About Mr. Cecil

Mr. Cecil grew up in the San Fernando Valley, but later moved east to attend Wesleyan University, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a double major in Film Studies and Philosophy. He then moved to New York City, where he earned his Master of Arts in Teaching with a concentration in History through the Bard College MAT Program.

Mr. Cecil returned to Los Angeles to work alongside the legendary Ray Linn, his mentor and former teacher at the Cleveland Humanities Magnet. Since 2016, Mr. Cecil has found his home at the Grant College Prep and Digital Arts Magnet where he teaches and designs curriculum for social studies, film studies, and philosophy courses. He is also the founding teacher of the school’s AP Capstone diploma program.

What Mr. Cecil is currently reading and watching:

• • The Path: What Chinese Philosophers Can Teach Us About the Good Life by Michael Puett and Christine Gross-Loh
  • You Look Like a Thing and I Love You: How Artificial Intelligence Works and How Its Making the World a Weirder Place by Janelle Shane
  • The Joy of Sweat: The Strange Science of Perspiration by Sarah Everts
  • Classic Hollywood film noirs and recent films by Kore-eda Hirokazu

Additional book recommendations:

• • The Movie Musical! by Jeanine Basinger
  • Hello World: Being Human in the Age of Algorithms by Hannah Fry
  • Theses Truths: A History of the United States by Jill Lepore
  • Liquid Rules by Mark Miodownik
  • The Truth About Animals by Lucy Cooke