Making Meaning of Meaning Making 403 with Janine Conti, Youngseo Kim, & Drew Gingrich

Beyond The Venue with MG Hodge, Host & Future PhD

Three Literacy & Learning doctoral students walk into a classroom…and they were super kind and wonderful to MG, the lone non-literacy doctoral student! The four of us shared every Wednesday night together this past Spring Semester, and just like last week’s guest Amy, our friendship is a prime example of where I have found myself - surrounded by folks from completely different life paths but coming together to form a community and learn and grow from one another. For anyone curious about what life is like as an international doctoral student or what it’s like to be a full time middle school teacher while obtaining their PhD, this episode is for you!

Additional Topics Include:

• Managing a Full Time Job, Full Time Family, & Part Time PhD
• What exactly is “literacy” how does it play a role in preserving democracy?
• Preconceived Notions About US Universities
• Learning to Speak with Agency
• Reading Motivation
• Teaching the Teachers

Thanks so much for listening, and enjoy the following episode Making Meaning of Meaning Making 403 with MG’s “Learning to Read Classmates” Janine Conti, Youngseo Kim, & Drew Gingrich.

About the Guests:

Janine Conti, English Language Arts Teacher

Janine Conti is a middle school English Language Arts teacher living in New Jersey with her husband, three kids, and a dog. She is pursuing her doctorate in education and plans to use the knowledge and skills gained from her career in the K-12 setting to support and inspire pre-service teachers as they enter the profession. When she is not in the classroom, Janine enjoys spending time with her family, walking her dog, and reading.

Follow Janine on Instagram.

Youngseo Kim, PhD student.

Youngseo Kim is an International PhD student at Temple university and is from South Korea. He is studying in the Literacy and Learners program. He is interested in finding how to motivate, engage, and have fun to read for school age people. He likes books (especially cartoons), dramas, beer, and wine. He has recently completed watching House of cards season 2.

Drew Gingrich, Teacher and Doctoral Student

Drew Gingrich is a 6th grade teacher and a pro-public education advocate. He received his master's degree in education from Villanova University and his undergraduate degree from Penn State University. Drew believes passionately that education is a practice of freedom that can lead to our individual and collective liberation and freedom. Drew is passionate about diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging efforts and the belief that education can lead to a more equitable, just, and transformed future.

Follow Drew on Instagram and Facebook

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This Episode has been produced in association with Gal Co Productions.