We share brief presentations from the second of the “Saturday Salons” that Ethical Schools is sponsoring with three international partners. Sherry Johnson, Tribal Education Director of the Sisseton-Wahpeton-Oyate (South Dakota), Deepak Ramola, Founder of Project FUEL (India), and Charlotte Hankin of Coconut Thinking and the Green School (Bali) talk about the importance of stories in reshaping how we think about our relationship to the natural world.

Learn more and register for the third salon on February 21 at globalconversations.net

Soundtrack by Poddington Bear

We speak with Derek Black, Constitutional law professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law, about the impact of Trump administration’s policies on students’ civil rights. Department of Education offices meant to ensure students are not subject to discrimination have been decimated. The Department of Justice has switched from protecting minority students' rights to focusing on so-called “discrimination" against whites and attacking transgender students. Professor Black also says the need for "circuit breakers" on executive power transcends this administration.

Overview

00:00-00:52 Intros

00:52:02:21 Threats to students’ protection from discrimination

02:21-03:53 Status of complaints to Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR)

03:53-05:30 Importance of access to OCR without an attorney

05:30-10:09 OCR procedures and remedies

10:09-13:55 Role Department of Justice is supposed to have in protecting students against discrimination; Trump Administration priorities

13:55-17:01 How the Administration’s approach is schizophrenic

17:01-23:10 Ethical quandaries facing district administrators

23:10-24:43 Supplementing not supplanting: What happens when the Department of Education is no longer monitoring

24:43-27:21 The uncertainty factor—who gets focused on

27:21-30:36 State Departments of Education: How they fit in

30:36-34:11 Theatrics at US Department of Education

34:11-38:00 Problems before the Trump Administration and what would be important afterwards

38:00-40:11 Some specifics of “circuit breakers” that could reduce executive power

40:11- Outro

Transcript

Click here to see the full transcription of this episode.

References

Our first interview with Derek Black happened in 2021. Click here to listen to "The attack on public education: Will public schools survive?"

Soundtrack by Poddington Bear

We share brief presentations from the first of the “Saturday Salons” that Ethical Schools is sponsoring with three international partners. Juan Mora of the Center for Artistry and Scholarship and Ramji Raghavan of Agastya International Foundation talk about how educators and communities can cultivate awareness of and relationship to the natural world.

Learn more and register for the next salon at globalconversations.net

Overview

00:00-01:36 Introductions by Amy and Jon

01:36-02:45 Introduction of Juan Mora by David Penberg

02:45-12:36 Juan Mora:

Separation of people from nature;

What would you do if you were starting a school from zero?

Experience in Córdoba, Argentina of basing a school on nature;

Integrating the curriculum into nature-centered activities;

And kids never asked, “Why are we doing this (activity)?”

We’ve left nature out of our learning environments;

A shift in learning that will help us understand how to teach and what to teach and where to teach differently.

12:36-14:09 David Penberg:

Reciprocity, centrality of relationships, “nature deficit disorder”;

Introduction of Ramji Raghavan

14:09-23:59 Ramji Raghavan:

Transforming a barren wasteland of 170 acres into an ecological preserve;

Nature-centric learning;

Eco-walk;

Constructing a giant figure showing herbs benefiting different parts of the body;

Constructing a termite hill;

Bandhu—everything is connected;

Distributing learnings throughout India.

23:59-25:15 David Penberg:

How educators can create conditions for people to think the kinds of worlds that they would like to inhabit and live in, whether it’s a school, a community;

Creative learning and what that looks like, creative being;

Being intentional, observant and continuously in relationship to the things around you.

25:15- Outro

Transcript

Click here to see the full transcription of this conversation.

Soundtrack by Poddington Bear

We speak with Dr. Mia Hood, author of  Pop Culture Literacies: Teaching Interpretation, Response, and Composition in a Digital World, about analyzing popular music and films along with more traditional literature. Dr. Hood talks about helping students to think about their ethical perspectives while engaging with "entertainment," and the importance of educators' resisting the temptation to impose their own “expert” interpretations in favor of modeling the process. We also discuss how teachers can resist imposing their views while teaching for democracy and social justice.

Overview

00:00-00:48 Intros

00:48-02:48 Pop culture literacies

02:42-04:22 Schools’ ethical duty to help young people navigate the world as it is

04:22-06:23 Helping students to thin about their ethical perspectives

06:23-11:58 Students’ responses; Intersection of pop culture literacies and schools

11:58-15:01 Critical literacy and text analysis

15:01-19:09 Power operating within and through texts

19:09-21:56 Piercing the veil of “entertainment” to encourage critical analysis

21:56-26:25 Impact of AI

26:25-30:48 Kathy Hytten’s article, “Ethics in teaching for democracy and social justice”

30:48-33:55 Parental pushback?

33:55- Outro

Transcript

Click here to see the full transcription of this episode.

Resources

Book Pop Culture Literacy: Teaching Interpretation, Response, and Composition in a Digital World by Mia Hood

Soundtrack by Poddington Bear

Collaborate with teachers and learners worldwide!

LEARN MORE AND REGISTER AT GLOBALCONVERSATIONS.NET

Along with our partner organizations – Agastya International Foundation, Center for Artistry and Scholarship, and Thinking With You – Ethical Schools is bringing together educators, youth workers, and students from around the world to discuss ethical, democratic, and regenerative education strategies. Hear exciting presentations from visionary practitioners and participate in group discussions.

Come with your co-workers! Attend with a cohort from your school or out-of-school program to maximize the benefits for your organization and students.

Series 1: Ethics and the Natural World Saturdays, January 10 and 31; February 21 8:30-10:00 AM EST

Pay what you wish. Suggested donation: $25 per session, $50 for all three sessions Additional participants from your organization: $15 per session, $30 for all three sessions.

LEARN MORE AND REGISTER AT GLOBALCONVERSATIONS.NET

We speak with Dr. Susan Jean Mayer about her recent book, "Practicing Pragmatism Through Progressive Pedagogies: A Philosophical Lens for Grounding Classroom Teaching and Research." Dr. Mayer defines pragmatism in today's world and discusses the importance of critical exploration, democratic construction of knowledge, and openness to diversity of perspectives in the classroom. As teachers and learners, we can construct a shared set of values based on our experiential realities and come to understand these realities in coherent terms.

Overview

00:00-00:36 Intros

00:36-02:55 How to define pragmatism in today’s world

02:55-05:34 How to define final truth

05:34-06:53 How to define an ethical classroom

06:53-11:29 Ethical and democratic classrooms: the same or how they may differ

11:29-15:03 Knowledge, experience, and education

15:03-17:55 Critical exploration in the classroom

17:55-21:05 Classroom example of critical exploration

21:05-23:49 How a critical exploration teacher can intervene when students are wrong

23:49-27:25 When inviting different perspectives and belief systems doesn’t come naturally to students

27:25-28:56 Schools aren’t encouraging students to talk to one another; have succumbed to discourse of test scores

28:56-33:20 How teachers can become more comfortable with perspectives they may disagree with

33:20-37:11 How pragmatic teachers can deal with a school system structured to eliminate or minimize cultural diversity

37:11-40:47 Balancing ties to local communities with supporting students who want to break from the consensus of the community

40:47-47:19 How teachers can help create a system of education based on pragmatism

47:19- Outro

Transcript

Click here to see the full transcript of this episode.

References

• Book Practicing Pragmatism through Progressive PedagogiesA Philosophical Lens for Grounding Classroom Teaching and Research by Susan Jean Mayer
• Susan Jean Mayer's website

Soundtrack by Poddington Bear

We speak with Deborah Meier and Jane Andrias, pioneers in the democratic small-school movement. Debbie founded the Central Park East Schools. Jane Andrias was an art teacher and principal at Central Park East I. Debbie and Jane discuss these ground-breaking schools, their ethical foundations, the “habits of mind” they worked to instill, and the challenges they faced.

*This is Part Two of a two part episode. Go back one episode or click here to listen to the first part.

Overview

00:00-00:41 Intros

00:41-07:30 Parent involvement

07:30-12:05 What happened to Mission Hill?

12:05-23:04 Survival of innovative, democratic schools;

What do we have education for? Education and democracy

23:04-24:45 Justice and fairness

24:45-26:37 Community service; connections to the adult world

26:37-29:37 Choices schools make based on what they value

29:37-36:46 Documentary about impact of CPESS on graduates’ lives

36:36-38:39 Human capital

38:39-40:57 Need funding for the documentary

40:57-42:41 Films and TV about the schools

42:41- Outro

Transcript

Click here to see the full transcription of this episode.

References

• Here's a list of all the books written by Deborah Meier.
• Click here to know more about the CPESS documentary and other initiatives by Deborah Meier and Jane Andrais.

Soundtrack by Poddington Bear

We speak with Deborah Meier and Jane Andrias, pioneers in the democratic small-school movement. Debbie founded the Central Park East Schools. Jane Andrias was an art teacher and principal at Central Park East I. Debbie and Jane discuss these ground-breaking schools, their ethical foundations, the “habits of mind” they worked to instill, and the challenges they faced.

*This is Part One of a two part episode.

Overview

00:00-00:43 Intros

00:43-01:52 What would a school fully focused on preparing students for a democraticsociety look like?

01:52-03:08 Impacts of curriculum and school environment

03:08-05:40 Students’ voice in what they are learning

05:40-11:01 Democratic, progressive, ethical schools: are they synonymous?

11:01-18:32 Examples of ethical dilemmas and decisions

18:32-22:07 Negative effects of tracking and what the alternatives look like

22:07-24:19 Building long-term trust

24:19-26:05 Including all school staff members in decision-making and obstacles

26:05-29:57 Including parents and students

Transcript

Click here to see the full transcription of this episode.

References

• Here's a list of all the books written by Deborah Meier.
• Click here to know more about the CPESS documentary and other initiatives by Deborah Meier and Jane Andrais.

Soundtrack by Poddington Bear