Jon Moscow

Parent-school relationships in early childhood programs: family engagement is driven by families

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Yasmin Morales-Alexander of Lehman College dispels the myth that Latinx parents don’t engage in their children’s education. Genuine parent-school engagement is based on schools’ recognition of families’ cultural values and traditions. “Family engagement is a cultural practice.” *Overview and transcript below. Photo by OC Gonzalez Overview 00:00-00:49 Intro 00:52-06:51 Mexican immigrant parents’ engagement with their…

NYC schools: still separate and unequal

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Student activists Coco Rhum and Hebh Jamal describe what real integration of NYC schools would look like and how to achieve it. Bringing sharp analysis and insight from their experiences as leaders in IntegrateNYC and Teens Take Charge, they were interviewed by Lev Moscow on our sister podcast, acorrectionpodcast.com. *Overview and transcript below. Image: Integrate NYC Facebook…

Multicultural Education: Challenges and Aspirations

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We speak with New York State Regent Luis O. Reyes on the evolution of multilingual education in New York, beginning with the ASPIRA Consent Decree that in 1974 established bilingual education as an entitlement for Puerto Rican and other Latinx students. NY is gradually transitioning to bicultural and bi-literate education. The Regents’ Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education…

Emotionally Responsive Education: “inviting and containing”

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Margaret Blachly of Bank Street’s Center for Emotionally Responsive Practice describes how to fit materials, curriculum, and relationships together to create an emotionally safe classroom. Emphasizing the importance of a deep understanding of child development, she tells how important it is to know each child’s “story.” Margaret shares what she’s learned as a dual-language and…

Special education: how students and their teachers are shortchanged

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Jia Lee, NYC special education teacher and union activist, talks about the unfairness of the Fair Funding Formula, the school-to-prison pipeline, and the tendency of schools to re-traumatize vulnerable students. She also highlights the contrast between NYC Chancellor Carranza’s call for more culturally responsive classrooms and the City’s newly-mandated MAP tests, and the gap between…

Ed schools as allies to new teachers of color

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Dr. Harriet (“Niki”) Fayne of Lehman College School of Education describes strategies to support new teachers and “second stage” teacher-leaders. She discusses ways to attract teacher candidates, reduce early-years attrition, and help teachers grow while staying in the classroom. Lehman builds ethics into leadership training and maintains long-term relationships with its graduates and the schools…

José Jiménez on gender diversity and sexual identity in elementary schools

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We speak with José Luis Jiménez, principal of A.C.E. Academy for Scholars, PS 290, in Queens. A queer educator of color, he came out to his students during Pride Month in 2017. If a community is truly welcoming to all, he thought, “you don’t “check a part of yourself at the door.” José encourages his…

Ujju Aggarwal on school choice, whiteness as property, and the “right to exclude”

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We speak with Dr. Ujju Aggarwal, Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Experiential Learning at the New School’s Schools of Public Engagement. Dr. Aggarwal explains how neoliberalism, with its emphasis on individual choice, includes a “right to exclude” and perpetuates discriminatory school admissions, not only to some charter schools but also to district schools and programs, describing in particular the experiences of parents in Manhattan’s District…

Adjoa Jones de Almeida of the Brooklyn Museum on art as experience

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We speak with Adjoa Jones de Almeida, Director of Education at the Brooklyn Museum. We discuss the significance of “art as experience.” Ms. Jones de Almeida describes art’s transformational power to educate and empower students of all ages, both personally and politically. The Museum partners with teachers across the academic spectrum and works to include…

Mark Santow on Suing Rhode Island for Educational Equal Protection

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We speak with Dr. Mark Santow, Chair of the Department of History at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. Dr. Santow and his middle school son, along with 12 other plaintiffs, are suing the state of Rhode Island in federal court under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution for failing to provide civics curricula and other components of an adequate education to some Rhode Island students. The suit is especially notable because most education equity cases are brought in state courts. We discuss the racial, socioeconomic, and political underpinnings of educational inequality.

Lev Moscow offers advice for secondary school teachers

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We interview Lev Moscow who, for the last 14 years, has taught history and economics at The Beacon School in New York City. Lev reflects that advisory, done well, can serve as a venue for students to explore questions of ethics, purpose and happiness. He talks about balancing the history curriculum to include non-European perspectives….

Kym Vanderbilt on ethical early childhood teacher preparation

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We interview Kym Vanderbilt, Lecturer and Professional Development Liaison in the Early Childhood/Childhood Department at CUNY/Lehman College. Kym describes her students’ concerns about meeting the needs of teacher assistants and parents as well as children. She talks about the test-heavy teacher certification process, which is both intimidating and expensive for aspiring teachers of limited means,…

David Kirkland on New York’s State’s Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education Framework

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We speak with Dr. David E. Kirkland, Executive Director of NYU’s Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools. A leading voice in culturally responsive and sustaining education, the Metro Center helped write New York State Education Department’s new Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education Framework. The Framework is founded on a view of education…

Soledad Hiciano on nurturing and educating immigrant children in an age of deportation and deprivation

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We speak with Soledad Hiciano, executive director of Community Association of Progressive Dominicans (ACDP), a multi-service community organization in Upper Manhattan and the Bronx. She describes the challenges of supporting children who may have experienced multiple traumas, including homelessness and the deportation of close relatives. Photo by Bruce Warrington

Silvia Canales on Relationship-Based College Counseling

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We speak with Silvia Canales, who coordinates the college advisory program at Brotherhood/Sister Sol, an organization that provides comprehensive and holistic support services to underserved youth. Silvia talks about fully integrating college counseling into a program environment in which adults know young people well and students engage in systematic self-reflection. Find more about Silvia and…

Adán Vásquez on The Washington Heights Community Conservatory of Fine Arts: “I could be the one playing the cello!”

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We talk with Adán Vásquez, executive and artistic director of the Association of Dominican Classical Artists and the Washington Heights Community Conservatory of Fine Arts, a unique free classical and folk music education program for the youth of Upper Manhattan. Adán Vásquez, a harpist, is an educator, an acclaimed classical musician, and a community activist….

Jason Warwin on The Brotherhood/Sister Sol: building strong Black and Latinx youth leaders for social change

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Jason Warwin is the Co-Founder and Associate Executive Director of The Brotherhood/Sister Sol, an organization that provides comprehensive, holistic and long-term support services to youth who range in age from eight to twenty-two. Located in Harlem (NYC), Bro/Sis also has programs dedicated to developing Black and Latinx youth in Africa, Latin America and The Caribbean….

Mark Gordon on the Friends and Relationships Course: teaching and learning from people with intellectual disabilities about sexuality, interdependence, and inclusion

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We talk with Mark Gordon, founder of the Friends and Relationships Course, a program in New Mexico that provides classes for adults with intellectual disabilities who want to learn how to form intimate and other relationships. He talks about what he’s learned over 15 years of teaching sexuality classes, learning along with his son about…

Deborah Meier on Public Education and Democracy: What makes an ethical school

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We talk with MacArthur “genius” award winner Deborah Meier, a founder of the small schools movement, about what makes a good school. She talks about how to build and maintain trust and mutual respect among students, teachers, and families.

Eva Lopez on Act4Change: applying Theatre of the Oppressed to building social justice in The Bronx

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We talk with Eva Lopez about Act4Change, a Theatre of the Oppressed project in the Bronx. Eva Lopez uses theater techniques to invite children and youth to envision liberation and to empower them to resist oppression. Audiences become spect-actors to examine root causes of bullying, domestic violence and other personal/societal crises.

NY Opens the Door to SEL

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In August, the New York State Education Department published Social Emotional Learning: Essential for Learning, Essential for Life, a detailed document calling for all NYS schools to incorporate social emotional learning into their daily instructional practice with fidelity and district-wide support. The linked Social Emotional Learning Benchmarks, however, are voluntary, and the authors point to…

Jon Moscow

Parent-school relationships in early childhood programs: family engagement is driven by families

NYC schools: still separate and unequal

Multicultural Education: Challenges and Aspirations

Emotionally Responsive Education: “inviting and containing”

Special education: how students and their teachers are shortchanged

Ed schools as allies to new teachers of color

José Jiménez on gender diversity and sexual identity in elementary schools

Ujju Aggarwal on school choice, whiteness as property, and the “right to exclude”

Adjoa Jones de Almeida of the Brooklyn Museum on art as experience

Mark Santow on Suing Rhode Island for Educational Equal Protection

Lev Moscow offers advice for secondary school teachers

Kym Vanderbilt on ethical early childhood teacher preparation

David Kirkland on New York’s State’s Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education Framework

Soledad Hiciano on nurturing and educating immigrant children in an age of deportation and deprivation

Silvia Canales on Relationship-Based College Counseling

Adán Vásquez on The Washington Heights Community Conservatory of Fine Arts: “I could be the one playing the cello!”

Jason Warwin on The Brotherhood/Sister Sol: building strong Black and Latinx youth leaders for social change

Mark Gordon on the Friends and Relationships Course: teaching and learning from people with intellectual disabilities about sexuality, interdependence, and inclusion

Deborah Meier on Public Education and Democracy: What makes an ethical school

Eva Lopez on Act4Change: applying Theatre of the Oppressed to building social justice in The Bronx

NY Opens the Door to SEL

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