Hello everyone! Today, there is a special focus on schools. Across America, people are examining curriculum, going to board meetings and making their voices heard, and posting online about their worries about where schools are going. Many people dismiss these events by saying they are spurred by special interest groups (driven by money). They say the parents railing against Critical Race Theory or what they call inappropriate sex and race education, is all either a misunderstanding or ignorance. While this show has featured many educators who have outlined why race should be addressed in schools, how identity is a part of the real world, and how the cry from parents is misguided, I wanted to bring on the other side, so to speak. I wanted to speak to a parent about her concerns, and the concerns of others, in hopes of at minimum, coming to an understanding, and at best, bridging gaps between schools of thought. To do so, I have brought on Jill Simonian. Jill is the Director of Outreach for PragerU Kids, is the on-camera personality and 'spokesmom' for PragerU's new digital children's edu-tainment for Kindergarten through 12th grade. Jill is a former television host & media contributor, founder of TheFABMom blog and published author. Previously, Jill was best known for her straight-talking parenting segments on Los Angeles' KCBS, KCAL, KTLA, KTTV as well as HLN/CNN, The Doctors, Access LIVE, TODAY Show, E! News, Hallmark Channel and more (totaling over 500 family lifestyle segments and articles between 2011-2020). Connect with Jill via PragerU.com/kids and Instagram/Twitter @jillsimonian. As I say in the intro of this episode... you may not agree with everything said in this episode. I certainly do not. However, I believe that listening to one another, even when we disagree, is our best way to proceed forward. This episode is sponsored by Heinemann—the leading publisher of professional books and resources for educators—and their professional book, Four Essential Studies: Beliefs and Practices to Reclaim Student Agency by Penny Kittle and Kelly Gallagher. Four Essential Studies is based on the belief that secondary students can only be prepared for life after high school when we purposefully shift the decision-making in our classrooms over to them. By reimagining how we teach essay, poetry, digital composition, and sustain talk in book clubs, we can ignite student curiosity, independence, and decision-making skills. Penny and Kelly share the strategies and activities they use in their own classrooms over the course of each unit, and show us what is possible when we expect more than compliance from our students. Learn more about how to transform students' relationship with literacy. Visit Heinemann.com to download a sample from Four Essential Studies.