All Of The Above Podcast

This Week: All of the Above’s #1 hater, and America’s greatest nemesis of modern public education is back in the headlines this week, and we’re gonna talk about her.  You got it, captain guns-for-grizzlies herself, former Secretary of Education Betsy Devos said to a crowd in Florida that she thinks the department she was once head of should be abolished. As shocking as that might be, the real meat of the story is in unpacking why Betsy and company are coming so hard for teachers, curriculum, truthful history, and whatever they consider “wokeness” these days.  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

This Week: A wonderfully click-baity piece in EdSource explores new data revealing that nearly 1 in 5 California teachers are not fully credentialed. This is, on some level, undeniably an issue.  We expect our doctors to be board certified, our barbers to be licensed, our pilots to be licensed and trained, so what’s up with educators? But despite the shock value, there’s some important nuance behind the data. Does it mean what it sounds like? Is it even that big of a deal? 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 Wa

Not gonna lie–-the political, environmental, and economic outlook right now is rather bleak. More than ever we need to ensure that our students have quality, humanizing spaces within which to learn and grow. But what does it actually mean to have humanizing schools and classrooms, and how can we shape a human-centric school system amid the wave of anti-human bills seeking to ban books, ban curriculum, and ostracize our most marginalized communities? Chris McNutt and Nick Covington, two super-dope educators who co-founded the Human Restoration Project, join the show to help us explore these issues! But first, Jeff and Manuel take a look at recent headlines in education including a call to prohibit cell phones in the classroom and a policy change that may soon boost access to higher education for incarcerated persons. → Get your Teach the Truth T-Shirt here! → View this episode on YouTube! AGENDA 0:00 - Welcome! 7:04 - Time to ban cell phones? 18:37 - College Access for the Incarcerated 30:50 - Humanizing Educ

This Week: In what can only be understood as a horrid week in the history of American jurisprudence, the Supreme Court hands down two rulings that stand to do expansive harm to America’s children and school communities. In Carson v. Mankin the court decided that there is no longer a separation of church and state, and clears the way for public funds to be sent to religious schools. And in Dobbs.v Jackson Women’s Health, the Court overturned Roe v Wade, effectively outlawing abortion in half of the country, and condemning a generation of girls - many of whom will be pregnant because of sexual assult - to bring their rapist’s child oto term.  Oh, and it paves the way for additional litigation to undo things like access to contraceptives, science based sex education, and other things that have lowered teen pregnancy rates in this country for decades. Whew. It’s a lot to process.  Mauel and Jeff get into it, and discuss what this means, and where we do from here. Get your All of the Above swag, includin

This Week: 40 years ago this week, the US Supreme Court handed down one of the most important immigrant rights decisions in its history in Plyler v. Doe. In a 5-4 decision the Court ruled, in a way that only an American court can, that undocumented immigrant children were in fact “persons” and that the Texas law effectively barring them from a free public education served no compelling state interest. Manuel and Jeff discuss this momentous anniversary, in light of the mounting effort by TX Gov. Abbott to undo this expansion of rights. And speaking of the expansion of rights, the CA legislature is poised to send a bill to the Governor for approval that would pay unhoused 12th graders $1000/month from April - August to help interrupt the cycle of homelessness. If passed, how might this impact the students we serve? 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

This Week: It seems obviously simple. Give kids universal access to free pre-k and we will see positive outcomes. But some fascinating new data from NYC, paired up with data from the state of Tennessee, shows us a more complex picture. Why are the effects of pre-k so uneven, and is bad pre-k actually worse than no pre-k at all? Manuel and Jeff discuss. Oh, and Jeff rants momentarily on the travesty that is Rolling Stone’s ranking of the top 200 hip hop albums of all time. 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/AlloftheAbo

This Week: Manuel and Jeff reflect on the tragedy at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX and how to process the continued incidents of mass shootings in America. We blast the distinguished gentleman from Texas, Ted Cruz, on his insane ideas for one hardened entrance at every school, and discuss the renewed efforts to arm teachers. Also, an EdSource article with a clickbait title causes us to assess the real story of the 2021-22 school year, the remarkable resilience and genius shown by America’s educators, kids, and schools in the face of a pandemic, and massive failures of political leadership. Also, big shout out to former AOTA guest Dr. Terrence Keel of UCLA, on a bombshell new study profiling the repeated lies coming from the LA County Sheriff's Department about the extent of violent deaths that get reported as deaths by “natural causes.” Learn more about the 18 ruthless gangs that exist among officers in the LACSD, and their unchecked violent rein of terror on the people of LA, read more here. Get your

This Week: All of the Above is coming to your live, on the road from Jeff’s hometown of St. Paul, MN, at Education Evolving’s Student Centered Learning for Equity Conference!  In this first-of-its-kind event we dig into two fascinating stories, chosen by the audience. First, we talk about a favorite topic of ours, teaching hard history, but through the lens of lessons we can learn from countries around the globe from how they tackle things from colonization, to apartheid, to the holocaust. Second we explore the results of a fascinating national survey of educators - including educators of color - on their perspectives on what they need coming out of the height of the pandemic. A special shout out is due to Education Evolving and the Bush Foundation for making this event possible. And, a big shout out to the youth performer who headlined the conference, Cuauhtli, check out his incredible work on Spotify here! Links to the video from the conference below: → Opening plenary → Manuel and Jeff’s keynote

This Week: You’ve seen the crazy headlines - white folks up in arms over the “demonic” work of CRT in schools, a white mom suing her school district because her biracial child now sees himself as oppressed because of antiracist curriculum, and ongoing threats to school board members and their families. It’s rough out there for our schools! Particularly (but not exclusively) in the broad swaths of white America. A recent piece in the 74 Million profiles some of this madness in the state of MN and the potential costs of the mass exodus of school board leadership we’re seeing. And in CA, the Univ of California system appears to be backtracking on their commitment to require ethnic studies for admission. Also, shout out to Education Evolving for hosting the first ever live edition of All of the Above at their annual Student Centered Learning for Equity Conference this past week. And, a big shout out to the youth performer who headlined the conference, Cuauhtli, check out his incredible work on Spotify here! Get

We’ve heard the rhetoric for years that educator diversity is important not only for students of color, but also for white students. This week we take a look at ongoing efforts to diversify our profession--paying particular attention to Jeff’s old stomping grounds of Minnesota! Minnesota may not immediately come to mind as a place where interesting work around this issue is happening, but our super-dope guests Mikisha Nation and James Barnett prove otherwise. Mikisha is the Executive Director for Teach for America’s Twin Cities region and James is the Executive Director of Teach Minnesota, one of the state's first-ever alternative teacher licensure programs which aims to increase the number of teachers of color for high-need schools across the state. We talk recruitment, retention, strikes, backlash, and more! But first, Jeff and Manuel take a look at recent headlines in education including an apparent rise in academic dishonesty among college students and a new study about whether tuition guarantees for low-

This Week: the whole nation is abuzz with the news that the Supreme Court is planning to overturn Roe v. Wade, as it should be. But this is just step one. Manuel and Jeff discuss the ramifications of the Court paving the way for a cascading set of oppressive rulings removing constitutionally protected rights for marginalized groups including undocumented youth, LGBTQ youth, women and girls, students of color, and more. Also, the guys weigh in on the debate in CA over the UC system’s requirement of ethnic studies for admission. 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 cont

The double-whammy of teaching amid a pandemic and being publicly slandered for alleged “indoctrination” and “grooming” has made this an especially tough school year for educators across the country. We could all use a reminder of the importance and promise of education, and who better to ground us than the phenomenally dope 2021 National Teacher of the Year, Juliana Urtubey!! Juliana is just the third special education teacher, the only bilingual special education teacher, and the first Latina since at least 2005 to be named National Teacher of the Year. Since being announced as NTOY, Juliana has shared her “joyous and just” message with pre-service teachers, educators and policymakers across the country – including at the White House. Now she joins us here at AOTA to share her experience as NTOY as well as her thoughts about the ongoing challenges facing the profession. But first, Jeff and Manuel take a look at recent headlines in education including a rise in teens using artificial intelligence bots to get

This Week: Manuel and Jeff keep tabs on the right wing effort to turn America’s public schools into an Orwell novel, with discussion of some truly astounding stories.  First, the state of Mississippi declares April as Confederate Heritage Month, which they’ve done for the last 30 years, btw. Second, the Florida Dept of Education rejects nearly half of the math textbooks presented for approval on the grounds that they contained “references to Critical Race Theory (CRT), inclusions of Common Core, and the unsolicited addition of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) in mathematics.” And third, the right wing officials in the state of Nebraska disguise their hate in performative mandates to teach about the genocide of Jews during WWII. The forces of oppression are staying busy, and we need to as well. Join the discussion! 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-

The way folks are out here talking about “CRT,” you’d think it was the actual, literal devil.  Well, we found one of the most unique individuals in all of American education to talk to us about the real Critical Race Theory.  We’re joined by the one person teaching a law school course on CRT in the state of Mississippi–professor Yvette Butler of the University of Mississippi School of Law! We discuss the realities of teaching CRT, its implications for our K-12 education system, her state’s latest attempts to ban it, and how we should collectively respond to these disingenuous attacks on one of the most important legal theories of the last half century.  But first, Jeff and Manuel take a look at recent headlines in education including the move to digital hall passes and a controversial partnership between Airbnb and the NEA to encourage members to rent out their homes to supplement their income.  Yeah, that happened. → Get your Teach the Truth T-Shirt here! → View this episode on YouTube!

This Week: The LA Times let everyone know that “nearly half of LAUSD students are chronically absent” this year. And, if you didn’t read the article (which in fairness, is pretty nuanced), and just saw the headline, you might be left with the idea that the teachers of Los Angeles were practically locking the doors of school in kids faces and telling the kids they can’t come to school. Sadly, the pressure for clickbait headlines is but one of many factors that is already leading towards a growing weaponization of data against public schools, educators, and the communities we serve. Manuel and Jeff dig into this minefield of a topic, making some predictions about where we see this heading in in the spring of 2022, once state testing data is out, and make the case that it’s not too late to change the orientation with which we look at data about our schools in response to the pandemic. Get your All of the Above swag, including your own “Teach the Truth” shirt! In this moment of relentless attacks on teaching trut

Advanced. Honors. GATE. Remedial. Foundational. Students have been “tracked,” or sorted and grouped by perceived ability level, into categories such as these for years. While some argue that tracking helps schools and teachers design instruction to meet the needs of students of varying ability levels, the data suggests that tracking has long resulted in racial inequities and de facto segregation within our school system. Dr. Eric Toshalis of KnowledgeWorks (who also happens to have been the O.G. teacher-mentor for both Manuel and Jeff back during their student-teacher days!) joins us this week to share his expertise around the great tracking debate. But first, Jeff and Manuel take a look at recent headlines in education including the difficulty districts are having in spending American Rescue Plan funds before the deadline and a new report slamming the quality of education offered in Los Angeles’ juvenile detention facilities. → Get your Teach the Truth T-Shirt here! → View this episode on YouTube! AGENDA 0:

This Week: Mauel and Jeff take a step back from the headlines and major policy issues of the world to reflect on two important questions.  What is one area where we wish we’d gotten better preparation as a young teacher?  And what is one nugget of advice we’d give to folks coming into the profession today? From seeking out trusted veterans, to intentionally honing your craft, the guys share their insights and wisdom on this profession we call teaching. 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

All that talk about “reimagining school” seems like a distant memory to a lot of us, but many folks are hard at work implementing innovative school designs that better serve our most marginalized communities. As we ditch masks and charge ahead into a new normal, what might districts across the country do to actually cultivate, enable, and support innovative approaches to school design and operation? This week we’re joined by Dr. Cynthia Gonzalez, who is the new Director of Pilot School Support for the Los Angeles Unified School District, to learn about pilot schools and how they differ from the typical traditional models of school. But first, Jeff and Manuel take a look at recent headlines in education including school districts building housing for teachers and researchers slamming decades of data-driven instruction. → Get your Teach the Truth T-Shirt here! → View this episode on YouTube! AGENDA 0:00 - Welcome! 8:05 - School district subsidizes teacher housing 24:25 - Researchers slam data-driven instructio

This Week: Normally we love to get into deep, critical conversations about the wrongs of the world of education and how to right them. This week, we’re just gonna enjoy the forces of white supremacy, bigotry, and racist lies in school being on the defensive!  Whether it was an anti CRT bill being defeated after scandalous neutrality on Naziism in the Indiana state legislature, the resignation of one of those legislators from a high ranking position at the College Board, Advanced Placement being forced to respond with a statement on their values, students shouting down an anti-trans candidate for the Texas state legislature, or friends of the show The Expectations Project and EduColor releasing their Truth Matters for Students Toolkits, it was a good week for the causes of educational justice. 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.

The partisan push to ban books, curriculum, and pedagogy that helps students interrogate oppression continues rage. How can educators teach children to combat bias and racism when such topics are increasingly taboo and policed? What work needs to be done to put our ideals of liberty and justice into practice in our schools? Liz Kleinrock, who is an educator extraordinaire, a recipient of the Teaching Tolerance Award for Excellence in Teaching, and the author of the new book Start Here, Start Now: A Guide to Antibias and Antiracist Work in Your School Community, joins the show to help us explore these issues.  But first, Jeff and Manuel take a look at recent headlines in education including a new study revealing racial bias in teacher evaluations and a sharp rise in public records requests as definitely-not-racist folks search for evidence of CRT in schools. → Get your Teach the Truth T-Shirt here! → View this episode on YouTube! AGENDA 0:00 - Welcome! 5:50 - Districts see increase in records requests 26