Education for Sustainable Democracy

Discussing Immigration in a High School Classroom, with Zorielle Rodriguez-Alcazar (Peekskill High School & University at Albany, SUNY)

In today’s environment, how should teachers help students understand immigration? How can they create a classroom culture in which students can discuss these kinds of highly sensitive and personal controversial issues? And why is it important that we give students the chance to talk about these issues? To examine these issues, Brett speaks to Zorielle Rodriguez-Alcazar, a veteran high school teacher at Peekskill High School in Peekskill, New York. Zorielle, who is also a doctoral student in the University at Albany’s School of Education, is a creative and thoughtful veteran social studies educator who gets to know her students well and adjusts the curriculum to engage their interests. In this episode, Zorielle shares her experiences and suggestions for how to develop a positive democratic classroom culture that enables teachers to generate powerful discussions of challenging public issues. Episode Resources Immigration Stories Project from U. of Minnesota [https://www.ilctr.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Teaching-Immigration-with-the-Immigrant-Stories-Project-FINAL_opt.pdf] Resources for Teaching about Immigration from Learning for Justice [https://www.learningforjustice.org/topics/immigration] ESD Resources Brett Levy's Open Access Research Articles [https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/do/search/?q=author_lname%3A%22Levy%22%20author_fname%3A%22Brett%22&start=0&context=5661620&facet=] Education for Sustainable Democracy Site [https://sites.google.com/view/esdpodcast/home] ESD Facebook Page (Please like!) [https://www.facebook.com/Education-for-Sustainable-Democracy-106779848039503/?ref=page_internal] ESD YouTube Channel (Please subscribe!) [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt5r5xiG8z6uzIrafPSrc0w] Related ESD Episodes Current Events Instruction in Early 2025, with Kyle Dalton (Lansingburgh High School, Lansingburgh, NY) [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1318597/episodes/16888114] Integrating History & Current Events and Creating an Open Classroom Climate, with Amber Joseph (East Side Community School, New York City) [https://www.buzzsprout.com/admin/1318597/episodes/8438304-integrating-history-and-current-events-creating-an-open-classroom-climate-with-amber-joseph-east-side-community-school-nyc] Engagement & Equity in Civic Education, with Professor Jane Lo (Michigan State University) [https://esdpodcast.buzzsprout.com/1318597/5743153-engagement-equity-in-civic-education-with-professor-jane-lo-michigan-state-university] Guiding Productive Political Discussions, with Diana Hess (University of Wisconsin-Madison) [https://esdpodcast.buzzsprout.com/1318597/6467923-guiding-productive-political-discussions-with-diana-hess-university-of-wisconsin-madison] Support the show [https://www.patreon.com/esdpodcast]

Best of ESD: Online Technologies to Enhance Student Learning: Possibilities & Perils, with Dan Krutka (University of North Texas)

How can technology enhance students' engagement in classroom learning? When are technologies helpful, and when are they harmful?  In this episode, I talk to Dr. Dan Krutka, associate professor of social studies education at the University of North Texas. Dan's research sits at the intersection of technology, education, and democracy.  We discuss how teachers can decide which technologies would strengthen their teaching or whether technologies would even be helpful at all. We also discuss many specific online tools and how they can be useful for enhancing student engagement and learning.  In our conversation, Dan touches on a variety of other issues, as well, such as how to teach effectively in online learning environments. This episode was originally released in 2021. Links Related to this Episode: Dan Krutka's Homepage [https://coe.unt.edu/people/daniel-g-krutka] PICRAT Model for Tech Integration in Teacher Ed (CITE Journal) [https://citejournal.org/volume-20/issue-1-20/general/the-picrat-model-for-technology-integration-in-teacher-preparation/] Glenn Wiebe's Blog - Technology in Social Studies Ed [https://historytech.wordpress.com/] Teacher Resources: Padlet Site (digital creation tool) [https://padlet.com/] DocsTeach Site (primary sources & activities) [https://www.docsteach.org/] Chronicling America (historical newspapers) [https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/] Smithsonian Learning Labs (documents, recordings, images, & more) [https://learninglab.si.edu/] The Redistricting Game (simulation about gerrymandering) [http://redistrictinggame.org/] ESD Podcast Resources: Education for Sustainable Democracy Site [https://sites.google.com/view/esdpodcast/home] Brett's Open Access Research Articles [https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/do/search/?q=author_lname%3A%22Levy%22%20author_fname%3A%22Brett%22&start=0&context=5661620&facet=] Education for Sustainable Democracy Facebook Page (Please Like!) [https://www.facebook.com/Education-for-Sustainable-Democracy-106779848039503] Support the show [https://www.patreon.com/esdpodcast]

Current Events Instruction in Early 2025, with Kyle Dalton (Lansingburgh High School, New York)

In classrooms around the country and beyond, teachers and students are navigating how to discuss the quick and often surprising actions of our current federal administration. How can and how should teachers help students understand and think critically about these issues? In this episode, Brett speaks with Kyle Dalton, a veteran teacher at Lansingburgh High School in Troy, New York. Kyle is a high-energy social studies educator who prioritizes his relationships with his students and generating their long-term interest in civic and social learning. He teaches various subjects, including sociology, psychology, civics, and economics. Listen as Kyle shares his experiences and suggestions for not only how to get students engaged in civic issues but also how to foster their informed critical thinking and how to create a strong, trusting classroom community. Episode Resources Kyle Dalton's Instructional Resources (coming soon) Lansingburgh High School site [https://lhs.lansingburgh.org/] ESD Resources Brett Levy's Open Access Research Articles [https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/do/search/?q=author_lname%3A%22Levy%22%20author_fname%3A%22Brett%22&start=0&context=5661620&facet=] Education for Sustainable Democracy Site [https://sites.google.com/view/esdpodcast/home] ESD Facebook Page (Please like!) [https://www.facebook.com/Education-for-Sustainable-Democracy-106779848039503/?ref=page_internal] ESD YouTube Channel (Please subscribe!) [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt5r5xiG8z6uzIrafPSrc0w] Related ESD Episodes Integrating History & Current Events and Creating an Open Classroom Climate, with Amber Joseph (East Side Community School, New York City) [https://www.buzzsprout.com/admin/1318597/episodes/8438304-integrating-history-and-current-events-creating-an-open-classroom-climate-with-amber-joseph-east-side-community-school-nyc] Engagement & Equity in Civic Education, with Professor Jane Lo (Michigan State University) [https://esdpodcast.buzzsprout.com/1318597/5743153-engagement-equity-in-civic-education-with-professor-jane-lo-michigan-state-university] Guiding Productive Political Discussions, with Diana Hess (University of Wisconsin-Madison) [https://esdpodcast.buzzsprout.com/1318597/6467923-guiding-productive-political-discussions-with-diana-hess-university-of-wisconsin-madison] Support the show [https://www.patreon.com/esdpodcast]

Integrating Sustainability Principles into Higher Education, with Emily Affolter and Pavel Cenkl (Prescott College)

How can educators create more holistic learning experiences for students? How can higher education better prepare students to become active civic participants? In this episode, Brett speaks with two educational leaders and innovators from Prescott College, based in Arizona. Emily Affolter is the director of Prescott’s doctoral program in sustainability education and an expert in culturally responsive teaching, and Pavel Cenkl is Prescott’s dean of academic affairs. In our conversation, we discuss how Prescott integrates its core principles of regenerative sustainability, experiential learning, creativity, and justice into their programs; and we also discuss what brought Pavel and Emily to this work after their varied prior experiences in education.  Resources Related to this Episode Emily Affolter's Website [https://prescott.edu/people/emily-affolter-ph-d/] Pavel Cenkl's Website [https://prescott.edu/people/pavel-cenkl-phd/] Prescott College Website [https://prescott.edu/] ESD Podcast Resources Education for Sustainable Democracy Homepage [https://sites.google.com/view/esdpodcast/home] Brett Levy's Open-Access Research Articles (Free Downloads) [https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/do/search/?q=author_lname%3A%22Levy%22%20author_fname%3A%22Brett%22&start=0&context=5661620&facet=] Education for Sustainable Democracy Facebook Page (Please Like!) [https://www.facebook.com/Education-for-Sustainable-Democracy-106779848039503] YouTube Channel for Education for Sustainable Democracy (Please Subscribe!) [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt5r5xiG8z6uzIrafPSrc0w] Support the show [https://www.patreon.com/esdpodcast]

Best of ESD: Building a Coalition for Civic Education, with Michael Rebell (Teachers College, Columbia University & Democracy Ready New York)

We all know that we could be doing a better job preparing young people for civic participation – and government officials and the public largely agree, but few organizations focus primarily on addressing this problem. Democracy Ready New York is one of the groups that’s taking action on this issue – advocating for government policies to better support civic education and broadening public engagement in the issue. This episode features the leader of Democracy Ready New York, Michael Rebell. Since 2005, Michael has served as the Executive Director of the Center for Educational Equity at Teachers College, Columbia University. Over the past few years, he and other staff at the Center have built a coalition of individuals and organizations with an interest in civic education. Today this coalition, Democracy Ready New York, is working to improve various aspects of civic education, including media literacy, classrooms discussions, equity, and more. In his conversation with Brett, Michael talks about the goals of the organization, the accomplishments of its various committees, and the group’s plans to diversity its efforts to improve civic education. This episode was originally released in May, 2022. Resources Related to this Episode Michael Rebell's Website [https://www.tc.columbia.edu/faculty/mar224/] Democracy Ready New York Website [https://democracyreadyny.tc.columbia.edu/] CivXNow (Civic Education Advocacy) [https://civxnow.org/] ESD Podcast Resources Education for Sustainable Democracy Homepage [https://sites.google.com/view/esdpodcast/home] Brett Levy's Open-Access Research Articles (Free Downloads) [https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/do/search/?q=author_lname%3A%22Levy%22%20author_fname%3A%22Brett%22&start=0&context=5661620&facet=] Education for Sustainable Democracy Facebook Page (Please Like!) [https://www.facebook.com/Education-for-Sustainable-Democracy-106779848039503] YouTube Channel for Education for Sustainable Democracy (Please Subscribe!) [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt5r5xiG8z6uzIrafPSrc0w] Related ESD Episodes A Congressional Bill to Strengthen Civic Education, with Cat McDonald (DC Lobbyist for Civic Ed) [https://esdpodcast.buzzsprout.com/1318597/9467506-a-congressional-bill-to-strengthen-civic-education-with-cat-mcdonald-dc-lobbyist-for-civic-ed] Guiding Productive Political Discussions, with Diana Hess (University of Wisconsin-Madison) [https://esdpodcast.buzzsprout.com/1318597/6467923-guiding-productive-political-discussions-with-diana-hess-university-of-wisconsin-madison] Engagement & Equity in Civic Education (with Prof. Jane Lo) [https://esdpodcast.buzzsprout.com/1318597/5743153-engagement-equity-in-civic-education-with-professor-jane-lo-michigan-state-university] Support the show [https://www.patreon.com/esdpodcast]