Exploring how to transform 21st century education using 21st century science
Episodes
Tuesday Sep 22, 2020
Tuesday Sep 22, 2020
Today we continue our conversation with Margaret Beale Spencer, the Marshall Field IV Professor of Urban Education at the University of Chicago.
In Part 1, Prof. Spencer explained – in powerful narrative – her own history and how her personal path led to the topics central to her life’s work: identity, resiliency and competency building within a racially, ethnically and economically diverse society.
Today, we dive deeper into Dr. Spencer’s scientific research on human development and ask her for guidance to address the elephant in many rooms today: racism. As kids, faculty, and staff have come back together in their respective school communities they don’t necessarily share a sense of urgency about righting – or even addressing – historical wrongs against Black people. Where is the most important place to start?
For more information, go to www.turnaroundusa.org/podcast.
Monday Sep 21, 2020
Monday Sep 21, 2020
As the new school year begins in the substantial shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic, our students face challenges that go beyond making friends and making up for lost time in the classroom – beyond virtual Zoom teaching and hybrid learning.
After a summer of protests against systemic racism and police brutality, amid calls for a racial reckoning, many students, parents, and educators are engaging in conversations about race, equality and opportunity, and they may even find themselves discussing what makes some people vulnerable – to Covid, to violence – and what makes others resilient?
That’s just part of what makes today’s conversation with Margaret Beale Spencer so timely. Because human vulnerability, resilience and context are concepts that Prof. Spencer has spent her career studying and addressing.
Prof. Spencer is the Marshall Field IV Professor of Urban Education in the department of Comparative Human Development at the University of Chicago. Her career spans more than 30 years during which she has authored well over 100 published articles and chapters.
In fact, we found our conversation with Dr. Spencer so meaningful, we are bringing it to you in two parts. This first covers her personal history and the kinds of resources and support that not only fueled her resiliency but informed her work and views.
For more information, go to www.turnaroundusa.org/podcast.
Wednesday Aug 19, 2020
Wednesday Aug 19, 2020
In our last podcast, we spoke with Diane Tavenner about the path forward: How schools and families should prepare as we all head into the unknown – the launch of the first full school year during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Today we talk with Diane again, this time about how she – and the approach to learning that she developed through Summit Public Schools – got here.
Like anything else – perhaps even more so – education today requires a blend of the visionary and the practical: We need the extraordinary ideas and insights to reach the seemingly impossible goal of ensuring opportunity for every child… but also the practical paths – the daily steps required to make those opportunities possible.
But what should that blend look like? How does it integrate not only a clear focus on academics, but also what's happening beyond the classroom. And how should the crucial teacher, parent and student relationships and responsibilities work together to bring that vision to reality?
Diane answers these questions. And as you’ll hear, “opportunity” and “practical” are very important words in her vocabulary.
Some background: Diane is the co-founder and CEO of Summit Public Schools, which operates 15 public middle and high schools in California and Washington State. She also serves on the board of T.L.P. Education, the organization helping schools across the U.S. to implement Summit Learning – Summit’s personalized approach to education. Before founding Summit, Diane spent ten years as a public school teacher, administrator, and leader in traditional urban and suburban public schools throughout California.
Diane is also the author of “Prepared: What Kids Need for a Fulfilled Life,” which offers “a blueprint for how parents can stop worrying about their children’s future and start helping them prepare for it.”
One note before we start: This second conversation with Diane was actually our first one together. We recorded this conversation about five months ago – in fact, I open the talk by asking her about a great honor: Bill Gates had recently listed “Prepared” as one of his five holiday recommendations. Unfortunately, just as that conversation was about to post, Covid-19 hit, schools were in turmoil, and we delayed. We’re thrilled to finally release it now.
For more information, go to www.turnaroundusa.org/podcast
Wednesday Aug 05, 2020
Wednesday Aug 05, 2020
As schools and families prepare to head straight into the unknown – the launch of the first full school year during the Covid-19 pandemic – nearly everyone is looking for a roadmap. Not just whether to fully open or go with a hybrid or fully online, but rather how – regardless of where things go – to help kids stay connected, grow, and stay on course.
The Summit Schools are a place to look, and Diane Tavenner is one to ask.
Diane is the co-founder and CEO of Summit Public Schools, which operates 15 public middle and high schools in California and Washington State. She also serves on the board of T.L.P. Education, the organization helping schools across the U.S. to implement Summit Learning – Summit’s personalized approach to education. Before founding Summit, Diane spent 10 years as a public school teacher, administrator, and leader in traditional urban and suburban public schools throughout California.
Diane is also the author of “Prepared: What Kids Need for a Fulfilled Life,” which offers “a blueprint for how parents can stop worrying about their children’s future and start helping them prepare for it,”
As you’ll hear, that personalized approach – one that puts relationships at the center of learning, and leverages a continuous learning platform – was key to navigating the disruptions last spring and maintaining a productive environment. And now, Summit is prepared to do it again.
For more information, go to www.turnaroundusa.org/podcast.
Friday Jun 19, 2020
Friday Jun 19, 2020
In the aftermath of George Floyd’s death, protests have erupted across the world and deep-seated anger has come to the fore. How can we stand together against discrimination and racism? How can we move forward? And how do we talk to our children about it all?
Tami Hill-Washington is an educator with deep experience in the K-12 school system. Today she works at Turnaround for Children, whose work, among many other activities, explores the science and actions around learning, as well as social and emotional well-being. Tami partners with school leaders, helping them develop positive and inclusive learning environments.
In this conversation, Tami shares her world views and what it takes to rethink and reimagine our society – and education in particular. She speaks about a world in which we listen, show empathy and embrace others. A world in which we rethink our 20th century education – and where diversity and inclusion are ingrained in our shared values.
For more information, go to www.turnaroundusa.org/podcast
Friday Jun 19, 2020
Friday Jun 19, 2020
How can we move forward as a united community? And within that framework, how can teachers help our children? Are they prepared to create safe environments and foster an environment of diversity and inclusion?
I now continue my conversation with Tami Hill-Washington, an educator with deep experience in the K-12 school system. Today she works at Turnaround for Children, which explores the science and actions around learning, as well as social and emotional well-being. Tami partners with school leaders, helping them develop positive and inclusive learning environments.
In this conversation, Tami explains why she is hopeful – hopeful that we will come together as a nation and in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, whom she references: “That our children will live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”
For more information, go to www.turnaroundusa.org/podcast
Friday Jun 19, 2020
Friday Jun 19, 2020
As the nationwide, indeed global, protests for police reform continue, the core questions remain: How do we end racial violence? How do we create an equitable playing field where all citizens can prosper and feel safe?
I sat down with MenSa Ankh Maa to discuss these questions and more. MenSa is a former principal and consultant to schools on cultural proficiency. Today he is a partnership director at Turnaround for Children and his role is to deliver Turnaround’s professional learning series to principals and their leadership teams in DC Public Schools in our nation’s capital.
As you’ll hear, MenSa’s perspective and experience – focusing every day on keeping himself and his family safe – just might point a way to some answers.
For more information, go to www.turnaroundusa.org/podcast
Tuesday Jun 09, 2020
Tuesday Jun 09, 2020
What’s next? In this uncertain time, the question impacts nearly every aspect of our lives.
But as learning has moved out of schools and into homes – off chalkboards and onto Zoom – the question of “what’s next” seems particularly central to our existing approach to education and how kids learn.
Few raise these questions – or search more for answers – than Michael Horn. Among other roles, Michael is a senior strategist at Guild Education and is co-founder of and a distinguished fellow at the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation. Michael also serves as an executive editor at Education Next and is the author of Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns, Blended: Using Disruptive Innovation to Improve Schools, and most recently, “Choosing College.”
From technology to policy to distance learning, does this moment offer opportunities for transformational change or simply greater risks? Does this disruption offer a unique, generational opportunity to rewrite the existing rules?
For more information, go to www.turnaroundusa.org/podcast/
Tuesday Jun 02, 2020
Tuesday Jun 02, 2020
As protests, police brutality and the ongoing threat of COVID-19 upend notions of safety and unleash deep-seated fury and grief, stress and worry abound, particular for communities of color. Adults are understandably having difficulty managing their own stress, and they are worried about the effects of all this on their children. A few days before George Floyd suffocated under the weight of a Minneapolis police officer's knee, we spoke with Dr. Sheila Ohlsson Walker about the steps we can take during this unsettling time to be well and even thrive.
Sheila holds various science and teaching positions at Tufts University’s Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development; Johns Hopkins School of Education; George Washington University and the University of California, Irvine. Among other roles, she also sits on Turnaround for Children’s advisory board.
Sheila has spent much of her career researching the intersection of biology and behavior. Most recently, she has written a series of articles for Turnaround called ”Back to Basics” that illuminates how and why a handful of synergistic, simple, and scientifically-grounded lifestyle choices offer protection and fortify mental and physical health for life.
As she explains, our bodies and brains are integrated systems, and making self-care part of our daily routine – even during the most challenging of times – can provide the stabilizing sense of control that builds resilience.
For more information, go to www.turnaroundusa.org/podcast/
Tuesday Jun 02, 2020
Tuesday Jun 02, 2020
As protests, police brutality and the ongoing threat of COVID-19 upend notions of safety and unleash deep-seated fury and grief, stress and worry abound, particular for communities of color. Adults are understandably having difficulty managing their own stress, and they are worried about the effects of all this on their children. A few days before George Floyd suffocated under the weight of a Minneapolis police officer's knee, we spoke with Dr. Sheila Ohlsson Walker about the steps we can take during this unsettling time to be well and even thrive.
Sheila holds various science and teaching positions at Tufts University’s Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development; Johns Hopkins School of Education; George Washington University and the University of California, Irvine. Among other roles, she also sits on Turnaround for Children’s advisory board.
Sheila has spent much of her career researching the intersection of biology and behavior. Most recently, she has written a series of articles for Turnaround called ”Back to Basics” that illuminates how and why a handful of synergistic, simple, and scientifically-grounded lifestyle choices offer protection and fortify mental and physical health for life. As she explains, our bodies and brains are integrated systems.
For more information, go to www.turnaroundusa.org/podcast/