Preventing Polarisation - A Conversation with Michelle Blanchet and Brian Deters

Michelle Blanchet is co-author of The Startup Teacher (Times 10, 2020), co-author of Preventing Polarization (Times 10, 2023), and an educator and social entrepreneur striving to improve how we treat, train, and value our teachers. After ten years of experience working with young people, she founded the Educators’ Lab, which supports teacher-driven solutions to educational challenges. Michelle earned a master’s in international relations from Instituto de Empresa in Madrid. She has taught social studies in Switzerland and the U.S. and has presented at numerous events, including SXSWedu and TEDxLausanne. Michelle is a part of the Global Shaper Community of the World Economic Forum. She has worked with organizations like PBS Education, the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning, Ashoka, and the Center for Curriculum Redesign.

Brian has been in education for twenty-seven years teaching social studies and coaching varsity soccer in the US and abroad. Brian, a co-host of the 4 A Better Tomorrow Podcast, flew back and forth from Switzerland to run in the 2018 election as a US Congressional primary candidate from the 18th District of Illinois.

Brian holds a master’s degree in educational administration from Illinois State University, where he also served as an adjunct professor working in the field with student teachers in 2018 and 2019. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. He currently teaches sociology and civics at Morton High School in Morton, Illinois.

Brian is the co-author of Preventing Polarization (Times 10, 2023) where he and Michelle Blanchet show how all educators can equip our youth with skills to become active and engaged citizens.

Social Links

LinkedIn: @michelle-blanchet-edulab / @brian-deters

Twitter: @educatorslab /