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Library

Brad Kohl

Location:

Crosslake, MN

Recorded by

Nicolette Lodico

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Summary:

This interview was conducted with Brad Kohl via Zoom conference on November 11, 2020. Brad was calling in from his mother's home in Crosslake, MN, where he has been sheltering during the pandemic. Brad is a math teacher at a school where he has worked for more than 20 years. Brad discusses his experience since the beginning of the school year in August. While his colleagues have returned to the physical classroom with some of the students, Brad continues to work remotely for health reasons. This is a special accommodation from his employer. Part of this special accommodation includes a temporary staff member (early in his career) who provides a physical presence in Brad's classroom, while Brad joins the class remotely. Brad describes this experience as mostly positive and sees many opportunities for remote learning after the pandemic. He speaks about one of his school’s missions to “instill in each student a deep sense of social responsibility” and described what this looks like in the context of the larger social crises facing this country and his community (racial justice movement, national elections). He speaks about how his school is addressing equity gaps within the student population (e.g., every student has a laptop, the school is offsetting home internet costs for some students). He also discusses how he envisions the pandemic will impact the achievement gap. Brad also touched upon his teachers' union, teacher solidarity, and ways he and his colleagues are supporting one another.

Themes:
Remote technology
,
Problem solving
,
Politics
,
Protests
,
Teachers
,
Elections
,
Teachers unions
,
Interviewer Bio:

Nicolette Lodico is an archivist and knowledge manager who specializes in helping people and organizations—particularly those whose work supports the public good—establish sustainable practices for managing both what they create and what they know so they can make informed decisions, be transparent, and minimize risk. She helps organizations tell the story about their work, to reflect on and learn from past work and share that knowledge with those who will benefit, and to provide opportunities for future researchers and historians to examine and evaluate this work. Currently, she is the director of global information and knowledge management at the Ford Foundation where she is overseeing a comprehensive, multiyear oral history project to gather the reflections of key former staff. She also is the former president and emeritus board member of the Technology Association of Grantmakers, a non-profit organization that cultivates the strategic and equitable use of technology to advance philanthropy. She earned her M.L.S. from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

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

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