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Conversation With Paul Coates

A leader in Baltimore communities since the 1970s, Paul Coates is an important figure in the world of publishing. His company Black Classic Press celebrated 40 years of operations last year, and is a “leading publisher and distributor of literature of literature by and about members of the black diaspora” (Baltimore Magazine). Mr. Coates is also the father of author Ta-Nehisi Coates, whose book “The Beautiful Struggle” the students have been reading.

Here’s what Olivia, one of our students, wrote about Mr. Coates’ visit:

“I thought the conversation with Paul Coates was very interesting. I liked that he took an interest in the students during introductions. Mr. Paul was a lot more relaxed than I thought he would be. I thought he would seem just a little bit more uptight. I liked hearing about his thoughts on the Black Panther Party. I got the idea that Mr. Paul wanted to be in the Black Panther Party even if he was sacrificing something of his own. I thought the idea of everyone being equal and wanting to bring everyone together was interesting and a good thought to have.

I also thought it was cool when Mr. Paul was talking about the importance of reading and the importance of the education at The Community School. I could see again that here at TCS you are getting an education worth something. Hearing Mr. Paul talk about Ta-Nehisi and Ta-Nehisi’s name was interesting. Hearing about Mr. Paul’s thoughts on Ta-Nehisi’s book was cool and interesting. Mr. Paul surprised me when he was talking about his take on parenting, but it made complete sense. I wouldn’t have thought that when he was raising Ta-Nehisi he was just going along with what was happening and doing what he thought was best in the moment. That one idea–of doing what you think is best in the moment–is really interesting, but smart.

It is so cool that we read a book and we got to meet one of the characters/people in the book. That is something that doesn’t normally happen. It’s like wishing you could sit down with a character from a book and get to talk with them, except getting to talk with the character really happened.”

Conversation With Joe Zito

Joe Zito, a professional in the copier/printing business, spoke with the students this Friday. Joe talked about how to be successful no matter where you come from.

Donald, a senior, wrote about how inspiring Joe was. “Mr. Joe is such an amazing person. He gave us a great conversation that I will remember forever. I am so glad we got that chance to meet and talk with a person as good as he is. When he asked me what I was thinking about achieving, I was thinking about having a family that loves and respects me as I would them, and a nice living area with a job that pays well. I feel like I have a mindset that is close to Mr. Joe’s because the things and topics he was talking about had an immediate impact on me. I really hope that we create a relationship with Mr. Joe so he can come around more.”

Conversation With David Gaudreau

Have you ever thought much about the spaces in which you learn and work? Architect David Gaudreau certainly has. David has helped design projects for many schools and colleges in the area, including Calvert Hall and Morgan State University. He spoke with the students about the process behind an architecture project and different types of architecture.

“This conversation brought a new possible career path that I want to look into. I like building and creating things so everything he described had my attention. I liked hearing the process of what goes into creating buildings. I also found it interesting how he described a solution to the pole matched up pretty close to what I was thinking of. Then finally I learned how curved drywall is laid down, that was really cool,” said 9th grader Jacob.

“I loved today’s conversation with Mr. David Gaudreau. He talked a ton about what he does as an architect, what he helped design and build, his family business, and taught us a thing or two on the Architecture field. What was also good was that we learned about his favorite designs and projects he worked on. We would love to see him come back soon and possibly help us build a recording studio in the future. He has definitely persuaded me to work in some part of the architectural field while in the engineering field as well,” Sean, a junior, said about the discussion.