Have You Heard

Faculty from three universities discuss the neglect of state schools amid the obsession with elite institutions like Harvard. They delve into the impact of job losses and program closures, reflect on a conservative scholar's criticism, explore the tension between socialization and transformation in higher education, and examine the conflicts between public subsidization of education and students' progressive values.

Randi Weingarten, Jon Valant, Rick Hess, and Jamaal Bowman discuss the Democratic Party's lack of vision for public education and lay out a path forward. They emphasize the importance of pro-public education candidates, address child poverty, challenge ineffective policies, and advocate for reducing testing. They also discuss the need for Democrats to actively fight against harmful ideas and form a public education coalition.

We've been debating how schools should educate and "Americanize" immigrant students for more than a century. In her new book, Making Americans, history teacher Jessica Lander says that schools today are far more welcoming to immigrant-origin students than in the past. But even as star educators like Jessica, Carlos Beato, who co-founded a high school for immigrant students in Maryland, and Leah Juelke, the 2017 North Dakota Teacher of the Year, show us what truly welcoming schools and teaching look like, the rising tide of anti-immigrant rhetoric threatens their efforts, as well as the students they advocate for. The financial support of listeners like you keeps this podcast going. Subscribe on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HaveYouHeardPodcast or donate on PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/haveyouheardpodcast

Education policy scholar Jonathan Collins discusses the importance of school boards in promoting participatory local democracy. He highlights the need for democratic decision-making in education, the role of school boards in supporting vulnerable students, and the challenges of making school board meetings more inclusive. Collins emphasizes the need for optimism and repair in the education system, while exploring the contrasting viewpoints of Democrats and technocrats.

We hand the mic to the brilliant podcasters behind the Voucher Scam, a limited series exposing the big money push to bring school vouchers to Texas and beyond. Claire Campos-O’Neal and Nicole Abshire of the Mothers for Democracy Institute visit a rural community where the elected representative is no longer, well, representing. Claire and Nicole do a masterful job connecting school privatization with the rise of Christian Nationalism and the erosion of democracy. We hope you appreciate their brilliant work as much as we did. The financial support of listeners like you keeps this podcast going. Subscribe on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HaveYouHeardPodcast or donate on PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/haveyouheardpodcast

Explore the politics behind state takeovers in Texas education, specifically in Houston, where the state controls the largest school district. Learn about the motivations, consequences for teachers and students, and lack of improvement in educational outcomes. Discover the limited bargaining and strike rights for teachers, as well as the resistance and pushback from parents and educators against Superintendent Mike Miles. Delve into the relationship between state takeovers, conservative cultural programs, and the privatization agenda, which leads to the dismantling of public education and de-professionalized teachers. Lastly, hear a success story about top-performing schools run by the US military.

Nora Rykoski, a PhD candidate researching the impact of wealthy private actors on public education, sheds light on the troubling effects of 'pipeline philanthropy.' She shares her firsthand experiences as a young Googler witnessing corporate philanthropy's influence on K-12 education. The discussion delves into how this trend erodes democratic control, compromises community engagement, and raises concerns over transparency. Rykoski emphasizes the urgent need for accountability to protect educational integrity from the grip of powerful wealth.

Get the right credentials to get ahead in the world. For many students and their families that IS the purpose of K-12 education. Even students who don’t have their sights set on selective colleges often see learning as secondary to the work of collecting badges and tokens. How did we get here? Why do grades and test scores exert such a powerful influence over our schools? In this episode, we talk with Jack's co-author Ethan Hutt about their new book Off the Mark: How Grades, Ratings, and Rankings Undermine Learning (But Don't Have To). The financial support of listeners like you keeps this podcast going. Subscribe on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HaveYouHeardPodcast or donate on PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/haveyouheardpodcast

North Carolina's state of emergency for public schools highlights the attack on education and the right-wing takeover. The chapter explores the challenges and motivations behind the threats to public education. Hunt's impact on education is discussed, emphasizing the economic argument. Despite the challenges, there is hope for a brighter future as the hosts encourage organizing and pushing back. They reflect on listener feedback and express their goals of reaching a wider audience.

Larry Cuban, historian, predicts that AI will join a long list of overhyped tech 'silver bullets' that have fallen short of the promised utopia. Cuban argues that tech boosters oversell because they don’t understand teaching's reliance on human connection. The podcast explores the limitations of AI language models, skepticism towards AI's impact in classrooms, the enduring tradition of hope and criticism in education, the potential impact of AI on writing assignments, and the cycle of over-promising in education technology.