[No] Child Left Behind

We often see children as innocents who need love, support, and stability. But not all young people are nurtured this way. Too often youth from marginalized communities of color are not seen as needing protection — they are treated as the ones we need protection from. We see this in this episode with Phal Sok, who was once a kid in Long Beach forced to grow up too soon. This episode is part two of our series on Cambodian refugees who get caught up in the criminal justice system at a young age.

It’s a Man’s Man’s World

What happens when you go to work and no one else in the room looks like you? Being the “only one” often means more scrutiny, less support, having to work harder, or to justify why you’re even there. In this episode, Zayana Ross-Torrence shares her experience as a Black woman studying STEM and then working in emergency services, an industry dominated by white men.

School Days

Earlier this year, over 30,000 public school teachers went on strike in Los Angeles, for the first time in nearly 30 years. Educators reminded us that we need to think about students in a holistic way. In this episode, we speak with one of those educators. High school history teacher Rudy Dueñas takes us through his own history at LA Unified School District — first as a student, then an educator — and the moments that transformed him in and out of the classroom.

Indebted

Who was your favorite teacher in high school? We all have that unforgettable teacher that sets us on our life’s trajectory. But most of the time we know even our most favorite teachers just inside the classroom. So what happens when we learn what they are going through outside of the classroom? In this week’s episode of Re:Work, UCLA student Tyler Milles uncovers what happened to his favorite teacher in the four years since he last saw him.