Unarmored: Journey From The Frontline To The Classroom | Jackie Spinner | TEDxColumbiaCollegeChicago

A former war correspondent turned journalism professor reflects on her journey from reporting in the Middle East to teaching in a college classroom. Jackie Spinner candidly shares how her early, rigid teaching style—shaped by battlefield urgency—softened with motherhood and the adoption of her three neurodiverse sons. Once armored by necessity, she now embraces vulnerability as a path to deeper student connections and more effective learning. Her talk reveals how personal transformation can mirror professional evolution and how shedding the armor she once wore on the frontline has made her a stronger, more human educator—and journalist. Jackie Spinner is a professor of journalism at Columbia College Chicago and faculty advisor to the Columbia Chronicle. She was a staff writer for The Washington Post for 14 years and covered the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. She is the editor of Gateway Journalism Review and directed and produced two documentary films, Don’t Forget Me and Morocco, Morocco, which aired on PBS in Chicago in 2022. In Chicago, where she lives with her three Moroccan-born sons, Professor Spinner volunteers in the refugee and veteran communities. She also is an advocate for individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities, a passion she credits to her autistic son This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

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