ROLL CALL is back.
Because humanizing culture gaps is more important now than ever.
ROCK PAPER RADIO is Kristin Leong’s dispatch for misfits and unlikely optimists. It’s a weekly newsletter that shares three curiosities every Thursday - something to hold on to, something to read, and something to listen to. ROLL CALL is Kristin’s global TED-Ed Innovation Project. Subscribe here and stay up to date on all things curious and connecting.
ROLL CALL has been humanizing the culture gaps separating students and teachers through two simple questions since 2017. Those questions: What do you have in common with your students or teachers? Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? Join the conversation on Instagram and Facebook @RollCallProject, and meet the students and teachers who have answered the call at RollCallProject.com.
Hi. It’s been a while.
In fact, it's been three years, eight months, and six days since we published our first portrait at RollCallProject.com.
That first post was a extraordinary story of resilience and empathy from Mossyrock, Washington teacher Lynne Olmos, who overcame abuse and homelessness to eventually become a Teacher of the Year.
Since the sharing of Lynne’s powerful story, we've built a community of teachers, students, and hopeful humans from all over the world who are not afraid of complex conversations about who we are and how we connect in our schools.
A lot has changed since ROLL CALL's launch. And after the last nine baffling months of 2020, the world has changed a lot too. Which is why we’re especially excited to share that starting today, ROLL CALL is back.
Our team has expanded and our vision for humanizing the gaps separating students and teachers has grown along with us. This new chapter for ROLL CALL couldn’t be more timely. Now more than ever, it's essential we figure out how to connect with others despite divides.
Those divides include cultural and political differences, as well as the space and time that Covid-19 has forced between all of us as we socially distance our way through this totally unprecedented moment.
You can join our ROLL CALL conversation on Facebook & Instagram @RollCallProject, and you can email us your big ideas for community building at TheRollCallProject@gmail.com. We're always happy to hear from newcomers and old friends.
So stay in touch. And stay the course too. It's nuts out there, but this ROLL CALL community just might be one part of what gets us through.
In solidarity & cautious optimism -
Kristin Leong, ROLL CALL founder
Kristin Leong is the misfit and unlikely optimist behind ROCK PAPER RADIO. She’s also a producer at KUOW Public Radio, a member of TED-Ed’s third cohort of 30 global Innovative Educators, and she was nominated for the 2020 Seattle Mayor’s Arts Award. Find her on Twitter @kristinleong and on Instagram @leongstagram.