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S2E8 – What does injustice have to do with me?

We cannot address school inequities by just focusing on underprivileged schools serving marginalized populations. We need to find ways to engage affluent white students in “high powered” schools with the idea that injustice, especially racial injustice, is something relevant to them, and something they too have an interest in changing for the better.

I’m releasing this episode this week because of the Minneapolis protests in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, and to advertise my new book, of the same title, available now on Amazon.com.

Next episode will post on Friday, June 5th

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S2E7 – Didn’t we solve this problem? Why American schools are more racially segregated than ever.

As protests rage across Minneapolis in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd, we need to remember that these protests are informed by more than just reaction to police brutality: they are about the historical and ongoing racial disparities not only in the realms of law enforcement and criminal justice, but also housing, health care and yes, education, in the United States.

So I thought this would be a good time to re-run a season one episode about school segregation. School segregation in the USA is now at its most extreme since the 1960s, and growing more pronounced each year. Didn’t Brown vs. the Board of Education settle this issue in 1954? episode will detail the very real, legal, de jure (as opposed to “de facto,” as it is often erroneously taught) reasons why the dream of integration has not yet been realized in American schools, as well as some ideas for changing that for the better.

This week will feature two episodes. Episode#8 will follow shortly. 

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S2E6 – Teaching and learning in the shadow of COVID-19, two months in

Schools are now 8 weeks into the “distance learning” modalities that COVID-19 has forced upon them. In our April 2nd episode, I interviewed three teachers from across the country at the outset of this new reality. They shared their experiences at the early stage of the transition, their hopes and fears and predictions for the future. Now that we’re a little further into that future, I’ve invited them back – as I had arranged with them from the beginning – to see how, 8 weeks later, things are going for them.

Next episode will post on May 28th, 2020

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 S2E5 – How past pandemics and crises changed schools

COVID-19 is not the first epidemic or major crisis that has radically altered the structure of American public education. This episode surveys some of the changes, adaptations and even improvements that schools made in the wake of catastrophic events of the past.

For sources for this episode, click here.

Next episode will post on Friday, May 22

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S1E4 – Sort-of-free speech: First amendment rights in schools

Where and how do schools curtail free expression rights, and what is the history behind that? What do you, and do you not, have the right to say if you’re a student (or teacher) in a school…or even off-campus?

Click here for a list of sources for this episode.

Next episode posts on Friday, 5/15

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  S2E3 – Not so plain English – Educating English Language Learners

When educational research and politics fall at odds, what happens to the students caught in the middle? Ten percent of students in the USA are English Language Learners, and that number is growing, yet for reasons both pedagogical and political, schools face an uphill battle in serving these children. Learn more in this episode.

For a list of sources used in this episode, click here.

Next episode will post on Friday, May 8th

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  S2E2 – The women behind the man behind progressive education

Francis W. Parker became the great unsung hero of progressive education in America only because of several even lesser known, yet incredible, women who inspired, financed, and advanced his ideas. Learn more about all of them in this episode.

Francis Parker          Elizabeth Peabody               Anita Blaine       Zonia Baber            Flora Cooke

For a list of sources used in this episode, click here.

Next episode will post on Friday, May 1

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S2E1 – Unchartered Territory (or, What’s the deal with charter schools?)

We kick off season two with a no holds-barred look at charter schools! Few issues in education are so divisive, yet so often misunderstood, than the issue of charter schools. This episode will explore the history behind charter schools, the many facets of the charter school debate, and the extremely messy body of research about charter schools’ impacts on students and communities.

For a list of sources used in this episode, click here.

Next episode will post on Friday, April 24

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S2E0 – Teaching and learning in the shadow of COVID-19

Season 2, Episode 0: At this moment in time there is no way to have an education podcast without a discussion of how COVID-19 has created sudden and radical shifts in how we teach and learn. As I’m readying Season Two’s episodes for release, I wanted to take some time first to speak with real teachers and see how they and their students are adapting, or trying to adapt, to these unprecedented times. On today’s show we interview three teachers about their experiences during the last couple of weeks. I plan to do a follow-up set of interviews a few weeks from now as well. If you’re a teacher (or student, or parent) who wants to share their experiences with teaching and learning during the coronavirus crisis, please email me at edinfinitumpodcast@gmail.com.

And, for a little levity, here’s one school’s message to its students (keep watching, it gets better and better):

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Special episode – We’re all homeschoolers now

The COVID-19 crisis has suddenly and unexpectedly made homeschoolers out of all Americans. In this episode, we take a look at the history of homeschooling, as well as present an interview with one local mom who has been homeschooling for the last six years.