[00:00:15] Jon M: Hi. I’m Jon Moscow. [00:00:16] Amy H-L: And I’m Amy Halpern-Laff. Welcome to Ethical Schools. Today we’ll continue our conversation with Dr. Garrett Broad, Associate Professor in the Department of Communication and Media Studies at Fordham University. If you haven’t yet listened to Part One, you might want to do so now….
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We continue our conversation with Dr. Garrett Broad of Fordham University, talking about high school and college students’ experiences working with non-profits and about what students know/should learn about food and food justice. Students often join non-profits with unrealistic expectations. There are tensions between keeping the organization afloat and pursuing radical change.There are no silver bullets; entrenched problems have complex solutions.
Read More[00:00:15] Jon M: Hi. I’m Jon Moscow. Welcome to Ethical Schools. My cohost, Amy Halpern-Laff, will be back next week. My guests today are Marsha Ellison and Evelyn Frankford. Dr. Ellison is an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and director of communications at the Transitions to Adulthood Center for…
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We speak with Dr. Marsha Ellison and Evelyn Frankford about assisting students with serious mental health challenges make transitions from high school. These students often don’t receive the supports they want and need, especially finding work or navigating college disability accommodations. Long-term relationships with a knowledgeable adult and positive youth development strategies can make a difference—but require commitments of time and money.
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We speak with Keith Catone, executive director of CYCLE, the Center for Youth & Community Leadership in Education at Roger Williams University. CYCLE helps students, those who are most affected by school policies, to destabilize systemic power hierarchies, and encourages teachers to adopt an “organizing disposition.” Through trainings and ongoing support, CYCLE helps community youth organizations to build capacity, alliances, and power to achieve equity-based change.
Read More[00:00:15] Jon M: Hi. I’m Jon Moscow. [00:00:16] Amy H-L: And I’m Amy Halpern-Laff. Welcome to Ethical Schools. Our guest today is Dr. Keith Catone, Executive Director of the Center for Youth and Community Leadership in Education or CYCLE at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island. Keith is the author of The Pedagogy of Teacher…
Read MoreAmy H-L: [00:00:15] Hi, I’m Amy Halpern-Laff. Jon M.: [00:00:15] And I’m Jon Moscow. Welcome to Ethical Schools. Bob Moses, hero of the Civil Rights Movement, and champion of math literacy died this week. We are reposting our interview with him, from February 2020. Amy H-L: [00:00:33] During the civil rights movement, Bob Moses was…
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Bob Moses died this week. In memoriam, we repost our interview with him from February 2020. The Algebra Project founder and president–and lead organizer of the famous 1964 Mississippi Freedom Summer voting rights campaign–talked about math literacy as an organizing tool to guarantee quality public school education for all children. He described the Algebra Project’s strategies to connect math to students’ life experiences and everyday language.
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In our guest episode of Lev Moscow’s podcast, A Correction, Professor Walter Mignolo of Duke discusses decoloniality, a radically different way of thinking and teaching which rejects the “naturalness” of racial capitalism and its development. Lev and Dr. Mignolo discuss what this can look like in high school and college classrooms.
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 Derek Black. Professor Black is a professor of law at the University of South Carolina School of Law. The focus of his current scholarship is the intersection of constitutional law and public education, particularly…
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We speak with University of South Carolina law professor Derek Black about the history of education as a core government service and the current wave of voucher laws in red states. Professor Black argues that these will permanently reduce education funding levels and threaten the very existence of public schools. We also talk about the #RedforEd resistance and the need to substantially increase funding for schools with many low-income students.
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 a Anisa Heming and Corey Metzger. Anisa Heming is the Director of the Center for Green Schools of the US Green Building Council (USGBC). Corey Metzger is the Lead of the Epidemic Task Force…
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We speak with Anisa Heming and Corey Metzger of the U.S. Green Building Council and ASHRAE about a new report on schools’ efforts around the country to protect against COVID-19 by improving indoor air quality. Like so much else about schools, air quality comes down to resources, in this case, for infrastructure and maintenance. Also, there has been no central source of reliable information for district administrators. While COVID-19 has drawn our attention to air circulation and ventilation, there are other reasons to be concerned about air quality. Not only are there other airborne pathogens, but studies show that learning improves with better indoor air quality.
Read MoreAmy H-L: [00:00:15] I’m Amy Halpern-Laff. Jon M: [00:00:16] And I’m Jon Moscow. Our guests today are Dr. Daman Harris and Dr. Inger Swimpson of the Building Our Network of Diversity, BOND, Project in Montgomery County, Maryland. Dr. Harris is co-founder and co-leader of the BOND project. He is an elementary school principal and teaches…
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We speak with Dr. Daman Harris and Dr. Inger Swimpson of Building Our Network of Diversity, the BOND Project, in Montgomery County MD, which provides spaces for Black and Latino men to support one another in their teaching and their lives. Although having Black teachers benefits Black and white children alike, U.S. schools have few Black teachers, and even fewer Black men. BOND works to make schools better places for boys of color, making it more likely that they’ll go into teaching, and better for Black men, so they’ll be more likely to stay in teaching. Networks and partnerships, especially with HBCUs, are crucial.
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We speak with Dr. Sam Abrams of the National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education (NCSPE) at Teachers College, Columbia University. Dr. Abrams describes his analyses of statistics released by local and national education systems and widely disseminated by the media. Sometimes the reports are wrong or misleading, which can have serious consequences…
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 Marianna Azar, Director and Chair of the Institutional Review Boards, or IRBs, of the New York City Department of Education. This is Part One of a two-part interview. Today we’ll be talking about…
Read MoreAmy H-L: [00:00:15] I’m Amy Halpern-Laff. Jon M: [00:00:17] And I’m Jon Moscow. Welcome to Ethical Schools. We’re pleased to have Zoe Weil back on the podcast. Zoe is co-founder and president of the Institute for Humane Education, IHE. We also have Laura Trongard, who teaches AP world history and AP United States government and…
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We welcome back Zoe Weil, of the Institute for Humane Education, along with Laura Trongard, Oceanside (NY) High School teacher to discuss how teachers are implementing IHE’s Solutionary program. Laura describes how students adopt habits of solutionary thinking in their schoolwork and their lives. Zoe talks about IHE’s new micro-credential program, an online course that prepares teachers to use the solutionary framework. The new edition of Zoe’s book, “The World Becomes What We Teach,” with new content on pandemics and racial tensions, will be released in June.
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We talk with Marianna Azar, Director and Chair of the NYC DOE’s Institutional Review Boards. The IRBs review all research proposals conducted through the schools to make sure they are conducted ethically and that the benefits to the students outweigh any burdens. In Part 1 of a 2-part interview, Ms. Azar describes how the IRBs work and their impact on researchers, schools, students and parents. Next week we’ll continue exploring the ethical issues that confront IRBs, including issues raised by Big Data.
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 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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