Ethical Schools

We speak with Lian Zeitz, co-founder of the Climate Mental Health Network, which promotes wellness in light of the climate crisis. According to a recent survey, 70% of young people are fearful for their future due to climate change. Teachers can foster wellness by interweaving insights into their curricula, and by instilling habits of hope and resilience. The Climate Mental Health Network prioritizes input from students, working with a Gen Z advisory board.

Overview

00:00-00:37 Intros

00:37-02:49 Climate anxiety: what it is and how it is affecting young people

02:49-04:04 “To heal the planet, we have to collectively heal ourselves”

04:04-06:22 When is anxiety about a real threat healthy and when not?

06:22-06:39 Components of wellness

06:39-08:33 How teachers can foster wellness with students

08:33-11:11 Integrating SEL and mental health dimensions, including climate mental health into mainstream curriculum

11:11-13:59 How Climate Mental Health Network supports teachers and administrators

13:59-17:01 K-12 environmental justice curriculum in Califortnia

17:01-19:48 Whole school mental health transformation

19:48-23:04 Gen Z leadership roles

23:04-25:50 Non-medical-centered model

25:50-28:32 Learning from Indigeneous communities without co-optation

28:32-30:47 Individual choices and promotion of wellness

30:47-33:10 How students’ different life experiences have an impact on their degree of climate threat and on ways of supporting them

33:10- Outro

Transcript

Click here to see the full transcription of this episode. 

References

The Climate Mental Health Network website

We speak with Norm Fruchter, long-time educational activist and thought leader, about Independence School, an experimental high school where the ideal was that someone walking into a classroom couldn’t tell the teacher from the students. We discuss lessons learned – and perhaps forgotten – about supporting students whose original schools failed them. Among the school’s strengths were authentic, enduring relationships among teachers and students, teaching strategies that enabled illiterate students to learn to read without embarrassment, month-long internship breaks, and curriculum that referenced students’ life experiences.

Norm Fruchter, leader in NYC and Newark education equity movement, dies at 85

Overview

00:00-00:52 Intro to encore

00:52-02:07 Intros

02:07-05:30 Founding of Independence H.S. in Newark

05:30-07:29 Law Enforcement Assistance Administration grant

07:29-09:11 School’s relationship with Newark police department

09:11-10:24 What students did after graduation

10:24-12:19 Students’ challenges in college

12:19-13:53 Recruiting teachers

13:53-16:27 Stressors on faculty members

16:27-18:26 Internships

18:26-20:53 Conflict resolution

20:52-24:27 Literacy instruction

24:27-26:51 Use of poetry

26:51-28:44 Curricula in math, social studies

28:44-30:58 Influence of Newark experience on Norm’s school policy work

30:58-32:20 Relationships

32:20-33:30 Differences from transfer schools

33:30-35:08 Can programs like this be brought to scale by school districts?

35:08- Outro

Transcript

Click here to see the full transcription of this episode. 

Soundtrack by Poddington Bear

Image: steinhardt.nyu.edu

We speak with Dr. Elizabeth J. Meyer of the University of Colorado about ensuring that K-12 schools are welcoming and safe for students with non-normative gender identities and expressions. Dr. Meyer found that these students thrive in schools that center student-directed learning and interdisciplinary exploration as opposed to schools that replicate society’s toxic hierarchies. Generally, students are much more comfortable talking about issues related to gender diversity than their teachers or parents.

Overview

00:00-00:40 Intros

00:40-02:23 Title IX coordinators and their challenges

02:23-03:32 Equity directors and their challenges

03:32-05:55 Equity directors: race, class, and gender and sexuality

05:55-07:05 Race as entry point to conversations about other marginalized groups

07:05-08:38 “Gender-creative”—what it means and why use it

08:38:11:01 Impact of school structures on creating comfortable environments

11:01-12:08 Schools as gender-policed spaces

12:08-13:59 Student-led gender audit

13:59-16:29 Transgender students and sports

16:29-17:46 Students are generally more comfortable in conversations about gender and sexual diversity than adults

17:46-19:04 Texas governor’s ban on gender-affirming health care

19:04-22:00 Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill

22:00-23:11 Teacher ed and leadership ed programs

23:11-24:42 How principals can become proactive before a crisis

24:42-26:28 Book banning and “curriculum transparency” bills

26:28-27:04 Life and death situations—“Why aren’t we talking about this in our school?”

27:04-28:05 Comparisons with other countries

28:05- Outro

Transcript

Click here to see the full transcript of this episode. 

References

Click here to go to Dr. Elizabeth Meyer’s website. 

Soundtrack by Poddington Bear

We speak with Dr. Deb L. Morrison, research scientist at the University of Washington School of Education, about centering climate science throughout the K-12 curriculum. Dr. Morrison talks about ClimeTime, a Washington State-funded program that teaches how to engage in climate science and climate justice education across disciplines, and describes nationally-available resources. She emphasizes the importance of integrating society, technology, and science education and says that climate science can be taught even in very conservative areas through place-based education, addressing what matters to kids in their communities.

Overview

00:00-00:35 Intros

00:35-03:32 ClimeTime: What it is, how it is funded

03:32-06:05 Climate change education and climate justice

06:05-07:36 Mentorship, all of us learning

07:36-10:34 Project-based learning; action civics

10:34-13:02 Teaching science as it actually works

13:02-16:54 Engaging conservative communities while teaching climate science

16:54-18:44 Socioecological systems; humans’ relationships with each other and with nature

18:44-19:57 The doughnut economy

19:57-22:05 Society, technology & science (STS) as an interdisciplinary field

22:05-26:28 Examples of teaching STS, place-based learning

26:28-29:13 Collaborations among colleges in Washington and Oregon

29:13-33:32 Resources for teaching climate change, including industrial farming

33:32-37:38 Action for Climate Empowerment at national and international levels

37:38- Outro

Transcript

Click here to see the full transcript of this episode.

Soundtrack by Poddington Bear

Dr. Gerardo Mancilla, associate professor in the School of Education at Edgewood College and host of Educators and Immigration podcast, reflects on his experiences as an undocumented student in the ‘90s. We discuss what has changed, and what hasn’t.

Overview

00:00-00:40 Intros

00:40-09:15 Experiences as an undocumented student

09:15-12:03 Changes for undocumented students since the 1990s

12:05-14:49 Status of Dreamers (DACA)

15:00-18:24 Key issues for undocumented high school seniors

18:24-20:35 ID issues for entry into school buildings

20:35-24:33 Support for trauma-affected immigrant students

24:33-27:53 School as a center for immigrant support within the community

27:53-33:23 Educators and Immigration podcast

33:23- Outro

Transcript

Click here to see the full transcript of this episode. 

References

Educators and Immigration Podcast

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We speak with Meira Levinson, Professor of Education at Harvard, about her website justiceinschools.org and books of “hard cases,” designed to help educators and youth workers think about the ethical implications of their decisions. Often, there are no perfect solutions, and  these decisions can have far-reaching consequences in children’s lives. A former teacher herself, Meira would like teachers to be able to consult with specially trained school ethicists.

We have a new video podcast series with Dr. Levinson where we explore timely discussions and ethical dilemmas in education! Click here to know more about it.

Overview

00:00-00:43 Intros

00:43-3:50 Justice in Schools (justiceinschools.org)—what it is and why Meira Levinson started it

03:50-08:49 Why cases in case studies must be hard

08:49-16:14 Scenarios

16:14-17:32 Writing and researching the cases

17:32-21:05 Variation in cases among regions and countries

21:05-22:44 Who and how people are using the cases

22:44-24:10 No cost to users except for multi-media version

24:10-28:52 Defining success

28:52-30:52 Out-of-school-time cases

30:52-38:43 Involvement of students and parents

38:43-39:15 Unknowns about outreach

39:15-41:00 Outro

Transcript

Click here to see the full transcription of this episode.

References

Click here to know more about our new video podcast series “What Would You Do?”. An initiative of EdEthics and Ethical Schools Podcast, each episode includes a dramatization of an ethical dilemma that could be faced by educators along with a discussion of the case facilitated by Harvard Graduate School of Education professor Meira Levinson.

Soundtrack by Poddington Bear

We speak with Elizabeth Steiner, education policy researcher at the RAND Corporation, about diversifying the K-12 teacher workforce. Data consistently shows the benefits, especially to Black and Latiné students, of learning from teachers of color. Ms. Steiner discusses recruitment strategies advocated by teachers of color and other educators and researchers.

Overview

00:-00-00:42 Intros

00:42-01:47 Diversifying the teacher workforce—why it’s important

01:47-04:50 Top recommended  recruitment strategies

04:50-06:13 Benefits of diverse workforce

06:13-08:00 Connecticut Higher Education Supplemental Loan Authority Alliance District Teacher Loan Subsidy Program

08:00-11:09 Principal training in recruiting, hiring, retaining a diverse workforce

11:09-13:53 Stress and morale

13:53-16:38 Responses to pandemic environments

16:38-17:25 Positive supports during pandemic

17:25-19:56 Effects of low morale

19:56-22:26 Strategies to improve teacher wellbeing

22:26-26:24 Reducing bias in hiring practices

26:24- Outro

Transcript

Click here to see the full transcription of this episode. 

Soundtrack by Poddington Bear

We speak with Dr. Anne Smith, longtime music teacher in Northern Virginia, about accommodating cultural differences. Dr. Smith created an alternate curriculum for students whose traditions don’t allow secular music-making. We discuss the extent to which parents should be able to influence what their students learn. We also talk about why music and art are treated as lesser (“special”) subjects.

Overview

00:00-00:35 Intros

00:35-07:57 A parent asks to opt her daughter out of music

07:57-09:48 Finding a balance in a class with culturally and linguistically diverse children and families

09:48-12:02 Importance of conversation between professionals and families

12:02-14:15 Are parental objections to music different from objections to literature and science?

14:15-16:39 Teachers need to articulate why they are teaching what they are teaching; importance of teaching music

16:39-19:03 Music should be part of everyone’s life—a loss if parents opt out

19:03-20:30 Importance of music foundation before children go on specific tracks

20:30-24:30 Teachers’ responses to Va. governor’s  push for parents to object to aspects of education he doesn’t like

24:30-27:01 “Old Black Joe”

27:01-29:15 Using the arts to educate and promote equity

29:15-32:22 Why schools treat art and music as dispensable

32:22-36:16 Treating the arts seriously as subjects

36:16- Outro

Transcript

Click here to see the full transcript of this episode. 

Soundtrack by Poddington Bear

We welcome back Zoe Weil, president and co-founder of the Institute for Humane Education, to speak about her recent Psychology Today column on the purpose of education. Although the official goal of many school systems is to prepare students for global competition, compassion, cooperation, and creativity are the qualities we should be emphasizing. A generation of solutionaries has a much better chance of creating a sustainable planet where humans and animals other than humans can thrive.

Overview

00:00-00:44 Intros

00:44-02:42 Purpose of education

02:42-07:41 What is a “solutionary?”

07:41-13:04 Teaching and learning in a solutionary classroom

13:04-19:10 Skills incorporated in a solutionary framework

19:10-24:33 How to deal with serious conflicts

24:33-26:59 Encouraging students to be solutionary when their schools aren’t

26:59-29:58 Solutionary education has not hit walls in polarized educational environment

29:58-31:58 Solutionary education and standardized tests, other assessments

31:58- Outro

Transcript

Click here to see the full transcription of this episode. 

References

More episodes with Zoe:

Soundtrack by Poddington Bear

Image: humaneeducation.org

We talk with Lesley Koplow of the Center for Emotionally Responsive Practice at Bank Street College and Allison Demas, an instructional coordinator in the NYC Dept. of Education about the recent struggle in NYC to save social worker and IC positions and why these roles are so important for children’s emotional and academic development.

Overview

00:00-00:42 Intros

00:42-03:12 NYC DOE excesses 360 early childhood social workers and instructional coordinators (ICs) as school year starts; backtracks after intense reaction

03:12-07:35 What early childhood social workers and ICs do

07:35-09:39 An example of social worker and IC collaboration

09:39-12:38 Why these collaborative roles are essential during and after traumatic events such as the pandemic and immigration journeys

12:38-15:08 Why early childhood specialties around the country are always vulnerable to cuts and reassignments

15:08-16:50 Pressures on early childhood teachers from systemic pressures on children

16:50-17:43 Are we being “good ancestors” to our children?

17:43- Outro

Transcript

Click here to see the full transcription of this episode. 

References

Sign On to Support IC and SW Reinstatement

Soundtrack by Poddington Bear