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Library

Jennifer Strodl

Location:

Hudson, NY

Recorded by

Shantel Rodriguez

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Summary:

This interview with Jennifer Strodl was conducted on April 16, 2021 remotely via Zoom. Jennifer is a writer, educator, and mother. In 2015, she started the Liberi School in Hudson, NY, an independent school whose mission was to liberate children to think freely and imagine their lives in the context of humanity. The school was meant to reimagine education through the lens of preparing children in a holistic way for an unknown future. She discusses how COVID-19 and the ensuing lockdown affected the school, the families and the children as they moved to an entirely virtual program for the current school year. At the time of the interview, the Liberi School let go of their lease, and the future of the brick and mortar model was uncertain. Jennifer explores how different strengths and weaknesses of our educational system have been brought to light and laid bare by the pandemic, and she shares her struggles with balancing and addressing the educational needs of children and the economic realities of families that are before her as both educator and mother. This interview may be of interest to those looking to gain insight into how educators might be rethinking the design and purpose of education going forward.

Themes:
The beginning of lockdown
,
Remote technology
,
Leadership
,
Problem solving
,
Vaccines
,
Isolation
,
Politics
,
Trauma
,
Teachers
,
Climate change
,
Interviewer Bio:

Shantel Rodriguez is a self-employed mitigation specialist based in Lansing, Michigan. She is currently working on resentencing hearings for adults who were sentenced to life without parole as juveniles.  She is also homeschooling her soon to be 11 year old son and learning way too much about Dungeons and Dragons. She received her Juris Doctor from the City University of New York and her BA in Anthropology from the University of Michigan. She believes that storytelling is a transformative practice and is thrilled to be a part of this project.

Additional Info:
Interview language(s):
English
Audio quality:
Medium

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