We talk with Dr. Pedro Noguera about public school models that work for students, parents and teachers, and how to build a social movement for a progressive education agenda. He talks about the social dimensions to learning and the mismatch between students’ needs and teachers’ skills. He argues that an obstacle to making change in schools is that we deal with education as individuals rather than collectively. Pedro Noguera is a Distinguished Professor of Education at the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies and Faculty Director for the Center for the Transformation of Schools at UCLA. He is a critically acclaimed scholar, a dynamic speaker and a committed activist. His work focuses on a broad range of issues related to education, social justice and public policy. He is the author of several best-selling books and is a highly sought-after public speaker and international consultant.

References

Find more about Pedro Noguera on pedronoguera.com and transformschools.ucla.edu.

Overview

00:00-00:23 Intro

00:29-02:46 Changing hierarchical relationships in schools

02:47-05:16 Closing the gap between staff members’ knowledge and skills and students’ needs

05:17-07:11 Social dimension to learning

07:12-12:16 Building (and maintaining) capacity—mutual accountability as the key: Toronto; Humanitas HS, Los Angeles; Brockton HS, Brockton, MA

12:17-13:52 Accountability to parents—rooting parent-school partnerships in respect and empathy

13:53-15:53 Education as a civil and human right and a public good; organizing around education as a collective interest

15:54-23:15 Returning to organizing to build a mass movement for a progressive education agenda

23:16-end Outro

Transcription

Click here to see the full transcription of this episode.