Free Range Humans

David Krulwich is principal and T’Keyah Robinson is vice principal of South Bronx Early College Academy. They both previously worked at the Urban Assembly School for Applied Math and Science in the Bronx, and together with Kenneth Baum, have developed the Artisan Teacher Model. This new model merges the idea of teamwork with the concept of an artisan-apprentice relationship - a more intense teacher feedback system designed to promote growth and build stronger classrooms for students. Highlights from their conversation with Rod and Jal include: an opening conversation on the unique election cycle in Canada; how politics affect teacher and student dialogue; a vision for where South Bronx Early College Academy fits within the larger education ecosystem; an attempt to answer the really big question of "What's great teaching?"; the value of bringing real world content into traditional lessons and treating kids like adults; how the artisan model works, including concrete examples from lived experiences; why teachers need to be more involved in discipline cases; and a lightning round overflowing with good advice. 

Check out their book: "The Artisan Teaching Model for Instructional Leadership: Working Together to Transform Your School"

Questions? Thoughts? Feedback? 

Email us at  [email protected] or Tweet us at @jal_mehta and @Rodroad219

Scott Seider is a professor at Boston College, Aaliyah El-Amin is a faculty colleague of Jal's at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Julia Bott is a longtime principal and now coaches principals on leading for equity. Highlights from their conversation include: an opening dialogue about the dismantling of the United States Department of Education, covering the organization's role and how it compares to Canada's system; how each of our guests became interested in social justice education; the role of schools when it comes to fostering critical thinking and civil responsibility; the importance of weaving a social justice framework throughout an entire curriculum as opposed to implementing smaller, one-time lessons; why teachers now face an even more difficult balancing act when it comes to addressing sensitive or polarizing issues in the classroom, especially related to inequities; the importance of giving tools to students that allow them to better participate in our democracy; how social and economic disparities affect access to quality education; concrete strategies and examples showing how education can improve civic engagement; and a lightning round that brings back the old Mac vs. PC debate! 

Check out their book: "Educating for Justice: Schoolwide Strategies to Prepare Students to Recognize, Analyze, and Challenge Inequity."

Questions? Thoughts? Feedback? 

Email us at  [email protected] or Tweet us at @jal_mehta and @Rodroad219

Sarah Fine and Victoria (Tori) Theisen-Homer both got their doctorates from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Tori is the Founding Director of the Arizona Teacher Residency, and Sarah ran the San Diego Teacher Residency program before becoming an assistant professor at the University of California San Diego. Tori is the author of Learning to Connect: Relationships, Race and Teacher Education, and Sarah, in addition to co-authoring In Search of Deeper Learning with Jal, has recently published a powerful piece offering a critique of the relationship between project-based learning (PBL) and capitalism. Highlights from their conversation include: how PBL can sometimes unintentionally reinforce capitalist structures; suggestions for alternative, more human-centered ways of implementing PBL in the classroom; the importance of teachers building meaningful relationships with their students; how residency and mentorship programs can help prepare teachers to navigate complex school environments; comparing teacher preparation to other industries like medical residency; and a lightning round that sparks quite the culinary debate! 

Additional Resources:

“But Money Makes It Real!”: Problematizing Capitalist Logic in Project-Based Learning by Sarah Fine

Learning to Connect Relationships, Race, and Teacher Education by Victoria Theisen-Homer

In Search of Deeper Learning by Sarah Fine and Jal Mehta

Questions? Thoughts? Feedback? 

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Before the amazing guests join season four, our hosts reflect on all that has happened since we signed off on season three this past spring. They dive into personal updates, changing perspectives on education, and the challenges teachers and students face in a suddenly unstable and unpredictable landscape. Highlights from the conversation include: life updates that cover kids, grandkids, and a perfect bowling game; initial responses to the administration change in the United States, and what it has meant to our "friends to the north;" how attacks on the U.S. Department of Education will affect teaching and learning across the country; admiring how teachers continue to be heroes and our glimmers of hope despite being clouded with uncertainty; how we can work to spread amazing examples of teachers, schools, and districts to better our education systems; and the debut of a new lightning round segment called "Free Range Questions."

Questions? Thoughts? Feedback? 

Email us at  [email protected] or Tweet us at @jal_mehta and @Rodroad219

Dr. Ben Jensen is the CEO of Melbourne-based consultancy Learning First. Ben has advised governments in Australia, North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia on education strategy and reform. Before founding Learning First in 2014, he was director of the Grattan Institute’s School Education Program. He also worked with numerous education systems across the world during five years at the OECD, where he conducted research on education policy and school and teacher effectiveness, and has a PhD in Economics from the University of Melbourne. Highlights from his conversation with Rod and Jal include: an amazing Australian accent; opening banter that covers the Celtics 18th championship; brief thoughts on an announcement that the U.S. surgeon general is recommending warning labels for social media platforms as it relates to youth mental health; the difficulties of managing screen time for children, both at home and in the classroom; an emphasis on the importance of a systematic, evidence-based approach to curriculum development; how to better align education goals with practical classroom implementation; why less content doesn't always mean better outcomes; and a lightning round that will make you thirsty for either a coffee or a beer! 

Learning First

Questions? Thoughts? Feedback? 

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Michele Shannon is the Executive Director of the Deeper Learning Districts. Previously, she was a National Designer and Facilitator for the Leadership Academy, where she built the capacity of educational leaders through leadership training to confront inequities & create conditions for students to thrive. She also served as Chief of Schools for Boston Public Schools, where she led a team of eight Instructional Superintendents focused on eliminating the opportunity and achievement gaps in the system. A product of New York City public schools, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology from Baruch College, a Master of Social Work from Hunter College, and a Doctorate in Education Leadership (Ed.L.D.) from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Highlights from her conversation with Rod and Jal include: opening banter on the recent success of the Boston Celtics; Michele attempting to cover her entire biography in Jal's "3-minute" challenge; how her background as a student, teacher and now administrator shaped her view of what education should be; comparing characteristics of traditional education to what Michele describes as "deeper learning;" why it is so important for students to build relationships with adults in their school setting; how to integrate social-emotional learning in a way that works; how to better build K-12 systems so no student leaves feeling unprepared for whatever comes next; the importance of strong leadership and modeling - highlighting both the successes and failures of the system for everyone to see; how equity can be better built into all aspects of education including teacher preparation and training; and a wonderful example of a district that has applied elements of equity and deeper learning that gives us all hope for the future!

Questions? Thoughts? Feedback? 

Email us at  [email protected] or Tweet us at @jal_mehta and @Rodroad219

Chris Kennedy is the Superintendent of Schools/CEO at West Vancouver Schools. He has taught secondary English and Social Studies, and been both an elementary and secondary school principal. One of the most progressive voices in BC education, Chris has been featured by Macleans Magazine as one of the 100 Young Canadians to Watch and his work has been featured in various local and national publications. He was recently named one of the Top 10 Canadian Newsmakers in Educational Technology. He is joined by Eric Xie, a 12th grade student in the West Vancouver School district. Eric is incredibly passionate about AI,  acting as both a consumer and creator. He also participates in robotics competitions as part of the school's "TenTon Robotics" team. Highlights from the episode include: why it is important for schools, especially teachers and students,  to lead the conversation on AI - not technology companies; the challenge of building a balance between exploration/experimentation and safety guardrails; positive and negative use cases for generative AI technologies in the classroom; the value of developing the "right" prompts when interacting with AI tools; a debate over whether these new technologies will really transform education; and a lightning round that features an unpopular opinion directly from ChatGPT!

Check out Chris' Blog: The Culture of Yes

Questions? Thoughts? Feedback? 

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Neil Gross, a sociologist best known for his work on policing, higher education, politics, and pragmatism, is the Charles A. Dana Professor of Sociology at Colby College in Maine. A frequent contributor to the New York Times, Gross holds a bachelor’s degree in legal studies from UC Berkeley and received his PhD in sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Before joining the Colby faculty in 2015, Gross taught at the University of Southern California, Harvard, the University of British Columbia, and Princeton.  Highlights from the episode include: a history of Neil's journey from cop to college professor to author; samples from his book that show how former police chiefs worked to improve the culture of policing; why trust is the most important factor in a community and how to begin building or repairing it; comparing the challenges in policing to the challenges facing those in education; difficulties both police chiefs and school principals face as they work to manage their departments while also being ambassadors in the broader community; and a closing lightning round that compares Vancouver to Maine! 

Check out Neil's Book: https://neilgross.com/walk-the-walk-1

Questions? Thoughts? Feedback? 

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Shanna Peeples is the Dr. John G. O’Brien distinguished chair in education at West Texas A&M university. In 2015 she was awarded USA National Teacher of the Year for her work at Palo Duro High School, which earned her an opportunity to meet and be personally lauded by President Obama. She now has her own wikipedia page, much to the chagrin of our co-host, Jal Mehta! Highlights from the conversation include: Shanna reflecting on meeting President Obama, and how her time as a DJ sparked a candid conversation with the commander in chief; a short anecdote where Shanna got to meet First Lady, Jill Biden; why ideas once thought to be settled in education are suddenly up for debate - most glaringly, the purpose of school; the political divide driving conflict in schools; how a trip to Lebanon has left Shanna "condemned to hope;" why bringing K-12 administrators to congress will result in more political theater instead of an opportunity to actually engage in productive dialogue around real issues affecting schools; the importance of storytelling when defining your own purpose and values; a few fun football metaphors; and a Texas-themed lightning round.

Questions? Thoughts? Feedback? 

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Justin is an associate professor of digital media in the department of Comparative Media Studies/Writing at MIT and the director of the Teaching Systems Lab. He is the author of Iterate: The Secret to Innovation in Schools and Failure to Disrupt: Why Technology Alone Can’t Transform Education, and he is the host of the TeachLab Podcast. He earned his doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and is a past Fellow at the Berkman-Klein Center for Internet and Society.

Highlights from the conversation include: an opening segment reacting to the wave of student protests on college campuses across the United States and Canada; how generative AI skipped the adoption phase and arrived in classrooms with little to no preparation; a technical overview on what generative AI is and how it works; why AI is sometimes just a label to make things seem more "magical than they are;" how experts and novices can have very different experiences with Chat GPT; where the technology as a co-pilot may or may not fit within various industries;  the importance of implementing guardrails as AI becomes more prevalent in the education space; why students should be central to conversations about how to navigate the changing technology landscape; and a lighting round offering a science fiction summer reading list (see recommendations below).

Science Fiction Reads:  

Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. 

The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson

Anything written by N.K. Jemisin

Questions? Thoughts? Feedback? 

Email us at  [email protected] or Tweet us at @jal_mehta and @Rodroad219