Ethical Schools

Steve Evangelista, longtime NYC educator, and Anthony Celestine, director of the Office of Juvenile Justice Services at Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, talk about  Calcasieu's Multi-Agency Resource Center. MARC, an assessment center that coordinates services for struggling families, has been extraordinarily successful in reducing young people's involvement with the juvenile justice system. 

Transcript

Click here to see the full transcription of this episode. 

Overview

00:00-00:50 Intros 

00:50-01:28 How Steve and Anthony met 

01:28-03:19 What the MARC is and how it is innovative

03:19-04:51 Families’ fears 

04:51-07:59 Educator’s perspective on demystifying assessment centers

07:59-15:16 Matching needed services with referrals 

15:16-18:57 Building support from different stakeholders 

18:57-25:23 Changes in community attitudes over time 

25:23-27:11 Patterns of success and difficulty with assessment centers

27:11-32:43 Environmental conditions for successful assessment centers

32:43-33:21 Schools reaching out for intervention before explosions

33:21-36:26 Suggestions for listeners 

36:10-   Outro

References

Check out Steven's new newsletter called "The Bending". It is intended for educators to learn about the juvenile justice system and bring those two worlds together in the name of disrupting the school-to-prison pipeline.  

Soundtrack by Poddington Bear

What boundaries should a school set on student speech, if any, in order to foster social-emotional learning, civil discourse, and friendship among students? How might they hold themselves and their students accountable for upholding school values, even when they are not reflected on the national political landscape?

We invite you to watch the 3rd episode of our video podcast series  “What Would YOU do?”, created in partnership with EdEthics of the Harvard Graduate School of Education. 

The episode “Walling Out or Welcoming In” explores the challenges posed by divisive political rhetoric for school classrooms and communities. Educators and parents of a School Culture Committee (SCC) at a K-8 school wrestle with a series of events that challenged their ability to maintain inclusive learning environments that are welcoming to all students. The SCC must determine where and how to draw boundaries between free political speech and offensive or harmful speech that qualifies as bullying or harassment. 

Each episode in this series includes a dramatization of an ethical dilemma that could be faced by educators along with a discussion of the case facilitated by Harvard professor Meira Levinson. They are free and a great resource for PD.

Watch it here.

Walling Out or Welcoming In?

Discussion led by Meira Levinson of EdEthics at the Harvard Graduate School of Education

Margaret Blachly Assistant Director, PD Facilitator, Psycho-educational Specialist, advisor and instructor in the Early Childhood Special Education and Bilingual Programs at the Bank Street Graduate School of Education

Leslie Boggs 56th President of National PTA

Carolina Brito Principal at the Rafael Hernández Dual Language K-8 School

Jay Greene Senior Research Fellow in The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Education Policy

A discussion that raises important pedagogical, ethical, democratic, legal, and political considerations, and invites readers to reflect on them both on their own and in dialogue with others.

Click here to learn more about this initiative and to watch other episodes.

We speak with Megan M. Conklin, who designs and implements professional development for substitutes in Washington state. Substitutes often don’t receive the support and compensation they deserve. Ms. Conklin’s union-backed program teaches subs classroom survival skills and advocates for equity among school staff members.

Overview

00:00-00:37 Intros

00:37-04:44 Why Megan Conklin has chosen to be a substitute

04:44-07:19 Major issues subs face

07:19-11:13 Structure and culture of Megan Conklin’s program

11:13-16:59 What a sub should do if thrown into a situation without support

16:59-17:34 Keeping a light-hearted mindset

17:34-19:47 What students want in a sub

19:47-21:46 What it’s like as a long-term sub

21:46-23:10 Pay scales

23:10-24:39 Effects of using classroom teachers to cover classes

24:39-26:34 Sub support programs in other states?

28:27-30:13 Differences in support among Washington districts

30:13-31:21 Supporting paraprofessionals and other marginalized groups in education

31:21- Outro

Transcript

Click here to see the full transcript of this episode. 

References

Megan Conklin’s website

Soundtrack by Poddington Bear

Image: instagram.com/conklineducationalperspectives

We speak with Dr. Andrea Siegel and Michelle Vitale of Hudson County Community College about the ways they bring art into students’  everyday lives. They’ve assembled a multi-ethnic art collection which is displayed on rotation in the galleries and hallways. Living with art is new to many of the students, who are often the first generation in their families to go to college.  Our guests tell their own stories about their parents’ reactions to their choosing to become artists.

Overview

00:00-00:52 Intros

00:52-01:22 Hudson County Community College

01:22-02:02 HCCC students

02:03-03:29 Michelle Vitale’s work

03:30-04:12 Work with public schools

04:13-05:16 Impact of having been a public school teacher and accomplished artist

05:17-06:07 HCCC’s Foundation Art Collection

06:08-07:11 Building the collection with limited resources

07:12-09:00 Finding art that is relevant to students

09:01-10:38 When art work changes a student’s life

10:39-14:20 Art scene in Jersey City and Hudson County

14:21-16:09 Centre Pompidou

16:09-19:56 Students’ previous experience with arts in schools and in HCCC’s galleries

19:56-23:13 Ways the city, county, and state can support arts education and the arts

23:13-26:34 Parents’ reactions to their children becoming artists

26:34-30:03 Dreams for artists

30:03- Outro

Transcript

Click here to see the full transcript of this episode. 

Soundtrack by Poddington Bear 

Photo flickr.com/photos/hudsonccc

Drs. Katherine Norris and  Kathryn Wiley, colleagues at Howard University’s School of Education, speak about obstacles to recruiting and retaining teachers and increasing diversity. Money matters, but even more, so does ending discrimination. “Racial battle fatigue” is pervasive among Black teachers.

Overview

00:00-00:58 Intros
00:58-02:44 Factors contributing to teacher shortage
02:44-08:15 American Teacher Act: what’s in it and what’s not
08:15-10:56 Adopting the DC social studies standards; overcoming pushback
10:56-13:06 History of curriculum battles, “Color in the Classroom: How American Schools Taught Race,” by Zoe Berkholder
13:06-17:39 Acute shortage of Black teachers
17:39-21:59 Brian Jones’s criticism of Geoffrey Canada around charter schools
21:59-26:13 Derek Black’s analysis of the attack on public education as such; importance of public schools as a necessity for democracy and as a place students have a right to be
26:13-28:05 What is needed to get bills like American Teacher Act expanded and passed
28:05-28:57 Scarcity of Black administrators and their importance
28:57-29:46 Need to end workplace discrimination and the need to support teachers
29:46-30:22 Teaching Profession Playbook as a resource
30:22- Outro

Transcript

Click here to see the full transcription of this episode. 

References

Soundtrack by Poddington Bear

We speak with Jamie Woodhouse, UK educator and thought leader on sentientism.  An ethical worldview informed by evidence, reason, and compassion, sentientism prioritizes the well-being of humans and animals other than human. We discuss strategies for introducing sentientism in the classroom, the questions students ask, and ways teachers can incorporate sentientism in the curriculum.

Overview

00:00-00:32 Intros

00:33-02:09 Definition of  Sentientism

02:09-05:11 History of Sentientism

05:11-7:59 Do we know who/what are sentient?

7:59-10:39 Are plants sentient?

10:39-11:55 Does sentientism take future generations into account?

11:55-15:23 Sentientism and veganism

15:23-21:00 Relationship of sentientism to hunting and fishing cultures

21:00-22:39 Sentientism and helping sentient beings to thrive

22:39-27:02 Sentientism and climate change

27:02-30:24 What should teachers know about sentientism?

30:24-35:09 Are children naturally compassionate or does that need to be taught?

35:09-39:14 Questions students ask

39:14-41:20 How students can incorporate sentientism into their actions

41:20-43:34 Sentientism as a “movement”

43:34- Outro

Transcript

Click here to see the full transcription of this episode. 

References

linktr.ee/sentientism

Podcast Sentientism

Soundtrack by Poddington Bear

We speak with the New Jersey School of Conservation’s Kerry Kirk Pflugh and Tanya Sulikowski, and Garwood, NJ middle school teacher, K.C. Bree about the SOC and about New Jersey’s first-in-the-nation mandate for climate change education in every grade. The SOC, a newly-reopened 75-year-old center for experiential learning and fieldwork, provides professional development as well as interdisciplinary programming for students including applied science, math, humanities, and arts in an idyllic outdoor setting. Students learn about humans’ responsibility toward other animals and the planet, and are empowered to take action.Working cooperatively, they often develop new respect for their classmates.

Overview

00:00-00:17 Intros

00:17-03:00 NJ School of Conservation (SOC)

03:00-04:31 Professional development

04:31-08:00 NJ climate change education mandate

08:00-08:30 Social emotional learning 

08:30-09:39 Correlation with state standards

09:39-11:24 Ethic of care

11:24-14:20 Garwood climate change education in elementary grades

14:20-22:43 Social emotional learning

22:43-24:54 Relationship with animals other than humans and plants

24:54-32:28 Climate change education over the next 5-10 years

32:28-33:41 SOC as a model

33:41-36:07 How do schools reach out to SOC?

36:07- Outro

Transcript

Click here to see the full transcription of this episode. 

Resources

The New Jersey School of Conservation’s website

Soundtrack by Podington Bear

We speak with Dr. Peter Hughes, superintendent of New Jersey’s Cresskill School District, an affluent New York City suburb with large Korean and Israeli communities, about respecting disparate cultures while centering individual students’ interests, talents, and needs. We discuss effective means of communicating with bicultural parents and inclusive strategic planning. How can schools prepare students for joyful futures where they also serve others and are impactful on the world around them? 

Overview

00:00-00:16 Intros

00:16-01:47 Cresskill demographics

01:47-03:31 Engaging with parents in a multilingual community

03:31-05:04 Cultural differences in families’ relationships with the schools

05:04-07:32 Special education classification

07:32-12:09 What are parents looking for?

12:09-13:54 Stresses and issues for young people in a wealthy/professional community

13:54-17:51 Project-based learning and assessment

17:51-20:50 Incorporating ethics and “citizenship” in the classroom

20:50-26:09 Should schools instill values?

26:09-28:23 Making a difference

28:23-29:56 Student passions and “more inclusive vision of what students can do and bring to this world”

29:56-32:47 District’s education budget

32:47- Outro

Transcript

Click here to see the full transcription of this episode. 

Soundtrack by Poddington Bear 

Image twitter.com/CresskillBOE

We speak with Dave Crenshaw, founder and coach of Team Dreamers NY in Washington Heights; Blanca Battino, retired principal of PS 128; and Dr. Robert Fullilove, professor and associate dean at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. Team Dreamers is a life-changing out-of-school-time program. Deeply embedded in the community, it builds leadership and mutual support among students. Dr. Fullilove’s public health interns serve as mentors and role models while they learn from the youth and their families.

Overview

00:00-01:04 Intros

01:04-02:54 Team Dreamers and its activities

02:54-03:59 Blanca Battino and Coach Dave

03:59-06:49 Dr. Bob Fulllilove and Coach Dave

06:49-08:43 Strategies for working with challenging youth

08:43-11:17 Building trust as a Black man in a Dominican neighborhood

11:17-13:50 Collaboration on public health during the pandemic

13:50-16:17 Broader lessons for public health

16:17-19:20 Impact on public health students

19:20-21:41 Network of support/Alumni and Teammate Association

21:41-25:46 Lessons for educators from collaboration with Coach Dave

25:46-28:23 Field trips

28:23- Outro

Transcript

Click here to see the full transcription of this episode. 

Soundtrack by Poddington Bear

We speak with Lee Schere, Director of Teaching and Learning at the Office of K-16 Initiatives of CUNY about the Debating U.S. History Program, an inquiry-based curriculum and teacher learning program. Students learn that history is not one set of agreed-upon events and interpretations. Though designed for NYC schools, the curriculum is available free to teachers everywhere.

Overview

00:00-00:37 Intros
00:37-02:42 Debating U.S. History
02:42-04:58 Why CUNY developed a high school course
04:58-06:32 Why this is a more ethical way to teach history
06:32-08:23 Examples of inquiry-based learning
08:23-12:28 Differentiation in working with documents for students at different reading levels
12:28-14:23 Key skills and strategies
14:23-17:41 Historiography and uncertainty
17:41-19:20 Students grappling with ethical questions
19:20-20:53 Program logistics
20:53-23:03 Collaboration with ELA teachers
23:03-24:00 How schools become part of the program
24:00-26:14 Regents exam
26:14- Outro

Transcript

Click here to see the full transcript of this episode. 

References

CUNY K16 Initiatives: Debating US History (website)

Soundtrack by Poddington Bear