Amy 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 of Parent to Parent 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 MoreTRANSCRIPTION OF THE EPISODE “CONSUMPTION AS ETHICS: TALKING WITH STUDENTS ABOUT FOOD”
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?
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 Jill Herman. Jill currently leads conference groups and advises students in the Principal’s Institute at Bank Street College and as a consultant to the New York City Department of Education. Among many other roles in her career, she…
Read MoreAmy H-L: [00:00:15] Hi. I’m Amy Halpern-Laff. Jon M: [00:00:16] And I’m Jon Moscow. Our guest today is Cynthia Trapanese. Cynthia teaches first grade at The New School of San Francisco. Cynthia was a board certified pediatric chaplain for 17 years before returning to school to become a credentialed elementary school classroom teacher eight years…
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Cynthia Trapanese, a teacher who spent 17 years as a pediatric chaplain, observes that we are all grieving right now, and that adults need to be aware of their own feelings of loss in order to help children and families effectively. During this period of isolation, children miss not only extended family, especially grandparents, but also their friends, classrooms, and the details of their school days. The impact of prolonged separation from school will be long-lasting. Cynthia is holding webinars for teachers and parents, and shares tips and resources with us.
Read MoreJon M: [00:00:15] Hi, I’m Jon Moscow. Amy H-L: [00:00:16] And I’m Amy Halpern-Laff. Our guest today is Diana MTK Autin. Diana is Executive Co-director of the SPAN Parent Advocacy Network. She’s also Co-director of the National Center on Leadership and Family Professional Partnerships and Executive Director of PLACE, the National Center for Parent Leadership Advocacy and…
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Diana MTK Autin, parent advocacy leader, describes how distance learning fails to meet the needs of many students and exacerbates inequities. She leads several organizations that help parents advocate effectively for their own families and also for systemic change. The pandemic’s impacts are likely to be felt by students for a long time, and unless students’ rights are defended, long-standing legal protections may be weakened with devastating effects.
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. Don Siler. Dr. Siler is assistant professor of education at the University of St Joseph in Hartford, where he’s taught since 2014. Welcome, Don. Don S: [00:00:32] Hey, how you doing? Jon M: [00:00:34] Good….
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Dr. Don Siler, a researcher and inservice teacher educator, himself a former high school dropout, discusses how art classrooms invite students to be themselves, to explore their lived experiences, and to work on projects that mean something to them. Student engagement in the art classroom can be leveraged across subject areas by incorporating both the arts and art-based pedagogy throughout the curriculum. Student outcomes improve when we broaden the ways in which students get information, process the information, and demonstrate their understanding of the information.
Read MoreJon M.: 00:15 I’m Jon Moscow. Amy H.: 00:17 And I’m Amy Halpern-Laff. Welcome to Ethical Schools. Our guest today is Jason Garcia. Jason is Assistant Vice President of Youth and Workforce Programs at SoBro, a multifaceted community development organization in the South Bronx. Jason designs and runs a range of out of school time programs for youth, including…
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Jason Garcia of SoBro, a South Bronx community-based organization, describes how after school staff members help young people deal with the effects of trauma. Staff members teach content, guide students through transitions, and help students build long term relationships. SoBro’s youth workers wear many hats — guidance counselor, social worker, referral source — filling in where schools and families lack resources.
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Lindsey Dixon, Director of Career Readiness at Urban Assembly, talks about helping students make more informed college and career decisions. The current model is restrictive and outdated, leading to suboptimal outcomes for the majority of students. Hands-on experiences and self-reflection programs can help young people better prepare for fulfilling careers and lives.
Read MoreJon M: 00:15 I’m Jon Moscow. Amy H-L: 00:16 And I’m Amy Halpern-Laff. Welcome to Ethical Schools. Jon M: 00:19 Our guest today is David Adams. David is the Director of Social Emotional Learning at the Urban Assembly. He previously served as the social emotional learning coordinator for District 75 in New York City, where he shaped the district’s approach to…
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David Adams is Director of Social Emotional Learning at NYC’s Urban Assembly, a network of schools that does not screen students. David focuses on the intersection of academic and technical skills, social-emotional competencies, and career development to create social/economic mobility. Students must have a relationship with the teacher or the content for optimal learning. Perspective-taking is central to ethical development. Schools have to “know their ‘why’” and be able to explain it in plain language.
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The Algebra Project founder and president–and lead organizer of the famous 1964 Mississippi Freedom Summer voting rights campaign–talks about math literacy as an organizing tool to guarantee quality public school education for all children. Bob Moses describes the Algebra Project’s strategies to connect math to students’ life experiences and everyday language. The interview is divided into two episodes.
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Maud Abeel, nationally-recognized education consultant, focuses on college and career readiness for middle and high school students, including “match and fit.” The earlier the students begin to think about postsecondary options, the better. There are myriad resources for students and their families, many of them free and online. Maud discusses cohorts, groups of high school classmates who enter college together and support one another, increasing their likelihood of success. She also talks about obstacles and dilemmas counselors face, including overwhelming caseloads.
Read MoreJon M: 00:15 I’m Jon Moscow. Amy H-L: 00:16 And I’m Amy Halpern-Laff. Welcome to Ethical Schools. Jon M: 00:19 Our guest today is Maud Abeel. Maud’s an educational consultant both in New York City and nationally, working across the continuum from zero to the postsecondary years. She’s especially focused on college and career readiness for middle and high school students….
Read MoreAmy H-L: 00:15 Hi, I’m Amy Halpern-Laff. Jon M: 00:17 And I’m Jon Moscow. Welcome to Ethical Schools. Amy H-L: 00:20 Our guest today is Dr. Yasmin Morales-Alexander. Yasmin is an assistant professor in the Early Childhood graduate program at Lehman College. She was the inaugural recipient of Teacher’s College’s Shirley Chisholm Dissertation Award, recognizing TC doctoral graduates who have advanced…
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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.”
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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.
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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 Framework represents the way forward.
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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 ed teacher and gives advice to new kindergarten teachers. Reflecting on Dewey’s Education and Experience, she talks about the ethical dimensions of teaching and the connections between the classroom and the larger society.
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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 what the United Federation of Teachers does and what it could do.
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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 they teach in.
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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…
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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…
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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 diverse families and communities.
Read MoreAmy H-L: 00:15 Hi, I’m Amy Halpern-Laff Jon M: 00:17 And I’m Jon Moscow. Welcome to Ethical Schools, where we discuss strategies for creating inclusive and equitable schools that help students to develop both commitment and capacity to build ethical institutions. Amy H-L: 00:29 Our guest today is Adjoa Jones de Almeida, Director of Education…
Read MoreWe 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.
Read MoreJon M: 00:15 Hi, I’m Jon Moscow. Amy H-L: 00:18 And I’m Amy Halpern-Laff. Welcome to Ethical Schools, where we discuss strategies for creating inclusive and equitable schools and youth programs that help students to develop commitment and capacity to build ethical institutions. Jon M: 00:33 Our guest today is Dr. Mark Santow. Dr. Santow…
Read MoreJon M: 00:15 Hi, I’m Jon Moscow. Amy H-L: 00:16 And I’m Amy Halpern-Laff. Welcome to Ethical Schools, where we discuss strategies for creating inclusive, and equitable schools and youth programs that help students to develop both commitment and capacity to develop ethical institutions. Jon M: 00:31 Our guest today is Lev Moscow. Lev teaches…
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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. Getting students to read more than a few sentences is perhaps today’s teachers’ greatest challenge and Lev explains his approach.
Read MoreJon M: 00:15 Hi, I’m Jon Moscow. Amy H-L: 00:17 And I’m Amy Halpern-Laff. Welcome to Ethical Schools where we discuss strategies for creating inclusive and equitable schools and youth programs that help students to develop a commitment and capacity to build ethical institutions. Jon M: 00:29 Our guest today is Kym Vanderbilt. Kym Vanderbilt is a full time lecturer and…
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Ethical Schools is an an initiative of Ethics In Education Network ®, which offers customized professional development programs for administrators, teachers, and youth workers who wish to prioritize ethics. Please contact us to schedule a free (no pressure) consultation and site visit.