Dear Reader, I ran into a neighbor I hadn’t seen for a long time at the dog park Saturday morning. When I learned that she has been taking writing classes, I asked what’s been capturing her writerly attention. “Nonfiction,” she tells me. “I want to write something to help teachers and parents stop being so anxious.” You and me both, Neighbor. When Susan and I proposed refuge as our September 2024 Studio focus, we thought that it might resonate for people at this moment. It didn’t take a...

Dear Reader, Who was it that said that the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over again and expecting something different to happen? The source is debatable. But wow is it true that we tend towards loops that fit that definition. Perhaps that’s why we deny that we’re stuck inside them, or perhaps because we’re hopeful, thinking that if we just try a little harder to do the thing, someday it will work out. In schools, for example, our pre-packaged curriculum is...

Dear Reader, I’m not sure of the date, but something like a million years ago Susan and I were leading a workshop in Santa Monica hosted by an organization then called the Pedagogical Institute of Los Angeles. Before we started our session, Alise Shafer Ivey offered a short presentation about the organization’s work - and it bowled us over. In Los Angeles, the group was partnering with teachers to transform their public school classrooms into spaces that offered something different to their...