ClassCast Podcast

In this highlight clip from ClassCast Podcast Ep.034, Catina Franklin Sweedy describes her own schooling; she and host Ryan Tibbens then discuss the value of mentorship and making personal connections with teachers and advisors. Catina's career has been two-fold -- a highly sought-after clarinetist and teacher AND a self-directed education leader -- and this clip illuminates the path that led her to both musical success and educational innovation. Host Ryan Tibbens also shares his experiences working with students and offering mentorship to young people in public schools. 

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In this highlight clip from ClassCast Podcast Ep.034, self-directed education leader Catina Franklin Sweedy and host Ryan Tibbens discuss the value of choice in education -- from homeschooling, unschooling, and traditional schooling to class and content choice, from libertarianism to curiosity.  Increasing students "voice and choice" has been trendy in formal education for the last few years, but education leaders always frame it as a surface-level choice, not as a choice between school formats, content areas, and specializations.  In this clip, we explore what real choice looks like. 

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In this highlight clip from ClassCast Podcast Ep.034, self-directed education expert Catina Franklin Sweedy explains the concept of unschooling and how it (and other alternatives) provide families with educational options, both during the pandemic and beyond. In addition to unschooling her own children, Catina has worked at the Embark Center for Self-Directed Education, an unschooling center in Leesburg, Virginia, for over a decade. Her insights into the benefits of freedom, choice, and student efficacy are essential listening for anyone involved in education -- schooling, unschooling, or otherwise.

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This quick teaser features host Ryan Tibbens explaining the purpose of the ClassCast Podcast -- to think outside the box about how to improve education -- to Ep.034 guest Catina Franklin Sweedy, a leader at the Embark Center for Self-Directed Education in Leesburg, VA.  This full episode (and its highlight clips) address unschooling, pandemic responses, student engagement, improving school, and more -- it is not to be missed! 

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ClassCast Podcast Ep.033 features host Ryan Tibbens sharing his views about reopening schools in the fall and, more importantly, advice about how teachers, administrators, parents, and students can all adjust their rhetoric to achieve better results. In recent weeks, social media posts from parents and from teachers have turned increasingly vitriolic, illogical, and unproductive. Private pages and Facebook groups have emerged catering to every possible reopening preference, and in those echo chambers, the people who are supposed to care most about students -- parents and teachers -- seem to have lost focus on the purpose of school -- education. From concerns about childcare to teachers' health, from tax rates to technology, we would all benefit from a little more composure and compromise. Check out this sub-30 minute episode and let us know what you think. 

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ClassCast Podcast Ep.032 features college admissions expert and Princeton College Consulting co-founder Benjamin Caldarelli speaking with host Ryan Tibbens about higher education, helping students prepare for the admissions process, improving schools, and how to better serve both students and our communities. As a former English professor and current admissions advisor/entrepreneur, Benjamin offers insights into the "education space" that few students, parents, teachers, or professors fully understand because most people don't see the many angles that he has experienced.  Enjoy this episode, learn from Mr. Caldarelli's insights, and think about how his ideas could improve the schools around you. 

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In this clip from ClassCast Podcast Ep.032, co-founder of Princeton College Consulting Benjamin Caldarelli and host Ryan Tibbens discuss the pressures that students face, pressures from grades and college admissions, and how those feelings can inhibit learning and derail education. Both speakers agree that many people's grades-above-all mentality is counterproductive -- it does not increase learning, personal development, nor chances college acceptance. Listen to this clip and learn more about how grading could change in ways that would ultimately improve students' learning, intrinsic motivation, and purpose. 

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In this clip from ClassCast Podcast Ep.032, college admissions expert Benjamin Caldarelli describes his ideal school, how to create a better school environment, and how pandemic-related pressures might ultimately change higher education. "What's your ideal school?" is a standard question included in all ClassCast Podcasts, but it only occasionally generates a highlight clip; in this case, Benjamin addresses students' needs before school design, offers concrete examples of his vision, and then transitions into how COVID-19 might force higher education to evolve in the coming years. For those interested in how higher education could better serve students or what the future may hold, this clip is not to be missed. 

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This clip from ClassCast Podcast Ep.032 features host and tutor Ryan Tibbens speaking with college admissions expert and Princeton College Consulting co-founder Benjamin Caldarelli about the college application process, the significance of good essays and letters of recommendation, holistic evaluations, and pandemic-related changes in the process, including schools going "test optional." This highlight offers both insights into the admissions process itself AND useful advice and ideas to help students who will be applying to college soon. 

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In this highlight clip from ClassCast Podcast Ep.031, student and Black Lives Matter activist C.T. (abbreviated here for search result/job prospect sensibilities) shares her thoughts on the importance of racially diverse school faculties as well as how to increase racial diversity without resorting to quotas or altered expectations. Among her many thoughtful suggestions is how improved teacher compensation could help to attract the best talent from a variety of racial and ethnic groups, ultimately improving the quality of education and job satisfaction for teachers. While "pay teachers more" is a common (but not always productive) strategy, C.T. makes a logical and passionate argument for why educators are deserving of more pay and prestige, and how those improvements could yield faculties more representative of (and effective with) their student bodies.


** DISCLAIMER -- This episode contains honest, open discussions about race, racism, and bias in schools. Both C.T. and host Ryan Tibbens engaged in this discourse to share perspectives and learn. For those listening with a more critical ear (or predisposition to cancel culture/virtue signaling), please extend a little grace.  We're all trying to get better.  Also, as a teacher, I have referred to professional experiences that have occurred in six different schools and with a wide variety of coworkers; I do not intend to disparage any person or institution, nor do I intend to speak on "out of place" or on behalf of my employer. I am solely responsible for my views.  At a few points in this discussion, specific names are obscured so that listeners focus on the broader issues rather than individual schools or people involved in the situations.  If you have a suggestion or question about content in this episode, you can contact ClassCast Podcast directly via [email protected]. 

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