Elevate with Spark! @ Catlin Gabel

As this year of remote and socially distanced learning comes to an end we wanted to talk with students about the types of experiences or learning environments they think the school should consider holding on to in the future.  In this two sectioned episode Rob spoke with Lower School students Aayush, Ellery, Peter, Everly, and Diarra as well as Middle School students Tyler, Maya, Abby, Erin, Annika, Ella, and Erik to find out what it was like to work out in tents in the cold, how the cohorts worked out, how remote learning changed them and what they are looking forward to when we start in person next year.  Please enjoy this final episode to Elevate’s 3rd season where we get the last glimpse into the student experience of a very “interesting” year.   

Following our previous podcast where AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) students shared their stories, Rob joined Upper School and Middle School teachers Kenny Nguyen, Beining Hu, Traci Kiyama, and Michele Hoang for a wide-ranging conversation about the experience of being Asian at Catlin Gabel and at this point in history.  With thoughtfulness and passion, they discuss the impact of "model minority" biases, discrimination, and how it feels to speak up for their personal identities.  They explore Buddhism and the misuse of the word Zen. And they shared their ideas on how the school could better provide equity for all employees, students, and families.  Please enjoy this penultimate podcast of the 2020-21 school year.     

As part of our year-long exploration of anti-racism work here at Catlin Gabel, Matt and Rob sat down with three Upper School students and two Upper School faculty who identify as Asian or South Asian.  Math teacher Traci Kiyama and English teacher Krystal Wu co-host a conversation with Issa, Zia, and Nayan to explore their identities and experiences at Catlin Gabel as well as in their home communities.  They talk about culture, language, the word Asian, and what it means to fit in.  Join in on this insightful conversation.  

Explore some of the media that these students and teachers are watching and reading as referenced in the podcast :

When Damien Geter took a leave of absence as the Upper School Music Teacher in June of 2019 to pursue an opportunity at the Metropolitan Opera in New York he never thought that his singing and composition life would take a major leap forward.  But in the two years since he last taught at Catlin Gabel, and following the murder of George Floyd, Brianna Taylor, and Amaud Aubrey, he has become a highly sought-after composer and singer whose works "infuse classical music with various styles from the black diaspora to create music that furthers the cause for social justice."  Matt and Rob had a chance to sit down with Damien to discuss some of the work he has been doing since he chose to step away from teaching, how he develops his compositions, his thoughts about teaching, his musical influences, and what it takes to "play the game" as a BIPOC artist.

Teaching and learning in a pandemic has forced all of us out of our comfort zones and required us to be in a constant state of re-invention.   Jodie Ricci knew a lot about living in that ambiguity even before Covid-19.  As the Performing Arts Chair at Hawken School in Cleveland, a coach with Project Zero, a curriculum trainer, and a practitioner of Agency by Design research she has always been eager to disrupt traditional narratives of creativity to make the world a better place. When she shared her approach with Catlin Gabel faculty at a Forum sponsored event in February Rob and Matt knew they wanted to hear more about what she has been thinking about and doing to help move her school forward.

In this episode of Elevate Rob, Matt and Jodie explore activating student voice, sharing curriculum design with students, asking big questions, the importance of play and the arts,  and all the things we want to hold on to as schools consider life in a pandemic-changed-world.  

Matt and Rob decided to do something a little different for this year’s 11th episode of Elevate.  Rather than covering a story, a project, or a person they held a conversation about the new social media platform called Clubhouse.  They invited Catlin Gabel parents, artists, and Clubhouse users Haleah Blank and Brian Rush to sit down for a conversation to explore the social and educational possibilities of this up and coming app.  With an emphasis on real-time audio, Clubhouse feels like a combination between the radio, a podcast, a large zoom session, and Instagram.  With a huge variety of “rooms” and “clubs” focusing on any topic conceivable, the user can listen in, ask to join a conversation or a performance and even start their own.  This lively conversation focuses on how Clubhouse works, how it has impacted people, and how it could be leveraged for professional development, social connection, and even societal change.

In this moment of collective reckoning since the death of George Floyd, Catlin Gabel, like many educational institutions, has had to examine the ways in which racism exists within our school. Black students, families, employees, and other People of Color, made clear that the school must do a better job of fostering a truly inclusive and welcoming culture of belonging for everyone. In addition to the steps being taken by the school, which were recently shared by Head of School Tim Bazemore and Board Chair Indira Nallakrishnan, seven Upper School students came together over the summer to ensure their voices were heard. Today, this group has grown to forty students and are now known as the Antiracism Collective, whose mission is to invite the school’s community to “analyze their privilege, focus attention on antiracism, and understand the experiences of BIPOC on campus.” In this episode of Elevate, Rob sits down for a wide ranging conversation with ARC's leadership team to hear about their personal experiences and goals for their work together: (All of the students are seniors, except one) Anuska Gupta, Emma Lindner, Neha Myneni, Catie Macauley, Nayan Murthy (junior), Divine Niyungeko, and Patina Todd.  

The Office of Inclusion and Outreach at Catlin Gabel plays a pivotal role in helping the community think about and expand the culture of the school.  In her new full-time role as the Assistant Director of Inclusion and Outreach Erica Babino brings a deep passion for the work of diversity, inclusion, and conflict management.  Rob and Matt sit down with Erica and hear about how she is considering recruitment and retention of people of color at the school, the work she is doing with students, her past legislative actions on adoption, the children’s books she has published, and how finding her birth parents completely altered her life.  Enjoy this third episode of Elevate’s third season.

In the middle of the literal firestorm that is September 2020, we are all looking for ways to feel hope and ways to feel connected to others and our world. In this first episode of Elevate's third season, Rob van Nood and his new co-host Matt Woodard sit down with second-grade teacher and community activist Marcelle Donehower to explore how her experience in the Black Lives Matter movement has allowed her to grow, develop her voice and make powerful connections. Her commitment to social justice and anti-racism through action can give us all hope.