Kate Musick and Harleé Patrick, Jose Catalan and Carlos Vizcarra
For students who are struggling, sometimes the difference between success and failure can start when a teacher takes the time to listen.
In these two stories from our National Teacher’s Initiative, teachers go beyond the classroom to help their students.
In 2004, Kate Musick (top left) was teaching third grade at T.C. Walker Elementary school in Gloucester, Virginia. When Harleé Patrick (top right) walked into the room Musick saw a troubled child.
Harleé is now a teenager, and the two came to StoryCorps to talk about how she made it through that year.
The second story comes from Los Angeles, where 19-year-old Jose Catalan (above right), who is studying to become a math teacher, sat down with his former high school teacher Carlos Vizcarra (above left) to talk about how they became friends.
Originally aired April 29, 2012 on NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday.
Karen Slade, Eric “Rico” Reed and Arthur “Sonny” Williams
In 1992, four Los Angeles police officers were acquitted of assaulting Rodney King whose March 1991 beating at the hands of police was captured on video. The news sparked unrest in the city, and no neighborhood was hit harder than South Central Los Angeles.
KJLH, an urban R&B station located on Crenshaw Boulevard, was in the center of it all. General Manager Karen Slade, DJ Eric “Rico” Reed, and KJLH’s driver Arthur “Sonny” Williams remember what happened during those days.
KJLH later won a Peabody award for its coverage of the riots.
Originally aired April 13, 2012 on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Top photo: An auto parts store burns out of control in Los Angeles, April 30, 1992. Numerous fires were set and stores were looted after the Rodney King beating trial verdict. (AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac)
Bottom photo: Karen Slade, Eric “Rico” Reed, and Arthur “Sonny” Williams.
Clairene Terry and Raul Bravo
21-year-old Raul Bravo is an auto mechanic at a car dealership in Chicago.
Back when he started high school, Raul never thought he’d have a career working on cars.
But then Raul met Clairene Terry, an Automotive Technology teacher at Schurz high school.
At StoryCorps, Raul told Clairene just how close to dropping out he was when he enrolled in her class.
Originally aired March 25, 2012 on NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday.
Paul Crowley and Dreamer
Many veterans seek out the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Hospital in hopes of feeling better. Thanks to Dreamer (R) those veterans often end up looking better, too.
Since the 1970s, Dreamer, a veteran himself, has been giving free haircuts to vets.
He can be found in a red, white, and blue painted trailer parked at the VA, where he averages about 200 haircuts a month.
In 2011, Paul Crowley (L) showed up looking for a trim. Today, he’s Dreamer’s assistant.
At StoryCorps, the pair sat down to speak about their friendship.
Originally aired February 24, 2012, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Henry Flores and Gwendolyn Diaz
Gwendolyn Diaz had just started a new job at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas, when she met her husband, Henry Flores, another professor there.
It was the 1980s and Henry, who describes himself as “one of the original computer nerds,” was on his way to the computer room when the new faculty member caught his eye.
This story is also included in All There Is: Love Stories from StoryCorps.
Frank Curre
On December 7, 1941, 2,403 Americans died when hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor in Oahu, Hawaii.
After convincing his mother to sign his enlistment papers, Frank Curre joined the Navy at 17 years old. In August 1941, he went aboard the battleship USS Tennessee and was in the mess cooking on the day of the attack.
At StoryCorps, he shared his harrowing recollections.
Frank died on December 7, 2011, the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was 88 years old.
Originally aired November 11, 2011, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Craig Williams and Richard Bennett
Iraq War veteran Richard Bennett (R) talks with Craig Williams (L) about how they became unlikely business partners.
John Hunter, Julianne Swope and Irene Newman
When John Hunter started teaching more than 30 years ago, he wanted to get his students to think about major world issues.
So he invented the World Peace Game. Students are divided into countries, then Hunter gives them a series of global crises — natural disasters, political conflicts — that they solve by collaborating with each other.
Hunter’s classes are remarkably successful at resolving the crises peacefully, a fact made all the more remarkable because his students are in 4th grade.
Hunter recently sat down for StoryCorps with a two former World Peace Game players: 11-year-old Julianne Swope (top photo) and 20-year-old Irene Newman (bottom photo).
Originally aired December 25, 2011 on NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday.
Sarah Benko and Meliza Arellano
Meliza Arellano (R), is an 11th grader at a New York City charter school called Democracy Prep. When Meliza started there four years ago she was below grade level in both math and reading.
She was put in a class that helps students like her get up to speed. Her teacher was Sarah Benko (L).
The pair recently sat down for StoryCorps to look back on Meliza’s 7th grade year — the year she became a serious student.
Originally aired November 27, 2011 on NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday.
Ayodeji Ogunniyi
In 1990, Ayodeji Ogunniyi left Nigeria, along with his mother and brother, to come to the United States. They arrived in Chicago, joining Ayodeji’s father, Abimbola “Yinka” Ogunniyi, who had arrived a few years earlier, and was working as a cab driver.
Abimbola always wanted Ayodeji to be a doctor. But while Ayodeji was studying pre-med in college, his father was murdered on the job.
At StoryCorps, Ayodeji talked about how his father’s death changed the course of his life.
Originally aired October 30, 2011, on NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday.