webinar
5.0 (16 Reviews)
November 17, 2024 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM EST

Jason Reynolds on Stories of Hope and Connection: Recharging Educators After the Election

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About This Webinar

After a challenging election season, educators across the country are feeling the need to reconnect, recharge and focus on their students' well-being. Join Share My Lesson, the AFT, and StoryCorps for an inspiring webinar with celebrated author Jason Reynolds, AFT President Randi Weingarten and StoryCorps founder Dave Isay. Together, they will explore the transformative power of storytelling to foster understanding, empathy and resilience—no matter where people stand politically.

This session will highlight StoryCorps’ “The Great Thanksgiving Listen,” a meaningful project that invites students to record and preserve interviews with family members or elders in their community. This intergenerational activity helps students build empathy, develop listening skills, and deepen connections with people who have stories and experiences to share.

In this webinar, you’ll discover:

  • Engaging ways to bring storytelling into the classroom, creating a supportive environment for students to share and listen.
  • Practical tools for using stories to build empathy and understanding among students, while fostering a sense of community.
  • Strategies for incorporating “The Great Thanksgiving Listen” into lessons, inviting students to capture and honor family narratives and develop meaningful connections with elders in their communities​.
  • A live Q&A with Jason Reynolds, Randi Weingarten and Dave Isay on the impact of storytelling in education, including how it supports classroom resilience and offers a path to connection and hope.

Join us for this special hour, dedicated to providing educators with fresh ideas, practical tools, and a renewed reminder of the joy and resilience that teaching brings through the shared experience of storytelling.

Speakers

Jason Reynolds black and white headshotJason Reynolds

Author

Jason Reynolds is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of many award-winning books, including Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks, All American Boys (with Brendan Kiely), Long Way Down, Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You (with Ibram X. Kendi), Stuntboy, in the Meantime (illustrated by Raúl the Third), and Ain’t Burned All the Bright (with artwork by Jason Griffin). The recipient of a Newbery Honor, a Printz Honor, an NAACP Image Award, and multiple Coretta Scott King honors, Reynolds is also the 2020-2022 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. He has appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Late Night with Seth Meyers, CBS Sunday Morning, Good Morning America, and various media outlets. He is on faculty at Lesley University, for the Writing for Young People MFA Program and lives in Washington, DC.

Dave IsayDave Isay

Founder & President, StoryCorps

Dave Isay (I-SAY) is the Founder and President of StoryCorps, a New York Times bestselling author, the recipient of numerous Peabody Awards, and a MacArthur “Genius” Fellow. His life's work taps into the heart and soul of the human experience. In 2003, Dave founded StoryCorps, an independent nonprofit organization based in Brooklyn, New York, that has brought nearly 700,000 Americans together—two at a time—to record intimate conversations about their lives, create human connection, pass wisdom from one generation to the next, and leave a legacy for the future. Each conversation is preserved at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress—the largest single collection of human voices ever gathered. Millions of listeners hear StoryCorps’ weekly broadcasts on NPR’s Morning Edition and select stories are also shared through StoryCorps’ podcast, animated shorts, digital platforms, and books. In 2015, Dave was recognized with the $1 million TED prize, awarded annually to one exceptional individual with a creative, bold vision to spark global change. Dave is currently leading StoryCorps’ work to help decrease political divisions in the United States through its latest effort, One Small Step, which was expanded nationally in July 2024. 

Profile picture for user Randi Weingarten
SML Member

RANDI WEINGARTEN is president of the 1.8 million-member AFT, AFL-CIO, which represents teachers; paraprofessionals and school-related personnel; higher education faculty and staff; nurses and other healthcare professionals; local, state and federal government employees; and early childhood educators. The AFT champions fairness; democracy; economic opportunity; and high-quality public education, healthcare and public services for students, their families and communities. The AFT and its members advance these principles through community engagement, organizing, collective bargaining and political activism, and especially through members’ work.

Professional Credit

Share My Lesson webinars are available for one-hour of PD credit. A certificate of completion will be available for download at the end of your session that you can submit for your school's or district's approval.

In addition, Share My Lesson has arrangements in place as follows:

Reviews

5.0
16 Reviews
A Much Needed Recharge
Jason Reynolds has been a favorite in our household. He’s my son’s favorite author, and after hearing him speak, I can see why. I deeply respect his appreciation for Black women and how he expresses himself through storytelling. I joined this webinar expecting inspiration, but I received much more. He reminded me of my purpose as an educator and gave me the encouragement to keep going. Thank you, Jason, for sharing such a powerful and vulnerable story about your mother - it truly made an impact. Thank you 'Share My Lesson' for putting this webinar together - it was the recharge I needed.
Alitalia Kirksey
Alitalia Kirksey
November 20, 2024
Thank you Jason, Share My Lesson and Story Corps
This conversation, filled with storytelling, affirmations and reminders of the power we have to change the trajectory in any given moment if we change the mindset, was a gift. I am a k-8 librarian and long time Story Corps listener. I will be sharing this with my ELA teachers.
lemaylibrarian
lemaylibrarian
November 18, 2024
Excellent
This was an incredible presentation. Jason used his experience of his lovely Mom to highlight what we are going through as a country. David shared a beautiful story from a student to a teacher. We often wonder do we leave an impression and this confirmed it. Thank you. I hope there will be more presentations as we navigate the uncertain times ahead.
Judith.Kerrigan-Krodel
Judith.Kerrigan-Krodel
November 17, 2024
Talk about hitting the nail on the head
Talk all you want about theories and philosophies and approaches and methods...but as teachers we need to face who we have in front of us - and what many of us have are students who need a lot more from us than just the content we teach...Jason Reynolds shared words I feel, but hadn't gotten around to voicing - we need to push through the discomfort and tend to the wounds...we must persevere for the children seated in front of us. Thank you ...I'm so grateful for a supportive admin and community in which to do my work.
cp.bodyofwork_3328063
cp.bodyofwork_3328063
November 17, 2024
Inspiring & Motivational
Thank you to the organizers and most especially to Jason Reynolds. Your stories inspire all who have been fortunate to hear you speak and read your words. I look forward to continuing to use your works to motivate my students and to exploring the many Story Corps resources.
Eva Varga
Eva Varga
November 17, 2024
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