What others are saying…
“Throughout this book, Young Whan Choi shows us how to facilitate interactions among teachers that are caring, thoughtful, intentional, and relational. In turn, educators can go about the work of creating learning environments that center students’ lives.” – Ericka Huggins, former Director of the Oakland Community School
“Makes me giddy to think how much farther this work can reach now that you’ve expertly synthesized so much. Our ancestors….so proud!!” Jo Paraiso, Oakland Teacher of the Year, 2015-16
“It’s fantastic! Super thoughtful, totally engaging, and it provides a vision of what we can do!” – Joe Kahne, Professor of Education Policy and Politics, UC Riverside
More Reviews
“@itsywc has provided us a guide to collectivism and humanizing our teaching practice. It has tested and tried strategies that impact how teachers engage, shape, and collectively lead. Thank you for this writing this book. I pick it up at least once a week.” – Filiberto Chavez, History teacher at Fremont High School
“I picked up your book today and just finished it! It is soooo good. What a blessing you have given us…. I was most struck by how you lead with vulnerability in each chapter, and then invite the reader to be vulnerable as well. By modeling this vulnerability, you give the reader permission to do so as well. I had the same types of reflections in reading your book as I did with Ibram X Kendi’s How to be an Anti-Racist, where he opens his book with his own acknowledgement of internalizing and reflecting the racism of our society. My absolute favorite chapter is chapter 6, which I plan on bringing to my team for a read.” – Nicole Knight, Executive Director of English Language Learner and Multilingual Achievement (ELLMA), Oakland Unified
“Your book has also impacted me immediately in my current work with Lead by Learning. We talk about how you can’t lead something you haven’t experienced yourself – and so much of my facilitation is grounded in my experiences in OUSD with you. Reading the book reminded me of those experiences and they are now showing up more profoundly in my work. Just the other day, in one of my leader coaching calls, the leader was looking to find more time during a beginning of year PD and shared that they were thinking about scratching a community builder that asked teachers to share their why. I was able to share your text with this leader, alongside my coaching, to reaffirm with her that though it may seem like “cuttable” time now — it is essential and will pay off in the long run for her community to be grounded in purpose and to spend time hearing each others’ stories!” – Nina Portugal, Lead By Learning, Director of Program Innovation and Visibility
“Terrific! You’ve done a great job combining the practical with the philosophical…. There were many things that resonated, from the student who didn’t think you pushed him hard enough, to the reminder to bring food to staff development workshops. I loved all the specific examples that brought your points to light. I liked the point you made about having workshops that stressed being student centered, but then didn’t include any students. There are many things you mentioned where I felt validated, and others where I thought ‘I wish I had thought of that!'” – Shelly Weintraub, retired History Specialist, Oakland Unified