The Round Table: A YVote Podcast

The Round Table: A YVote Podcast

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The Round Table: A YVote Podcast episodes

  • Will Facebook really do it?

    At this week's Round Table, Inica, Isaiah, Madeline, and Olivia spoke with Robyn Kaplan about Facebook’s recent decision to ban political ads in the week leading up to the election. As a technology researcher at Data & Society and a doctoral student in Rutgers University’s School of Communication and Information Studies, Robyn helped us think through the potential implications of this decision as well as think more deeply about the intersection of politics, policy, media, and social media. Thank you for joining us!

    36 min
  • Don’t let the structures silence you
    Karin most wants students to know that although NYC Schools is putting health and safety first, they still want to keep student voice at the center. She urges students to not let the challenges of school structures silence you, bc you know better than anyone else what is and isn’t working in education and the drive forward can only come when young peoples voices are in the dialogue.
    1 min
  • There’s actually time to do a lot of cool stuff in school if you get rid of the annoying stuff
    What does Karin hope the lasting legacy of Covid will be, good bad or ugly? Given that Covid has laid bare all of the existing inequities that were already there, one legacy Karin hopes will be sustained is the willingness of people to have really tough conversations with one another and to push on the public institutions that do or do not serve them well
    She also hopes that the way we use time in school will change. When schools shut down in the spring and we were all locked down in our apartments, she noticed how much time we waste in schools doing stuff that is dumb and useless, like lining up in the halls.
    It turns out there IS time to do really cool stuff of you don’t have to do the annoying logistical
    1 min
  • One of the things we learned is that zero structure doesn’t work
    Nor does 6 hours and 20 min on a Zoom call with the same adult. Karin Goldmark talked about finding the right balance between structure and flexibility. What does seem to work is a mix of interactive sessions AND time when you do all see each other AND time working on your own. Ideally, students will be learning with teachers from their own school BUT that won’t always be possible because of the staffing challenge of supporting both in person and remote learning students simultaneously.
    1 min
  • You can’t have 2600 answers to the question of what time does school start
    It’s hard to make decisions that will work well for the many different kinds of school buildings and contexts in NYC and the disparate conditions and constraints they face.
    Like many things, these struggles predate the pandemic but the pandemic highlighted and exacerbated them and puts them in a life and death context in which the school system has to get the answers right.
    One of the biggest challenges has been around scheduling because there’s the need for some uniformity—for example, of bus schedules for elementary schools— along with the need for flexibility.
    1 min
  • You can’t punish your way into compliance at the level that is needed
    Karin Goldmark notes that mask mandates can be adhered to without violating one’s democratic right to protest or to exercise or to go about one’s life. People have found ways to adapt without bringing the case count up. Public health officials are clear that keeping the mask on or keeping 6 feet of distance is usually an either-or but the DOE is doing a both-and approach recognizing sometimes people will need to be closer than 6 feet, or will need to take their masks down to take a sip of water. This is a doing all of these activities to the greatest extent possible model. The Department of Ed has consulted with the Department of Health every step of the way and DOH agrees that voluntary compliance is the way to go; you can’t punish your way into compliance at the level that is needed
    1 min
  • It’s important to teach people about the science if you want them to follow it
    Karin Goldmark underscores the importance of teaching people about the science—why its important to wear a mask, why it’s important to wash our hands frequently, why it’s important to maintain six feet of distance. People are much more willing to respect the rules when they understand them. The Department of Education has drawn a firm line around the wearing of masks—if a student or adult refuses to wear one then they cannot attention in-person school. There is no way to keep one’s self safe and keep everyone else safe if not wearing a mask and anyone not adhering to this mandate will need to do remote learning.
    1 min
  • We’ve had so many difficult conversations...
    Karin Goldmark, Deputy Chancellor of the country’s biggest, most diverse school system, shared her concerns, both as a school leader and as a parent, that safety and health precautions would not only be complicated and hard to do, they would make school joyless. But the Regional Enrichment Centers the city established for emergency child care back in March have demonstrated that it doesn’t have to be so. They’ve created new spins on games that respect safety precautions yet are still fun, and ways for kids to be in community with one another and to be athletic, or artistic, or musical.
    1 min
  • To Open or Not to Open? That’s the 130,930 Question

    At this week's The Round Table, we welcome in two new podcasters--Madeline Mayes and Isaiah Taylor--as Julianna, Riya, and Sara have headed to college.  Inica, Isaiah, Madeline, and Olivia interviewed Karin Goldmark, Deputy Chancellor for School Planning & Development at the NYC Department of Education. We spoke about the challenges of opening schools safely and equitably. With 130,930 schools in the US serving approximately 56.6 million students, this is a really, really big question.  Karin walked us through some of the complex decision-making she and her colleagues have undertaken.   There is NO way to make everybody happy or satisfied during a time like the one we’re living and learning through, especially in the country’s biggest school system--New York City. We appreciated this window into what’s going on behind the scenes--we don’t envy the decision makers but we DO strive to understand them… Thanks for joining us!

    24 min
  • Malcolm is our Imam and w/o him, Islam in the U.S. would be very different
    Cyrus talks about parallels and differences btw strategies for social justice undertaken by Muslim vs Black Lives Matter activists. He notes that there’s tremendous overlap btw black and Muslim communities since over half of Muslims in America are blacks from the African diaspora. What that means in thinking about American Islam in the BLM moment and this chapter in activism for black rights is a very divided community. Many like Cyrus are products of black radical politics and consider Malcolm their Imam and without him, Islam in America would be very different if it would exist at all
    1 min

About The Round Table: A YVote Podcast

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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.