The 180

In his new book, The Four Pivots: Reimagining Justice, Reimagining Ourselves, Dr. Shawn A. Ginwright provides what he describes as a “roadmap” for people to embody the change they want to see in society. He encourages readers to consider the transformative power of reflection, of considering not only what we do but who we want to be as individuals. That means grappling with trauma, harm and inequality as a critical step toward healing, well-being and ultimately flourishing.

In school settings, this means that teachers have to be well enough and self-aware enough themselves to foster the well-being and thriving of the young people they are educating.

More on Dr. Ginwright. He is a Professor of Education in the Africana Studies Department and Senior Research Associate at San Francisco State University. He is the Founder and CEO of Flourish Agenda, Inc., a national nonprofit consulting firm which designs strategies for healing and engaging youth of color and adult allies in their schools and communities. From 2018 to 2021, Dr. Ginwright served as Chairman of the Board for The California Endowment. In addition to The Four Pivots, he has written the books Black in School, Hope and Healing in Urban Education and Black Youth Rising. For his outstanding research and work with urban youth, Shawn Ginwright earned a Fulbright Senior Specialist Award from the U.S. State Department.

To learn more about how to transform 21st century education using 21st century science, go to turnaroundusa.org.

In her new book The Stolen Year: How COVID Changed Children's Lives, and Where We Go Now – a book that is already an Amazon “best of the month” selection – Anya Kamenetz writes that in March 2021, experts in pediatric infectious diseases reported that American youth were experiencing food insecurity, lack of socialization, depression, isolation....and were suffering academically, emotionally, socially and physically.

Nonetheless, she laments, "our country has continued failing to put children at the center of our decision making to prevent or remedy these eventualities even though they were foreseen from the very beginning. We did grave harm to children simply by failing to consider their needs at all."

Certainly the pandemic has a profound effect on every person around the globe, uprooting routines and cutting us off from vital networks. Teachers and experts Kamenetz interviewed revealed the cascading losses of delayed emotional development, learning loss and social disconnection as schools shifted operations to remote learning.

But what about now? Have children – and schools – rebounded? What lessons for learning came out of the pandemic – and how are parents, educators and administrators applying them to everyday teaching?

To learn more about how to transform 21st century education using 21st century science, go to turnaroundusa.org.

Today, a special episode of The 180. Dr. Pamela Cantor, founder and senior science advisor for Turnaround for Children, is a guest on a new podcast called The Future of Smart. Pam spoke with Grantmakers for Education's Ulcca Joshi Hansen about new research into youth and adolescent development and what that means for creating learning contexts that truly support and nurture the whole child. It was an outstanding conversation — and we’re thrilled to bring it you here.

For more on The Future of Smart podcast, go to https://link.chtbl.com/future-of-smart?sid=repost1.

To learn more about how to transform 21st century education using 21st century science, go to turnaroundusa.org.

 “The desire to fit in is one of the most powerful, least understood forces in a society.” That’s what  Todd Rose writes in his new book, “Collective Illusions: Conformity, Complicity, and the Science of Why We Make Bad Decisions.”

Todd was our very first guest on this podcast. Three years ago, we talked with him about the idea that the U.S. education system was designed with an assumption that talent existed on a bell curve and that there was one standardized way to develop it. Talent, he argued, is not scarce. It is everywhere. And comparing individuals to averages is wholly misleading. So why does our education system largely continue on its existing path rather than finding new ways to harness each person’s unique talents by personalizing learning?

In today’s conversation, Todd develops this idea further through his exploration of the mismatch between what individuals want and their primal need to align themselves with what they think the groups they are part of desire.

More on Todd Rose: He is co-Founder and President of Populace, a think tank that blends thought leadership and original research with public engagement and grassroots advocacy. Previously, Rose was a professor at Harvard, where he founded the Laboratory for the Science of Individuality and served as the director of the Mind, Brain, and Education program. He is the author of two best-selling books, “Dark Horse” and “The End of Average”.

For more information, go to www.turnaroundusa.org/podcast.

Our topic today is ripped from the headlines: the war in Ukraine.  

The horrifying images of Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities, on civilians, are everywhere. We see the stories. We hear the pleas for help, for an end to the violence. And so do our children. They internalize what they hear and see. If they feel concerned or worried, they might ask us about it. Of course, they also might not.

So how should adults – parents, caregivers, teachers – talk with children about what’s happening in Ukraine? Reassure them? What should we say? And is there anything else we can do?

Dr. Pamela Cantor can offer guidance. She practiced child and adolescent psychiatry for nearly two decades, specializing in trauma. She is also the founder and senior science advisor of Turnaround for Children, and the author of two books on human potential, the science of learning and development, and educational equity. And on top of all that, I recently learned that she worked in Eastern Europe in the 1990s after the fall of the Soviet Union including with Ukrainians and with Russians  who were healthcare professionals.

For more information, go to www.turnaroundusa.org/podcast.

In our previous episode, we discussed the national state of emergency in child and adolescent mental health. In the two years since the pandemic hit, young people have around the world have reported increased symptoms of distress, anxiety and depression. These feelings can interfere with focus, learning, friendships and the joys of life.  So how can adults see when a child is struggling and what can they do to help?

Renee Prince, a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW), is the Director of Mental Health Integration for Turnaround for Children. Renee leverages research and trends in the mental health field to ensure that Turnaround’s tools and services are informed by current clinical knowledge of trauma-informed practices. As you’ll hear, she also has helped schools build and tailor  three-tier support systems to meet the needs of the young people and families they serve. 

For more information, go to www.turnaroundusa.org/podcast.

It’s a national emergency: child and adolescent mental health.

The CDC reports that “in May 2020, emergency department visits for suspected suicide attempts began to increase among adolescents aged 12–17, especially girls.” And from February to March 2021,  visits for suspected suicide attempts were up 51% for adolescent girls and nearly 4% for boys compared with the same period in 2019.

And now, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy has released a strongly worded advisory entitled Protecting Youth Mental Health. Here’s one excerpt: “The pandemic era’s unfathomable number of deaths, pervasive sense of fear, economic instability, and forced physical distancing from loved ones, friends, and communities have exacerbated the unprecedented stresses young people already faced.”

So what is it about adolescents and the adolescent brain that has made them particularly vulnerable to pandemic stress. And what can we as teachers, parents, and caregivers do to support them?

Dr. Pamela Cantor has helped many young people surmount times of crisis . She practiced child and adolescent psychiatry for nearly two decades, specializing in trauma. She is also the Founder and Senior Science Advisor of Turnaround for Children, and is an author, and thought leader on the science of learning and development and human potential.

For more information, go to www.turnaroundusa.org/podcast.

We hear a lot today about the importance of creating equitable learning environments for all children -- providing each child what they need to be successful, which means some might need more than others depending on their starting point. We also hear a lot about  backlash against some of those efforts. So when ideas about equity vary from community to community, how does it get implemented? Does an environment that is equitable for one child necessarily mean it becomes unequitable for another? Where is the balance – and how does it get struck?

LaShawn Chatmon is the founding Executive Director and Kathleen Osta is Managing Director of the National Equity Project. NEP works with education leaders nationally on these very questions – helping design and implement community-appropriate approaches to equitable learning. Both have worked in schools – LaShawn as a teacher and leader, Kathleen as a social worker –and, can offer practical guidance on how to build and implement approaches that work.

For more information, go to www.turnaroundusa.org/podcast.

In our last conversation, we heard from leaders of the National Equity Project on what it means to create equitable learning environments for all children, providing each child with what they need to be successful.

On this episode, we hear from students – two students who are youth advocates for the National Equity Project. What do they say young people need to be successful? How do they view the education system – who do they think it is designed for, and what critical pieces do they see as missing? 

Ana De Almeida Amaral is a Stanford University sophomore studying comparative studies in race and ethnicity with a double major in political science. Micah Daniels is a sophomore at the University of Illinois at Chicago, majoring in neuroscience. Both lead and facilitate engagement with students from 18 school districts across the U.S., helping them advocate for equitable learning in their communities. Ana and Micah have a direct line to what American middle and high school students say they want from their educations today - and their ideas for how to get it.

For more information, go to www.turnaroundusa.org/podcast.

In our last conversation, Dr. Jeff Duncan-Andrade – Professor of Latina/o Studies and Race and Resistance Studies at SFSU and Co-Founder of the Roses in Concrete Community School – explained why the purpose of education should be youth wellness.

Today, we address the nuts and bolts: Specifically, what can the rest of us learn from Dr. Duncan-Andrade’s experience in building East Oakland’s Roses in Concrete school and apply to our own situations – as parents, educators, and community members – to rethink and reorient community education?

For more information, go to www.turnaroundusa.org/podcast.