Stay Classy, Tallahassee
A toast to the love of learning
A hot take: I love school. I have always loved school.
I come by it honestly, from a heritage of educators most immediately (and notably) including my mother, who recently retired after an accomplished career teaching in gifted programs. In addition to literally teaching us how to be functioning humans, she instilled in my brother and me a worldly curiosity that extended seamlessly to the classroom.I have many happy memories of sitting in her own classroom after school, doing my homework while watching Bill Nye the Science Guy or documentaries about the rainforest.
Fast forward a number of years, in which I cemented my love of writing over other academic pursuits, realized that a 4.0 is critically overrated, and tackled multiple degrees in poetry. What I found most hypnotizing about poetry—and literature in general—was the ability to slip into someone else’s life for a moment and to learn about the things they’ve learned. It’s a never-ending chain of education that cultivates empathy and open-mindedness.
There’s a surprising overlap with my work as editor. This role reaches the essence of what education is to me: not a system of complicated curriculum and tests but meaningful exposure to new perspectives, ideas, and opportunities. I am honored to serve as a unique sort of educator for the Tallahassee community. While I do love school, I love learning even more, and hope you learn something new each time you open the magazine.
I’m proud to present our summer issue on education of all sorts. Naturally, we celebrate distinguished academic educators in our feature on page 54 but also plenty of counter-traditional channels for learning new things. Four student writers, for instance, visit the WVFS radio station on page 60, where volunteer DJs educate the airwaves with underground music from around the globe. Bill Price, an Air Force veteran known locally for his work colorizing vintage photos of Tallahassee, reminds us that there’s plenty to learn about even the streets we drive every day. I was most taken by the photo of four Florida State College for Women students enjoying a day at Camp Flastacowo in the 1920s, featured on page 23—100 years later, it’s not diffi cult to relate to the joyful connections they found and the beautiful world they’ve seen while pursuing knowledge.
Stay in school,
OLIVIA SOKOLOWSKI, EDITOR
osokolowski@tallahasseemagazine.com
PHOTO BY NATHAN SACZYNSKI
