Iserotope

Hi there, loyal subscribers: It’s time for The Highlighter #125! I’d like to welcome our 40 new subscribers to the newsletter. I hope you feel at home and like what you read here!

For those of you who like numbers, this issue is filled with twos! You get two articles on school desegregation, two articles on health, and two great podcast episodes. As a bonus, you get two fabulous photos, too. Please enjoy!

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School Resegregation Explained — www.vox.com

More than 60 years after Brown v. Board, schools are re-segregating. Some people argue that this phenomenon is a result of de facto residential segregation. If we live apart, how can our children go to school together? This brilliant interactive feature refutes that position. Alvin Chang explains how many school districts are gerrymandering attendance zones to exacerbate segregation. Mr. Chang adds to Richard Rothstein’s thesis in The Color of Law (#124), which asserts that there is no such thing as de facto segregation. Through law, we have made it so. What’s your reaction? Share your thoughts on The Highlighter Forum! ⏳⏳

Whites Say They Want School Desegregation (But Only a Little Bit) — www.theatlantic.com

MacArthur Genius (and my favorite education reporter) Nikole Hannah-Jones (#18, #22, #46, #47, #65, #82, #115) is writing a book on school segregation called The Problem We All Live With. Until it gets published, please read this interview. “We have a system where white people control the outcomes, and the outcome that most white Americans want is segregation,” she says. “White communities want neighborhood schools if their neighborhood school is white. If their neighborhood school is black, they want choice.” ⏳⏳

A Dying Town: The Health Effects of a Poor Education

Kennett, Missouri is the hometown of Sheryl Crow (“All I Wanna Do”) and 10,564 “other great people.” Unfortunately, most of these great people do not have college degrees. This article explores the link between educational attainment and health outcomes. The graphs are not forgiving, and neither are the stories of residents Annie Walters and Jim Anderson. If you live in Kennett, you die seven years earlier than the average American. ⏳⏳

Why We Fell For Clean Eating — www.theguardian.com

It’s the New Year. How’s your diet? Are you doing the Whole30? The DASH, or maybe the Flexitarian? This article debunks our obsession with clean eating and warns against orthorexia nervosa. “Clean eating,” author Bee Wilson argues, “confirms how vulnerable and lost millions of us feel about diet — which really means how lost we feel about our own bodies.” Maybe my diet, The Intermittent Cookie, isn’t so bad after all. ⏳⏳

Anne-otations: You’re Still Learning, And I’m Supposed To Be OK With That? — youhadmeatblack.simplecast.fm

Most American teachers are white, while nearly half of the American student body are students of color. A recent poll shows that this is detrimental for students of color. Listen to Bria’s story, an example of white microaggression from the classroom. This cringe-worthy episode is for anyone, but especially white educators, as a reminder that “still learning” how to teach students of color isn’t good enough. I would love to hear from you about teacher training, microaggression, or teachers from your past. Share your thoughts on The Highlighter Forum. And as always, email me at annenyffeler@gmail.com with a podcast recommendation! ⏳

Podcast: School Leader Omar Bryan — www.highlighter.cc

Artist, art teacher, and school leader Omar Bryan is this week’s guest on The Highlighter Podcast. Omar builds strong relationships with his students by being fully present and listening. On the show, Omar talks about how his art background has informed his approach to inspiring young people to express themselves and to access their agency. He also has strong opinions about last week’s lead article, “Millennials Are Screwed.” Please listen, subscribe, and rate the podcast on iTunes! ⏳⏳

That’s it for this week! Thank you for reading today’s issue. I’d love to hear what you think. You can share your thoughts by replying to this email or by clicking on one of the thumbs below.

Also, please welcome our 40 new subscribers: Jackson, Whitney, Payton, Elizabeth, Joanne, JoLynn, Amparo, Leslie, Wendi, Matt, Soliz, Lesley, Tina, Amy, Mike, Sean, Daniel, Kyle, Lori, Caitlin, David, Molly, Jonathan, Carol, Tom, Edith, Sophie, Meredith, Donna, Chris, Brianna, Diana, Ayako, Micha, Taryn, and five others whose names are anonymous.

If you like The Highlighter, please get the word out: Forward this email to a friend and tell them why this newsletter is indispensable. On the other hand, if you find this newsletter entirely dispensable (it’s not for everybody!), feel free to unsubscribe. Have a wonderful week, and I’ll see you again next Thursday at 9:10 am.

Hi there and Happy New Year! Did you miss The Highlighter? I hope you had a restful and rejuvenating break. Welcome everyone — all 322 of you (plus 11 new subscribers!) — to 2018. Today’s issue includes four great articles and one fine podcast. Read about the economic plight of millennials, the high death rate of Black mothers, the fall of a Black church, the promise of weight loss surgery, and the importance of living with the end in mind.

Also: I’m happy to announce two new features! The first is a greater focus on the lead article, including an invitation to share your thoughts in an online forum. Please do! (Think of it as an article club — just you and your 321 Highlighter friends.) The second is Anne-otations, in which my friend and loyal subscriber Anne Nyffeler will choose an outstanding podcast episode for your listening pleasure. Please enjoy!

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Millennials Are Screwed — highline.huffingtonpost.com

Baby boomers and Generation Xers often like to joke about millennials — how they’re lazy and entitled and need to order less avocado toast at fancy cafés. But this excellent article by Michael Hobbes (#83) explains the economic plight of millennials, making clear how out of reach financial stability, home ownership, and retirement security are to adults in their 20s and 30s. Click here (or on the thought bubble below) to share your thoughts in The Highlighter Article Club. ⏳⏳⏳

Nothing Protects Black Women From Dying in Pregnancy — www.propublica.org

Last year, Zoë Carpenter (#108, Podcast #9) asked why so many Black infants die in the United States. Nina Martin and Renee Montagne continue the conversation, asking why so many Black women die in pregnancy. It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or highly educated. If you’re an African American woman, the health care system sees you as lesser. As a result, you are three times more likely than a white woman to die while giving birth. Reading about the life and death of Shalon Irving will make the grim statistics even more heartbreaking.  ⏳⏳

Gentrification and the Destruction of a Black Church in San Francisco — thegroundtruthproject.org

Since its founding in 1852, Third Baptist Church in the Fillmore District of San Francisco has served as a home for salvation and civil rights for African Americans. As gentrification has forced residents out of the neighborhood, the congregation has plummeted to just 600 members. This multimedia (text, audio, video) report captures the struggle of churchgoers and their hope that recent landmark status will preserve their beloved institution. ⏳

Diet and Exercise Don’t Work. To Lose Weight, Surgery is the Best Option. — www.vox.com

After a season of cookies, cakes, candies, and pies, January is the time for resolutions involving weight loss. But bariatric surgery turns out to be the best treatment for obesity. Why do so few people — just 1 percent of eligible patients — get the procedure? And why is surgery even rarer among teenagers? Read what happened to 18-year-old Jewel Francis-Aburime, who weighed 394 pounds before doctors removed 80 percent of her stomach, and maybe there’s your answer. (If surgery’s not your thing, try a weight loss cruise instead.) ⏳⏳

New Feature! Anne-otations:
For All You Podcast Lovers Out There — www.highlighter.cc

Though The Highlighter focuses on the best articles on race, education and culture, loyal subscribers have demanded more audio content. (The Highlighter Podcast just isn’t enough.) “I can’t read while driving!” you’ve grumbled. Don’t you fret. I’ve got the solution: Anne-otations! Beginning today, my good friend and loyal subscriber Anne Nyffeler will scour the podcast world and bring you the best morsel of audio out there for your listening pleasure. Anne fits in hours of podcasts in between being a mom, student, teacher, reader, and biker. You’ll enjoy her first recommendation: an interview of Dr. Atul Gawande (#22, #78) on Krista Tippett’s On Being. Click on the title above for Anne’s review, and let me know what you think!

You’re back in The Highlighter groove! Thank you for reading today’s issue. Share your thoughts below by giving this issue a thumbs-up or -down. Also, please welcome our 11 new subscribers: Raymond, Esmeralda, Alexandra, Darryl, Lara, Miranda, Ziba, Lois, Steve, Daryl, and Corina! Tell your friends and family about The Highlighter by forwarding them this issue or sending them this link to subscribe. Have a wonderful week, and I’ll see you again next Thursday at 9:10 am.

Welcome to The Highlighter #123! I’m dedicating this final issue of the year to our favorite six articles of 2017. These are pieces that received the most clicks and responses; these are pieces that are wonderfully written; these are pieces that are moving and delightful. If you can, I encourage you to (re)read all six.

One thing, though, before we get to the articles. I want to thank you, loyal subscribers, for a wonderful year. We’ve built a robust, caring reading community at The Highlighter. Some highlights:

+ Last year, there were 85 of us. Now there are 312.
+ The newsletter came out 50 Thursday mornings in a row.
+ We published more than 200 articles.
+ We rebranded as The Highlighter (#80).
+ We launched a weekly podcast (#100).
+ We got a fancy website (#112).
+ We held 3 Highlighter Happy Hours.

I can’t wait to see what’s in store for 2018. Now let’s get to the articles. Please enjoy!

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Our School

This article by Lauren Markham (#63, #78, #110) was the year’s best piece on education. Ms. Markham reports on the new curriculum in Alaska’s North Slope Borough School District, home of the Iñupiat people. It is a story of how a community can rebuild its schools in order to decolonize, resuscitate, and heal. This article will push you to think about the big questions: What is education for? and What is the best way to teach our children? Ms. Markham was a guest on Episode #13 of the podcast. ⏳⏳

The First White President

This article received the most reader responses. In scintillating prose, Ta-Nehisi Coates (#3, #10, #48, #58, #71, #109) argues that white liberals like to attribute President Donald Trump’s election victory to the economic angst of working-class white Americans. No way. White people from every socioeconomic group preferred Mr. Trump, and the 2016 election served to protect whiteness and white supremacy. Mr. Coates’s thesis rings even more true after Tuesday’s election in Alabama, where Black voters were responsible for Doug Jones’s victory. ⏳⏳⏳ 

Losing Your Mom to Deportation

Imagine arriving home from school to learn that your mom is in jail and likely will be deported. This is what happened to 10-year-old Angel Marin and his three sisters in Phoenix, Ariz. The day after their mother’s arrest, the children agreed not to tell anyone. Better to fend for themselves. The number of children who have lost their parents as a result of deportation is staggering — about 500,000 between 2009 and 2013. With the foster care system and child protective services overwhelmed, many children go unnoticed for long periods of time. Writer Lizzie Presser (#80) was also featured this year for her outstanding article on the cruise ship industry, “Below Deck.” ⏳⏳

The Village Where Girls Turn into Boys

There is a place in the Dominican Republic where one out of 90 people is born with sexual anatomy falling somewhere along a spectrum of biologically male and female. Unlike in the United States, where doctors diagnose intersex babies with a “disorder of sexual development” and most parents opt for surgery, the situation is different in Las Salinas. There, babies born with 5-alpha-reductase deficiency — who are genetically male but sometimes appear female — are generally raised as girls but switch to living as young men as they reach puberty, without much fuss. ⏳⏳

Applebee's Deserves to Die

This was the most clicked article of the year. Please everyone read this piece, particularly if you’re a millennial or if you’re a non-millennial who doesn’t like millennials. (I like millennials.) Bijan Stephen (#114) explains why chain restaurants like Applebee’s are closing, and in the meantime, he captures the essence of what it means to be a millennial. Mr. Stephen’s writing is smart and fresh and funny. ⏳

When Things Go Missing

This is my favorite article of the year. Kathryn Schulz (author of “The Really Big One,” about the catastrophic earthquake destined to hit the Pacific Northwest) begins this astounding piece with anecdotes about losing things — her keys, her wallet, her car. Then Ms. Schulz turns to the loss of her father, who died last year. Her writing is exquisite, and her thesis — that living is losing — will bring you pause, even if reading about death is something you’d rather not do. Big Surprise Bonus: Listen to an excerpt from the article, read by loyal subscriber and actor Shyanna Bryan. Thank you, Shyanna! ⏳⏳

This Week’s Podcast: Did you listen to Code Switch’s series on Ron Brown High School or read the NPR article on Ballou High School (#121), where all students graduate and get into college despite atrocious attendance? If so, this week’s podcast is for you. Educator Jamie Marantz emphasizes that educators must agree not only on the outcome they want for students but also on the road they will take to get there. Also, Jamie shared her thoughts on the silliness of the 100-point grading scale. Please listen, subscribe, tell your friends, and leave a review on iTunes!

That’s it for 2017! (I’m taking the next two weeks off.) Thank you for reading The Highlighter #123. Share your opinion below by giving this issue a thumbs-up or -down. You can also reply to this message by pressing R. Please welcome our new subscribers Daryl and Adejah! Tell your friends and family about The Highlighter by forwarding them this issue, sending them a link to subscribe, or encouraging them to check out the website! Have a wonderful two weeks, and I’ll see you again on Thursday, Jan. 4, at 9:10 am.

Welcome to The Highlighter #123! I’m dedicating this final issue of the year to our favorite six articles of 2017. These are pieces that received the most clicks and responses; these are pieces that are wonderfully written; these are pieces that are moving and delightful. If you can, I encourage you to (re)read all six.

One thing, though, before we get to the articles. I want to thank you, loyal subscribers, for a wonderful year. We’ve built a robust, caring reading community at The Highlighter. Some highlights:

+ Last year, there were 85 of us. Now there are 312.
+ The newsletter came out 50 Thursday mornings in a row.
+ We published more than 200 articles.
+ We rebranded as The Highlighter (#80).
+ We launched a weekly podcast (#100).
+ We got a fancy website (#112).
+ We held 3 Highlighter Happy Hours.

I can’t wait to see what’s in store for 2018. Now let’s get to the articles. Please enjoy!

---

Our School — orionmagazine.org

This article by Lauren Markham (#63, #78, #110) was the year’s best piece on education. Ms. Markham reports on the new curriculum in Alaska’s North Slope Borough School District, home of the Iñupiat people. It is a story of how a community can rebuild its schools in order to decolonize, resuscitate, and heal. This article will push you to think about the big questions: What is education for? and What is the best way to teach our children? Ms. Markham was a guest on Episode #13 of the podcast. ⏳⏳

The First White President — www.theatlantic.com

This article received the most reader responses. In scintillating prose, Ta-Nehisi Coates (#3, #10, #48, #58, #71, #109) argues that white liberals like to attribute President Donald Trump’s election victory to the economic angst of working-class white Americans. No way. White people from every socioeconomic group preferred Mr. Trump, and the 2016 election served to protect whiteness and white supremacy. Mr. Coates’s thesis rings even more true after Tuesday’s election in Alabama, where Black voters were responsible for Doug Jones’s victory. ⏳⏳⏳ 

Losing Your Mom to Deportation — story.californiasunday.com

Imagine arriving home from school to learn that your mom is in jail and likely will be deported. This is what happened to 10-year-old Angel Marin and his three sisters in Phoenix, Ariz. The day after their mother’s arrest, the children agreed not to tell anyone. Better to fend for themselves. The number of children who have lost their parents as a result of deportation is staggering — about 500,000 between 2009 and 2013. With the foster care system and child protective services overwhelmed, many children go unnoticed for long periods of time. Writer Lizzie Presser (#80) was also featured this year for her outstanding article on the cruise ship industry, “Below Deck.” ⏳⏳

The Village Where Girls Turn into Boys — harpers.org

There is a place in the Dominican Republic where one out of 90 people is born with sexual anatomy falling somewhere along a spectrum of biologically male and female. Unlike in the United States, where doctors diagnose intersex babies with a “disorder of sexual development” and most parents opt for surgery, the situation is different in Las Salinas. There, babies born with 5-alpha-reductase deficiency — who are genetically male but sometimes appear female — are generally raised as girls but switch to living as young men as they reach puberty, without much fuss. ⏳⏳

Applebee's Deserves to Die — www.eater.com

This was the most clicked article of the year. Please everyone read this piece, particularly if you’re a millennial or if you’re a non-millennial who doesn’t like millennials. (I like millennials.) Bijan Stephen (#114) explains why chain restaurants like Applebee’s are closing, and in the meantime, he captures the essence of what it means to be a millennial. Mr. Stephen’s writing is smart and fresh and funny. ⏳

When Things Go Missing — www.newyorker.com

This is my favorite article of the year. Kathryn Schulz (author of “The Really Big One,” about the catastrophic earthquake destined to hit the Pacific Northwest) begins this astounding piece with anecdotes about losing things — her keys, her wallet, her car. Then Ms. Schulz turns to the loss of her father, who died last year. Her writing is exquisite, and her thesis — that living is losing — will bring you pause, even if reading about death is something you’d rather not do. Big Surprise Bonus: Listen to an excerpt from the article, read by loyal subscriber and actor Shyanna Bryan. Thank you, Shyanna! ⏳⏳

This Week’s Podcast: Did you listen to Code Switch’s series on Ron Brown High School or read the NPR article on Ballou High School (#121), where all students graduate and get into college despite atrocious attendance? If so, this week’s podcast is for you. Educator Jamie Marantz emphasizes that educators must agree not only on the outcome they want for students but also on the road they will take to get there. Also, Jamie shared her thoughts on the silliness of the 100-point grading scale. Please listen, subscribe, tell your friends, and leave a review on iTunes!

That’s it for 2017! (I’m taking the next two weeks off.) Thank you for reading The Highlighter #123. Share your opinion below by giving this issue a thumbs-up or -down. You can also reply to this message by pressing R. Please welcome our new subscribers Daryl and Adejah! Tell your friends and family about The Highlighter by forwarding them this issue, sending them a link to subscribe, or encouraging them to check out the website! Have a wonderful two weeks, and I’ll see you again on Thursday, Jan. 4, at 9:10 am.