Name: Betty Taylor

Demographic data: 60-year-old, is a native of Philadelphia. She’s spent her career in the Philadelphia Public School System, first as a high school history teacher. She’s currently a Curriculum and Instruction Administrator with the district’s central office.

Descriptive Title: Master Practitioner

Quote: “Our students are our future, and by God’s grace, I will make sure they are ready.”

Day in the Life: Betty’s days usually start with a cup of tea and prayer, followed by a light breakfast. After petting her cat, Koko, Betty makes her 30-minute commute to the School District’s central office, where she’ll spend at least ten hours a day. Betty has moderate computer skills. Betty’s days start with a quick check-in at the central secretary’s office to get a heads-up on what is happening. Afterwards, she heads to her office to check her voicemail and Outlook messages. Afterwards, there is usually a series of phone or Zoom meetings with other district administrators.

By midday, Betty eats lunch in her office and shifts to preparing for her afternoon on-site meetings with a core team of teachers on curriculum and a long-term curriculum plan, using digital tools to engage students. Betty navigates her office tools, including her computer and phone system, well, but gets frustrated when she needs to rely on staff for help. She gets particularly frustrated when the technology “gets in the way” of her work because she knows she’s good at what she does and doesn’t want to look inept in front of her peers and subordinates. She enjoys learning new tricks for student learning, but doesn’t want her time wasted on “figuring out how it works”. By the end of the long day, Betty is ready to head home. She prays daily for grace and patience as she figures this out for her students’ sake.

 Betty’s goal is to provide new learning resources to support student engagement with instructional content. Betty is a woman of faith with a deep love of the Philadelphia region and Black history, especially the history of Black churches. She is committed to helping her students appreciate Philadelphia’s historical significance and the contributions of African Americans. Her team is also hoping to use district funds to blend digital tools with more field trips to local historical sites to support student learning.

 

Name: Katy Hill

Demographic data: Katy is a 20-year-old Midwest transplant and junior double-majoring in History and Environmental Studies, an homage to her Popop. She attends a small, private, liberal arts college in the Philly suburbs. She’s a self-described “anime geek” and lover of history and all things digital. 

She enjoys her part-time job in the local Black community near her college. Yet, she feels uncomfortable about the disconnect between what she learns about this area in her Environmental History class and what she observes during her visits. She wants to bridge this gap, yet she is mindful to navigate carefully as a transplant. 

Descriptive Title: Existential but caffeinated

Quote: “History is the environmental data of the past.”

Day in the Life: Katy is usually out of her dorm room by 7:15 am, gripping her reusable coffee mug, which she fills at the dining hall with a double-shot oat milk latte, and heads to her early morning classes, her preference so she can use her afternoons and evenings for her part-time job and research. Her classes are over by 2:00 pm, and she’s back at the dining hall for her favorite quinoa bowl, which she enjoys glued to her MacBook and phone, checking emails and Facetiming family and friends. By late afternoon, Katy’s in the college library doing homework and research until it closes at 10:00 pm. During the week, Katy spends most of her spare time visiting local historical societies, in her college’s dusty archives, and searching through databases. 

Katy’s goals: She is curious about this community’s formation, its geographical boundaries, how they have changed over time, and the history of its institutions and founding members. If this information were accessible through a digital project, all the better. She would even like the opportunity to help the community contribute to an existing project as an act of restorative justice.