FreshEd

Today we have a slightly different type of show for you. One of FreshEd’s producers, Lushik Wahba, created an amazing podcast about the experiences of international students at one small college in the USA. Over 1 million international students currently study at colleges and universities across America. Why did they choose to study in the USA? What can we learn from their experiences? Lushik’s podcast gives voice to some of those students, showcasing the promise and challenges of internationalization. Born and raised in Cairo, Lushik Wahba came of age during the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. This was a time when citizen journalism flourished, and she saw first-hand the power of an informed public. Growing up in such an environment inspired her to work in media. At 16 she earned a scholarship to study at the United World College in Bosnia and Herzegovina. After high school, she moved to Vermont to attend Bennington College. She just graduated in May but before doing so she put together this podcast, featuring many of her fellow international students. Lushik is determined to pursue a career in producing podcasts and documentaries that focus on issues affecting marginalized populations around the world. We know Lushik has a bright future in media in front of her, well-beyond the FreshEd podcast, so we are extremely lucky to be able to air one of her first podcasts for you today. Before we start, I’d like to give a content warning. Some of the students you will hear today use potentially offensive language. If you’re not into that or are with small children, we have posted a beeped version online. Enjoy the show! www.freshedpodcast.com/wahba Twitter: @FreshEdpodcast Facebook: FreshEd Email: info@freshedpodcast.com

Religion in American public schools is a hot-button issue. Can prayers be said in public schools? What about in extracurricular activities? Can states provide funds to religious schools? And if parents don’t vaccinate their children for religious reasons but send them to public schools, what can the State do? These questions don’t have easy answers and the US constitution offers little help. The Establishment clause of the First Amendment of the constitution, for instance, forbids Congress from making laws in support of religion but also protects the free exercise of religion. Finding the right balance isn’t always straightforward. My guest today is Martha McCarthy. She is the Presidential Professor at Loyola Marymount University and the Chancellor’s Professor Emeritus at Indiana University. Together with Suzanne Eckes and Janet Decker, Professor McCarthy has recently published Legal Rights of School Leaders, Teachers, and Students (Pearson, 2019). Today’s episode of FreshEd was put together in collaboration with the Education Law Association. www.freshedpodcast.com/McCarthy Twitter: @FreshEdpodcast Facebook: FreshEd Email: info@freshedpodcast.com

Some thirty-five percent of out-of-school children live in conflict-affected areas. These emergency situations include both human conflicts, such as, war and natural disasters, such as earthquakes. These children are in desperate need of help. Yet before anyone can act, information is critical. Information and data on education in emergencies is, however, inadequate in most cases. My guest today is Mary Mendenhall, an Associate Professor of Practice and the Director of the International and Comparative Education program at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is a member of the Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies’ (INEE) Standards and Practice Working Group and has edited a new NORRAG special issue on data collection and evidence building to support education in emergencies. http://www.freshedpodcast.com/marymendenhall/ Twitter: @FreshEdpodcast Facebook: FreshEd Email: info@freshedpodcast.com

Today Raewyn Connell returns to FreshEd to talk about her new book, The Good University. In it, Raewyn takes a deep dive into the labor that makes a university possible while also detailing the main troubles the institution currently faces. She argues that a good university must work for the social good rather than for profit. It must embrace its democratic roots and protect the process of being truthful. Raewyn Connell is Professor Emerita at the University of Sydney. She is an active trade unionist and advocate for workers’ rights, student autonomy and educational reform. http://www.freshedpodcast.com/raewynconnell2/ Twitter: @FreshEdpodcast Facebook: FreshEd Email: info@freshedpodcast.com Photo by Peter Hall

Are there limits to what can be said on college campuses? When a far-right-wing speaker is disinvited to speak on campus, is it an issue of Free Speech? My guest today, Neal Hutchens, explores these issues in his research and writing. Ultimately, his look at the legal issues facing universities when it comes to free speech and academic freedom go to the heart of the purpose of higher education. What are colleges for? Neal H. Hutchens serves as Professor and Chair in the University of Mississippi School of Education’s Department of Higher Education. His latest opinion piece on campus free speech laws was published in The Conversation in April. Today’s episode was put together in collaboration with the Education Law Association. www.freshedpodcast.com/hutchens Twitter: @FreshEdpodcast Facebook: FreshEd Email: info@freshedpodcast.com

The World Bank hasn’t always made loans to education. Post-World War II, the Bank focused mainly on infrastructure. Even when it did start lending to education in the 1960s, it used the idea of manpower planning, the process of estimating the number of people with specific skills required for completing a project. Only in the 1970s did the World Bank begin to think of education in terms of rates of return: the cost-benefit calculation that uses expected future earning from one’s educational attainment. The introduction of rates of return inside the World Bank was no easy process. The internal fights by larger-than-life personalities were the stuff legends are made from. Yet, these disputes often go unnoticed, hidden behind glossy reports and confidence. Today Stephen Heyneman takes us back in time when he introduced rates of return to the World Bank. He discusses how he used them to his advantage and how he ultimately lost his job because of them. Stephen Heyneman is Professor Emeritus of international education policy at Peabody College, Vanderbilt University. He served the World Bank for 22 years between 1976 and 1998.

Climate change and its effects aren’t some future possibilities waiting to happen unless we take action today. No. The effect of climate change is already occurring. Today. Right now. Around the world, people have been displaced, fell ill, or died because of the globe’s changing climate. These effects are uneven: Some countries and classes of people are more affected by global warming than others. Still, the United Nations estimates that catastrophic consequences from climate change are only a decade away. That’s the year 2029. [Editor's note: The IPCC report is from 2018 and gave a 12-year prediction, so it should read 2030, not 2029.] What is the role of education policy in an era of detrimental climate change? My guest today is Marcia McKenzie, a professor in the Department of Educational Foundations at the University of Saskatchewan and director of the Sustainability Education Research Institute. She recently has been awarded a grant to research UN policy programs in relation to climate change education and in June will release a report for the United Nations that reviews country progress on climate change education and education for sustainable development. In our conversation, we talk about what countries are doing or not doing in terms of education and sustainability, and we reflect on some of the existential questions that climate change brings to the fore. www.freshedpodcast.com/McKenzie Twitter: @FreshEdpodcast Facebook: FreshEd Email: info@freshedpodcast.com

Laws that mandate education for special needs students have not always existed. In the United States, courts only began referring to students with special needs in the early 1900s. At the time, such students were typically excluded from public school. Things began to change after the Brown v. Board of Education supreme country ruling in 1954. Twenty years later in the 1970s, congress enacted various legislation mandating educational services and support for children with special needs. My guest today is Charlie Russo. In our conversation, Charlie details the power of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and situates it in an international context. Charlie Russo is the Joseph Panzer Chair in Education in the School of Education and Health Sciences and Research Professor of Law in the School of Law at the University of Dayton. www.freshedpodcast.com/Charlierusso Twitter: @FreshEdpodcast Facebook: FreshEd Email: info@freshedpodcast.com

Today we talk about the history and recent rise of Islamophobia worldwide. My guest is Mariam Durrani, an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Hamilton College. In our conversation, we discusses both the state policy infrastructure enabling Islamophobia while also the everyday discourses and actions that normalize the Othering of a particular group. Dr. Durrani also discusses her own life story of growing up in a military family and witnessing the rise of Islamophobia in the aftermath of September 11th. Mariam Durrani recently published the book chapter “Communicating and Contesting Islamophobia.” www.freshedpodcast.com/mariamdurrani Twitter: @FreshEdpodcast Facebook: FreshEd Email: info@freshedpodcast.com

Today we continue our Education and Law mini-series with a show on the legal and policy issues surrounding special education. My guest is Janet Decker, an Associate Professor in the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Department at Indiana University. Dr. Decker became interested in special education policy when she taught students with autism. In our conversation, Dr. Decker talks about the legal term FAPE, which stands for Free and Appropriate Public Education. FAPE is legally guaranteed to children under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. It is one of the most important legal issues in special education, but also one of the most problematic. What is the definition of 'Free' and 'Appropriate' 'Public' 'Education'? Janet Decker’s latest co-written book with Martha McCarthy and Suzanne Eckes is Legal Rights of School Leaders, Teachers, and Students, published by Pearson. This episode was put together in collaboration with the Education Law Association. www.freshedpodcast.com/decker Twitter: @FreshEdpodcast Email: info@freshedpodcast.com