The Round Table: A YVote Podcast

The Round Table: A YVote Podcast

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The Round Table: A YVote Podcast episodes

  • Just a simple “hello” in the hallway can make someone’s day
    Next to learning, being seen and known within a school community is paramount yet sadly, school can sometimes be a very anonymous place. As our guest Frank Stebbins noted, “just a simple hello in the hallway can go a long way.” In a school year dominated by virtual learning this is harder but the principle is still alive. Schools are places to interact with a broad range of people like and unlike ourselves. We should not conflate diversity with inclusivity, and must be cognizant to honor both. So when you're in class, either on Zoom or in-person (hopefully soon!), be sure to reach out to that person who could maybe use an extra boost--you never know what might come from it!
    1 min
  • Beyond safe spaces
    Willingness to listen is so, so important. Our guest Frank Stebbins noted that one of the lines that tends to get emphasized in classrooms is creating safe space. While obviously that’s important, when we start discussing topics with students who may feel marginalized, or may feel their voice isn’t represented, they may be giving up some of that safety and they’re becoming brave. Engaging in conversations with people who may not agree with our point of view DOES often entail giving up a full sense of safety and what we know. Distinguishing between ensuring safety and demonstrating bravery is important. The richness of the resulting dialogue is reward enough, even if you leave the conversation with more questions than answers.
    1 min
  • How can we challenge the status quo & build beyond it?
    Frank talked about how much his daughter’s pre-school experience informed HIS perspective and teaching as a high school teacher, underscoring
    Shortly thereafter, he participated in professional development with Facing History and he was hooked and started to incorporate exploration of identity in his classroom. His response from the juniors and seniors he taught was that they had never thought about things through this lens. Frank was struck by how many missed opportunities there had been to introduce these frameworks earlier in their school career. That got him to pursue opportunities for his students beyond their immediate community--and led him to be a founding Civic Mentor and bring groups of his students to participate in NGP Civic Forums. How can we challenge the status quo and build beyond it?
    1 min
  • We must incorporate more stories that represent diverse points of view
    “I remember going to my daughter’s school and looking at the textbooks to see if my own name was there from many years ago.” Unfortunately, it often takes a looong time for curricular materials to evolve. Our guest Frank Stebbins told us about working with a group of teachers to make a pie graph representing all voices in their curriculum, both when THEY went to school and now in the schools they teach in, and to examine whether they mirror each other or are they different. He emphasized the importance of really focusing in on how we can include more stories that represent diverse points of view. Memoirs are particularly valuable in providing this, and Frank cited favorite memoirs like Night, Warriors Don’t Cry, along with current literature by people who are defining who they are as Americans in their own voice. Without this representation, we run into the danger of identifying others with our OWN perspective on who they are rather than being able to truly learn from other perspective.
    1 min
  • Who gets to belong and who feels marginalized
    We were honored to be joined by Facing History and Ourselves Program Associate and longtime educator Frank Stebbins this week. Frank supports educators across the state of New Jersey, supporting them in doing work is centered around the power that identity and perceived identity can have on the stories that we learn and the stories that we tell. He focuses on who gets to belong and who feels marginalized, whether it’s in our school communities or our global communities, and what the implications are when strategies are determined, when policies are shaped, and when people don’t have an active voice. Importantly, and in ways that are very consonant with NGP, Frank looks at how to incorporate ways to engage in authentic dialogue--not in debate and trying to prove each other wrong but in the service of learning from one another. Another key component of his work is how we can look at events of the past, appropriately memorialize them, and look at the legacy and impact of them on how we live today and how we choose to participate in our communities.
    1 min
  • Identity: the cornerstone of a good classroom

    At this week's Round Table, Eliza, Inica, Madeline, and Olivia spoke with Frank Stebbins, Program Associate at Facing History and Ourselves and longtime educator. Frank shared his belief that identity should be the cornerstone of any classroom, and we discussed what students and teachers need to commit to for that work to happen. We agree that asking questions, digging into diverse histories, engaging in dialogue with people different than ourselves, and listening deeply with a desire to find common ground are keys to good teaching and good learning. We also talked about the importance of finding communities where we can extend learning beyond the classroom. Frank underscored the degree to which teachers often learn as much from their students as vice versa and, not surprisingly, engaged us in exploration of what we believe makes an inclusive and focused classroom. Thank you for joining us!

    23 min
  • Lack of dialogue leads to lack of trust
    Eliza asked Sara about her goals for joining Student Council at Columbia University. Sara underscored her aim to foster dialogue and create space for free flowing exchange of ideas--both amongst students AND between student and administrators. She noted that there is often a lack of trust between students and administrators, which can lead to hostility. Sara feels this stems from lack of understanding as a result of administrators not communicating reasons for their actions, or when their actions differ from those of peer institutions, which can lead to students lashing out in frustration and to make themselves heard. The current response to Covid and administrators decisions about housing this past semester was an example of this--first year students had been told they’d all get housing on campus up until August, which led to hostility from the student body about why they hadn’t been warned earlier.
    1 min
  • Every college is a microscope of politics at the national level
    Riya notes that although she goes to a pretty liberal college, it doesn’t always do a great job of including all viewpoints nor of honoring people of all ethnic backgrounds. In this clip, she shared a sobering story about how institutional racism and policing play out even on the campus of a small, ostensibly “woke” liberal arts institution. On the upside, she shared that it has sparked constructive conversation on the issue, and an increased commitment to including marginalized populations rather than writing them off.
    1 min
  • Adjusting to college—in a pandemic
    We were thrilled to have the OPs (Original Podcasters…) join us for a Reunion Episode this week upon finishing their first semester of college! Madeline asked them to share how their transition to higher education had been amidst, you know, a pandemic. Founding Podcaster Julianna shared that her last few months of high school didn’t FEEL much like school--she didn’t really have formal classes, didn’t have to wake up at a certain time, didn’t even see some of her teachers until graduation (on Zoom…) As such, while she wasn’t on campus at American University this semester, the expectations of participating in live time in long classes of remote learning in college felt more jarring--albeit in a welcome way--especially since her college took away what breaks they would have had.
    1 min
  • Hail, Hail, The Gang's All Here

    At this week's Round Table, Eliza, Inica, Isaiah, Madeline, and Olivia were excited to speak with our founding podcasters--Julianna Davis, Riya Mehta, and Sara Chough--freshly home for the holiday break after finishing their first semester at college.  Of course, “coming home” is metaphorical for some in COVID--Julianna has been home throughout her first semester at American University, as so many college students have been. It was so good to reunite with the founding team and hear their reflections about what it’s like starting college in a pandemic, lack of diversity--racial, socioeconomic, and political--on campus and the limitations that creates, the need for better communication by administrators, the importance of student voice in decision making, and more.  Our podcast founders also provided some invaluable advice for those of us still in high school.  Thank you for joining us!

    27 min

About The Round Table: A YVote Podcast

From the publisher's feed

The Round Table provides a platform for conversation and engagement of civically-minded young people from different parts of the country. We strive to model civil dialogue across various divides--socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, political, and regional. We aim to challenge norms and represent all kinds of diversity--especially of perspective and ideas--enabling listeners to “hear” our thinking.