That Back-to-School Feeling
Summary
Hosts Nomi Fry, Vincent Cunningham, and Alex Schwartz discuss the back-to-school season, responding to listener questions about combating student apathy, the emotional realities of teaching, and the value of poetry. They recommend texts like *A Complicated Kindness* and *The Great Gatsby*, while sharing personal anecdotes about classroom dynamics and the performance aspect of education. The episode also features a heartfelt farewell to departing editor Alex Barish.
Topics discussed
Sponsor: ChatGPT Work
Nostalgia for the first day of school
Episode overview: Back to school themes
Listener voicemail: High school teacher's apathy
Discussion: Combating student apathy
Teaching as performance and establishing boundaries
Book recommendations: The Great Gatsby
Book recommendation: A Complicated Kindness
Sponsor: Bon Appétit Bake Club
News segment: Surrogate scandal
Introduction to the Critic series
Panel discussion: Switching from student to teacher
Listener voicemail: Media for new teachers
Movie recommendation: The Holdovers
Movie recommendation: The Class
Movie recommendation: Dead Poets Society
Sponsor: ChatGPT Work
Sponsor: Bon Appétit Bake Club
Sponsor: GQ One More Question
Poetry: Reading Langston Hughes
Poetry: Discussion on voice and relatability
Poetry: Reading Kelly Link
Poetry: Reading Sharon Olds
Poetry: Reading Jane Kenyon
Closing remarks and credits
Sponsor: ChatGPT Work
Sponsor: GQ One More Question
Sponsor: Vogue Run Through
Listen ad-free on Castria