http://cptv.vo.llnwd.net/o2/ypmwebcontent/Bruce/RLSG-57-2012-0902.mp3
When the calendar switches from August to September, I can't help but think about the various ways I have felt about fall over the years: nervousness and corduroys, preseason soccer, returning to college, and now, getting the kids OUT OF THE HOUSE!
Remembrances aside, it seems to me that any "manual for living" must contain a section on 'educating our children', and that's the topic we set out to brainstorm this week at Dive Bar and Restaurant, an absolute gem of a spot with a tropical feel overlooking the water in West Haven.
Joining me for the conversation were mom and serial volunteer Susannah Bailin, teacher Tod Harris, mother (and employee of a certain Ivy League institution) Cristin Siebert, and awesome dad, singer, historian and Real Life Survival Guide writer-in-residence, Gerry McGuire.
Todney Harris is a teacher, and throughout his career he has shared his passion for learning by emphasizing the Civil Rights Movement and the risks students took in order to receive an education.
While attending Central Connecticut State University, Tod majored in United States History and Business Management with dreams of becoming a corporate researcher. Then, a conversation with his alma mater’s History Department Chair, Dr. Felton Best, changed his life forever. Upon graduating from Quinnipiac University (with Master of Arts degree in teaching), he dedicated himself to his new calling: educating our children.
Susannah Bailin is currently a serial volunteer in New Haven, a past/present/future Board Member of Tower One, Women’s Health Research at Yale, Read To Grow, Long Wharf Theatre, and the Harvard Club of Southern Connecticut. In previous chapters of her life, Susannah received an MBA, worked in Venture Capital and ran a career development company in Cambridge MA. She is the proud wife of a former and future guest editor on RLSG and mother of three fabulous daughters, two of whom are in college and one is just about to enter her senior year in high school.
Cristin Siebert has several years experience working in International Education and Student Affairs. She is currently Director of Student Affairs at the Yale Jackson Institute for Global Affairs. Prior to coming to the Jackson Institute she spent seven years at Yale Summer Session and Special Programs managing study abroad programs. Before moving to New Haven Cristin lived in Barcelona, Spain. She holds M.A.s in History from the University of Illinois at Chicago and in Historical and Cultural Communications from the University of Barcelona.
Gerry McGuire took his love of history, trivia, comedy, literature, music and film and turned himself into a pop culture quoting, chat machine. He is like Cliff Claven from Cheers if Cliff Claven was stunningly handsome, awesomely funny and unbelievably humble. He fancies himself what the French would describe as a raconteur or what Americans call, a loud mouth. Gerry writes for Milford Living Magazine, sings in the Celtic rock band The Butcher Boys and is a stay at home dad.
