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K-12 Confidential
By Trina English Creator/Executive Producer/Co-Host, Co-Hosts: Manuwella Allen, Shawn English, Mandy WalkerSociety & CultureDocumentaryNewsEducationNews Commentary
K-12 Confidential episodes
- Episode 2. Introduction to the Messes: Experts Chime In
In this introductory episode of the K-12 Confidential podcast, hosts Shawn and Trina—a married couple with over 35 years of teaching experience—discuss the current state of K-12 education in the U.S., touching on various systemic issues such as poor literacy rates, teacher shortages, inadequate pay, and flawed teacher preparation programs.. The episode sets the stage for an in-depth exploration of 'messes' in the education system, with the goal of mobilizing teachers and stakeholders towards systemic reforms. Special guests, including fellow teachers, experts, and the hosts’ supportive family members, will join future episodes to explore themes such as special education, school climate and culture, DEI initiatives, canned curricula, and governance issues. The hosts also promote a petition to establish a national governing board for K-12 educators, aiming to give teachers a significant role in educational decision-making.
00:00 Introduction to K-12 Confidential
00:36 Meet the Hosts: Sean and Trina
04:01 Podcast Format and Expectations
08:17 The Teacher Pay Mess
15:49 Teacher Preparation Challenges
20:45 The Teacher Shortage Crisis
24:58 Special Education Struggles
30:30 Climate and Culture in Schools
35:30 The Impact of Technology on Youth Behavior
36:33 School-Wide Behavioral Interventions
36:58 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Education
39:18 The Politicization of Education
44:26 Teacher Health and Wellbeing
48:47 The Reading Crisis in Schools
51:52 The Problem with Canned Curriculum
58:06 The Need for Teacher Leadership
59:41 Call to Action: Sign the Petition
We need more teacher voices to this this justice! Visit us at k-12confidential.com to request to speak on the podcast.
Sign the petition to join the movement to save K-12 Education!
1 hr 9 min - Episode 1. Intro to the Messes: K-12 Education is BIZARRE!
The inaugural episode of the K 12 Confidential podcast dives into the complex and pressing issues plaguing the American K-12 education system. Host Trina English discusses with her sister Mandy Walker the alarming states of literacy and sexual violence in schools, the opaque and ineffective governance structures, and the exploitative practices of for-profit educational corporations. The episode sets the stage for a series of investigative discussions aimed at unveiling the root causes and proposing solutions through a petition for the creation of a national K-12 educator governing board.
00:00 Welcome to K-12 Confidential
00:19 Introduction to the Podcast and Petition
00:49 Interview with Mandy Walker
01:21 The Teacher Shortage Mess
01:31 The Literacy Crisis in K-12 Education
08:12 The Reading Mess and Systemic Failures
20:19 Sexual Violence in Schools
26:39 The Hidden Problems in K-12 Governance
27:05 The Role of School Boards and Superintendents
29:18 The Petition for Change in Education
29:53 Historical Context of the Teaching Profession
32:00 The Need for Teacher Leadership
33:47 The Petition Process and Goals
40:25 The Influence of For-Profit Companies in Education
42:06 The Podcast's Mission and Call to Action
46:03 Conclusion and Next Steps
We need more teacher voices to this this justice! Visit us at k-12confidential.com to request to speak on the podcast.
Sign the petition to join the movement to save K-12 Education!
47 min - Episode 0. K12 Confidential--Episode 0: We Don't Need Another Hero
Our short scripted description of our podcast!
Welcome to K 12 Confidential, a podcast crafted by veteran K 12 teachers for the American people. This introductory episode outlines the podcast's mission to uncover the harsh realities and systemic issues plaguing K 12 education. Highlights include deep investigative journalism, a call to action to center teacher voices, and themes focused on the structural problems in the education system. The podcast promises apolitical, bipartisan discussions that cut through the surface to address real issues and propose solutions. Despite expected controversies and challenges, the hosts emphasize the urgent need for a national governing board for teachers to reclaim control over their profession and improve education for all children. This episode introduces the format, key themes, and the pivotal role teachers will play in the dialogue.
00:00 Introduction to K 12 Confidential
00:58 The Realities of K 12 Education
02:21 Creating a Teacher-Led Space
03:43 The Fight for Public Education
04:41 Uncovering the Messes
06:22 The Call for a National Governing Board
07:39 The Power Structures in K 12 Schooling
08:30 Podcast Format and Goals
09:18 Conclusion: We Don't Need Another Hero
We need more teacher voices to this this justice! Visit us at k-12confidential.com to request to speak on the podcast.
Sign the petition to join the movement to save K-12 Education!
12 min - K-12 Confidential Intro Song
We need more teacher voices to this this justice! Visit us at k-12confidential.com to request to speak on the podcast.
Sign the petition to join the movement to save K-12 Education!
1 min
About K-12 Confidential
From the publisher's feed
Even before the pandemic lock-downs, American teachers from sea to shining sea reported a critical shortage of teachers within their ranks, and have watched in horror at the crippling levels of…
greed, arrogance, apathy, and ignorance at every level of K-12 educational governance. While embattled teachers have continued to try in vain to draw attention to the issues, our leaders have failed to acknowledge the problems at all. But since covid, the nation’s teachers have borne witness to a break neck hastening pace of this downward spiral–and a total avoidance of a conversation from our leaders.
This a-political podcast, created and produced exclusively by teachers, gets into the nitty gritty details of why teachers are leaving the profession in droves, and uncovers huge contributing structural problems baked into the teaching profession which are not discussed or understood even within the K-12 educational world, which also explain why so much of what is done in K-12 is ineffective. These desperate, passionate, highly qualified teachers use this podcast series to insert teachers forcefully into the national conversation about the critical issues plaguing K-12 education, because no one else was letting them in–a fact which belies a central thesis about the roots of the problems discussed throughout the episodes. Listeners will be gripped by the reality that without substantial reforms which empower teachers to lead the work, the inevitable result is a collapse of our very ability to effectively self-govern–a process which they argue is already well underway.
Listen as they describe the problems in teacher pay, teacher preparation requirements, special education, climate and culture, reading instruction, the false promise of existing DEI based frameworks in K-12, and the problems inherent in outsourced canned curriculums. Become a part of the solution as they outline a framework to authentically fix these problems, which require all hands on deck from both inside and outside of K-12 education.