Human Restoration Project

*This podcast contains content regarding suicide and child abuse.In this podcast we are joined by R.L. Stollar, a Child Liberation Theologian and child and survivor advocate. Stollar is the author of the upcoming book, The Kingdom of Children, which reports on the issues and concerns of the evangelical homeschooling movement. Stollar, who was himself homeschooled, is an advocate of homeschooling who is calling attention to the issues that many face in the system, connecting the concept to faith — which is often juxtaposed with the practice of homeschooling. His work in Child Liberation Theology, which you’ll hear about shortly, centers the idea of young people being leaders in their faith-based decisions.This is an interesting topic, because it blends ideas that aren’t commonplace in progressive education. Although I am personally not religious, there are fascinating connections between a faith-based education, self-directed learning, critical pedagogy, and more that we’ll explore in this podcast.As a side note, this podcast also features Thomas White. Thomas is our prior development director who accepted a new position after this podcast aired. Essentially, Thomas did his job so well with us that he accepted a full-time position doing development work, leading to a conflict of interest with his current part-time role. We’re sorry to see him go! Thomas is writing a book on Classical Christian Education, which has a lot of overlap with the upcoming conversation.We introduce R.L. Stollar as a Dr....but in fact he has not earned a doctorate (yet!)GUESTSR.L. Stollar, Child Liberation Theologian and child and survivor advocate and author of the upcoming book Kingdom of ChildrenThomas White, former HRP development director and author of upcoming book on Classical Christian EducationRESOURCES R.L. Stollar's Website Overview of Child Liberation Theology

This podcast is our first of what we’re calling the “spotlight” series. Every so often, we’ll reaching out to schools who are doing intriguing progressive practices that could inspire and influence others to do the same. Each has a twist on how their school is operated, and we’re bringing in students and teachers to talk about it. They’re not all perfect, and they’d all acknowledge there are things they’d change; but there’s so much to learn from these schools as we reimagine education in our communities.We are joined by students and faculty from Assumption College, a Catholic co-ed 7-12 secondary school located in Kilmore, Victoria, Australia, featuring 1,200 students, some of whom board on campus. Assumption is doing a lot of fascinating work that would interest people interested in progressive education and reform measures. In the last few years, they’ve transferred to the “MyMAP” program, which stands for Mastery, Autonomy, and Purpose. Instead of assigning students to traditional classes, students have the option between many different classes that are then mapped to traditional graduation needs. This means that students that have an interest in the arts will have a drastically different curriculum than say, engineering.To learn more, we’re talking today with Kate Fogarty, the principal; Vaughan Cleary, the Deputy Principal; Kendall Aglinskas, Professional Practices Coordinator and Learning Leader; and Bel Luscott and Billy Carlin, both year 11 students. All of these folks have been at Assumption before and after their self-directed curriculum began.SCHOOLAssumption College, a Catholic co-ed 7-12 secondary school located in Kilmore, Victoria, AustraliaRESOURCES MyMAP Overview MyMAP Learning Program (YouTube) Assumption College Website

Today we are joined by Dr. Joanne Golann. Dr. Golann is an Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Education and an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Vanderbilt University, and focuses on how culture shapes educational policy and practice. Her recently released book, Scripting the Moves: Culture & Control in a "No-Excuses" Charter School, follows Joanne over 18 months as she observes a “high-performing” charter school, documenting the various regimented structures, student and parent perspectives, what the teachers do...and more - which we’ll begin to talk about in this interview.GUESTSDr. Joanne Golann, Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Education and an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Vanderbilt UniversityRESOURCES Scripting the Moves: Culture & Control in a "No-Excuses" Charter School by Joanne Golann Empty Pedagogy, Behaviorism, and the Rejection of Equity by Chris McNutt Teach Like a Champion Playlist Uncommon Schools Playlist

Our guest today is Keenan Crow. Keenan Crow is the Director of Policy and Advocacy for One Iowa, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to advance, empower, and improve the lives of LGBTQ Iowans through education, advocacy, and collaboration. Keenan has been active in Iowa politics since 2010 when they interned with Chris Hall’s campaign for Iowa State Representative. Since then, they have been involved with several nonprofit organizations including Planned Parenthood of the Heartland and Cedar Valley Citizens for Undoing Racism. They were also involved in One Iowa’s campus group at the University of Northern Iowa, where they obtained a BA in Political Communications and a Master’s in Public Policy. The campus at UNI is also where I met Keenan, now well over a decade ago.In this episode, we talk to Keenan about their work at One Iowa Action - and how listeners can get involved in supporting similar groups around the country - current challenges that LGBTQ youth are facing, from book banning to bathroom bills, and what allyship looks like, especially for teachers, in 2022. How can we make our schools and classrooms safe and welcoming places for LGBTQ students?GUESTSKeenan Crow, Director of Policy and Advocacy for One Iowa and champion for LGBTQ civil rightsRESOURCES OneIowa @OneIowa (Twitter) @KF_Crow (Twitter)

Joshua Seigal is a highly acclaimed, award-winning professional poet, performer and educator. Joshua uses poetry to develop literacy skills and inspire confidence and ​creativity in communication. He has worked in hundreds of schools, libraries, theatres and festivals around the world, had books published by Bloomsbury and other major publishers, and has written and performed for BBC television. Joshua Seigal has recently been awarded the 2020 Laugh out Loud Book Award for “I Bet I Can Make You Laugh”, and shortlisted for the 2021 Peoples Book Prize for “Yapping Away”. In this episode, I talk to Joshua about his journey from academia to poetry as well as his own experiences attending British schools and the perspective he has on them now as an adult, and of course we get a bit of a poetry reading near the end. I should add that I recorded this at home with a very busy 3.5 year old, who you may hear throughout the episode. Thank you Joshua, for being very gracious during a chaotic recording on my end!GUESTSJoshua Seigal, award-winning poet, performer, and educatorRESOURCES Joshua Seigal's website @JoshuaSeigal (Twitter)

A conversation around student loan debt has been happening at the margins of American political life for nearly a generation. By 2012, total student loan debt in the United States surpassed one trillion dollars, with the only relief coming from a pause on interest and federal debt collection that began with the pandemic in March 2020. Today, a majority of Americans, nearly 60% of polled voters, support some kind of forgiveness on the nation’s now 1.7 trillion dollar student loan debt, and borrowers have benefited from the pause on payments, recently extended to May 2022. That’s over two years without a single required payment…and seemingly without a single negative economic consequence. A recent study from the Student Debt Crisis Center also found that nearly 90% of borrowers are not financially secure enough to resume payments.Is it time to pause these payments indefinitely? Is it past time for mass student loan debt forgiveness? While most of the conversations we have at HRP happen at the intersection of the theory and classroom practice of education, today I am joined by Thomas Gokey, Eleni Shirmer, and Jason Wozniak, as they talk to us about their organization, Debt Collective, make the moral, economic, and pedagogical case for debt cancellation, and let listeners know how to join their grassroots movement. GUESTSThomas Gokey, organizer and co-founder of Debt Collective, visual artist, adjunct professor at Syracuse University, and activistEleni Shirmer, researcher at the Future of Finance Initiative at UCLA's Luskin Institute on Inequality and Democracy, and organizer with Debt CollectiveJason Wozniak, assistant professor at Teacher's College, Columbia University, and author of the upcoming book, The Mis-Education of the Indebted StudentRESOURCES @StrikeDebt (Twitter) Debtcollective.org

Today we are joined by Dr. Nick Stock. Dr. Stock, a former English teacher, now serves as a researcher for the University of Birmingham. He has published various essays which focus on critiquing education by using philosophy typically seen outside of traditional pedagogy, such as Evangelion, Schools and Futures; Education after the end of the world. How can education be considered a hyperobject?; and Paradise Shall Remain Lost. Readdressing Deschooling through a Miltonian Lens.Specifically, we invited Dr. Stock on to talk about his recently published work, The Weird, Eerie, Exit Pedagogy of Mark Fisher, which dives into the work of Fisher, who wrote Capitalist Realism, and connects it to pedagogy, something that it isn’t typically associated with.This podcast covers: "Exit Pedagogy", connecting Mark Fisher's capitalist theories (and to an extent, Baudrillard's theories) to education "Hauntology" and reimagining a world without capitalism Critiques of liberatory and critical pedagogy and their connection to capitalism What it means to apply exit pedagogy to the classroomGUESTSDr. Nick Stock, former English teacher and current researcher at the University of Birmingham, who focuses on an ironist perspective to education through postmodern, poststructural ideas.RESOURCES The weird, eerie, exit pedagogy of Mark Fisher by Dr. Nick Stock Capitalist Realism by Mark Fisher Unpacking "Neoliberal" Schooling, Part 3: Progressive Education: Enter the Matrix by Chris McNutt

Long time listeners may recognize the title to this podcast: Re:Teaching. Last year, Nick released a series of short podcasts on a separate channel, focused on current events and short-form highlights of writing. We soon realized that by splitting our podcast into two segments, most folks didn't hear any of this series! Enjoy, and there will be even more new Re:Teaching episodes on the way.This episode is a feature read of Why What Works Won't Work and Why What Works May Hurt by Nick Covington, published in March 2020. Learn more about Human Restoration Project and find a wealth of free resources to create human-centered classrooms at humanrestorationproject.org, and follow us on social media, @HumResPro.

It's our 100th podcast episode! In celebration, Nick and Chris discuss the ongoing pursuits of Human Restoration Project.And we discuss: Our accomplishments over the years. Our favorite events, writings, and podcasts. Our major upcoming initiatives, which you'll want to stick around for! Questions from our listeners. And finally....host a trivia session on science fiction.

In this podcast, Nick and I are continuing our foray into random topics of progressive education! Today's episode centers cognitive science, research movements, and "studies of the brain." Within, we'll be talking about what's currently going on at HRP, articles and books that Nick and I have been reading recently, what's going on in our classrooms, Q&A from listeners via Twitter, and then a pop-quiz for who stays alive.And we discuss: Mary-Helen Immordino-Yang's work and development in neuroscience Audrey Watter's Teaching Machines, and the history of B.F. Skinner/behaviorism, especially his behaviorist "Utopian" book Walden Two Nick using the "Tier List Maker" for class assignments Chris using Floop for workshoping and ungrading Responding to "How do you motivate reluctant learners?" and "What does a student-driven curriculum look like in practice?" A game show(!) featuring "Doug Lemov (Teach Like a Champion) said what!?" and "Ungrading: The Research." Who will be sent out of the airlock?

In this podcast we've decided to experiment a bit with our programming. To be honest, right now there's a ton of burnout in the education world, from the pandemic to ongoing struggles of teacher power and support, and the culture war once again resurfacing in the classroom. As educators by day and nonprofit workers by night, we totally get that struggle.Therefore, we're putting a slight pause on our typical interview format to try out something new. This frees us up from the workload of scheduling, researching, and working with guests. And, it opens up the door for us to produce more casual content. If you like the guest stuff, don't worry - we'll come back to that in early December! But...if you like the new stuff, please let us know.In this podcast we're going to go through four parts: An update of what we're working on at HRP. Article shareouts that Nick and I have been interested in recently. Talking about what we're currently doing in our classrooms. A pop-quiz to see who exits this podcast alive (or something.)And we discuss: Militarism and increased nationalism in the classroom. Simulation theory, Baudrillard, and fatal strategies. How video game design relates to classroom pedagogy. Celebrating Columbus Day (and the surrounding debate) and its context to nationalism. The corruption of large-scale nonprofits, including testing companies and public charter networks.

Today, Nick and I are continuing our dissection of learning loss via our Learning Loss Handbook. In part 1, we spoke about the myth surrounding "learning loss" and the dire implications it has on our practice in schools. If you haven't listened in yet, I highly recommend checking out that episode.In this episode we discuss: What was lost during pandemic schooling? What actions can we take in order to counteract the problems resulted from an isolated, virtual year(s)? How can we take these actions even in districts that don't support progressive actions?RESOURCES HRP's Learning Loss Handbook 96: Unpacking Learning Loss: The Who, the What, and the Why Is Learning “Lost” When Kids Are Out of School? by Alfie Kohn Is Summer Learning Loss Real? by Paul T. von Hippel

Today, Nick and I are going to break down Human Restoration Project's recently released "Learning Loss" Handbook, providing an overview of the ideas we present in the book, the faux narrative being created surrounding "learning loss", and offering an alternative for educators to push for and pursue. You can find the free download at humanrestorationproject.org/materials.Included in this conversation is... The history of the term "learning loss" An analysis of standardized testing and what we're measuring Showcasing the overall negative impacts of standardized testing Deconstructing the financial ties to learning loss and the testing industry Dissecting the stereotype threat and Pygmalion effect and its potential connection to the negative narrative of learning lossNext time we'll break down *how* we counteract this narrative. Stay tuned!*Apologies for the audio quality, my mic literally broke while recording this podcast! Support our funding drive! :)FUNDING DRIVEHuman Restoration Project is currently in the midst of our September 2021 funding drive. You can learn more, help us out, obtain donor gifts, and support future podcasts/ resources by visiting Human Restoration Project's website.RESOURCES 95: Deciphering "Learning Loss" w/ Akil Bello FutureEd State Plan Tracking Introducing "Operation Reverse the Loss" (IES) HRP's Learning Loss Handbook

Long time listeners may recognize the title to this podcast: Re:Teaching. Last year, Nick released a series of short podcasts on a separate channel, focused on current events and short-form highlights of writing. We soon realized that by splitting our podcast into two segments, most folks didn't hear any of this series! Therefore, after much delay - and many reminders by Nick - we'll be releasing Re:Teaching over the next few weeks on this channel. Enjoy, and there will be even more new Re:Teaching episodes on the way.This episode is a feature read of What’s in a grade? GRExit, GPA, College Admissions, and the Mastery Transcript (oh my!) by Nick Covington, published in March 2020. Learn more about Human Restoration Project and find a wealth of free resources to create human-centered classrooms at humanrestorationproject.org, and follow us on social media, @HumResPro.

Long time listeners may recognize the title to this podcast: Re:Teaching. Last year, Nick released a series of short podcasts on a separate channel, focused on current events and short-form highlights of writing. We soon realized that by splitting our podcast into two segments, most folks didn't hear any of this series! Therefore, after much delay - and many reminders by Nick - we'll be releasing Re:Teaching over the next few weeks on this channel. Enjoy, and there will be even more new Re:Teaching episodes on the way.This episode is a feature read of A Progressive Response to “Ed. Reform’s Lost Decade” by Nick Covington, published in January 2020. Learn more about Human Restoration Project and find a wealth of free resources to create human-centered classrooms at humanrestorationproject.org, and follow us on social media, @HumResPro.

Today, we are joined by Akil Bello. Akil is a supplemental education and test preparation expert. He's launched two companies, developed test preparation programs, and trained hundreds of instructors. He was the founding partner and CEO of Bell Curves, a test prep company based on community partnerships, worked for The Princeton Review, and now is the Senior Director of Advocacy and Advancement at FairTest.Akil and I talk about the advent of "learning loss" after pandemic schooling, the way that testing companies are using this term to generate more tests and test prep software, what was lost in the pandemic, and what we can do as teachers to build back better.GUESTSAkil Bello, Senior Director of Advocacy and Advancement at Fairtest, founding partner and former CEO of Bell Curves, and contributor on test equitability, learning loss, and much moreRESOURCES How Test Publishers Are Poised To Profit From Pandemic “Learning Loss” by Akil Bello Akil Bello's website FutureEd State Plan Tracking Introducing "Operation Reverse the Loss" (IES) Oh What a Tangled Web We Weave: How the Testing Industry Manufactured the "Learning Loss" Narrative (HRP)

Today we are joined by Carla Marschall and Elizabeth Crawford to cover their upcoming book, Worldwise Learning: A Teacher's Guide to Shaping a Just, Sustainable Future. I was fortunate to receive an advance copy, and Worldwise Learning is all about inquiry and experiential education: shaping global citizens by tackling real world issues in projects. The book walks teachers through the "inquiry cycle", which helps students "connect, understand, and act." It's filled with activities, diagrams, and charts, to co-create with students in planning a serious, in-depth project.We talk about: What makes "Worldwise Learning" different than something more generalized, like experiential education? How do we balance, or do we balance, between student interest and introducing what could be deemed as "controversial" topics? How do we allow space for co-created projects when there's limited perceived time and structure in most/many schools?GUESTSCarla Marschall, an experienced educator who has worked in various international schools from Germany to Hong Kong to Switzerland to Singapore. She is now the Director of Teaching & Learning at UWC South East Asia, and previously co-wrote Concept-Based Inquiry in ActionElizabeth Crawford, an Associate Professor of Elementary Education at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. She specializes in global education and works with teacher educators and organizations to advance the Sustainable Development Goals, tackling interconnected global challenges in the classroomRESOURCES Worldwide Learning: A Teacher's Guide to Shaping a Just, Sustainable World (available Sept 2021)FURTHER LISTENING 66: Humane Education w/ Zoe Weil 60: Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals to the Classroom with Dr. Jennifer Williams, Julia Fliss, and Nick Covington 45: Building a Global Equitable Community feat. Ara Aman, Tania Mansfield, Lisa Liss, Colleen Mascenik, and Evin Schwartz

On today's podcast we are joined by Zoe Bee. Zoe is an English professor, poet, and content creator who produces content for YouTube and streams on Twitch. Some of her work includes "A Professor Explains", where Zoe dives into why Grammarly is a poor product or what makes a poem a "good" poem; or full overview of the themes of H.P. Lovecraft.Zoe is a successful content creator despite being active for less than a year. We specifically learned about her after seeing her wildly successful video, "Grading is a Scam (and Motivation is a Myth)", which is nearing 500,000 views within 3 weeks. Her takedowns of PragerU, support of progressive education, and overall extensive, fact-checked videos show a growing interest, especially by younger viewers, in educational pedagogy and politics.In this podcast, we sat down with Zoe to talk about her growth, practices as an educator, and content creation.GUESTSZoe Bee, YouTuber, streamer, professor, and investigator of educational pedagogy, poetry, and EnglishRESOURCES Zoe Bee's YouTube Zoe Bee's Twitch Zoe Bee's Patreon Grading is a Scam (and Motivation is a Myth) | A Professor ExplainsFURTHER LISTENING 83: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning w/ Dr. Susan Blum 74: The Research on Assessment w/ Dr. Astrid Poorthuis 69: Social Justice, Gender Identity, and Liberatory Pedagogy w/ sj Miller

Today we're speaking with Emi Takemura. Emi is the co-founder and representative director of FutureEdu Tokyo, which seeks to reimagine education in Japan based on project based learning and experiential education inspired by High Tech High. She is also the representative director of Learn by Creation, which provides professional development, conferencing, and networking for inspiring hands-on learning in Japan.Emi is a veteran entrepreneur who co-founded Peatix, a mobile event platform, and engages in many events on social entrepreneurship and start-up funding. She's worked at a senior level in various financial firms, and has been an advocate for female leadership, ethical investing, and reimagining education in Japan. Our conversation dives into what it means to develop a hands-on learning curriculum, how Japan and the US relate and differ, and how all of this should or shouldn't relate to the job market.GUESTSEmi Takemura, co-founder and representative director of FutureEdu Tokyo, representative director of Learn by Creation, co-founder of Peatix, and veteran entrepreneurRESOURCES FutureEdu Tokyo (Japan)FURTHER LISTENING 15: What School Could Be w/ Ted Dintersmith

Transcripts can be found via our website, humanrestorationproject.org.In today's conversation, we are joined by Alex Venet. Alex teaches undergraduate students at the Community College of Vermont, graduate classes at Castleton Center for Schools and Antioch University New England, creates PD, is a community facilitator for Edutopia, co-organizes Edcamp Vermont and Trauma Informed Educators Network Conference, and is soon releasing her new book Equity-Centered, Trauma-Informed Education, releasing May 25th, 2021. A link is in the show notes.We received an advanced copy, and I cannot emphasize enough how much this book is needed, and how much it resonated with my own practice. Alex not only perfectly outlines trauma-informed education, but places reflections, challenges, and paramount questions for us to rethink systems in education toward including and advocating for all students. In this conversation, Alex and I talk about shifting the system toward fostering critical wellness and systemic change for equity. Enjoy this listen!GUESTSAlex Venet, educator at Community College of Vermont, teaches graduate classes at Castleton Center for Schools and Antioch University New England, creates PD, is a community facilitator for Edutopia, co-organizes Edcamp Vermont and Trauma Informed Educators Network Conference, and author of Equity-Centered, Trauma-Informed EducationRESOURCES Equity-Centered Trauma-Informed Education (Releasing May 2021); Phoenix Books Unconditional Learning (Alex Venet's Website)FURTHER LISTENING Trauma Informed Educators Network Podcast: Episode 34: Alex Shevrin Venet

Transcripts can be found via our website, humanrestorationproject.org.In today's conversation, we are joined by Dr. Ilana Horn. Dr. Horn is a professor of mathematics education at Vanderbilt University's Peabody College, who focuses on serving disenfranchised youth through authentic mathematics. She leads the Teacher Learning Laboratory, which focuses on sense-making of schools, how teachers and students interact. Further, she is the author of Strength in Numbers: Collaborative Learning in Secondary Mathematics and Motivated: Designing Math Classrooms Where Students Want to Join In.In our conversation, Dr. Horn and I discuss how teachers can wrap up the 2020-2021 school year through reflection. How can we build a better system after seeing the inequities, problems, and challenges that this school year has highlighted? And, how do we build a classroom in spite of a system that often demotivates and disenfranchises educators?GUESTSDr. Ilana Horn, professor of mathematics education at Vanderbilt University's Peabody College, director of Teacher Learning Laboratory, and author of Strength in Numbers: Collaborative Learning in Secondary Mathematics and Motivated: Designing Math Classrooms Where Students Want to Join In. RESOURCES Teacher Learning Laboratory Strength in Numbers: Collaborative Learning in Secondary Mathematics Motivated: Designing Math Classrooms Where Students Want to Join InFURTHER LISTENING TeachLab - Dr. Ilana Horn 82: Build a New Future: Teaching Action and Coalition Building w/ Dr. Kevin Gannon

Transcripts can be found via our website, humanrestorationproject.org.In today's conversation, we're joined by Trevor Aleo, an English teacher in Wilton, Connecticut, Kayla Duncan, a professional instruction coach from Cumming, Georgia, and Julie Stern, author of Tools for Teaching Conceptual Understanding and many more, and workshop leader of Making Sense of Learning Transfer.Together, along with Krista Ferraro, a history teacher from Braintree, Massachusetts, have written Learning That Transfers: Designing Curriculum for a Changing World, releasing in April, 2021. This work connects interdisciplinary learning, centers students in instructional design, and offers educators with tools to plan effectively.In our conversation together, we talk about what it means to transfer learning, how this differs from traditional "brain science" curriculum planning, and how we can push for social justice through interdisciplinary, aligned learning.GUESTSTrevor Aleo, middle school English teacher from Wilton, Connecticut who focuses on making students become sense-makers.Kayla Duncan, personalized instruction coach from Cumming, Georgia, who focuses on authentic experiences and increased ownership.Julie Stern, best-selling author of Tools for Teaching Conceptual Understanding and many more, and thought leader of the Making Sense of Learning Transfer workshop series.RESOURCES Learning That Transfers: Designing Curriculum for a Changing World (release April 2021) Education to Save the WorldFURTHER LISTENING Conceptually Speaking (Julie Stern & Trevor Aleo's podcast)

Transcripts can be found via our website, humanrestorationproject.org.Today's conversation is all about 100 Days of Conversations About School! 100 Days is a project by Human Restoration Project, REENVISIONED, Choice Filled Lives Network, and Cortico's Local Voices Network. Simply stated, 100 Days is catalyzing conversations about school in communities across the country. Featuring young people and adults, these conversations about the good life, the school experience, and equity in education are being compiled, shared, analyzed, and presented. We're taking the findings and presenting them to the new Secretary of Education and policymakers across the country.The process is designed to center the voices of young people and educators - both in the conversations themselves and in the policy and practice recommendations that emerge from the process. We're seeking educators, young people, and education non-profits who are interested in hosting a conversation in their community.The entire process takes about 2 hours, including the conversation itself. We supply all the materials, the recording space, and walk you through the conversation. Simply go to 100DaysofConversations.org, sign up, gather 2-8 folks, 2 of whom are below the age of 24, choose a time, and host the conversation. We'll take everything from there!Afterwards, you'll not only get to participate in an important process but also receive a transcript and categorical analysis of what happened - which is so important in figuring out how to reimagine our educational system. It's one thing for us to belabor on the importance of changing ed - yet we must include young people as the most important voices in the conversation.GUESTSDr. Erin Raab, chief strategy and impact officer for Choice Filled Lives Network and co-founder of REENVISIONED who focused her PhD on transforming schooling from competitions and tests to human flourishing and collective liberationThe 100 Days Social Media Team (Olivia Chiang, Summer Freed, Léa Henaux, which also includes Nontobeko Mdlalose) RESOURCES 100 Days of Conversations Website and Sign Up 100 Days Facilitation Guide 100 Days Analysis OverviewFURTHER LISTENING 79: Reimagine the System w/ REENVISIONED (Dr. Erin Raab)

Transcripts can be found via our website, humanrestorationproject.org.In today's conversation we're joined by Tesha Fritzgerald,. Tesha is an urban education expert who currently serves as a district level leader in an urban school district in Ohio. She is a Martha Holding Jennings Foundation Scholar who has a passion for UDL and culturally responsive teaching, which has led her to publishing her recent book, Antiracism and Universal Design for Learning: Building Expressways to Success.I invited Tesha on to talk about pairing UDL and antiracist teaching, with a specific focus on: Demanding excellence in progressive, human-centered classrooms. Clarifying what UDL actually is. Clarifying how UDL and antiracism can coexist, when UDL has been critiqued for upholding a traditionalist lens. And actions we can take to build anti-racist, UDL-driven classrooms.GUESTSTesha Fritzgerald, an urban education expert who focuses on UDL, culturally responsive teaching, anti-racist teaching, and author of Antiracism and Universal Design for Learning: Building Expressways to SuccessRESOURCES Antiracism and Universal Design for Learning: Building Expressways to Success by Tesha Fritzgerald Building Blocks of Brilliance (Tesha Fritzgerald's website) Follow Tesha on Twitter! Article: Making Room for Asset Pedagogies by Benjamin DoxtdatorFURTHER LISTENING Planning Period Podcast - Episode 147: Tesha Fritzgerald 73: School and the Carceral Network w/ Dr. Connie Wun

Transcripts can be found via our website, humanrestorationproject.org.Today we're joined by Dr. Tanu Biswas and Dr. John Wall. Dr. Biswas is a doctorate of pedagogy who focuses her research on children's civil disobedience for climate justice, and showcasing the richness that children and childhood have to offer adults. Dr. Wall is a theoretical ethicist who focuses on the idea of a moral life centered on language, power, culture, and childhood. His upcoming book, Give Children the Vote: How to Democratize Democracy argues for voting rights regardless of age.Our conversation centers on combatting adultism, or the power adults have over children and the discrimination of young people, which is more than present in society but in my opinion, amplified in the classroom. We talk about what adultism and childism mean, how to promote democracy, and the importance of civil disobedience.GUESTSDr. Tanu Biswas, doctorate of pedagogy and researcher focused on civil disobedience, children, and the intersection of climate justiceDr. John Wall, theoretical ethicist centered on language, power, culture, and childhoodRESOURCES The Childism Institute (Rutgers) Children's Voting Colloquium Upcoming Event!: Exploring Children Across Disciplines by  (Jan 22, 2021 @ 8AM ET) Children’s Civil Disobedience in the Minority World & its Potential for Re-imagining the Educational by Tanu Biswas Why Children Should Have the Right to Vote: An Argument for Proxy-Claim Suffrage by John WallFURTHER LISTENING 34: Restoring Humanity to Education (Critical Pedagogy)

Transcripts can be found via our website, humanrestorationproject.org.Today we are joined by Dr. Jennifer Berkshire and Dr. Jack Schneider. Dr. Berkshire is a journalist and educator who focuses on podcasting and labor organizing at Boston College and Umass Amherst respectively, and Dr. Schneider is an education historian focused on reform and school accountability. Jennifer and Jack co-host the wonderful Have You Heard Podcast, which is focused on hot button issues in educational policy and current events, and both Chris and I highly recommend checking it out if you aren’t listening already. Our discussion today is going to cover a lot of ground but center on education reform, innovation, labor rights, unions, and change. There’s an odd dichotomy between progressive education and the assault on public education: a cognitive dissonance between the necessity for systemic reform while ensuring a free and accessible public education for the future and recognizing the need for organized labor as a path to a strong working class, that teacher unions are among the largest and most powerful in the country. Yet, there is a narrative - real or not - that unions are resistant to the change that many progressive educators want, and more recently, the notion that they have become the major roadblock to school reopenings in 2020.GUESTSDr. Jennifer Berkshire, journalist and educator focused on podcasting and labor organizing at Boston College & UMass AmherstDr. Jack Schneider, education historian centered on reform and school accountabilityRESOURCES A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door by Dr. Berkshire & Dr. Schneider Review: A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door by Nick Covington Have You Heard Blog/PodcastFURTHER LISTENING 80: Pandemic Pods, School Choice, and Combating Inequity w/ Dr. Jon Hale This Podcast Will Kill You: COVID-19 Chapter 10: Schools This is Hell!: 1263: The end of public school / Jack Schneider + Jennifer Berkshire

Transcripts can be found via our website, humanrestorationproject.org.Today we are joined by Dr. Susan Blum, Dr. Blum is a professor of anthropology at the University of Notre Dame, and the author of many works and articles, including her recently released: Ungrading: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do Instead), which features fifteen different educators, such as Arthur Chiaravalli, Jesse Stommel, Aflie Kohn, and Laura Gibbs, speaking on their ideas and implementation of the practice. And as an interesting side note, more than half of the educators in the book have appeared on our podcast! In this conversation we'll be talking about ungrading, framed on the ideas found in the book - the “how” of the practice, and particularly how ungrading fits within COVID-19 and promoting equity as a whole.GUESTSDr. Susan Blum, professor of anthropology at the University of Notre Dame and active author, with a recent focus on ungrading.RESOURCES Ungrading Book Club (assembled by David Buck) West Virginia University Press: Ungrading, edited by Dr. Susan Blum Human Restoration Project Ungrading Handbook Human Restoration Project Ungrading CourseFURTHER LISTENING 78: A Way to Ungrade, Floop w/ Christine Witcher 74: The Research on Assessment w/ Dr. Astrid Poorthuis 54: Making the Switch to Ungrading feat. Abigail French, Dr. Susan Blum, and Dr. Laura Gibbs 47: Redefining Assessment by Implementing Gradeless Learning feat. Jeffery Frieden, Aaron Blackwelder, & Nick Covington

Transcripts can be found via our website, humanrestorationproject.org.Our conversation today will center on teaching organization and collective activism. Essentially, we find ourselves at an important crossroads, as the administration shifts to new policies - teachers will be at the whim of new federal (and likely, state) policies that will have massive ramifications on classrooms, especially during COVID-19. And I hope out of this conversation, we’ll be able to address - what should I be concerned about? What problems may exist? And then, okay...what can I do to actually mitigate these problems and demand an equitable education system?GUESTSDr. Kevin Gannon, the Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning and a Professor of History at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa, and author of Radical Hope: A Teaching Manifesto. Further, Gannon actively writes and teaches on the science of learning, racism and race in education, and building inclusivity online and offline. You can learn more on his website, TheTattooedProf.com and on Twitter @TheTattooedProf.RESOURCES The Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door by Jack Schneider and Jennifer Berkshire Pedagogy of Hope by Paulo Freire Radical Hope by Kevin Gannon HRP Book Review: Radical HopeFURTHER LISTENING ThinkUDL with Kevin Gannon: Radical Hope for Online Teaching

This is a recording of our Teacher Powered Schools Virtual Conference 2020 presentation: Sharing Power with Students: Reframing Systems Toward a Liberatory Pedagogy. This session dives into why reform doesn't work, how teachers can use collective action to change systems, and what really, is the point of us working against inhumane structures if not much is actually changing?RESOURCES One Teacher Can't Save the World by Nick Covington and Chris McNuttFURTHER LISTENING Introduction: Human Restoration Project

Today, Chris and I (Nick) are joined by John Hale, whose biography you will hear at the beginning of the interview. John was recently the guest of a Soho Forum debate on the topic of pandemic pods, which you heard excerpts of at the beginning of this episode and confined in its entirety on YouTube.Since the Human Restoration Project has primarily been focused on pedagogy and changing the structures of school, I wanted to have John on to talk more about the history and ramifications of education policy and help us unpack what's really going on in our current conversations about pandemic pods, voucher programs and the recently announced Bezos Academy. How can we simultaneously acknowledge that schools need to change while being critical advocates for the need for public institutions and employee unions? How have market oriented takes on so-called school choice actually subverted the original intent of independent and charter schools? It's a really interesting conversation and it was great to talk to John. I'm sure we'll have him on again to talk education policy, history and organization in the future.GUESTSDr. Joe Hale, professor of educational policy, organization, and leadership at the University of Illinois, Urban-Champaign, and author of the forthcoming book, "The Choice We Face" (working title)RESOURCES Jeff Bezos is opening a tuition-free preschool for underserved children (CNN) Savage Inequalities by Jonathan Kozol Small Schools and Choice Revisited by Deborah MeierFURTHER LISTENING Are ‘Pandemic Pods’ a Symptom of the Public School Monopoly? A Soho Forum Debate (YouTube)

Today we're joined by Dr. Erin Lynn Raab. Erin is the Co-founder of REENVISIONED, a movement to redefine the purpose of school.  REENVISIONED aims to change the conversation of school away from standards, norms, and improving the status quo, toward human flourishing, community, democracy, and collective liberation. Erin and her co-founder, Nicole Hensel, both graduates of the Stanford Graduate School of Education, aim to collect 10,000 stories of students, teachers, and community members to develop a shared vision of what school could, and should be. The organization works with schools and individuals to catalyze new conversations and create new visions.  They provide a tried and true process for opening space for truly eye-opening conversations between young people, educators, and other adults in their community about what we all really want out of our education system and for our live. You can read some of these interviews at REENVISIONED.org.In our conversation together, Erin talks about systems-based thinking and transforming the system, rather than upholding the status quo. It's a deep, complex discussion centering on history, psychology, and more. I hope you enjoy!GUESTSDr. Erin Lynn Raab, who earned her Ph.D. in Education from Stanford University, where her scholarship pertained to the question of how we can transform education systems so they foster individual flourishing and thriving democracy, and is the co-founder of REENVISIONED.RESOURCES REENVISIONED: Hundreds of interviews on the purpose of school, with free resources and activities to help facilitate these conversations by yourself or with classes. “Why School?": A Systems Perspective on Creating Schooling for Individual Flourishing and a Thriving Democratic Society” - Dr. Raab’s Ph.D. Dissertation The End of Policing by Alex Vitale (referenced)Shorter, broad audience pieces by Erin: If We Want a More Just, Equitable Society We Have to Re-envision School. Here’s how to start.  Designing School for Human Flourishing & Thriving Democracy    The Four Purposes of SchoolingFURTHER LISTENING 43: The Good Life feat. Steven Gumbay, REENVISIONED, The Future Project, Anne Connolly, Richard Loeper-Viti, & Gamal Sherif

Today we're talking about ungrading with the EdTech tool, Floop, short for feedback loop,  found over at FloopEdu.com. Now, we don't normally talk about specific tools and strategies at HRP - we get into the theory and pedagogy of progressive systems...but the most common question we're asked is: okay well, is it even possible to do any of these things? It seems like a ton of work and it'll be overwhelming, and everyone is against me!Well, one potential solution is Floop! In summary, Floop allows you to easily provide feedback to your students. You create dropboxes on the platform, students upload their assignments, and then you are given audio and text-based tools to comment on what they've done. You can assign feedback visually, through comment banks, see growth over past revisions, and you can see if students have read what you've said. I personally love that Floop is committed to ungrading - and you don't need to enter in any grade whatsoever. The company actively promote practices to distance ourselves from grades altogether.I, myself, started using Floop this year and I'm excited to share it. I think it's a great example of an ed tech company using their tools for actual education as opposed to maintaining the status quo, and it's affordable and ethical as you'll soon find out.Christine Witcher, a current middle school STEM educator and co-founder of Floop, founded in 2017.RESOURCES Study: LMS, Grading, and Comments PD on Feedback-Driven Learning The Floop CurriculumFURTHER LISTENING Teach Better Podcast: 94: A Two-Way Conversation – Christine Witcher chats with us about the importance of feedback, and how to make sure our students are emotionally ready for it, and prepared to learn from it. 

Today we are joined by Evan Whitehead, a veteran educator who is the director of special services at a K-8 school in Illinois. Evan has served in a variety of roles, from crisis and behavior interventionist to Latino parent outreach coordinator to Title 1 director. Further, Evan actively presents on reaching at-risk youth, leadership, and self-care for everyone in education, and is a national consultant for the Aha! Process.We discuss how educators can best prepare for self-care, especially now within remote and hybrid contexts. Further, we focus on conversation on two themes: 1) how can we build systems (e.g. breaks, SEL check-ins) to ensure teachers are supported by administration, and 2) how can we ensure that toxic positivity doesn’t ignore equity and social justice in the “name of” self-care?Transcript available here.GUESTSEvan Whitehead, a leader in social-emotional learning, leadership, and self-care, and director of special services at a K-8 school.RESOURCES How Self-Compassion Can Help Prevent Teacher Burnout Dena Simmons: Without Context, Social-Emotional Learning Can BackfireFURTHER LISTENING The Innovator’s Mindset: Balance, Boundaries, and Breaks (YouTube)

In this podcast, Nick Covington (of HRP) and I, Chris, discuss the "return to learn” plans of school and what we must think about as we reopen. We call upon other educators to hear their thoughts, including Dr. Jessica Zeller, Rachel Lawrence, Shane MacLeod, and an anonymous caller.Three key themes emerge in our conversation: We need to recognize that asynchronous learning is just as valid, if not more valid, than synchronous learning in both content knowledge and equitable practice. Our conversation of “reimagining education” has been replaced with maintaining control. Teachers must push back to change the status quo. Teachers are facing massive cognitive dissonance of wanting to return to the classroom and help students, while simultaneously recognizing the safety and logistical concerns of the situation.Also, we experimented with a new recording set up so I apologize for the decrease in quality…always attempting to do better!Show Notes Death and Teaching, COVID-19 by Chris McNutt Referenced Rubric (@k_shelton)

This is an audio version of our Summit on August 1st, 2020. Here's the video!Inspire Citizens is an innovative organization focusing on active, informed civics through social justice, sustainable development, collective well-being, SEL, and ethical media literacy. Out of the Blocks is an NPR program focused on capturing the sounds on the street of Baltimore, formed on the idea of interviewing every single person on a given block. And Evan Whitehead is a school leader and educator of over 20 years with a focus on social-emotional well-being.Check out this podcast between Inspire Citizens and Out of the Blocks on how this work can involve students.Further, this Padlet has a huge collection of ideas shared today. Further, check out our write-up on writing.humanrestorationproject.org.Our Summit focused on endorsing student voice through activism in a hybrid/virtual setting. How can we help students become involved in their community when it's difficult or impossible to actually walk around the community? How can we use technology (e.g. podcasts, photography, interviews) to help connect others? How can we promote social justice when it's difficult to build interpersonal connections?Look out for future Summits via Human Restoration Project’s website and social media.

Let’s put this into perspective: the United States is planning on the mass reopening of schools when COVID-19 has still not ended its first wave. Millions of people have been diagnosed, and the CDC has issued little concrete guidance on how schools will actually reopen next month. The US Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, has essentially ignored questioning of even the notion of remote learning and does not believe that this is a serious issue that will effect children (flat out refusing to acknowledge the adults in the room too.)This podcast addresses the anxiety and real chance of death due to COVID-19 in the classroom. It calls upon teachers to organize and demand remote learning. Let’s face it, there’s two options:1) We go back to school, cases increase, and more students, teachers, and faculty members die. This isn’t a hypothesis. There are ample facts presented in this podcast on why this is the case.2) Teachers stand up to districts, using their extreme leverage during the pandemic, to stay remote and minimize destruction.I encourage you to listen in. - ChrisShow Notes Parent Letter Template - We Demand Safe Schools! “There Will Be No Teachers Left” School Virtual/Hybrid Reopening Demand Template Letter (Florida)Citations https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6b8Kg_a4Omo https://www.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#cases https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/22/health/coronavirus-restrictions-us.html https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/2020/05/26/children-transmission https://www.businessinsider.com/how-coronavirus-travel-through-air-droplets-aerosols-2020-3 https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/12/us/arizona-teachers-coronavirus/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/11/politics/cdc-documents-warn-high-risk-schools-reopening/index.html https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/07/10/889848834/nations-pediatricians-walk-back-support-for-in-person-school https://www.wral.com/coronavirus/concerns-mount-in-chapel-hill-over-prospect-of-students-returning-to-unc-amid-pandemic/19183462/ https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-13/covid-19-reinvades-u-s-states-that-already-beat-it-back-once?srnd=premium https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/israel-battles-new-wave-coronavirus-infections-after-reopening-n1233139 https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/29/asia/south-korea-coronavirus-shuts-down-again-intl/index.html https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3092174/coronavirus-third-wave-fears-escalate-hong-kong https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-hongkong/hong-kong-tightens-social-distancing-again-as-coronavirus-cases-rise-idUSKCN24E1L5 https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/07/10/889376184/photos-how-hong-kong-reopened-schools-and-why-it-closed-them-again https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JSGOO6GiI8 https://www.edweek.org/ew/section/multimedia/map-coronavirus-and-school-closures.html https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/13/us/teachers-covid-19-return-school/index.html https://fortune.com/2020/05/28/us-unemployment-rate-numbers-claims-this-week-total-job-losses-may-28-2020-benefits-claims-job-losses/

Our podcast today features Dr. Astrid Poorthuis, an assistant professor at the developmental psychology program at Utrecht University, Netherlands, whose work focuses on performance, school, and its relationship to social/emotional learning. Dr. Poorthuis has researched and published a variety of works concerning grades, student/teacher emotional well-being, student/teacher relationships, and peer relationships.Dr. Poorthuis and I talk about her research and its applications for the classroom, notably how ungrading and its benefits of engagement, well-being, and participation are backed by substantial amounts of research - referencing a variety of studies. It's incredibly interesting how universal these results are and the commonalities that US and Netherlands schools share. Attached in the show notes are the studies that Dr. Poorthuis has been involved with, as well as recommendations she makes during this episode.GUESTSDr. Astrid Poorthuis, a leader in researching practices that demonstrate the importance and implementation of practices that bolster student social and emotional well-being, who serves as an assistant professor in the developmental psychology program at Utrecht University, NetherlandsRESOURCES Do grades shape students' school engagement? The psychological consequences of report card grades at the beginning of secondary school See me through my eyes: Adolescent–parent agreement in personality predicts later self-esteem development Dashed Hopes, Dashed Selves? A Sociometer Perspective on Self-esteem Change Across the Transition to Secondary School The Role of School in Adolescents’ Identity Development. A Literature Review Klapp: Does grading affect educational attainment? A longitudinal study Koenka et. al.: A meta-analysis on the impact of grades and comments on academic motivation and achievement: a case for written feedbackFURTHER LISTENING 28: Restoring Humanity: Gradeless Learning 54: Making the Switch to Ungrading (feat. Abigail French, Dr. Susan Blum, and Dr. Laura Gibbs)

Our podcast today features Dr. Connie Wun, the founder and director of Transformative Research: An Institute for Social Transformation and AAPI Women Lead. Connie is an educator, activist, and researcher whose work centers on race and gender equity, community-centered research, women's empowerment, school discipline and punishment, and anti-Blackness in education. Connie and I talk about school and its relation to the carceral network, or how school is intertwined in producing delinquency, inequity, and power structures in the United States. Our discussion talks not only about the issues facing US schools, but how we can utilize the "winds of change" of the Black Lives Matter movement, as well as the COVID crisis, to revolutionize the education system to best serve Students of Color and marginalized students.Briefly, to provide some context to the carceral network and schools - we're referring to not only the "school to prison pipeline", but the commonplace day-to-day discrimination that Students of Color face, including but not limited to a white-centric curriculum, dress codes, the tardy system, and racial stereotyping/discrimination (for example, sending a student out of class for "laughing too loud" or "chewing gum", which effectively hurts a students' education as well as simply their humanity.)Dr. Connie Wun provides an incredibly clear overview to the carceral state and continuum between schooling and carceral pedagogies.GUESTSDr. Connie Wun, researcher, speaker, and educator, and founder/director of Transformative Research: An Institute for Social Transformation and co-founder/director of AAPI Women Lead.RESOURCES #ImReady Solidarity Work (AAPI Women Lead) The Abusable Past: A Reading List on Policing, Rebellion, and the Criminalization of Blackness Asian American Justice Toolkit TransformHarm Resource Hub Truthout.org: We Are Witnessing an Uprising Against a World Built on Anti-Blackness by Dr. Connie Wun Teachers for Social Justice Education for Liberation Network Teaching Tolerance Black Lives Matter Resources Movement for Black Lives Black Visions CollectiveFURTHER LISTENING Beyond the School to Prison Pipeline by Dr. Connie Wun The Tao of Self-Confidence: 712: You Are Gifted With Dr. Connie Wun

What is Human Restoration Project?This introductory podcast provides an overview to our organization, what we do, and the goals of progressive education. Listen in to learn about the pedagogy and join the cause!ResourcesI use evidence to inform my teaching. by Chris McNuttAt a Crossroads of Anti-Authoritarianism: Dismissing Far-Right School Advocates by Chris McNuttHuman Restoration Project's research page Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I'm joined by Marie Bigham, founder and co-leader of ACCEPT Group, or Admissions Community Cultivating Equity & Peace Today. Marie has spent over 20 years in college admissions, most recently at an independent school in New Orleans, and serves full-time as ACCEPT Group's leader. ACCEPT coordinates support for equitable college admissions, such as staging walkouts and organizing like-minded voices for change.In this podcast, Marie and I discuss the actions we can take to radicalize the college admissions process in an era of uncertainty. The horrific actions of the past few months, from the growth of a global pandemic to yet another murder of a person of color by the police, George Floyd, has led way to some glimmers of hope in organizing, protest, and growth as a society. What actions can K-college educators take to build an equitable higher education experience, when revolution seems more and more tangible?GUESTSMarie Bigham, former college admissions counselor and co-leader and founder of the ACCEPT Group (Admissions Community Cultivating Equity & Peace Today.)RESOURCES ACCEPT Group (Website) ACCEPT Group (Facebook) ACCEPT Group (Twitter) DEFINING ACCESS: How Test-Optional Works "We are witnessing America as a failed social experiment" - Dr Cornell West Full CNN Segment The Privileged Poor: How Elite Colleges Are Failing Disadvantaged Students by Anthony Abraham JackFURTHER LISTENING (UPCOMING) ACCEPT Group Chat Sessions

Today I am joined by Dr. William Ayers, a retired education professor at the University of Chicago whose work is rooted in progressive ideology. Ayers was heavily involved in the free school movement in the 1960s, and his work reflects a focus on democratic schooling and building a more free society. Ayers is a prolific author, including writing On the Side of the Child: Summerhill Revisited, Teaching Toward Freedom: Moral Commitment and Ethical Action in the Classroom, To Teach: The Journey of a Teacher, and the recently released "You Can't Fire the Bad Ones!": And 18 Other Myths about Teachers, Teachers Unions, and Public Education.In this podcast, Ayers and I talk about the opportunity that COVID-19 provides teachers to throw out standardized testing and build a better system. We discuss the College Board, the connection between testing and the financial industry, how testing impacts the culture of a school, and what a classroom without these tests could mean.GUESTSDr. William Ayers, professor of education at the University of Chicago, elementary education expert, education reform activist, author, and researcher.RESOURCES “You Can’t Fire the Bad Ones!”: And 18 Other Myths about Teachers, Teachers Unions, and Public Education by William Ayers, Crystal Laura, and Rick Ayers Bill Ayers’ WebsiteFURTHER LISTENING Bill Ayers | Teaching And Organizing for Social Justice | University of Oregon Lecture Headline: Author Bill Ayers on the Eighteen Myths of Public Education

Today I am joined by Dr. Etta Kralovec, a professor of education at The University of Arizona, who focuses on context, research gathering, and teacher preparation, specifically with a focus on US/Mexico border communities. Dr. Kralovec is a widely accomplished author and researcher, with works such as The End of Homework and Schools That Do Too Much, a Fulbright Scholar, school leader and founder, and international expert.In this podcast, we talk about the practice of teacher action research, where educators perform qualitative studies of what they're doing - essentially to figure out if it works. As you'll soon hear, the power of teacher action research lies in the process of reflecting and analyzing the information. Further, teacher action research is the cornerstone of Human Restoration Project's upcoming microcredentialing program.GUESTSDr. Etta Kralovec, professor of education at The University of Arizona, author, researcher, Fulbright Scholar, and expert on teacher action research with a specific focus on US/Mexico border communities.RESOURCES YouTube: Overview of Dr. Kralovec’s recent work Schools That Do Too Much by Etta Kralovec HRP Book Review: The End of Homework by Etta Kralovec and John Buell*Dr. Kralovec has graciously provided her author email, [email protected] - to answer any questions about teacher action research and how it can work for you!FURTHER LISTENING Teacher’s Aid: Homework? Really? That’s So 1950s High Tech High Unboxed: Continuous Improvement: Teacher Induction

Today I am joined by Dr. sj Miller, an associate professor of teacher education at Sante Fe Community College. sj is an expert on social justice and challenges the gender and gender identity binary (e.g. trans*+, gender dynamic/fluid youth.) sj is an award-winning and well-published author, including writing for The International Journal of Transgenderism, International Journal of Critical Pedagogy, and the Teachers College Record. You can view sj's speech on gender identities and young people via TEDMED.In this podcast, we talk about how schools can best serve nonconforming gender identities, how classrooms can be liberated for social justice, and the mistakes we make in professional development and addressing the complex topic of gender in schools.GUESTSDr. sj Miller, associate professor of teacher education, expert on gender identity justice and social justice, and published author/researcher.RESOURCES sj Miller’s recently published book, about Gender Identity Justice in Schools and Communities sj Miller’s website sj Miller’s TEDMED talk: “Why gender identity justice matters for everyone”FURTHER LISTENING Engendering Communication - Episode 42 - The Oxford Comment Documentary: Gender | The Space Between

Interested in using this opportunity for professional development credit? See our template for administrators. Consider running this event past your administrative team prior to completing.In this interactive professional development session, we will talk about how teachers can create their own public, private, and charter schools through the Teacher Powered Schools organizational structure. We are joined by three amazing guests:Amy Junge, Director of the Teacher Powered Schools initiative, co-author and researcher of Trusting Teachers with School Success: What Happens When Teachers Call the Shots with Kim Farris-Berg and Ed Dirkswager.Liz Seubert, a co-founding teacher at Wildlands School, a public tuition-free, PBL-based charter high/middle school in Wisconsin, 2016 Teacher Ambassador for Teacher Powered Schools, and co-author of An Improbable School: Transforming How Teachers Teacher & Students Learn.Taryn Snyder, a 3rd grade teacher at Boston Teacher Union Pilot School, a public tuition-free K-8 school in Massachusetts, founded as a partnership between the Boston teacher’s union and local schools.This discussion will span across K-12, directing educators on the Teacher Powered Schools movement, how to get involved, and clarifying questions to start teachers on their journey to potentially envision their own schools!

Today I am joined by Liz Seubert, a teacher at the teacher run and operated school, Wildlands in Fall Creek, Wisconsin. Wildlands is a small, tuition free 7-12 public charter school, which is affiliated with the Teacher Powered Schools movement. Liz, along with her coworkers, operate the entire school without an administrative body.In this podcast, we will delve into the operation of Wildlands, how it was founded, and what teachers can do to become involved in Teacher Powered Schools. If you're listening to this podcast before April 29th, make sure you sign up for our Summit with Liz and two other experts from Teacher Powered. There, they'll be able to answer your questions and start your own journey to a grassroots revolution in education. In our opinion, teachers being treated as professionals, and being able to connect with students in small school environments, is a realistic and pragmatic way to organize progressive education for all students.I highly recommend you visit Teacher Powered Schools at teacherpowered.org. Their network supplies a ridiculous amount of resources, materials, and help channels to help teachers navigate starting their own school.GUESTSLiz Seubert, co-founding teacher at Wildlands School, a 2016 Teacher Ambassador for the Teacher Powered Schools Initiative, and co-author of An Improbable School: Transforming how Teachers Teach & Students Learn.RESOURCES Wildlands 8-12 School Teacher Powered Schools Summit Sign Up (April 29th, 7:30PM EST)FURTHER LISTENING THE "TEACHER POWERED SCHOOLS" INITIATIVE from Blog Talk Radio

Our podcast today features Tiersa McQueen, an avid homeschooler who raises her four children in an unschooling philosophy. Tiersa and her husband both work opposing shifts to allow this to occur. Tiersa frequently posts on her Twitter and Instagram handles as MotherBae, critiquing traditional education, offering support as an unschooler, and demonstrating how we can adopt unschooling among our children. I invited Tiersa to talk about this pedagogy and offer advice for educators who are now supporting their students in their home environments, as well as many who are raising their own children alongside this.GUESTSTiersa McQueen, avid homeschooler and unschooler who posts under the handle @MotherBae to critique traditional education and represent Black married moms who unschoolRESOURCES HRP COVID-19 Resources and Charities Tiersa McQueen on Twitter (@tiersaj) Tiersa McQueen on Instagram (mother_bae_i) Tiersa McQueen on YouTubeFURTHER LISTENING Girlfriends Guide to Homeschooling with Angela Jordan Perry: Episode 91: Dual Employed homeschooling Parents of 4, Tiersa McQueen

Interested in using this opportunity for professional development credit? See our template for administrators. Consider running this event past your administrative team prior to completingThis discussion will talk about how we can bring about play-based learning in and out of classroom. This conversation will center on experiential learning and student voice, with some credence to how this can integrate to the COVID-19 crisis.Abe Moore is a primary teacher in Adelaide, Australia, and has worked on brilliant projects, including building an entire play space with his students.How can we build spaces and co-create curriculum with our students to encourage play, especially in the outdoors?What activities, games, and/or projects can we undertake with individuals or small groups of students?What does a play-based outdoor curriculum, classroom, and community look like?Resources mentioned in this episode can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qgePI6nTaD2ihJdYHCJuhPgsg38q3RD4MhIyRbp1qW4/edit?usp=sharing

Today I'm joined by Nick Covington and Zoe Weil, where we're exploring the work of the Institute of Humane Education, which is led by Zoe. Zoe has been teaching "humane education" for over thirty years, and is an established author, speaker, and workshop leader on the topic.The Institute of Humane Education is an accredited program offering robust graduate and doctoral coursework in "humane education", which centers on promoting social good and minimizing harm to people, animals, and the environment. The Institute offers incredible resources on its website, including the in-depth "Solutionary Guidebook" - which is part humane education overview, part PBL guidebook, and part student activity booklet. I highly recommend checking it out, it's free!In our discussion, Zoe, Nick, and I talk about the purpose of humane education, how it can be incorporated into schools, and its relationship to the growing Sustainable Development Goals movement.GUESTSZoe Weil, the co-founder and president of IHE, who has led the humane education movement over the last thirty years; an accomplished author, speaker, and presenter.RESOURCES The Institute for Humane Education Solutionary Guidebook Zoe Weil, TEDx - The World Becomes What You TeachFURTHER LISTENING My Home Planet: Why We Should All Have A Humane Education

Interested in using this opportunity for professional development credit? See our template for administrators. Consider running this event past your administrative team prior to completing.In this interactive discussion, we will discuss what teaching is like during the COVID-19 crisis.Participants will be posed with these questions, but the conversation will take us on a journey of its own: Commiserate: What’s going on? How has the response to the COVID-19 crisis impacted you and your school? Collaborate: What can we learn from your response to the crisis to do right by our kids and our communities? Community: How are you going to balance connectivity and social isolation?

Today we're covering COVID-19 and how it impacts the education system. Depending on when you're listening to this podcast, you're likely facing your school's physical environment shut down, or soon to be doing so. In Ohio, all schools are now expected to have at least three weeks out starting on Tuesday - and schools are frantically trying to prepare how they'll tackle this shift.Most districts across the United States are continuing the expectation of academic coursework across this disruption - and we have no idea how long it will last. Most teachers do not have formal training in adapting their class to a virtual environment, nor does everyone have even close to a 1:1 environment. This episode will assume that educators are dealing with a virtual shift, and looking for a place to start, further resources will be posted in the show notes concerning paper-based methods.GUESTSJesse Stommel, a leading expert on digital critical pedagogy, hybrid pedagogy, and assessment. He is the Digital Learning Fellow and Senior Lecturer of Digital Studies at University of Mary Washington. Further, Jesse is the co-author of An Urgency of Teachers: the Work of Critical Digital Pedagogy, and a documentary filmmaker.RESOURCES Jesse Stommel’s Website Kajeet - an affordable hotspot that uses mobile data (for students lacking access  “Friggin’ Packets” Blog and Podcast from Cult of Pedagogy - for ideas on alternatives to masses of papers UNICEF - Learning Through Play - for ways to introduce play-based learning to the home, primarily aimed at younger studentsFURTHER LISTENING Edsurge: Bonus Episode: Coronavirus Has Led to a Rush of Online Teaching. How Can Professors Manage?