purchase!
Megan: Read the work and post about it!
Mia: Check out Crime Writers of Color
Ep. 120: The Scoop on International Schools Part I
EQ: How are international schools uniquely situated to fight, perpetuate or contribute to educational inequities around the world?
Guest: Yvette Santos Cuenco a school counselor at the Edmund Burke Independent School in DC.
In this episode Hope and Megan are joined by Yvette, an experienced international educator and school counselor. We discuss the historical context which led to the establishment of these schools throughout the world. Listeners will learn a little about who attends, how they are designed, how the culture of the country impacts the school community and much much more. We also dip our toes into the DEIJ/social justice landscape in these contexts, reviewing such things as disparities in these schools, problematic hiring practices and the way they operate as predominantly White institutions often perpetuating (intentionally or unintentionally) white/colonial culture.
Related Sources:
Ep. 119: Manifest A Mask & Other Nonsense Educators Are Expected to Do
EQ: If society believes that having students attend in-person schooling is so critical, why didn’t they do anything to make it safe and sustainable?
In this episode, Megan and Hope discuss the dire conditions in which educators and students are facing upon the return to school. As per usual, they try to dig into some of the arguments for the in-person vs. remote learning debate and hold multiple truths at the same time. Namely, we all know high quality in-person instruction is ideal but in-person schooling has hella flaws & leaves kids out all the time AND remote learning has hella flaws and leaves kids out too. BOTH can be empowering. BOTH can be meaningful. BOTH can be racist, inequitable and garbage for students and the teachers. One of our biggest concerns is that districts lack plan Bs, Cs, and Ds. The needs, desires, and health of teachers matters. They are people whose lives matter. Just because they are teachers does not mean that they surrender their humanity.
Related articles:
Reddit thread of NYC Public HS student point of view
Best article laying it out America Doesn’t have Enough Teachers to Keep Schools Open
Do Your Fudging Homework:
Buy some rapid tests for your favorite school teachers
Write to your local school board members about going remote during a search and creating clear plans for thresholds to school closures/return to in-person learning.
Ep. 118: Combating Moral Panics At School Board Meetings
EQ: How can School District Leaders manage and respond to moral panics of the moment, particularly around DEI/CRT?
Guest: Wendy Smith our guest from Episode 111: Back to School, Go to School Board Meetings!
In this episode, we catch up with Vancouver School board chair, Wendy Smith. We discuss her recent election win and related lessons. We pickup our conversation about current issues facing school districts across the nation, particularly what it’s like serving a diverse range of community needs and constant pressures from various stakeholders. Wendy shares the process for the VPS equity audit and the implications for the district.
Related Resources:
Do Your Fudging Homework:
Hope: Reach out to an educator and offer a word of encouragement or support
Megan: Email an educator and let them know you see them
Wendy: The Daily’s series “School Board Wars”