Mike shares his thoughts coming out of the Smithsonian Institution's National Education Summit that was recently held in Washington, DC. We hear what it's like to bring a 4-year-old to an education conference and learn more about the Palm Court Podcast whose launch is coinciding with the release of this episode!

We reflect back on Dr. Monique Chism's previous appearance on Trending in Ed before diving into three key sessions from this year's summit. Mike talks about the tradeoffs of blending a family getaway with an education summit built around the theme of Together We Thrive: Fostering A Sense of Belonging. We hear what Secretary of the Smithsonian Lonnie Bunch had to say on his panel and learn of Mike's family's experience at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which Secretary Bunch played a key role in establishing. Then we reflect on the work of National Teacher of the Year Rebeckah Peterson and how her concept of "one good thing" contains lessons both for educators and for the rest of us. We conclude with thoughts on Dr. Pamela Cantor's keynote on the neurochemistry of belonging as we process lessons learned from the conference and from family travel in the summer.

Mike concludes with some thoughts on the launch of the Palm Court Podcast which is a new dedicated feed focused on New College of Florida, his alma mater, that has been thrust into the national spotlight as our culture wars are now on campus.

Subscribe to Trending in Education wherever you get your podcasts. Visit us at TrendinginEd.com for more and be sure to visit PalmCourtPod.com for deeper perspectives on New College's role in our cultural reckoning around academic freedom and the role of public education.