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…
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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.
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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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, and how she tries to create a more welcoming and supportive environment for her students, staying in touch with them long after they become teachers themselves. To give us context, Kym gives us a fascinating overview of the complicated history of early childhood education.
Read MoreJon M: 00:15 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 build ethical institutions. Jon M: 00:29 Our guest today is Dr. David E. Kirkland, Executive…
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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 that regards culture as a critical component of learning. Multiple expressions of diversity, including race, ethnicity, gender, language, and sexual orientation, are regarded as assets to be recognized and cultivated.
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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.
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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…
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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. He talks about making Latin American and European classical music and Latin American folk music accessible to low-income young people of color, and the role of performing arts in transforming children’s lives and community building. We listen to excerpts of students playing Carabine by Julio Alberto Hernández and the Conservatory faculty (“La Camerata Washington Heights”) performing Migraciones by Servio R. Reyes.
Read MoreAmy H-L : 00:15 I’m Amy Halpern-Laff. Jon M: 00:15 And I’m Jon Moscow. This is the Ethical Schools podcast, where we discuss equitable and inclusive learning environments that help students to become capable of creating a more ethical world. Amy H-L : 00:27 There’s a new blog post up on ethicalschools.org. It’s by Shirley…
Read MoreJon M: 00:10 Hi, I’m Jon Moscow. This is Ethical Schools podcast, where we talk about how to create ethical and inclusive learning environments that support students in becoming capable of and committed to creating a more ethical world. Today we’re speaking with Jason Warwin. Jason Warwick is Associate Executive Director and Co-founder of the…
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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. Jason is a specialist in the design of transformative experiences and we talked about how the Bro/Sis model leads young people to ethical leadership and educational achievement, and makes them an essential part of a solid community that has been fighting oppression for almost 25 years.
Read MoreJon M: 00:15 Hi, I’m Jon Moscow. Amy H-L: 00:17 And I’m Amy Halpern-Laff. Welcome to the Ethical Schools podcast where we talk about how to create equitable and inclusive learning environments that support students in becoming capable of and committed to creating a more ethical world. Today we’re going to talk about an educational…
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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 the ongoing necessity for interdependence. We also discuss society’s failure to welcome and accommodate people with developmental disabilities.
Read MoreJon M : 00:15 I’m Jon Moscow. Amy H-L: 00:16 And I’m Amy Halpern-Laff. Welcome to our Ethical Schools podcast. We talk to all kinds of educational innovators who are creating what we call ethical classrooms and schools and we’ve been talking about how to develop relationships. Ethics is based on relationships, and within the…
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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.
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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.
Read MoreJon M: 00:14 Hi, I’m Jon Moscow. Amy H-L: 00:16 And I’m Amy Halpern-Laff. Welcome to the Ethical Schools podcast where we speak with educational innovators about creating ethical educational environments and instilling lifelong ethical habits. We often underestimate the power of the arts to support SEL and to create ethical communities. Jon M: 00:34…
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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…
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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.