Ethical Schools

We speak with Melissa Rivers, Principal of the Scammon Bay School in Alaska’s Lower Yukon, a mile from the Bering Sea. The isolated, tight-knit Yupik Eskimo community is subsistence-based, harvesting moose and salmon. Students are artistic and learn by making things, but also must prepare for standardized tests designed for very different environments. For the past several years, Scammon Bay has participated in a cross-cultural exchange program run by the Alaska Humanities Forum to promote understanding among Alaska’s urban and rural communities.

The post Melissa Rivers on Community-Based Education in Rural Alaska first appeared on Ethical Schools.

We speak with Dr. Mark Santow, Chair of the Department of History at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. Dr. Santow and his middle school son, along with 12 other plaintiffs, are suing the state of Rhode Island in federal court under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution for failing to provide civics curricula and other components of an adequate education to some Rhode Island students. The suit is especially notable because most education equity cases are brought in state courts. We discuss the racial, socioeconomic, and political underpinnings of educational inequality.

Overview

00:00-01:29 Intros

01:30-06:21 Cook v Raimondo lawsuit background

06:22-08:02 A constitutional right to an education

08:03-09:44 Why Rhode Island and why now

09:45-11:27 Lack of civics and unequal funding

11:28-14:37 A vision of a civics curriculum

14:38-17:16 Rose of ethics/ethical decision-making in a civics course

17:17-19:40 Federal courts’ resistance to accepting adequate education as a constitutional right

19:41-21:23 Relationship to slavery/race

21:24-24:19 Can education system compensate for economic inequality

24:20-26:23 Civics as center of entire curriculum could be transformative

26:24-29:02 Public organizing and the lawsuit

29:03-29:45 Outro

Transcript

Click here to see the full transcription of this episode. 

References

Credits

Photo: Unsplash

Soundtrack by Podington Bear

We speak with Dr. Mark Santow, Chair of the Department of History at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. Dr. Santow and his middle school son, along with 12 other plaintiffs, are suing the state of Rhode Island in federal court under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution for failing to provide civics curricula and other components of an adequate education to some Rhode Island students. The suit is especially notable because most education equity cases are brought in state courts. We discuss the racial, socioeconomic, and political underpinnings of educational inequality.

The post Mark Santow on Suing Rhode Island for Educational Equal Protection first appeared on Ethical Schools.

We interview Lev Moscow who, for the last 14 years, has taught history and economics at The Beacon School in New York City. Lev reflects that advisory, done well, can serve as a venue for students to explore questions of ethics, purpose and happiness. He talks about balancing the history curriculum to include non-European perspectives. Getting students to read more than a few sentences is perhaps today’s teachers’ greatest challenge and Lev explains his approach.

*References, overview and transcript below. 

Download file | Play in new window | Duration: NaN | Recorded on September 4, 2019

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References

Lev refers to John Dewey, Tony Judt, and these resources:

Lev also hosts a podcast that aims to make economics accessible. It is called A Correction Podcast and you can listen to it on acorrectionpodcast.com

Overview

00:00-00:57 Intros

00:58-07:24 Advice to new teachers; advisory; Consortium schools (NYC)

07:25-10:47 Electronic technology in the classroom

10:48-12:00 Advisory and relationships

12:01:17:33 Print/reading and digital tech cultures

17:34-19:15 HS versus college cultures

19:16-21:31 Homework

21:32-27:58 Homework (continued): writing, historiography, SQR, short and long-term assignments

27:59-37:37 Language of ethics; ethics and morality; “truth” and skepticism; Dewey; existentialism

37:38-40:14 De-centering Europe in teaching modern Global History

40:15-41:00 Outro

Transcription

Click here to see the full transcription of the episode. 

Amy interviews Leo Ackley, who emigrated to Finland in the 1972. He taught art, history of architecture, design, and engineering in Finnish schools for 37 years. We discuss the Finnish system. Teachers have autonomy to develop their own curricula. Finnish administrators are answerable to teachers rather than the other way around. Homework is rare and standardized testing limited to a single exam towards the end of senior year. Finland is consistently in the top five in PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) rankings.  

Download file | Play in new window | Duration: 00:25:00

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Photo by Baptiste Valthier

Amy interviews Leo Ackley, who emigrated to Finland in the 1972. He taught art, history of architecture, design, and engineering in Finnish schools for 37 years. We discuss the Finnish system. Teachers have autonomy to develop their own curricula. Finnish administrators are answerable to teachers rather than the other way around. Homework is rare and...

The post Leo Ackley on teaching in Finland’s consistently superior schools first appeared on Ethical Schools.

We interview Kym Vanderbilt, Lecturer and Professional Development Liaison in the Early Childhood/Childhood Department at CUNY/Lehman College. Kym describes her students’ concerns about meeting the needs of teacher assistants and parents as well as children. She talks about the test-heavy teacher certification process, which is both intimidating and expensive for aspiring teachers of limited means, and how she tries to create a more welcoming and supportive environment for her students, staying in touch with them long after they become teachers themselves. To give us context, Kym gives us a fascinating overview of the complicated history of early childhood education.

Download file | Play in new window | Duration: 00:38:00

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Photo by Christina Morillo

References

During our conversation, Kym mentions the episode with David Kirkland about the Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education Framework. Click here to listen to it!

Overview

00:00-00:59 Intros

01:00-06:06 “What do you mean by ‘ethics’ and why is it important?”

06:07-09:42 Age of “We’re not sure we want you in the classroom”

09:43-11:59 Attrition rates among early childhood teachers

12:00-15:12 edTPA

15:13-18:03 Pearson Education

18:04-18:51 Cultural assets

18:52-19:26 Culturally responsive-sustaining education

19:27- 25:38 History of early childhood education and how it has changed

25:39-29:51 Universal preK (UPK)—possibilities and cautions

29:52-32:52 Current state of SEL and culturally responsive education, critical care in early childhood education; Chancellor Carranza’s impact

32:53-34:51 Transition from preK to elementary school

34:52-37:10 “Early childhood educators should be high school principals”; early childhood educators as leaders

37:11-38:00 Outro

Transcription

Click here to see the full transcription of the episode.