Courageous Conversations About Our Schools Podcast
Our podcast brings people together for respectful conversations about today’s most contentious issues affecting our schools.
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When the Left and Right Actually Listen: Rick Hess and Pedro Noguera (Ep. 55)
Why Pushing Harder Makes People Resist More — with Elena Aguilar (Ep. 54)
The Cost of Silence: Why Good People Don’t Speak Up (Ep. 53)
An Alternative to “Knock it Off!” when Students Fight (Ep. 52)
From Strangers to Connection: A Day That Changes Everything (Ep. 51)
Why Connection—not Control—Is What Schools Need Now (Ep. 50)
"30 for Us" is Breaking Bubbles and Bridging Student Divides (Ep 49)
The Future of California’s High School Ethnic Studies Course (Ep 47)
Are Your Schools Prepared for ICE Raids? (Ep. 46)
Crossing Divides: How Schools Can Help Close America's Perception Gaps (Ep. 45)
Bruce Wasser Helped Students Stand Up For Principle. Do We Want More Teachers Like That? (Ep. 43)
The Shoe Club: Walking Towards Empathy and Connection in a Michigan School (Ep. 42)
From Hate to Dialogue: A Conversation with Daryl Davis, “Klan Whisperer” (Ep. 41)
Character Education is Essential (and Unavoidable). How To Do It Well (Ep. 39)
The Transformative Power of Curiosity - A Conversation with Scott Shigeoka (Ep. 38)
Why These Students Are Rejecting Contempt and Embracing Dignity (Ep. 37)
Schools Are Abandoning DEI. How a Different Approach Can Preserve It (Ep. 35)
Teachers Are Afraid to Talk About the 2024 Election (Ep. 34)
Meet Aaron Stark - Almost a School Shooter (Ep. 32)
Rich Harwood Rocks My World! (Ep. 29)
Middie Rising - A City Unites and Defuses a School Culture War (Ep. 3 of 3)
Middie Rising - A City Unites and Defuses a School Culture War (Ep. 2 of 3)
Middie Rising - A City Unites and Defuses a School Culture War (Ep. 1 of 3)
Bridging Youth Divides Through Morning Classroom Conversations (Ep. 25)
A Conversation with Daniel Buck- Defender of the Education Culture Wars (Ep. 23)
When Homeschooling Fails Should the Government Step In? (Ep. 21)
A Courageous Conversation with a Transgender Educator (Ep. 20)
Can Educators Prevent Racism in Schools? Diverse Perspectives, Lively Conversation (Ep. 17)
Thriving in Turbulent Times: Why Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is Essential (Ep. 15)
The Latest Culture War Dustup: Balancing Parent Rights with Student Rights (Ep. 14)
Taking a Stand Against Antisemitism in Schools (Ep. 13)
Overcoming Toxic Polarization in our Schools with Peter Coleman (Ep. 12)
Political Opposites Square Off on Schools, Gender, and Sexuality (Ep. 11)
Book Bans Exposed: Who Decides What Students Can Read? (Ep. 10)
Calming the Culture Wars in our Schools with Journalist Monica Guzman (Ep. 9)
Weston Brown's Story: A Family and School Tragedy (Ep. 8)
Forbidden Topics: Are Schools Hiding the Truth from Students? (Ep. 7)
Taming the Culture Wars with Journalist Amanda Ripley (Ep. 6)
Gender and Sexual Identity in Schools: A Battle at the Epicenter of the Culture Wars (Ep. 4)
High School Students Weigh in on Race. Are their Elected Officials Listening? (Ep. 3)
How Students Learn about Race and Racism is Dividing Our Country (Ep. 2)
When the Left and Right Actually Listen: Rick Hess and Pedro Noguera (Ep. 55)
This podcast is about courage - courage to listen to people we don’t agree with, courage to challenge our own friends.
In this episode, host Ken Futernick speaks with two influential education thinkers from opposite sides of the political spectrum about their book A Search for Common Ground: Conversations About the Toughest Questions in K-12 Education. Instead of trying to win arguments on issues like school choice, standardized testing, or how history should be taught, they set out to listen and see what they could learn from one another.
Why Pushing Harder Makes People Resist More — with Elena Aguilar (Ep. 54)
In this fascinating and surprisingly practical conversation, acclaimed author and educator Elena Aguilar challenges much of what we assume about people who resist change. Drawing on her new book, How to Coach Resistance, she explains why resistance often has less to do with stubbornness or unwillingness to change than with fear, frustration, and unmet fundamental human needs.
An Alternative to “Knock it Off!” when Students Fight (Ep. 52)
In this episode of “Courageous Conversations about our Schools,” host Ken Futernick talks with educator and interpreter Shelby Rideout about a simple, in-the-moment strategy for handling kid conflicts without defaulting to “Knock it off,” “Go to your room,” or forced apologies. Instead of sending kids away to “work it out” without tools, Shelby guides them to pause, lower the emotional temperature, and actively look for what they have in common.