Katharine Davies Samway grew up in England, but has lived in the U.S. for over 40 years, more than 30 of them in Oakland. She is a long-term educator—a teacher, a researcher, a teacher educator, a professor of education. She is deeply committed to public education and is the mother of three children who went through Oakland public schools.For almost all her adult life, she has worked with and on behalf of people from underrepresented groups, particularly immigrants, refugees, and migrants for whom English is not their native language. Although retired, she continues to do research because she learns so much from careful and in-depth observations (e.g., of children’s writing processes and how children interact) and interviews (e.g., of children, teachers, parents, and community members). She also loves to write (e.g., articles, poetry, stories for children) and is enjoying being a reporter.
It’s 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday evening in Oakland and neighbors are gathering for a quickly-arranged concert on their street. People sit and stand on their[Read more]
A Palestinian Nakba commemoration/demonstration was held on May 15 outside the Israeli consulate in San Francisco. Over 1,000 Palestine supporters turned out to mark the[Read more]
“Happy birthday, dear Ahed, happy birthday to you!” sings a crowd of over 100 people that has gathered outside the Ronald Dellums Federal Building in[Read more]
Getting to Know Each Other: About 10 people have already gathered when I arrive on a cool and sunny Saturday morning at Primera Iglesia Presbyteriana[Read more]
Why do some people become peace and justice activists, when other people who grew up in the same environment don’t? This question has intrigued me[Read more]
If you walk up and down Piedmont Avenue in Oakland, you’ll pass by several independent bookstores, gift shops, and children’s clothing shops, all of which[Read more]
Tuesday, 3:30 p.m.: Community Meeting About 40 parents, teachers, and children have come to an after-school meeting in the library that is shared by two[Read more]