Jon M: [00:00:15] Hi. I’m Jon Moscow. Amy H-L: [00:00:16] And I’m Amy Halpern-Laff. Welcome to Ethical Schools. Our guests today are Sarah Diem and Anjalé Welton. Dr. Diem is a professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Missouri. And Dr. Welton is a professor in the Department…
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We speak with Dr. Sarah Diem of University of Missouri and Dr. Anjalé Welton of University of Wisconsin, Madison. They discuss the seemingly neutral “colorevasive” policies that actually reinforce racial inequity. Drs. Diem and Welton present an action protocol for school and district leaders who seek to create antiracist schools.
Read MoreAmy H-L: [00:00:15] I’m Amy Halpern-Laff. Jon M: [00:00:16] And I’m Jon Moscow. Welcome to Ethical Schools. Our guest today is Dr. Sue Winton, Associate Professor, Faculty of Education at York University in Toronto, Ontario. Dr. Winton’s research focuses on the interplay between educational policy and the democratic commitment to equity and social justice. Today,…
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We speak with Dr. Sue Winton of York University in Toronto about the effects of private money–much of it from parents- that replaces decreased public funding of schools. Fundraisers and fees for special programs benefit affluent schools and the children who already have the most access to opportunities. Low income parents often feel pressure to donate beyond their means for their children’s sake.
Read MoreAmy H-L: [00:00:15] I’m Amy Halpern-Laff. Jon M: [00:00:16] And I’m Jon Moscow. Our guest today is Grace Alli Brandstein. Ms. Brandstein is a school improvement and instructional coach for the New York City Department of Education and supports high schools in the Bronx. Prior to her work as a coach, she was a high…
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We speak with Grace Alli Brandstein, an improvement and instructional coach with the New York City Department of Education. Ms. Brandstein works with Bronx high schools that the State has designated as needing support. This is part one of a two part interview. Today, we discuss challenges teachers and students at these schools face, and their everyday achievements. Ms. Brandstein talks about the impacts, both positive and negative, of being rated as needing improvement, especially the pressure it puts administrators, teachers, and students. Next week, Ms. Brandstein talks about abolitionist education.
Read MoreAmy H-L: [00:00:15] I’m Amy Halpern-Laff. Jon M: [00:00:16] And I’m Jon Moscow. Welcome to Ethical Schools. Our guests today are English teacher, Jillian McRae, history teacher, Sam North, and 12th grader, Alaysha, all from Ossining High School in Westchester County, New York. Jillian and Sam co-teach a year long college level course, SUNY Racism,…
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We speak with Jillian McRae and Sam North, English and history teachers at Ossining (NY) High School, and their student, Alaysha. For 15 years, Sam and Jillian have co-taught a college-level course called “racism, sexism, and classism: a popular approach.” They focus on pervasive systems of power, and encourage students to discuss their own experiences of privilege, disadvantage, and intersectionality.
Read MoreJon M: [00:00:15] Hi. I’m Jon Moscow. Amy H-L: [00:00:16] And I ‘m Amy Halpern-Laff. Welcome to Ethical Schools. Our guest today is Michele Washington, a lecturer in the department of early childhood childhood education at Lehman College, City University of New York. Ms. Washington has deep experience in the field of early childhood, including…
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We speak with Michele Washington, longtime early childhood lecturer at Lehman College, about expertise at the preschool level. Head Start, pre-K, and 3-K teachers can support children and families in myriad ways once parents or guardians trust them. Cultural humility is essential; teachers need to understand and respect their children’s families and communities.
Read MoreJon M: [00:00:15] I’m Jon Moscow. Amy H-L: [00:00:16] And I’m Amy Halpern-Laff. Welcome to Ethical Schools. Our guest today is Dan Callahan, Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education in the Peekskill City School District in Westchester, New York. Welcome, Dan! Dan C: [00:00:32] Thank you for having me. It’s a real pleasure for me to…
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We speak with Dan Callahan, Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education in Peekskill City School District, 45 minutes north of Manhattan. The low-income district in wealthy Westchester is 70% Latino, including many students from immigrant families. We discuss how the district has adapted to rapid demographic changes and schools’ role in helping students meet challenges. Mr. Callahan reflects on the decisions he and his staff make that impact students’ lives in very concrete ways, and the tension between consistency, applying the same rules for all students, and specificity, looking at the totality of circumstances in each individual case.
Read MoreAmy H-L: [00:00:15] I’m Amy Halpern-Laff. Jon M: [00:00:16] And I’m Jon Moscow. Welcome to Ethical Schools. Martin Luther King Day week seems an especially good time to get an update on the campaign for equity at Beacon, an elite, screened public high school in Manhattan. As listeners may remember, last June we interviewed students…
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We speak with Beacon PTA members Toni Smith-Thompson and Robin Broshi about NYC’s new requirements and the school’s proposed admission plan. Then we listen back to last June’s interview with activist students from the Beacon Union of Unions.
Read MoreAmy H-L: [00:00:15] I’m Amy Halpern-Laff. Jon M: [00:00:16] And I’m Jon Moscow. Welcome to Ethical Schools. Our guest today is Dr. LaToya Baldwin Clark, assistant professor at UCLA School of Law, where she writes about race, parenting, and educational stratification. Dr. Baldwin Clark earned a BS in economics from the Wharton School, an MA…
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We speak with Dr. LaToya Baldwin Clark, assistant professor at UCLA School of Law. Dr. Baldwin Clark explains how school boundaries are used for racial exclusion. In many cases, schools don’t just reflect, but cause, segregated neighborhoods. Dr. Baldwin Clark argues that closing the education gap isn’t just about bringing up the bottom, but bringing down the…
Read MoreJon M: [00:00:15] Hi, I’m Jon Moscow. Amy H-L: [00:00:16] And I’m Amy Halpern-Laff. Welcome to Ethical Schools. Our guest today is Dr. Judith King-Calnek of the United Nations International School. Dr. King-Calnek has been at UNIS since 1994 as a teacher of anthropology, theory of knowledge, and history; head of the humanities department; president…
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We speak with Dr. Judith King-Calnek, United Nations International School’s first Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Since UNIS faculty and students come from all over the world, they draw on one another’s backgrounds and lived experience in presenting and analyzing social issues. Faculty, parents, alumni, and, especially, students are involved in new DEI initiatives. Students are actually writing curriculum, providing feedback, and delivering DEI modules to…
Read MoreJon M: [00:00:15] Hi. I’m Jon Moscow. Amy H-L: [00:00:16] And I’m Amy Halpern-Laff. Welcome to ethical schools. Our guests today are 8th grade social studies teacher Debbie Holecko, literary arts teacher Claudia Bestor, both at North Olmlstead Middle School, and their former student, now 10th grader, Rafel Alshakergi. North Olmsted is a suburb about…
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We speak with middle school teachers, Debbie Holecko and Claudia Bestor, and their former student, Rafel Alshakergi, about a student-led research project that led to ethical civic engagement. Rafel explains how the experience emboldened her to ask questions and “speak [her] mind.” The project, which got national attention, cut against Ohio’s high-stakes test orientation; many teachers are afraid to do project-based learning because Ohio doesn’t have tenure and bases 40% of teacher evaluation on student test scores. The teachers discuss how to meet standards through project-based learning. This interview is just a joy to listen to!
Read MoreAmy H-L: [00:00:15] I’m Amy Halpern-Laff. Jon M: [00:00:16] And I’m Jon Moscow. Welcome to Ethical Schools. This is the first of a two part interview. We’ll post the second part next week. Our guest is Dr. Edwin Mayorga, Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Studies and the Program in Latin American and Latino…
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We speak with Swarthmore’s Dr. Edwin Mayorga, who explains how abolitionist classrooms and schools create “freedom as a place” in contrast to racial capitalism. Teachers are the lead inquirers and try to “move at the speed of trust,” helping to create classrooms full of joy. Edwin describes Philadelphia’s Kensington Health Sciences Academy as a school where teaching and learning are based on establishing relationships of mutual respect.
Read MoreAmy H-L: [00:00:15] I’m Amy Halpern-Laff. Jon M: [00:00:16] And I’m Jon Moscow. Welcome to Ethical Schools. Our guest today is Dr. Cristiana Best, assistant professor in the Department of Social Work and Equitable Community Practice at University of St. Joseph in West Hartford, Connecticut. Prior to becoming a full-time academic, Dr. Best spent 30…
Read MoreJon M: [00:00:15] Hi. I’m Jon Moscow. Amy H-L: [00:00:16] Welcome to Ethical Schools. Our guest today is Dr. Randy Capps, Director of Research for US programs at the Migration Policy Institute. Dr. Capps has published widely on immigration and integration at the state and local levels, and studied the impact of the detention and…
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Dr. Randy Capps, Director of Research for U.S. Programs at the Migration Policy Institute, surveyed Latinx high school students to see how fear of deportation – of their parents, relatives, friends, or themselves – impacts their mental health. The students, roughly half foreign-born and half US-born, suffered anxiety, depression, and PTSD at significantly higher rates than other students their age. Strong bonds immigrant students formed with one another were a source of mutual support. Students who engaged in public policy activism showed improved mental health.
Read MoreJon M: [00:00:15] Hi. I’m Jon Moscow. Amy H-L: [00:00:17] And I’m Amy Halpern-Laff. Welcome to Ethical Schools. Our guest today is Dr. Kim Butler, Associate Professor of History and Africana Studies and Director of the Certificate Program in Africana Studies at Rutgers University. A former president of the Association for the Study of the…
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Dr. Kim Butler, who leads Rutgers’s Africana Studies program, says that while we usually teach history and social studies in discreet, testable units, events are complex and interconnected. Slavery throughout the Americas was central to the development of capitalism. Dr. Butler describes how working class students often can’t choose a liberal arts education because they have to focus on getting jobs.
Read MoreTRANSCRIPTION OF THE EPISODE WITH LEV MOSCOW “TEACHING ECONOMICS AS POLITICAL AND ETHICAL CHOICES”
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We welcome back Lev Moscow of the Beacon School to discuss his approach to teaching political economy, which actually applies to any social science. It’s not primarily about the numbers but about the human choices behind them. How do we determine who gets paid what and who gets to spend 80,000 hours in a lifetime engaged in meaningful work? Also, how our mantra of continuous economic growth will end life as we know it.
Read MoreAmy H-L: [00:00:15] Hi, I’m Amy Halpern-Laff. Jon M: [00:00:16] And I’m Jon Moscow. Welcome to Ethical Schools. Our guest today is Dr. Emily Penner, assistant professor in the School of Education at the University of California at Irvine. Welcome, Emily! Emily P: [00:00:28] Thanks so much for having me. Amy H-L: [00:00:30] You and…
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We speak with Dr. Emily Penner, who studied the impacts of two programs in which students delved into their respective races, ethnicities, and communities. San Francisco’s was designed for academically-struggling students of a range of ethnicities. Oakland’s was designed for young Black men across academic achievement levels, as part of the district’s “targeted universalism” approach. The results, in both cases, were dramatic.
Read MoreAmy H-L: [00:00:15] Hi. I’m Amy Halpern-Laff. Jon M: [00:00:16] And I’m Jon Moscow. Welcome to Ethical Schools. Our guest today is Ellen McHugh. Ellen is regional program manager and regional coordinator for Parent to Parent of New York State. She’s also co-chair of the Citywide Council on Special Education. She’s the parent of a…
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Ellen McHugh, long time activist and Public Advocate Williams’s appointee to the NYC Citywide Council on Special Education, delves into the challenges facing parents of students with special education needs. Ethical relationships among educators, parents, and the students themselves are crucial to these students’ success. Too often educators minimize the importance of parental input even though the law requires that they be equal partners in their children’s educational planning. Remote and hybrid learning has added new obstacles to and opportunities for partnerships between parents and educators.
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We welcome back Monica Chen of Factory Farming Awareness Coalition. She describes the animal-agricultural complex that exploits workers in meatpacking plants and animals in factory farms and devastates communities and the environment. Monica introduces FFAC’s culturally-competent virtual lessons and presentations for students from middle school through university, customized for all subject areas. Students who want to become social justice activists, with food as the hub that connects worker rights, sustainability, and environmental racism can apply to FFAC’s intern program.
Read MoreAmy H-L: [00:00:15] Hi, I’m Amy Halpern-Laff. Jon M: [00:00:16] And I’m Jon Moscow. Welcome to Ethical Schools. Amy H-L: [00:00:19] Our guest today is Monica Chen, executive director of Factory Farming Awareness Coalition, a nonprofit that educates individuals and organizations on the impacts of our food system. A veteran teacher, Monica has worked with…
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We speak with Monica Chen, veteran teacher and executive director of Factory Farming Awareness Coalition. Monica tells us how cow’s milk became a staple in school lunches even though most children of color do not have the ability to digest lactose, the main carbohydrate in dairy products. She explains how checkoff programs like Got milk? mislead the American public into thinking these are healthy foods for human children.
Read MoreAmy H-L: [00:00:15] Hi, I’m Amy Halpern-Laff. Jon M: [00:00:16] And I’m Jon Moscow. Welcome to Ethical Schools. Amy H-L: [00:00:19] Our guest today is Monica Chen, executive director of Factory Farming Awareness Coalition, a nonprofit that educates individuals and organizations on the impacts of our food system. A veteran teacher, Monica has worked with students in elementary,…
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Dr. Alan Singer, Dr. Pablo Muriel, and Gates Millennium Scholar Dennis Belen-Morales, three generations of teachers, describe how they center student activism in their project-based social studies and history classes while giving students the tools to pass the NYS Regents exams. Dr. Singer was Dr. Muriel’s professor in college, and Dr. Muriel was Mr. Belen-Morales’ high school teacher and college professor in turn. Now all three are at Hofstra University. Part 2 of a two-part series that contains lots of specific strategies for teachers and passion for civics education.
Read MoreAmy H-L: [00:00:15] I’m Amy Halpern-Laff. Jon M: [00:00:18] And I’m Jon Moscow. Welcome to Ethical Schools. Our guests today are Nia Morgan and Anahi Ortiz Fierros. Nia is Interim Organizing Coordinator of the Urban Youth Collaborative, UYC, a youth- led coalition of New York based organizations fighting for educational justice and police-free schools. Nia…
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Nia Morgan and Anahi Ortiz Fierros of Urban Youth Collaborative describe how police and metal detectors humiliate and traumatize students. The story of the “fork in the backpack” illustrates the system’s absurdity. And while NYC school arrests are down overall, Black and Latinx students are arrested at much higher rates than white students. NYS legislature considers Solutions Not Suspensions Act. Campaigns for police-free schools are taking place around the country.
Read MoreAmy H-L: [00:00:15] I’m Amy Halpern-Laff. Jon M: [00:00:16] And I’m Jon Moscow. Welcome to Ethical Schools. Our guest today is Toni Smith-Thompson. Toni is a Senior Organizer in the advocacy department of the New York Civil Lberties Union, NYCLU. She focuses on campaigns to strengthen public education, including campaigns to reduce school suspensions and…
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Toni Smith-Thompson, Senior Organizer at NY Civil Liberties Union, discusses the importance of replacing police presence in schools with restorative practices. Toni envisions ethical schools, in which all students feel both appreciated by and accountable to school communities, and conflicts are resolved internally. Students returning to school, many of whom will have experienced trauma associated with the pandemic and police violence, will need nurturing, not punitive measures.
Read MoreAmy H-L: [00:00:15] Hi, I’m Amy Halpern-Laff. Jon M: [00:00:17] And I’m Jon Moscow. Welcome to Ethical Schools. Our guest today is Dr. Michelle Fine. Michelle is Distinguished Professor of Critical Psychology, Women’s Studies, American Studies and Urban Education at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York () CUNY.) Welcome, Michelle. Michelle…
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Dr. Michelle Fine speaks about better alternatives to standardized tests for students to demonstrate college-readiness. NYC’s Consortium Schools, which use Performance Based Assessment Tasks, collaborated with CUNY to open CUNY’s 4-year colleges to more low-income Black and Latinx applicants. Students, especially Black males, did better at college than test score-admitted peers. Dr. Fine gives a passionate call for democratic school cultures based on student initiated work and collaborative revision.
Read MoreAmy H-L: [00:00:01] Hi, I’m Amy Halpern-Laff Jon M: [00:00:02] And I’m Jon Moscow. Welcome to Ethical Schools. In light of COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter protests, we’ll listen to the conversation I had with Jason Warwin, Co-founder and Associate Executive Director of The Brotherhood/ Sister Sol, Bro/Sis, a Harlem-based organization that provides comprehensive…
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In light of the pandemic, which has disproportionately impacted BIPOC, and BLM uprisings, we’re revisiting Jon’s interview with Jason Warwin of The Brotherhood/Sister Sol. COVID-19 has devastated Bro/Sis’s community of Black and Brown youth and their families. And despite the pandemic, Bro/Sis staff and members are joining protests to demand systemic change. We’ll check in with Jason and then listen to the interview from last June.
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Richard Miller, who taught in progressive NYC secondary schools for 28 years, talks about teaching students to think like historians, weighing different sources and drawing their conclusions from evidence. The past gives context to the present, and understanding historiography, or how history is interpreted over time, equips students to view current issues from multiple perspectives.
Read MoreAmy H-L: [00:00:00] Hi. I’m Amy Halpern-Laff. Jon M: [00:00:16] And I’m Jon Moscow. Our guest today is Richard Miller. Richard retired after 28 years of teaching history in New York City middle and high school grades, including at Central Park East Secondary School, CPESS, and Beacon High School. Welcome, Richard. Richard M: [00:00:31] Thanks…
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Jill Herman, founding principal of East Side Community H.S, now at Bank Street College, raises essential questions: To whom should a principal be accountable? How can social emotional learning and academics be integrated? What do we mean by an ethical school?
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