Ed Infinitum

Season 5, Episode 1 - A more perfect union? We kick off our new season with a look at this history, victories, drawbacks and challenges of teachers unions over the last century and a half in US public education. Sources for this episode.  

 S4E13 - Tough times for teaching and learning Even before the Omicron variant reared its ugly head, teachers were resigning in unprecedented numbers this fall. This episode, our season finale, explores some of the reasons why. Sources for this episode Watch this space for information on when Season 5 will begin!

Season 4, Episode 12: Do we actually have the right to an education? The United States prides itself on being the first country to institutionalize and make mandatory free, taxpayer funded public education -- but is that education something to which all children in the US actually have a right? The answer's not as simple as it may seem. Sources for this episode. Next episode will post on Oct 22, 2021

Season 4, Episode 11: Suspension and Disbelief How and why do schools suspend students from classes? What is the impact, and what are the alternatives? Sources for this episode. Next episode will post on Friday, October 8th.

  Season 4, Episode 10 - Woman with a plan: The story of Helen Parkhurst and Dalton This episode describes the dynamic career of teacher and school reformer Helen Parkhurst, whose life's mission was to replace the dull, factory-style structures of American public education with student-centered learning experiences tailored to individual children's needs. What can we learn from Parkhurst's experience, especially her famous "Dalton Plan," that might inform the present moment, where schools may have a chance to re-define themselves post-COVID? Sources for this episode. Next episode will post on Sept 17th, 2021

S4E9 - The Great Homework Debate Is homework a vital tool for learning, a useless exercise in child torture, or something else entirely? This episode explores that question! Sources for this episode Next episode will post on September 3rd

S4E8 - Lost and Found: Addressing COVID "Learning Loss" Schools nationwide are grappling with this Fall's expected challenges of "learning loss" due to the past year of pandemic-affected learning. But what exactly do we mean by "learning loss," what are the remedies, and what are the questions we're not asking but should be? Sources for this episode. Next episode will post on Friday, August 20th

S4E7 - Food fight! The surprisingly contentious history of school lunch Behind the pizza boats and tater tots lies an epic saga of conflict. Grab your tray and settle in as we explore the history of school lunch! Sources for this episode. Next episode will post on Aug 6th, 2021

S4E6 - What is the purpose of public education in the USA? What do we want from public schools, and how does that answer vary depending on whom, in our very divided nation, you ask? In this episode, I use a recent Atlantic article by George Packer, "The Four Americas," as a frame for looking at how each of those four Americas might envision both the purpose and the future of public education in the USA. Sources for this episode: Next episode will post on Friday, July 23

S4E5 - Project Based Learning: Promises and Perils Project Based Learning is often touted, yet too infrequently practiced, in US public schools. This episode (our 50th!) addresses the questions of just what is PBL, and what are the advantages - and challenges - of trying to teach and learn in this manner? Click here for sources for this episode. Next episode will post on July 9th

S4E4 - Spare the rod: Corporal punishment in US public schools The USA stands virtually alone among democracies in permitting schools to employ physical violence in disciplining students. This episode explores the history, permutations and present state of affairs of corporal punishment in US schools. Click here for sources for this episode Next episode will post on Friday, June 25

S4E3 - Let's talk about sex, maybe? Whether US public schools should teach sex education, and just what exactly we even mean by that phrase, has been a point of contention since at least the 19th century. This episode recounts some of the major trends, currents and conflicts in the history, and present state, of school sex-ed. Note: I only marked this episode as "explicit" to avoid any trouble with Apple Podcasts' flagging algorithm, which might freak out at the word "sex" in the episode title. There are in fact no words in this episode that would be bleeped on daytime television, and no descriptions (explicit or otherwise) of sexual acts. Whether this comes as a relief or a disappointment is entirely up to you. Click here for sources for this episode. Next episode will post on June 11th

S4E2 - Room for contradictions: The Schooling of Chinese Americans What challenges have Chinese Americans faced, and what victories have they won, in the quest for equal access to an education in the USA? At a time when violence and xenophobia against AAPI people is on the rise, this episode attempts to explore beyond the "model minority myths" and share some history of Chinese and other Asian Americans' experience in US schools. Sources for this episode Next episode will post on May 28, 2021

 Season 4, Episode 1: Do Schools Even Matter? A lot of what influences students' academic and long-term life outcomes have nothing to do with how schools are structured and how teachers teach. In the face of income inequality, structural racism and so many larger forces, does anything we talk about in this podcast really matter? We kick off Season 4 of Ed Infinitum by reviewing the research that could help us address that question. Sources for this episode. Next episode will post on May 14th, 2021

S3E14 - Blowout! We close out Season Three with a look back at the student activism of the 1968 East Los Angeles walkouts, and how Chicano students defied abusive policies and police brutality to try and improve their schools. Sources for this episode. Next season will begin some time in April. Please consider making a donation to keep the podcast going so I can create an excellent Fourth Season!

S3E13 - Two voices from the COVID Classroom Two teachers - one from a suburban middle school, one form a tech-voc agricultural school, share their unfiltered stories and opinions about what their job, their school and their students' experience looks like right now during the pandemic. Next episode (the season finale!) will post on Friday, Feb  21, 2021

S3E12.5 - New Beginnings, Old Challenges A brief set of reflections on the challenges of education from Election Day 2016 to Inauguration Day 2021. Sources for this episode.

 S3E12 - How do we get this thing right? Nine months in, and online, remote and hybrid school is still proving dismal for far too many students and teachers. The end, if it's even in sight, isn't coming any time soon, so how can schools do a better job with the situation they've got? We ask our guest, Dr. April Willis of the National Virtual Teacher Association, about the solution her organization is trying to provide. Sources for this episode. Next episode will post on Jan 22, 2021

S3E11 - What's it like elsewhere? Ever wondered how the history and operations of schooling around the world differs from that of the USA? We take a glimpse at four countries' schools - specifically, England, France, Japan and Finland - and see what we can learn. Sources for this episode. Next episode will post on January 8, 2021

S3E10 - Can't we all just get along? The Math and History wars Politics in education are so bitter because so little is at stake? Maybe, maybe not. In this episode we examine the ongoing debates about the "proper" teaching of two subjects, Math and History. What is at stake in these "school wars," and how does the fallout affect students? Sources for this episode. Next episode will post on Friday December 24th

Season 3, Episode 9 - "What life we can make for our children" : Reclaiming Education for Native Americans This Thanksgiving, our show highlights both the hideous experiences indigenous people suffered in US schools, and the successful Native American resistance to, and growing cultural reclamation of, the educational institutions that enroll their children. Sources for this episode. Next episode will post on Dec 11th

S3E8 - Play's the Thing: The History, and Future, of Recess Recess has always been about more than just horsing around outside between classes. In this episode we explore how recess came to be, how it came to be under threat, and how it may be making a comeback. Sources for this episode. Next episode will post Friday Nov 27th

    Season 3, Episode 7: Oh, you beautiful doll In this episode we recount the story of a unique cultural and educational exchange project between the United States and Japanese schoolchildren during a time of rising xenophobia and isolationism. Sources for this episode. Also, a big shout-out to Isaac Meyer's History of Japan Podcast! Next episode will post on November 13th

 S3E6 - What do you pledge? We explore the history, development and challenges to the use of the pledge of allegiance in US schools. Sources for this episode. Next episode will post on Friday, Oct 30th

S3E5 - Watch your language! English classes are charged with teaching students "correct" language usage; linguists say there is no such thing. What are the social, racial and linguistic consequences of the way schools teach grammar and usage? This may well be the most exciting discussion of grammar you have ever heard! Sources for this episode. Next episode will post on Friday, October 16

S3E4 - What's so special about special education? Special Education remains opaque to too many Americans. This episode aims to get past the stereotypes and explore the workings, history, and philosophy behind special education programs in US schools. Sources for this episode. Next episode will post on Friday, September 25th.

Season 3, Episode 3 - Going the Distance: A history of remote learning Remote learning is not a new development in education. In this episode, we review the history, practices, pitfalls and potential future of remote learning as we enter a school year where the majority of U.S. students will be engaged in some form of distance education. Sources for this episode. Next episode will post on Sept 18th

Season 3, Episode 2 – How it all began, Part II - Common for whom? We continue our quest to locate the origin(s) of public education in the United States, from Horace Mann's Common Schools to the fight for racial equity in schooling. Sources for this episode. Next episode will post on September 18th, 2020  

Season 3, Episode 1 – How it all began, Part I - Satan, Jefferson, and Dictionaries How did we get here? We start off the third season of Ed Infinitum with a two-parter about the origin of public education in the United States...or...origins, plural? Things aren't so simple, as we'll soon see. Sources for this episode. Next episode will post on September 4th, 2020  

S3E0 - There are no best practices Special Episode: How will in-person teaching and learning be conducted in a pandemic? What are the arguments for and against this practice, and where, if anywhere, is the roadmap for executing it? Sources for this episode. Next episode will post in mid-August as Season 3 begins.

S2E14 - School for Scandal, Pt 3 - The Inevitable Corruption We wrap up our three part series, as well as Season Two entirely, by looking at the sordid underbelly of the school accountability mania of the 2000s, the resulting scandals and even criminal prosecutions, and ask if any meaningful changes emerged in the way teachers and schools are assessed. The podcast will be going on hiatus for a few weeks while I start planning and recording Season#3. Next episode should air some time in mid to late August, at which point we'll resume our original biweekly release schedule.

S2E13 - School for Scandal, Pt 2: Value-Added Messes In part two of our series on the nationwide test cheating scandals of the late 2000s, we take a look at "Value Added Measurement" of a teacher's impact on student learning, and how this deeply flawed construct lay at the heart of the malfeasance that followed. Click here for the list of sources used. Next episode will post on Friday, July 10th.

S2E12 - School for Scandal, Pt 1: The Bee-Eater Public education suffered a cascading series of scandals at the end of the last decade, when teachers and principals in towns and cities across 40 states were discovered to have cheated state accountability measures by altering student test results. We begin a three-part series exploring this national catastrophe with this week's episode, where we focus on Michelle Rhee, controversial Chancellor of the Washington DC public schools, whose famous take-no-prisoners approach to student testing outcomes may well have set this saga in motion. Click here for the list of sources used. Next episode will post on Friday, July 3rd.

        S2E11 - Principals of power: Fannie, Annie and Nannie In this episode we celebrate three groundbreaking and influential principals - Fannie Copland, Annie Cooper and Nannie Boroughs. All three are African American women who were either from, or spent most of their time in, Washington DC, and all overcame great odds to make their marks on American public education. Click here for sources. Next episode will post on Friday, June 26, 2020

S2E10- Race and justice in the classroom In a time of sustained worldwide demonstrations for racial justice, conversations about race and equity are becoming more pervasive than they've been in decades. We continue one of those conversations this episode, by exploring what "culturally responsive teaching" is, and some specific ways in which it attempts to address issues of race in school classrooms. Sources list here. Next episode will post on Friday, June 19th

S2E9 - Accountability at a crossroads Among the many aspects of schooling disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic is the system of accountability that has been the chief driving force in public education since 2001. This episode examines what that system looks like on the ground level of an urban school in Boston, as explained in an interview with school administrator Dr. Liana Tuller. She discusses how these powerful state evaluation mechanisms transformed her school for good and ill, and what changes she would like to see made in a post-pandemic educational landscape. Next episode will post on June 12, 2020

S2E8 - What does injustice have to do with me? We cannot address school inequities by just focusing on underprivileged schools serving marginalized populations. We need to find ways to engage affluent white students in "high powered" schools with the idea that injustice, especially racial injustice, is something relevant to them, and something they too have an interest in changing for the better. I'm releasing this episode this week because of the Minneapolis protests in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, and to advertise my new book, of the same title, available now on Amazon.com. Next episode will post on Friday, June 5th

S2E7 - Didn't we solve this problem? Why American schools are more racially segregated than ever. As protests rage across Minneapolis in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd, we need to remember that these protests are informed by more than just reaction to police brutality: they are about the historical and ongoing racial disparities not only in the realms of law enforcement and criminal justice, but also housing, health care and yes, education, in the United States. So I thought this would be a good time to re-run a season one episode about school segregation. School segregation in the USA is now at its most extreme since the 1960s, and growing more pronounced each year. Didn't Brown vs. the Board of Education settle this issue in 1954? episode will detail the very real, legal, de jure (as opposed to "de facto," as it is often erroneously taught) reasons why the dream of integration has not yet been realized in American schools, as well as some ideas for changing that for the better. This week will feature two episodes. Episode#8 will follow shortly. 

S2E6 - Teaching and learning in the shadow of COVID-19, two months in Schools are now 8 weeks into the "distance learning" modalities that COVID-19 has forced upon them. In our April 2nd episode, I interviewed three teachers from across the country at the outset of this new reality. They shared their experiences at the early stage of the transition, their hopes and fears and predictions for the future. Now that we're a little further into that future, I've invited them back - as I had arranged with them from the beginning - to see how, 8 weeks later, things are going for them. Next episode will post on May 28th, 2020

 S2E5 - How past pandemics and crises changed schools COVID-19 is not the first epidemic or major crisis that has radically altered the structure of American public education. This episode surveys some of the changes, adaptations and even improvements that schools made in the wake of catastrophic events of the past. For sources for this episode, click here. Next episode will post on Friday, May 22

S1E4 - Sort-of-free speech: First amendment rights in schools Where and how do schools curtail free expression rights, and what is the history behind that? What do you, and do you not, have the right to say if you're a student (or teacher) in a school...or even off-campus? Click here for a list of sources for this episode. Next episode posts on Friday, 5/15

  S2E3 - Not so plain English - Educating English Language Learners When educational research and politics fall at odds, what happens to the students caught in the middle? Ten percent of students in the USA are English Language Learners, and that number is growing, yet for reasons both pedagogical and political, schools face an uphill battle in serving these children. Learn more in this episode. For a list of sources used in this episode, click here. Next episode will post on Friday, May 8th    

  S2E2 - The women behind the man behind progressive education Francis W. Parker became the great unsung hero of progressive education in America only because of several even lesser known, yet incredible, women who inspired, financed, and advanced his ideas. Learn more about all of them in this episode.       Francis Parker          Elizabeth Peabody               Anita Blaine       Zonia Baber            Flora Cooke For a list of sources used in this episode, click here. Next episode will post on Friday, May 1

S2E1 - Unchartered Territory (or, What's the deal with charter schools?) We kick off season two with a no holds-barred look at charter schools! Few issues in education are so divisive, yet so often misunderstood, than the issue of charter schools. This episode will explore the history behind charter schools, the many facets of the charter school debate, and the extremely messy body of research about charter schools' impacts on students and communities. For a list of sources used in this episode, click here. Next episode will post on Friday, April 24

S2E0 - Teaching and learning in the shadow of COVID-19 Season 2, Episode 0: At this moment in time there is no way to have an education podcast without a discussion of how COVID-19 has created sudden and radical shifts in how we teach and learn. As I'm readying Season Two's episodes for release, I wanted to take some time first to speak with real teachers and see how they and their students are adapting, or trying to adapt, to these unprecedented times. On today's show we interview three teachers about their experiences during the last couple of weeks. I plan to do a follow-up set of interviews a few weeks from now as well. If you're a teacher (or student, or parent) who wants to share their experiences with teaching and learning during the coronavirus crisis, please email me at edinfinitumpodcast@gmail.com. And, for a little levity, here's one school's message to its students (keep watching, it gets better and better):

Special episode - We're all homeschoolers now The COVID-19 crisis has suddenly and unexpectedly made homeschoolers out of all Americans. In this episode, we take a look at the history of homeschooling, as well as present an interview with one local mom who has been homeschooling for the last six years.

Season 1, Episode 13: The insane secret history of the SATs, Part II We conclude Season One with part two of the bizarre, epic saga of the SAT test. Watch this website for updates as to when Season Two will start publishing, on our usual biweekly schedule...probably some time this summer.

Season 1, Episode 12: The insane secret history of the SATs, Part I The origins of the infamous SAT exam are worthy of epic movie treatment: Nazis! Communists! Hot dog vendors! Sharpen your number two pencil, then sit down and listen to part one of our season finale.

Season 1, Episode 11: They called me mad (Pestalozzi and Montessori) We discuss the lives of two rebels who fought against insurmountable odds to promote teaching methods that changed the world: Johann Pestalozzi and Maria Montessori. Prepare for a wild ride!

Season 1, Episode 10: Help! How do I manage the students? Classroom management is one of the most difficult elements of the teaching profession for new teachers, and even for veterans. While there's no magic solution, I can at least share some best practices.

Season 1, Episode 9: The Utopian we've all forgotten about Not many people outside of education scholars have heard of John Amos Comenius, but school as we know it today owes a great deal to this 17th century utopian thinker whose ideas, even today, might seem radically progressive.