Season 2 Trailer - What is CRT and Why It Matters Now More than Ever

In Season 2 we are talking about Critical Race Theory, also known as CRT - what it is and why it has become such a politicized hot-button issue.

We’re also exploring Culturally Responsive Teaching and equity in education. 

Just like in Season 1 we reached out to education experts from all walks of life and asked them to share their insights with all of you.

Transcript

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Sam:
[0:15] In season two we're talking about critical race Theory also known as CR t-- what it is and why it has become such a politicized hot-button issue.

Raven:
[0:25] We're also exploring culturally responsive teaching and equity in education.

Nathan:
[0:30] Just like in season one we reached out to education experts from all walks of life and ask them to share their insights with all of you thanks for listening.

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Raven:
[0:48] This season we focused our conversations around a few guiding questions we're going to share a bit of the background and context for these questions the first guided question is what is critical race Theory.

Nathan:
[1:02] So in 1998 Gloria ladson-billings wrote this essay called just what is critical race Theory and what's it doing in a nice field like education,
she took the tenants of a legal Theory called critical race Theory and applied them to thinking about education now had no point did she say that critical race Theory should be taught in elementary middle or high schools.
Gloria ladson-billings politely declined to be on this podcast.

Sam:
[1:31] On April 27th 2021 conservative activists and documentarian Christopher rufo released in 11-part investigative series on what he called political indoctrination in American schools
a one-hour special on his work on Tucker Carlson tonight sparked a national political Wildfire around CRT in schools.
Christopher rufo also politely declined to be on this podcast the second guiding question,
what is culturally responsive teaching.

Raven:
[2:06] Culturally responsive teaching is a pedagogy that recognizes the importance of including students cultural references in all aspects of learning,
some characteristics of culturally responsive teaching include learning within the context of culture reshaping the curriculum.
And positive perspectives on parents families and communities simply put culturally responsive teaching should include issues and topics related to students backgrounds and culture.

Nathan:
[2:37] Paulo Freire a argued that students must be educated about their oppression in order to attain critical Consciousness or the ability to see and understand the power structures within which they live.
The California Department of Education recently voted to adopt a new ethnic studies curriculum that advocates for decolonizing American society.
Conservative critics of the curriculum argue that under the guise of equity and empowerment,
this curriculum would turn schools into factories for left-wing political activism.
Our third guiding question is what are the politics of zrt in the.

Sam:
[3:18] In the last year more than 22 states have proposed laws to ban critical race Theory and any curriculum which discusses subjects related to racial Equity the history of racism and the concept of privilege.
Five states have signed these laws including Idaho where lawmakers have said that critical race Theory tries to make kids feel bad.
On the other side a group of New York Times writers have argued that these laws threaten the basic purpose of a historical education in a liberal democracy.

Raven:
[3:51] Kimberle Crenshaw describes CR t-- as a way of looking at why after so many decades centuries actually since the Emancipation we have patterns of inequality that are enduring,
Ted Cruz claim that critical race Theory says every white person is racist but CRT theorist explicitly state that CR t-- isn't about individuals,
instead it's about structural disadvantage and the historical events that lead to inequality as it exists today.
In that same vein Chicago Public Schools announced in September that it would use Nicole Hanna Jones's 1619 project in history classrooms to highlight how America's past has influenced the present.

Nathan:
[4:34] As we mentioned CRT has become a contentious issue and everyone is entitled to their own opinions about CR t-- in education.
But before you make up your mind we invite you to engage with us this season as we discuss with people who have spent years studying teaching and learning about CR t--
To the three of us on this podcast it seems clear that there at least needs to be a space to talk about race and racism in the,
and this season we hope to dig into the reasons why.

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Nathan:
[5:20] We can't wait to share all the guests on our show this season but we wanted to give you a little teaser of a few of the guests and episodes that were particularly excited about.

Raven:
[5:32] I'm really ready for all of you to hear our episode with Elena Silva and Jasmine Owens from the Ed policy team at new America
they'll be decoding some of the messy language around the CRT debate to get to what's really happening with critical race theory in schools and in state legislation.

Nathan:
[5:51] I'm super excited for the episode with dr. Catherine page hardened from the University of Texas Austin discussing her new book the genetic Lottery why dna matters for social equality.
Paige gives this Whirlwind introduction to genetics research that went completely over my head,
but then she brought me back in by quickly drawing this Line in the Sand and justifying the vital importance of genetics in education research,
and then she talked about the impact this will have on Equity driven interventions that we design in the future.

Sam:
[6:25] Wow I'm excited for a lot of the episodes this season but I wanted to tell you guys about the upcoming episode with dr. David rozas he's an assistant principal at the castle Bridge School in the Bronx
David and I are going to discuss the role of critical race theory in the classroom from the perspective of a teacher and administrator who is listening to students and families and their thoughts and opinions about this issue every day.
David does a nice job of Bridging the Divide between the academic research on this issue and the on-the-ground experience the teachers have and he can speak to why race really matters in the classroom
we're also going to dive into the impact that the legislation that bans critical race theory in the classroom actually has on students and teachers.

Raven:
[7:12] Plus we're introducing a brand new segment to the podcast this season called Data town.

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Raven:
[7:28] It's our newest segment where we look at what the data says about the current state of education will share a chart table or data set related to whatever we're talking about in that episode to add concrete details to our discussion.

Nathan:
[7:45] That brings us to the end of today's trailer and we can't wait for you to join us this season.

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Raven:
[7:50] Don't forget to join us on Reddit or Twitter and tell us what you think about each episode.

Sam:
[7:57] To learn more about the upcoming season and to find out how to support the podcast visit learning machine podcast.com.

Nathan:
[8:05] Thank you to all those who teach listen and learn see you next time.