Roland Fryer, an economics professor at Harvard, discusses his childhood, racial identities, progress against racism, improving education, and systemic racism. They cover topics such as the importance of family influence, high school engagement, racial disparities in police use of force, impact of charter schools, and addressing bias in organizations.
Successful charter schools implement key practices that can be applied to regular public schools to improve student outcomes.
Cultural education plays a crucial role in promoting understanding and appreciation of racial identity.
Addressing racial bias in police use of force is essential for building trust between minority communities and law enforcement.
Deep dives
The Impact of Charter Schools
The average charter school is no better than the average public school, but there are some exceptional charter schools that have significant positive effects on student outcomes.
Lessons from Successful Charter Schools
Research has identified five key practices that successful charter schools implement: spending more time in school, using data to drive instruction, effective human capital management, high-dosage tutoring, and creating a positive school culture.
Implementing Successful Charter School Practices
Applying these practices to regular public schools has shown promising results, replicating the success of top-performing charter schools. However, the long-term impact on income and other outcomes is still uncertain.
The Importance of Cultural Education
The podcast episode highlights the importance of cultural education, particularly in the context of racial identity. The speaker discusses their personal experience of being exposed to different cultural education options, such as Chinese language classes, and emphasizes the positive aspects of these experiences, such as community engagement, emphasis on education, and high achievement. The speaker also acknowledges the potential for toxic and harmful uses of racial identity, but argues that there should be more healthy uses of race that promote cultural understanding and appreciation.
Police Use of Force and Racial Bias
The podcast delves into the topic of police use of force and racial bias. The speaker presents the findings of a study on this issue, highlighting that there are large racial differences in lower-level uses of force by the police, even when controlling for various factors. The study also found no racial differences in lethal use of force. The speaker argues that both lower-level and lethal uses of force are important to address, as they are connected and affect the trust and relationships between minority communities and the police. The speaker emphasizes the need for solutions and policies that tackle racial bias and build trust between communities and law enforcement.
My guest today is Roland Fryer. Roland is an economics professor at Harvard University. He is a recipient of the MacArthur Genius Grant and the Bates medal. Roland is probably among the top five most frequent guest requests that I get. So it was really exciting to finally have him on the show.
In this episode, we discuss Roland's childhood and the many obstacles he had to overcome in order to become a top-notch economist. We talk about his relationship with his grandmother and his father, our relationships to our own racial identities, the progress that America has made in fighting racism, and whether race consciousness can ever be a good thing. We also talk about why high school is boring for so many people and what can be done about it, stand-up comedy, and the power of humor. We discuss Roland's famous empirical work on the prevalence of racial bias and police shootings and arrests, and the implications of this research for the Black Lives Matter movement. We go on to talk about Roland's meeting with President Obama, what Roland learned by doing ride-alongs with police officers, data-driven ways to improve K through 12 education, the nebulous concept of systemic racism, Roland's alternative Diversity Equity and Inclusion company, and much more.
*My apologies for the drop in Roland's audio quality in this episode. Unfortunately, we faced some network issues during the time of recording, thus the drop in quality. Despite the technical inconvenience, I hope you enjoy the episode as much as I did.
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