In Your Face

What’s the secret of deeper learning? Over a century ago, John Dewey gave it away: we have to do something with what we want to learn about. In a new book called Changing the Subject, the High Tech High network of K–12 schools shares 50 inspiring hands-on projects that cross grade levels as well as subject areas. In this episode, Rob Riordan (known as the “Emperor of Rigor” at HTH) explores the transformative power of such work.

Efforts to improve high schools often bog down in bureaucracy before they have a chance to see what might work in practice. But Dara Barlin, founder of the Center for Transforming Culture, has found a way to flip that situation. In this episode, she describes her bold approach to energize and empower teachers and students — those closest to the work of innovation, equity, and belonging.

As the pandemic closed schools across the country, millions of students and teachers had to “do school” by remote instruction, whether or not they had the skills to make that work. Justin Reich, who directs the Teaching Systems Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, describes coaching educators to try new practices in asynchronous ways —and draw students into compelling high-tech learning.

New York City has the nation’s largest public school system, with more than 1.1 million students in 1,700 schools. But despite a citywide lottery system, the demographics of the city’s neighborhoods, combined with “screening algorithms” that more than 100 high schools customize to select students — result in de facto segregation. How did a small public high school in Manhattan end up with a strikingly diverse student body whose differences benefit every learner?

With the nonprofit College Access, Research and Action (CARA), Lori Chajet organized a groundbreaking method of youth-based support systems to sustain the trajectory of higher education for those without privilege in New York City. Why does it work so well — and could it spread nationwide?

A passionate advocate for youth in the Oakland, California school district, Young Whan Choi works to create structures that challenge hatred and division, supporting the rising generation as they actively shape a different world. What can that look like in a time of pandemic?

A young Black public high school teacher in Kenosha, Wisconsin talks about what happened to learning when his city became an epicenter of national protests. When history throws itself in your face, can you create respectful inquiry?

A young Black public high school teacher in Kenosha, Wisconsin talks about what happened to learning when his city became an epicenter of national protests. When history throws itself in your face, can you create respectful inquiry?