Free Range Humans

Dr. Pam Moran is a recently retired superintendent of thirteen years and has also worked as a teacher, staff developer, elementary principal, and assistant superintendent. She was the 2010 president of the Virginia Association of School Superintendents and the 2016 Virginia Superintendent of the Year, one of four finalists for the national superintendent of the year. Ira Socol is a Principal of Socol/Moran Partners and serves as Senior Provocateur, while leading work in the transformation of spaces, technologies, and library services. Highlights from their conversation include: opening mini-biographies based on a podcast homework assignment; an incredible story about Pam's first day as a teacher;  how being a police officer changed the way Ira viewed classroom observation; the importance of giving everyone in the school system room to make mistakes; a look at why we need transformational change, and then examining the what and how of actually making it work; amazing examples of what transformation looks like for students, teachers and administrators; why the definition of engagement is different for every student; and a vast list of book recommendations during the lightning round. 

Check out Ira and Pam's book: Timeless Learning: How Imagination, Observation, and Zero-Based Thinking Change Schools

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Jal Mehta is a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and also holds the title of faculty co-chair for the Learning Design, Innovation, and Technology program. His research explores the role of different forms of knowledge in tackling major social and political problems, particularly problems of human improvement. He has also written extensively on what it would take to improve American education, with a particular focus on the professionalization of teaching. Our guest co-host, Ron Berger appeared in season one, episode 13: "Our Kids are Not Broken" and returns as a self-described "super-fan" of the podcast. Highlights from a very dynamic conversation include: an opening story about optimism in the face of a suddenly politicized education world; a look back at where it all began for Jal as he grew up in suburban Baltimore; unpacking the complexity of identifying and scaling deeper learning in all education systems; balancing the colonial nature and history of Harvard University with promoting a progressive approach to education; how having kids changes your view on teaching; and a fast moving lightning round that features a "scary story." 

Listen to Ron's Season 01 Episode

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Amanda Datnow is Professor and Chancellor’s Associates Endowed Chair in the Department of Education Studies and Associate Dean of the Division of Social Sciences at the University of California, San Diego. Amelia Peterson is currently part of the founding faculty at the London Interdisciplinary School. Previously, she was a fellow in the Social Policy department at the London School of Economics. Both were recently involved in research that led to the latest Brookings Report: "Transforming Education for Holistic Student Development: Learning from Education System (Re)Building Around the World." Highlights from their conversation with Rod and Jal include: a quick history of their involvement with the Brookings Report project; whether taking on research during maternity leave is a good or bad idea; looking at how some leading systems and jurisdictions around the world are creating educational shifts in the direction of deeper, more equitable, more student-centered learning; defining infrastructure and the role it plays in systems change; the value of combining centralized and distributed forms of leadership; and a concise lightning round where we discover Jal's strange reading habits.

Full Brookings Report and Case Studies

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Dream a Dream empowers children and young people from vulnerable backgrounds to overcome adversity and thrive in a fast-changing world. Since 1999, they have helped over 3 million young people thrive in the 21st century through innovation labs and strategic partnerships with governments in five states across India. Vishal Talreja is the co-founder and Trustee of Dream a Dream, and Dr. Connie Chung is the former Associate Director of Harvard Graduate School of Education's Global Education Innovation Initiative, and recently has worked with the OECD Education 2030 project. Highlights from their conversation with Rod and Jal include: an introduction to the Dream a Dream organization and how their work is creating real change in India; the inspiration for Connie and Vishal's book collaboration; how they are trying to rewrite what success looks like in the classroom and what that shift might mean for society at large; the amazing power of storytelling; and a lightning round featuring lessons from COVID and some great reading recommendations (see links below).

Trauma-Responsive Schooling: Centering Student Voice and Healing

Equity-Centered Trauma-Informed Education

What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing

Decade of Anxiety – Transformed by Faith, Courage and Authenticity

AZADI

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Alisa Berger was the founding principal at both the NYC iSchool, a New York City public high school, and the Mott Hall II school, a NYC public middle school. She currently teaches at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in the Professional Education Program, and is Co-Director of The Deeper Learning Dozen. Throughout the conversation, Alisa will argue for schools, Rod will argue for districts, and Jal will serve as the moderator, while also reflecting on the overall debate. Highlights from the episode include: why context is so important to the change conversation; the various roles schools and districts play when trying to transform education systems; how size and scale can create both challenges and advantages; reasons for tension between schools and districts - sometimes a painting schedule becomes problematic; how the two entities can help each other; and an opening segment that ponders whether Producer Gino would make a good speaker of the house!

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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, and also found her way to Harvard where she attended classes taught by our co-host, Jal Mehta!

Highlights from this episode include: why schools have become a target for whipping up moral panic in the political arena; the importance of tackling difficult issues, including race, head on and creating spaces where civil and constructive dialogue can take place across ideologies; results from a recent Ed Week poll capturing top concerns for teachers in the classroom; how building relationships with parents can help the community better understand what really goes on in schools; strategies for overcoming the noise created by extremes and elevating the voices of the "middle of the road folks;" and the elements of today's system that give us hope for the future.

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During their trip to Kentucky, our hosts sat down with Lu Young, Jason Glass, Justin Bathon and Caleb Bates, of Kentucky's United We Learn Coalition. This group is building a vision for the future of public education in Kentucky, with the goal of everyone in the commonwealth – educators, families, students, community members and business leaders – working together to support public schools in bringing about deep and authentic learning experiences for all students. As Rod and Jal spoke with the team, the following themes emerged: the importance of who is at the table when building a coalition around education reform; connecting past and present policies through grassroots initiatives; building common ground among all stakeholders to overcome the political polarity; the incredible value of the student perspective being deeply involved in the process; how the expectations of colleges and universities have driven education design; and whether designing K-12 education to get students to elite universities is even the best approach. No lightning round, but a small tangent focused on the Kentucky delicacies of mac and cheese and bourbon is sure to entertain. 

Check out the full United We Learn report.

Questions? Thoughts? Feedback? 

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Charles Leadbeater is a self-proclaimed “intellectual odd-job man,” with a background in journalism, entrepreneurship, and most recently, large-scale systems change. As the co-director of the System Innovation Initiative at the Rockwool Foundation in Copenhagen, he is helping to develop practical approaches to shifting big public systems. His conversation with Rod and Jal focuses on what is needed to make transformational change in the massive system we know as education. Highlights from the episode include: a reflection on recent test score releases in the U.S.; how being a mediocre student shaped Charles’ career path; defining student agency and why it is integral to learning transformation; how systems can support agency across all stakeholders instead of limiting it; why learning should be about acquiring a sense of purpose - focusing on possibilities not problems; a fun boat analogy that will test your movie knowledge; and a lightning round that sparked ideas for a spin-off “foodie” podcast!

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Timothy Knowles is the 10th president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Prior to joining Carnegie, he served as founder and managing partner of the Academy Group, an enterprise designed to prepare extraordinary young people from under-resourced communities to own and operate successful companies nationwide; reduce economic disparities and; serve as a human capital engine, built on a sustainable business model, to unlock human potential at scale. His conversation with Rod and Jal covered several areas including: how working as a history teacher in Botswana during Apartheid shaped his career; why he thinks the work of schools is one of the most important elements of societies; a deep analysis of the transformation of education systems in Chicago school districts; the definition of a "Carnegie Unit" and why it may be obsolete; how he plans to use his position within the Carnegie Foundation to better education; and a controversial take on deep dish pizza during the lighting round! 

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Check out the "Street Data: Imagining the Next Generation of Education" podcast: https://streetdata.podbean.com

As season two gets underway, Rod and Jal leverage their own knowledge and experience to debate the merits of bringing Canadian school reform to the United States. Highlights from their conversation include: a history of Canadian reform processes dating back to Rod's work with the Ministry of Education in British Columbia;  the influence of Michael Fullan; a controversial take on a new border design; the importance of building trust in all levels of the system; emphasizing the need for patience when attempting to make large scale changes;  including all stakeholders in the co-creation process; and a surprising take on fast food favorites during the lighting round. 

Questions? Thoughts? Feedback? 

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