Lisa Morehouse

Funding Cuts Would Keep Rural Kids Waiting for the Bus

2012-01-25T11:30:00.000-08:00

Aired on The California Report on the morning of Tuesday, January 24, 2012.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201201240850/b

Before dawn on January 24th, two school buses full of students and a caravan of community members from rural Humboldt County began a five-hour trek to Sacramento. They're protesting the decision to eliminate all state funding for school buses as part of the budget-balancing trigger cuts.

Filipino-American Parol Lanterns

2011-12-23T18:31:00.000-08:00

Aired on The California Report on December 23, 2011.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201112231630/c

Just a few blocks from San Francisco's shopping mania, the Bayanihan Community Center is filled with people engaged in a much more traditional activity -- hand-making star-shaped lanterns out of bamboo and tissue paper. During the Christmas season, many Filipino-American homes display the colorful star shaped lanterns called parols. Parols have a long history in the Philippines, but the holiday symbol isn't so well known in California. Now a community center in San Francisco is encouraging people to reconnect to this tradition, by making their own parols, and sharing them with the community.

Latinos and the "green economy" in Imperial County

2011-12-23T18:26:00.000-08:00

Aired on Latino USA, the weekend of December 16, 2011.

http://www.latinousa.org/976-2/

In 2009, President Obama called for a New “Green” Deal… evoking Roosevelt’s New Deal of the 1930’s that dramatically expanded and changed America’s infrastructure. The goal of the Obama plan was to create millions of green jobs. But has that happened? And if so, has this “new deal” been for everyone?

In this piece, I revisit my reporting in Calipatria in Imperial County which sits atop abundant geothermal activity. It’s 80% Latino and has one of the country’s highest unemployment rates. But the people there hope this renewable energy resource will give it just the “green” economic boost it needs.

Salt Farmers in Mendocino

2011-12-23T18:22:00.000-08:00

Aired on The California Report Magazine on Friday Dec 16, 2011.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201112161630/e

Bob LaMar really does take a boat 3 miles off the Mendocino Coast to harvest sea water (I know, I went with him!), and he and his wife Lora make salt and seasonings at their home salt shed in Gualala. The Mendocino coast, two total individuals, and salt. What's not to love?

Los Hilos de la Vida

2011-11-26T14:16:00.001-08:00

Aired on Friday, November 25, 2011 on The California Report Magazine.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201111251630/c

Jesus, abortion, deportation, border issues. These are some of the stories told in quilts made by immigrant women in Mendocino County's Anderson Valley.

Curandero Chuck Garcia on Latino USA's Radio Nature.

2011-11-04T23:12:00.000-07:00

Aired on NPR's Latino USA Friday November 4,2011.

http://www.latinousa.org/970-2/

and on The California Report magazine November 11, 2011.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201111111630/c

Chuck, who teaches classes on herbalism out of his Richmond home, let me come along on a "wildcrafting" trip in Marin County. He says he rejected the idea of becoming an herbalist like his mother and grandfather but, he says, "you can't escape who you are."

Mt. Maidu country, revisited

2011-10-31T12:54:00.000-07:00

Aired on Living on Earth on October 28, 2011.
http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.html?programID=11-P13-00043&segmentID=3

A new version of the story of Mt. Maidu people working to gain formal stewardship of tribal lands.

Grapes of Wrath in Volcano, CA

2011-10-31T12:48:00.000-07:00

Aired on The California Report magazine on Friday, October 28th, 2011.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201110281630/b

I visit a tiny Gold Rush town whose theater company staged a story written 70 years ago that is totally relevant today: The Grapes of Wrath.

Listen In at Log Cabin Ranch: Radio Diaries of Incarcerated Youth

2011-10-05T14:55:00.000-07:00

This spring, I got to work with The Beat Within and inspirational co-teacher Will Roy. Each week we drove out to the hills of La Honda to meet with young men from San Francisco incarcerated at Log Cabin Ranch. We interviewed them, gave them a few pointers on collecting audio, and asked them to record diaries of their daily lives. They blew us away with their humor and honesty. These pieces aired in a series called Listen In at Log Cabin Ranch on New America Now on KALW. Here's the whole series:

http://newamericamedia.org/2011/09/nam-radio-log-cabin-ranch.php

Holtville Pauper's Cemetery

2011-09-02T16:18:00.000-07:00

Aired the weekend of September 2, 2011 on NPR's Latino USA:

www.latinousa.org/961-2/

(scroll down, it's the third piece)

And on The California Report Magazine:

www.californiareport.org/archive/R201109021630/c

Pauper's cemeteries aren't new. They're where unclaimed and unidentified bodies, or those of families too poor to pay for funerals, are buried. But in the southeastern corner of California, in a small rural town called Holtville, a "John Doe" cemetery tells a larger story about the state, and nation. It's where the bodies of nearly 700 undocumented immigrants are buried -- immigrants who died trying to cross the border.

The Future of Small Town California part VI: Mt. Maidu Country

2011-07-29T13:15:00.000-07:00

Aired on The California Report Magazine on July 29, 2011 (with a photo slideshow).

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201107291630/c

For this story in the series I headed up the Feather River to the mountains of Plumas and Lassen Counties. This story starts before towns we see on a map today even existed; before Greenville or Taylorsville, this land was filled with the villages of native Mt. Maidu people. But Gold Rush prospectors, developers and government agencies honed in on their land. Their population declined, and so did their access to the land for traditional practices. Now Mt. Maidu are now working to regain formal stewardship of their homeland.

With a reporter's notebook:

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201107291630/cx

Station-Indie "Do-si-do"

2011-07-18T13:11:00.000-07:00

Published in the Association of Independents in Radio AIRblast, July 2011.

http://www.airmedia.org/PageInfo.php?PageID=669

I couldn't be doing my small town series if it weren't for the relationship I have with KQED's The California Report, and they wouldn't have reporting in some of the state's far-flung places without this series.

California Song: John Doe's "The Golden State"

2011-06-01T08:06:00.000-07:00

Aired on The California Report on May 27, 2011.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201105271630/d

The Future of Small Town California Part V: Calipatria

2011-05-22T08:03:00.000-07:00

Aired on The California Report on May 20, 2011

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201105201630/b

Calipatria is a town in California's southeast corner: Imperial County. Many of the town's residents rejoiced in April when Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law a requirement that by 2020, the state get over 30 percent of its electricity from renewable sources. They hope the region's natural resources will lead this hard-hit county into economic recovery.

With a reporter's notebook:

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201105201630/bx

The Future of Small Town California Part IV: Avenal

2011-03-18T20:00:00.000-07:00

Aired on The California Report evening magazine on March 18, 2011.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201103181630/d

With a reporter's notebook:

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201103181630/dx

In 1929, oil was discovered in the Kettleman Hills -- and the nearby town of Avenal was born. But by the 1960s, the oil business dried up, and Avenal struggled to find a new economy and identity. They found one, but in an industry most towns had previously shunned: a prison.

The Future of Small Town California Part III: Garberville

2011-01-07T17:18:00.001-08:00

Aired on KQED public radio's The California Report on Friday, January 7, 2011.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201101071630/c

The Humboldt County town of Garberville is a thriving center of California's marijuana industry. For the past few decades, pot growing has gradually replaced logging and ranching as the economic engine there. We visit Garberville to learn more about the changing identity of a town underwritten by pot. Co-reported with Kym Kemp.

Big Wave with Jenny and Johnny

2010-12-04T09:31:00.000-08:00

Aired on The California Report magazine on Friday December 3, 2010.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201012031630/d

Um, I got to sit on the tour bus with Jenny Lewis (of Rilo Kiley) and Jonathan Rice (both smart, sweet, approachable) and talk to them about their song "Big Wave." And then Jonathan talked about the interview on stage that night. And then I got paid for it. Lucky, lucky me.

The Future of Small Town California, Part II: Boonville and the Anderson Valley

2010-12-04T09:21:00.000-08:00

Aired on KQED Public Radio's The California Report magazine on Friday, December 3, 2010.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201012031630/c

For outsiders, Mendocino County's Boonville used to be a "blink-and-you-miss-it" spot along Highway 128. Through the years it's been home to sheep ranchers, apple farmers and marijuana growers. But recently, Pinot Noir grapes have put Boonville and the Anderson Valley on the map -- and that has some residents worried.

If you please, listen to the story, then look at the pretty photo slide show and read the reporter's notebook!

Micro-micro businesses...right in my neighborhood

2010-12-03T11:14:00.000-08:00

Here's a podcast I did on the food marketplace in Bernal Heights (311 Cortland) for the small business website AllBusiness:

http://www.allbusiness.com/company-activities-management/company-structures-ownership/15298488-1.html

The Future of Small Town CA part 1: Lindsay

2010-11-06T09:28:00.000-07:00

Aired on KQED Public Radio's The California Report Magazine Friday, November 5, 2010.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201011051630/c

After listening to the story, check out the photo slide show (including historic images loaned by the great folks in Lindsay) and reporter's notebook, where I include more stories about reporting in Lindsay.

Small towns in California face an uncertain future. The economies that created many of them – like logging, or mining – have died or changed. The populations and cultures of those towns have changed. too, which I'll explore in my series: New Harvest: The Future of Small Town California. First up is Lindsay, CA, a Central Valley town of 12,000 built up around olive and citrus groves. Twenty years ago, a state-wide freeze signaled the start of a series of events crippling Lindsay’s economy. But the town forged a new identity, and it’s celebrating its centennial this year.

Series: New Harvest: The Future of Small Town California

2010-11-06T09:25:00.001-07:00

My series on small town California has begun. Each story will feature a place that grew up around one economy and, as that industry died or changed, adapted. This is the series page that will host the stories:

http://www.californiareport.org/specialcoverage/newharvest/

I'll also post each story as it airs.

LocoPops

2010-09-25T09:46:00.000-07:00

Aired on American Public Media's The Splendid Table on September 25, 2010.

http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/listings/100925/

In 2004, Summer Bicknell was a corporate drone. She was living in Nashville, TN, working too many hours at a dissatisfying IT job. After eating a Mexican popsicle – called a paleta – Bicknell downsized her life, quitting her job, selling her house, moving to Mexico then Durham, North Carolina. She hasn’t looked back.

An Entrepreneur's Investment in a Neglected Urban Corridor

2010-08-06T15:02:00.000-07:00

Aired on the AllBusiness podcast, August 6, 2010.

http://www.allbusiness.com/company-activities-management/company-structures-ownership/14885805-1.html

There's a two-block stretch of Market Street in San Francisco that many locals and tourists avoid. But one small business owner, David Addington, sees this neighborhood not for its seedy reputation, but for its potential for arts, entertainment -- and business.

From Eyesore to Art: Art in Storefronts

2010-07-16T10:14:00.000-07:00

Aired on The California Report Magazine, Friday July 9, 2010.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201007091630/c

In neighborhoods across California, vacant storefronts act as visual reminders of the economic downturn. In San Francisco, many of them are now filled with commissioned art. An innovative program here is gaining statewide and national attention, with other cities wanting to learn from San Francisco's success.

Legalizing Marijuana: Some Pot Growers Face a Marketing Challenge

2010-07-15T15:13:00.000-07:00

Aired on the AllBusiness podcast July 15, 2010.

http://www.allbusiness.com/crime-law/controlled-substances-cannabis/14771601-1.html

This November Californians will decide if marijuana should be legal. In response, Northern California pot growers are already thinking of the branding and marketing possibilities.

Greening the Marijuana Grow (last time on the radio, folks)

2010-06-28T14:23:00.000-07:00

Aired on NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday, June 27, 2010:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128143079

The environmental impacts of growing pot indoors gets a national audience....

California's Native Tribes Concerned about Marine Life Protection Act Implementation

2010-06-22T17:40:00.000-07:00

Aired on The California Report on Tuesday, June 22, 2010

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201006220850/b

California is implementing a 1999 law that aims to conserve the state's ocean resources by setting up protected areas along the coast. But native tribes worry that measures imposed under the Marine Life Protection Act may prohibit them from using coastal resources in centuries-old traditions

Stockton Police Union Fights Layoffs (again)

2010-06-21T17:37:00.000-07:00

Aired on NPR's All Things Considered on Monday, June 21, 2010.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127991882

The union for the city of Stockton's police force is responding to budget cuts and layoffs of more than 50 officers in an unusual way. It's launched a $20,000 billboard campaign across the city. The billboards -- some of which appear to be bloodstained -- warn about the city's current "body count"; call Stockton the second most dangerous city in the nation; and state "don't lay off cops."

Marine Life Protection Act meets the North Coast

2010-06-21T13:46:00.000-07:00

Aired on The California Report, Monday June 21, 2010.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201006210850/a

California is in the middle of a grand environmental experiment up and down the coast. The state is putting into effect a 1999 law which aims to save the state's precious marine resources. But some residents of the North Coast say a law that looks good on paper may not work well in the real world.

Stockton Cops Fight Budget Cuts with Billboards

2010-06-12T13:43:00.000-07:00

Aired on The California Report Magazine on Friday, June 11, 2010.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201006111630/b

The recession hit Stockton hard. The Central Valley city has 20 percent unemployment, nationally ranked foreclosure rates and a $23 million deficit. Even though its violent crime rate is second highest in the state, the city says it has to slash the police department budget. But the police officer's union is fighting back.

Sweet Dreams Sewing Cooperative

2010-05-25T15:09:00.000-07:00

Aired on the AllBusiness podcast May 25, 2010.

http://www.allbusiness.com/company-activities-management/company-structures/14584233-1.html

Sweet Dreams Sewing Cooperative helps at-risk teenage girls learning business skills through sewing and fashion design.

Greening the (Marijuana) Grow...once again

2010-05-22T08:14:00.001-07:00

Aired on The California Report Magazine on Friday, May 21, 2010.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201005211630/d

La Lucha Continua...continua!

2010-05-20T08:26:00.000-07:00

My lucha piece is currently featured on this great website:

http://audiodocumentary.org/

Check out its wide selection of pieces.

Greening the (Marijuana) Grow

2010-05-09T13:38:00.000-07:00

Aired on KQED Public Radio's Quest on Monday, May 10, 2010.

http://www.kqed.org/quest/radio/greening-the-grow

Voters in California will consider a measure on the November ballot to legalize and tax marijuana. Amid the debate over pros and cons, another issue has been gaining visibility -- the environmental damage pot cultivation can incur. Illegal pesticide use and creek water diversion at large-scale outdoor operations are well-documented. But environmental concerns are also growing over indoor marijuana cultivation, and I went to Humboldt to learn more.

Check out the slide show and blog, too.

Small Businesses: Where Have All the Farmers Gone?

2010-04-14T15:05:00.000-07:00

Aired on the AllBusiness podcast, April 14, 2010.

http://www.allbusiness.com/14238671-1.html

The number of small business farms is shrinking. Here's another version of my FarmLink story. It's a Sonoma County-based organization using an innovative approach to grow the next generation of farmers.

Loudon Wainwright III talks about "Grey in L.A.

2010-03-05T18:16:00.000-08:00

Aired on The California Report Magazine on Friday March 5, 2010.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201003051630/e

Bear Hunting

2010-03-05T17:52:00.000-08:00

Aired on The California Report Magazine on Friday, March 5, 2010.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201003051630/d

And NPR's All Things Considered on March 31:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125420237

The Department of Fish and Game holds hunter education clinics throughout the state of California, like the bear hunting clinic I attended in Diamond Springs, near Placerville. Bear hunting is getting a lot of attention right now as the department is proposing changing regulations to expand where and how Californians can hunt bears.

Gaining Historical Empathy Through Slave Narratives

2010-03-01T21:54:00.001-08:00

Published on edutopia.org on March 6, 2010.

http://www.edutopia.org/engaging-students-history-slave-narratives

Some amazing teachers in Oakland help students give voice to slaves through a collaborative slave narrative project.

Gypsy Innkeepers

2010-02-27T08:05:00.000-08:00

Aired on The California Report Magazine on Friday, February 26, 2010.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201002261630/e

Lots of folks fantasize about spending their lives on the road, traveling wherever, whenever. But few do it. On a recent trip to Desert Hot Springs north of Palm Springs, I met a couple in their 50s who really did take to the road. This aired as part of the series "Turning Points," profiling Californians who make life-altering decisions.

Modernism Week in Palm Springs

2010-02-13T06:53:00.000-08:00

Aired on KQED's The California Report Magazine on Friday, February 12, 2010.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201002121630/c

Besides the great weather and gorgeous mountains, is also boasts spectacular examples of mid-century modern architecture. This weekend, fans of modern design will flock to Palm Springs for the fifth annual Modernism Week. I paid a visit, and learned about my own grandparents' role in the creation of Palm Springs' style.

(there's a slideshow, too!)

La Lucha Continua: Mexican Wrestling in the Mission

2010-01-28T18:15:00.000-08:00

Aired on KALW's Crosscurrents on Thursday, January 28, 2010.

http://kalwnews.org/audio/2010/01/28/la-lucha-continua-mexican-wrestling-mission_112341.html

About twice a year, a high school gym in San Francisco’s Mission District fills with hundreds of Latino families for an unusual fundraiser. Kids wear facemasks, grandmas yell, dads blow plastic horns for Lucha Libre. It’s a form of Mexican wrestling, a hybrid of sport and spectacle that pits good guys against bad. The idea first hit the U.S. mainstream with the film Nacho Libre and now there are lucha-themed restaurants and even lucha-dance clubs. But it’s not just a form of entertainment: it’s also a theater for social commentary. I go ringside.

Haiti Relief Benefit Concerts in California

2010-01-22T19:07:00.000-08:00

Aired on KQED radio's The California Report Magazine on Friday, January 22, 2010.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201001221630/d

As search and rescue teams wind down their efforts in Haiti, the island nation is still in desperate need of humanitarian support in the form of food, water and shelter. Fundraising efforts continue across the globe, and of course here in California. I report on a small but passionate community of Haitian musicians planning dozens of concerts to benefit their devastated homeland.

Black Nativity

2009-12-23T09:45:00.000-08:00

Aired on KQED's The California Report Magazine on Friday, December 18.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R200912181630/f

And on NPR's Morning Edition on Wednesday, December 22.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121798382

Annoyed by the Muzak of the season? This soulful version of the traditional Christmas story was first written by Langston Hughes, and is performed in African American theaters and churches across the country.

Sweet Dreams Sewing Cooperative

2009-12-11T17:00:00.000-08:00

Aired on KQED Radio's The California Report Magazine on Friday, December 11, 2009.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R912111630/e

And on the World Vision Report December 19, 2009

http://www.worldvisionreport.org/Stories/Week-of-December-19-2009/Turning-Heads

Thousands of kids in California grow up struggling with poverty, family problems and gang violence. While some might dream of running their own business someday, they face plenty of obstacles. In San Francisco, there's a non-profit that teaches business skills to at-risk girls, through sewing and fashion design.

Reading Like a Teacher

2009-12-10T21:22:00.000-08:00

Published in McSweeney's Issue #33, The San Francisco Panorama, Tuesday, December 8, 2009.

I can't publish the PDF, so here's the whole article about the impact reading with my students had on me when I was a teacher, and the travel those experiences inspired.

It seems like you can hear the train almost anywhere you stand in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It’s the soundtrack at the BBQ joint and the downtown high-rise hotel, at the drive-in theater, closed for the winter. And if you, like me, have read The Outsiders more than a few times, the train whistle in Tulsa makes you think of just one thing: the characters Johnny and Ponyboy hopping a boxcar to escape the trouble chasing them in this city. I’ve wanted to visit Tulsa for years, just because The Outsiders is set here. I was a teacher once, and it was the first book I taught successfully, and I had to make a pilgrimage.

I’ve made other journeys for books I taught. I’ve negotiated the subway system of Mexico City, taken road trips to tiny south Texas towns, visited island barracks with Chinese poetry carved into the walls, and flown to New Zealand all because of the powerful effect the books I taught – some of which I’d read twenty-plus times -- had on me. Educators think a lot about literature’s impact on kids; we pick stories hoping to engage students and build their skills, and search for the magic books that will turn students into lifelong readers. But how often do we consider how the books we teach are important to us?

I am maybe unduly influenced by sense of place. Once I’d lived and taught in rural Georgia, REM’s songs, Flannery O’Conner’s stories and Alice Walker’s essays all made much more sense. And I’ll travel almost anywhere, often because I met someone from there, or read a book or article that piqued my interest. When I read for pleasure, I can’t help but sense the setting’s smell and climate, picture the architecture. As a teacher, I encouraged my students to do the same. Maps covered the classroom so that my students and I could obsessively locate the tiny towns mentioned in stories. We’d track Malcolm X’s travels and Polynesian migration, marvel at the sheer size of Texas and imagine all-black towns on the shores of Lake Erie.

So it was really no surprise that I found myself crawling under the gate at Tulsa’s Admiral Drive-In this fall, scenes from The Outsiders playing in my head. I drove to Will Rodgers High School, where class tensions prompted a teen-age S.E. Hinton to write The Outsiders in 1967. I snapped pictures of the school’s art deco grandeur and “gun-free zone” signs. I watched a film at the revamped Circle Cinema, used as the neighborhood theater in the 1983 movie. It’s not that I expected some version of Ponyboy to walk by; this isn’t 1960s Tulsa. Today’s Circle Cinema is, after all, a stone’s throw away from a supermercado, and hopeful developers are saving historic buildings from the wrecking ball, converting them to lofts. But neighborhoods of modest homes surrounded by chain-link fences, contrasted with south-side mansions from Tulsa’s oil-rich history, point to the pervasiveness of the disparity Hinton described 40 years ago. I had to pay my respects.

Why? The Outsiders saved me my first year of teaching. I’d moved across the country to teach in rural Georgia, and experienced the first real failure of my life. I was a terrible novice teacher, with no instincts for classroom management, easily crushed when my earnestness wasn’t enough to transfer my passion for written stories to my disenfranchised students. After the tragic-comedy of my first months as a teacher, my students’ captivation with The Outsiders caught me off guard. They energetically debated causes and solutions to the book’s class conflict, and so identified with characters that many thought the Greasers were African-American (several got pretty mad at me when I told them otherwise). For many students, The Outsiders was the first book they read cover to cover. Maybe because I felt I’d finally done something right, as I read the last page of the book aloud to my first period class, I choked up. , Patrice, in the second row, finished reading while her classmates stared at their teacher, tears streaming down her face because of some words on a page. Hinton’s story just rings true, to all kinds of outsiders.

Years later, at a San Francisco high school, my teaching team worried over our school’s struggling Polynesian population. When I found the book The Whale Rider (the basis for the sleeper hit movie) I bought forty copies, charging my credit card so I could start the school year with this story. My Samoan students (who share pieces of history and culture with the Maori, like a warrior dance called the haka and sea god Tangaroa) connected to the book’s cultural references and sensibilities. But The Whale Rider’s conflicts -- rejecting or maintaining tradition, sticking with or separating from family, believing in destiny or personal choice – gave all of my 10^th graders an entry point for making sense of their own communities in crisis. After a bullet intended for another youth killed one of their 3^rd period classmates, Deshawn, my students’ first healing conversations started with The Whale Rider; they asked me to read the paper in which Deshawn had written about his destiny.

And so when I left teaching, I travelled the South Pacific with a visit to The Whale Rider village of Whangara (pronounced fa-nga-RA), New Zealand at the trip’s core. I drove the north island’s East Coast -- the least-habited, least-visited, most Maori region -- listening to Maori-language radio and counting the number of Maori meeting spaces (maraes) visible from the road, their unmistakable carving and red paint dotting the landscape. I made plans to meet a village elder, Hone Taumaunu, in Whangara and once I wound down to the coast past a handful of houses, I saw that Taumaunu, except for his warm smile, could have been the model for The Whale Rider’s gruff patriarch, Koro Apirana. Over the next five hours, I talked about my students’ responses to the book, and Taumaunu told me about author Witi Ihimaera’s family history in Whangara (“He felt he was imbued with the presence of the ancestors and that place”), explaining meanings of carvings, paintings and weavings on the marae, telling me the tribe’s story of the whale rider Paikea. Our discussion of The Whale Rider, and the Maori beliefs on which it was based, led to talk about Maori culture, and its maintenance through language, about the history of Maori education through colonialism and bilingual resurgence. The day could only have been better if my rental car was full of teenagers, if Drew, Mape and Peter were the ones peppering Taumaunu with questions.

After I left teaching, it hit me that the greatest reading joy I've ever had was reading, and re-reading, with and for my students. I’d felt victorious when I found texts that both hooked reluctant readers and were well suited for teaching the standards. And I was gleeful when I found books whose depth continued to engage me class after class. Reading books I loved with kids, many of whom were just identifying as readers, was like being in the best book club I could imagine.

On a trip to Texas, I brought a copy of Woman Hollering Creek, a book I’d taught for many years. In her stories, the author Sandra Cisneros, humanizes people who often go unseen -- a street vendor, a girl of the brink of adolescence, an undocumented woman in a souring marriage – and she treats these characters with a tenderness and frustration and complexity that mirrored the feelings I had for my students. The book’s based widely around and across Texas’s Rio Grande Valley, and I helped root the stories by telling my students about my road trips across Texas (stopping to see Cisneros’s famed purple house in San Antonio) and visit to Mexico City (and the basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe one of the book’s recurring images). But it was my students with Southern-based families and ties to Mexico who were the experts on language and setting. They taught each other – and me – new ways to read this book.

Now, driving small roads down to the Mexican border, I stopped in towns like Beeville and Falfurrias to take pictures of water towers and little houses, thinking of the characters, and the students who read about them. What did Cisneros imagine happened to the closeted gay soldier, whose boyfriend pinned a milagro up in a church? Could I dare to hope that Tee Tee and Jaleace and my other students applied to their own lives the lessons learned by Cisneros’s characters? Do teenagers ever? Did I do the book, and my students, justice? Do teachers ever?

It was crucial that I visit Sequin, the setting of the title story “Woman Hollering Creek.” In it, Cisneros re-imagines the South-western/Mexican myth of La Llorona (the crying woman), who committed infanticide in an attempt to lure back a straying lover and who, according to legend, haunts riverbeds in search of her children. Cisneros’s creek-side version details the life of an undocumented bride from Mexico, whose new husband quickly changes from prince to abuser. Over the years, my students and I tracked the changing meanings of the “hollering” in the story – shock, pain and rage, the confidence of a confidant, a “ribbon of laughter” as the main character escapes.

In Seguin, I listened for the shh-shh-shh of the trees and drove by houses picturing the protagonist, her abusive husband, the women she went to for help, and the untold stories lurking just behind the curtains here and anywhere. I snapped photos of “landmarks” infused with meaning only because of my teaching – a cross-street, the bronze pecan statue in the town square – and almost wanted to shout at oblivious passers-by “Do you know what this is? What this place inspired?” But if teaching is an isolating craft, remembering the act of teaching is even more so. And so as I drove out of town (over the trickle of water called, in fact, Woman Hollering Creek) I let out a huge holler myself. It was a cry of relief and loss, yearning and joy, because I got to share these great stories with students, and because I know I’ll never read that purposefully and intimately again.

Sidebar: Recommended for Teen Readers

Woman Hollering Creek by Sandra Cisneros

Sandra Cisneros takes iconic stories from Catholicism, Mexican myths and American pop culture and bends them. Little girls obsess over storytelling with Barbie dolls, and buy theirs for reduced cost at a market, melted and smoky from a warehouse fire. A college graduate rejects the traditional female role her family expects her to take up and finds power, not sublimation, in her devotion to the Virgin of Guadalupe. An adolescent girl’s assumed death makes her the subject of attention (and jealousy); her discovery three days is hailed as a near resurrection. Each story is packed with such compelling stuff that students didn’t balk when I slipped in some feminist theory.

Sula by Toni Morrison

Morrison’s language, cadence and symbolism seduce even the most reluctant reader into going to this place, and looking closely at words. Sula is about an African American neighborhood in Ohio, but it’s really about what my colleague described as “the pain and deliciousness of relationships.” Its story asks questions teens grapple with: How far will people go to be good parents (as when a mother kills her drug-addicted son)? What lines can’t be crossed in a friendship or a marriage (as when a friend sleeps with her best friend’s husband)? How does war affect a town (as when the whole neighborhood mimics a veteran’s shell shock)? What constitutes a full life (living for yourself, or for others)? Students bring their own questions: How did an all-black town exist in Ohio? What are the long-term consequences of slavery? What’s up with the name Shadrack (or Ajax, or Eva Peace, or Dewey, Dewey and Dewey)?

The Autobiography of Malcolm X

It’s almost cliché to claim that reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X can be transformative. But for my urban teen readers – especially the boys – it often was. It often felt to me that a few students just carried themselves differently during and after reading this book. Students shaped by institutional racism were often shocked, and buoyed, by the anger and the elegance of the book, and the model of a man constantly learning, reflecting, transforming. From his childhood framed by both racial pride and race-based violence to his hustling young adulthood and jail-house conversion, to his ascension through the Nation of Islam as a counterpoint to more mainstream civil-rights figures, to his leadership on the world stage, Malcolm X’s life riveted teens.

California FarmLink -- speed dating for famers

2009-12-03T10:53:00.000-08:00

Aired on KQED Public Radio's The California Report, Thursday December 3, 2009.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R912030850/b

And AARP's Prime Time January 19, 2010:

http://www.aarp.org/aarp/broadcast/aarp_radio/prime_time_postscript_pastshows/articles/farm_link.html

And AllBusiness.com, April 14, 2010: http://www.allbusiness.com/14238671-1.html

Farming in California is facing a crisis of aging. The average farmer in the state is nearing retirement age. Immigrants and young urban and suburbanites who want to farm aren’t likely to inherit or marry into land. Reporter Lisa Morehouse found an organization connecting these groups of farmers.

U-Pick Kiwis?

2009-11-24T13:10:00.001-08:00

Published on Tasting Table San Francisco on Tuesday, November 24, 2009.

http://tastingtable.com/ecs/1642.htm?sid=529227

Swanton Berry Farm has a winter U-Pick crop: kiwis.

The Revenge of the Uke

2009-11-20T18:29:00.001-08:00

Aired on KQED Radio's The California Report on Friday, November 20, 2009.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R911201630/e

And on AARP's Prime Time Radio:

http://www.aarp.org/aarp/broadcast/aarp_radio/prime_time_postscript_pastshows/articles/revenge_ukulele.html

There's been a recent surge in the popularity of the ukulele -- from the ubiquity of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by Iz, Jake Shimabukuro's performances going viral on You Tube, to countless memorials to George Harrison on uke. This story features the Tatami Mats and their gotta-see-it-to-believe-it performance of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon on ukulele, and takes a visit to Mike DaSilva's ukulele workshop in Berkeley.

Seldom Seen Acting Company

2009-10-27T10:57:00.001-07:00

Aired on Friday October 23 on KQED Radio's The California Report Magazine:

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R910231630/b

All of the members of the Seldom Seen acting company have been homeless, and they perform plays they write based on their own experiences.

Food Carts

2009-09-12T14:52:00.000-07:00

Aired on The California Report Magazine September 11, 2009

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R909111630/d

Budget Cuts on School Grounds

2009-08-28T18:16:00.000-07:00

Aired on The California Report Magazine Friday, August 28, 2009

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R908281630/b

Students and teachers across the state are settling in to the new school year, and in some cases they're not quite sure where things are heading. That's because the budget deficit deal struck this summer cut more than $5 billion from K-12 funding. That's on top of cuts made earlier. I visit Dixon Unified School District just west of Sacramento to see how the budget cuts are playing out there

Small Farms Find Fertile Ground

2009-08-04T18:00:00.000-07:00

Aired on KQED Radio's The California Report Tuesday morning, August 4, 2009.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R908040850/a

It's been a tough year for many California farmers. Milk prices have collapsed, and cattle and almond prices are depressed. But along the northern Central Coast, a number of small farms are actually faring better than ever.

Rural Students Reap Academic Gains from Community Service

2009-07-29T20:36:00.000-07:00

Published in Edutopia Magazine July, 2009

A whole district in California's Central Valley is committed to service learning at every grade level.

http://www.edutopia.org/service-learning-fowler
http://www.edutopia.org/service-learning-fowler-how-to

with an audio slideshow on Edutopia.com about the Chavez Caring Crew, a 6th grade project to collect sunscreen (while learning science and English).
http://www.edutopia.org/fowler-slide-show

Slashing Adult Education

2009-07-25T07:54:00.000-07:00

Aired on KQED's The California Report Magazine, Friday July 24, 2009.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R907241630/b

Education spending was one of the sticking points in getting California's budget package passed. Now that it's been approved, there's little doubt adult education is going to take a big funding hit. Some think these may be the unkindest cuts of all.

Flyaway Production's "The Ballad of Polly Ann"

2009-07-17T17:25:00.001-07:00

Aired on KQED's The California Report Magazine on Friday, July 17, 2009.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R907171630/c

Have you ever crossed a bridge and wondered about the people working high up on the towers? A new dance production in San Francisco pays tribute to the women who've helped build Bay Area bridges. Flyaway Productions' aerial dance piece is called "The Ballad of Polly Ann."

Ventura Tree Swallows

2009-06-05T17:05:00.001-07:00

Aired on KQED's The California Report magazine, Friday June 5, 2009.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R906051630/b

The tiny tree swallow had all but vanished from Southern California a couple of decades ago. Development and agriculture had pushed the iridescent indigo bird out if its natural habitat. But through the passion of one woman and a small band of volunteers in Ventura County, the bird is back.

People's Grocery

2009-06-03T14:02:00.000-07:00

Co-produced with Eloise Melzer with the Kitchen Sisters.

http://www.kitchensisters.org/audio/PeoplesGrocery.mp3

New Orleans Musicians' Clinic

2009-05-02T12:52:00.000-07:00

Aired on The World Vision Report, May 2, 2009.

http://www.worldvisionreport.org/Stories/Week-of-May-2-2009/Musician-s-Clinic

And on Voice of America News, June 19, 2009.

http://www.voanews.com/english/AmericanLife/2009-06-19-voa28.cfm

In the birthplace of American music, most working musicians earn so little at gigs they can't afford health care. The New Orleans Musicians' Clinic is doing something about that.

Hidalgo High School

2009-04-16T14:22:00.000-07:00

Published in Edutopia Magazine in April, 2009.

http://www.edutopia.org/hidalgo-early-college-high-school
http://www.edutopia.org/hidalgo-early-college-how-to

A Texas high school on the Mexican border settles for nothing less than success.

Laton Live!

2009-03-26T09:37:00.000-07:00

Aired on The California Report Magazine on Friday, March 20, 2009.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R903201630/d

The Central Valley town of Laton was struggling even before the current economic crisis. Dairy farmers are worried about falling milk prices, and the town is feeling the hit of thousands of farm workers out of work in the region. But an eight-month partnership with a Los Angeles arts school is invigorating Laton.

Sloss Furnaces, Birmingham, AL

2009-03-03T21:41:00.000-08:00

Aired on NPR's All Things Considered Tuesday, March 3, 2009.

http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=101389466&m=101369298

Birmingham, AL was once known as the "Pittsburgh of the South" because of the iron and steel industry that built this city after the Civil War. Sloss Furnaces, one of its largest steel furnaces, was saved from destruction in the 1970s and is now a National Historical Landmark, where the public can see metal-arts programs in action, attend concerts and movies, and learn about the industrial, race and labor history of their city.

Hunters Up Their Game with Camouflage

2009-02-03T07:58:00.001-08:00

Aired on NPR's on Day to Day, February 2, 2009.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100019895

A faux finish artist near Huntsville, AL helps hunters blend into their environments by custom camouflaging their trucks and boats.

Grace Living Center

2009-01-29T13:00:00.000-08:00

Published in Edutopia magazine's February, 2009 magazine:

http://www.edutopia.org/grace-learning-center-prekindergarten-community
http://www.edutopia.org/grace-learning-center-prekindergarten-community-how-to

With an audio slideshow on Edutopia.org.

http://www.edutopia.org/grace-learning-center-prekindergarten-community-slide-show

This is such an obviously good idea. A nursing center near Tulsa, OK is also home to two classrooms, where kindergarten and pre-K students start their school experience.

Sharpen Your Knives, it's Time for Butchery Class

2009-01-18T17:43:00.000-08:00

Aired on Weekend America from American Public Media, Saturday January 17, 2008.

http://weekendamerica.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/01/17/butchery_class/

And on KQED's The California Report magazine on Friday, November 21, 2008.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R811211630/c

Full-Time Learning

2008-12-01T09:43:00.000-08:00

http://www.edutopia.org/full-time-learning-after-school

Growing locally -- really locally -- with MyFarm.

2008-11-04T06:35:00.000-08:00

Aired on Marketplace Morning Report on November 4,2008.

http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/11/04/myfarm

"San Francisco start-up business MyFarm helps locals who aren't savvy about gardening grow their own veggies at home. Lisa Morehouse has more on the company's success and fans throughout the organic world."

Measure Q: the SMART train proposal

2008-10-30T12:27:00.000-07:00

Aired on KQED Radio News October 29, 2008

http://www.kqed.org/epArchive/R810290833

One of the most hotly contested ballot measures in the North Bay, Measure Q would levy a one quarter cent sales tax for the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit train. Supporters say SMART offers an alternative to gridlocked highway. Opponents question the proposal's efficiency and its $1 billion price tag.

Downtown High School

2008-10-09T13:51:00.000-07:00

Published in Edutopia Magazine and on Edutopia.org in October, 2008.

Diplomas for (Would-Be) Dropouts: Project Learning Serves the Most At-Risk Students
http://www.edutopia.org/at-risk-students-project-learning

How To: Design Assessments for Project Learning
http://www.edutopia.org/at-risk-students-project-learning-how-to

Audio slideshow -- Sky Rocket: Celestial Lessons Turn Truant Into Graduate
http://www.edutopia.org/downtown-high-school-slide-show

Field Report

2008-10-09T09:02:00.000-07:00

Aired on The California Report Magazine Friday October 3, 2008.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R810031630/d

A new website based in California is giving away hundreds of thousands of dollars for people's true-life stories. FieldReport.com is also trying to shake up the publishing model, with community-based story selection replacing editors.

Art at the Dump

2008-09-22T17:12:00.000-07:00

Aired on National Public Radio's All Things Considered on Monday, September 22, 2008.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94900661

San Francisco recycles or diverts 69 percent of its trash, but sends 1,800 tons of garbage to the landfill each day. One way the city makes a dent in its landfill load is through an unusual program — sponsoring artists who turn garbage into art.

Ft. Bragg Mill Site Cleanup

2008-09-05T22:45:00.000-07:00

Aired on KQED's The California Report Magazine on Friday, September 5, 2008.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R809051630/e

For almost 120 years, the coastal town of Fort Bragg in Mendocino County was home to one of the country’s largest redwood mills. When it closed in 2002, the town began to dream about its future with 3 ½ miles of rocky coastline no longer an industrial site. But the land is contaminated with dioxin and other pollutants. Last week, Fort Bragg’s city council approved an unusual plan to deal with the problem.

Birds Gone Wild

2008-08-23T19:25:00.000-07:00

Aired on KQED Radio's The California Report Magazine on Friday, August 22, 2008.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R808221630/e

Yes, there’s yellow police tape blocking off Memorial Park in Willows, CA. But it’s not indicative of anything sinister. Just something loud. And really smelly. For the past three years, this farm town in the Sacramento Valley has been overwhelmed by birds -- egrets, and their black-crested night heron friends. This year, about 2,000 birds nested in the park’s trees. The lawn is turning gray, the guano is killing the trees, and the birds are definitely annoying Willows’ residents, who’ve stopped using the park for lunch breaks and Easter egg hunts.

Silver Girl

2008-08-06T22:54:00.000-07:00

It's not made of Plexiglass, it's not made of fiberglass, it's not square...

Julie Caine and I made this piece for the Third Coast Festival audio challenge called Radio Ephemera, posted August 5th, 2008.

http://audio.wbez.org/thirdcoast/player/3player_new.asp?fileId=RE.silvergirl

Listen to all the Radio Ephemera entries here:
http://thirdcoastfestival.org/shortdocs_2008_archive_RE.asp

A Real Learning Curve: Catapults Demonstrate the Quadratic Equation

2008-07-17T10:36:00.000-07:00

Published on Edutopia.org on July 16, 2008.

http://www.edutopia.org/impact-academy-catapults-quadratic-equation

My friend Manny Medina's a rock star math teacher. In this piece, I write about visiting his class when they present learning about quadratic equations (yawn) through catapults (yipee!).

Model Projects: Maker Faire

2008-07-08T04:20:00.000-07:00

Published on July 3, 2008 on Edutopia.org.

http://www.edutopia.org/maker-faire-DIY-projects

Five hundred students and their teachers flocked to Maker Faire Education Day, where two dozen inventors shared their ideas and creations -- from electronic gadgets to homemade instruments -- and discussed the scientific principles that make their work possible.

Rigor and (Civil) Rights: Helping Mississippi Students See Beyond the Delta

2008-06-03T17:58:00.000-07:00

Published on June 1, 2008, in Edutopia Magazine, with audio slide show published on edutopia.org.

http://www.edutopia.org/sunflower-county-freedom-project
http://www.edutopia.org/how-to-regional-history-resources
http://www.edutopia.org/freedom-project-slide-show

In the landscape of the Mississippi Delta, where transportation, field trip destinations, volunteers, guest speakers, and funding are in short supply, the Freedom Project is something very special. Using Sunflower County's unique history as a hotbed of civil rights activity in the 1960s as an inspiration and program model, the Freedom Project attempts what to some may seem impossible: to raise Sunflower County's estimated 52.4 percent graduation rate and ensure that each of its participants goes to college -- and succeeds there.

Maker Faire

2008-05-04T07:32:00.000-07:00

Aired on KQED's The California Report Magazine on Friday, May 2, 2008

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R805021630/b

For many of us, the county fair conjures up images of carnival rides, the sweet taste of cotton candy and the earthy smells of farm animals. San Mateo County offers a different twist on the tradition. The attractions at this weekend's Maker Faire aren't objects that you'd find on store shelves. The fair is a celebration of creativity and imagination -- and that's why mainstream manufacturers are among those checking it out.

Good Day Sunshine: Students Rise to Solar-Car Challenge

2008-04-18T18:38:00.000-07:00

Published on Edutopia.org on April 18, 2008.

In the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, one high school's new project-learning program is piquing students' interest in higher education and building their critical-thinking skills.

http://www.edutopia.org/solar-car-critical-thinking

Crowning the Best Barista

2008-04-04T17:26:00.000-07:00

Aired on KQED's The California Report Friday, April 4, 2008

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R804041630/f

It's said that across the world, coffee is the second-most consumed beverage after water. For baristas -- experts in making espresso drinks -- coffee is second to none. Thirty-five of the best baristas from California and Hawaii faced off in Berkeley last weekend at the Western Regional Barista Competition.

Treasured Island: Giving Students Real Skills and Real Responsibilities

2008-04-01T19:51:00.000-07:00

Published on April 1, 2008 in Edutopia Magazine, with audio slide show published on edutopia.org.

http://www.edutopia.org/small-maine-school
http://www.edutopia.org/how-to-real-world-projects
http://www.edutopia.org/learning-vessel-slide-show

Located on an island twelve miles off the coast of Maine, North Haven Community School is the smallest K-12 school in the state. But this scrappy school has, often out of necessity, developed innovations that can inspire schools of any size, anywhere.

Teaching With Passion: Advice for Young Educators

2008-03-25T19:44:00.000-07:00

Published on March 25, 2008 on edutopia.org

http://www.edutopia.org/jonathan-kozol-advice-teachers

I write about Jonathan Kozol, a hero to many teachers and advocate for students in high-poverty schools. In Letters to A Young Teacher and in talks to educators at the New Teacher Center Symposium, Kozol talks about building relationships, fostering creativity, and standing up for students.

Living Legends: Oral History Projects Bring Core Subjects to Life

2008-03-04T20:00:00.000-08:00

Published on March 4, 2008 on edutopia.org

http://www.edutopia.org/oral-history-projects

I get to talk to some of my favorite educators, and discuss one of my favorite student projects, in this month's project based learning article.

Modeling Wilderness Management: Build Your Own National Park

2008-02-21T15:59:00.000-08:00

Published on February 20, 2008 on edutopia.org

http://www.edutopia.org/yosemite-institute-wilderness-management

I hang out with 7th graders from Santa Monica in Yosemite National Park as they learn about balancing enjoyment with preservation in this adaptable lesson from the Yosemite Institute.

The Whole Hog

2008-02-08T18:00:00.000-08:00

Aired on KQED's The California Report Friday, February 8, 2008.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R802081630/c

California restaurateurs are bending over backwards these days to include words like "local" and "organic" on their menus. But what about "pig cheeks," "back fat" and "trotters?" The Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park recently hosted a gathering of California chefs known for pushing the culinary envelope.

The Golden State: Dell' Arte International Theater

2008-01-26T22:16:00.000-08:00

Aired on KQED's The California Report, Friday, January 25, 2008.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R801251630/d

Nestled beneath redwoods trees, the Humboldt County town of Blue Lake is home to about 300 families and a few stores. But since the early 1970s, Blue Lake has also been home to Dell'Arte International, a world-renowned theater company and school. The inspiration for their latest play is the not-so-sunny side of California.

Traveler's Checks: Teacher-Tested Travel Grants

2008-01-11T22:09:00.000-08:00

Published on January 9, 2008 on edutopia.org.

http://www.edutopia.org/travel-grants

Educators enrich their profession with globe-trotting experience -- and get funding to do it.

Kingsburg's Santa Lucia Festival

2007-12-07T11:25:00.000-08:00

Aired on KQED's The California Report, Fri, December 7, 2007.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R712071630/b

Drive a stretch of Highway 99 near Fresno, and you'll see it: an enormous Swedish coffee pot rising above the vineyards and orchards. It's really a water tower in disguise and it's the visitor's first hint of how the the 12,000 townspeople of Kingsburg celebrate their hamlet's Swedish heritage. I visited Kingsburg as it celebrated Santa Lucia, an icon from the old country.

Farmer Brown

2007-11-25T12:14:00.000-08:00

Aired on KQED's The California Report, Fri, November 23, 2007.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R711231630/d

And on American Public Media's The Splendid Table, Saturday, December 8, 2007
http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/whereweeat/national_farmerbrown.shtml

About a year ago, The California Report covered the declining number of African-American farmers in California and profiled one farmer in the Central Valley. Now, the show follows up with a story of the relationship between that farmer and a young restaurateur in San Francisco who's committed to sourcing as much produce as possible from California's African-American farmers.

Hula High: Where Everyone is a Doer

2007-11-24T11:58:00.000-08:00

Published in Edutopia Magazine, November 2007

A Hawaiian school mixes indigenous arts and culture with academics to create a local success.
http://www.edutopia.org/hawaii-cross-discipline-performance-curriculum

Using a practitioner model to move away from memorizing and encourage depth of learning.
http://www.edutopia.org/how-to-students-as-practitioners

"The Wire" and a Devil's Bargain in Schools

2007-11-15T06:06:00.000-08:00

Published on edutopia.org November 14, 2007

http://www.edutopia.org/baltimore-talent-development-high-school
http://www.edutopia.org/the-wire-troubled-students

The heralded HBO show "The Wire" is known for its unflinching look at institutions and urban poverty. In Season Four, it turns its lens on West Baltimore's public schools. I write about how Baltimore students and educators respond to having that gaze fixed on their world, how one school is defying expectations, and how the show forces us to think about reaching the most struggling kids.

Preserving Maori Language

2007-09-13T12:40:00.001-07:00

Aired on KQED's Pacific Time, September 13, 2007

http://www.kqed.org/epArchive/R709131830/c

You might not think that getting 3-year-olds to sing songs and learn an alphabet is revolutionary, but New Zealand’s Maori leaders have stopped a culture crash through the creation of hundreds of Maori language preschools. Kohanga reos, (language nests) were initially underground pre-schools taught entirely in Maori and by communities’ grandmothers. Now, kohanga reos have introduced a generation of Maori to a language and culture almost lost to them.

Laodies Kustomz: dumping and dragging in Douds, Iowa

2007-08-23T12:47:00.000-07:00

Laotian Americans Find Bliss in Iowa Truck Shop
Aired on KQED's Pacific Time, August 23, 2007

http://www.kqed.org/epArchive/R708231830/c

In Douds, Iowa (population 200) Jason and Von Chounlamany stand out as members of the town's only Asian family. Fleeing unrest in Laos in the late 1970s, their parents brought the family to Douds, with the help of a group of local sponsors. But the Chounlamany brothers have gained notoriety for another reason; they're the proprietors of southern Iowa’s finest mini-truck modification shop -- Laodies Kustomz.

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Centennial

2007-08-03T12:51:00.000-07:00

Aired on KQED's The California Report, August 3, 2007 http://www.californiareport.org/domains/californiareport/archive/R708031630/d

For generations, summer in California has meant a visit to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. And this summer, the park celebrates its 100th year of fun in the sun. Over the years, many old-time amusement parks have become obsolete. But the Boardwalk, nestled along the Monterey Bay, has endured as the last of the great seaside parks on the West Coast.

The Crucible Fire Arts Festival

2007-07-13T12:56:00.000-07:00

Aired on KQED's The California Report, July 13, 2007
http://www.californiareport.org/domains/californiareport/archive/R707131630/b

The art and magic of fire was on display on a massive scale when thousands of people converged on the Fire Arts Festival in Oakland. Hosted by the industrial arts school The Crucible, the festival featured dozens of installation pieces, from a flaming pendulum to dance competitions in fire suits. I visited The Crucible as it geared up for its tribute to all things pyrotechnic.

Berry Picking on the Coast

2007-06-29T13:05:00.000-07:00

Aired on KQED's The California Report, June 29, 2007, voiced by host Scott Shafer
http://www.californiareport.org/domains/californiareport/archive/R706291630/e

All over the state, U-pick farms offer a chance to gather your own haul of fresh fruit straight off the bush or tree. You can find acres of raspberries, peaches, plums and other summer vegetables and fruits ready to harvest. I went looking for olallieberries at one of these do-it-yourself farms, Phipps Country Ranch in Pescadero.

Magic Circus of Samoa

2007-06-14T13:07:00.000-07:00

The Circus Comes to Samoa
Aired on KQED's Pacific Time, June 14, 2007
http://www.kqed.org/epArchive/R706141830/d

The Pacific Island nation of Samoa is beautiful -- and isolated. Direct flights to and from the United States leave just once a week, and even travelling to the closest island neighbors can require taking multi-day ferries or inconsistently-scheduled flights on 19-seat planes. For the past 20 years, though, the Magic Circus of Samoa has defied these distances, bringing acrobats and jugglers under the big top to almost all of the central Pacific Islands.

Ozomatli "City of Angels," California Song

2007-06-01T13:11:00.000-07:00

Interview with Ozomatli
Aired on KQED's The California Report, June 1, 2007
http://www.californiareport.org/domains/californiareport/archive.jsp

Failing Our Kids, Failing Our Future

2007-05-27T13:19:00.000-07:00

Failing Our Kids, Failing Our Future: Reversing the Decline of California's Public Schools
Aired on A World of Possibilities May 22, 2007
http://www.aworldofpossibilities.com/search_results_category.cfm?websitecategory=22

Geo Quiz: Hot Water Beach

2007-05-25T13:13:00.000-07:00

Aired on PRI and BBC's The World May 25, 2007

http://theworld.org/?q=node/10361
question w/ theme music: http://www.theworld.org/?q=taxonomy_by_date/1/20070525; answer: http://www.theworld.org/?q=node/10361&answer=true)

The World 's Geo Quiz question was: "We're looking for the name of a peninsula that juts out into the Bay of Plenty. That's the part of the Pacific Ocean that lies off the coast of New Zealand's North Island. Gold miners used to come this way to seek their fortunes along this rugged rocky coastline. One of the peninsula's best kept secrets is: Hot Water Beach. It's place where hot steaming geysers bubble up thru the sand. When the tide comes in, cold seawater mixes with hot steam and voila! It's a natural spa."

Teaching Through Hula

2007-04-26T13:20:00.000-07:00

Hula Dancing in Gym Class
Aired on KQED's Pacific Time, April 26, 2007
http://www.kqed.org/epArchive/R704261830/c

At the Laboratory School, a charter school in Honolulu run by the University of Hawaii's College of Education, hula and other arts classes are as important as academics. Ninth grade students take off their flip flops and practice hula in their school's cafeteria for more than 40 minutes each day.