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Playlist: Back to School

Compiled By: PRX Administrator

 Credit:
Curated Playlist

Stories on the minds of parents and students as we head towards the fall.

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Humankind special: Whole Teachers - Whole Students

From Humankind | Part of the Humankind Specials series | 52:29

Produced by David Freudberg in association with WGBH/Boston. Faced with the deep divisions polarizing America, can education that is “pro-social” provide an alternative path for understanding and healing? And can schools cultivate students’ skills for social awareness, conflict resolution and self-reflection? In this documentary, we hear moving stories of two very different venues where visionary faculty and students are attempting this.

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Faced with the deep divisions polarizing America, can education that is “pro-social” provide an alternative path for understanding and healing? And can schools cultivate students’ skills for social awareness and self-reflection?

In this new Humankind documentary, we visit two venues where leaders are taking strides toward an enlightened educational experience for young people and for faculty. The stories you will hear in each part are truly inspiring. But in the first case, it has meant coming to terms with - then gradually working past - a national tragedy.

In Segment 1, we listen to faculty and students at the University of Virginia/Charlottesville, scene of a frightening neo-Nazi gathering in August 2017 that became a national flashpoint. They recount the events of that stressful weekend, which resulted in fatalities and injuries.

But we also hear about the ongoing work at this same campus of the Contemplative Sciences Center, which studies and promotes understanding of diversity and personal growth practices. Participants gain perspective on a balanced life. Students and faculty describe their vision for a gentler, more thoughtful society. In a way, it’s the counter-point to what unfolded that bitter weekend in 2017.

Segment 2 of Whole Teachers - Whole Students explores how these themes play out at a very different setting: middle schools in San Francisco. Innovative educators there launched Millennium School in 2016, a remarkable educational experiment. Developed at both a private “lab school” and now the city’s largest public middle school, Millennium aims to instill in students a greater capacity for self-reflection. One fascinating dimension is how participants handle disagreements at school. You may be uplifted by comments from 8th graders about the style of conflict resolution adopted at Millennium.

Education and the Culture Wars

From Philosophy Talk | Part of the Philosophy Talk series | 53:58

How should we reconcile conflicts between the state’s responsibility to properly educate minors and the parents’ rights to influence their children's values and ideals?

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In contemporary democracies, the state is responsible  for providing children with an education. But parents surely have both the right and responsibility for instilling appropriate morals and values in their children. How should we reconcile conflicts between the state’s responsibility to properly educate minors and the parents’ rights to influence their children's values and ideals? Should the government’s approach to education in areas such as history and science always trump that of the child’s most direct guardians? Or should parents hold some veto power when it comes to education about evolution, sex, and other issues that bear on religious and personal values? John and Ken do their homework with Stanford political scientist Rob Reich, co-editor of Education, Justice, and Democracy.

Making Sense: Deaf Children and the Choices Their Parents Face

From Connecticut Public (WNPR) | 49:59

Nine out of ten deaf babies are born to hearing parents, who know almost nothing about deafness or the science of language. But they have to learn about it, and act, fast. Meet three families who made different decisions, and experts who can't agree on what's best.

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Billboard language: 

Most new parents take it for granted that their newborn baby will one day talk to them. Eventually she’ll utter her first few words, and the rest falls into place. 

But sometimes a child is born deaf. Parents are immediately confronted with opinions and facts and contradictions about a world that almost all of them have never experienced. 

[WATERFALL 18.5s]: “The scary part is everybody you speak to is like, ‘You need to do this now!’ I mean, the earlier the better with hearing loss…” [FADE UNDER] 

“If I was gonna provide them a life without limit they needed to be able to interact with the hearing world…”  [FADE UNDER]

“The act of speaking the language does not equate to knowing the language to me.” 

Life Stages: School

From New Hampshire Public Radio | Part of the Civics 101 series | 30:47

How the government and schools have danced together for 400 years. And do you have to even go?

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As Adam Laats said, "when it comes to schools, the most important thing is who you are, and where you live."

In today's episode, we explore how K-12 education has developed in the US since the 1600s, what teachers can and can't teach, what rights students have in public school, and how the federal government gets involved.

Today's episode features Mary Beth Tinker, Dan Cassino, Kara Lamontagne, Adam Laats and Campbell Scribner. Subscribe to Civics 101 here!

White Teacher, Native Student

From Sarah Bromer | 13:13

This is the story of a Native American student named Martin Acuna and his white teacher, Jessica Janeseck. Most public school teachers in America--80% of them-- are white, like Jessica, whereas most public school students, like Martin, are not. According to the latest research, this might not be the ideal pairing for success. Students who are taught by a teacher of their own race, even for just one year, are less likely to drop out and more likely to attend college. But when Martin started high school, with low skills and a desire to be the first in his family to go to college, none of his teachers looked like him. Jessica knew that it was critical for her to find a way to connect with Martin.

Jessica_and_martin_photo_attempt_3_small This is the story of a Native American student named Martin Acuna and his white teacher, Jessica Janeseck. Most public school teachers in America--80% of them-- are white, like Jessica, whereas most public school students, like Martin, are not. According to the latest research, this might not be the ideal pairing for success. Students who are taught by a teacher of their own race, even for just one year, are less likely to drop out and more likely to attend college. But when Martin started high school, with low skills and a desire to be the first in his family to go to college, none of his teachers looked like him. Jessica knew that it was critical for her to find a way to connect with Martin. 

My Advice Concerning College Student Loans

From The Steve Pomeranz Show | Part of the On The Money Minute series | 05:00

Quick, one minute financial tips that everyone can use to live their one best financial life!

Steve_final_logo_small "On The Money Minutes" features daily tips AKA "financial life hacks" relating to and taken directly from our regular weekly show "The Steve Pomeranz Show". These single minutes of information helps listeners make wise financial choice at a moment's notice!

Houda Listen to Your Mother

From KXCI | Part of the Mn Huna: Finding Refuge in Friendship series | 04:27

As Houda and Sara’s English has improved over the past three years, they’ve been able to share more of their story with Melanie–and with you. In these two episodes, the sisters tell stories of moments when–as kids being kids–they did something their mother had told them not to do.

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But in a war zone, the normal curiosity and experimental independence of children can have terrifying consequences.

In part one, we revisit a story that Houda first told on air in Episode 7: The School Desks of Our Childhood. When she first told the story, her English was more limited. And when we recorded that first episode, she was younger, only 19, and not yet willing to share the whole story–because the whole story includes her decision as a young teen to break her promise to her mother and to God that she would not join the University of Aleppo students protesting in the streets.

In fact, she told us the same story she told her parents! But now, with the distance of young adulthood, she has compassion for her child self and wants to share the whole story.

Note: Image is of a protest in Columbia, but accurately captures the feel of the burning tires and street protests that Houda experienced as a 13 year old girl in Aleppo. 

Melanie/ميلاني: From here, we are listening to our mothers.

هدى/Houda: من هنا: استمعوا لأمهاتكم


Relevent Series

Third Grade Audio - Service Learning Podcasts (Series)

Produced by David Green

The third graders of "Third Grade Audio" made two Service Learning podcasts. Each one is about a social service organization which is working to help make the world a better place (Dealing with "Education" and "Hunger" respectively).

Our hope is that these podcasts will help the respective agencies garner more support and help spread the word about how they are helping people

Most recent piece in this series:

Third Grade Audio Podcast #2: Lakeview Pantry

From David Green | Part of the Third Grade Audio - Service Learning Podcasts series | 05:45

Lakeview_pantry_small Listen and learn all about "Lakeview Food Pantry" and how you can support them.

This was our process:

• GOAL: Make the World a Better Place  (inspired by our school’s motto “Live and Serve”)

• In two groups, the class made a list of every problem/need in the world that they could think of

• They organized all the items on the list into categories.

• Each group voted on a category they wanted to explore further.

• Partners searched online for local social service organizations which were dealing with these two issues

• We found "Lakeview Pantry"

• We wrote an email to the agency asking if we could make a podcast about them. They said "yes."

• Partners researched the organization online, beginning with the website of the agency.

• Each student wrote her or his own interview questions, based on the research done.

• We visited the Lakeview Pantry, took a tour and interviewed the Volunteer Program Coordinator and another worker.

• Partners wrote podcast scripts

• We took parts of each script, along with the tape from the interviews, and "smooshed" them all together into a final podcast script

• Students individually recorded their narration for the podcast, which was then woven together with our interview clips to create the final podcast episode

•  Our hope is that this podcast will help Lakeview Pantry garner more support and help spread the word about how they are helping people.

 

• If you would like to learn more about Lakeview Pantry, you can do so here:

·  https://www.lakeviewpantry.org/

 

Third Grade Audio
"See" the world through third grade ears

 

Short Lists (Series)

Produced by David Green

A set of collaborative “Short List” poems which shed light on the thoughts, secrets, senses of humor and lives of eight and nine-year-olds. Can you figure out what each short list poem is about before you are told at the end?

Most recent piece in this series:

Short List #11

From David Green | Part of the Short Lists series | :41

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As part of a two week, all-school (K-12) Poetry Festival at North Shore Country Day School in Winnetka, IL, Third Grade Audio produced our first “Short Lists” for one of the poetry assemblies. We continue to write and record new short lists each year.

We first learned about Short Lists from producer Jay Allison during his keynote speech at the 2007 Third Coast International Audio Festival Conference.

What is a Short List? “It's a list you create from your experience or research or daily life. You read it out loud for about 60 seconds and then tell us at the end what the list WAS." (transom.org)

Here at Third Grade Audio, we think of them as a combination of a list poem and a riddle. We wrote Short Lists of all kinds and then took some of our favorite topics written by individual third graders and created group Short Lists – writing, recording and producing them jointly. We played them for an audience of roughly five-hundred people during the Poetry Festival.

Each Spring, a new set of third graders adds to our Short List series. 

 

Third Grade Audio
"See" the world through third grade ears

 

APM Reports: Focus on Education (Series)

Produced by American Public Media

From preschool to the post-secondary years, this series of documentaries explores the question, "What kinds of education are needed for people and communities to thrive in the 21st century?"

Most recent piece in this series:

At a Loss for Words: What's wrong with how schools teach reading

From American Public Media | Part of the APM Reports: Focus on Education series | 58:59

Reading-def_copy_small For decades, schools have taught children the strategies of struggling readers, using a theory about reading that cognitive scientists have repeatedly debunked. And many teachers and parents don't know there's anything wrong with it.


Oldies but Goodies

Curiosity and Other Riddles [30:00 AND 20:00 versions]

From Cambridge Science Fest Crew | 30:18

Questions and answers from some of the most curious people in the world.

If you could understand one thing about how the world works, what would it be? We asked budding school-age scientists what they want to know -- and then we took those questions to some of the brightest scientists in Cambridge. After taking a stab at the questions, we asked the scientists what big unanswered questions THEY most wanted to understand, and took those sometimes cosmic and often existential questions back to the kids, for answers. Both 30 and 20-minute versions are available below.

Investigating_kids_small This half-hour program is about embracing curiosity, discovery, and the common human quest to understand our environment.  We started out by asking school-age kids what they were curious about -- then we took those questions to some of the brightest scientists in Cambridge.  After taking a stab at the questions, we asked the scientists what big unanswered questions THEY most wanted to understand, and took those sometimes cosmic and often existential questions back to the kids, for answers.  This program was produced in conjunction with the Cambridge Science Festival, and aired on 4/29/2010 on WMBR in Cambridge, MA.  Learn more about the producers at AriDanielShapiro.com and NeighborhoodRadio.org.

Scientists Featured:
MIT Synthetic Neurobiologist, Ed Boyden; Harvard Molecular Geneticist, George Church; Harvard Science Historian, Peter Galison; Harvard Coginitive Neuroscientist, Marc Hauser; Harvard Evolutionary Geneticist, Pardis Sabeti; and MIT Social Cognitive Neuroscientist, Rebecca Saxe.

Nick's Diary: Home School to High School

From Radio Diaries | Part of the Teenage Diaries series | 17:48

15-year-old Nick chronicles a turbulent year in his life.

“If you could give me any advice or give me some potion that would make people my age start liking me, or, I don’t know… I just need to know how to socialize or I’m gonna go nuts."

This story is part of the Teenage Diaries series produced by Radio Diaries for NPR.

Td_nick_001_l_small Nick chronicles a turbulent year in his life. He’s 15 years old and hates school, but somehow he must learn to make friends.

“If you could give me any advice or give me some potion that would make people my age start liking me, or, I don’t know… I just need to know how to socialize or I’m gonna go nuts. As a child I was really happy, and I was really enthusiastic about everything I did; about cello, about my writing, about drawing, about school, friends, about everything. And since the beginning of Junior High, since I’ve gotten older, I’m not as idealistic as I used to be. I think I see life more as it is now and I’m not as dreamy and creative as I used to be. But, maybe it’s just still in my brain, in storage.” 

This story is part of the Teenage Diaries series  produced by Radio Diaries for NPR. Since 1996, Executive Producer Joe Richman has been giving tape recorders to young people around the country to document their lives. 

Subscribe to the Radio Diaries Podcast: http://www.radiodiaries.org/podcast

This School Year, a Commitment to Mental Health

From Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) | Part of the Substance Abuse & Mental Illness: The Impact on America’s Communities series | 05:23

High school teacher Joe Vulopas has a conversation with his son J.J., a recent high school graduate, about the academic and social pressures young people face today and their work together creating positive mental health environments in schools across the nation.

Vulopas1_small Following the tragic death of high school sophomore Phil Cardin in 2004, English teacher Joe Vulopas worked with students to form Aevidum, a community-based program with the mission of creating positive mental health environments for students. In this segment, Joe has a conversation with his son, J.J., about the day Phil took his life, the academic and social pressures young people face today and how Aevidum creates cultures of mental health advocacy in schools across the nation. David Wilson of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) lends his expertise to the discussion.

Hacker Scouts

From Jon Kalish | 06:40

The DIY/maker movement is creating formal opportunities for kids who like to make things with their hands.

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Hacker Scouts
From
Jon Kalish

20130616_163533_medium_small In recent years the “maker movement” which includes do-it-yourselfers and hi tech hackers has been introducing an even younger generation to the joys of making things with your own hands. Annual Maker Faires, which draw crowds in New York,California and other cities around the country, now include large exhibits geared to children. And slowly adult hacker spaces have been reaching out to young people. What’s more, last year saw the rise of youth groups called Hacker Scouts and DIY Clubs.  Jon Kalish tells us about this grass roots movement that is teaching kids science, technology, engineering and math, hands-on outside the classroom.