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A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. Host Miko Lee checks in with Dr. Robyn Rodriguez and we get to check out her podcast Spitting Fire: Doktora Robyn Speaks.   SHOW TRANSCRIPT [00:00:00] Opening: Apex Express Asian Pacific expression. Community and cultural coverage, music and calendar, new visions and voices, coming to you with an Asian Pacific Islander point of view. It's time to get on board the Apex Express.   [00:00:34] Miko Lee: Welcome to Apex Express. I'm your host, Miko Lee, and tonight I'm so excited to talk to my lovely colleague, Dr. Robyn Rodriguez. Robyn is such a powerful leader. She's often called the people's professor. She was a professor of Asian studies at UC Davis, and now runs the Reimagination Lab. She has created a farm that is a collective action space, and she is really thinking about new ways to reimagine our world. I'm so excited for you to learn more about Dr. Robyn and you're gonna get to hear from her new podcast, which is called appropriately, Spitting Fire: Doktora Robyn Speaks. And I just love this, 'cause spitting fire is this term for women that can speak out and share their stories, and Robyn has so much to tell. So I'm gonna interview her, and then you're gonna get to listen to her new podcast, Spitting Fire. Thanks so much for joining us on Apex Express.   [00:01:36] Welcome back Dr. Robyn Rodriguez to Apex Express.   [00:01:41] Dr Robyn Rodriguez : Oh, thank you so much for having me.    [00:01:44] Miko Lee: I'm so happy to have you with us once again. And I have asked you this before, but sometimes things change in the amount of years we've spoken to each other. So I'm gonna ask again, who are your people and what legacy do you carry with you?   [00:02:00] Dr Robyn Rodriguez : Yeah, who are my people? I think about folks of color broadly as my people. Whenever I refer to my people, I really do think about those of us who share intertwined and yet also distinct histories of colonization, empire, War, Violence. I think of all of us who've descend from peoples who've survived, fought back thrived, in spite of all that as my people and the legacy I hope to leave is lessons on continuing to not just dismantle the systems that caused harm on our ancestors and continue to cause harm for us now, but to offer also lessons on liberation and what it can look like and feel like so that we can continue to not just again, dismantle, but also build out the worlds we want.    [00:03:15] Miko Lee: Speaking of lessons, you have a brand new podcast series called Spitting Fire Doc. Robyn Speaks, and I wonder if you can talk to me about how this podcast came to be.   [00:03:27] Dr Robyn Rodriguez : You're gonna laugh. Well, there are a couple of things I think that lead to the podcast. I've always wanted to do a podcast. I did college radio when I was an undergrad at UC Santa Barbara. I had a co-host for a show called WAR Women in the Act of Resistance, and we used to love to always say, we declare war on.   [00:03:53] Miko Lee: I love that.    [00:03:53] Dr Robyn Rodriguez : Whatever it is that we, yeah,    [00:03:58] Miko Lee: that's so good.    [00:03:59] Dr Robyn Rodriguez : I, I, yeah. So I, I love doing college radio and have always, you know, people would joke or I don't know if it was a joke, but compliment me on having a kind of good radio voice. I don't know how true that is.   [00:04:16] Miko Lee: Very true, true.   [00:04:16] Dr Robyn Rodriguez : But I've always had a, an interest in, podcasting as a platform. I think in general I prefer the long form platform. I prefer storytelling and, uh, there's something really powerful about podcasts is I think for me, really connected to radio programming. I don't see them, I guess, in very different ways. So I'd always wanted to do podcasts even when I was still teaching at, uc Davis, in Asian American Studies. I always thought podcasts are a really, really powerful way to share the knowledges of ethnic studies beyond the classroom. So I'd actually clipped on a recorder while I was lecturing and had uploaded a bunch of a raw unedited audio to what used to be iTunes University. So in some ways that might have been like the first podcast in a way. And then the funny thing about, uh, Spitting Fire it was kind of launched a little sooner than I was ready to be honest. I basically messed up on what was supposed to be a Zoom video. I don't know exactly what happened, but we only had audio and I thought, you know what? We're slapping that together, editing it and putting it out there, because I thought that the conversation that we had over Zoom was so, just really powerful and informative, and I didn't want to not have it circulate in the world. And so I've sort of tried to proceed in that way. I, I guess I see podcasting alongside YouTube videos and other long form and even just more written essays as the sets of long form digital media that I tend to prefer and also recognize as an educator that people learn in so many different ways. Some people are able to learn better, by listening closing their eyes and listening and are able to kind of absorb knowledge differently in that way. Others respond better to a kind of visual medium. Others like to read. And as an educator too, I feel like each of the mediums can be really effective in terms of conveying and transmitting knowledge. But again, I have a preference if I have to use digital media for the long form. I do worry that the sort of clipped, abbreviated, kind of versions of digital media that is social media, whether it's TikTok or Instagram and other sorts, or just, I don't know that they serve us in the way that, especially as an educator, that I    [00:07:08] Miko Lee: Thank you for sharing. I'm wondering how you ended up selecting this lovely title. You went from WAR in college to Spitting Fire. Tell me about where this title comes from.   [00:07:19] Dr Robyn Rodriguez : You know, I think it must have been a student, honestly, who had said, oh, look at Dr. Rob Spitting Fire after some talk. And I, I was sort of drawn to that. I think too, honestly, as an Asian American woman I think I was kind of playing a little bit with these stereotypes of Asian American women as kind of dragon ladies. And, but trying to kind of remake that in a way to kind of paint a picture of sort of fierce Asian American woman who is unafraid to speak truth to power. I think I've been feeling as and in my interactions with younger generations of women, I do feel as if younger Asian American women, and again, maybe it has to do with social media maybe the permanency of that. The circulation of media and how rapidly it spreads. Cancel culture. I feel that there is a kind of timidness that I'm encountering with younger Asian American women who are a little bit reluctant to speak up and speak out without really taking a moment to first compose themselves. Edit and then maybe post or share. And I guess I, I had hoped that image of spitting fire might conjure up a different way of being, as a kind of Asian American, woman, and activist, and organizer. And that's even why I think I was really drawn to just not over editing any of the content. You know, if there were was content that I could pull from other conversations I was having, that might have been like originally a Zoom for instance, but might you know, be conveyed better to somebody who Is more of a listener than a a watcher or a viewer that could invite, people or women in particular feeling like it's okay to not be perfect. It's okay to be able to stand by a thought and recognize that are the things that we, we say in a particular moment have history and context and need to be understood in that way. So it plays with that image of, I think the dragon lady, Asian American woman, dragon leader lady. And also, you know, I always talk about my middle name. It's such an important part of who I am and my identity, but my middle name, which I get from my mother. Was my mother's maiden name means to be angry in Filipino, and I've always loved it because it was actually a made up name. It was a name that my great-great-grandfather claimed for himself. Changing his name from De Los Reyes, which means of the kings to Magalit to be angry because he was a revolutionary against the Spanish. And I'm so fiercely proud of this revolutionary lineage that I hold. And I think in a way, Spitting Fire also reflects that lineage of ancestors who've never been afraid to stand up, speak out and again, speak truth to power.   [00:10:54] Miko Lee: Ooh, that was such a lovely answer. I really appreciate reclaiming the dragon Lady is furious and powerful and a revolutionary figure. I think that's so lovely because usually we just think of the dragon lady as this evil villain, but dragons in Asian culture are creatures that are to be revered and are powerful and lucky too.   [00:11:19] So, I so appreciate that. I really, I wonder,    [00:11:21] Dr Robyn Rodriguez : you know, that too.    [00:11:23] Miko Lee: I'm wondering, you, you said that you feel like young women are timid today and I was like deep sigh of that because I feel like still really now with, I don't know, I just, that's that. Um, do you find that in the students that you're working with now, that they're still Asian, young women are still being timid?   [00:11:46] Dr Robyn Rodriguez : I mean, honestly, I don't think that this is a uni. You know, this is certainly not true for all of the young women I encounter. No, that would be unfair, but I also feel as if the boldness that might be out there I feel is often highly curated. A lot of it is expressed through social media. And again, if we understand social media, the reality of Instagram is it's never so instant. There is a much time and effort put into filters, into kind of visualizations aimed to draw a more attention. Really careful framings, and accompanying captions. I mean, I, you know, even for posts, 'cause I think a lot of, I think political conversation and discourse is happening, I would say on Instagram, I've decided to opt out of TikTok. I know that's also a place, but that's all to say that I think that these become a kind of shield or crutch. And then I've found and often been surprised. When I meet people in person, such a disconnect between a persona and, how one actually moves in the world with other people. And, that's where I've seen some surprising timidness and caution. And it does worry me a bit. I mean, I, and 'cause I think that there are maybe competing notions. I think some people in my generation feel this generation to be very brave. And I'm not, you know, I hate to say this, I'm not a hundred percent certain that's true sometimes, at least in sometimes the young people that I've encountered. I think social media has. I guess I'm not convinced that social media is the modality or the mechanism by which change will happen. And we make change in our relationships with actual, kind of, with everyday people. With people. And in relation to the land and kind of the resources of the earth. And yeah, that's where I feel like that kind of boldness and bravery needs, you know, makes more lasting impact than the kind of illusory, fleeting, and very superficial for me trade and visuals and words over social media. So, yeah, I do, I do worry about it. I, I feel like I've seen it too often, a hesitance to speak up.   [00:14:32] Miko Lee: This is so interesting. I just did an interview uh, with NAKASEC about the new study that they released on Asian American men and the Manosphere, and how more and more Asian American men are being persuaded by right wing media in the Manosphere. But I wonder about Asian American women as you bring this up. And I, I think back to that many years ago, that documentary film that. Slaying the dragon. Do you remember that from years past    [00:14:58] Dr Robyn Rodriguez : that? Oh my gosh, yeah. It's a while.    [00:15:00] Miko Lee: Yeah. That was all on the, you know, the on representation of Asian American women and that, and that was maybe 20 years ago. So I wonder how much that's changed    [00:15:10] Dr Robyn Rodriguez : maybe more. Yeah,    [00:15:11] Miko Lee: maybe more. Right? So, but I wonder how that's changed with, because that was pre-social media and if Asian American men are being pulled in the manosphere, what are Asian American women being pulled into?    [00:15:24] Dr Robyn Rodriguez : Yeah, I do worry. I worry again, just, I mean, my goodness, you know, the proliferation of just the growth of the beauty industry.    [00:15:35] Miko Lee: Yeah.    [00:15:35] Dr Robyn Rodriguez : Um, the casualness, by what I mean, just in terms of cosmetic surgery becoming so even normalized   [00:15:45] Miko Lee: for young people very young people .   [00:15:48] Dr Robyn Rodriguez : Absolutely. Absolutely. And our kind of television series through streaming platforms you know, even movies. I mean, it's, it's clear that there are, you know, real investments in cosmetic surgery by many of the women that we hold up, across race. And yeah, this sort of, it's just, it's, I've been shocked by how, how, I mean, just the other day, I, I'm like a very loyal client. Well, when it comes to my hairstylist, I go, I travel two hours to Sacramento from our farm to get my hair cut every six months from one woman. I, I just, I could not believe just the conversations I was hearing women including Asian American women in the seats next to me around injections, fillers, I remember seeing flyers posted all around the salon. For a session being held by a, a cosmetic, I don't even know the terms, but there's now a proliferation of job titles even associated what is it? Medical aesthetician. But yeah, I, I do worry. Right. Trading in the visual. Maybe that's why too, the podcast feels like a way where people can. Especially if I, you know, am in conversation with others or for myself even to just kind of show up without having to worry about you know, what I look like or what others look like. Or there's, you know, people don't have to worry about, the talking heads and kind of can pay attention more to the knowledges or the stories being shared. But I feel like that is a pull, I mean, if there was, if we've always, I think as as Asian American women, our bodies, right? Subject to just, these representations, right? The hypersexualization of Asian American women, which is really at the core of, I can recall of slaying the dragon. I think that has gotten worse. And we're being more actively recruited into our own participation in this kind of hypersexualization on one hand, or being recruited into participating in these what are ultimately white aesthetics and remaking our bodies. To conform to notions of beauty and it's all being cast as if it's empowering and liberating somehow. And I, I've heard that and, and witnessed that, that somehow, no, these are not aesthetic choices that have to do with whiteness. I just wanna look pretty. Without any interrogation around what are the standards of beauty based on and even why, like, what is it about you know, desirability, youthfulness and all of that. That I think is definitely a co a concern I have and why I've pulled away from social media. I don't know that I've looked on Instagram for I don't know how many months. It's been quite a bit of time, so much so that, Instagram is now sending me emails to remind me of all the messages and posts I'm missing. Facebook was doing that as well. But. I get troubled by the things that I am seeing. And I do worry for not just kind of younger generations of Asian American women, I think this is also a worry for all younger women of color.    [00:19:20] Miko Lee: It's interesting they cast it almost as colorblindness in terms of the beauty standards, but it's laced in white supremacy because the whole, the very basic of the standard of beauty is based in whiteness. That's quite powerful and interesting.    [00:19:40] Dr Robyn Rodriguez : Yeah. And it's also deeply rooted in kind of capitalist consumption, right? The notion that the only thing that is of value is a thing that is new and novel. Anything else has zero value. And we're seeing that right where women are terrified. Terrified of getting older. I mean, I was in conversation with a few women, you know, in, in my circles, not even 30. Who are being policed by their peers about their frown lines, watching how they express themselves because they're approaching 30 and another woman in her early thirties you know, just commenting too that, well, the procedures now are so good. They've gotten so good at it that you can't even tell. But you know, just this, that it's happening at such a young age and, and you know, women, we already have to deal with all of these demands on our bodies, right? Some that are external, some that we internalize around, reproduction if we're straight or if we desire children, even if we're not, you know, just these pressures around that. And I mean, I feel like what woman is, especially younger women, you know, really, really worried about whether they've met certain milestones at at every age. I mean, I hear it with young women. Oh my god, I'm 25 now. I'm a quarter century. This is huge, right? Oh, I'm 30, three decades in, where am I at? So there are all these other demands around achievement, professional achievement. Scholastic achievement, nevermind, you know, your body, whether it comports to the thing that is di desirable and is doing the thing it needs to do, that it's athletic and that it's light, that it's, it can make babies. So it just it's a lot. And I feel like if we were went through it as, as younger women the intensity is, even greater. and I noticed it myself. It's probably part of the reason why I've, I had to pull away from social media, you know, I'm 53, you know, and feeling like I don't see many representations of myself too in social media. That is, I don't know that it's a space for me either. And you can't help when you're in these spaces. Even the most, kind of radical critical of us you know, can fall prey to, the intrusive thoughts of patriarchy around our bodies and aging and our utility. So yeah, it's worrying, it's really worrying to me.   [00:22:05] Miko Lee: So I wanna flip the switch on that and ask you, as a 53-year-old, what do you feel most powerful about?   [00:22:13] Dr Robyn Rodriguez : I personally have experienced so much personal loss of people, beloved people. I've also witnessed too many people who have not had the opportunity and privilege to reach this age. I think what makes me powerful or what, what makes me feel powerful, or maybe less the term, I don't know if powerful is the term, but just I feel deep gratitude that my body has, allowed me to live in this form, to this age to have the range of experiences that I've been able to experience in this body. Looking at the world through these eyes experiencing it, you know, with this skin. And I just, that is, I guess, a source of power because of the wisdom that it offers. The I think empathy, you know, and compassion that it makes possible. Because you've experienced and witnessed so much. I think that there's a lot that I have also, let go of. I think there were so many kind of insecurities that I think I struggled with as a younger woman that I no longer experience and that feels very empowering. To come to a place. And, and it really comes with life experience, I think. And that you are able to get perspective on things that might've, felt as personal failures in the past, but then you can look at differently as just lessons. Along this journey, in life. And I think I've just also been blessed with elder women in my life who you know, just are so, unapologetic about who they are, what they think, and how they move in the world. And so I have really great models. That make me excited about the prospects of continuing to, to get older and and being able to kind of experience and learn new things along the way. There's a power there.    [00:24:26] Miko Lee: Thank you for sharing. Yeah. As somebody who's 60 this year, I feel like it's lessons that I've learned, but also I don't care. I don't care as much I don't obsess over the little things. I just, and I say what I feel because why not? We're at a phase in life where, you know, I've done a lot of things. I've experienced hardship, and I'm just gonna say how I feel where I'm at what's going on right now? So there's a freedom to that, that I think is very different from being young. What would you like your podcast audiences to understand?   [00:25:01] Dr Robyn Rodriguez : Yeah. You know, I think my podcast audiences need to understand that I am really approaching the podcast from a place of embracing my role as a elder or a young elder. I think it's a role that, I was struggling a bit with and again, I'm not immune to as much as I feel empowered by being older, I also am not immune to all of the, the messages around youthfulness and value that I think we're constantly being barraged. But I do recognize that there is a really special role to be played by women in middle age, which I am. And I think that's what I want audiences to understand, that I am coming into this podcast, doing this podcast from a very specific vantage point. A vantage point that offers insights that on, you know, and of course I'm coming in as me, right? Somebody who still considers herself a scholar, if not necessarily one based at a university. Somebody who's been a really sort of radical thing and shift by becoming a farmer and doing land based work. That, yeah that they're going to be hearing, a perspective, you know, from somebody who has been an organizer, continues to do that work, but is also experimenting and risk taking in different ways. They get the chances to hear from a yelder who's lived a little. Who has a very unique perspective, not just from a particular vantage point in terms of age, but also somebody who's you know, done the work, studied the thing when it comes to kind of the Asian American experience done the thing it, and when it comes to Asian American, organizing. It's continued to grow by stepping away from previous ways of being, uh, by doing this work on our farm. You know, I feel like it's a unique set of perspectives that I'm hoping can offer inspiration or lessons for the moment. But yeah.    [00:27:33] Miko Lee: So last time we talked was a few years ago and you were just getting your farm set up and now you actually have this whole farm. Can you share a little bit more about your connection to the land and what it's like being a farmer now?   [00:27:48] Dr Robyn Rodriguez : Yeah, no, thank you. You're right. I recall, I think we had literally just moved in when I was in conversation with you, and now we're at the start of season four. It has been an amazing journey. I'm actually right now and I hope to be able to talk about it on the podcast. I've come, I'm in the process of finishing, a book, reflecting on my experiences over the last four years in this transition from university professor to farmer. there's so much that I've learned. One of the major things I've, learned especially as an organizer, to differently appreciate all of the metaphors we use in organizing. cause we use them a lot, right? How do we describe certain kinds of organizing? We, we describe it as grassroots. How do we talk about the ways we might be building our, you know, struggles of resistance? We think about ourselves as sowing seeds. More and more people talk about, you know, mycchorizal networks. There are all of these metaphors that proliferate when we're thinking about, struggles for justice. And there is something that shifts when you do land-based work and really understand and learn at the knee of mother nature around all the things that are required for cultivating life, which for me, I think is what activism and, organizing really is about. You know, we live in a system that ultimately thrives on death. I mean, war, empire, capitalism, disposability, you know, all of that is, is a system that thrives actually on, on death. And I think that when we're organizing as folks who are activists, social justice activists, ecological and environmental justice activists and organizers, what we're doing is we're in the business, so to speak, of cultivating life. But how best to learn about how to cultivate life, if not at the knee of of Mother Nature. And so I've learned a lot about that. Learned about you know, how long it can take. In fact for, plant sowing a seed a seed can only germinate, you know, and there's the right kinds of conditions and even the right kind of conditions can't be fully predicted. You tend to that ground, that soil anyhow, you know, seeds being so small and nearly invisible to the eye and yet, we know them to be there and we, we support their growth. Seeds when under the right conditions germinate and grow can become these healthy, mature plants. One singular plant can feed so many, I mean, all of those lessons when you understand them in deeply embodied ways, I think allow you to approach organizing and activism differently. I think especially now, there seems to be an urgency to everything. Everything feels urgent. Um. Something needs to be responded to, you know, immediately it feels like all the time. and that not responding somehow is being complacent or enabling. But I think what I've learned as a farmer is that transformation in life takes time and we need to tend to that. And I mean, I feel like I think organizers would benefit a lot from, doing land-based work. Not only because the earth needs us to do this work of regeneration and restoration, but I think we would have better perspective around, what liberation would look like and require, from these systems of domination and power if we, you know, humbled ourselves a bit and learned from. Mother Nature, and the ways that, you know, she's endured through it all and, you know, adapted through it all. I think, I think there are important lessons there, but lessons that I think that really require a work of embodied learning and knowledge.    [00:31:56] Miko Lee: So you speak of your farm as this, as a place that's cultivating growth, and can you talk a little bit more about that, cultivating the mind? Because I know you're also doing work on your farm with organizers, with nonprofits, with students. So can you talk a little bit more about the cultivation of people on your farm?    [00:32:15] Dr Robyn Rodriguez : Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. I mean, so much of what we do isn't just about the food that we grow, which we do, and I shouldn't name that, you know, a lot of. our aim with food growing is not just to feed, you know, sort of a community of people who've opted in to get food from us, which, you know, we do have a CSA, a Community sourced agricultural program, but we're also working with native communities here to support in addressing their food needs. So that's. Important, piece of what we do that I wanna name in terms of food and plant production. But yes, in terms of cultivating people, I think a lot of what we do here is about facilitating this reconnection to land. I grew up a very urban, suburban existence. I think it always as an organizer and activist, valued ecological and, environmental justice. But I don't know that I centered it in the way that I do now, in part because I didn't. Have a relationship with the land in the way that we do now. I really think that our work is to help cultivate that relationship. I think we need that relationship to fully appreciate what's at stake when we talk about climate change. It's one thing to kind of know the facts. It's another thing to be in relation to the land, and I think it takes a certain set of conditions to be able to, to be in relation to the land. So yeah, we, we hold space for lots of organizations, educational institutions, nonprofits, community-based organizations, other folks, who also are feeling that there is a need to be in relation to the land. Not only to be in a relationship, but to be in a right relationship with the land. So we, we hold space for a lot of that. And of course that process is also deeply healing. There is something really healing about learning from the land. just understanding there's something really magical like, for example, when you come out of winter and you start to see new growth, I think that cycle of growth offers a kind of hope and reassurance when we're feeling especially despairing, which I think a lot of people feel tremendous despair now. And yet, you know, being bearing witness to that is it can be super just powerful and can kind of keep and sustain the fight.   [00:34:37] Miko Lee: And lastly, can you share more about your school for Liberating education?    [00:34:42] Dr Robyn Rodriguez : Sure. So the School for Liberating Education is an online platform through which I share all of the ethnic studies knowledge that I was teaching at the university. Most recently at the University of California Davis, you know, always believed ethnic studies was never intended to be just another academic field like anthropology, sociology, political science. But that, it is a form of knowledge that is meant to raise our consciousness to inspire and to provide us real skillsets and pathways to taking that knowledge and doing the work of changing our world for the better. And so, you know, the School for Liberating Education I set up so that people can have access to that knowledge without having to go through. All of the, the, hoops that are required for, you know, getting into a four year university, even all of the kind of bureaucracy it takes to get even to a community college, which is not as easy as one would think. But also a very unapologetic, form of ethnic studies. I think part of what's happening at colleges and universities now is, these are battlegrounds. The, right wing has taken it upon itself to really attack ethnic studies in various institutions. They've been very successful in gaining, Support. University administrations have also been very easily bent not only kind of grassroots right wing movements because they're really organized at the grasses, but certainly the series of executive orders that Trump passed, you know, within days after inauguration. Effectively illegalizing ethnic studies and of course we know what he's trying to do in terms of, the Department of Education and, its, effective dismantlement. But this is meant as a place to offer the knowledge that our forebearers and fought really hard for the university, but can't really fully thrive there either. And so, I wanted to make sure that there was a place where this knowledge can be accessed, to anybody with the interest and desire.    [00:36:55] Miko Lee: Thank you so much for chatting with us today. I'm wondering if there's anything you would like podcast listeners to prepare themselves for before they bust out Spotify and listen to Spitting Fire.   [00:37:10] Dr Robyn Rodriguez : Well, it's just, you know, to, you're gonna get a lot of raw, unedited audio. And so, um, you're gonna kind of get just, you know, as the, the host of the, show me in a very unedited, very unfiltered form, which can be, I hope enjoyable for folks. But, you know, I think people will, will learn a lot, and a lot of the topics are rooted in the things that I care about. Certainly social justice issues certainly even, you know, the work we're doing at the farm. So, you know, I, I mean, it's broadly, uh, the podcast is around social and ecological justice. But very much from the lens of somebody who, again, is a yelder, somebody who's taught ethnic studies, continues to teach, although not at the university. Um, somebody who does the work of kind of social and ecological justice organizing and is doing land-based work. So, you're getting all of the, the things that connect to all of the ways that I, I'm moving in the world right now.    [00:38:15] Miko Lee: Thank you so much Dr. Robyn for joining us today on Apex Express.   [00:38:20] Dr Robyn Rodriguez : Thank you so much again for having me.   [00:38:38] Welcome everybody, to Resistance, Defiant Love, and Radical Care. Today we are launching, uh, the pre-registration for my new activism course, my course on Asian American activism, and it will be drawing on my book, co-edited with Diane Fujino, uh, Professor Diane Fujino, entitled Contemporary Asian American Activism: Building Movements for Liberation.   [00:39:09] I'm really, really excited that the book is coming out, but probably even more excited that I'll be able to launch a mini course that draws from that book, as well as other work on Asian American activism, and that I'll be able to offer a mini course that really looks at Asian American activism in the coming months.   [00:39:30] And I'm very, very, very, very pleased to be joined by Artnelson Concordia. Artnelson and I actually hopped on earlier and we went back to, to just recollect when we met and how long ago, and I'll talk about that in a moment. But, um, oh, I guess I might as well just say, Art and I have known each other for exa- almost exactly half of our lives.   [00:39:54] Um- So we first met when we were only 12. Just kidding. We met when we were 25 years old. We, uh, so that was half of our lives. You do the math. Um, and, uh, it, it's just so wonderful, uh, to, to be able to reconnect, uh, with Artnelson in this way. But we go back, and as we'll talk about later on, we go back, um, 25 years ago, uh, where we, when we first met, uh, through, uh, our work, uh, in, in activist spaces.   [00:40:27] But Artnelson Concordia was born and raised in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. The son of working class Filipino immigrants, he earned BAs in political science and history at the University of California in Los Angeles, so UCLA. Artnelson is a longtime educator who got his start in San Francisco and was a founding teacher of the San Francisco Unified School District's Ethnic Studies program that was the focus of a 2014 Stanford University study that highlighted the academic benefits of the district's ninth grade ethnic studies course.   [00:41:02] That's Artnelson. Currently, he coordinates Santa Barbara Unified School District's ethnic studies program. Artnelson is the father of four Brown boys, four beautiful Brown boys, and is in cahoots with his wife to raise them to have deep knowledge and love of self and community, as well as to be active disruptors of the white supremacist, patriarchal, heteronormative, imperialist hegemony.   [00:41:29] Yeah. He and his family have the great privilege to live in the beautiful town of Oxnard, California, which is unceded Chumash territory. And this fall marks the beginning of his 23rd year in education. And as I was saying before, Art and I go way, way back. We met right after we had both graduated from college.   [00:41:52] And yeah, as… Art and I are here to talk story a little bit about our shared activist path, because really, uh, it ma- it seems it's so appropriate to talk about our shared path as activists and educators because this pivot for me to offering, uh, courses through the School for Liberating Education has everything to do with my activism and everything to do with my deep, deep belief that education, uh, and a critical education, uh, can be so vital for, uh, movement building, for building the world that we want.   [00:42:29] So I'm gonna just hand it over to you, Art. And we can just start. But it's so great to see you and have this chance to chat.    [00:42:37] Artnelson Concordia: Right on. What a, what an introduction, uh, hearing that coming from you. Um, and- Reflecting on the time and how quickly that really does fly. And I think it's actually more than 25.   [00:42:50] We've known each other more than 25 years. Um, and I think, yeah, that's more than half of our lives. But I think the moment that we, we met each other, we were already on our journey to, to really committing ourselves to figuring out, you know, what the hell is going on with this world. I mean, beginning with our own lived experiences and what's, what was happening with our communities.   [00:43:18] Um, but yeah, education has always been central, and I think my, my path to really focusing in on that was in, in organizing spaces before I became a teacher. It was so key in bringing people to to support and be a part of whatever issue. Like, it was, well, how do we move people? Well, w- we tell them the truth.   [00:43:47] We, we tell them the… an all-rounded kind of breakdown of how it will impact them and why they should get involved. And the, the, the think, um, really that is, was my introduction to organizing. Um, I think in community college, uh, I got to meet, um, a long time Filipino American, uh, organizer-activist, Royal Morales, was really my first introduction to Filipino American history and identity.   [00:44:23] And from there, it just really took off. Like, so much of the suffering, struggling, and questions I had about my own life was answered. I mean, of course over time, but it kept, it kept, it kept, uh, bringing me along, bringing me along, and I was hooked. I was hooked after that. Um, yeah, the power of education to really transform lives is, has been a theme throughout.   [00:44:53] Uh, and I'm sure for you as well. I, I- Yeah … the, the spaces that we, we shared were always about, like, getting to root problems and how everything is related inside.    [00:45:06] Dr Robyn Rodriguez : Yeah. No, absolutely. It's funny, I was just thinking, I don't… You know, I think we might have first encountered each other indirectly around the, the fight against Proposition 209.   [00:45:19] Oh. Uh, you know, right? And maybe even before that, around Proposition 187. 187. Y- yeah. And so for people who don't know, and actually I end up writing… I ended up writing a chapter on, uh, student organizing, specifically around 187 and 209, in this book. So, you know, the book itself, um, so, you know, Professor Fujino, who happened to, happened to be my professor as an undergrad, so she's now my collaborator.   [00:45:47] But, um, Diane, uh, and I kind of pulled a, a whole range of organizers together to contribute to this anthology, but I also ended up contributing a separate chapter to it, and it was a reflection on the '90s, and specifically our campus organizing across the UC system- Mm-hmm … around first 187 and 209. And for people who aren't familiar with it, you know, 187 was this, uh, this terrible, um, voter initiative that ended up being passed by the state of California that would essentially criminalize, um, undocumented Californians.   [00:46:24] And not just that, it was really going to, uh, m- make- teachers and, uh, and social workers and anybody who worked for the state of California stand in as border agents.    [00:46:37] Artnelson Concordia: Right. ‘   [00:46:38] Dr Robyn Rodriguez : Cause basically it would be their, their responsibility as employees of the state of California to report on anybody seeking out service or that they're encountering in the space of their jobs, to report them if they were, if, if they suspected that these individuals, if they suspected these individuals- Yeah, yeah [00:46:58] were, um, undocumented. And so, you know, uh, Art and I and so many other UC students, uh, were, you know, going, um, were organizing in, in, in partnership with community organizations to, of course, try to stop Californians from, from, from voting for 187. W- they did, and of course that ended up not becoming law because it got, you know, challenged in, in the courts.   [00:47:24] Right. But nevertheless, we were part of the resistance movement. And then, uh, after 187 was Proposition 209, which essentially eliminated affirmative action programs, um, in, in, uh, the University of California system. And, you know, I know, you know, that was also something that was also meaningful for, for us.    [00:47:45] Artnelson Concordia: Yeah.    [00:47:45] Dr Robyn Rodriguez : You know, uh, as, as, as young people who were also very much recipients of affirmative action programs. Yeah. Um, some of our ethnic studies knowledge was not even necessarily coming through ethnic studies courses, but oftentimes through the counselors and, and other staff who worked in these affirmative action programs.   [00:48:06] And so, you know, that was, that was going to happen. Right. And it did, right? Had such a deep impact on us. Yeah. And we knew that, um, by making affirmative action, um, by eliminating affirmative action, it was going to have a major impact. Which it did, right? Mm-hmm. The Filipino, at least for Filipino Americans, our numbers at the UC system plum- plummeted after that.   [00:48:25] Plummeted. But I think that's when we first met, and then, but it was really afterwards where, where we really connected more, right? When- Hmm … um, I think you and I both, because we, we, uh, found ourselves, uh, with the, the, the, the opportunity to connect with, uh, people who were really active in the anti-martial ma- law, the anti-martial law movement, right?   [00:48:48] Um, for both of us. Yeah,    [00:48:49] Artnelson Concordia: in the Philippines. Yeah.    [00:48:50] Dr Robyn Rodriguez : Yeah. They were people who, uh, were already active in, um, the movement against the dictatorship- had come to the United States fleeing the tyranny of the Marcos dictatorship. Mm-hmm. And then were really responsible in, uh, growing the, uh, anti-martial law movement in the US, and I think, you know, at the time we met, of course martial law had ended, but, but the conditions in the Philippines hadn't changed. Still haven't changed.    [00:49:17] Artnelson Concordia: Yeah.    [00:49:17] Dr Robyn Rodriguez : And so our elders saw us, we saw them, right? I think. I mean, I can't even remember how I    [00:49:24] Artnelson Concordia: first met some of them. Looking for each other, I really feel.   [00:49:25] Dr Robyn Rodriguez : I think, you know, we, we end up gravitating to the same- Yeah … spaces, right? And we knew that that was something, you know, we wanted to be part of. T- maybe tell me about your story. How did you kind of find your way into that work and, and how did it resonate with you? But I know that that was really where we built together was- yeah … in the work around the Filipino, um, you know, liberation struggle.   [00:49:47] Artnelson Concordia: Yeah. Our, our paths definitely, um, crossed then, and my, my journey to that point really was through the Black liberation movement- Yeah where I, in undergrad, um, was exposed to the history of the Panthers, and I… And it was immediate, like in terms of the truth they were telling and how they resonated with me. I just swallowed text after text after text. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Um, To Die for the People, uh, uh, Huey's Revolutionary Suicide, Elaine Brown's, uh, Taste of Power- Mm-hmm   [00:50:25] Bobby Se- Seize the Time. I, I, I was so, um, I don't know, kind of- Absolutely, like, fascinated and inspired and wanting to find, well, what's the equivalent for, for Filipinos? Yes. And that was, that of course leads me from, um, Uncle Roy or Royal Morales, who's really talking about Filipino-American activism in History.   [00:50:55] Mm-hmm. And I got a lot of the really incredible, um, participation and organizing with the farm workers, but it kind of just would stop, and I, and I was curious about, well, what is existing now? And it was my meeting, um, it was a, a brother mentor, Ed- Edwin Ha- Habaquan. Edwin. And he, uh- I went with Edwin at the same time.   [00:51:25] Yeah. He was the, the founder of this Filipino apparel company, right? Tribal Pinoy. Oh my gosh. And I, um, I worked for the Filipino American newspaper for Samahang Pilipino at UCLA, Tan- Tanawin, and I only wrote one, maybe, maybe two articles. But the one article I, I, I very much remember, and I, I, I need to go find that article now, was an interview with Edwin, um, about Filipino-American activism. And he was like, “Look, it didn't just end with the farm workers. It continues today through this national liberation movement in the Philippines.”   [00:52:15] Ayame Keane-Lee: You just listened to a clip from Spitting Fire: Doktora Robyn Speaks from tonight's guest, Dr. Robyn Rodriguez. This episode is called Resistance, Defiant Love, and Radical Care: Asian American Activism Course Launch with Artnelson Concordia. You can check it out in our show notes. Thank you so much for listening   [00:52:36] Miko Lee: Please check out our website, kpfa.org/program/apexexpress to find out more about our show and our guests tonight. We thank all of you listeners out there. Keep resisting, keep organizing, keep creating, and sharing your visions with the world because your voices are important. Apex Express is produced by Ayame Keane-Lee, Anuj Vaidya, Cheryl Truong, Isabel Li, Jalena Keane-Lee, Miko Lee, Miata Tan, Preti Mangala-Shekar and Swati Rayasam. Tonight's show was produced by me Miko Lee, and edited by Ayame Keane-Lee. Have a great night The post APEX Express – 6.25.26 – Spitting Fire: Doktora Robyn Speaks appeared first on KPFA.

When Mayor Lurie took office, San Francisco was spending nearly $1 Billion a year responding to homelessness, yet the number of people living unsheltered had not budged in years. In this episode, Kunal Modi, the city's Chief of Health and Human Services, shares how the Lurie administration is tackling the intersecting homelessness, mental health and addiction crises. Rather than layering on new programs, the city is attempting something harder: redesigning how fragmented systems work together.Kunal and Claudia discuss:The city's move to unify fragmented and siloed outreach teamsThe importance of shifting accountability and decision-making to the front linesHow San Francisco's strategy is leveraging the community supports in CalAIMWhy solutions need to reflect the intersecting nature of the homeless problemKunal reminds us that ending the cycle of homelessness is far more complicated than just finding housing:“This is more than a homelessness crisis, it's an intersecting homelessness, behavioral health, and drug addiction crisis that we need to bring our healthcare system and our social service system in closer alignment… We need to reorient our Public Health strategies to not only support those in crisis, but to think about the broader communities and neighborhoods.”Relevant LinksSee Mayor Lurie's thoughts on the “Breaking the Cycle” initiativeGet more information on the City's new RV parking restrictionsRead the Crankstart report on tackling homelessness in San Francisco About Our GuestKunal Modi is the policy chief of health, homelessness, and family services in San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie's administration. In this role, he coordinates eight agencies, including the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, the Department of Children, Youth and Families and the Department of Early Childhood, while also serving as liaison to San Francisco Unified School District and City College. He brings extensive experience in cross-agency collaboration and reform, aiming to deliver compassionate, effective solutions for the city's most pressing health, housing, and family needs. Before joining City Hall, he spent over 11 years as a partner at McKinsey & Company's Bay Area office and previously served on the boards of Larkin Street Youth Services and St. Anthony's Foundation. His educational background includes an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, an M.P.P. from Harvard Kennedy School, and a B.A. from Northwestern University.Connect With UsFor more information on The Other 80 please visit our website - www.theother80.com. To connect with our team, please email...

The San Francisco Unified School District tells a school it has to close. What will happen to its students and its campus? Then, a lesson in embodying Black identity.

We learned this morning that a tentative deal has been reached between the San Francisco Unified School District and the United Educators of San Francisco union bringing an end to the five-day strike. For more KCBS News Anchor Steve Scott spoke with KCBS Insider Phil Matier and Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown.

On Monday, teachers at San Francisco Unified School District went on strike for the first time since 1979. The district and the United Educators of San Francisco (UESF) remain apart on issues like wage increases and family health care. We talk with the San Francisco Chronicle's Jill Tucker about the impact on families, and why teacher strikes seem to be spreading across California. Links: San Francisco Teachers Strike: What Should Families Know? | KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

State of the Bay covers the San Francisco Unified School District's teachers strike, examines lawsuits putting kids' social media addiction on trial, and shares a behind-the-scenes look at "Paranormal Activity" at ACT.

 San Francisco Unified School District is rolling out a new K-8 math curriculum to boost eighth-grade proficiency from 42% to 65% by 2027. The program focuses on accuracy, conceptual understanding, and real-world application, and has already shown success in pilot classrooms. This shift comes after public pushback and a ballot measure reinstating algebra in eighth grade. 

State of the Bay gets an update on the San Francisco Unified School District, hears back-to-school tips from child psychologist Dr. Allison Briscoe-Smith, and visits Baba's House, Oakland's mahjong speakeasy.

Today on One Life Radio, Bernadette is joined by Stephanie Cyr (NBC-HWC), the founder of  PowerUp Moves, a personal development program designed to establish and improve healthy safety habits resulting in strength, self-efficacy and confidence, talking about summer safety for adults. Cyr is an attorney and educator with over 25 years' experience as a specialist in violence prevention education, personal safety and empowerment, she is Faculty Lecturer of Personal Defense at San Francisco State University (SFSU) and is responsible for developing the first University Accredited Minor Degree in Empowerment Self Defense (ESD).   Stephanie is the author of The PowerUp Moves Notebook, an interactive empowerment self-defense higher education textbook, and has also written self-defense curriculum and trained instructors for the San Francisco Unified School District physical education department. Currently, she is collaborating with academics from other universities to develop ESD or (Empowerment Self-Defense) programming on campus, further violence prevention research, and explore the relationship of personal safety and mental health.  (In addition to her work in academia, Stephanie is a Senior Facilitator and Trainer for PAVE Prevention, a Consultant for The Association of ESD Professionals, and serves as a member of Joyful Heart Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting survivors of gender-based violence. She is the founder of Edge Self Defense and the author of The Weekly Edge and Moves of the Day. She has been featured at WorldWideWomen's Girls Festival SF 2019.) An accomplished martial artist with nearly three decades of experience in more than 10 different disciplines including Tae Kwon Do, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Kravitz Maga. Stephanie holds a Juris Doctor with Honor from the University of Maryland School of Law, a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Rutgers University and is a graduate of the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. Learn more about Stephanie at powerupmoves.com.

“If we give our children sound self-love, they will be able to deal with whatever life puts before them.”- bell hooksHarry Jamerson teaches 5th grade in San Francisco Unified School District, and he shared this quote with us before our conversation. After talking to him, I could tell he truly lives by bell hooks' words. When it comes to self-love and emotional intellgence, Harry is keen on when to intervene, when to step back, and the PRESENCE required to make the right decision as an educator.Today, we discuss:The unique levels of fatigue that Black male educators endureHow young students are “overexposed and underexplained” to this one major societal issue, and how it affects their behaviorThe importance of WAITING to intervene, so that young students learn how to process their emotions and big feelings(0:00) Class in session(2:16) Harry introduces himself and how he became a teacher(7:00) How Harry and Ashanti let their students and fellow educators see them, and what they don't let them see(14:00) Empathy fatigue and how it affects educators, and especially Black men(23:00) Overexposed and underexplained: how technology is affecting young students(33:20) Students who need the most love ask for it in the most unloving ways(37:50) Twenty-year conversations: technology, interventions, and overwhelming systemic issues in education(40:45) Letting a student “crash out” at a kickball game(44:30) Avoid intervening too quickly and allow students to process their emotions---Connect with Harry Jamerson:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harry-jamerson-72b1672b7/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hellacoolfotos/ ---Contribute to our Dance-a-thon fundraiser: https://charity.pledgeit.org/EFC-DanceAThon Join our Skool Community: https://www.skool.com/efc-young-mens-advocates-2345 Email us questions and comments at totmpod100@gmail.com Create your own mask anonymously at https://millionmask.org/ ---Connect with Ashanti Branch:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/branchspeaks/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BranchSpeaksTwitter: https://twitter.com/BranchSpeaksLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashantibranch/Website: https://www.branchspeaks.com/---Support the podcast and the work of the Ever Forward Club: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/branch-speaks/support ---Connect with Ever Forward Club:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everforwardclubFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/everforwardclubTwitter: https://twitter.com/everforwardclubLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-ever-forward-club/#unmaskingwithmaleeducators #millionmaskmovement #takingoffthemask #totm #doace #UNWME #diaryofaconfusededucator

Spark SF Public Schools is the official non profit partner of The San Francisco Unified School District. They mobilize philanthropic and community support for San Francisco's public school students ranging from mental health programs to reading at grade level literacy.

Kaitlin shares her recent experience of a fast and deep dive into community activism to protect her children's public elementary school, Sutro Elementary, from potential closure. Only weeks ago, Sutro was among 13 schools in the San Francisco Unified School District identified for possible closure due to budget constraints. Kaitlin helped lead a community-wide campaign to keep Sutro open, which culminated in a 600-person protest, a town hall with the district superintendent, and ultimately, a halt to the closure process.This experience led Kaitlin to reflect on the essential role of Public schools as community pillars that provide stability and belonging, especially for low-income, immigrant populations like the students and families at Sutro Elementary—and broader, nationwide implications of school closures. A few Resources Mentioned:Wanting What's Best by Sarah Jaffe: A book exploring public vs. private education in the United StatesThe Problem of Private Schools Current Affairs article by Sparky Abraham (2020): What We Lose When a Neighborhood School Goes Away (WGBH News, 2015): Discusses the impact of school closures and cites work by sociologist Eve Ewing on school closures in Chicago.We invite you to share your own experiences with local activism and to consider how public education affects their communities. Connect with us on Instagram @postpartumproductionpodcast, and visit our Website and Substack, linked below. Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

A new superintendent is taking the helm of the embattled San Francisco Unified School District as it faces a December deadline to close a $113 million budget deficit. That's after a series of crises, including a botched process around school closures, led to the resignation of Superintendent Matt Wayne over the weekend. Links: Apply to be The Bay's next intern! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Doug Sovern is away today. In efforts to save up to $22 million, the San Francisco Unified School District will close nearly a dozen schools this year, causing thousands of students to find new classrooms to go to. The highly anticipated list, released this week, comes after a months long process to shutter schools to address the issue of empty seats spread across the city's school district. For more, KCBS Radio news anchors Patti Reising and Bret Burkhart spoke with Jill Tucker, Education Reporter with the San Francisco Chronicle. She wrote a fantastic piece in today's edition.

State of the Bay unpacks the recent chaos at the San Francisco Unified School District, delves into the Bay Area's persistent struggle to provide enough affordable homes for its residents and interviews naturalist & author Obi Kaufmann

Comprehensive coverage of the day's news with a focus on war and peace; social, environmental and economic justice. Israeli strikes killed more than 270 Lebanese in the deadliest barrage since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war. The U.N. General Assembly has adopted a “pact for the future” to meet the challenges of the 21st century. The man accused in the apparent assassination attempt of Donald Trump wrote a note months earlier saying he intended to kill the former president, according to a Justice Department detention memo that also said it plans to seek an attempted assassination charge. Scott Baba spoke with Hannah Saggau, senior climate finance campaigner with Stand.earth and a lead author of the report titled “Citi: Funding Fossil-Fueled Environmental Racism in the Gulf South,” about the report and today's protest at Citigroup global headquarters in Manhattan. California took on big oil with a lawsuit against ExxonMobil, as Attorney General Rob Bonta announced alongside environmental groups filing their own lawsuit, following Governor Gavin Newsom's ban on single-use plastic bags, with both lawsuits claiming ExxonMobil lied for years about plastic recycling to sell more petroleum products while California bears the cost of pollution. San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced a new school stabilization team for the San Francisco Unified School District today, after the district's Board of Education held an emergency closed-session meeting over the weekend to decide whether or not to fire embattled Superintendent Matt Wayne. Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes on villages in the Nabatiyeh district, seen from the southern town of Marjayoun, Lebanon, Monday, Sept. 23, 2024.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla) The post Israeli strikes killed more than 270 Lebanese in the deadliest barrage since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war – September 23, 2024 appeared first on KPFA.

rWotD Episode 2697: Guey Heung Lee v. Johnson Welcome to Random Wiki of the Day, your journey through Wikipedia’s vast and varied content, one random article at a time.The random article for Saturday, 21 September 2024 is Guey Heung Lee v. Johnson.Guey Heung Lee v. Johnson, 404 U. S. 1215 (1971), was a United States Supreme Court case regarding the desegregation of schools in San Francisco.In 1971, the San Francisco Unified School District attempted to desegregate the school system by reassigning pupils attending segregated schools to other public schools. The School District submitted a comprehensive plan for desegregation, which the District Court approved.Some Chinese parents protested the move, because in the Asian schools the students could learn about their cultural heritage, and they would lose this if they went to public schools.The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit entered a temporary stay pending a hearing in the District Court. Four days later, however, the Court of Appeals vacated that stay sua sponte. The District Court then denied the stay. Thereupon, a different three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals heard oral argument on the motions for a stay, and denied those motions.The Supreme Court too denied the stay, sayingSo far as the overriding questions of law are concerned, the decision of the District Court seems well within bounds. It would take some intervening event or some novel question of law to induce me as Circuit Justice to overrule the considered action of my Brethren of the Ninth Circuit.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 01:16 UTC on Saturday, 21 September 2024.For the full current version of the article, see Guey Heung Lee v. Johnson on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm neural Brian.

As a new school year kicks off, San Francisco Unified School District faces several big challenges including pending school closures set to be announced later this month. The district, with a budget of $1.3 billion for this fiscal year, has been overspending for years as enrollment has declined. With its financial reserves running dry, district leaders and school board members have to wrangle in spending to close a $420 million deficit or confront a state takeover. We'll talk to SFUSD Superintendent Matt Wayne and other experts about the district's financial problems, what could happen next, and take your questions. Guests: Jill Tucker, K-12 Education Reporter, San Francisco Chronicle Mark Sanchez, commissioner, San Francisco School Board of Education - San Francisco Unified School District Matt Wayne, superintendent, San Francisco Unified School District

Dear Loyal Readers,August has arrived. This means (at least) three things are true:* It's my birthday tomorrow. (Because I'm a Leo, I'll be celebrating all month.)* School is starting soon (very soon).* You deserve a blockbuster issue. Because why not?We've had a ton of new subscribers lately, so before launching into today's issue, I want to say thank you for signing up. Welcome to Article Club. We're a kind, thoughtful reading community that believes that reading and discussing the best articles on race, education, and culture will grow our empathy.One thing we do here (if you're interested) is a deep dive on one article a month. We read it, annotate it, listen to the author's viewpoints on it, and discuss it on the last Sunday afternoon of the month, on Zoom.That's what today's issue is all about. No matter if you're a new or longtime reader, I encourage you to participate. If you're feeling extra bold, why not sign up now, even before I reveal the article?All right, in case you need more information before you take the leap, I'm excited to announce this month's article: “Is the hardest job in education convincing parents to send their kids to a San Francisco public school?” Written by Gail Cornwall and published in The Hechinger Report, the article is perfect for us to discuss as we head into the new school year.If public schools matter to you, if you're a parent or a teacher, if you care about issues of race and class, if you are feeling hopeless, if you want to feel hopeful, if you worry about whether public schools will survive — this article might be for you.Here's what you can expect in today's issue:* My blurb about this month's article* Some information about the author* A double feature podcast episode: interviews with both the author of the article, Gail Cornwall, and the subject of the article, Lauren Koehler* Information on what comes next if you want to join us this monthAll right, let's get to it.

This episode features a conversation with Dr. William Gow on his recently published book, Performing Chinatown: Hollywood, Tourism, and the Making of a Chinese American Community (Stanford University Press, 2024), focuses on the 1930s and 1940s Los Angeles–its Chinatowns, and “city,” as well as the Chinese American community's relationship with Hollywood. Chinatown and Hollywood, Gow argues, represented the two primary sites where Chinese Americans performed racial difference for popular audiences during the Chinese exclusion era. As he will illustrate later in this conversation, Chinese Americans in Los Angeles used these performances in Hollywood films and in Chinatown for tourists to shape widely-held understandings of race and national belonging during this pivotal chapter in U.S. history. Performing Chinatown builds on Gow's background as a historian, educator, and documentary filmmaker–even incorporating his own family's history with Hollywood throughout the book's opening and closing. A fourth-generation Chinese American and a proud graduate of the San Francisco Unified School District, he holds an M.A. in Asian American Studies from UCLA and a Ph.D. in Ethnic Studies from UC Berkeley. Before receiving his doctorate, he taught history for nearly a decade in California public schools. For the past 20 years, he has also served as a volunteer historian with the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California (CHSSC), a non-profit in Los Angeles Chinatown. At the CHSSC, he is the co-director of the Five Chinatowns project, documenting the history of the five Chinatowns that existed in Los Angeles before 1965. He is presently an assistant professor of Asian American and Ethnic Studies at Cal State Sacramento. Donna Doan Anderson (she/her) is a research assistant professor in History at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

This episode features a conversation with Dr. William Gow on his recently published book, Performing Chinatown: Hollywood, Tourism, and the Making of a Chinese American Community (Stanford University Press, 2024), focuses on the 1930s and 1940s Los Angeles–its Chinatowns, and “city,” as well as the Chinese American community's relationship with Hollywood. Chinatown and Hollywood, Gow argues, represented the two primary sites where Chinese Americans performed racial difference for popular audiences during the Chinese exclusion era. As he will illustrate later in this conversation, Chinese Americans in Los Angeles used these performances in Hollywood films and in Chinatown for tourists to shape widely-held understandings of race and national belonging during this pivotal chapter in U.S. history. Performing Chinatown builds on Gow's background as a historian, educator, and documentary filmmaker–even incorporating his own family's history with Hollywood throughout the book's opening and closing. A fourth-generation Chinese American and a proud graduate of the San Francisco Unified School District, he holds an M.A. in Asian American Studies from UCLA and a Ph.D. in Ethnic Studies from UC Berkeley. Before receiving his doctorate, he taught history for nearly a decade in California public schools. For the past 20 years, he has also served as a volunteer historian with the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California (CHSSC), a non-profit in Los Angeles Chinatown. At the CHSSC, he is the co-director of the Five Chinatowns project, documenting the history of the five Chinatowns that existed in Los Angeles before 1965. He is presently an assistant professor of Asian American and Ethnic Studies at Cal State Sacramento. Donna Doan Anderson (she/her) is a research assistant professor in History at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

This episode features a conversation with Dr. William Gow on his recently published book, Performing Chinatown: Hollywood, Tourism, and the Making of a Chinese American Community (Stanford University Press, 2024), focuses on the 1930s and 1940s Los Angeles–its Chinatowns, and “city,” as well as the Chinese American community's relationship with Hollywood. Chinatown and Hollywood, Gow argues, represented the two primary sites where Chinese Americans performed racial difference for popular audiences during the Chinese exclusion era. As he will illustrate later in this conversation, Chinese Americans in Los Angeles used these performances in Hollywood films and in Chinatown for tourists to shape widely-held understandings of race and national belonging during this pivotal chapter in U.S. history. Performing Chinatown builds on Gow's background as a historian, educator, and documentary filmmaker–even incorporating his own family's history with Hollywood throughout the book's opening and closing. A fourth-generation Chinese American and a proud graduate of the San Francisco Unified School District, he holds an M.A. in Asian American Studies from UCLA and a Ph.D. in Ethnic Studies from UC Berkeley. Before receiving his doctorate, he taught history for nearly a decade in California public schools. For the past 20 years, he has also served as a volunteer historian with the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California (CHSSC), a non-profit in Los Angeles Chinatown. At the CHSSC, he is the co-director of the Five Chinatowns project, documenting the history of the five Chinatowns that existed in Los Angeles before 1965. He is presently an assistant professor of Asian American and Ethnic Studies at Cal State Sacramento. Donna Doan Anderson (she/her) is a research assistant professor in History at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/asian-american-studies

This episode features a conversation with Dr. William Gow on his recently published book, Performing Chinatown: Hollywood, Tourism, and the Making of a Chinese American Community (Stanford University Press, 2024), focuses on the 1930s and 1940s Los Angeles–its Chinatowns, and “city,” as well as the Chinese American community's relationship with Hollywood. Chinatown and Hollywood, Gow argues, represented the two primary sites where Chinese Americans performed racial difference for popular audiences during the Chinese exclusion era. As he will illustrate later in this conversation, Chinese Americans in Los Angeles used these performances in Hollywood films and in Chinatown for tourists to shape widely-held understandings of race and national belonging during this pivotal chapter in U.S. history. Performing Chinatown builds on Gow's background as a historian, educator, and documentary filmmaker–even incorporating his own family's history with Hollywood throughout the book's opening and closing. A fourth-generation Chinese American and a proud graduate of the San Francisco Unified School District, he holds an M.A. in Asian American Studies from UCLA and a Ph.D. in Ethnic Studies from UC Berkeley. Before receiving his doctorate, he taught history for nearly a decade in California public schools. For the past 20 years, he has also served as a volunteer historian with the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California (CHSSC), a non-profit in Los Angeles Chinatown. At the CHSSC, he is the co-director of the Five Chinatowns project, documenting the history of the five Chinatowns that existed in Los Angeles before 1965. He is presently an assistant professor of Asian American and Ethnic Studies at Cal State Sacramento. Donna Doan Anderson (she/her) is a research assistant professor in History at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/film

This episode features a conversation with Dr. William Gow on his recently published book, Performing Chinatown: Hollywood, Tourism, and the Making of a Chinese American Community (Stanford University Press, 2024), focuses on the 1930s and 1940s Los Angeles–its Chinatowns, and “city,” as well as the Chinese American community's relationship with Hollywood. Chinatown and Hollywood, Gow argues, represented the two primary sites where Chinese Americans performed racial difference for popular audiences during the Chinese exclusion era. As he will illustrate later in this conversation, Chinese Americans in Los Angeles used these performances in Hollywood films and in Chinatown for tourists to shape widely-held understandings of race and national belonging during this pivotal chapter in U.S. history. Performing Chinatown builds on Gow's background as a historian, educator, and documentary filmmaker–even incorporating his own family's history with Hollywood throughout the book's opening and closing. A fourth-generation Chinese American and a proud graduate of the San Francisco Unified School District, he holds an M.A. in Asian American Studies from UCLA and a Ph.D. in Ethnic Studies from UC Berkeley. Before receiving his doctorate, he taught history for nearly a decade in California public schools. For the past 20 years, he has also served as a volunteer historian with the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California (CHSSC), a non-profit in Los Angeles Chinatown. At the CHSSC, he is the co-director of the Five Chinatowns project, documenting the history of the five Chinatowns that existed in Los Angeles before 1965. He is presently an assistant professor of Asian American and Ethnic Studies at Cal State Sacramento. Donna Doan Anderson (she/her) is a research assistant professor in History at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies

This episode features a conversation with Dr. William Gow on his recently published book, Performing Chinatown: Hollywood, Tourism, and the Making of a Chinese American Community (Stanford University Press, 2024), focuses on the 1930s and 1940s Los Angeles–its Chinatowns, and “city,” as well as the Chinese American community's relationship with Hollywood. Chinatown and Hollywood, Gow argues, represented the two primary sites where Chinese Americans performed racial difference for popular audiences during the Chinese exclusion era. As he will illustrate later in this conversation, Chinese Americans in Los Angeles used these performances in Hollywood films and in Chinatown for tourists to shape widely-held understandings of race and national belonging during this pivotal chapter in U.S. history. Performing Chinatown builds on Gow's background as a historian, educator, and documentary filmmaker–even incorporating his own family's history with Hollywood throughout the book's opening and closing. A fourth-generation Chinese American and a proud graduate of the San Francisco Unified School District, he holds an M.A. in Asian American Studies from UCLA and a Ph.D. in Ethnic Studies from UC Berkeley. Before receiving his doctorate, he taught history for nearly a decade in California public schools. For the past 20 years, he has also served as a volunteer historian with the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California (CHSSC), a non-profit in Los Angeles Chinatown. At the CHSSC, he is the co-director of the Five Chinatowns project, documenting the history of the five Chinatowns that existed in Los Angeles before 1965. He is presently an assistant professor of Asian American and Ethnic Studies at Cal State Sacramento. Donna Doan Anderson (she/her) is a research assistant professor in History at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-west

This episode features a conversation with Dr. William Gow on his recently published book, Performing Chinatown: Hollywood, Tourism, and the Making of a Chinese American Community (Stanford University Press, 2024), focuses on the 1930s and 1940s Los Angeles–its Chinatowns, and “city,” as well as the Chinese American community's relationship with Hollywood. Chinatown and Hollywood, Gow argues, represented the two primary sites where Chinese Americans performed racial difference for popular audiences during the Chinese exclusion era. As he will illustrate later in this conversation, Chinese Americans in Los Angeles used these performances in Hollywood films and in Chinatown for tourists to shape widely-held understandings of race and national belonging during this pivotal chapter in U.S. history. Performing Chinatown builds on Gow's background as a historian, educator, and documentary filmmaker–even incorporating his own family's history with Hollywood throughout the book's opening and closing. A fourth-generation Chinese American and a proud graduate of the San Francisco Unified School District, he holds an M.A. in Asian American Studies from UCLA and a Ph.D. in Ethnic Studies from UC Berkeley. Before receiving his doctorate, he taught history for nearly a decade in California public schools. For the past 20 years, he has also served as a volunteer historian with the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California (CHSSC), a non-profit in Los Angeles Chinatown. At the CHSSC, he is the co-director of the Five Chinatowns project, documenting the history of the five Chinatowns that existed in Los Angeles before 1965. He is presently an assistant professor of Asian American and Ethnic Studies at Cal State Sacramento. Donna Doan Anderson (she/her) is a research assistant professor in History at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode features a conversation with Dr. William Gow on his recently published book, Performing Chinatown: Hollywood, Tourism, and the Making of a Chinese American Community (Stanford University Press, 2024), focuses on the 1930s and 1940s Los Angeles–its Chinatowns, and “city,” as well as the Chinese American community's relationship with Hollywood. Chinatown and Hollywood, Gow argues, represented the two primary sites where Chinese Americans performed racial difference for popular audiences during the Chinese exclusion era. As he will illustrate later in this conversation, Chinese Americans in Los Angeles used these performances in Hollywood films and in Chinatown for tourists to shape widely-held understandings of race and national belonging during this pivotal chapter in U.S. history. Performing Chinatown builds on Gow's background as a historian, educator, and documentary filmmaker–even incorporating his own family's history with Hollywood throughout the book's opening and closing. A fourth-generation Chinese American and a proud graduate of the San Francisco Unified School District, he holds an M.A. in Asian American Studies from UCLA and a Ph.D. in Ethnic Studies from UC Berkeley. Before receiving his doctorate, he taught history for nearly a decade in California public schools. For the past 20 years, he has also served as a volunteer historian with the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California (CHSSC), a non-profit in Los Angeles Chinatown. At the CHSSC, he is the co-director of the Five Chinatowns project, documenting the history of the five Chinatowns that existed in Los Angeles before 1965. He is presently an assistant professor of Asian American and Ethnic Studies at Cal State Sacramento. Donna Doan Anderson (she/her) is a research assistant professor in History at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The San Francisco Unified School District is preparing for a vote on which schools may close to address a budget crisis and declining enrollment.

Siyamak sits down with Ann Hsu, a former board member of the San Francisco Unified School District. She is also the founder and head of Burt Hsu Academy. Today, she will discuss her experiences overseeing public schools, and explain why they are not producing good results—despite spending billions of dollars each year. "If you have kids who do things without consequence, then more kids are going to do the same thing. And then pretty soon, the inmates are going to be running the asylum," Ms. Hsu said. "The teachers are very discouraged. They feel helpless. And this is why so many high school teachers are leaving the profession." Start your investment today on

Take a closer look at Green Schoolyards America.This episode is a conversation that includes: Rachel's journey BEFORE coming to Green Schoolyards AmericaCovid Initiative and how it was formed National School Yard Forest SystemSchoolyard Forest System Resource LibraryLiving Schoolyards ActNational Schoolyards Library.....and so much more!!! MEET RACHEL: Rachel Pringle, MA, is the Director of Strategic Partnerships at Green Schoolyards America and has been working in the environmental education and green schoolyard fields for 18 years. Rachel was the VP of Strategy at Education Outside, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that brought science and environmental literacy to life in over 60 green schoolyards throughout the Bay Area. Rachel was instrumental in developing the Education Outside AmeriCorps program model and oversaw corps operations, field staff, program evaluation, and expansion activities. Rachel also taught in a public school garden for four years and conducted environmental education programming for San Francisco Unified School District students with the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. Rachel earned a bachelor's degree in anthropology and a master's degree in conservation biology from the University of Pennsylvania and is co-author of How to Grow a School Garden: A Complete Guide for Parents and Teachers from Timber Press.CONNECT WITH GREEN SCHOOLYARDS AMERICA: WebsiteInstagramCONNECT WITH VICTORIA: FREE Seedling Newsletter WEBSITE: www.outdoor-classrooms.comEMAIL: Victoria@outdoor-classrooms.comInstagram: instagram.com/outdoor_classrooms/Facebook: Facebook.com/OutdoorClassrooms1OUTDOOR CLASSROOM RESOURCES:The Outdoor Classrooms CIRCLE MembershipThe Outdoor Teaching Bootcamp Seeds of Inspiration for Outdoor Learning Card Deck

One way to better understand today's issues in schools is to know the history of how we got here. Today, we'll hear about the landmark supreme court case; Lau v. Nichols, that established that bilingual students have the right to equal educational opportunities and a meaningful education. In this excerpt from his audiobook, Elevating Equity and Justice: 10 U.S. Supreme Court Cases Every Teacher Should Know, former civil rights attorney Robert Kim tells the story of why the Laus and other Chinese American families sued the San Francisco Unified School District 50 years ago and how their victory has shaped today's schools. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Update 4/21 1:42PM: Jury found Tesla Autopilot did not fail in the crash. A California state court jury is deliberating in what appears to be the first trial related to a crash involving Tesla's Autopilot partially automated driving software. Justine Hsu, a resident of Los Angeles, sued Tesla in 2020, alleging defects in the design of Autopilot and the airbag and seeking more than $3 million in damages for the alleged defects and other claims. Tesla denies liability for the 2019 accident, stating that Hsu used Autopilot on city streets, despite the company's user manual warning against doing so. The trial, which has unfolded in Los Angeles Superior Court over the last three weeks, has featured testimony from three Tesla engineers. The verdict could offer an important sign of the risk facing Tesla as it tests and rolls out its Autopilot and more advanced "Full Self-Driving" system. While the trial's outcome will not be legally binding in other cases, it is considered a test case because it would serve as a bellwether to help Tesla and other plaintiffs' lawyers hone their strategies. Tesla is also under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration over its claims about self-driving capabilities and the safety of the technology, respectively.US jury set to decide test case in Tesla Autopilot crash | ReutersThe Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is considering updating its Green Guides, a set of guidelines established in 1992 to help businesses avoid making deceptive environmental marketing claims, with an overhaul having the potential to significantly impact the marketing strategies of companies. The Green Guides are intended to be instructive rather than punitive, however, their influence has spread over the past three decades, with Maine, Minnesota, New York, and Rhode Island using them to define their own laws against fraudulent consumer marketing. The FTC has the authority to take action against companies making deceptive environmental claims and can also issue guidance on whether there should be new mandatory rules, rather than just advisory guidelines. Environmental groups, industries and individuals have all submitted comments since the FTC started the process of updating the guides in December last year. The FTC is hosting a public workshop in May on the subject of what can be called recyclable. The revisions to the Green Guides are expected to give environmental activists and consumers fresh ammunition to bring challenges and lawsuits.FTC Eyes Revisions to the Guidelines that Shape Green MarketingFox Corp. and Rupert Murdoch, along with his son Lachlan and former US House Speaker Paul Ryan, are facing a new lawsuit in Delaware's Chancery Court. This comes just two days after Fox announced it would pay $787.5 million to end a defamation case over lies it broadcast about the 2020 election. The circumstances suggest that the suit blames the company's leaders for steering it into a legal disaster. The proposed class action is the first court case seeking to hold Fox accountable since the Dominion settlement was announced, but it appears to echo a shareholder derivative suit filed April 11, just as the defamation trial was getting underway. The earlier complaint focused at length on blockbuster revelations that emerged from the Fox-Dominion case in February. Fox still faces a parallel defamation case brought by Smartmatic USA Corp. Both Dominion and Smartmatic have also sued Newsmax Media Inc. The ongoing cases seek billions in damages, and Dominion recently said it has been “under siege” from threats since the networks devoted airtime to slandering it.Fox, Murdochs Face New Lawsuit After $788 Million Dominion DealA federal court in the District of Columbia has ruled that the district's large-capacity magazine ban is constitutional, following a preliminary constitutional challenge by gun owners. The ruling by Judge Rudolph Contreras of the US District Court for the District of Columbia found that large-capacity magazines present “unprecedented societal concerns” and are subject to “dramatic technological changes” that warrant a public safety response. Although the plaintiffs argued that large-capacity magazines are “arms” within the meaning of the Second Amendment, the court found that they are not protected by the constitutional provision because they are not used for self-defense purposes. Gun owners had sought a preliminary injunction against the law, but the court's order denied the request, opening up the possibility of a review by the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. The case is the latest in a series of legal challenges to state gun laws that have followed the US Supreme Court's recent decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, which held that the Second Amendment protects the right to carry guns outside the home.DC's Large-Capacity Magazine Ban Constitutional, Court Says (1)Altria Group, a tobacco giant, is set to face trial on Monday in a lawsuit filed by the San Francisco Unified School District. The lawsuit accuses the company of contributing to a teen vaping epidemic, along with e-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc. The school district is seeking to force Altria to pay for the cost of tackling the problem, stating that teachers and staff "have had to go to extreme lengths to respond to the ever-growing number of students using e-cigarettes on school grounds." Altria, which held a 35% stake in Juul from 2018 until earlier this year, faces thousands of similar cases from individuals, local government entities, and states. The San Francisco school district's case was chosen by the presiding judge as a bellwether or test case. Juul has since settled the school district's lawsuit and most of the similar claims against it, paying more than $1 billion to 48 states and territories and $1.7 billion to individuals and local government entities.Altria faces first trial over claims it helped market Juul to teens | Reuters Get full access to Minimum Competence - Daily Legal News Podcast at www.minimumcomp.com/subscribe

The San Francisco Unified School District has gone from one crisis to another, frustrating parents. Many were furious schools didn't return to in-person instruction sooner, while others felt their kids were being pushed back into underprepared schools. Attendance, academic achievement, students' mental health and overall enrollment were all battered by the pandemic, while longstanding racial inequalities in student achievement worsened. Dr. Matt Wayne, the new superintendent, lays out his plans for the district and mending what he calls broken trust with parents. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Fixing Our City is part of the San Francisco Chronicle's SFNext Project Got a tip, question, comment? Email us at sfnext@sfchronicle.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We'll hear about San Francisco Unified School District's ongoing payroll issues, learn how to educate our teens and young adults about fentanyl poisonings, and find out fun facts about Bay Area creatures in your backyard and beyond.

The San Francisco Unified School District endorses telling young K-5 students that they can use a different name and set of pronouns than they use at home, according to whistleblower documents. Sausalito is a city in Marin County, California, across the Golden Gate Strait from San Francisco, with a population of more than 7,000, according to a 2020 census. City officials are reportedly desperate to remove dozens of homeless people from a park, so they're awarding them $18,000 to go somewhere else. San Francisco is being sued by several homeless people who contend that the city has violated their constitutional rights. The Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area and the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California filed the lawsuit this week for the Coalition on Homelessness and seven homeless individuals. Los Angeles-area Pastor John MacArthur penned an open letter to California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom Thursday after the governor blitzed red states with abortion billboards earlier this month. New York announced Thursday that it will become the next state to ban the sale of new gas cars by 2035.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Education Department at The Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center in San Francisco has the same state-of-the-art community center feel Kroc Centers are known for, providing children and families with opportunity to discover their passions within their own community. But Education Manager Monica Rios takes the programming a step further. The staff is trained in ACES (or Adverse Childhood Experience indicators and impact) and program funding from the San Francisco Unified School District helps pay for a behavioral specialist to better assist kids with all kinds of backgrounds. The idea is to personalize each interaction, knowing that the needs of every kid and family are different. Rios, who is bilingual, thoughtfully considers how effective communication and learning looks for a multicultural community. Under her leadership, the team intentionally follows up with each family's unique needs—food, family enrichment programs or referrals.   To learn more about Salvation Army Kroc Centers, visit https://www.kroccenter.org/  

It's still summer but the Morning Show with Nikki Medroro reports Starbucks is bringing back the Pumpkin Spice Latte today, an annual holiday for some. Speaking of holidays, the San Francisco Unified School District votes to add two Muslim holidays to the school calendar, but is the best way to honor cultural holidays with a day off from school?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Researchers estimate that as many as half of pregnancies in the United States were not planned and roughly one in five pregnancies ends in an abortion. With the U.S. Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade and the end of the federal right to an abortion, many sexual health educators and advocates are calling to enhance reproductive education – for people of all ages. Advocates say prevention and education can help people take charge of their reproductive health, but in many states sex education in schools is limited and under attack. We'll talk about the state of sex ed in a post-Roe America. Guests: Shafia Zaloom, author, "Sex, Teens and Everything in Between: The New and Necessary Conversations Today's Teenagers Need to Have about Consent, Sexual Harassment, Healthy Relationships, Love, and More;" health educator, Urban School in San Francisco Christopher Pepper, health educator, San Francisco Unified School District

It is 2022 and we are still fighting the same fights as generations before us. The world is upside down and it is up to us, the younger generation, to try and fix it. The generation of today is no longer going to be silence, we are demanding change and a better world. Generation Z (ages 10-25) has been left a world that has been plagued by economic crisis, a deteriorating climate, a global pandemic and so much more. Come hear from two Bay Area change makers who are asking for more. Both apart of Generation Z, these young activist are working to change the political system and the world around them one action at a time. About the speakers: About Tiana Day: Tiana Day is an 19-year old activist and founder of the nonprofit, Youth Advocates for Change. Day was named one of “CNN's 2020 Heroes, Young Wonder”, named a Golden State Warrior's “Impact Warrior”, featured in over 30 publications and has been in campaigns with major companies like HP, Canva, and Lululemon. She is an advocate for many social justice issues, most notably with her work within the Black Lives Matter movement. The start of her activism career at age 17, Day conducted and lead the first ever Black Lives Matter march across the Golden Gate Bridge of San Francisco, California in June 2020. The rally was said to bring roughly 50,000 individuals from different backgrounds together with her message to “Lead with Love”. Shortly after, she founded her 501(c)(3)nonprofit organization, Youth Advocates for Change, to give youth a creative outlet to amplify and empower them through intersectional social justice issues. The nonprofit has since expanded throughout California high schools and spread to 5 additional state chapters. About Shavonne Hines-Foster: Shavonne attended San Francisco's Lowell High School, where she served as the San Francisco Unified School District student representative to the Board of Education, as well as serving on the Student Advisory Council to the School District, where she was instrumental in the introduction of new policies at Lowell to promote change to the school culture, such as a resolution to remove its elitist admissions policy. She also served as Lowell's Black Student Union President her senior year where she also promoted greater diversity within the student body. Shavonne also co-founded a nonprofit to increase youth voting turnout called When YOUth Vote in 2020. She is now attending Hampton University and remains active in her school community. In her first year, she served on the Student Government Association Senate as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Co-Chair where she writes bills to fix issues on campus. This year, Shavonne will serve on Hampton University's Student Government Association Cabinet and Women's Caucus. Shavonne continues to serve her community through activism and philanthropy. This year, Shavonne created her own scholarship titled "My Voice, My Power" and awarded $2,000 to a Senior in a San Francisco public school. Shavonne plans to continue serving San Francisco, Hampton, and other communities in need. About Adrianna Zhang: Adrianna Zhang is a 17-year-old policy advocate who currently serves as the Chair of the San Francisco Youth Commission. On the commission, she helped lead the Vote16SF/Prop G campaign to 207k+ votes in 2020, successfully advocated for Free Muni for Youth, and several pieces of legislation that reached the SF Board of Supervisors on a range of topics from addressing anti-AAPI hate crimes to increasing affordable housing and climate action. As the district 7 appointee, she has also hosted the YC's annual participatory budget town hall to increase understanding and voice on the city's budget. Adrianna is also the founder and Executive Director of San Francisco Communities who Help Advance the New Generation of Education, or SF CHANGE , a nationwide organization that has presented free educational workshops to over 30,000 students around the United States. Passionate about education equity, she has led SF CHANGE to partner with organizations such as UNICEF, SF Public Libraries, and more to sponsor and provide resources for the organization. Adrianna is a member of the National Vote16 Advisory Board and was a speaker at TEDxCity of San Francisco 2021. She will attend Stanford University in the fall of 2022.

You might think you can't learn life-changing business success principles from a seasoned teacher who spent much of his life helping at-risk youth succeed in every way—from school to happiness to forging their own strong families to careers—but you'd be wrong! You can learn a TON from this award-winning changemaker, Dr. Joseph Marshall, and The Mentors Radio host Tom Loarie in today's engaging and inspiring episode. "Doc" Marshall delivers down-to-earth, first-hand, real-world tips and advice for success in life and work. MacArthur Genius Award-winner Joseph Marshall, Ph.D., is an author, lecturer, radio talk show host and most importantly, a former math teacher and administrator with the San Francisco Unified School District and a long-time community anti-violence activist. As a public school teacher, he grew sick and tired of watching his most promising students fall prey to the lure of gangs, drugs, and crime, and end up either dead or in prison.  Finding that neither the justice nor school system seemed willing even to try to address the underlying problems--to give the kids the kind of information and assistance they really needed--he leapfrogged right over the system and co-founded the Omega Boys Club, based upon the belief that young people of the inner city want a way out of the life they're in, but just don't know how to get out.  Since the club's inception in 1987, with a handful of kids in a community center basement, he and his small army of street soldiers have already helped 600 kids out of gang-banging and drug-dealing, and pushed, tutored, driven and even funded 140 inner-city kids into colleges around the country. He's the co-founder and executive director of Stay Alive and Free, a nonprofit dedicated to keeping at-risk youth alive and free, unharmed by violence and free from incarceration. Dr. Marshall has won MANY MANY awards for his successful leadership and results, and he continues to win awards. He also founded the Street Soldiers National Consortium, a group of activists dedicated to preventing violence nationwide, and co-founded the Omega Boys Club. Dr. Marshall's life-transforming, proven principles of success lie in treating violence as any doctor would treat a disease. And these principles transfer to anyone's life and business, no matter what age, and no matter where you are in the growth and learning curve! SHOW NOTES: BIO: https://usfblogs.usfca.edu/sfchangemakers/2020/07/02/dr-joseph-marshall/ https://amzn.to/3NIdCg4 BOOK: Street Soldier: One Man's struggle to save a generation, one life at a time, by Joseph Marshall WEBSITE: Stayaliveandfree.org RADIO SHOW: https://stayaliveandfree.org/programs/street-soldiers-radio/ VIDEO on Dr. Marshall: https://vimeo.com/209971873/b6856b832c AWARDS (partial list): MacArthur Genius Award2012 "Best Community-oriented Radio Program Award" from SF Weekly for Street Soldiers2004 Ashoka Fellow2001 "Use Your Life Award" from Oprah Winfrey's Angel Network1996 Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Award from the National Educational AssociationEssence Award honoring outstanding contributions by African American menLeadership Award from the Children's Defense Fund1994 MacArthur Fellows Program

The San Francisco Unified School District is dropping the word “chief” from job titles (“chief technology officer,” “chief of staff,” etc.) for its 10,000-strong workforce because — you guessed it — the word is associated with Native Americans. According to spokesperson Gentle Blythe, “While there are many opinions on the matter, our leadership team agreed that, given that Native American members of our community have expressed concerns over the use of the title, we are no longer going to use it.” No substitute has been agreed upon, which suggests how much thought was put into the decision. Not only is this cultural erasure of Native Americans in the service of supposedly removing a source of offense, it is also a symptom of the educational illiteracy of our educators. As Chris Pandolfo at the Blaze notes, “The word ‘chief' does not have Native American roots. It is an English word borrowed from an Old French word (chef) meaning ‘leader,' derived from the Latin ‘capus,' which means captain or chieftain.” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Community schools provide many services for kids and families - health care, mental health therapy, housing assistance, and more.

The San Francisco Unified School District is dropping the word “chief” from job titles (“chief technology officer,” “chief of staff,” etc.) for its 10,000-strong workforce because — you guessed it — the word is associated with Native Americans. According to spokesperson Gentle Blythe, “While there are many opinions on the matter, our leadership team agreed that, given that Native American members of our community have expressed concerns over the use of the title, we are no longer going to use it.” No substitute has been agreed upon, which suggests how much thought was put into the decision. Not only is this cultural erasure of Native Americans in the service of supposedly removing a source of offense, it is also a symptom of the educational illiteracy of our educators. As Chris Pandolfo at the Blaze notes, “The word ‘chief' does not have Native American roots. It is an English word borrowed from an Old French word (chef) meaning ‘leader,' derived from the Latin ‘capus,' which means captain or chieftain.” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What's Trending: More details come from Uvalde, Texas, along with more questions, and SDOT removes a community painted crosswalk. Tacoma Parks hosts ‘white staff only' meeting to fight white supremacy violence. The word “chief” will no longer be used in reference to job titles in the San Francisco Unified School District.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our guests are Rebecca Fedorko, SPED Teacher at Sutro Elementary School. Co-Author of the Reading Resolution & Doug Rich,Tier 2 Teacher at McKinley Elementary School The initial findings of a much anticipated San Francisco Unified School District curriculum audit were released Tuesday, adding to pressure from parents and educators to change how kids are taught to read. The audit findings point to major deficiencies in the district's K-five English language arts curriculum as it is written and observed inside classrooms. Those who have been pushing for change are not surprised by the findings and are now hopeful that the district will finally acknowledge the deep problems and commit to change. At public comment during the Monday meeting, parent Havah Kelley said, “Nothing about what I heard today surprises me. … I've been trying to help my son for about five years.” Literacy is the foundation of equitable education, and far too many SFUSD students leave elementary school without achieving their basic right to read. The most recent SFUSD performance data indicate that 55% of students do not meet standards in English language arts, and there are huge gaps in performance between subgroups. Only 20% of Black students, 15% of English learners and 16% of students with disabilities met standards in English language arts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After two and a half years of pandemic teaching, our guests explain why game-based learning is more helpful, beneficial, and needed now than ever before for both students and teachers. Follow on Twitter: @CateTolnai @LindseyBlass1 @ISTE @mrhooker @jonharper70bd @bamradionetwork #ISTE20 #ISTEturns40 #edchat #edtech #edtechchat Lindsey Blass (@LindseyBlass1) is the personalized learning environments program manager for San Francisco Unified School District. As adjunct faculty for Krause Center for Innovation at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, California, and a Google Certified Innovator, she's a leader in the edtech field. Blass is a sought-after speaker on gamification and game-based learning, and is the cofounder of #PlayPD, an unconference movement that leverages the power of gameplay to engage educators in designing innovative learning experiences. She believes learning should be fun for teachers and students, and strives to create dynamic and engaging learning experiences that inspire lifelong learners. Cate Tolnai (@CateTolnai) is the director of member engagement for CUE, the ISTE affiliate in California. She has spent 10 years in K-12 classrooms and five years coaching teachers and administrators at the district and county levels. As a Google Certified Innovator and Trainer, and adjunct faculty for Krause Center for Innovation at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, California, she supports the integration of technology and teaching across grade levels and content areas. Tolnai is the co-founder of #Sketch50, a movement to incorporate visual creativity into learning, and #ConnectedTL, a network for teacher-leaders

Comprehensive coverage of the day's news with a focus on war and peace; social, environmental and economic justice. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses joint session of U.S. congress appeals for no fly zone and fighter jets amidst Russia's siege. Republicans pressure Biden administration to provide fighter jets to Ukraine, some Democrats urge continued caution. 1-year anniversary of mass shooting at Asian massage parlors and spas draws attention to anti-Asian hate in the U.S. California gets “D” grade for environmental policy-environmental group warns state is failing to meet climate targets and citing power of big oil. New study finds Sierra Nevada has too many trees, calls for reduction to prevent catastrophic wildfire and disease spread, but cautions no logging. San Francisco City College faculty and students speak out against proposal to lay off 58 tenure faculty and 146 part time faculty. San Francisco Unified School District teachers hold “sleep in” after district's new payroll system fails to pay them or issues part pay. Amazon Workers stage walk out at multiple warehouses in New York and Maryland demand $3 an hour wage increase. Photo of Russian attack on market in Kharkiv, Ukraine by, Ukraine's Emergency Services Department @SESU_UA 3-16-22. The post Ukraine's President appeals to U.S. congress for no fly zone and fighter jets to counter Russia's siege; 1-year anniversary of mass shooting at Asian massage parlors and spas draws attention to anti-Asian hate in the U.S.; San Francisco City College faculty and students speak out against layoffs of + 200 faculty appeared first on KPFA.

After dragging its feet on reopening schools this winter, the San Francisco Unified School District school board is under fire. Their every decision is being scrutinized by angry parents and three of its members are facing recall elections. What happens when the school board debate comes to the Bay? Guest: Jill Tucker, education writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you'll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After dragging its feet on reopening schools this winter, the San Francisco Unified School District school board is under fire. Their every decision is being scrutinized by angry parents and three of its members are facing recall elections. What happens when the school board debate comes to the Bay? Guest: Jill Tucker, education writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you'll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After dragging its feet on reopening schools this winter, the San Francisco Unified School District school board is under fire. Their every decision is being scrutinized by angry parents and three of its members are facing recall elections. What happens when the school board debate comes to the Bay? Guest: Jill Tucker, education writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you'll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.