This episode of The SitRoom features a discussion with Professor William Inboden, Executive Director of the Clements Center for National Security, Tommy Schultz, National Communications Director at the American Federation for Children, and Joseph Connor, co-founder of SchoolHouse.

Professor William Inboden

--- As former senior director for strategic planning on the National Security Council, Prof. Inboden spoke of China's increasing aggression and what he believes is the potential for a new cold war.

--- With a rundown of US-China relations, Will confessed: “For a while I resisted calling this a new cold war, but I have now pivoted. When historians look back at this time period, they will say it was the beginning of a new cold war.”

--- Turning to this week’s big news, China has been using its Houston consulate primarily for espionage rather than diplomacy, and so the US was forced to close it. This used to happen in the cold war with Soviet consulates serving as KGB hotspots — shutting it down is not unprecedented, Prof. Inboden said.

--- What does this new cold war look like? A holistic economic, diplomatic, and ideological competition on a global scale, where alliances and international support are essential.

--- “Reagan's great genius in defeating the Soviets was reaching out directly to the Soviet people — like the Russian Premieres, President Xi is far more afraid of his own people than any rival country,” he said. “I’d like our leaders to move towards that type of rhetoric.”

Tommy Schultz

--- Tommy — a leader in the national effort to advance schools choice — spoke to the ongoing fight between parents and teachers’ unions to bring students back into the classroom this fall, noting: “I think teachers are essential. Teacher unions obviously do not.”

--- While school choice and deregulation have traditionally been issues that primarily targeted relief for lower-income and minority constituencies, middle-class and white families are now advocating for more education options, which bodes well for the future of the movement.

--- American Federation for Children has collected more than 700,000 signatures of parents in support of back-to-school and charter measures — both addressed in Sen. Scott and Sen. Alexander’s new Senate bill announced this week.

Joseph Connor

--- First, the basics: SchoolHouse is a platform for teachers to build and manage their own microschools. Each microschool has approximately 4-8 students and usually takes place in a home.

--- SchoolHouse has seen a major influx in demand for “education pods” for grades K-8 as schools announced their plans for virtual learning in the fall.

--- The platform also allows parents to formally withdraw their students from the local public school and notify the state that they are now being homeschooled—which is possible in all 50 states.

--- As part of his past career as an attorney, Joe said: “One of my prized possessions is an encyclopedic database of homeschooling laws and regs in all 50 states plus DC.”

LINKS:

Sen. Scott and Sen. Alexander’s new Senate bill: https://twitter.com/Tommy_USA/status/...

SchoolHouse: https://www.getschoolhouse.com/?gclid...