We speak with Swarthmore’s Dr. Edwin Mayorga, who explains how abolitionist classrooms and schools create “freedom as a place” in contrast to racial capitalism. Teachers are the lead inquirers and try to “move at the speed of trust,” helping to create classrooms full of joy. Edwin describes Philadelphia’s Kensington Health Sciences Academy as a school where teaching and learning are based on establishing  relationships of mutual respect.  

Overview

00:00-00:42 Intros
00:42-02:20 Abolitionist education
02:20-04:44 “Freedom as a place”
04:44-08:03 Critical racial ethnic studies; the Sankofa bird
08:03-15:27 Decolonizing education; relationships in the process between colonized and colonizer
15:27-22:21 Intersections of race and class
22:21-26:27 Racial capitalism’s impact in the classroom
26:27-33:20 Kensington Health Sciences Academy (KHSA)
33:20-36:16 Teacher as lead inquirer
36:16-38:25 Moving at the speed of trust
38:25-40:13 Modeling trustworthiness for students
40:13-42:55 How did KHSA become a school focused on trust?
42:55-44:30 Outro

Transcription

Click here to see the full transcription of this episode. 

References

Credits 

Soundtrack by Podington Bear

Photo twitter.com/khsaphila