ClassCast Podcast

ClassCast Podcast Ep.039 features Mike Bergin and Amy Seeley -- standardized test experts, tutors, entrepreneurs, networkers, and podcasters -- speaking with host Ryan Tibbens about high stakes testing, the evolution of tests, "good testers," equity, grade inflation, improving schools, and much more. This discussion covers it all -- from becoming standardized test experts to school curriculum, from Randy Moss to Leo Tolstoy.

Table of Contents 

1. Intro/Changing Tests over Time     --     0:00-9:12
2. Randy Moss: Do "Good Testers" Make Good Tutors?     --     9:15-17:37
3. Leo Tolstoy: All about "Naturally Good Testers"     --     17:38-20:46
4. Is the SAT Legit?     --     20:47-23:40
5. Test Prep: Strategies vs Skills and Curriculum     --     23:49-33:28
6. Don't Kill the Messenger: Grade Inflation & Equity     --     33:29-44:41
7. Ideal Schools: More Reading, Smaller Classes, & Peer Teaching     --     44:53-49:48
8. Recommendations: Books & Movies     --     49:50-53:03
9. Wrap-Up/Final Wisdom     --     53:21-54:58

Mike Bergin and Amy Seeley host the Tests & the Rest: The College Admissions Industry Podcast, which Ryan appeared on to talk about rhetoric and admissions essays; through their podcasting, they've spoken with well over 100 industry experts about different aspects of college admissions, testing, writing, research, and more.  In addition to their podcast, Mike and Amy are the co-founders of the Test Prep Tribe private Facebook group for tutors and the National Test Prep Association, an all-new professional organization that connects and supports independent test prep tutors around the world. Mike Bergin is the president of Chariot Learning in Rochester, New York; he previously tutored and worked as testing expert for Princeton Review and Huntington Learning Center. Amy Seeley is the president of Seeley Test Pros in Cleveland, Ohio; she previously tutored and trained with Princeton Review. Between them, they have over 50 years of test prep tutoring experience. Be sure to check out their podcast, particularly the episode featuring our host Ryan Tibbens.

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ClassCast Podcast Ep.038 features writer, traveler, and teacher Janet LoSole, author of Adventure by Chicken Bus: An Unschooling Odyssey through Central America. Janet is an experienced world traveler and ESL teacher who advocates for a special brand of homeschooling or unschooling -- "world schooling." In this episode, we discuss what world schooling is, why people do it, what kinds of families pursue the option, and what can be learned. We also address travel, educational freedom, books, and more. If you've ever thought about taking an extended field trip with family -- foreign or domestic -- you MUST learn more about world schooling and how travel can create the curriculum you need to learn everything from traditional school and more. In particular, listeners who enjoyed our recent episode about unschooling with Catina Franklin Sweedy will find a lot to think about in this conversation. 

As always, be sure to like, follow, share, retweet, follow, subscribe, comment, and all that jazz wherever you get your podcasts!

TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Intro/What Is World Schooling?     --     1:17 - 10:40
- World Schooling: Language, Family, & Duration     --     16:31 - 27:08
- How Language Impacts Travel     --     27:09 - 34:41
- World Schooling Networks & Support     --     34:42 - 38:52
- Is World Schooling for Rich People?     --     42:15 - 50:53 
- The Chicken Bus & the Book     --     50:58 - 59:04
- Janet's Ideal (Un)School     --     1:00:24 - 1:12:05
- Book/Movie Recommendations     --     1:12:05 - 1:17:19 
- Seeing Poverty Up Close     --     1:17:20 - 1:22:05

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ClassCast Podcast Ep.037 features Jeremy Wayne Tate, CEO of the CLT exam, talking with host Ryan Tibbens about classical education, school choice, improving education, and the CLT exam itself. After spending around 10 years working in schools, he now leads an upstart testing company that hopes to challenge the SAT and ACT in the college admissions testing space. A self-proclaimed disrupter, Jeremy Wayne Tate cares deeply about education and about bringing back the classical form of schooling that has dominated western culture for hundreds of years. If you use Twitter and care about education, you MUST follow Jeremy (@JeremyTate41) -- you will love or hate his each and every tweet, but you will never feel apathetic about them. Whether you are a homeschooling, unschooling, private schooling, or public schooling family, the concepts of classical education, school choice, and admissions options should at least be on your radar.  Don't miss this chance to learn about a new test and a new, old form of school from an up-and-coming education entrepreneur. 

HIGHLIGHTS
1) What is the CLT Exam & Why Classical Education?   --     2:22-21:02
2) Tate's Ideal School   --    21:30-29:30
3) Parents as Teachers & Government Schools   --     30:12-38:07
4) School Choice   --     38:08-50:18
5) Test Optional Admissions & Grades   --     52:08-56:56
6) The CLT's Growth   --     56:56-1:01:25
7) Cultural Bias   --     1:01:33-1:12:42
8) Books & Ending   --     1:14:56-1:21:00

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Ep.036 features the founders of Allies for Black Voices: ​Pooja Tanjore, Roma Sharma, Grace Crangle, & Nikita Sajai.

Allies for Black Voices is a project founded and operated by four brilliant young women in Loudoun County, Virginia. After the murder of George Floyd and the outbreak of Black Lives Matter protests across, Pooja, Roma, Grace, and Nikita felt compelled to act. They realized that social media posts aren't real action, and they understood that, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people were unable to participate in protests or engage in robust discussions about systemic racism and reform. They pooled their ideas and resources and, after joining forces with the Loudoun County chapter of NOW (National Organization for Women) and their vice president (Jessica Berg -- teacher, writer, activist, and former ClassCast Podcast guest), decided to create a virtual platform to showcase Black speakers who wanted to share their ideas, experiences, and aspirations for improving racial justice in the United States. Each week throughout the summer of 2020, Allies for Black Voices is hosting a live Zoom session featuring different speakers and ideas. The events are free to attend, and they post the videos to their YouTube channel for sharing or viewing after the live event ends. Keep up with their speakers and new events on their Instagram page.

In this episode of the ClassCast Podcast, host Ryan Tibbens talks with Pooja, Roma, Grace, and Nikita about their work for racial justice and how public education factors into our country's race problems and solutions. From activism to curriculum improvement, multiculturalism to book/movie/podcast recommendations, Episode 036 is a deep, content rich discussion about how all Americans can contribute to social improvement.

NEW!
​For ease of access and organization, the ClassCast Podcast will no longer post separate highlight clips for reach episode.  Of course, we recommend listening to the full episode, but from now on, each upload will include a Table of Contents with time stamps to to help listeners find specific topics and sections.

Table of Contents

• 6:03 - 25:43 -- Intro to Allies for Black Voices, Audience/Purpose, & Anti-Racist Materials
• 38:56 - 1:02:57 -- Anti-Racism in Schools (Curriculum, Gerrymandering, Representation, Racial Disparities, & School Resource Officers/Police)
• 1:03:22 - 1:11:58 -- Teacher Race and Representation
• 1:12:00 - 1:28:21 -- Improving Schools
• 1:32:00 - 1:44:00 -- Book, Movie, & Podcast Recommendations

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ClassCast Podcast Ep.035 features Sara Potler LaHayne, the founder and CEO of Move This World, a social-emotional learning (SEL) program that has served over one million students across 35 states, helping young people to achieve and maintain better mental health, emotional stability, and personal control -- all of which contribute to happiness and educational success.  Throughout the episode, Sara and host Ryan Tibbens discuss what SEL is, how it works, what students/parents/teachers do in the Move This World program, and how we can make schools better by treating students as complete, dynamic human beings. SEL has become somewhat of a buzz word in public education lately, but Sara has dedicated over 13 years to building her company, increasing awareness of SEL, and supporting young people across the United States. If you want to learn more about social-emotional learning, the Move This World program, or why helping students with emotional well-being is so important, be sure to listen to the full episode. 

Check out Move This World on social media:

• Facebook: @MoveThisWorld
• Twitter: @move_thisworld
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/move-this-world
• Instagram: @move_thisworld

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In this clip from ClassCast Podcast Ep.035, the CEO & founder of Move This World, Sara Potler LaHayne, explains the roles teachers play in the Move This World program and in social-emotional learning (SEL) in general. Sara points out how teachers must engage in the regular practice to maximize the benefits for the students and themselves; however, because of Move This World's production quality and micro-lesson structure, teachers have to do zero planning. Teacher feedback and buy-in are essential for most student support programs to be successful, and Sara does everything she can to address teachers' needs and increase their participation.  If you want to learn more about SEL and teachers' involvement in that education, don't miss this clip. 

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This clip from ClassCast Podcast Ep.035 features Sara Potler LaHayne, founder and CEO of Move This World, explaining the concept of social-emotional learning (SEL), introducing the Move This World program, and declaring its significance for students of every age and background. SEL has become somewhat of buzz word in education over the last couple of years, but this trend has been built on decades of hard work by school counselors, psychologists, researchers, and entrepreneurs like Sara. If you want to know more about SEL and how it can help the young people in your life or school, this clip is a great starting point. 

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ClassCast Podcast Ep.034 features Catina Franklin Sweedy, an unschooling advocate and leader at the Embark Center for Self-Directed Education in Leesburg, Virginia, discussing unschooling, student choice, mentorship, intellectual freedom, and innovation in public education with host Ryan Tibbens.  As COVID-19 pressures mount on public schools, students, parents, teachers, and other institutions, many families are unsure of what schooling decisions to make this fall and beyond; this discussion will not only present them with innovative options in the short term but with visions of change and progress to carry our students and schools into a new educational paradigm. 

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In this highlight clip from ClassCast Podcast Ep.034, unschooling advocate Catina Franklin Sweedy and host Ryan Tibbens discuss the importance of literacy and numeracy but disagree somewhat over how to support young people in developing those skills. Still friendly and productive, this is one of the only disagreements in the entire discussion -- Catina advocates full self-direction, and Ryan prefers compulsory direct instruction for literacy and numeracy skills.  This leads to discussions of how to implement more choice in schools, how to scale a hybrid plan, and how culture shapes our ideas about what skills are essential.  Though it comes from the end of the episode, almost an afterthought, this is one of the most entertaining sections of the discussion.

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In this clip from ClassCast Podcast Ep.034, unschooling expert Catina Franklin Sweedy shares her ideas about improving schools (and "unschools") in great detail -- ending compulsory attendance, moving to an interdisciplinary model, enhancing student choice, creating more labs and open facilities, improving the architecture, and more. Host Ryan Tibbens shares many of her visions and adds in one of his own goals -- using vacant commercial real estate for future school facilities. If you are interested in changing and improving the public school model, you can't miss this clip.

Be sure to like, follow, subscribe, share, and leave a comment wherever you listen to podcasts! 

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