Dear VIPs / Paid Subscribers,
Today is my first day of summer vacation, which means three things:
You get my profound appreciation and gratitude
You get a cute photo of my dog
You get an invitation to a series of gatherings coming up in July
1️⃣ Let’s begin with the profound appreciation and gratitude. Article Club is coming up on nine years (birthday this Thursday!), and even though I tend to be a consistent type of guy in general, there’s no way I could have kept up this publication schedule week after week (after week) without your support.
Thank you.
2️⃣ I’m not sure when the first pet photo appeared in the newsletter. (Editor’s note: Issue #29, February 2016, here’s Indie, Marni’s dog.) There have been hundreds over the years, to the delight of most (but not all!) readers. (I still remember one email I received: “More articles, fewer pets,” it read.)
From time to time, my dog (and this newsletter’s mascot) Arlo makes an appearance. Like now, as part of my thanks. Here’s a photo of him, slightly maniacal from joy.
3️⃣ Next month, I warmly invite you to a series of gatherings to discuss Southlake, the six-part podcast about how a mostly-white community in a Texas suburb failed to respond to the harm that white students caused when they chanted the N-word in a video after a homecoming dance in 2018. It’s very well done.
If you’re an educator, a parent, or if you care about issues of race and gender identity in schools, I encourage you to participate.
We’ll meet on Zoom three Sundays in July, discussing two episodes each, like this:
Sunday, July 14, 2:00 - 3:30 pm PT: Episodes 1-2
Sunday, July 21, 2:00 - 3:30 pm PT: Episodes 3-4
Sunday, July 28, 2:00 - 3:30 pm PT: Episodes 5-6
In addition to talking about the podcast, we’ll also build relationships and support one another to make a difference on an issue in our own school communities. After all, what happened in Southlake is happening all over our country, in various ways.
I’m very excited to bring this to you alongside fellow educators and long-time Article Clubbers Telannia Norfar and Abby Benedetto. They’re wonderful.
And one last perk: Reporter Mike Hixenbaugh will be doing an interview.
⭐️ Are you interested, or at least intrigued? Here are two things to do:
Type “I’m in!” in the comments below (even if you’re a maybe).
I’ll email you with more details.Come to an optional info session on Sunday, July 7, 2:00 - 2:45 pm PT.
You’ll meet me, Telannia, and Abby, plus get a sense of what we’re hoping to do. That way, you can decide whether you want to do this.
All right, that’s it for now. Thank you again for all your support. I’m looking forward to sharing Issue #450 with you all this Thursday.
Wishing you a great week,
Mark