Episode 8

EPISODE 8 – DRESS CODES AND SCHOOL UNIFORMS

We cap the end of our first season of All of the Above with a panel discussion about the never-ending debate over dress codes and school uniforms. The episode begins with quick headlines from the world of education, including a look at how a wave of lawsuits in state courts are fighting for equity in education. We have a special guest for our Show and Tell to discuss the problematic narratives around attending junior college, and Jeff finishes the episode with an assessment of the conflicting ways we talk about how our schools are performing. Stay tuned for season two, which will bring a leaner and meaner format as well as a new segment featuring students. Subscribe now so that you don’t miss out!

Episode 8 Audio Podcast

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Episode 8 Highlights

SHOW AND TELL - EP. 8

We have our third guest contributor for “Show and Tell!” Consuelo Martinez, a current senior at UCLA, brings in her junior college graduation cap to illustrate the difficult road she had to take to make it to a top tier four-year university. Narratives around junior college make it difficult for high school students to embrace and be proud of attending them. Consuelo reflects on how teachers and peers quietly shamed her for her choice to go straight to a junior college from high school, which is a choice that turned out to be the right path for her. Apologies for the audio quality—we foolishly thought we could record this segment without our student interns around to help us out!

ASSESSMENT - EP. 8

For our “Assessment,” Jeff examines the contradictory messages and narratives around how our schools are performing. With graduation rates higher than ever and progress on assessments like the NAEP holding steady, why are so many voices both in and out of education saying that our schools are failing? Jeff analyzes the multiple angles from which proponents and opponents of American public schools base their arguments and draws a line back to the pivotal Nation at Risk report, which in many ways established our current belief that schools are a complete mess.

SEMINAR DISCUSSION - EP. 8

This episode we’re joined by Elana “E.M.” Eisen-Markowitz for a discussion about school uniforms, dress codes, and dress code enforcement. E.M. serves as a restorative justice coordinator and high school teacher in New York City and she recently co-wrote a chapter in the book Lift Us Up, Don't Push Us Out! Voices From the Front Lines of the Educational Justice Movement By Beacon Press. Today she visits our set to help us examine the challenges inherent in the use of dress codes and school uniforms in American public schools.

Episode 8 Extra

EPISODE 8 EXTRA: ONE-ON-ONE WITH E.M.

Jeff sits down with Elana “E.M.” Eisen-Markowitz to learn more about her work in the fight for educational justice. E.M. serves as a restorative justice coordinator and high school teacher in New York City and she recently co-wrote a chapter in the book Lift Us Up, Don't Push Us Out! Voices From the Front Lines of the Educational Justice Movement By Beacon Press.