Tony DelaRosa, an author emphasizing the importance of being pro-Asian American in the classroom, discusses the challenges teachers face in implementing Asian American education. He emphasizes the need for racial literacy and the importance of focusing on Asian American joy. DelaRosa explores the concept of being pro Asian American, highlighting its connection to other social movements. He also discusses the importance of intersectionality in understanding Asian American experiences and addresses the challenges of racial education and the need for cross coalition building.

Neuroscientist Nadine Gaab argues for early intervention in dyslexia and other learning differences, emphasizing the need to move away from a reactive deficit-driven model. Brain alterations are already present in infancy, making early identification crucial. Universal dyslexia screening is just the tip of the iceberg; the entire community should be involved. Reading development starts before birth, and early intervention is vital. Parents and caregivers play a crucial role in advocating for children with reading disabilities.

Justin Cohen, writer and activist who authored, 'Change Agents: Transforming Schools from the Ground Up,' discusses the challenges of implementing change in schools. He emphasizes the importance of open conversations, empowering educators, and avoiding misconceptions. The disconnect between policymakers and educators is highlighted, along with the need for continuous improvement habits and administrative support. Forming a group or 'crew' for change is also discussed, as well as the timeline for educational change and the impact of instant success expectations.

The podcast discusses the challenges faced by diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts in higher education in light of the Supreme Court's decision to end race conscious admissions. It explores the need for new approaches to DEI work, highlights the impact of removing affirmative action on higher education diversity, and discusses the challenges and resistance against DEI in colleges and universities. The episode also addresses strategies for creating inclusive climates in DEI work.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing how we work with implications for the future.  A recent study, conducted by edX Founder Anant Agarwal and Workplace Intelligence,  reveals how AI is already impacting the workforce. With the explosion of AI, 87 percent of executives are already struggling to find talent for jobs. In order to prepare students for the future -- this means educators must also learn to incorporate AI in their work and classrooms, he says. Agarwal compares the adaption of AI in education as similar to other technological innovations like the Internet. “While students should learn how to use AI to research stuff and how to find different kinds of content, we need to help them understand how to use it in their day-to-day lives and at work, much as we brought in search engines and the Internet into the education process without fighting it," he says.In this episode of the EdCast, Agarwal discusses why everyone needs to upskill in AI and how educators can begin learning more about AI in order to figure out the best approach in the classroom.

The field of out-of-school learning time is vast and supports 10 million children a year. Despite this, the programs are often viewed as glorified babysitting and tremendously undervalued. Harvard Sociologist Bianca Baldridge began studying these programs many years ago, citing the impact they had on her own life and how little was known about them."I do think it is important for people to understand that as a society, we really depend on the sector in ways that we may not realize. So it's not only supporting the education system, the school system, because schools can't do everything. They never have. They never will," she says. "When parents are working, working late, young people have a place to go. That really supports the economy and thinking about parents having more time and space to work. And it provides young people with an opportunity to explore what they love, hone in on particular skills, engage with their peers, and also engage in relationships with youth work professionals."In this episode, she shares insight into the out-of-school learning sector, its unique impact on children's lives, the challenges it faces,  and ways the sectors can work together.  

When the pandemic hit, Stanford Economist Thomas Dee knew it was important to track enrollment as a means of understanding what children are experiencing. He discovered that 1.2 million students didn't enroll in public school. Dee's data indicates not only where these children went but also a significant number of children unaccounted for. A closer look at this data provides some insight into aspects of academic recovery that might also be missing."So much of our academic recovery discourse is focused on the kids still in public schools, and particularly those older kids who are in the kinds of testing windows that draw our attention," he says. "But the enrollment data are telling us really that some of the most substantial reductions in enrollment are among younger students, who to this day haven't yet aged into testing windows and won't until we hit the fiscal cliff, when the federal resources available to school districts run out."The implications for such significant enrollment changes range from challenges in instruction, how to distribute funding properly, to possible layoffs and school closures.   

John Silvanus Wilson Jr. believes higher education institutions have something to learn from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) that can change the future of democracy. “What's in their DNA, what's in their history, and what remains on many of the campuses is a model for what needs to happen in this country and in this world now if we are going to save a democracy and save the planet in that order, by the way, which is unfortunate because a broken democracy cannot save a broken planet,” Wilson says.Wilson, currently the executive director of the Millennium Leadership Initiative for Aspiring Presidents, has a long history with HBCUs as a graduate and later president of Morehouse College, and also the leader of the White House Initiative on HBCUs under the Obama Administration. While HBCUs have long been viewed through a lens of deficiency and survival, Wilson notes that these institutions actually are preeminent in character – something that is missing from many institutions nationwide. He calls on higher education to focus more on producing citizens who aspire to common good rather than personal gain. “I think all of American higher education has to heed what John Dewey said and begin to deliberately shape people who will leave and not just be selfishly concerned about their own well-being but about the well-being of society, the shape and condition of democracy,” he says. “This is critical.”In this episode of the EdCast, Wilson reflects on HBCU history and how it can inform the future of higher education and democracy.

The pandemic challenged literacy development and outcomes for many students but that doesn’t mean America is currently in a literacy crisis. Harvard Professor Catherine Snow, a pioneer with decades of research in language and literacy development, says she’s puzzled by the public discourse about a literacy crisis.“I am...struck by the degree to which people are willing to invoke a literacy crisis, when the data do not support anything like a literacy crisis,” Snow says. “NAEP scores, aside from the pandemic then—but NAEP scores, over the last 10, 15 years have grown-- slowly, but they have gotten better in literacy.” There are many districts that weathered the storm of COVID. Snow cautions that it’s important to remember the negative impacts on children’s reading test scores is not evenly distributed, and in time we will have a better understanding of its impact on literacy development. In the meantime, Snow reminds educators to remain steadfast with balanced literacy instruction.“What worries me about the post-pandemic instruction is that people are particularly under the influence of these worries about phonics are retreating to a stance of, ‘Oh my gosh. They've missed the phonics instruction. We've got to do that more and more and better and better,’” she says. “And the fact of the matter is that yes, they need phonics instruction. But they don't need an hour and a half a day of phonics instruction. Fifteen minutes a day, in the context of opportunities to read and practice and play with language, is probably more effective than overloading literacy instruction with phonics in order to repair the ravages of the pandemic.”In this episode of the EdCast, Snow discusses the current state of American literacy, and how despite knowing what works, we continue to misinterpret modes of instruction and the science of reading. 

Melinda Mangin stresses the importance of creating welcoming gender inclusive environments -- regardless of whether anyone in your school identifies as transgender.  “If you imagine a quarter of your students somehow see themselves as gender nonconforming-- they like something that's not stereotypically appropriate for their assigned gender-- then we're talking about a lot of kids,” says Mangin, a professor at Rutgers University who is an expert in inclusive schools for transgender people. “I think it's really incumbent upon us to move away from seeing gender as a problem, and waiting to fix a problem, and trying to reframe it as this is an opportunity to be more expansive in how we understand a concept, and to create space for that expansiveness to present itself, and really just shifting our mindset about the work that we're doing. We're not fixing a problem. We're creating opportunities for genuine authenticity for kids.” Many educators struggle to understand how best to do this work, and it comes with many fears, she says. Given the current climate of hate and laws against transgender people, she hopes educators will still do their best to affirm student’s identify and work on developing gender neutral school cultures.  In this episode, she discusses steps educators can make to develop more trans inclusive schools and efforts all schools should take toward building more gender inclusive school climates.