Celebrating Asian American Month
An interview with Ms. Yang By Ashaliegh Carrington
     Last month was Asian American history month and I thought to celebrate would be to talk to our Chinese teacher Ms. yang and her journey to America.
How does it feel living in America? In the beginning it was tough because I had never been in a new country. Everything is new: the environment, the language, and the people. I had to leave everything behind and start from zero. Like my career; I was a high school Chinese language teacher in China, but I couldn't do that here because I didn't know English all that well. I became a waitress in a Chinese restaurant. I never thought I’d be doing that. After I practiced English for two years I became more confident. My son was born, I went back to school, and now I feel life is good. I love America; it’s people are very nice and they make me feel like this is my second home.
Why did you specifically decide to live here? Well, first my husband moved to Connecticut because his cousins lived here. His cousins were the only people he knew so that's how he came here. After he got his master’s degree, he got a job here. Two years after he was established, I came to live here. He's been working in Connecticut since 1999. We knew jobs would always be here, we were comfortable here. Our children grew up here and their friends are here. The only thing I don't like is the weather--the winter is too long!
Do you find a difficulty being an Asian American? I feel that even though my English is getting better, I don't feel like a native. I am an American citizen now, but  I still feel like I don't belong here. The American culture and the culture I grew up in are different. For example, people don't celebrate Chinese New Year here. For my family it's a big celebration, but for American people it's not a big deal. We don't see or hear anything about it. There's no Chinese New Year holiday here. Working here is good; I feel very comfortable. My students are very kind to me, most of them.
Do you feel Asian American women are represented less than other women of color? We can't say that one is more equal than the other. You see, some people are treated equally, but in some families they aren't. I see in some of my friends' families they aren't. Sometimes their husbands will say, “Oh you don't have to go to work.” Some people see it as it being a man’s job to take care of the family and the women are supposed to stay at home. I see that, more than before, women are representing themselves in the workplace. That it's now acceptable for men to be stay-at-home dads instead of what was previously seen acceptable for only women to do.
Do you feel you learn from your students? I learn a lot first off being the language they help me with my English and also they teach me how to understand each other. In China I had always been a teacher and what I love about the job is that I learn from my students! I'm almost fifty years old and all my friends are around that age as well so me learning with young people help’S me to see their views on the world.
What made you want to teach at an art school? I actually got this opportunity six years ago when the old Chinese teacher left. She decided to go back to her home. It was hard for her to commute from Hartford to new haven every day and I used to work in Hartford when I was working there I knew since I worked in china as a teacher that I wanted to continue my career in the United States. In a bigger school I feel you aren't as known from my experience at Wilbur cross I dealt with people not really knowing who i was but at coop since the building is smaller I see people who recognize me. That makes me feel welcomed here and I'm so grateful to teach my students they are so nice. I love teaching here at coop.

The librarian of the land
Interview by Ashaliegh Carrington
      I conducted an interview with Ms. Lewin, the new school librarian, to find out who she is and what she plans to do for Coop’s future.
How does it feel being a librarian? I really love this job! This has to be my favorite career.
Do you feel you have big shoes to fill after the last librarian, Mrs. Willis, left such a big impact on students? Yes! Especially in the beginning of the year when I heard how well she did things. You know, I was relatively new to the field and she had tons of experience so I was a little bit nervous because students would ask questions that I didn’t know off the top of my head. I met Eleanor Willis at the Christmas party and I remember I was sitting next to Mr. Foster eating pizza and he poked me and said, “Hey that’s Mrs. Willis over there” and it was like a celebrity had walked in. I thought, “Oh my gosh. She’s so amazing. I have to meet her!” She was super nice and gave me her email address.  
What's the difference between high school and elementary school as a librarian? In elementary school, you read a lot of stories to the kids and you have a fixed schedule. Every week is the same, so you know on Monday at eleven o'clock you have the fourth graders. You see each class once or twice a week and you have to plan lessons every day. In high school, it's more about managing the space and every day is different. I get to do a variety of things. I don't think I’m as cut out for elementary school as I am for Coop.
What do you hope to bring to Coop? ​I hope that for the kids that are graduating, that anything that I’ve done or any of the conversations we’ve had this year pushes them to seek out libraries throughout their lives. I hope I’ve matched people up with some books that they’ve liked. I hope they carry the skills I taught them into college, such as citations and making sure your sources are good. I hope I’ve made the library a fun place to visit.
What’s your favorite book and why? That is so hard because it depends on the day! One of the best books I read was "The picture of Dorian Gray!" I read it in high school and I loved it! I love the Victorian Era gothic-type stuff. I enjoyed the writing style, and the plot was really original.
      Another good book is "Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugenides. I read it again with the City-Wide Book Club. Reading it with the kids and seeing it from a different angle was really mindblowing. The descriptions and his characters are just great. I think that any creative writer should read it.

The Secret Of Saturday
By Ashaliegh Carrington
     Saturday is often synonymous with relaxation and a break away from the hectic five-day work schedule, but for three teachers at Cooperative it is an opportunity for educational enrichment. Ms. Wetmore, Ms. Purdie, and Dr. Sapienza have been the leaders for the program, even paying out of pocket for students to have lunch.  The program goes from ten o'clock to two, and students go to the library and work on their own projects. I had the pleasure of interviewing the three head teachers for this program.
Why did you decide to do Super Saturday?   
Ms. Purdie: It was a great opportunity for our school district and our school, especially, to enhance the experience for students, not only academically but also to get them involved in a more social way, to get the students to know [each other] a little better rather than through the normal classroom setting.
Dr. Sapienza: Well, we decided we wanted an opportunity and a different learning [environment] and that means not only just coming to school every morning, sitting in your classroom with the book, pen and paper. It gives you a chance to interact with peers, know your teacher in a more friendly way. It allows students to make sure they do something that is different but leads to them learning something they can translate in reading and writing.
Ms. Wetmore: We also wanted to just be able to give extra support and time with the AP students. At the beginning of the year we did more enrichment activities: going to the Art Gallery, touring Yale. These last months we’ve been focused on A.P. studying and I feel it makes a difference.
What's your favorite thing about Super Saturday? 
Ms. Wetmore: No bells!
Ms. Purdie: The relaxed atmosphere; it's less stressful.
Dr. Sapienza: More friendly.
What keeps you going to come in on Saturdays?
Ms. Wetmore: It is such a great thing to do. We have so many kids that want to come in on a Saturday.
How long have you been doing Super Saturday?
All: Three Years
Why is it called Super Saturday?
Ms. Wetmore: We made it up and thought it was cute!

In Honor of Women’s Day--A Letter to My Mom
By Julia DiStasio
Dear mom,
     International Women’s Day is a day to commemorate the movement for women’s rights. Women from all over the world celebrate, acknowledge, and thank the heroes who lived their lives in dedication to pushing forward the natural right of equality. As important as it is to recognize these historical people, something I think is too often overlooked is giving thanks to those who actively remind young women like myself not only to do something great in life, but also to love what we do. So thank you for never telling me I couldn't dream big. 
     When I was in my “tomboy” days and only wanted to wear skater shoes and cargo pants like my big brothers, thank you for not telling me to change my clothes. On that note, when I acknowledged that I do, in fact, really like the color pink for no other reason than it being a pretty color, and when I wanted to wear jewelry, thank you for not saying, “Wow, I’m glad you grew out of that stage.” Thank you for not telling me that dresses don’t make me any less strong than a suit. My clothes don’t determine my strength nor do they determine my intelligence. Thank you for talking to me in the car in front of school when I was in kindergarten and teaching me that being smart is better than being pretty, and being nice is better than both. You also taught me it’s not at all impossible to be all three.
     Thank you for being a strong independent woman, because while many young women have to look back to celebrate those who taught them their natural born rights, all I have to do is look at you.
Sincerely, your favorite child,
Julia

Hidden Teachers
By Dante Frazer                        
​     Asia Gouborn is Coop’s newest math teacher. She holds a bachelor's degree in Mathematics from Delaware State University and a master's degree from the University of New Haven in education. Ms. Gouborn has attended New Haven public schools for most of her life. She graduated from Cheshire High School. Before teaching, Ms. Gouborn worked for the city of New Haven in management and budget. Before Coop, she taught at Career High School for four years and Hillhouse High School for one year. When I asked how Ms. Gouborn felt about Coop, she enthusiastically said, "Coming to Coop was a Godsend. The quality of students and teachers here are amazing! Even the bad kids are still good and everyone is different in their own little way." When she isn't teaching she enjoys spending time with family and attending church. Ms. Gouborn is only 1 out of 8 African American teachers at Coop, so in honor of Black History Month, this article can celebrate everyday African-Americans who are doing amazing things and contributing to the Coop Community. Thank You, Ms. Goubourn!

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Interview with Ms. Wetmore
By Jada Nelson (12/16)
​     Ms. Kris Wetmore has been teaching at Co-op for 17 years; she began at the old Co-op. She is an art teacher, but also runs photography. Here is an interview I did with Ms. Wetmore about her life and her experiences at Co-op.

Did you like the old Co-op? Why? Yes, I did like the old Co-op a lot, because it was much smaller. I believe the senior class was under 100 kids and you knew everyone. It gave off a homey feeling. 
Is there any administrator from the old Co-op that you’d like to come back? Why?​Yes. Mr. Golia, who was the assistant principal, because he’s a really good administrator and knew how to handle discipline. 
If there is another thing you could teach what would it be? ​I would teach a Home Ec cooking class.
What was your most memorable moment at the old Co-op? New Co-op?
Mr. Martone and three other teachers had a band and called themselves The Wild Boys. During a performance they were doing, Mr. Martone drove his motorcycle on stage!
What was your most memorable moment at the new Co-op? A couple of years after we moved here, there was a news station that filmed our Grand Opening and everyone came at four a.m. Breakfast was served and it was just an overall really nice experience.
What do you like most about Co-op? I really like that the students get to take their arts every day. We’re like one of the only schools ever to do that. How great is that?
What do you like most about students?
I think the students are really interesting. I really like teaching A.P. Art History because I get to meet students from other arts.

FUN FACTS ABOUT MS. WETMORE
She has a grandog.
She’s not married.
She has one child who is 24 years old.
Her favorite holiday is Thanksgiving.
Her favorite color is purple.
Her favorite food is cupcakes.

Father of Neurosurgery
By Sonia Peterkin (12/16)
     Have you ever heard of a man called the “Father of Neurosurgery”? I hadn’t, until I went on a class trip to the Cushing Center and was able to see the incredible impact this man had on modern neurosurgery.
     Harvey Williams Cushing, or the “Father of Neurosurgery,” was a man who was an extremely effective brain surgeon, with a death rate of about 10%, which was impressive when most others lost over half their patients. He also kept and researched the brains and tumors of the patients of his that did end up dying. Thanks to that, he inadvertently also documented the birth of neurosurgery.
     Cushing was born in Cleveland, Ohio, but went to college at Yale University for his undergraduate years from 1887 to 1891. After graduating from Yale, he went to Harvard Medical School for his degree.
     Most of Cushing’s career was spent at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, and Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston. Cushing prided himself on the “Perfection of anesthesia, scrupulous technique, ample expenditure of time, painstaking closure of wounds without drainage, and a multitude of other elements, which so many operators impatiently regard as trivialities” and favored precision over innovation. This meticulous care was the reason his mortality rate was so low, because while he took the time to carefully shave the hair from the patient’s head, sterilize, drape the cloth, etc., other surgeons would rush through to get the surgery done quickly, leading to problems such as internal bleeding or blood clots.
     While Cushing favored care over innovation, he was not afraid of it. He introduced the blood pressure cuff to American medicine after seeing it used in Italy. He also adapted the cuff into an idea for a pneumatic tourniquet that prevented heavy scalp bleeding. Besides those, he also pioneered the use of silver surgical clamps and introduced electrocauterization to brain surgery.
      The Cushing Brain Tumor Registry, or his collection of over 2,200 case studies that include photos, records of patients, brains, tumors, and other parts of the human body, was one of his greatest achievements. It was created after the pathology department of the hospital lost a golf-ball sized piece of brain tissue before examinations of it were complete. After that, he demanded to keep all of his own specimens. This registry ended up making it possible to document the birth of neurosurgery.
     The registry was moved from Harvard to Yale in 1934, after Cushing had gotten tired of the way Harvard treated him. Harvey Cushing died in 1939, and the collection was moved to the Brady Museum sub-basement where it stayed until 1967. It was moved around for around a decade before a new permanent home was found in the basement of the Es Harkness Hall of student dormitories.
     It was left and forgotten about until 1991, when some medical students created the “Brain Society” after finding the collection. Students would find their way to the brain room and sign their name on a whiteboard to show they saw the brains and were an official part of the Brain Society. Three years after the discovery, in 1994, the Cushing Registry gained popularity once more and Christopher John Wahl, a student who was the recipient of a donation from Dr. W Albert Diddle that was intended to go to a student who wanted to start a project that would benefit Yale, used the money to write his thesis on the collection. He received his M.D. in 1996 and wrote a book on Dr. Cushing in 2009.
     In 2008, the Chairman of the Section of Neurosurgery and the Library Director, Dr. Dennis Spencer and R. Kenny Marone, came to a decision to move the Brain Tumor Registry to to the Yale Medical Library where Cushing’s book collection also resided. The room chosen was the basement, and by 2009 the room design was finished and the specimens were examined and cleaned by forensic scientists before being transported to the new location.
     On June 5, 2010, the Harvey Cushing Center was opened, showcasing over 300 different brain specimens as well as patient photos, tools and items from Dr. Cushing’s career, pages from his medical journal, and more. The Cushing Center is open to anyone, so if you’re interested in seeing the the records used by the father of neurosurgery, go visit!

Diversifying The Theatre  
An Interview with Christine Scarfuto
By Ashaliegh Carrington

Why did you chose the job you have today?
Well, I always liked to read and I also really loved theatre from when I was five years old. I saw the play Camelot in a park and I completely fell in love with it and I've never fallen out of love [with theater] since then. The job that I have now is sort of a combination of theatre and reading, because what I do at my job is read a lot of plays and decide what plays get produced each season. I also work on the historical context of the plays and any other information that will be helpful for the actors to know about. I basically make sure the story is being told.

Why did you come to Connecticut for theatre? Why not New York?
I'd been looking for a job as a literary manager for a really long time and this is the one I got. I was doing mostly freelancing, along with producing, so I could be a literary manager. I came to Connecticut to work at Long Wharf because it's a great place to be.

What makes a play come to Long Wharf?
We do a combination of contemporary and classical plays here. For a more historical play to come to Long Wharf, our artistic director, Gordon Edelstein, is usually interested in bringing it here. Or perhaps a well known director or actor wants to be in it. For a new play it's a little more complicated; I'm usually the first person to read new plays when they hit the door. If I think it's something that will be really good for us, I'll recommend it to Gordon. Then we'll see if we can fit it into our season.

How can students come and connect with Long Wharf?
We have student matinees for all the schools in New Haven. You can talk to your teachers about coming to Long Wharf. We have a really good education department. We have a lot of great classes for activities for high school students. We also have camps over the summer.

What makes Long Wharf different from local theatre?
We have a kind of serious theatre here, like really good drama. We do some musicals, but we are well known for our drama. Broadway is much more of a mix bag; it's more commercial, which means that it costs a lot more money to do. Long Wharf is a non profit theatre; our plays are done through donations and organizations and grants from the government. That's one way it's different and it's also a little different from Yale; they have a slightly different tone to the plays that they do. I think Yale does plays that are a little edgier; they kind of push the envelope a bit. They also do more classical plays, like Shakespeare. Our plays are a little more accessible if you're a regular, average theatre goer.

Is there a way for a play not to be performed?
Sure, there's lots of plays that get shot down, depending on the play. You know, we really look for plays that our audience will connect to. The main reason why we wouldn't do a play is because we don't think they'll be able to connect to it. It doesn't necessarily have to do with it being offensive. Is the audience going to find this relevant to their lives? Are they going to enjoy watching it?

How do you manage to make the theatre diverse?  
That's something I'm passionate about--producing more plays by people of color and women. I'm always keeping my eye on that. White men have had enough plays produced; it's time that we change the game. I think that part of my job is to advocate for getting diversity into each season.