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    • David Stovall

    David Stovall

    Associate Professor

    University of Illinois at Chicago

    Chicago, IL US

    “Think and create, and find a community of folks that you can think and create with.”

    Videos

    Videos

    By Roadtrip Nation

    David Stovall

    Highlight
    Now Playing
    01:04
    David Stovall HighlightInterview Highlight
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    04:55
    InterviewThe Interview
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    01:08
    Moment of ClarityWeb Exclusive
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    00:51
    Educational DeformWeb Exclusive
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    00:24
    Little ThingsWeb Exclusive
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    01:44
    A PhD For WhatWeb Exclusive
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    01:11
    ContentmentInterview Excerpt
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    01:27
    The InstitutionInterview Excerpt
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    01:42
    Driving ForceInterview Excerpt
    See More
    Milestones

    Milestones

    My road in life took a while to figure out.
    Says his driving force is, "What is that story that we don't talk about? What are the things that have gone missing?"
    In kindergarten, he got the "bogus" Columbus story, couldn't understand how he "discovered" a place where people already lived.
    Disinvested from school, thought it was feeding him lies; years later, a teacher told him he should work to prove the world's negative expectations of him wrong.
    Says all forthright change comes from people who have "found their conditions intolerable and are working to change those conditions."
    He knew he had to change the educational system's flaws from the inside.
    Uses his free time off from teaching to work in classrooms in Chicago; takes those experiences back to his college students.
    This allows him to speak confidently about what is going on in the communities he lectures about, rather than just "pontificating."
    Says working in spaces of poverty, hypersegregation can be frustrating and toxic for some, but he's learned to find happiness in the little things.
    Education

    Education

    highschool
    High School
    undergrad
    Bachelor
    History, General
    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
    graduate
    Graduate
    Education Policy Analysis
    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
    doctorate
    Doctorate
    Education Policy Analysis
    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
    Career

    Career

    Associate Professor

    I am a professor focusing on the influence of race in urban education, and community development.

    Career Roadmap

    Roadmap
    My work combines:
    My work combines:
    Education
    Education
    Politics
    Politics
    Teaching / Mentoring
    Teaching / Mentoring

    Day to Day

    As a professor of Educational Policy Studies and African-American Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago, I attend classes and prepare lectures twice a week. I spend the majority of my time volunteering and working within the communities I hope to influence in order to better tell their studies. I also write and do a lot of research.

    Skills & Qualities Beyond School

    Education is the process of thinking and making informed decisions and that doesn't always happen in school. You have to get out and experience the world, experience your community in order to effect change.

    Advice for Getting Started

    Here's the first step for everyone

    Appreciate the small things and always ask questions. Build community with the people who can answer those questions. Find a community of individuals that you can think and create with.

    Hurdles

    Hurdles

    The Noise I Shed

    From Myself:

    "All school is teaching me are lies."

    I disinvested from school because of this, I just felt like I couldn't trust the institution; years later, a teacher told me that I should work to change the educational system's flaws from the inside.