This Week: Who knew the plastics industry was infiltrating K-12 science curricula with lessons that help kids do things like pretending to be an employee of Dow Chemical and building a better plastic bag, or understanding the ubiquitous and positive nature of plastics in our lives?  Yeah, it’s happening. Also, a sad, if not shocking piece in the Hechinger Report calls out persistent disproportionality in Black boys being retained a year in school, even as overall rates of retention fall across the country. What’s at play here, and how do we solve this seemingly intractable issue? Manuel and Jeff discuss!    

All of the Above was named in the top 20 on the Best 100 Education Podcasts in the US by MillionPodcasts.com. Check us out, like, subscribe, and drop a rating :) 

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This Week: It has been a busy few weeks of stories in education, so we begin with a lightning round of headlines covering everything from a hero teacher saving 900 students in Nepal, to the Catholic Bishops in Florida telling the attorney general to kick rocks. Then, we dig deep into the big news out of the nations’ two largest school systems - NYC and LA - which have both taken bold moves to restrict generative AI tolls and usage in schools, as well as screen time during the school day, especially for younger learners. But, some folks are saying this is purely reactionary policy that is shortsighted, and is actually exacerbating equity issues when it comes to tech literacy. Is this progress, or regression? Manuel and Jeff discuss!

All of the Above was named in the top 20 on the Best 100 Education Podcasts in the US by MillionPodcasts.com. Check us out, like, subscribe, and drop a rating :) 

MAXIMUM WOKENESS ALERT -- get your All of the Above swag, including your own “Teach the Truth” shirt! In this moment of relentless attacks on teaching truth in the classroom, we got you covered. https://all-of-the-above-store.creator-spring.com 

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Today on AOTA Shorts: Varsity Tutors for Schools, one of the nation’s largest virtual tutoring providers, has abruptly closed up shop. Citing a lack of evidence of effectiveness, it appears their district partners had begun seeking other providers. As we emerge from the pandemic era, where billions in additional federal funding for education sparked a wave of high-dose tutoring and other ed tech based service providers, schools and districts are now forced to grapple with both costs and the harsh reality of whether these providers were able to deliver results. Varsity, it appears, did not. But the closure of a company that’s not delivering results is a good thing… right? Manuel and Jeff discuss!

All of the Above was named #30 on the Best 100 Education Podcasts in the US by MillionPodcasts.com. Check us out, like, subscribe, and drop a rating :) 

MAXIMUM WOKENESS ALERT -- get your All of the Above swag, including your own “Teach the Truth” shirt! In this moment of relentless attacks on teaching truth in the classroom, we got you covered. https://all-of-the-above-store.creator-spring.com 

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Today on AOTA Shorts: A group of families and education advocates in Massachusetts join a growing number of lawsuits challenging school segregation across the country.  Since the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954, America begrudgingly inched forward in its efforts to integrate public schools, and then almost immediately began backtracking on that promise systematically. Today schools are more segregated than they’ve been in decades, and with entrenched racial housing patterns, and a federal government that has weaponized the civil rights infrastructure against us, the problem is clear, but the solutions are not. What did we gain and lose in the era following Brown? And what lessons should we learn in this renewed fight against segregation? Manuel and Jeff discuss!

All of the Above was named #30 on the Best 100 Education Podcasts in the US by MillionPodcasts.com. Check us out, like, subscribe, and drop a rating :) 

MAXIMUM WOKENESS ALERT -- get your All of the Above swag, including your own “Teach the Truth” shirt! In this moment of relentless attacks on teaching truth in the classroom, we got you covered. https://all-of-the-above-store.creator-spring.com 

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Today on AOTA Shorts: Citing a lack of evidence showing any systemic pattern of antisemitism, a federal judge dismissed a Trump admin lawsuit against Harvard University. This is the latest in a growing number of legal losses the administration and its allies are experiencing as legal scrutiny is applied to their weaponized allegations of antisemitism, their fascist attempts to constrain free speech and suppress ideas they don’t like, and their manufactured hysteria about DEI. It’s one step in the right direction, with many more steps to go to undo the chilling effects of their policy agenda in higher education. Manuel and Jeff discuss!

All of the Above was named #30 on the Best 100 Education Podcasts in the US by MillionPodcasts.com. Check us out, like, subscribe, and drop a rating :) 

MAXIMUM WOKENESS ALERT -- get your All of the Above swag, including your own “Teach the Truth” shirt! In this moment of relentless attacks on teaching truth in the classroom, we got you covered. https://all-of-the-above-store.creator-spring.com 

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This Week: Turns out if you invest resources equitably to meet the needs of students and communities who have been systematically underserved, you do see results. Shocker. In Los Angeles, the district’s Black Student Achievement Plan has faced racist legal challenges and the doom of an impending budget crisis. And yet, state test scores show the achievement gap for Black students is shrinking. And, in Texas a group of faculty have sued the Texas A&M System over a dystopian policy banning “advocacy” of race and gender ideology, whatever the hell that even means. The policy, which is a clear example of censorship, and a flagrant violation of first amendment rights, is now facing legal challenges by faculty who have faced rejection of courses, censorship of texts and topics, and even cancellation of a course already in session.  Wild times, and hopefully more good news coming from the courts soon.  Manuel and Jeff discuss!

All of the Above was named #30 on the Best 100 Education Podcasts in the US by MillionPodcasts.com. Check us out, like, subscribe, and drop a rating :) 

MAXIMUM WOKENESS ALERT -- get your All of the Above swag, including your own “Teach the Truth” shirt! In this moment of relentless attacks on teaching truth in the classroom, we got you covered. https://all-of-the-above-store.creator-spring.com 

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This Week: There’s a lot going on… and it’s a hot mess.  Tuskegee University, one of the pillars of HBCUs in America, announces a new dress code that prevents students from wearing things like duy-rags, bonnets, and bedroom shoes in classes, dining halls, and other academic settings. The administration says it’s part of the school's “responsibility to prepare its students for professional environments after graduation.” A small school district in Western NY state, serving an Indian reservation community, aborts a plan to use life-like, AI powered robots in the classroom, built by a company best known for making sex robots. Sadly, you read that correctly. And, Arizona State University announces a new major focused on helping people become social media influencers. Is it just an institutional money grab, or a legit path to a career in a massive industry? Manuel and Jeff discuss!  

All of the Above sends our condolences to the family, friends, and loved ones of noted Denver educator and co-host of the Too Dope Teachers and Mic podcast, Kevin Adams.  Check out this beautiful profile of Kevin in NEA Today, and his first appearance with us on All of the Above back in 2020. Rest in peace and power Kevin.

All of the Above was named #30 on the Best 100 Education Podcasts in the US by MillionPodcasts.com. Check us out, like, subscribe, and drop a rating :) 

MAXIMUM WOKENESS ALERT -- get your All of the Above swag, including your own “Teach the Truth” shirt! In this moment of relentless attacks on teaching truth in the classroom, we got you covered. https://all-of-the-above-store.creator-spring.com 

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This Week: A superintendent in Massachusetts has put out a fascinating take on a revision to the ubiquitous Bloom’s Taxonomy, the helpful tool which has defined orders of thinking for decades in education. In the age of AI, he claims, the hierarchical nature of Bloom’s no longer reflects the more complex arc of thinking students will do in a world where humans think with AI. It’s an interesting take, and solidly sidesteps all of the most perilous ramifications of the rush to bring AI into the classroom.  Plus, the confederates in charge of the federal government made it official this week. The US Dept of Education will no longer use “disparate impact” as criteria for holding state, districts, or schools accountable for compliance with the Title XI of the Civil RIghts Act of 1964, effectively gutting the landmark legislation. Now, short of having a smoking gun, or video evidence of officials spewing epithets, it will be virtually impossible for plaintiffs to seek federal relief from systemically racist practices in America’s schools. Manuel and Jeff discuss.  

All of the Above sends our condolences to the family, friends, and loved ones of noted Denver educator and co-host of the Too Dope Teachers and Mic podcast, Kevin Adams.  Check out this beautiful profile of Kevin in NEA Today, and his first appearance with us on All of the Above back in 2020. Rest in peace and power Kevin!

All of the Above was named #30 on the Best 100 Education Podcasts in the US by MillionPodcasts.com. Check us out, like, subscribe, and drop a rating :) 

MAXIMUM WOKENESS ALERT -- get your All of the Above swag, including your own “Teach the Truth” shirt! In this moment of relentless attacks on teaching truth in the classroom, we got you covered. https://all-of-the-above-store.creator-spring.com 

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This Week: The Romeo Community School District in Michigan has issued educators a list of 32 phrases that are pre approved for us on classroom posters. The phrases are, perhaps excruciatingly, unoffensive. Classics like: be yourself, you belong here, you matter, and lift others up, make the list. But, not coincidentally, absent from the list are any phrases making note of any identity markers, or that have become synonymous with movements for LGBTQ visibility in schools. The district claims this policy, which would require teachers to go through 4 layers of committee and district approval before using other language on posters, is about consistency across classrooms and ensuring “political” content doesn’t take away from the approved curriculum. Parents and teachers know better. Also, new data shows there has been a massive drop in perceptions of confidence in American colleges and universities. What does this data mean? Where is it coming from? And where do we go from here? Manuel and Jeff discuss!  

All of the Above was named #30 on the Best 100 Education Podcasts in the US by MillionPodcasts.com. Check us out, like, subscribe, and drop a rating :)

MAXIMUM WOKENESS ALERT -- get your All of the Above swag, including your own “Teach the Truth” shirt! In this moment of relentless attacks on teaching truth in the classroom, we got you covered. https://all-of-the-above-store.creator-spring.com 

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Today on AOTA Shorts: The price of housing has grown so astronomical in some parts of the country, like much of California, that districts are turning to a strategy of building their own housing in an effort to attract and retain teachers. Also, in some areas, community groups are organizing to solve this problem internally. In places like the Bay Area where a 1 bedroom apartment can cost $3500/month or more, having access to more affordable housing can be an important lifeline for educators and other public employees. But, who wants to live at work, so to speak? And what does this mean for the long term sustainability of a housing market that excludes almost everyone, including educators who can’t even afford to live where they teach? Manuel and Jeff discuss! 

All of the Above was named #30 on the Best 100 Education Podcasts in the US by MillionPodcasts.com. Check us out, like, subscribe, and drop a rating :) 

MAXIMUM WOKENESS ALERT -- get your All of the Above swag, including your own “Teach the Truth” shirt! In this moment of relentless attacks on teaching truth in the classroom, we got you covered. https://all-of-the-above-store.creator-spring.com 

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Website: https://AOTAshow.com