PEN America has documented nearly 23,000 book bans in public schools nationwide since 2021 with nearly 7,000 taking place in the 2024-25 school year. Coinciding with Banned Books Week, Santha and John discuss their own personal experiences with censorship in the classroom, which pale in comparison to the challenges faced by their colleagues in Florida, Texas, Tennessee, and others. Then, Dr. Ann David, professor at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio and co-editor of The Impacts of Censorship, joins the conversation to offer some context on the national picture of censorship in schools, as well as a practical "how-to" guide for teachers who face book challenges. 

Dr. Ann David’s Recommendations and Other Resources:

• Dangerous Ideas: A Brief History of Censorship in the West, from the Ancients to Fake News by Eric Berkowitz
• National Report of Teacher’s Experiences with School Justification for Book Censorship Ricki Ginzberg, Kyungae Che
• School Moms: Parent Activism, Partisan Politics, and the Battle for Public Education by Laura Pappano
• Justice Sonia Sotomayor's dissent in Mahmoud v. Taylor
• Justice Gorsuch discussing Pride Puppy
• Windows, Mirrors and Sliding Glass Doors by Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop
• Lots of Ways to Be Brave: A Teacher’s Guide to Facing Censorship (iNCTE)
• List of PEN America’s most commonly banned books

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Santha and John are back for a new season to discuss the latest developments in education and their impacts on the classroom; this time with 25% more profanity! This season they will focus on book bans, artificial intelligence, policies affecting trans students and those who are undocumented, as well as grading approaches and college admissions. You can support our show at buymeacoffee.com/thirdrailclassroom and visit our website: thirdrailclassroom.com

Please consider supporting our show using this link (buymeacoffee.com/thirdrailclassroom) and be sure to visit our website (https://thirdrailclassroom.com/) to access all previous episodes and links to lots of resources. Thanks so much for listening!

In this final episode of the second season, Santha and John reflect on the topics they discussed during this season about improving teaching quality, including building level-PD, incorporating student feedback, and the teacher evaluation process. They also reflect on the teacher strike they went through earlier in the school year and the role that teacher unions might play in the future. Last, they share some goals and excitement they have for the upcoming school year, even as they bemoan the end of summer. 

Please consider supporting our show using this link (buymeacoffee.com/thirdrailclassroom) and be sure to visit our website (https://thirdrailclassroom.com/) to access all previous episodes and links to lots of resources. Thanks so much for listening!

Recorded live at the College Board’s annual Advanced Placement conference in Las Vegas, John and Santha host an engaging roundtable of teachers from around the country who represent multiple disciplines and grade-levels about they continue to improve as professionals. The guests are Kate Cordes, an English teacher from Billings, Montana, Matt Ellington, a social studies teacher in Chino Hills, California, Karen Hyers, a math teacher from Minnesota, and Jim Morris, a professor of Biology at Brandeis University, near Boston.  Thanks to BFW publishers for hosting this roundtable.

Please consider supporting our show using this link (buymeacoffee.com/thirdrailclassroom) and be sure to visit our website (https://thirdrailclassroom.com/) to access all previous episodes and links to lots of resources. Thanks so much for listening!

Throughout this season, Santha and John have been  talking about how to get better at their jobs as teachers, but have missed an invaluable resource for teacher improvement that is right in front of them…literally right in front of them: their students. In the first part of the episode, Santha coaches John on how to develop an effective survey of his students to get actionable feedback from them, and in the second half, they look at the results together and discuss next steps. Be sure to check out sample teacher feedback surveys on the website: thirdrailclassroom.com

Please consider supporting our show using this link (buymeacoffee.com/thirdrailclassroom) and be sure to visit our website (https://thirdrailclassroom.com/) to access all previous episodes and links to lots of resources. Thanks so much for listening!

Nationally, an estimated 26 percent of public school students were considered chronically absent last school year, up from 15 percent before the pandemic. While we know that this severely impacts students’ learning, what exactly is the role of the classroom teacher in addressing this issue? John and Santha discuss the need for a systemic response by schools and districts, and then Santha shares interviews with students who were present at her school, but who chose not to go to class. Their responses lead John and Santha to discuss possible actions that classroom teachers can take to encourage student attendance. 

Please consider supporting our show using this link (buymeacoffee.com/thirdrailclassroom) and be sure to visit our website (https://thirdrailclassroom.com/) to access all previous episodes and links to lots of resources. Thanks so much for listening!

Throughout this season, Santha and John have been looking at the different tools available to help teachers to get better at their jobs, one of which is the evaluation process that most teachers are required to go through every year. Do they actually help teachers or are they just another hoop for them to jump through? To try to get some answers, John interviews Dr. Josh Bleiberg, an Assistant Professor of Education Policy at the University of Pittsburgh School of Education. 

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An expectation for most teachers at the beginning of each school year is to write goals for their students’ learning. Too often the goal-setting process is tedious and inauthentic for many teachers. In this episode. Santha helps John to develop a meaningful professional goal for the year by asking four simple, but essential questions. 

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In this bonus episode, recorded over the summer, John describes his history with and feelings about the teacher evaluation process and interviews one of his building administrators, Sean Murray.  

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In this special episode, John and Santha share their thoughts on the unprecedented teacher strike in Portland, OR that lasted for more than three weeks. They recount the reasons for the strike and give first-hand descriptions of their days on the picket line and the first day back with students. John and Santha end by sharing some lessons learned for other educators who might find themselves participating in a similar labor action. 

Please consider supporting our show using this link (buymeacoffee.com/thirdrailclassroom) and be sure to visit our website (https://thirdrailclassroom.com/) to access all previous episodes and links to lots of resources. Thanks so much for listening!