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Commentary and OpinionCoronavirus / COVID-19CustomizationEducation and Public PolicyEducation ChoiceEducation EquityFeaturedParental ChoicePodcastSchool Choice

podcastED: SUFS president Doug Tuthill interviews education choice advocate Derrell Bradford: Part 1

redefinED staff
redefinED staff

In the first of a two-part conversation, Tuthill talks with the charismatic executive vice president of 50CAN, a national advocacy organization that supports education choice policies on a state-by-state basis.

Bradford’s straightforward analysis of complex education issues has earned him a sterling reputation in the education choice world, but his advocacy is personal. He recalls on the podcast a conversation between his mother and grandmother when he was growing up in southwest Baltimore about their decision to send him to a middle school out of his neighborhood zone to improve his educational outcome.

He also discusses two of his new policy papers – Fund Everything and Measure Everything – co-authored with 50CAN founder Marc Porter Magee. Inspired in part by the wide support for direct universal government assistance in the wake of COVID-19, the papers explain how to structure that support to solve a plethora of education problems that existed long before the pandemic.

“Parents and kids are trying to solve problems that are emergent … or created because a (school district) doesn’t want to play ball … What would you do if you were that parent that needed to solve that problem? The fundamental precondition has got to be a right to choose.”

EPISODE DETAILS:

·       Bradford’s education roots and his realization that education choice shaped his future

·       How 50CAN adapts its policy support based on each state’s landscape and political dynamics

·       What Bradford aims to accomplish with the Fund Everything and Measure Everything policy papers

·       How to pay and reward teachers in a Fund Everything education landscape

LINKS MENTIONED:

Fund Everything – Emergency Education Investments in a National Crisis (Direct PDF link)

Measure Everything – Emergency Data Collection in a National Crisis (Direct PDF link)

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Commentary and OpinionCoronavirus / COVID-19Course ChoiceCustomizationEducation ChoiceFeaturedParental ChoicePodcastPublic School ChoiceSchool ChoiceTechnology and InnovationVirtual Education

revisitED: SUFS president Doug Tuthill follows up with Florida Virtual School president and CEO Louis Algaze

redefinED staff
redefinED staff

On this episode, Tuthill catches up with the educational leader who became FLVS’ president and CEO in July 2019. Since the two last spoke in May, Florida’s fully accredited online public school district has seen an increase of 3,700 students and now fulfills more than 200,000 part-time flexible course requests statewide and beyond.

Tuthill and Algaze discuss what has worked thus far for FLVS as well as improvement opportunities that will allow the school to continue providing virtual instruction for the great number of families who want it. Algaze also reflects on his surprise at the last-minute jump in the number of families interested in virtual classes even after school districts reopened with in-person instruction.

“It is all about choice. Wherever parents want to put their kids is what we are trying to help accommodate.”

EPISODE DETAILS:

·       How FLVS’ rapid expansion in the wake of COVID-19 is progressing so far

·       What FLVS staff members are hearing from families about online learning experiences

·       How FLVS’ competency-based model is being incorporated into the more rigid district education model and what that could mean for the future

·       How FLVS is focusing on developing instructional materials for school districts so they can fluidly serve students moving back and forth from virtual to in-person learning

LINK MENTIONED:

Florida Virtual School Online Learning and Training Community

To hear Tuthill’s earlier podcast with Algaze, click here.

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Catholic SchoolsCommentary and OpinionCustomizationEducation and Public PolicyEducation ChoiceEducation Savings AccountsEducator VoicesFeaturedParental ChoicePodcastReligious EducationSchool ChoiceTechnology and Innovation

podcastED: SUFS president Doug Tuthill interviews leaders of Miami Catholic Virtual School

redefinED staff
redefinED staff

On this episode, Tuthill talks with Archdiocese of Miami Catholic Virtual School principal Rebeca Bautista, left, and coordinator of special programs Marcey Ayers. The online school is the only Catholic virtual school in the country run by an Archdiocese – a Catholic version of the well-known Florida Virtual School, which provides a robust curriculum to public, private, charter and homeschool families and school districts nationwide.

The three discuss why the school was created and how it enhances existing curriculum options for Catholic families nationwide –as far flung as Alaska. While Bautista and Ayers say flexibility has been the key driver of their success, they agree more flexibility is needed, perhaps through an expansion of education scholarship accounts that would allow families greater customization of their children’s education.

“Before (the pandemic) there was a misconception of what virtual education was, that it was easier or not legitimate … Now parents and schools are realizing virtual education can help students and schools grow …. It’s going to bring virtual to the forefront.”

EPISODE DETAILS:

How “partner schools” can augment their existing offerings with Archdiocese of Miami Catholic Virtual School’s platform and curriculum

How teaching in a competency-based system has allowed the school to better meet student needs

Catholic schools on the creative forefront of “unbundling” education

Legislation changes necessary to bring more customization and flexibility to families

LINKS MENTIONED:

RedefinED: Catholic Virtual School Offers Options to Families Seeking Online Faith-Based Education

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Commentary and OpinionCustomizationEducation ChoiceEducation ResearchFeaturedHomeschoolingParental ChoicePodcastSchool ChoiceTechnology and Innovation

podcastED: SUFS president Doug Tuthill interviews educator, researcher and author Gina Riley

redefinED staff
redefinED staff

On this episode, Tuthill talks with Riley, clinical professor of adolescent special education at Hunter College, about “learning through living.” Author of “Unschooling: Exploring Learning Beyond the Classroom,” Riley has direct experience with the topic, having been a 20-year-old self-determined mother who raised her son using this discipline.

Since then, she has become internationally known for her work in the fields of homeschooling, unschooling and self-directed learning, conducting extensive research on these topics. (See here, here and here.)

 Tuthill and Riley discuss how interest in self-directed learning and intrinsic motivation is growing during the pandemic. Both believe the trend will continue as more families find value in a different approach to education, especially as technology continues to alter the way education works and looks.

 “Unschoolers are so good at learning how to learn. If they don’t know something or haven’t come across something … they know how to learn it, they learn how to do it.”

 EPISODE DETAILS:

·       The history of unschooling and how it differs from homeschooling

·       Research on unschooling outcomes and opinions on the model from parents and children who have participated

·       Criticism of children “not knowing” what they need to learn and the non-linear nature of learning

·       The possibility of making the benefits of unschooling available in a top-down model like a school district

 LINKS MENTIONED:

Unschooling: Exploring Learning Beyond the Classroom

Research – The challenges and benefits of unschooling

Research – Grown unschoolers’ evaluation of their unschooling experience

Research – Grown unschoolers’ experience with higher education and employment

Living by Learning Podcast

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Commentary and OpinionCourse ChoiceCustomizationEducation ChoiceEducation ResearchFeaturedFundingParental ChoicePodcastSchool Choice

podcastED: SUFS president Doug Tuthill interviews East Carolina University’s Kevin Currie-Knight: (Part 2)

redefinED staff
redefinED staff

In the second of a two-part discussion, Tuthill talks with a teaching assistant professor and leading thinker on “unschooling,” or self-directed learning. Tuthill and Currie-Knight discuss the public education marketplace and the dichotomy between choice opponents’ growing concern about monopolies from companies such as Google and Amazon while ignoring the lack of innovation that occurs in public education, a monopoly of its own capturing 90% of America’s students.

Currie-Knight notes that the largest disparities among groups occur in the legal and education systems. Yet for all the attention progressives pay to revolutionizing the legal system, he points out, they appear unwilling to acknowledge the need for revolution within the country’s education system.

“We’ve waited long enough for government to prove to us they can desegregate schools … if we give (families) the option of disconnecting their school from their ZIP code, there’s every reason to think we’ll get more integration in schools.”

EPISODE DETAILS:

·       The history of public-school funding and how funding has created a marketplace where the supplier controls most of the consumer spending

·       How efficient markets drive innovation and why public education is not an efficient market

·       The pernicious myth leveled by choice opponents that choice is intended as a vehicle for segregation, ignoring the rich history of choice support from the left

·       The conflict of interest of government-funded schools teaching children about the government

LINKS MENTIONED

Living by Learning Podcast

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Commentary and OpinionCourse ChoiceCustomizationEducation ChoiceEducation ResearchFeaturedPodcastSchool Choice

podcastED: SUFS president Doug Tuthill interviews ‘unschooling’ expert Kevin Currie-Knight: Part 1

redefinED staff
redefinED staff

In the first of a two-part discussion, Tuthill speaks with a premier thought leader on self-directed learning, also known as ‘unschooling.’ Currie-Knight, a teaching assistant professor at East Carolina University’s College of Education, supports education based on intrinsic motivation, or learning based on a child’s interests, which differs from more traditional education based on extrinsic motivation centering on grades and transcripts.

Tuthill and Currie-Knight discuss Currie-Knight’s work with Pathfinder Community School, a learning environment in which children self-direct their instruction. They also discuss how unschooling often is dismissed as a privilege of the rich, an irony considering the critique most often is leveled by opponents of education choice.

“If you give kids freedom over their learning, expect them to be doing things all the time. At some point they’re going to learn things … People will be surprised at how tenaciously kids learn when they have a reason to.” 

EPISODE DETAILS:

·       Self-directed learning and how kids figure out what they need to know

·       What self-directed learning looks like on a day-to-day basis

·       Changing two century-old perceptions on how children learn

·       How COVID-19 has shifted education perceptions

·       Criticisms of unschooling and their origin

LINKS MENTIONED:

Living by Learning Podcast

Self-Directed Education and the Changing Shape of Knowledge

Agile Learning Centers

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Commentary and OpinionCourtsCustomizationEducation and Public PolicyEducation ChoiceFeaturedPodcastSchool Choice

podcastED: SUFS president Doug Tuthill interviews education choice icon Stephen Sugarman: Part 3

redefinED staff
redefinED staff

Berkeley Law giant Stephen Sugarman, an icon of the education choice movement, speaks about constitutional and regulatory frameworks at a Resnick Program and Harvard Law Lab’s conference in October 2016.

In the last of a three-part podcast series, Tuthill and Berkeley law professor Sugarman discuss the landmark Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue Supreme Court decision.

The June 2020 decision made it clear that a state cannot exclude religious schools from receiving funding from a program created by the state to fund private education. Chief Justice John Roberts clearly echoed Sugarman’s writing in the 5-4 decision.

In Sugarman’s analysis, there is a fundamental disagreement between the judges as to how the Court will continue to resolve the tension between the Free Exercise and Establishment clauses of the Constitution.

“Montana lawyers relied on (their interpretation of) the Blaine Amendment. They said, “not only do we not want to help these Catholic schools, we cannot. … and the Supreme Court said no; the Free Exercise Clause trumps … the Blaine Amendment.”

EPISODE DETAILS:

·       The history behind anti-Catholic sentiment after the Civil War that fueled the adoption of “Blaine Amendments” all over the country

·       How Chief Justice Roberts’ decision in Espinoza echoed Sugarman’s argument for allowing faith-based organizations to operate charter schools

·       Justices Breyer, Thomas and Alito’s writings in the Espinoza decision and the tension among different opinions

·       How America differs from other modern countries that fund K-12-aged religious schools if they meet regulations

·       Charles Glenn’s research suggesting that allowing families to educate their children in schools that reflect their religious faith strengthens the cohesion of democracy

LINKS MENTIONED:

Sugarman – Is it Unconstitutional to Prohibit Faith-Based Schools from Becoming Charter Schools?

Notable SCOTUS education choice decisions – Locke v. Davey

Notable SCOTUS education choice decisions -Trinity Lutheran v. Comer

 Listen to Part 1 of Tuthill’s conversation with Sugarman here.

Listen to Part 2 of Tuthill’s conversation with Sugarman here.

 

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Commentary and OpinionCourtsEducation and Public PolicyEducation ChoiceEducation LegislationFaith-based EducationFeaturedParental ChoicePodcastSchool Choice

PodcastED: SUFS president Doug Tuthill interviews education choice icon Stephen Sugarman: Part 2

redefinED staff
redefinED staff

Berkeley Law professors John C. Coons, left, and Stephen Sugarman, circa 1978.

On this episode, Tuthill continues his conversation with education choice pioneer Stephen Sugarman of Berkeley Law School. The two discuss Sugarman’s 2017 article in the Journal of Law and Religion in which Sugarman argues that prohibiting faith-based schools from becoming charter schools is unconstitutional under the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.

Sugarman’s argument that it’s unconstitutional to exclude faith-based organizations from participating once a state has chosen to fund alternative education options was echoed earlier this year in the landmark Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue. On the podcast, he reviews the history of two notable U.S. Supreme Court cases, Locke v. Davey and Trinity Lutheran v. Comer, and how their precedents laid the groundwork for the Espinoza decision.

“There should be some room (for education choice funding) between what is forbidden by the Establishment Clause and what is required by the Free Exercise Clause. Funding choice (does) not violate the Establishment Clause.

EPISODE DETAILS:

·       Sugarman’s 2017 article on the constitutionality of faith-based charter schools

·       Locke v. Davey and Chief Justice Rehnquist’s explanation of the “play-of-the-joints” between the Establishment and Free Exercise clauses of the Constitution

·       How teacher union hostility toward charter schools has caused the public to mistakenly think they’re private rather than public schools

·       How a faith-based organization can operate a charter school by state policy while continuing to practice religious observances outside of classroom time

LINKS MENTIONED:

Sugarman: Is it unconstitutional to prohibit faith-based schools from becoming charter schools?

podcastED: SUFS President Doug Tuthill interviews education choice icon Stephen Sugarman – Part 1

You can watch Part 1 of Tuthill’s interview with Sugarman here.

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