Introducing Flamable Takes
No, not Flammable... Flamable! A monthly newsletter from a current educator.
Dear prospective readers,
I am assuming as of right now, this newsletter is not going to a single person with intention because I do not have a family member, friend, colleague, or acquaintance who has any familiarity with Substack!
Thus, whether I have met you or (likely) not, welcome to my newsletter! My name is Jack Lama; I was born and raised in a large suburb in the heart of Los Angeles; I graduated from UCLA in 2021 and enjoyed it so much that I graduated again from UCLA in 2023. I started teaching history in the Los Angeles area in Fall of 2022 and just completed my second year of teaching! My friends and family have always known me to be an opinionated individual; so much so that I was voted “Most Opinionated” my senior year of high school in our school yearbook.
Many of you might be asking “Why would a teacher as busy as yourself start a newsletter to begin with?” This is a great question, as work-life balance is a daily struggle with my job. Well, my main reason for pursuing the creation of this newsletter is because I have always been invested in topics that have to do with education, politics, and history. Discussions around these topics have led to many informative, as well as many unproductive conversations over the years. Thus, my hope with this newsletter is to share my own opinions on various events going on across history, politics, and education which can lead to a forum of respectful, critical, and insightful conversations that lead to a diverse array of opinions.
I would like to clarify that (as of now), I am not a journalist nor do I aspire for journalism to be my future occupation. However, I have always had a deep respect for the power of writing and the ability of one to captivate the curiosity of a reader through a simple op-ed, brief, or newsletter.
It would be a privilege to build my own art of writing and be able to share that with you all from the great conversations that will arise from these writings. Although I am young and do not consider myself a veteran writer by any means, I do believe that I have some informative things to say on the topics of politics and history, but most importantly the topic of education.
Taking into consideration my primary role as a teacher, I intend on sending out a monthly newsletter that has to do with education most of the time while occasionally venturing into politics and history in no specific pattern. My focus with this newsletter will always be quality over quantity in terms of content. I aspire for every newsletter to be current, relevant, and welcome to a wide-range of responses even if those responses might vary from my own opinions on a given topic.
Lastly, a brief explanation on the title of the newsletter, “Flamable Takes”. As mentioned previously, I have always been one who has been more opinionated than others, and oftentimes those opinions have gotten me into some fiery arguments with those who have disagreed with me over the years. It goes without saying that education, history, and politics are extremely sensitive topics with deeply embedded beliefs for most. However, I believe it is essential to speak on these topics as they are so crucial to the general welfare of our society.
Therefore, I vow to be sincere on my opinions ranging in these topics, even if these opinions come off as controversial towards your own personal beliefs which are always welcome in the comments. And finally yes, I know the correct way to spell the word is “Flammable” but I needed to find a clever way to fit my last name, Lama (pronounced like the animal), into a phrase so that is just the way it is. There you go, that is my first controversial take… never was a fan of English class anyways.