The Learning Curve

In this week's episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts Center for Strong Public Schools’ Alisha Searcy and Great Hearts Academies’ Dr. Helen Baxendale interview award-winning author and biographer Dr. Jung Chang, whose international bestsellers have illuminated three generations of her family's experiences across 20th- and 21st-century China. Dr. Chang reflects on the powerful lessons drawn from the lives of her grandmother, mother, and herself under Chairman Mao’s tyranny, emphasizing the importance of personal memory in confronting totalitarianism and educating younger generations. She discusses the role of her memoir alongside works by figures such as Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and Elie Wiesel in exposing the tragic human cost of 20th century’s most murderous regimes. Turning to her co-authored biography, Mao: The Unknown Story, Dr. Chang offers her assessment of Mao’s character, the catastrophic loss of over 70 million lives under his Communist rule, and the enduring myths and lies surrounding his despotic legacy. She explores China’s rich pre-Communist history, including the often misunderstood reign of the Empress Dowager Cixi, the central role of women in shaping modern China, and her motivations for writing Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister. She also examines Chairman Deng Xiaoping’s (the “Architect of Modern China”) economic reforms in the late 1970s, President Xi Jinping’s revival of Maoist-style political state control, and concludes with a moving discussion of Fly, Wild Swans, as a tribute to her mother, including the final chapter on why she could not return to China to be at her mother’s deathbed.

In this week's episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and Center for Strong Public Schools’ Alisha Searcy discuss state and national K-12 education reform with Katherine Haley, Founder and Partner of the Oak Rose Group and President of the Arizona State Board of Education. Haley shares her remarkable career journey from Capitol Hill—where she served as chief policy advisor to former U.S. House Speaker John Boehner—to leading education reform in Arizona. She discusses founding the Oak Rose Group to advance human flourishing through strategic consulting, and her work on the Arizona State Board of Education, where she addresses the state's academic challenges on NAEP despite robust charter public and school choice programs. Ms. Haley provides an insider's perspective on the political dynamics of federal education lawmaking, the influence of special interests, and the complexities of programs like IDEA, Title I, and the DC voucher program. She examines why American K-12 education struggles to improve despite massive expenditures exceeding $800 billion annually, and offers advice for what governors, legislators, local officials, and parents can do to dramatically transform academic outcomes for America's schoolchildren.

In this week’s episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts U-Ark Prof. Albert Cheng and Alisha Searcy of the Center for Public Schools speak with Julie Young, Julie Petersen, and Kay Johnson, co-editors of Pioneer Institute’s new book, Virtual Schools, Actual Learning: Digital Education in America. They explore the evolution of online education in the U.S., from the founding of Florida Virtual School (FLVS) to the innovations at ASU Prep Digital. Young, Petersen, and Johnson discuss key principles of educational leadership, pivotal historical milestones in virtual schooling, and the early challenges of creating student-centered, technology-driven learning models. The co-editors highlight lessons from states’ high-performing digital programs, the role of state regulations, and strategies for addressing national learning loss, including insights about shortcomings of remote education during the COVID-19 pandemic. They also examine state funding structures, policy best practices, and critiques of online education, including concerns about equity of access. They discuss the book’s policy recommendations, offer a forward-looking vision for “unbound” learning, as well as the future of K-12 digital education across the globe. In closing, Julie Young reads a passage from Virtual Schools, Actual Learning: Digital Education in America.

In this engaging discussion, Erika Donalds, Chair of Education Opportunity at the America First Policy Institute and founder of numerous classical charter schools, shares her journey into education reform. She emphasizes the importance of high-quality curricula and innovative schooling methods like classical education to boost reading and math scores. Donalds advocates for parent-directed funding and expanding school choice, highlighting Florida's leadership in the movement. She also addresses the decline of civic literacy and the need for empowering states over federal control in education.

In this week’s episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts U-Ark. Professor Albert Cheng and Center for Strong Public Schools’ Alisha Searcy speak with Sean Geraghty & Mike Goldstein, authors of I’ll Do It Later: Surviving School (and Renewing the Love) with Your ADHD Son. Geraghty and Goldstein reflected on the academic and personal experiences that fueled their passion to research ADHD and coauthor their latest book. The authors delve into the rise in ADHD diagnoses among young Americans, weighing in on how social media and technology have contributed to dwindling attention spans. Drawing on four case studies from their book, they share lessons from observing families raising children with ADHD and offer guidance for parents facing similar challenges. As many schools work to meet the needs of ADHD learners, Geraghty and Goldstein also discussed how educators can adapt classroom environments to better support broader academic needs.

Paul Andrew Hutton, a Distinguished Professor of History Emeritus at the University of New Mexico and author of The Undiscovered Country, dives into the rich tapestry of the American West. He explores iconic figures like Daniel Boone and Sitting Bull, shedding light on their roles and legacies. Hutton discusses Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show and its impact on the cowboy's global image as a symbol of American identity. His insights bridge the past's heroes and the mythos they created, all underscored by poignant narratives from his work.

In this week’s episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts Great Heart Academies’ Dr. Helen Baxendale and American Federation for Children’s Shaka Mitchell speak with Mike Miles, superintendent of the Houston Independent School District. Miles has devoted his life to public service, starting as a soldier, then as a diplomat in Poland and Russia during the Cold War before moving into K-12 education reform. He discussed how his family background and early educational experiences shaped his commitment to service. Reflecting on his years as an officer in the Army Ranger Battalion and a Company Commander, Miles described how military service influenced his leadership philosophy and approach to school reform. Since 2023, he has led the Houston Independent School District, the eighth largest in the country. He spoke candidly about the challenges of transitioning from military and diplomatic roles to driving educational reform in large urban districts, emphasizing the political and bureaucratic barriers that often slow progress. He also highlighted the many improvements that have already been accomplished during his brief tenure in Houston. Finally, Supt. Miles shared what he hopes to see governors, state legislatures, and parents do to dramatically improve academic outcomes for students in urban communities.

In this week’s episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and Center for Strong Public Schools’ Alisha Searcy speak with Sir Hew Strachan, Professor of International Relations at the University of St Andrews, Scotland, and recipient of the 2016 Pritzker Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing. Prof. Sir Hew, author of numerous award-winning books, including The First World War, the basis of the definitive 10-part Channel 4/BBC documentary, discusses how World War I shaped the 20th century and beyond. He explores how European imperial rivalries contributed to the conflict; the role of Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm II; the First Battle of the Marne, the Battle of Verdun, and the Battle of the Somme; and the significance of V. I. Lenin’s 1917 return to Russia sparking the Bolshevik Revolution. Prof. Strachan also examines how the Zimmermann Telegram contributed to U.S. entry into the war; U.S. Army General John "Black Jack" Pershing as the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces; and the ways in which new mechanized weapons made WWI the first modern war. Sir Hew concludes by reflecting on the Great War’s enduring impact on the world today and reads an excerpt from his forthcoming essay due to be released later this month.

In this week’s episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts Center for Strong Public Schools’ Alisha Searcy and American Federation for Children’s Walter Blanks interview Kelley Brown, an award-winning civics and government teacher at Easthampton High School and former Massachusetts Teacher of the Year. Ms. Brown discusses her background as an educator, her work with the “We the People": The Citizen and the Constitution program, and how it helps students engage with America’s Founding Documents, U.S. history, and enduring civic ideals. She examines the nationwide decline in K-12 civics education and how teachers and policymakers can reengage the subject to strengthen our democratic civic knowledge and understanding. Ms. Brown also shares her thoughtful approaches to teaching complex topics such as slavery, race, and equality under rule of law, in ways that honor our history, while addressing how America hasn't always fulfilled its highest ideals. Brown concludes by reflecting on her own civic heroes and heroines from U.S. history and how their examples can inspire students and citizens to become more knowledgeable participants in our republic.

In this week’s episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and Great Hearts Academies’ Dr. Helen Baxendale interview Leo Damrosch, Ernest Bernbaum Professor of Literature Emeritus at Harvard University, and acclaimed biographer of some of the world's greatest literary figures. Prof. Damrosch discusses his newest book Storyteller: The Life of Robert Louis Stevenson. He reflects on Stevenson's childhood in Scotland and the close relationship he maintained with his nanny, Alison Cunningham. He shares how Stevenson lived an adventurous life, with his travel inspiring classics like Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and A Child’s Garden of Verses. Prof. Damrosch explores the moral dualities in Stevenson’s gothic masterpiece, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, examining how the novella reveals humanity’s capacity for good and evil. He also discusses Stevenson’s later years in Samoa, his marriage to the American Fanny Osbourne, and his involvement with the politics and people of the South Pacific islands before dying at the age of 44. Prof. Damrosch concludes with reading an excerpt from Treasure Island.