TC Today - Teachers College Columbia University

Contents
Spring 2011
volume 35 • No. 2
Features
Why Our Students Are Most Likely to Succeed at Changing the World 9
The Students
Every campus has bright, idealistic students—but ours are
making a difference in the world right now. Here are 22 who
are meeting that standard and more
The Collaborator 10
She believes schools must work together.
Mary Skipper has a fan in the White House
The Architect 12
Everyone wants better early childhood education.
Kate Tarrant has published two books on the subject
The Mathematician 13
Nathan Alexander wants to ensure that
other minority students pursue studies in math
The Musician 14
Helping his students improve has made Victor Lin
a better jazz musician and a more connected human being
The Founder 16
Artesius Miller is starting a charter school in Atlanta.
His great-grandmother would approve
The Dreamer 17
A former undocumented immigrant,
Nancy Ojeda Mata is both educator and advocate
The Protector 18
Names can hurt you. Adam Kelley
has made his classroom a safe zone
The Naturalist 20
Mom stopped cooking. Now Christiane Baker
is a leader in garden-based nutrition education
The Translator 22
Phil Choong is bridging theory and practice
in second language acquisition
The Counselor 23
Her experiences as an immigrant motivated
Sylwia Wdowiak to give back through teaching
The Matchmaker 24
When education nonprofits need private funds,
Lisa Philp lends a hand
The Ethnographer 26
Inspired by Maxine Greene, Gail Russell is pursuing an
academic career while staying true to her roots
C2 T C T O D A Y l s p r i n g 2 0 1 1
The Partner 27
He advised New York City on charter schools. Now
Jonathan Gyurko is shaping a nation’s education system
The Visionary 28
Time is a color in artist Jun Gao’s palette
The Technologist 30
Shannon Bishop believes computers can promote
English language skills in South Africa
The Catalyst 31
He’s been on the front lines of culture change.
Now Frank Golom is teaching about it
The Filmmaker 35
By turning middle school students into auteurs,
Regina Casale is fostering global citizenship
The Documentarian 36
Ellen Livingston is exploring the power
of documentary film in social studies education
The Advocate 37
It can be tough for Asian teens in America.
Vanessa Li is trying to change that picture
The Storyteller 41
Jondou Chen is probing the experiences
of students from different backgrounds
The Philosopher 42
Tim Ignaffo and friends are introducing teenagers
to Plato, Aristotle and Kant
The Traveler 43
Katy De La Garza has learned as much as she’s taught
working in rural Mexico and Costa Rica
The Student Experience
Two TC programs bring together some of the best of the best
Inside the Beltway 32
Welcome to education policy boot camp
Good Fellowship 38
The Zankel Urban Fellowship program
is a model of university-community engagement