Why Geoffrey Canada is wrong: Defending schools as democratic spaces

Why Geoffrey Canada is wrong: Defending schools as democratic spaces

Author: Ethical Schools April 1, 2022 Duration: 55:01
We speak with Dr. Brian Jones, director of the New York Public Library’s Center for Educators and Schools, which provides all sorts of free resources to teachers and school administrators. Public schools, for all their flaws, are centers of power and potential for teachers and parents. As a historian, Dr. Jones draws parallels between Booker T.  Washington and Geoffrey Canada of the Harlem Children’s Zone. In the aftermath of civil rights struggles, both accommodated the powerful and opposed collective efforts for systemic change.  Overview  00:00-00:47 Intros 00:47-03:55 Corporate school reforms vs. unions 03:55-09:04 Corporate reforms: who wins, who loses; public schools as a place where everyone is entitled to services  09:04-11:57 School choice and neighborhoods; collective vs. individual change 11:57-19:38 Democratic and Republican support for charters and choice 19:38-23:07 Complicated history of schools and neighborhoods 23:07-24:41 Historical Black leadership in fight for public schools 24:41-30:21 Efforts to separate racial justice from economic justice 30:21-41:47 Booker T. Washington and Geoffrey Canada 41:47-45:46 Implementation of progressive steps: keeping the redistributive potential 45:46-50:51 Jean Anyon 50:51- Outro Transcript Click here to see the full transcript of this episode. 

Conversations about education often focus on test scores and curriculum, but there’s a deeper layer that truly shapes a student’s experience. Ethical Schools digs into that layer, exploring what it means to build a learning community grounded in integrity and care. Each week, hosts Amy and Jon sit down with educators and innovators who are actively reimagining schools. You’ll hear specific, grounded discussions about the practical work of creating environments where every student feels safe and respected. The dialogue frequently addresses how to support young people dealing with trauma, moving beyond theory to share actionable strategies that teachers are using right now. More than just problem-solving, this podcast highlights how to empower students themselves to become advocates and changemakers in their own communities. It’s a series that connects philosophy with daily practice, looking at the social and cultural structures within schools through a lens of ethics. For anyone invested in the future of education-whether you’re a teacher, administrator, or simply a concerned community member-this podcast offers a thoughtful and necessary perspective on the foundational values that make education meaningful.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

Ethical Schools
Podcast Episodes
The “Name Game”: racialization in a suburban high school (Encore) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:53
Drs. Tony de Jesus, Anthony Johnston, and Don Siler of University of St. Joseph recount their intervention in a multiracial high school in crisis. White students had instigated a “game” of addressing Black students as th…
What Would YOU Do? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:55
Today we’re here to invite you to watch our new video podcast series “What Would YOU do?”. Created in partnership with EdEthics of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, each episode includes a dramatization of an eth…
Solving teacher shortages: It’s not just pay [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:00
Drs. Katherine Norris and Kathryn Wiley, colleagues at Howard University’s School of Education, speak about obstacles to recruiting and retaining teachers and increasing diversity. Money matters, but even more, so does e…
Opening up: Recreating schools as a community [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:00
Drs. Landon Mascareñaz and Doannie Tran, co-authors of “The Open System: Redesigning Education and Reigniting Democracy,” talk about co-creating and co-producing school initiatives with parents and community members. “Op…
Surveillance in school: Invasive technology, junk science [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:00
We speak with Albert Fox Cahn and Sarah Roth of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, or S.T.O.P., about the increasing use of surveillance technology to track students. Claiming their technology can predict who…
Inquiry and interpretation: Learning US history from primary sources [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:15
We speak with Lee Schere, Director of Teaching and Learning at the Office of K-16 Initiatives of CUNY about the Debating U.S. History Program, an inquiry-based curriculum and teacher learning program. Students learn that…
School district battles: Protecting education from bans [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:50
We speak with Mike Gottesman, founder of New Jersey Public Education Coalition (NJPEC), a grassroots organization that educates and activates NJ citizens in school districts to protect the integrity of schools from conse…