Human Restoration Project

In this podcast, Nick Covington (of HRP) and I, Chris, discuss the "return to learn” plans of school and what we must think about as we reopen. We call upon other educators to hear their thoughts, including Dr. Jessica Zeller, Rachel Lawrence, Shane MacLeod, and an anonymous caller.Three key themes emerge in our conversation: We need to recognize that asynchronous learning is just as valid, if not more valid, than synchronous learning in both content knowledge and equitable practice. Our conversation of “reimagining education” has been replaced with maintaining control. Teachers must push back to change the status quo. Teachers are facing massive cognitive dissonance of wanting to return to the classroom and help students, while simultaneously recognizing the safety and logistical concerns of the situation.Also, we experimented with a new recording set up so I apologize for the decrease in quality…always attempting to do better!Show Notes Death and Teaching, COVID-19 by Chris McNutt Referenced Rubric (@k_shelton)

This is an audio version of our Summit on August 1st, 2020. Here's the video!Inspire Citizens is an innovative organization focusing on active, informed civics through social justice, sustainable development, collective well-being, SEL, and ethical media literacy. Out of the Blocks is an NPR program focused on capturing the sounds on the street of Baltimore, formed on the idea of interviewing every single person on a given block. And Evan Whitehead is a school leader and educator of over 20 years with a focus on social-emotional well-being.Check out this podcast between Inspire Citizens and Out of the Blocks on how this work can involve students.Further, this Padlet has a huge collection of ideas shared today. Further, check out our write-up on writing.humanrestorationproject.org.Our Summit focused on endorsing student voice through activism in a hybrid/virtual setting. How can we help students become involved in their community when it's difficult or impossible to actually walk around the community? How can we use technology (e.g. podcasts, photography, interviews) to help connect others? How can we promote social justice when it's difficult to build interpersonal connections?Look out for future Summits via Human Restoration Project’s website and social media.

Let’s put this into perspective: the United States is planning on the mass reopening of schools when COVID-19 has still not ended its first wave. Millions of people have been diagnosed, and the CDC has issued little concrete guidance on how schools will actually reopen next month. The US Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, has essentially ignored questioning of even the notion of remote learning and does not believe that this is a serious issue that will effect children (flat out refusing to acknowledge the adults in the room too.)This podcast addresses the anxiety and real chance of death due to COVID-19 in the classroom. It calls upon teachers to organize and demand remote learning. Let’s face it, there’s two options:1) We go back to school, cases increase, and more students, teachers, and faculty members die. This isn’t a hypothesis. There are ample facts presented in this podcast on why this is the case.2) Teachers stand up to districts, using their extreme leverage during the pandemic, to stay remote and minimize destruction.I encourage you to listen in. - ChrisShow Notes Parent Letter Template - We Demand Safe Schools! “There Will Be No Teachers Left” School Virtual/Hybrid Reopening Demand Template Letter (Florida)Citations https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6b8Kg_a4Omo https://www.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#cases https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/22/health/coronavirus-restrictions-us.html https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/2020/05/26/children-transmission https://www.businessinsider.com/how-coronavirus-travel-through-air-droplets-aerosols-2020-3 https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/12/us/arizona-teachers-coronavirus/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/11/politics/cdc-documents-warn-high-risk-schools-reopening/index.html https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/07/10/889848834/nations-pediatricians-walk-back-support-for-in-person-school https://www.wral.com/coronavirus/concerns-mount-in-chapel-hill-over-prospect-of-students-returning-to-unc-amid-pandemic/19183462/ https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-13/covid-19-reinvades-u-s-states-that-already-beat-it-back-once?srnd=premium https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/israel-battles-new-wave-coronavirus-infections-after-reopening-n1233139 https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/29/asia/south-korea-coronavirus-shuts-down-again-intl/index.html https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3092174/coronavirus-third-wave-fears-escalate-hong-kong https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-hongkong/hong-kong-tightens-social-distancing-again-as-coronavirus-cases-rise-idUSKCN24E1L5 https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/07/10/889376184/photos-how-hong-kong-reopened-schools-and-why-it-closed-them-again https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JSGOO6GiI8 https://www.edweek.org/ew/section/multimedia/map-coronavirus-and-school-closures.html https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/13/us/teachers-covid-19-return-school/index.html https://fortune.com/2020/05/28/us-unemployment-rate-numbers-claims-this-week-total-job-losses-may-28-2020-benefits-claims-job-losses/

Our podcast today features Dr. Astrid Poorthuis, an assistant professor at the developmental psychology program at Utrecht University, Netherlands, whose work focuses on performance, school, and its relationship to social/emotional learning. Dr. Poorthuis has researched and published a variety of works concerning grades, student/teacher emotional well-being, student/teacher relationships, and peer relationships.Dr. Poorthuis and I talk about her research and its applications for the classroom, notably how ungrading and its benefits of engagement, well-being, and participation are backed by substantial amounts of research - referencing a variety of studies. It's incredibly interesting how universal these results are and the commonalities that US and Netherlands schools share. Attached in the show notes are the studies that Dr. Poorthuis has been involved with, as well as recommendations she makes during this episode.GUESTSDr. Astrid Poorthuis, a leader in researching practices that demonstrate the importance and implementation of practices that bolster student social and emotional well-being, who serves as an assistant professor in the developmental psychology program at Utrecht University, NetherlandsRESOURCES Do grades shape students' school engagement? The psychological consequences of report card grades at the beginning of secondary school See me through my eyes: Adolescent–parent agreement in personality predicts later self-esteem development Dashed Hopes, Dashed Selves? A Sociometer Perspective on Self-esteem Change Across the Transition to Secondary School The Role of School in Adolescents’ Identity Development. A Literature Review Klapp: Does grading affect educational attainment? A longitudinal study Koenka et. al.: A meta-analysis on the impact of grades and comments on academic motivation and achievement: a case for written feedbackFURTHER LISTENING 28: Restoring Humanity: Gradeless Learning 54: Making the Switch to Ungrading (feat. Abigail French, Dr. Susan Blum, and Dr. Laura Gibbs)

Our podcast today features Dr. Connie Wun, the founder and director of Transformative Research: An Institute for Social Transformation and AAPI Women Lead. Connie is an educator, activist, and researcher whose work centers on race and gender equity, community-centered research, women's empowerment, school discipline and punishment, and anti-Blackness in education. Connie and I talk about school and its relation to the carceral network, or how school is intertwined in producing delinquency, inequity, and power structures in the United States. Our discussion talks not only about the issues facing US schools, but how we can utilize the "winds of change" of the Black Lives Matter movement, as well as the COVID crisis, to revolutionize the education system to best serve Students of Color and marginalized students.Briefly, to provide some context to the carceral network and schools - we're referring to not only the "school to prison pipeline", but the commonplace day-to-day discrimination that Students of Color face, including but not limited to a white-centric curriculum, dress codes, the tardy system, and racial stereotyping/discrimination (for example, sending a student out of class for "laughing too loud" or "chewing gum", which effectively hurts a students' education as well as simply their humanity.)Dr. Connie Wun provides an incredibly clear overview to the carceral state and continuum between schooling and carceral pedagogies.GUESTSDr. Connie Wun, researcher, speaker, and educator, and founder/director of Transformative Research: An Institute for Social Transformation and co-founder/director of AAPI Women Lead.RESOURCES #ImReady Solidarity Work (AAPI Women Lead) The Abusable Past: A Reading List on Policing, Rebellion, and the Criminalization of Blackness Asian American Justice Toolkit TransformHarm Resource Hub Truthout.org: We Are Witnessing an Uprising Against a World Built on Anti-Blackness by Dr. Connie Wun Teachers for Social Justice Education for Liberation Network Teaching Tolerance Black Lives Matter Resources Movement for Black Lives Black Visions CollectiveFURTHER LISTENING Beyond the School to Prison Pipeline by Dr. Connie Wun The Tao of Self-Confidence: 712: You Are Gifted With Dr. Connie Wun

What is Human Restoration Project?This introductory podcast provides an overview to our organization, what we do, and the goals of progressive education. Listen in to learn about the pedagogy and join the cause!ResourcesI use evidence to inform my teaching. by Chris McNuttAt a Crossroads of Anti-Authoritarianism: Dismissing Far-Right School Advocates by Chris McNuttHuman Restoration Project's research page Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I'm joined by Marie Bigham, founder and co-leader of ACCEPT Group, or Admissions Community Cultivating Equity & Peace Today. Marie has spent over 20 years in college admissions, most recently at an independent school in New Orleans, and serves full-time as ACCEPT Group's leader. ACCEPT coordinates support for equitable college admissions, such as staging walkouts and organizing like-minded voices for change.In this podcast, Marie and I discuss the actions we can take to radicalize the college admissions process in an era of uncertainty. The horrific actions of the past few months, from the growth of a global pandemic to yet another murder of a person of color by the police, George Floyd, has led way to some glimmers of hope in organizing, protest, and growth as a society. What actions can K-college educators take to build an equitable higher education experience, when revolution seems more and more tangible?GUESTSMarie Bigham, former college admissions counselor and co-leader and founder of the ACCEPT Group (Admissions Community Cultivating Equity & Peace Today.)RESOURCES ACCEPT Group (Website) ACCEPT Group (Facebook) ACCEPT Group (Twitter) DEFINING ACCESS: How Test-Optional Works "We are witnessing America as a failed social experiment" - Dr Cornell West Full CNN Segment The Privileged Poor: How Elite Colleges Are Failing Disadvantaged Students by Anthony Abraham JackFURTHER LISTENING (UPCOMING) ACCEPT Group Chat Sessions

Today I am joined by Dr. William Ayers, a retired education professor at the University of Chicago whose work is rooted in progressive ideology. Ayers was heavily involved in the free school movement in the 1960s, and his work reflects a focus on democratic schooling and building a more free society. Ayers is a prolific author, including writing On the Side of the Child: Summerhill Revisited, Teaching Toward Freedom: Moral Commitment and Ethical Action in the Classroom, To Teach: The Journey of a Teacher, and the recently released "You Can't Fire the Bad Ones!": And 18 Other Myths about Teachers, Teachers Unions, and Public Education.In this podcast, Ayers and I talk about the opportunity that COVID-19 provides teachers to throw out standardized testing and build a better system. We discuss the College Board, the connection between testing and the financial industry, how testing impacts the culture of a school, and what a classroom without these tests could mean.GUESTSDr. William Ayers, professor of education at the University of Chicago, elementary education expert, education reform activist, author, and researcher.RESOURCES “You Can’t Fire the Bad Ones!”: And 18 Other Myths about Teachers, Teachers Unions, and Public Education by William Ayers, Crystal Laura, and Rick Ayers Bill Ayers’ WebsiteFURTHER LISTENING Bill Ayers | Teaching And Organizing for Social Justice | University of Oregon Lecture Headline: Author Bill Ayers on the Eighteen Myths of Public Education

Today I am joined by Dr. Etta Kralovec, a professor of education at The University of Arizona, who focuses on context, research gathering, and teacher preparation, specifically with a focus on US/Mexico border communities. Dr. Kralovec is a widely accomplished author and researcher, with works such as The End of Homework and Schools That Do Too Much, a Fulbright Scholar, school leader and founder, and international expert.In this podcast, we talk about the practice of teacher action research, where educators perform qualitative studies of what they're doing - essentially to figure out if it works. As you'll soon hear, the power of teacher action research lies in the process of reflecting and analyzing the information. Further, teacher action research is the cornerstone of Human Restoration Project's upcoming microcredentialing program.GUESTSDr. Etta Kralovec, professor of education at The University of Arizona, author, researcher, Fulbright Scholar, and expert on teacher action research with a specific focus on US/Mexico border communities.RESOURCES YouTube: Overview of Dr. Kralovec’s recent work Schools That Do Too Much by Etta Kralovec HRP Book Review: The End of Homework by Etta Kralovec and John Buell*Dr. Kralovec has graciously provided her author email, endhomework@gmail.com - to answer any questions about teacher action research and how it can work for you!FURTHER LISTENING Teacher’s Aid: Homework? Really? That’s So 1950s High Tech High Unboxed: Continuous Improvement: Teacher Induction

Today I am joined by Dr. sj Miller, an associate professor of teacher education at Sante Fe Community College. sj is an expert on social justice and challenges the gender and gender identity binary (e.g. trans*+, gender dynamic/fluid youth.) sj is an award-winning and well-published author, including writing for The International Journal of Transgenderism, International Journal of Critical Pedagogy, and the Teachers College Record. You can view sj's speech on gender identities and young people via TEDMED.In this podcast, we talk about how schools can best serve nonconforming gender identities, how classrooms can be liberated for social justice, and the mistakes we make in professional development and addressing the complex topic of gender in schools.GUESTSDr. sj Miller, associate professor of teacher education, expert on gender identity justice and social justice, and published author/researcher.RESOURCES sj Miller’s recently published book, about Gender Identity Justice in Schools and Communities sj Miller’s website sj Miller’s TEDMED talk: “Why gender identity justice matters for everyone”FURTHER LISTENING Engendering Communication - Episode 42 - The Oxford Comment Documentary: Gender | The Space Between