Conversation started October 29

12:14pm
Broderick Cojeen:
Hey friend, I was wondering, if you don't find this too invasive, where you grew up and went to school? I can't
remember if we ever talked about this. For one of my education classes we have to have a dialogue with someone
from a different culture than ours, so I was wondering if your experiences differ radically from my own or not, if
youre interested in this at all please let me know, if not that's totally fine too, Hope all is well, I miss you lots,
thinking of maybe coming to Chicago sometime in the next few weeks and I'd love to see ya..
October 29
Uriel Nakar:
Yes, lets definitely hang out when you get here!
I grew up in Skokie , Illinois and went to Old Orchard Jr. High, Highland Elementary, and Niles North High School.
I grew up in a super diverse community with people speaking many different languages, dialects, and people of a lot
of diff ethnicities. I'd be glad to help you with your project
October 30
Broderick Cojeen:
The questions shouldn't take you too long, don't feel the need to write for days, just be honest with me! And
obviously if you don't feel comfortable answering something you have no need to answer it.
1. What are you/your family's ethnicity/religion? What generation American are you?
2. How has your ethnicity/religion shaped your identity?
3. Have you ever felt ostracized specifically due to your ethnicity/religion? If so how does this make you feel/How
do you react when this has happened?
4. At what age did you begin to realize that you were a homosexual? (I understand if you don't wanna answer this
one/ the next one. I'm sorry if it was worded inelegantly, i'm not trying to offend, just learn!)
5. When did you first feel comfortable being openly gay?
6. Have you ever felt ostracized due to your sexual orientation? If so how does this make you feel and how do you
react in these kinds of situations?
7. Has your cultural identity in any way influenced your desire to teach, and/or your love of music?
8. You said that you grew up in a diverse community, would you say that this was to the benefit or detriment to the
education system within your community?
9. How did growing up in this community affect your identity or How did it shape the way you view people/the
world?

10. What are your hopes moving forward, in regards to gay/lesbian/trans equality in America and abroad? Do you
feel optimistic that the world is moving in the right direction on this issue? ie. What would you like to see in your
lifetime in terms of progression?
11. When traveling abroad have you found that other places are broadly more or less accepting of differences in
religion/ethnicity/sexual orientation than in America?
12. Why do you think music education is important? It seems that there is a current trend of devaluing arts education
in America, what do you think would be the negative impacts if this trend was to continue?
13. Lastly, What was the reason you decided to go into education and what are your main goals in regards to your
teaching career?
October 30
Uriel Nakar:
I, Uriel Nakar, give permission for these responses to be used and reproduced.
1. My family is of Jewish ancestry. My mothers side of the family had been living in Iraq for generations; my
fathers in Eastern Europe. The two grew up in Israel after their parents immigrated there post-WWII. My parents
moved to Chicago from Israel, meaning I am a first generation American.
2. I feel that my ethnicity is something that is often asked about me. This used to embarrass me, but now I take a
certain sense of pride from it. Talking about my Judaism and mixed Israeli/Iraqi/Eastern European heritage with
others now feels more empowering and in a way liberating. Being Jewish, but especially Israeli, historically has a lot
of stigma attached to it. This is something I want to overcome for myself personally.
3. I have never been ostracized as far as I remember due to my ethnicity or religion. I have encountered a lot of antiSemitism in my life, however, and even more anti-Israel sentiment. These are two things that get me extremely riled
up to the point of dissolving friendships because of some people's opinions and viewpoints. I'm trying to keep calm
about things like this, but the huge amount of ignorance and misconceptions towards Jews and Israeli politics in
America can be infuriating.
4. I can't pinpoint an exact age when I realized I was gay--it's something that I feel I was born with. I would guess
that it was about the age of 10-12 that I could really put a word to what I was feeling towards people of the same
sex.
5. I only really became comfortable being openly gay about a year into college. Even though I came out when I was
fourteen, I still kept it from many people and would even deny it when asked by some. Even my freshman year of
college I was not comfortable coming out to the guys I shared a dorm with. Once I started going out more, making
gay friends, and becoming acquainted with the gay scene in Chicago that I became comfortable and open with
myself as a gay man.
6. There have been numerous times where I've felt ostracized due to my sexuality. I mostly felt this in middle and
high school, and especially in gym class but also throughout the school day. The thing is--when you're in the closet
and desperately trying to stay there, you feel like the world is against you. This might even lead to self-ostracizing.
The only thing I can really remember is gym class in high school. No one wants to pick the gay kid for their team, so
I was usually one of the last people to be called. I know this is a small thing, but it did make me feel horrible
knowing that I wasn't wanted by my peers.

7. I wouldn't say that my cultural identity had anything much to do with my desire to teach or my love for music. I
began learning instrumental music in fourth grade through my school's music program. My parents encouraged me
to take it up but only if I was serious and dedicated. I grew up in a lower middle class home and from a young age
understood not to ask for things, not to spend money, and took that burden on myself. This is something I have seen
with young kids who repeatedly asked "how much does it cost?" when asked if they want to start playing violin,
viola, cello, or bass. These kids did not end up joining orchestra. My parents and I made a deal--I could join
orchestra no matter the cost as long as I kept with it. Looking back, this was the best decision of my life.
Furthermore, my mother is a Hebrew teacher and so this might have lead me into a career in education, though I also
give credit to many of my former high school teachers who I admire to this day.
8. Growing up in a diverse community was extremely important in shaping the person I am now. I don't think I
could have flourished into the man I am today if I had grown up in a conservative community that is not supporting
of people like myself. Skokie is an extremely culturally diverse place, and we often discussed diversity in middle
and high school. This gave us all a worldly perspective throughout our education. I think this is beneficial especially
in today's world where people from around the world are more interconnected through technology.
9. Skokie, where I grew up, is a very ethnically diverse place. I was thus constantly surrounded by different cultural
and religious customs my entire life growing up. I was able to get to know so many different people whose families
had come to America from all over the world, and thus growing up there gave me a significantly worldly perspective
on life. When I got to college, I was dumbfounded by all the ignorance and bigotry I experienced from people who
grew up in typically all-white communities. This made me especially appreciative of the place I was raised and the
ideals in which growing up there instilled in me.
10. In my lifetime, I truly hope that gay marriage will be legalized throughout the United States. In a perfect world, I
would wish that globally--but that would not be realistic, especially in religious fundamentalist countries in places
throughout the Middle East and Africa. Every year, however, more and more U.S. states legalize same sex marriage-and I believe it is truly a matter of time before it is legalized on the federal level. I also feel that people are
becoming more accepting of homosexuality as a whole, and my dream for the future is that homophobia will be a
thing of the "dark ages"--something that high school students in the year 3000 will look back on and realize many of
us for what we are--ignorant, close-minded, and primal human beings.
11. I have only travelled abroad to Israel and there LGBT persons are far more accepted than they are here. Tel Aviv
has an annual pride parade that rivals that of Chicago and New York. There are countless gay bars, clubs, and
hangouts. The government is for the most part very supportive of LGBT rights as well. However, I have found that
racism is rampant in the country (especially towards Ethiopian immigrants and Arabs). Furthermore, many Israeli's
are intolerant towards Muslims and Christians alike.
12. Music should be a part of all children's education for many reasons. The main reason I find music education to
be vital is its expressive qualities. Music can affect people in so many ways--some songs on the radio make you
want to dance like a maniac, while a Chopin piano can bring someone to tears within seconds. Music has helped me
learn to cope with my emotions, giving me an outlet for feelings I might not have known how to express at a young
age. At the same time, studies have shown that students who participate in general or instrumental music classes
perform better in subjects like reading comprehension and mathematics. The reason music programs are being cut so
frequently from public schools is our nation's focus on high-stakes standardized testing. Music is not a core subject
for standardized tests, and thus it tends to be denied to students. Standardized testing does not and will never do
anything to improve students' academic proficiencies, and there are many serious issues with the state of education
as a whole today. Nonetheless, music and music education has survived in many shapes and forms throughout the
history of the human race, and I think that to withhold that opportunity from students is a terrible mistake.

13. I decided to begin a career in education because I have come to understand the vital role that teachers play in
bettering society. I consider myself a humanist and believe that bettering myself and my community will never be
something that "just happens"--I needed to take things into my own hands and try to instill good morals, values, and
ideas into each generation rather than sitting around watching the world around me turn sour. I found I had a knack
for teaching and tutoring early on, and more importantly I found that I enjoyed helping my peers growing up. I have
also been playing instrumental music since I was about eight years old, and sooner than later I realized that a career
in music education could for me. Throughout my undergraduate studies, clinical experience, and student teaching, I
am happy to say that music education is without a doubt my life calling.
There you go, Brody. I'm interested to see what you do with this. And thank you for the kind words, it means a lot to
me! Life is treating me well, I'm almost half way through my last student teaching placement and applying for jobs
all around the U.S. ! Missing you and hope you're doing well and that you can come and visit sometime.
November 1