All Of The Above Podcast

This Week: Sometimes research tells us something new. And sometimes it confirms what we already thought was true. That’s the case this week, as a new study from UCLA and Penn provides evidence of the “transformational” impact of a Los Angeles program that provided families in poverty with cash they can use to meet their needs. Benefits included housing stability, food stability, child engagement with enrichment activities, the ability to escape abusive relationships, the ability to withstand a $400 family emergency, and more.  In addition, with the start of the school year right around the corner here in SoCal, we dig into the age-old question of when the school year should start, and why it’s been creeping earlier and earlier.  Manuel and Jeff discuss! Get your All of the Above swag, including your own “Teach the Truth” shirt! In this moment of relentless attacks on teaching truth in the classroom, we got you covered. https://all-of-the-above-store.creator-spring.com  Passing Period is an AOTA podcast extra

This Week: Two big headlines this week in The 74 and EdWeek about troubling new data showing problematic student behaviors, mental health concerns, and even threats or physical violence are plaguing our nation’s schools. Obviously this is a cause for concern, and perhaps not surprising given the challenging new realities schools and educators have faced coming out of the pandemic. But, is this data the full story? Kids don’t magically appear in schools -- they come from the society that raises them, right? So what do their behaviors say about us grown folk? Also, as perhaps modest counterpoint, LAUSD shares that test scores are on the rise for all students, despite the challenges we face with student social and emotional well being.  Manuel and Jeff discuss!  Get your All of the Above swag, including your own “Teach the Truth” shirt! In this moment of relentless attacks on teaching truth in the classroom, we got you covered. https://all-of-the-above-store.creator-spring.com  Passing Period is an AOTA podcast

This Week: The right wing Christian Nationalists have been hard at work on the integrity of the nation’s schools, coming straight for the most basic tenet of any democratic society -- separation of church and state. In Oklahoma, the state superintendent issues a decree that henceforth all grade 5-12 classrooms will “incorporate” the bible and the 10 commandments into the curriculum. And ominously, that “immediate and strict compliance is expected.” Nothing dystopian here. Not to be outdone, in Louisiana, the governor signed into law a bill requiring a state approved, 11x14” size with easily readable font, version of the 10 commandments to be posted in all classrooms. Both efforts, along with several others working their way through the legislative process in other states, are clear violations of the 1st Amendment, and are intended to challenge the Supreme Court’s 1980 decision in Stone v. Graham, which declared a Kentucky attempt to force the 10 commandments into public schools unconstitutional. In these trou

This Week: It looks like there will be two new additions coming to the CA high school curriculum in the coming years.  The state legislature is close to passing a new bill which would mandate teaching about menstrual health, which is, shockingly, currently not part of the state’s comprehensive sexed curriculum.  And since nearly 80% of students say they learn more about frog’s bodies than their own, this can't come too soon!  And, this week the state passed a new requirement for personal finance to be taught as a possible alternative to traditional economics, which will begin in the 2026-27 school year. The course will cover topics like financing college, personal savings, credit, and investing. But, as with most ed policy, the proof will be in the pudding. Manuel and Jeff discuss!    Get your All of the Above swag, including your own “Teach the Truth” shirt! In this moment of relentless attacks on teaching truth in the classroom, we got you covered. https://all-of-the-above-store.creator-spring.com  Pas

This Week: As we conclude AAPI Heritage Month, today we dig into some new data from AP-NORC showing that a massive majority (71%) support the teaching of honest history about racism, slavery and segregation in our K-12 public schools. A similar super majority supports the teaching of AAPI culture and history in the US as well. This data flies in the face of some of the stereotypes and myths that we are led to believe are true, and is an affirming retort to the use of some members of the AAPI community to present a brown face on a white supremacist agenda to suppress the teaching of truthful history. Manuel and Jeff discuss!     Get your All of the Above swag, including your own “Teach the Truth” shirt! In this moment of relentless attacks on teaching truth in the classroom, we got you covered. https://all-of-the-above-store.creator-spring.com  Passing Period is an AOTA podcast extra that gives us a chance to check-in, reflect, and discuss powerful stories in between our full episodes.  Watch, listen and subs

From the CRT hysteria to the current targeting of university DEI efforts, we’ve seen an escalating right wing attack on public education in this country. Often under the guise of “parental rights,” these attacks have targeted teachers, LGBTQ+ students, books, curriculum, SEL, and equity-mined programming. Dr. Heather Harding, the executive director of Campaign for our Shared Future, joins us this week to share her experience in organizing opposition to this rising tide of racist and anti-equity attacks on public education. The Campaign for Our Shared Future is a time bound, nonpartisan campaign to defend and promote K12 public education amid political attacks. But first, Jeff and Manuel take a look at recent headlines in education including a heated exchange in Congress concerning Ethnic Studies and new data on low rates of college degree attainment. → Get your Teach the Truth T-Shirt here! → View this episode on YouTube! AGENDA 0:00 - Welcome! 6:41 - Ethnic Studies under attack yet again 25:27 - New data o

This Week: The Shenandoah County Schools have gone completely off the white supremacist ledge this week, as the school board voted 5 to 1 to reinstate -- yes you heard that right -- reinstate the names of confederate warmongers on two of their schools that were renamed early in the period of the racial reckoning following the murder of George Floyd. The school board made this vote despite majority opposition from the community, and as a bold statement of their commitment to uplifting one of the most despicable chapters of American history, chattel slavery. To date, this is the first known instance of a school system that changed school names from confederate warmongers reversing course. Tragically, in this era of rising white supremacy, it may not be the last. Manuel and Jeff discuss.  Get your All of the Above swag, including your own “Teach the Truth” shirt! In this moment of relentless attacks on teaching truth in the classroom, we got you covered. https://all-of-the-above-store.creator-spring.com  Passi

It seems like everywhere we turn right now there are bold statements being made about AI in education. Some claim it must be embraced and that it will take our profession to new heights of learning and achievement. Others claim it’s undermining the most basic elements of ethics and academic integrity. To help us unpack the promise, dangers, and unknowns of AI, we sit down with Priten Shah, the CEO of Pedagogy.Cloud and author of the book AI & The Future of Education! Is the robot apocalypse coming for your favorite teacher, or will AI help us deliver the high-quality education that every child deserves? But first, Jeff and Manuel take a look at recent headlines in education including a conservative group’s plan to charge tuition for undocumented children in K-12 and a new bill in Tennessee allowing teachers to carry firearms at school. → Get your Teach the Truth T-Shirt here! → View this episode on YouTube! AGENDA 0:00 - Welcome! 7:52 - Tuition plot for undocumented children 23:28 - Armed teachers in Ten

This Week: As student activism comes to life on college campuses across the nation and around the world in protest of institutional complicity in the genocide and apartheid in Palestine, colleges crack down with violent police responses, suspensions, and even cancellation of graduation ceremonies at USC. Meanwhile, the youth are definitely leading the way. And, Manuel and Jeff discuss the age old question many educators grapple with -- should I leave the classroom and become an administrator? Or not?  Get your All of the Above swag, including your own “Teach the Truth” shirt! In this moment of relentless attacks on teaching truth in the classroom, we got you covered. https://all-of-the-above-store.creator-spring.com  Passing Period is an AOTA podcast extra that gives us a chance to check-in, reflect, and discuss powerful stories in between our full episodes.  Watch, listen and subscribe to make sure you don't miss our latest content! Website: https://AOTAshow.com Stream all of our content at: linktr.ee/AO

This Week: This week has been a doozy in education. The University of Southern California chose its valedictorian, a hijab wearing south Asian woman who minors in resistance to genocide, and then took away her right to speak because she opposes Israeli genocide… or because of “security concerns.” Then, notorious FL governor Ron Desantis (and his buddy Manny Diaz, state Education Commissioner) unveiled new dystopian legislation requiring the teaching of communism… or a set of propaganda about communist history as the antithesis to American freedom. The campaign of white supremacist, psychological warfare continues in America. Manuel and Jeff discuss.   Get your All of the Above swag, including your own “Teach the Truth” shirt! In this moment of relentless attacks on teaching truth in the classroom, we got you covered. https://all-of-the-above-store.creator-spring.com  Passing Period is an AOTA podcast extra that gives us a chance to check-in, reflect, and discuss powerful stories in between our full episodes.

There’s no shortage of ideas in education where the concept looks one way and the actual reality looks…different. This is especially true when it comes to professional learning communities (PLCs), a popular school reform effort that many schools claim to have in place yet few actually execute with fidelity. What are folks getting wrong? And why is it so hard to change practice, even when people can recognize the value of the tenets of PLC work? To help us unpack this, we chat with Dr. Anthony Muhammad, a world-renowned educator and author who is one of the leading voices in the effort to construct quality PLCs. We explore his new book The Way Forward, and explore the connections between PLCs, student success, and the fight for a more equitable and just school system. But first, Jeff and Manuel take a look at recent headlines in education including new research from Pew detailing how teachers feel about the profession today and a battle in California over which math is the best math for college-bound high scho

This Week: The interwebs were all ablaze with discussion about the news from AERA that two scholars’ research has shown that Black students, particularly boys from low income backgrounds, are less likely to be enrolled in special education services if they have Black teachers. Big surprise, right? Also, Chicago Public Schools reverses its decade-long decision to have per pupil funding for schools in favor of a more common system, with a twist. An “opportunity index” will be used to differentiate funding based on a number of factors. Is this a good thing for schools and kids? And why don’t all districts do this? Manuel and Jeff discuss.   Get your All of the Above swag, including your own “Teach the Truth” shirt! In this moment of relentless attacks on teaching truth in the classroom, we got you covered. https://all-of-the-above-store.creator-spring.com  Passing Period is an AOTA podcast extra that gives us a chance to check-in, reflect, and discuss powerful stories in between our full episodes.  Watch, listen

This Week: Finally, we get some data from a new study out of North Carolina showing the many benefits for students who read “disturbing” banned books. It’s about time! The data shows kids are more empathetic, happier, and lead to read better, among other benefits.  And, the learning loss hawks have reached new levels of wild predictions. A new paper from Stanford claims that pandemic disrupted learning will cost the US economy $31 trillion dollars over the remainder of the century. The pseudoscience of economics is in full effect. Manuel and Jeff discuss. Lastly, we celebrate the life of our friend and former classmate Felicia Phillips who recently passed too soon.  Get your All of the Above swag, including your own “Teach the Truth” shirt! In this moment of relentless attacks on teaching truth in the classroom, we got you covered. https://all-of-the-above-store.creator-spring.com  Passing Period is an AOTA podcast extra that gives us a chance to check-in, reflect, and discuss powerful stories in between our

This Week: We begin with what can only be described as a hit piece that came out this week in the NY Post that cited Manuel as a great purveyor of the neo marxist conspiracy that is CRT, which is, apparently, destroying all of the fabric of America and along with it, all of western civilization. You should read it. It’s as crazy as it sounds. We also explore a fascinating piece in LA School Report this week which informs us about a new movement among “education advocacy organizations” that have a goal to get rid of school attendance zones across the country by 2030. Dripping with the rhetoric of champions for progressive change, these orgs purport to be attempting to remove some of the longest standing barriers to integration and educational opportunity in our nation. But looking a little deeper, is this just the movement to end public schools, dressed up as progressive change? Manuel and Jeff discuss. Get your All of the Above swag, including your own “Teach the Truth” shirt! In this moment of relentless at

This Week: We begin with a moment of reflection on the children of Palestine, particularly in Gaza, where American weapons are being used to steal the childhood of a generation of children. Then, we catch up with a Texas judge’s ruling that a Houston area school district did not discriminate by suspending a Black boy for wearing his natural hair. Then we talk about troubling new Rand Corp. data showing that nearly two thirds of teachers in America are self-censoring content on race, gender, sexuality, and politics out of fear. This is true even if they don’t live in a state or district with bigoted censorship laws on the books. Manuel and Jeff discuss.  Get your All of the Above swag, including your own “Teach the Truth” shirt! In this moment of relentless attacks on teaching truth in the classroom, we got you covered. https://all-of-the-above-store.creator-spring.com  Passing Period is an AOTA podcast extra that gives us a chance to check-in, reflect, and discuss powerful stories in between our full episodes

This Week: New data from NJ and MA shows that teachers who entered the profession through alternative certification programs, particularly following shortages in recent years, show similar gains in test scores and similar performance in teacher evaluations to their peers who were trained in traditional teacher prep programs. But, are we surprised? Also, surprise surprise, kids do better when teachers’ mental health is in a good place. Manuel and Jeff discuss.  Get your All of the Above swag, including your own “Teach the Truth” shirt! In this moment of relentless attacks on teaching truth in the classroom, we got you covered. https://all-of-the-above-store.creator-spring.com  Passing Period is an AOTA podcast extra that gives us a chance to check-in, reflect, and discuss powerful stories in between our full episodes.  Watch, listen and subscribe to make sure you don't miss our latest content! Website: https://AOTAshow.com Stream all of our content at: linktr.ee/AOTA   Watch at: YouTube.com/AlloftheAbove

This Week: Jeff’s alma mater, the Big Green, hit the headlines twice this week with big news about the NLRB recognizing their men’s basketball team as employees -- the first ruling of its kind that may pave the way for seismic change in college athletes nationally. Dartmouth emailed its alumni this week to notify them that they’re tossing aside the pandemic test-optional policy and returning to requiring the SAT/ACT for admission citing that bringing back the testing requirement will help the college identify high qualified candidates from underrepresented backgrounds. The social justice spidey senses were tingling, but is this highly elite institution actually on to something in their context? Manuel and Jeff discuss.  Get your All of the Above swag, including your own “Teach the Truth” shirt! In this moment of relentless attacks on teaching truth in the classroom, we got you covered. https://all-of-the-above-store.creator-spring.com  Passing Period is an AOTA podcast extra that gives us a chance to check-in

This Week: A massive legal settlement coming as the result of litigation that began back in 2020 commits the state of CA to spending $2 billion on addressing learning loss among its most marginalized student populations (LA Times, CalMatters, Ed Source). Citing evidence that the state did not do enough to address digital redlining, lack of instructional time during the height of the pandemic, and failure to train teachers to meet student needs, the state will commit these resources with a specific lens on targeting the students most harmed over the last 4 years. This is great news, right? Well, it might be if you agree that learning loss has primarily been the result of school factors, and that test scores are the sole arbiter of success, or if you’re a testing company that might have just gotten an unintentional $2B subsidy. Manuel and Jefff discuss.  Get your All of the Above swag, including your own “Teach the Truth” shirt! In this moment of relentless attacks on teaching truth in the classroom, we got you

This Week: New federal data shows that our nation’s schools have seen a modest decline in the presence of police, for now at least. In the aftermath of the 2020 uprisings and the movement to defund the police a number of school systems partially defunded, or cut school based police. But, fewer took that step than you might think, and with the ongoing crisis of school shootings and the increase of disruptive student behaviors post pandemic, advocates worry that we are seeing a quiet escalation of the presence of cops in schools once again. IT raises important questions, like what really makes schools safe? Manuel and Jefff discuss.  Get your All of the Above swag, including your own “Teach the Truth” shirt! In this moment of relentless attacks on teaching truth in the classroom, we got you covered. https://all-of-the-above-store.creator-spring.com  Passing Period is an AOTA podcast extra that gives us a chance to check-in, reflect, and discuss powerful stories in between our full episodes.  Watch, listen and s

This Week: We begin discussing Manuel’s experience as a mentor teacher this year, and the importance of that role in a new teacher’s development. Then, a new study out of UCLA shows a sharp increase in out-of-school suspensions for CA’s most marginalized students -- homeless and foster youth, particularly those of color.  Why is this happening, and what would a better way look like in the richest country in history?  Manuel and Jeff discuss. Get your All of the Above swag, including your own “Teach the Truth” shirt! In this moment of relentless attacks on teaching truth in the classroom, we got you covered. https://all-of-the-above-store.creator-spring.com  Passing Period is an AOTA podcast extra that gives us a chance to check-in, reflect, and discuss powerful stories in between our full episodes.  Watch, listen and subscribe to make sure you don't miss our latest content! Website: https://AOTAshow.com Stream all of our content at: linktr.ee/AOTA   Watch at: YouTube.com/AlloftheAbove Listen at: apple.