Podcast Episodes Archive | Getting Smart

Shiva Rajbhandari on Hope, Green New Deal for Schools and Youth Civic Action

Getting Smart Staff — Fri, 01 Dec 2023 10:15:00 +0000

This episode of the Getting Smart Podcast is brought to you by our recent publication Green Pathways, and makes the case for why ALL pathways need sustainability and green embedded. Find out more here.

On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast Mason Pashia is joined by Shiva Rajbhandari, a current freshman at UNC Chapel Hill and avid climate and education activist who is, to date, the first student on a school board in the state of Idaho.

We’re releasing this episode near the beginning of COP28, an international gathering of national leaders who are setting goals, discussing science and trying to make a collective movement toward net zero emissions to avoid worsening the climate crisis. This conversation with Shiva highlights the myriad ways youth are helping raise awareness of climate-related issues, what school taught them to do and how to organize large groups of people to come together for a common cause.

Links:

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Mickey Breeze and H. Bernard Hall on Hip Hop As a Lifestyle

Getting Smart Staff — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 10:15:00 +0000

On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Victoria Andrews is joined by Producer Mickey Breeze, the 10-time Beat Battle Champion of the Twin Cities. He is also a former teacher for the “Twin Cities Mobile Jazz Project.” and a DJ for the Minnesota Timberwolves and Twins. He’s a proud alumni of the High School for Recording Arts in St. Paul, MN.

We’re also joined by Dr. H. Bernard Hall an Assistant Professor of Urban Teacher Education at Drexel University in the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum. His teaching and research interests include urban teacher education and development, social justice-oriented approaches to secondary English education, hip-hop pedagogy, anti-Black educational policy and practice, and critical qualitative research.

Links:

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Frisco ISD on Student Entrepreneurship and INCubatoredu

Getting Smart Staff — Wed, 22 Nov 2023 10:15:00 +0000

On this episode of Getting Smart Podcast Victoria Andrews discusses student entrepreneurship with an awesome group from Frisco ISD. Tommy Thompson teaches Marketing, Entrepreneurship and Finance Classes, as well as the DECA sponsor in Frisco ISD. Before teaching he worked in the corporate world for 18 years, started his own business, and served as an industry volunteer in the INCubatoredu program at Centennial High School which he now teaches.

We’re also joined by two students: Rupa Kumaran, the founder of Infiniti Board, a Board Game for Neurodiverse individuals and Esha Bandi, the founder of MyCourseWay, a company that digitizes a school’s entire course catalog.

Links:

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Susan Faircloth on Reciprocity, Relationship and Responsibility in Indigenous Leadership

Getting Smart Staff — Fri, 17 Nov 2023 10:15:00 +0000

This episode of the Getting Smart Podcast is part of a new short monthly series where Mason Pashia is joined by Dr. Jason Cummins, a previous guest and a friend of the podcast, to speak with indigenous leaders and academics to discuss how indigenous ways of knowing and leading can, and should, shape the education system.

In this episode, they are joined by Dr. Susan Faircloth to discuss the relationship between education and sovereignty, the National Indian Education Study, identity and home, and indigenous leadership.

Awaachiáookaate’, or Jason Cummins Ed.D is an enrolled member of the Apsaalooke Nation, and recently served as the Deputy Director for the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Native Americans and Strengthening Tribal Colleges and Universities, Office of the Secretary. Previously, he was the principal at Crow Agency Public School. As an Indigenous scholar and school leader he has innovatively worked to lead schools towards authentically serving Native American students PreK-12 and their communities by implementing culturally sustaining, trauma-informed, and restorative approaches.

Dr. Susan Faircloth is the former director of the School of Education at Colorado State University. An enrolled member of the Coharie Tribe of North Carolina, she focuses her research on Indigenous education; education of culturally and linguistically diverse students with special educational needs; and moral and ethical dimensions of school leadership.

Faircloth has published widely in such journals as Educational Administration Quarterly, Harvard Educational Review, The Journal of Special Education Leadership, International Studies in Educational Administration, Values and Ethics in Educational Administration, Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education, Rural Special Education Quarterly, and Journal of Disability Policy Studies. She has also authored, co-authored, edited and contributed chapters to several books on topics related to Indigenous education.

Links:

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Chris Unger on A Revolution in Education

Getting Smart Staff — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 10:15:00 +0000

On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast Tom Vander Ark is joined by our friend Dr. Chris Unger, a Teaching Professor in the Graduate Programs in Education including the Doctor of Education program and author of the great new book A Revolution in Education: Scaling Agency & Opportunity for All.

From an excerpt published on Getting Smart:

“So, the call to action is clear: To school and district leaders, classroom educators, policy actors, parents, and community members, the future of education is yours to pursue. We can use many of the stories presented in the book and as evident elsewhere to help us pursue new designs. The revolution has been and continues to be underway here and there, but we need it to grow everywhere. Not slowly, and in only some communities. Rather, we need the number to grow exponentially, and in all communities. To do this, district and state policy actors need to be brave and figure out ways to incentivize and support the significant growth of agency-oriented schools. We can’t keep hoping that a few will break the mold despite the circumstances. We need the system to actively incentivize and support the development and growth of new designs. Then we need school and district leaders to embrace the challenge, community members to advocate for the new designs, and then district and state policy actors to create the greenfield for such schools to take root and grow. Fast.

How many more generations of students should we lose to apathy, compliance, and the lack of skills and knowledge that can benefit them moving forward in their lives? How much longer can we wait not taking advantage of the creativity of our educators and the possibilities of what we can do for our youth, our communities, and the world? Let’s stop tinkering inside the current model – something our current schools are very good at – and re-vision the aims of our schools and how we can achieve those ends – toward agency and opportunity for all.”

Key Quotes:

“How do you design your life and not just feel like life happens to you.”

Links:

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Town Hall Recap: Support & Guidance

Getting Smart Staff — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 10:15:00 +0000

On this Getting Smart Town Hall, we took a look at our latest publication, Support & Guidance For All New Pathways Journeys and spoke with practitioners and policy experts to get an overview of the current state of advisory models in U.S. schools. Together, we highlighted some exemplars in the space and discuss how support, guidance and advisory systems are critical parts of building New Pathways that serve all learners. Be sure to check out some of the links that were shared in the deck and the chat at the button below:

View Links

Together, we also highlighted a few school networks that are best in class at embedding cultures of advisory and belonging into their schools and communities: Valor, EL Education and Big Picture. Sonn Sam, Director of Partnerships at Big Picture Learning shared that “Support and Guidance at its core is the formation high quality relationships with young people. It is creating cultures of belonging and systems that value relationship just as much as growth.”

“When they get through the doors, they should be met with all the love in the world.”
Sonn Sam

In the publication, we covered the five core functions of advisory, as well as other functions of robust support and guidance systems.

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Sharhonda Bossier and Carmita Semaan on Amplifying and Empowering Leaders of Color

Getting Smart Staff — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 10:15:00 +0000

How might we design new school models to better serve all young people? What are the skills, and jobs of tomorrow? IFTF’s Foresight Essentials course is great for those looking to build something new or trying to innovate within their current role.

On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Shawnee Caruthers is joined by Sharhonda Bossier, CEO of Education Leaders of Color (EdLoC) and Carmita Semaan, Founder of the Surge Institute.

EdLoC “supports talented leaders of color in education and related fields to thrive as disruptive and innovative agents of change.”

The Surge Institute is “the preeminent pipeline addressing the dearth of leadership of color at decision-making tables. Surge educates, empowers and energizes leaders of color who will create transformative change in the communities they serve.”

Sharhonda Bossier

Sharhonda Bossier is CEO at Education Leaders of Color (EdLoC), and a committed advocate for children of color who have been denied adequate educational opportunity. She previously served as EdLoC’s deputy director.

EdLoC supports talented leaders of color in education and related fields to thrive as disruptive and innovative agents of change. Under Sharhonda’s leadership, the organization is expanding its scope and focus by strengthening its growing multi-racial coalition and designing holistic solutions to disrupt cycles of generational poverty in the communities EdLoC serves.

Sharhonda started her career in education as a public school teacher. She also brings years of legislative and electoral campaign experience in both volunteer and leadership capacities to her work. Among the variety of her experiences, she launched a multi-state education engagement and advocacy organization to help communities develop the skills and capacity to more effectively engage with policymakers and other decision-makers.

Carmita Semaan

Carmita Semaan is founder and CEO of The Surge Institute. After starting her career as an engineer and strategist for multiple Fortune 500 companies including Procter & Gamble and Danaher, corporate America could not contain Carmita’s desire to lead initiatives that benefit youth and transform urban communities – so she blazed a trail within the non-profit sector, primarily in K-12 urban education. Carmita’s commitment to empowering our country’s most under-served young people led her to over a decade of executive service, driving results for visionary leaders including Alma Powell, Gen. Colin Powell and Arne Duncan, the former US Secretary of Education.

Carmita’s expertise is supporting and elevating the genius of emerging and seasoned leaders – particularly women and people of color – and shining a light on the brilliance and ingenuity that is too often overlooked and untapped in solving systemic issues. Her guiding principle is the connection of head, heart, and soul in leadership to drive sustainable impact and lasting partnerships.

Though an adopted Chicagoan after 18 years, Carmita was raised in Birmingham, AL and proudly professes that her hometown made her who she has become. Birmingham’s history has greatly shaped what she feels called to do and the hustle, horsepower and heart she exhibits.

Links:

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Bob Schwartz on Community Colleges: America’s Hidden Economic Engines

Getting Smart Staff — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 09:15:00 +0000

On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Tom Vander Ark is joined by Bob Schwartz to talk about pathways to opportunity and the role of college, specifically community colleges. Bob’s new book is America’s Hidden Economic Engines: How Community Colleges Can Drive Shared Prosperity, which argues that community colleges need to be in the center of any national education and skills strategy.

“At their best, community colleges are the most nimble, flexible, market-oriented institutions in our higher education system, working closely with employers to meet regional labor market demands.”

Links:

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Ben Wildavsky on The Career Arts: Answering Big Questions About College and Career

Getting Smart Staff — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 09:15:00 +0000

On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast Tom Vander Ark is joined by Ben Wildavsky to discuss his new book The Career Arts: Answering Big Questions About College and Career. This book makes the case for building career success through broad education, targeted skills, and social capital.

Ben is also a visiting scholar at UVA and hosts the Higher Ed Spotlight podcast.

Links:

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Dr. Robin Zape-tah-hol-ah Starr Minthorn on Indigenizing the Academy

Getting Smart Staff — Fri, 20 Oct 2023 13:54:14 +0000

Awaachiáookaate’, or Jason Cummins Ed.D is an enrolled member of the Apsaalooke Nation, and recently served as the Deputy Director for the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Native Americans and Strengthening Tribal Colleges and Universities, Office of the Secretary. Previously, he was the principal at Crow Agency Public School. As an Indigenous scholar and school leader he has innovatively worked to lead schools towards authentically serving Native American students PreK-12 and their communities by implementing culturally sustaining, trauma-informed, and restorative approaches.

Dr. Robin Zape-tah-hol-ah Minthorn is a member of the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma, Apache, Nez Perce, Umatilla and Assiniboine and is currently the Professor and Department Chair at the College of Education at Oklahoma University. At the time of this recording, Dr. Minthorn was a professor at UW Tacoma.

Prior to her time in Washington, Dr. Minthorn served as Coordinator of Native American Affairs at Oklahoma State University and an adjunct faculty at Pawnee Nation College. Preceding that, as an academic advisor at Comanche Nation College, which is Oklahoma’s first tribal college. Dr. Minthorn also co-founded Gamma Delta Pi, American Indian Sisterhood and RAIN (Retaining American Indians Now) as an undergraduate at the University of Oklahoma. As an academic professional, she co-founded ONASHE (the Oklahoma Native American Students in Higher Education) Conference.

“When we talk about the association between education and boarding schools it still lives with our youth because [the intergenerational trauma] lives in their parents and grandparents.”
Dr. Robin Zape-tah-hol-ah Starr Minthorn

Links:

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