Have You Heard

What should schools do about climate change? To get some perspective on this big, even existential, question, Have You Heard is joined summons an all-star cast. Oren Pizmony-Levy, the director of the Center for Sustainable Futures at Teachers College, Columbia University, breaks down the big debates regarding schools and climate change. Investigative journalist Katie Worth, author of Miseducation, reports from her deep dive into climate change education around the country. And Elissa Levy, who teaches physics and computer science at the High School for Climate Justice in East Harlem, NY, tells us about the first public school in the nation with “climate” in its name. And in our In the Weeds segment for Patreon subscribers, Jack and Jennifer wonder ‘what ever happened to the opt-out movement?’ For access, reading lists and more, go to Patreon.com/haveyouheardpodcast to become a supporter.

When Jeff Sharlet reviewed Florida’s new “Don’t Say Gay” law, it felt a bit too familiar. That's because Sharlet spent years reporting on the anti-LGBTQ crusade in Putin's Russia. The Florida law, along with a wave of anti-trans legislation across the country, seeks to create what Sharlet describes as an "enemy within." And in our In the Weeds segment for Patreon subscribers, Jack and Jennifer dig into the question of whether teachers are or are not fleeing the profession, and why the data may not matter as much as the pundits keep saying. Subscribe on Patreon to listen in. https://www.patreon.com/HaveYouHeardPodcast

Thirty years into the great charter experiment, the question of just how public these schools are remains unresolved. We’re joined by Wagma Mommandi and Kevin Welner, author of a new book on how charter schools control access and shape enrollment. Mommandi, a former Washington DC public school teacher, and Welner, who directs the National Education Policy Center at the University of Colorado Boulder, make the case that charter advocates and policy makers have consistently tilted the rules that govern charter schools towards privateness. That has major implications for equity as we move towards a system where schools choose students. And in our In the Weeds segment for Patreon subscribers, we discuss a hot new charter school trend and a very old cause: patriotic education and the dream of reengineering youngsters to be little conservatives. Subscribe on Patreon to join the fun. https://www.patreon.com/HaveYouHeardPodcast

When a proposal to “reimagine” Charleston, South Carolina’s schools suddenly surfaced late last year, it prompted a furious backlash. Community groups and public education advocates warned that the plan, backed by a deep-pocketed foundation, was a fast-track to privatization disguised in the language of innovation. In other words, the vision being offered up for the city’s schools wasn’t new at all but the same one embraced by business interests, civic leaders and philanthropists for decades now. Jennifer “travels” to Charleston to hear from parents, activists and educators about the complicated politics of school reform in a city that can’t or won’t grapple with its past. And Jack stays closer to home while traveling back in time to help us understand the enduring appeal of school takeovers and makeovers. 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

Jennifer joins forces with the hosts of the popular podcast Know Your Enemy to discuss why almost every big culture-war battle of the moment—from "Critical Race Theory" to COVID mandates—is being fought in America's schools. Meanwhile, Democrats, anxious about a midterm rout driven by angry Republican parents, too often are conceding these battles to the right, adopting their rhetoric and their terms of debate, and have been for a long time—despite supposedly being the party of teachers' unions. Does it have to be this way? 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

The impulse to reform American schools is as old as the nation itself. And so too is the impulse to "forget" all of the fixes we've tried before. Have You Heard is joined by the eminent emeritus education historian Larry Cuban to discuss his new book, Confessions of a School Reformer. Among the topics taken on in this episode: the remarkable constancy of American schooling, what's old about the new, and the education historian's dilemma. 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

Even before Omicron swamped schools, teachers were feeling beleaguered. In this episode we catch up with four teachers who appeared on Have You Heard last year to learn about how they’re surviving education gag orders and a culture that regards them as heroes one minute and villains the next. The bad news: two of our special guests are no longer teaching. But there’s also plenty of inspiration to be found in this episode. Starring Selena Carrion, Misty Crompton, Nick Covington and Jessica Piper. 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

The sudden passion for all things parents’ rights may seem like it came out of nowhere. But as education historian Jon Hale explains, it’s the latest in a steady erosion of the idea of public education as a public good. From white parents pulling away from ‘that public’ in the aftermath of the Brown. Vs Board of Education decision in 1954, to the hardening of school district boundaries post Milliken vs. Bradley, we’ve been whittling away at the public good for decades. Oh, and did we mention that the purpose of schooling has shifted over time, becoming increasingly about social mobility? The end result is that it’s increasingly difficult to make the case for public-ness. But Jon Hale, author of The Choice We Face: How Segregation, Race, and Power Have Shaped America's Most Controversial Education Reform Movement does his best. 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

Even before the pandemic, schools were struggling to meet the needs of students in special education programs. Now, a long-standing special education staffing shortage threatens to become something more dire. Special guest: Nate Jones, associate professor of special education at Boston University. 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

Students in Southlake, Texas pushed school district officials to do something about racism in the schools. Then came the backlash. We hear what’s really at stake in the battles over Southlake’s schools from current and former students—and why they remain hopeful about the future. And Jack climbs into the time machine to tour some of the not-so-great education backlashes of yore. 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