The Education Gadfly Show

Michelle and Dara may not be mean girls, but they do take a critical eye to funding disparities between charter and traditional public schools, higher-than-ever graduation rates, and whether it really is “teachers versus the public.” Amber wants us all to get along (and exhibit other noncognitive skills).

Mike and Victoria, our resident British-American, take Shakespeare’s birthday as an opportunity to discuss the place humanities has in K–12 education. They also tackle inBloom’s demise and the NCAA’s smack down of online-learning giant K12. Dara considers what happens when landmark education reforms actually hit the ground.

Dara and Brickman enthuse about early-talent identification programs, rue Indiana’s subpar state standards, and wonder how much is too much to pay superintendents. Amber finds little to no connection between a popular pre-K quality measure and pupil outcomes.

Mike and Michelle discuss the “opt-out outrage,” good news from Kansas, and hope for the quagmire that is the United States Congress. Amber has the goods on exactly how generous public pension plans are.

Mike and Dara explain the de Blasio–Cuomo deal, the difficulties of studying high flyers, and what it takes to be cool in school. Amber thinks the new PISA data on creative problem solving are just a touch too creative.

Mike and Michelle acknowledge that school board members, for better and sometimes worse, affect student outcomes in their districts. But they don’t have to accept the misleading headlines on Indiana’s standards debacle (a case study in the hazards of politicization if there ever was one), nor must they wholeheartedly back Arizona’s ESA program. Amber wonders if high-flyers maintain their altitude—and has déjà vu all over again.

Mike and Brickman consider whether “college for all” is the right goal, whether a competitive assessment marketplace will be good for Common Core implementation in the long run, and whether Wyoming is better off without the Next Generation Science Standards. Amber drops a line about online learning.

Mike and Leo Casey of the Shanker Institute prepare to duke it out over New York’s charter school debate, education finance, and whether positive school trends mean reform is unnecessary—but end up with surprisingly similar conclusions. After studying the effects of birth order, Amber is surprised that anyone on the show (younger siblings all) can string a sentence together.

Mike and Dara “Let It Go” with student free speech, Obama’s federal budget request, and Louisiana’s CTE revamp. Amber confirms the obvious: location matters to prospective teachers.

Dara’s taste in TV shows is questionable, but her ed-policy knowledge is not. She and Michelle dish on Common Core implementation, student-data privacy, and marketing in schools. Amber gets pensive about pensions.

Mike dishes out fashion advice, while Brickman talks Common Core, 50CAN’s education-reform polling, and the work ethic. Amber tells us what the Kalamazoo is happening in Kalamazoo.

Over tea and crumpets, Lady Victoria Sears and Sir Michael Petrilli banter lightly about the politics of Downton Abbey—then get down the brass tacks on the New York Board of Regents’ confused Common Core messaging, school discipline, and the democratization of Advanced Placement classes. Stepping in for Amber in the Research Minute segment, Dara chooses choice!

Mike welcomes Ohio's Chad to the podcast to disparage teacher tenure, anguish over the charter assault in Gotham, and debate the realities for charter schools in rural areas. Amber finds value in growth measures.

Michelle and Brickman take over the podcast, discussing “controlled choice” (and declaring their allegiances to either #TeamMike or #TeamChecker), Sen. Lamar Alexander’s school-choice legislation, and teacher-protection laws in California. Amber reads into English-language-arts instruction.

Kathleen and Mike talk Richard Sherman–level smack in this special video edition of the podcast. They tackle Core Knowledge, Rick Hess’s nasty-gram, and Florida’s Common Core two-step. Amber measures teacher-performance trajectories.