Cathy Bi was born in Beijing, China. She attended high school in New Jersey, and recently graduated from Boston College with a degree in Philosophy. She is interested ethics, education, and the arts. Previously, Cathy interned and volunteered at various nonprofit organizations including the United Nations and the Interfaith Food Pantry Network. In her spare time, Cathy enjoys spending time in the gym, cooking with friends, and hanging out at the dog park.
I am a first-year MA student in the philosophy and education program. I graduated this year from St. Lawrence University in upstate New York, with degrees in philosophy and psychology. I found there are many common grounds shared by psychology and philosophy, where philosophy could give broader theoretical guidance in the practical psychological framework. I am especially interested in early childhood education and its following personality development, which I believe could give me a further understanding of epistemological and ontological questions.
Kayla Tanenbaum graduated Columbia University in 2014 with a B.A. in English and Sarah Lawrence College in 2019 with an M.F.A. in Creative Nonfiction. For the past three years, she been teaching literature and composition to undergraduates in New York City. Her work as an educator inspired her to approach pedagogy philosophically at Teachers College. Kayla is most interested in the relationship between education and dignity and plans to explore how educating for beauty can serve as both a tool for liberation and as a bulwark against the alienation imposed on students by contemporary capitalist values.
Heidi Vernejoul graduated from Binghamton University and Sorbonne Université with a degree in Political Science and French. For over two decades she has been a college and high-school educator as well as a curriculum writer creating projects in health education and storytelling which are used worldwide. Most recently she has been consulting and designing curriculum for the Sex Education Initiative of Teachers College, Columbia University. She is delighted to return to TC to complete her degree after a long hiatus. Her current academic interest is in developing multidisciplinary, high- school curricula which foster the development of purpose and identity through philosophical inquiry.
Preparing to Teach: Reflections on Discomfort and the Power of the Erotic for Self-Actualization
M.A. Thesis Title
Looking Multiculturally: Multiculturalism as a Decolonial Framework
M.A. Thesis Title
Education as Discernment: A Reconciliation of Practical and Called Thinking in a Technologically Enveloped Future
M.A. Thesis Title
Whither Theory: Education at the Encounter Between Dewey and The Frankfurt School
Current Position
Doctoral Student in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at Georgetown University
M.A. Thesis Title
Derrida’s Influence on Debates about the Teaching of Philosophy
M.A. Thesis Title
The Contemporary Relevance of Dewey’s Creative Democracy
Current Position
English and Philosophy teacher at the Columbia Secondary School
Current Position
Academics Manager and Intern Coordinator at the NYC-based non-profit Project Rousseau.
M.A. Thesis Title
Education for Addressing the Ecological and Climate Crisis: Developing a Care for the Earth through Aesthetic Experiences
Current Position
History teacher at St. Luke's School in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
M.A. Thesis Title
Educating for an Imagined Future: The American Hope of Balancing Individualism and Collectivism in the Classroom and Beyond
M.A. Thesis Title
The Meaning of Intelligence
M.A. Thesis Title
Becoming Educated: An Analysis of the Qualities Behind an Educated Being and the Prerequisites to Education
M.A. Thesis Title
Videogame Education and Philosophy: How Can We Cultivate Genuine Video Gaming Experiences even in Violent Videogames?
Current Position
Manager of communications and social media at Teach First, an education nonprofit.
M.A. Thesis Title
On becoming a civically engaged student: how John Dewey and Maxine Greene conceive of civic engagement through an aesthetic philosophy
Current Position
Assistant Director of Student Wellness at Columbia University
Current Position
Serves vulnerable and underserved communities. He works for the New York Public Library, as an assistant for Early literacy workshops, as well as for computer literacy programs for seniors. He also tutors Math and reading skills to special needs children in an UES community center.
M.A. Thesis Title
Art and Women's Empowerment: The Tools for Democratic Sustainability
Current Position
Pursuing further graduate studies in Great Britain.
Current Position
Scholastic with the Society of Jesus (also known as the Jesuits).
Ed.M. 2021
Staysi earned her Bachelor of Arts from Georgetown University, with a major in Philosophy and minors in Theology and Women’s and Gender Studies. She is now in the Master of Education in Philosophy and Education program and is interested in addressing the role of trauma, gender-based and racial violence, and cultural conflicts through the lens of social and restorative justice theories within the scope of education.
Current Position
College Counselor in the Harlem community
Current Position
Master of Education student in Learning Design, Innovation, and Technology at Harvard University.
M.A. Thesis Title
Emancipation Education: Considerations of How to Free the Black American Students unto a Lifetime of Self-Actualization
Current Position
Graduate student in the mental health counseling program at Hunter College
M.A. Thesis Title
Slippin' and Fallin’: Honoring the Intelligence of Feelings and Emotions
Current Position
Ph.D. student in Theory, Organization, & Policy in Education at Rutgers University
M.A. Thesis Title
Amos Bronson Alcott (1799-1888): Precursor to Philosophy for Children
Current Position
Ph.D. student in the Philosophy Department at Northwestern University
M.A. Thesis Title
What Questions Do: “Pedagogical Interrogatives” within Group Inquiry
Current Position
Assistant Director of Experiential Education at Columbia University and currently working towards a second master’s degree in Higher and Postsecondary education at Teachers College
M.A. Thesis Title
Rousseau in Twilight: Conjuring Noetic Pedagogy from the Periphery
Current Position
Master's Student at St. John's College, Annapolis, Maryland.
Current Position
Ph.D. candidate at the University of Cologne
M.A. Thesis Title
A Degrowth Solution Informed by Anarchist Education
Current Position
Coach at Equinox and Guest Coach at Wellness In The Schools (WITS) Family Fitness Fun Nights Program
M.A. Thesis Title
Recovering the Meaning of Fitness as a Practice of Self-Care
M.A. Thesis Title
Educating the Philosophical Imagination
Current Position
Senior Director of Operations & Business Development at Health Impact
M.A. Thesis Title
Education at the End of the World: Three Educational Paradigms in the Anthropocene
M.A. Thesis Title
The Civic Education of Advantaged Students
Current Position
Transitional Kindergarten Teacher at The Children's Workshop Oakland
M.A. Thesis Title
Code Switching for Comfort: A Qualified Endorsement of Code Switching in Reality Pedagogy
M.A. Thesis Title
Examining the Authenticity of the Argumentative Understanding of the Toulmin Model: A Proposal to Subject Warrants, Backings, and Their Truth Values to Questioning
M.A. Thesis Title
An Ethical Education: How a Teacher Flourishes Through Teaching
M.A. Thesis Title
Interpretation and Guidance: A hermeneutical approach to Dewey's views on curriculum
M.A. Thesis Title
An Artistic Discussion With Dewey and Plato
M.A. Thesis Title
The Attributes and Dynamics of Mentoring
M.A. Thesis Title
Transforming Social Marginalization and Hierarchies through Art
M.A. Thesis Title
Unasked Questions: Using W.E.B. Du Bois to Consider Race, Self and the Soul in Education
M.A. Thesis Title
A Common Core Without Substance: K-12 Schooling in the United States and the Problematic Aim of “College and Career Readiness”
Current Occupation
J.D./Ph.D. Student at The Pennsylvania State University Penn State Dickinson School of Law, Penn State Law Department of Education Policy Studies, Higher Education Program
M.A. Thesis Title
Education Not for Sale: A Stoic and Socratic Defense of Flourishing and Self-Care
Current Occupation
Implementation Consultant for Odysseyware
M.A. Thesis Title
Education and “The Real World”: Challenges for the Student as an Individual.
Current Occupation
Primary Unit Support Teacher at The Logan School for Creative Learning
M.A. Thesis Title
Phonic Philosophy: A Podcast of Philosophy of Education
Current Occupation
Vice Principal for the Upper School of Cahaya Bangsa Classical School
M.A. Thesis Title
From Competition to Communion: An Interpretation of Martin Buber’s Dialogical Philosophy and Its Implications in the Field of Philosophy of Education
Current Position
Responsible for academic readiness at a start-up company that deals with broad topics about Chinese students studying overseas.
M.A. Thesis Title
A Brief Analysis of the Concept of 'Good Teaching
Current Position
Ph.D. student in Education Studies at the University of British Columbia, Digital Marketing and Communications Specialist for Riverdale School District
M.A. Thesis Title
Education as Protest: Locating Resistance in a Marxist Theory of Education
M.A. Thesis Title
Rousseau on Happiness: A Reading of Emile
Current Occupation
Interim Executive Director of Raise Your Hand Texas
M.A. Thesis Title
Can Elite Private Schools Serve a Public Purpose?: Understanding capacity through discourse analysis of public purpose programming
Current Position
STEM Teacher at the Waterfront Montessori in Jersey City
Ed.M. Thesis Title
Community and Autonomy in a Montessori Setting
Current Position
Counselor for the Door's high school equivalency program
M.A. Thesis Title
Emerson's Conception of Self-Cultivation
Current Position
Philosophy Instructor, Fayetteville Technical Community College
M.A. Thesis Title
Epistemological - Political implications of Community-Based Education
Current Occupation
Philosophy instructor at Mercer County Community College
M.A. Thesis Title
A Case for Identity Ideals in Education: Refining Teaching Practice Towards Truthfulness and Goodness
Current Occupation
Web Developer & Education Technologist
M.A. Thesis Title
The Language of Love in Education: What It Is, Why It Scares Us, and How It Can Redeem Us
M.A. Thesis Title
The Ethical Engine of Education: The Productive Dialectic of Nobility and Humility
Current Occupation
Nicole Imhof received her MA in Philosophy and Education in 2012. Since graduating from the program, she has worked in the non-profit field engaging special needs children and adolescents in community-based youth programming. She also taught in the Ethics and Philosophy Department at Molloy College. Nicole completed a second graduate degree in Social Work in 2015.
M.A. Thesis Title
(Re)imagining Source(s) of Knowledge: Towards a Feminist Pedagogy in Education
Current Position
Clinical Law Professor and Director of the Pipeline to Justice pre-law program at the City University of New York School of Law.
M.A. Thesis Title
The Role of Pragmatism in Legal Education
Current Position
Teaches philosophy courses online for Ashford University and Southern New Hampshire University.
M.A. Thesis Title
The ‘Problem’ of Quiet Students: Helping Students to Speak (and Listen) in a Community of Inquiry
Current Position
Intervention Specialist Teacher in Literacy for the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District, Somerset County, New Jersey
M.A. Thesis Title
Aesthetics and Healing: Affects and Interplay on Mind, Body, Soul, and Spirit
Current Occupation
Stay at Home Mom
Current Position
Middle School English Language Arts Teacher in Oakland, California.
M.A. Thesis Title
The Capability Approach Applied: Education, Equality and Human Flourishing
Current Occupation
Advanced Doctoral Candidate and Graduate Teaching Associate at the University of South Florida; and an Adjunct Instructor at the University of Tampa
M.A. Thesis
The Dialogical Philosophy of Charles Taylor
Current Position
High School Teacher of English literature, writing, and film studies in the Chicago Public School system
M.A. Thesis Title
The Role of Self-Love in Teaching
Current Position
Worked in private, charter, and public high schools in the US as a Teacher, Academic Dean, Curriculum Designer, and Teacher Coach
M.A. Thesis Title
Rousseau’s amour propre and amour de soi Applied to the Issue of Teacher Remuneration
Current Occupation
Social Studies Teacher at Memorial Middle School for the South Portland School District in South Portland, Maine.
M.A. Thesis Title
A Philosophical Analysis of The Lives of Others
Eun Yong Kim graduated with a Ed.M. in Philosophy and Education in 2007. Her thesis, entitled "The Cosmopolitan Experience of Bilingual Speaker of Korean and English," reflects Eun Yong's interest in the relationship between philosophy and bilingual / bicultural education. Eun Yong is currently preparing to enter a doctoral program where she will continue to explore the issue of language identity and its educational implications.
Current Position
Marketing Communications Manager at Cleary Gottlieb
M.A. Thesis Title
Vigilant Humanism and the Practice of Literary Criticism