June 15, 2026
By Aleta Margolis, Founder and President
Listen to the Hooray For Monday podcast for Aleta’s in-depth conversation with author and advocate for children and teachers, Jonathan Kozol. They discuss his latest book, We Shall Not Bow Down, and the many ways to support teachers in helping their students thrive.
Most of you will know Jonathan’s work, and will appreciate learning about his recently released, and final, book We Shall Not Bow Down. And if by chance, you don’t know about his work, I’m even happier to know that you’re listening today. One of Jonathan Kozol’s earliest and perhaps best-known books is Savage Inequalities. It was published in 1991, and it describes what Jonathan refers to as “the disparate agenda” between the school experience for students in affluent schools that serve primarily white children and poor schools that serve primarily Black and brown children.
In the early 1990s, Savage Inequalities was an eye opening and sorely needed book. In the mid-1990s when I was a professor at American University in the School of Education, I made Savage Inequalities a required text for my students. As far as I know, it was the first time education students at AU were required to read that book. And it changed the way students saw their role as future teachers.
So, it is such an honor to be able to speak with Jonathan about We Shall Not Bow Down, which vividly demonstrates the ways in which our schools are still not serving our country’s most vulnerable children.
This book is equal parts painful and hopeful, because Jonathan doesn’t just describe the problem, he also shows us how great teachers are the solution. It contains vivid examples of teachers engaging in, well, Inspired Teaching.
It’s not about teachers as heroes. It’s about teachers as well supported, creative professionals who are committed to building strong relationships with their students and making sure their students thrive. It’s also about the needed changes in the system in which teachers teach and children learn—and how we can push for those changes.
My conversation with Jonathan inspired me. I hope it does the same for you.
Hooray For Monday is an award-winning weekly publication of Center for Inspired Teaching, a social change nonprofit organization that champions the power of curiosity and is dedicated to transforming the school experience from compliance-based to engagement-based. Inspired Teaching provides transformative, improvisation-based professional learning for teachers that is 100% engaging – intellectually, emotionally, and physically.
