Speaking of Education Podcast

Book Review of The Tyranny of Metrics by Jerry Muller with Guest Maria Piantanida, PhD

In this episode we experiment with a different format. Co-host Dr. Maria Piantanida offers a review of The Tyranny of Metrics by Jerry Muller a professor of history at the Catholic University of America. Dr. Piantanida highlights key ideas in the book and recommends it as useful reading for anyone concerned about the inappropriate and oppressive use of narrow performance measures. It can serve as a starting point for conversations among educators, the public, and policy makers as they strive to create realistic and meaningful systems to evaluate the quality of educational endeavors.

Exploring Health Issues of Native Americans with Guest Josie Barnes

This episode features our conversation with Josie Barnes who is beginning her junior year in high school. The school Josie attends structures its calendar so that students are able to take a multi-week intensive course a couple of times a year. We talk about Josie’s experience during January 2023 when she chose a course on global health. She focused her writing project on health issues of Native Americans and efforts by some individuals in the Seattle area who are working to reclaim their knowledge of healing plants. We talk with Josie about her interest in the topic, what she learned, and her talents as a writer.

Wedding Work and Learning to Pursue a Career Interest with Guest Duncan Barnes

From an early age, Duncan Barnes has had a passionate interest in animals. Emerging from this passion has been a desire to pursue a career in veterinarian medicine. During this episode, we talk with Duncan about his interest and what he has been doing to prepare himself to study veterinarian medicine. Now entering his senior year in high school, Duncan shares how he has begun to pursue this career path, including his work at a clinic and his participation in a special summer program at Amherst University.

Remake Learning: Thinking Boldly About Education with Guest Tyler Samstag

This episode features Tyler Samstag who jointly is the director of Remake Learning and also leads transformED, an initiative at the Allegheny Intermediate Unit that supports schools in starting, scaling, and sustaining transformational change. During our podcast Tyler discusses the mission of Remake Learning and also provides information about the Moonshot Grants and the Tugboat Grant and much more. Their work encourages educators to think radically, dream big, and inspire a better future.   Tyler started his career as a special education teacher in New York City, implementing research-based literacy interventions in both traditional and alternative academic settings. Later, while living in Boston, Tyler completed an internship with the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST), a nonprofit education R&D organization that works to expand learning opportunities for all individuals through Universal Design for Learning and was a member of the IDEO Bits + Blocks LAB at the Harvard Innovation Lab, a program to develop new ventures around the technologies inspired by Bitcoin and blockchain. Interested in applications of human-centered design in education and nonprofit sectors, Tyler has facilitated an array of interactive workshops on design thinking and rapid prototyping at Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Harvard Graduate School of Education, and MIT.  Tyler is a Pittsburgh Public School graduate, an AmeriCorps alum, holds a master’s degree from Teachers College, Columbia University in English Education, and graduated from the Mind, Brain, and Education program at Harvard University, where he was an Urban Scholars Fellow.  For additional information about Remake Learning as well as the Tugboats and Lighthouses report visit https://www.remakelearning.org [https://www.pealcenter.org/].

Advocating for the Educational Rights of Children with Special Needs with Guests Mary Hartley and Cindy Duch

This episode features the work of the PEAL Center, a statewide organization that provides support for parents of children with disabilities. Through a wide array of resources, training, a helpline, and advocacy, PEAL Center staff and volunteers work to educate parents of children with disabilities and special health care needs as well as professionals who work in these fields.  During our conversation, Mary Hartley, the Executive Director, and Cindy Duch, the Director of Individual Assistance, discuss issues facing families, the educational rights of children with special needs, transition services, and the value of educational inclusion, not just for children with disabilities but for all children.   For additional information about the services and resources available through the PEAL Center, visit https://www.pealcenter.org [https://www.pealcenter.org]