Hiding In Plain Sight Podcast

New research shows that 99% of us experience "identity threats" in our daily conversations, causing us to steer away from difficult topics. By examining the stark political divide between Multnomah County, OR, and Collier County, FL, in this post I explore ways to move past "cardboard cutout" versions of others to see the "multitudes" within.

A tale of two counties

Our family recently traveled 3,200 miles from Multnomah County, Oregon, to Collier County, Florida. We traded the rain-slicked streets of Portland for a spectacular, red-orange sunset, a warm breeze, and tree-lit palm trees of southwest Florida. We had come to visit my wife’s family who had moved to a home just outside Naples and my mother-in-law who had retired to the area.

Upon first glance, Collier County looks like the mirror-opposite of the county we had left behind.

Multnomah’s moist landscape is shaped by its deep-blue history, a firmly Democratic county in Oregon since 1964. The county has a long-standing reputation for its progressive activism with frequent school walk-outs focused on issues such as climate action and a 100+ day Black Lives Matter Protest (2020) — leading Portland, its largest city, to be labeled “lawless” or a “Little Beirut”.

In Collier County, aside from palm trees and ocean breezes, the scenery is starkly different. On route to our family’s home, we traveled on a road recently renamed for Charlie Kirk, the Turning Point USA founder whose 2025 shooting sent shockwaves through the conservative movement. I saw t-shirts for sale outside a grocery store referring to the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America” and a street sign for the Everglades Detention Facility (nicknamed "Alligator Alcatraz") which remained long after the center was closed last year.

In August, 2020, Collier returned students to full in-person schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic while Multnomah’s classrooms remained dark for a year longer (Sept 2021), facing intense criticism from parent groups and students.

And yet, county records and history reveal close similarities.

Each county is grappling with a lack of affordable housing for its residents. Despite their opposing political reputations, Multnomah and Collier share a history of systemic exclusion, from Oregon’s early "Lash Laws" to Florida’s Jim Crow beach closures. This legacy persists through sharp racial disparities in school discipline rates and housing policies that have pushed minority communities into economic and geographic silos.

On a quirkier note, the county residents have reported occasional sightings of a mysterious, shaggy, forest (Sasquatch, Oregon) and swamp (the Skunk Ape, Florida) creature which appear to be distant cousins of one another.

This family trip to Collier proved to be especially illuminating (beyond our trip to the Skunk Ape Research Headquarters) stemming from a simple question.

My question

A few days after arrival, I was driving around Collier County with my brother-in-law, Kevin. He is a father of 3, a diehard Cubs fan (recently moved to Florida from Chicago), a lifelong Republican, and an avid fisherman. As we passed into the Everglades, I mulled over a question I’d been sitting on for weeks—one I’d heard discussed by pundits & recycled in social media posts.

I tried to make my question seem innocuous, as if I were asking Kevin if there was a Costco nearby.

I hesitated and then asked: “How do you think the Republicans are doing?”

What surprised me was not Kevin’s response, but an overwhelming urge not to ask the question.

Why did I flinch?

In 2019, two researchers from Columbia and UC Berkeley asked a diverse sample of more than 1,500 people about their toughest conversations from the previous week.

They wanted to understand what creates moments of discomfort between people engaged in difficult conversations. Study participants were asked questions like, have you been in a discussion recently where you felt like you didn’t fit in? Have you heard someone joke about “people like you” (questionnaire categories).

The study posed questions to participants perceived as “less threatening” (e.g., a social situation where people are talking about their summer travel plans) to those perceived as “more threatening” (someone assuming their conversation partner owes their success to affirmative action).

The research team then examined types of conversations which participants rated as more upsetting or threatening. Many participants pointed to conversations that included getting assigned to a category they didn’t like or denied membership to a group they respected.

Social psychologists call this phenomena identity threat, or situations where someone’s sense of who they are is being challenged, questioned, or put at risk in their workplace or other shared spaces. Experiences with identity threats have been shown to increase loneliness, lower life satisfaction, and worse self-reported physical health and predict lower workplace satisfaction.

Surprisingly, “over the past week” study participants reported experiencing over 10,000 forms of identity threats (with only 1% of participants not having experienced any of the identity threat situations shared with them).

Here are a few examples:

* “You are not a parent, so how do you know what kids need?”

* “So, as a college graduate, you think everyone needs to go to college to be successful?”

I think identity threat helps explain why as a Democratic voter from a “blue” county, I had hesitated to ask Kevin a simple question about Republican politics.

My draft collides with lived experience

Conversation is a partner activity, so after reflecting on the research, I did something I don’t usually do, I asked Kevin to read an early draft of the post to see how well I was representing his county.

Kevin’s response wasn’t political, it was a helpful course correction. He offered feedback based on someone living in Collier which led me to make edits to the introduction you just read.

Kevin: “Not sure there is any data to suggest a MAGA base. Do you consider us MAGA?”

Kevin: “I’ve never once heard Collier called ‘Freedom Town, USA’ in-person. Where is that coming from?”

Next, we jumped on a phone call. I wanted to learn more.

As we talked, I felt a shift from defensive to inquisitive. I also realized that by relying mostly on online sources to describe his home county, I had fed into a form of “identity threat” by making assumptions about Kevin and his home. My political identity shaped from living in Multnomah County made me hesitate — not the question itself. Research has found how much you care about parts of your identity (e.g., liberal or conservative, blue state/red state resident) can make identity threats feel more intense.

The labels I chose to include in the first draft of this post referring to Collier County as “Freedom Town” or a “MAGA base” were not how Kevin saw his home. I was reminded how it feels when I read about Multnomah County described as a “lawless wasteland” or an “Antifa stronghold.” These aren’t just descriptions, they signal someone has already decided what a place or its people represent, often without spending any time getting to know its residents.

On the phone and in texts, Kevin added a few other thoughts:

I think our counties are way more alike than they are different.

Do we not share many of the same concerns? Jobs, family, caring for our parents?

I think people get paid to divide us. They get paid to segregate us. There is so much grey area, but grey doesn’t get the clicks. Grey is boring—but it is also unifying.

We contain multitudes

After I got off the phone with Kevin, I looked up Walt Whitman’s poem from Song of Myself, “I am large, I contain multitudes.” It’s a simple line, but it reminded me of another way to approach conversations in what feels like an increasingly polarized time.

In the car that day, I reduced Kevin to my idea of a “Collier Republican,” a single-dimensional character, who couldn’t possibly share anything in common with his brother-in-law’s blue county, political leanings. I became a cardboard cutout of a “Multnomah liberal” who believed I was going to provoke an argument just by asking a question.

After talking to Kevin about this post, I realized as a brother-in-law, a golfer, a fisherman, a Cubs fan — the beliefs I harbored about our political identities or views were just a small part of a much larger, sturdier tapestry we shared, not a defining feature. I also discovered many of my ideas about Collier County I had were not grounded in Kevin’s lived experiences.

Embracing the Grey

Study participants reported experiencing over 10,000 incidents of identity threats over a single week, revealing this phenomenon is the norm not the exception in many conversations. My reluctance to ask Kevin my question reminded me how identity threat can be triggered as much by environmental cues as by anything I say or do. It felt much more visceral when 3,200 miles became just the 3 feet that separated Kevin and me in the car that day.

“Grey is boring—but it is also unifying,” Kevin observed.

To see more of the grey, I want to engage more with people who may not share my political views or vote the way I do. Here are a few, simple ideas that emerged from our family trip to Collier and my car ride with Kevin.

* Asking for the “Multitudes”: Instead of asking for someone’s opinion on a headline, ask about their roles. Instead of “What do you think of the border?” try “How does your lived experience as a father/veteran/business owner shape how you see this?”

* Shifting the Environment: Identities shift depending on where we are. A conversation in a principal’s office or a loud bar can feel different than one on a hiking trail or over a quiet meal. If a conversation feels stuck, try changing the scenery.

* Leading with Your Own “Novice” Status: Admitting you don’t have the full picture is an invitation. By telling Kevin I was struggling with my own biases over the phone, I think I gave him the space to share his own.

I hope these small steps will help me see my questions less as threats to avoid and more as invitations to engage in better conversations. In a time that seems to demand I pick a side, I’m eager to find new ways to embrace the grey.

Special thanks to Kevin for his willingness to help me with this post and offer his perspective (he showed the patience of diehard Cubs fan)!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit eoinbastable.substack.com

An interview with Brian Baker on preparing students for the AI age

Show Description: Episode 43 of “Hiding in Plain Sight” features an in-depth interview with Brian Baker, an educator and digital literacy expert. The episode explores the challenges and opportunities of teaching digital, media, and AI literacy in schools. The conversation covers the importance of explicit instruction, the risks of assuming students are “digital natives,” the impact of AI on education, and practical strategies for educators and parents. Drawing inspiration from Star Trek, Brian shares analogies, research, and actionable advice for building a more informed, empathetic, and future-ready generation.

Show Highlights with Timestamps:

* [0:05] Digital Literacy ≠ Tech Usage Brian debunks the myth that using technology means being literate in it.

* [2:53] Star Trek’s Vision for Education Brian explains how Star Trek’s humanistic ideals inspire his approach to digital literacy.

* [4:12] Driving a Car Analogy Teaching digital literacy is compared to teaching someone to drive—active, guided practice is essential.

* [9:06] Media Literacy Gaps in Schools. Only 39% of teens receive media literacy education, despite 94% believing they need it.

* [10:48] The Consequences of Low AI Literacy: Users with less AI literacy often use AI more, risking blind trust in biased or inaccurate outputs.

* [12:17] Three Core Themes for AI in Schools Brian outlines his approach: balancing benefits/risks, aligning with district values, and involving the whole community.

* [16:31] Teaching Metacognition Strategies for helping students reflect on how media and AI affect their thoughts and emotions.

* [18:43] Inoculation Theory: Exposing students to misinformation in a controlled way helps them build resistance, like a vaccine.

* [21:20] Parochial Empathy and Echo ChambersHow misinformation can foster division and why media literacy is key to countering it.

* [23:52] Preparing Students for the Society of Tomorrow Schools should focus on equipping students to shape the future, not just participate in today’s economy.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit eoinbastable.substack.com

Dr. Clayton Cook is the Chief Development Officer at CharacterStrong. He is also an implementation scientist, psychologist, and former paraprofessional and middle school math teacher.

Dr. Cook has spent the past 15 years working in partnership with school systems across the country to support the implementation of effective practices that promote better and more equitable outcomes for students. He has been a professor and researcher at three universities (Louisiana State University, University of Washington, and University of Minnesota) studying topics such as implementation of evidence-based practices, educator well-being and resilience, character development, and youth mental health.

His work has been featured in the New York Times, Times Magazine, NPR, Edutopia, and other outlets. His messages about mental health promotion, adult well-being, and evidence-based practices connect with educational audiences across all levels. He has been invited to the White House and served on expert panels with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Department of Education.

Please enjoy this conversation with Dr. Cook, recorded on Friday, October 3.

He can be reached at [email protected]

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit eoinbastable.substack.com

Over the weekend, our family decided to replace our dining room table. Like most people these days, I turned to an online marketplace to sell our old table. I used Facebook Marketplace and priced the table low to attract interest. Lacking inspiration, I labelled it, “Dining room table with 2 leaves.”

Within 30 minutes, I started to get messages from potential buyers seeking information on its dimensions and condition. I heard from Natalie, Scott, Lisa, Mia, and Zelija. I also got a thumbs up from Jill (my first marketplace follower), but no message. The table was suddenly in high demand, and I had to decide who to sell it to.

Natalie, I discovered from her online profile, was from Redondo Beach, California. Should I sell the table to someone outside of Oregon? I own a shirt that says, “Oregon is above California,” which has gotten nice compliments and wry looks from residents of the state. Natalie’s profile picture looks joyful. I can imagine our table feeling happy in her home. It may even end up near a beach if she decides to move back to her hometown.

On the other hand, Scott went to Brentwood High School (class of 2005) and seems to be highly social with over 1,100 friends. Instead of a photo, Scott’s profile features a quote: “You make mistakes, mistakes don’t make you.” Maybe he would accept all of the dings and coffee stains on our table with grace and ease? It made me happy to think of Scott adding a leaf or two to the table to share a tasty meal with a few of his thousand friends and perhaps relive memories from his days at Bentwood High.

Lisa had half as many friends as Scott (only 559), but she posted a cute childhood picture of herself and recently updated her cover photo with a set of 4 fresh peaches in a box. I could see these peaches resting on our old table in Lisa’s dining room. Lisa seemed to have an artistic flair. As I scrolled down, I found a photo of a single flower silhouetted in a vase by a window and another of a beautiful sunset that attracted 5 hearts and a thumbs up. Then, I wondered, with all the changes Lisa made to her profile page, would our table get “updated” 3 months from now?

Mia peppered me with questions: Can you tell me what type of wood it is, how heavy, and also what the measurements are without the leaves?

Mia revealed little about herself. There was just one photo of a cactus in a small pot. She had not posted anything and only had 44 friends. And yet, she was asking me for more information than any of the other potential buyers.

Mia made me think…

How could I weigh our table? Could I place it on a weighing scale? It was heavy to me, but perhaps not to Mia? I think the table was made from oak, but I really have no idea what type of tree it came from. I imagined Mia arriving at our house with a tape measure, only to be disappointed if the table's dimensions didn't match her expectations. Maybe she’s a bit like the cactus, a bit prickly?

I’ll proceed with caution.

Zelija hit the mark with her message, tacked on to the auto-respond stem on the Facebook Marketplace app.

Hi, is this available? I can pick up thus morning.

I overlooked the typo and was delighted she had no questions and a concrete plan to pick up our table.

Zelija was a pro.

Unlike the others, Zelija had her own marketplace page to corral amateurs like me. Here, she displayed a passion for restoring old wooden tables and chairs — her listings included photos of a vintage dining room table, farmhouse table, pub table, and a TV tray dinner table (set of 2). Zelija only offered details on the TV dinner table’s dimensions, not its weight or wood type (a savvy move). Also, she was selling two tables for $30 to enjoy a meal with a loved one (a generous & well-priced package deal).

Zelija's profile page included a sunlit family portrait of her husband and two small children, all beaming in unison. Unlike Scott, Zelija had attended a school abroad called Osonova Skola Stjepan Supanc Vukovar 53. Google revealed to me that Vukovar is a city in Croatia, located in eastern Slavonia.

I also learned that Vukovar is the largest Croatian river port on the Danube. Zelija is from Croatia! I have no personal ties to Croatia, but Zelija's no-nonsense, straightforward approach, along with her adorable family, won me over in this virtual flea market.

The following day, Zelija arrived at our house in her large, white Honda Pilot. I had disassembled our old table with two leaves and had it ready for her to add it to her growing table collection.

I warned her, we have a friendly but excitable dog. Text when you arrive.

Louie began shrieking and wagging his large tail as Zelija’s car pulled up to our home. I tried to squeeze by him to slip out the front door, but Louie knew this move well and barreled ahead of me toward Zelija.

Oh God, I braced for the worst.

Instead of backing away, Zelija leaned into our 85-pound golden doodle and shot a grin at me, the same one from her profile image.

He’s smelling our big dog on me, Zelija chuckled as she groomed Louie’s side.

Louie squealed with delight.

I sighed in relief and then tried to greet Zelija, who was now fully reinforcing Louie’s erratic behaviors.

So, this is the base, and these screws go here…I was eager to pass along a few tips to the next table’s owner.

Zelija politely interrupted me.

My husband will put it together when I get it home. Can you please help me load it in the car?

Zelija shared she had recently left a stressful but high-paying job for a big fish company (I travelled to almost every state, but I didn’t love it). She is now substitute teaching a few days a week in local schools (“I love middle schoolers, they tell you exactly what they are thinking”) and refurbishes used furniture on the side (My mum in Croatia would be horrified if she knew what I was doing with all my degrees). Zelija told me she loves meeting people on all sides of the political and cultural spectrum.

I'm making just enough money to cover our kids’ sports fees, and it helps that my husband works full time…I’ve spent too much time in my virtual bubble…this work reminds me how much I share in common with strangers.

Zelija inquired about our family. I shared the ages of our kids and where they attend school in the city. We found common ground, even though I have never floated down the Danube or heard of Vukovar. We discussed the origins of our names, which are both hard to pronounce. She even complimented me as I caught myself repeating her name out loud on our front lawn in an effort to commit it to memory.

Very good, she said.

Even though I realize Zelija is probably not going to keep my table, it does sound like it will get a Croatian makeover and end up beside the TV tray dinner set on her marketplace page. Hopefully, she earns some decent money to pay for her children’s soccer registrations or at least breaks even.

Ultimately, in Zelija, I found a buyer who was right for me (perhaps not for the table). I was inspired by her zeal to refurbish her life through her table trading and part-time teaching gigs.

I just love the hustle, she glowed.

Her newfound energy was infectious.

I have faint memories of visiting flea markets growing up, and today I enjoy making trips to local farmers’ markets. The goods and services I find in these spaces are infused with personal stories and human interactions.

They keep me grounded.

It was nice to meet Zelija through the marketplace and to make a brief, unexpected, and genuine connection.

Louie was sad to see her go.

Thanks for reading this post.

I love to hear from readers of HIPS. Please drop a comment below (if you have the Substack app) or reach out to me at [email protected].

I added an AI-generated voice-over to this post. Let me know what you think?

Until next time, be kind to yourself and others.

Stay curious.

P.S. I am not selling or buying any more tables.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit eoinbastable.substack.com

Our 3 kids returned to their schools this week, along with 55 million students and more than 3.8 million teachers.

As many parents will attest, this is a celebratory moment, not to be taken for granted after the COVID-19 closures. So, as educators set up their classrooms and schedules for the next 9 months, I wanted to take a pulse of what’s happening inside and outside schools.

Not to rain on anyone’s first week back to school, but the numbers are sobering.

Over 75% of US states are experiencing teacher shortages. 45% of public schools have at least one unfilled teaching position (down slightly from 53% a year ago). Roles in special education, science, and foreign languages remain some of the hardest to staff.

To get more of the story behind these numbers, I reached out to Dr. Emily Penner, a professor at UC Irvine, who has a unique approach to understanding the economic forces influencing almost 4 million educators serving students across the US.

Dr. Penner and her colleagues have figured out how to match anonymized data from educators’ IRS tax filings with school personnel records.

The result?

A bridge linking educators’ checkbooks to classrooms — tax records allow us to see where educators are going when they leave a school for another job.

Dr. Penner’s research on teacher turnover instantly resonated with me as a parent and educator. My oldest daughter, 15, while in elementary school, had 2 teachers leave the school, and 1 left the field of education entirely. Our son, 13, has had multiple teachers come and go during his elementary school journey through Special Education. I’ve moved between roles in several schools, districts, and states, in part influenced by salary, budget cuts, and school/district work conditions.

It’s not hard to imagine the impact the churn is having on students and families when as many as 3 in 10 educators shift into new roles in other schools, districts, or leave the profession altogether. Educators lose trusted or experienced colleagues or principals each year (note: a percentage of these educators do retire).

Research shows students, staff, and schools accrue benefits when educators stay in their schools for at least 3-5 years.

* Improved student achievement, especially in underserved communities.

* Stronger school culture and collegiality, which support both staff morale and retention.

* Reduced costs for districts, which otherwise must continually recruit and train new teachers.

* Greater equity, as students of color and English learners benefit from consistent relationships with teachers who understand their cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

For these reasons, I was eager to speak with Dr. Penner, who has spent much of her career asking questions about the economic and social forces shaping one of the country’s most critical human resources.

Here are a few examples of her work:

Cost of living $$$

In cities like Austin and San Francisco, the high cost of housing has skyrocketed over the last two decades. In 2019, Penner and colleagues examined economic anxiety among a sample of teachers in the San Francisco Unified School District. This study found that teachers experiencing economic stress (e.g., younger teachers) tended to have more negative attitudes about their jobs and worse attendance. These teachers were also 50% more likely to leave their district within two years.

Four-day work week

The use of four-day school weeks in the United States has expanded rapidly over the past two decades to save costs and reduce staffing shortages in schools. Penner and her team found that adopting a four-day work week (across a sample of Oregon schools) increased turnover by 3 percentage points among teachers in the initial year, with turnover dropping in the short term and then increasing again in the longer term. Data collected during this study suggested increases in teacher turnover may have been mediated by salaries that fell further behind five-day schools after policy adoption.

Compensation

Penner has found a nuanced relationship between educator compensation, credentials, and teacher retention.

* A 10% increase in base salary was associated with a 1.5 percentage point decrease in turnover.

* Salary bumps show bigger effects on early-career teachers than mid-career educators.

* Special education teachers were found to be more responsive to salary increases.

Roots in education

At 21, Dr. Penner found herself in a blended classroom of 1st-2nd graders in a school in East Oakland, California. She also worked as a reading intervention specialist and English Language Development coordinator in Vista, CA.

A few years at her elementary school in East Oakland, a federal law, No Child Left Behind Act (2001), required many schools to close their doors based on reporting lower standardized test scores.

Determined to reopen the school, Penner and a dedicated group of teachers, parents, and students put together a plan. A core team drew on pedagogical best practices to retool how the school approached student assessment, curriculum development, instruction, and teacher professional development.

Within a few years of reopening, the school became one of Oakland’s most improved. The lessons from this experience have continued to shape Penner’s research, which she described as living at the “intersection of education policy, sociology of education, and economics of education.”

Reframing educator turnover

Today, Dr. Penner helps school districts and states across the US to navigate educator attrition by helping them see patterns and potential solutions to calm the churn. Part of this work has included helping schools understand that turnover is a multifaceted phenomenon.

As the data below shows, “turnover” doesn’t mean all teachers are leaving the profession (some are); rather, teachers are hopping between districts and states in search of better compensation, improved working conditions, or job security. This is a solvable issue, according to Penner.

Turnover by educator role

For example, here are the turnover patterns by educator role for Oregon (2022). Penner’s team looked at common roles in schools and used tax data (e.g., W2s) to understand what percentage of these educators switched schools, districts, or left Oregon’s educator workforce.

Teachers (32,634)

* 🔁 Turnover: 21.3%

* 🏫 Switched Schools: 6%

* 🌐 Switched Districts: 4.8%

* 🚪 Left Oregon public schools: 10.4%

Administrators (2,564)

* 🔁 Turnover: 26.1%

* 🏫 Switched Schools: 9.8%

* 🌐 Switched Districts: 7.4%

* 🚪 Left Oregon public schools: 9.0%

Paraprofessionals (14,676)

* 🔁 Turnover: 30.7%

* 🏫 Switched Schools: 8.1%

* 🌐 Switched Districts: 2.9%

* 🚪 Left OR public schools: 19.6%

Non-licensed staff (24,556: office staff, specialists, coaches)

* 🔁 Turnover: 26%

* 🏫 Switched Schools: 6.2%

* 🌐 Switched Districts: 1.9%

* 🚪 Left OR public schools: 17.9%

Turnover by years of experience

To save you from squinting (at the graph below), the taller bars (on the left side) show that novice educators (5 years or less) are more likely to experience turnover compared to more veteran educators on the right side of the graph. The grey bars are “total turnover %” similar to above (Note: veteran educators are also more likely to retire, which accounts for higher turnover rates).

Here’s what educator turnover patterns look like by years of experience (Oregon educators — average turnover rates: 2007-2022).

Double jeopardy

In states like Oregon, the good news is that the demographic picture is trending toward a more diverse workforce entering K-12 schools, more reflective of the student demographics. From 2012 to 2022, Oregon more than doubled the number of novice educators of color from 9.4% to 21.1%. That’s an over 50% increase in 10 years.

However, Oregon also experiences higher turnover for less experienced educators, who are also the state’s most diverse educator group. These trends pose a challenge for diversifying classrooms, which remain predominantly staffed by white females. The same patterns show up in other states experiencing similar trends, such as Washington, Maryland, and Massachusetts.

Penner’s data also shows that churn is experienced more acutely by paraeducators and classified staff, who also represent a more diverse part of the educator workforce compared to licensed educators. Paraeducators play an important role in helping students who receive special education services. In response, many states are investing in mentoring programs, building more affordable pathways into the profession, or bumping salary scales to support and retain novice educators.

So, what happens to educators who leave the profession?

States and districts are increasingly aware of the need to keep pace with the cost of living in their regions (e.g., housing, car, and grocery expenses) as part of retaining educators in their regions, especially in rural towns. But, for those leaving the field of education seeking larger paychecks or other careers, they may be surprised (or not) by what Penner’s team is finding:

* It takes time to catch up. The majority of “leavers” remain in education-related roles, and mean earnings are slightly below pre-exit earnings even 8 years later.

* Outcomes are mixed. Roughly 20% of leavers are unemployed, and the bottom quartile of employed leavers earn less than $20,000 annually. At the same time, earnings among the top quartile of employed leavers are higher than those of nearly all stayers, sometimes exceeding $100,000.

Understanding the economics of education

This time of year, educators are flooded with new curricula, staff trainings, and parent emails, most intended to get them off to a good start. Hopefully, educators are also feeling rejuvenated from well-deserved time off over the summer.

Yet, as students get settled into their classrooms, educators may be feeling less settled about their financial futures, which can pull them away from fine-tuning lesson plans or arranging table groups for their new students.

This also shows up in Penner’s research and related work:

* Financial woes. How do teachers’ feelings about personal finances impact their day-to-day work and decisions to stay put? Teachers’ salaries have remained relatively stable for many years, while housing costs have surged, particularly in metropolitan areas with competitive labor markets (e.g., many teachers are working second jobs to make ends meet).

* Recruitment is costly. U.S. schools allocate 2.2 billion annually for recruiting and hiring new teachers, scarce resources and time that could be used to support educators who are already hired and need more support to stay put in their current roles.

* Addressing gender disparities? Penner found that female “leavers” experience reduced employment and earnings losses that continue 4 years after exit (more than their male counterparts). Among the largest school districts in the United States, 57% offer no paid parental leave for teachers beyond normal sick days.

* Better data? This map, created by the Learning Policy Institute, highlights key factors pulled from national data that reflect and influence the supply and demand for teachers in US states. Many of these factors describe the appeal of the teaching profession in a given state and help to signal whether states are likely to have an adequate supply of qualified teachers to fill their classrooms.

* Regional collaboration? Part of the solution to addressing education turnover may require state-to-state agreements to match wages in a state like Oregon, so that educators aren’t lured into a higher wage job in Washington (next door).

Being mindful of the elephant in the classroom

There’s a lot more to understand about why educators stay or leave their schools, districts, or the profession itself. Economic conditions or trends do not tell the whole story about teacher turnover. Yet, I do think researchers like Dr. Penner and her team are breaking new ground by mining educators’ tax records to understand economic winds that are not easily observed or understood, but deserve a closer look.

Talking with Dr. Penner made me wonder, well beyond the dollars and cents set aside in a district’s or state’s education budget, how economic and societal factors are personally impacting our 4 million teachers as the new academic year starts — and what we can do to help address the elephant in the back of the classroom.

Special thanks to Aaron Ainsworth, graduate student at UC Irvine, for providing updated data for this post.

Website

https://emilykpenner.com/

References

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit eoinbastable.substack.com

Share data showing the fields we work or play on are not level.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit eoinbastable.substack.com

Brad Fortier joined me for a Q&A about using improvisation to solve problems on and off stage, to reveal truths about ourselves, and to build community in the most unlikely of places.

I first met Brad when I was a student in an improv class he was teaching. He was an engaging teacher and skilled performer who made hopping onto a stage and telling a 45-minute story with no props or lines seem effortless.

Brad is now working as an organizational trainer with a focus on equity and inclusion. He took many of the games and principles he taught me and many others and applied them to solve problems in the workplace.

There’s a lot packed into this interview — failing faster, engaging others in productive play or dialogue, improv games, the art of debriefing, and how Brad ended up getting fired as a Park Ranger (sort of).

Brad can be found at Bradfortier.com.

Please enjoy my conversation with Brad Fortier.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit eoinbastable.substack.com

Dr. Rhonda Nese

“Let’s cut to the chase” is how Dr. Rhonda Nese approaches pressing problems facing schools today. Dr. Nese has spent decades supporting classrooms, schools, and districts as a school psychologist and educational researcher improving student-teacher relationships, enhancing equity in school discipline practice, and adapting school-wide behavioral supports to be more culturally responsive.

I first met Dr. Nese 10 years ago at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon where she had recently completed a Ph.D. in School Psychology. Today, Dr. Nese and her husband Dr. Joseph Nese co-lead the Nese Lab, a research collaborative based at the University of Oregon. The Nese Lab focuses on transforming educational practices, systems, and policies to meet the needs of all community members.

Dr. Nese is a leading educational researcher whose work has garnered numerous accolades and millions of federal dollars in research funding. She was the recipient of the 2022 Presidential Equity Award from the NorthWest PBIS Network and the 2022 Outstanding Early Career Award from the University of Oregon, the UO’s highest award for early career faculty recognizing her contributions to scholarship and research.

Episode summary:

In this episode of HIPS, Dr. Nese shares how she thinks about collaboration and partnership in her academic role and with school partners & students. She describes how she has worked to overcome imposter syndrome and what she has learned about making schools and workplaces more inclusive spaces. Dr. Nese also relates lessons learned as an educational researcher, including recent efforts to ban (in some states) interventions she has developed for use in K-12 schools. Throughout the interview, Dr. Nese presents authentic and powerful insights about her lived experiences as a researcher, educator, and parent. I hope you enjoy this wide-ranging interview!

Resources & links

* Dr. Rhonda Nese (bio)

* Nese Labs

* Dr. Nese (published work)

Other interviews with Dr. Nese:

* Podcast: How to Have Kids Love Learning (2023)

* Podcast: The Educator’s Blueprint (episode 9, 2021)

* Panel discussion: City Club of Eugene (2021)

Thanks for reading Hiding In Plain Sight! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit eoinbastable.substack.com

Dear HIPSters:

I’m very glad to be back after a wonderful break and time with my family.

Welcome to new subscribers. Your support means a lot to me. As always, I appreciate hearing readers’ thoughts, reflections, or ideas.

As a new school year launches here in Portland, OR and as we hit the final stretch of summer, I wanted to highlight a few good things. I hope to make this a regular practice and a part of HIPS from time to time.

Bill McKibben, a leading environmentalist, documents the climate crisis in a substack called The Crucial Years. In a recent post, McKibben reflected on where to live as our climate shifts our present and future reality. A message he drove home is that no matter where we live it will be critical to focus on nurturing social trust.

Here’s an excerpt:

We’ve come through 75 years where having neighbors was essentially optional: if you had a credit card, you could get everything you needed to survive dropped off at your front door. But the next 75 years aren’t going to be like that; we’re going to need to return to the basic human experience of relying on the people around you…

Inspired by McKibben’s words, here are 3 ideas I came across recently that I believe are helping to nurture social trust in different but related ways.

The Bike Bus. This week as I dropped our son at his elementary school, there was hardly anyone around. The playground was empty just 15 minutes before the starting bell. Then, this happened (which I caught on my camera).

I love the voice of one student who yells, "I did it” at the beginning of the video. There are now 10 bike bus or walking school bus programs across Portland. The idea was borrowed from Barcelona’s Bici Bus. The basic idea of a bike bus is to gather students & parents together on a regular timetable to encourage bike commuting and increase safety (more visible).

The bike bus has grown significantly in the past few years and has garnered national media attention in Portland. Here is a segment on NBC Nightly News. It continues to build a community around cycling or walking to school — some of the rides now have upwards of 200 students involved or 1/3 of the school arriving on bikes or by foot.

When Representative Hoa Nguyen saw how a walking school bus increased attendance (by 30%), she decided to join forces with other legislators and pass (HB 3014) the “Bike Bus Bill”. The bill allows school districts to have more flexibility in how they spend their transportation dollars to allocate money for crossing guards and/or coordinators to lead walks or bike buses.

The Bike Bus Bill was signed into law by Oregon’s governor on July 31, 2023.

Books to Prisoners. Since 1973, Books to Prisoners has been mailing tens of thousands of free books to prisoners. This all-volunteer-run collective receives approximately 1,000 requests for books each month. As prison libraries tend to be very limited and access to them is often very restricted this organization is filling a clear need.

My daughter and I had the opportunity to visit Portland’s branch (which just became an incorporated non-profit). We opened several letters sent from prisoners across the U.S. The letters included hand-written requests for different books or genres. After we opened and read each letter, Eve & I browsed through a small, but diverse library to find books that best matched each prisoner’s request. Next, we wrapped and prepped the books for shipment. We got letters requesting books on Dungeons and Dragons, American survivalist fiction, and romance novels.

What struck me was how grateful the prisoners were for having their requests filled and how many envelopes the organization receives each week from the approximately 2 million people incarcerated in the U.S. today.

Here’s a short video on Books to Prisoners.

An Irish Goodbye. On a plane trip this summer from New York to Dublin, Ireland, my wife and I were inspired by An Irish Goodbye (2012), an Oscar-nominated short about two estranged brothers with very Irish names (Turlough & Lorcan) who are forced to reunite to mourn the passing of their mother. The film is a poignant and joyful exploration of family, connection, and our responsibility to one another. It is available on Hulu, Apple TV, and Amazon Prime.

Here’s the trailer.

These are 3 good things that I came across. If you have good stuff you want to share that is nurturing social trust or building community in your neck of the woods, I’d love to hear from you.

Please consider sharing in the box below.

Thanks for reading and see you again in two weeks.

Keep well & stay curious.

Eoin

Thanks for reading Hiding In Plain Sight! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit eoinbastable.substack.com

This episode of the HIPS podcast and blog explores the science behind envy and what it can teach us.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit eoinbastable.substack.com