A host of the PBS series, NOVA Wonders, Dr. Talithia Williams is a groundbreaking professor, popular TED speaker, inspiring author and passionate STEM/STEAM advocate. She has made it her life's work to get people of all ages and backgrounds excited about the bold possibilities of a STEM education and to 鈥淪TEMpower鈥� women and minorities to enter these professions. Her latest book, Power in Numbers: The Rebel Women of Mathematics reflects Williams鈥� passion to re-brand the field of mathematics as anything but dry, technical or male-dominated. Renowned for her popular TED Talk, 鈥淥wn Your Body鈥檚 Data,鈥� she advocates for all of us to deploy data as a way of taking charge of our own health. A vibrant, engaging and energizing speaker, Dr. Williams demystifies data, statistics, probabilities and the mathematical process in amusing and insightful ways. She also passionately champions the contributions of scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians and their vital role in transforming our future.
For National Teacher of the Year Sydney Chaffee, teaching is a political act. She has been traveling the country urging all teachers to make social justice a central part of their mission. Talking to students about justice can't be a niche for certain kinds of teachers or certain schools. When students understand inequity and have the tools to work towards a more just world, they see why their education truly matters. As Teacher of the Year, Sydney Chaffee is committed to taking risks for her students and, as National Teacher of the Year, will encourage all educators to take risks 鈥� on their students, on each other and on themselves.
Jonathan Kozol received the National Book Award for Death at an Early Age, the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award for Rachel and Her Children, and countless other honors for Savage Inequalities, Amazing Grace, The Shame of the Nation, and Fire in the Ashes. He has been working with children in inner-city schools for nearly fifty years. The nationally-acclaimed education writer, public school advocate, and prolific author visited DePaul College of Education in November 2017 for a speaking event and book signing.
Jonathan鈥檚 most recent book on childhood and education is Fire in the Ashes, a sweeping narrative that follows a group of children in a destitute community out of their infancy and elementary grades, through their secondary years, into their late teens, and beyond. Some of their stories are painful and heart-breaking, but others are dramatic tributes to the resilience and audacity of courageous children who refuse to be defeated by the obstacles they face and find their way at last to unexpected and triumphal victories.
This film touches on the lives and experiences of five dynamic educators whose passion for social justice was forged when they were in school. Their personal accounts bear witness to both the overt and subtle forms of injustice that create critical barriers to quality learning and inclusion. Each person enacted their beliefs in equity, access, and respect in order to provide a just and quality education for the learners they serve. We invite people everywhere to learn from their experiences and see what they can do to make education more just and equitable for all.
It takes courage to reflect on your own privilege, but when teachers commit to vulnerability during class discussions, it builds respect and trust.
Five decades after the March on Washington, Martin Luther King Jr.鈥檚 dream of social justice for all is still a work in progress.
Healing & Social Justice, an episode in BEAM's "Conversations on Black Healing" video series, featuring Rev. Kyndra Frazier, Yolo Akili Robinson, and Alex Hardy.
Social Justice Series speaking event with Author Tim Wise: 'Challenging the Culture of Cruelty: Understanding and Defeating Race and Class Inequity in America.' April 14, 2018 at Clovis Community College.
Dr. Ruby Payne will deliver a keynote address entitled "Building the Emotional Resources of Students" at the National Conference on Innovative Counseling Skills and Strategies in Atlanta!