Category Archives: Episode

S4E13 – Tough times for teaching and learning



 S4E13 – Tough times for teaching and learning

Even before the Omicron variant reared its ugly head, teachers were resigning in unprecedented numbers this fall. This episode, our season finale, explores some of the reasons why.

Sources for this episode

Watch this space for information on when Season 5 will begin!


Season 4, Episode 12: Do we actually have the right to an education?



Season 4, Episode 12: Do we actually have the right to an education?

The United States prides itself on being the first country to institutionalize and make mandatory free, taxpayer funded public education — but is that education something to which all children in the US actually have a right? The answer’s not as simple as it may seem.

Sources for this episode.

Next episode will post on Oct 22, 2021


Season 4, Episode 10 – Woman with a plan: The story of Helen Parkhurst and Dalton



  Season 4, Episode 10 – Woman with a plan: The story of Helen Parkhurst and Dalton

This episode describes the dynamic career of teacher and school reformer Helen Parkhurst, whose life’s mission was to replace the dull, factory-style structures of American public education with student-centered learning experiences tailored to individual children’s needs. What can we learn from Parkhurst’s experience, especially her famous “Dalton Plan,” that might inform the present moment, where schools may have a chance to re-define themselves post-COVID?

Sources for this episode.

Next episode will post on Sept 17th, 2021


S4E8 – Lost and Found: Addressing COVID “Learning Loss”



S4E8 – Lost and Found: Addressing COVID “Learning Loss”

Schools nationwide are grappling with this Fall’s expected challenges of “learning loss” due to the past year of pandemic-affected learning. But what exactly do we mean by “learning loss,” what are the remedies, and what are the questions we’re not asking but should be?

Sources for this episode.

Next episode will post on Friday, August 20th


S4E6 – What is the purpose of public education in the USA?



S4E6 – What is the purpose of public education in the USA?

What do we want from public schools, and how does that answer vary depending on whom, in our very divided nation, you ask? In this episode, I use a recent Atlantic article by George Packer, “The Four Americas,” as a frame for looking at how each of those four Americas might envision both the purpose and the future of public education in the USA.

Sources for this episode:

Next episode will post on Friday, July 23


S4E5 – Project Based Learning: Promises and Perils



S4E5 – Project Based Learning: Promises and Perils

Project Based Learning is often touted, yet too infrequently practiced, in US public schools. This episode (our 50th!) addresses the questions of just what is PBL, and what are the advantages – and challenges – of trying to teach and learn in this manner?

Click here for sources for this episode.

Next episode will post on July 9th