The Angry Educators Podcast

Sarah and Stephanie talk about what special education programs look like in schools historically and today and discuss teacher preparation program's methods to prepare teacher candidates to work with students with disabilities.

Join Sarah and Stephanie as they discuss the design of special education.  Topics discussed include the history of special education, psychometrics, and the special education eligibility process.

Join Sarah and Stephanie as they discuss the social construct of disability. Topics include the definition of a social construct, disability, and the medical and social models of disability.

Join Sarah and Stephanie as they continue the discussion about the criminalization of Black students.  Topics discussed include the School to Prison Pipeline and its link to functional illiteracy, the militarization of schools and students, and criminalization of families.

Join Sarah and Stephanie as they discuss the criminalization of Black students in schools.  Topics discussed include microaggressions and the messages they send and the adultification of Black students and the dangerous impacts it has on their lives.  This is part one of a two part discussion.

Join Sarah and Stephanie as they discuss the presence of police officers and SROs in schools.  Topics discussed include their roles and training, common claims made in favor of having police in schools, and the serious impacts their presence can have on students.

Stephanie and Sarah discuss the lack of teacher diversity and its effects on students.  Though our classrooms are becoming more diverse, our teaching staff is becoming less diverse.  Topics include systemic racism, antiracism, standardization of children, teacher preparation, and the role of schools in a "democratic" society.  If we live in a diverse society, shouldn't our schools (and their leaders) be a reflection of this diversity?  

*This episode was originally recorded in September 2019*

We're back!  After a dissertation-induced hiatus, Stephanie and Sarah return to discuss how COVID-19 is impacting education.  Topics include issues of equity, special education and FAPE, and if/how we should return to school buildings.  Will we be able to return to what was, and if we can, should we?

This week, Sarah and Stephanie continue their series on racism and public education as they discuss aspects of the New Deal that legislated racist housing discrimination which had detrimental effects on public school funding.  The redlining of neighborhoods led to white flight and maintained racially segregated neighborhoods and schools.  The aftermath of these policies is being felt to this day within communities and their schools.  Issues with school funding formulas and the lack of IDEA funding are also discussed.

Relevant resources include:

Covert, B. (2014, August 14). The Racist Housing Policies That Helped Fuel the Anger in Ferguson. Retrieved from ThinkProgress: http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/08/14/3471237/ferguson-housing-segregation/

Gross, T. (Host). (2015, May 14). Historian Says Don't 'Sanitize' How Our Government Created Ghettos [Radio broadcast episode]. https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=406699264

Kantor, H., & Lowe, R. (2006). From New Deal to No Deal: No Child Left Behind and the Devolution of Responsibility for Equal Opportunity. Harvard Educational Review, 474-502.

Madrigal, A.C. (2014, May 22). The Racist Housing Policy That Made Your Neighborhood. Retrieved from The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/05/the-racist-housing-policy-that-made-your-neighborhood/371439/

https://www.racepowerofanillusion.org

Episode 2 of The Angry Educators Podcast includes discussion about racial over-representation in special education, factors contributing to the over-representation, and potential approaches to addressing this civil rights issue.

Turn the volume all the way up after the intro- the audio is a bit quieter than we expected.  It will be better next episode!  

Welcome to the first episode of The Angry Educators Podcast.  This week, we introduce ourselves, explain our reasons for starting this podcast, and have a discussion about various issues that are impacting public education.