ClassCast Podcast Ep.032 features college admissions expert and Princeton College Consulting co-founder Benjamin Caldarelli speaking with host Ryan Tibbens about higher education, helping students prepare for the admissions process, improving schools, and how to better serve both students and our communities. As a former English professor and current admissions advisor/entrepreneur, Benjamin offers insights into the "education space" that few students, parents, teachers, or professors fully understand because most people don't see the many angles that he has experienced. This episode includes discussions about adjunct faculty and tenure, developing the "whole student," cultural support of public education, and more.  Enjoy this episode, learn from Mr. Caldarelli's insights, and think about how his ideas could improve the schools around you. 

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This clip from ClassCast Podcast Ep.032 features host and tutor Ryan Tibbens speaking with college admissions expert and Princeton College Consulting co-founder Benjamin Caldarelli about the college application process, the significance of good essays and letters of recommendation, holistic evaluations, and pandemic-related changes in the process, including schools going "test optional." This highlight offers both insights into the admissions process itself AND useful advice and ideas to help students who will be applying to college soon. 

As always, don't forget to like, follow, subscribe, share, and leave a comment! 

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In this clip from ClassCast Podcast Ep.032, college admissions expert Benjamin Caldarelli describes his ideal school, how to create a better school environment, and how pandemic-related pressures might ultimately change higher education. "What's your ideal school?" is a standard question included in all ClassCast Podcasts, but it only occasionally generates a highlight clip; in this case, Benjamin addresses students' needs before school design, offers concrete examples of his vision, and then transitions into how COVID-19 might force higher education to evolve in the coming years. For those interested in how higher education could better serve students or what the future may hold, this clip is not to be missed. 

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In this clip from ClassCast Podcast Ep.032, co-founder of Princeton College Consulting Benjamin Caldarelli and host Ryan Tibbens discuss the pressures that students face, pressures from grades and college admissions, and how those feelings can inhibit learning and derail education. Both speakers agree that many people's grades-above-all mentality is counterproductive -- it does not increase learning, personal development, nor chances college acceptance. Listen to this clip and learn more about how grading could change in ways that would ultimately improve students' learning, intrinsic motivation, and purpose. 

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ClassCast Podcast Ep.031 features Camryn Thompson, a rising senior at Duke University and a former student of host Ryan Tibbens.  As a brilliant young black woman who grew up in a globally diverse, yet majority white, wealthy suburb, Camryn offers insights and suggestions to improve schools that are informed by both academic studies and personal experience.  Currently working through the medical school application process, Ms. Thompson has begun dedicating more of her personal time to activism and is involved in the Black Lives Matter movement.  In this discussion with her former English teacher, she advocates for anti-racism through improved public relations, hiring, staff accountability, classroom discussions, and compensation so that our schools can truly serve all Americans equitably. 

** DISCLAIMER -- This episode contains honest, open discussions about race, racism, and bias in schools. Both Camryn Thompson and host Ryan Tibbens engaged in this discourse to share perspectives and learn. For those listening with a more critical ear (or predisposition to cancel culture/virtue signalling), please extend a little grace.  We're all trying to get better.  Also, as a teacher, I have referred to professional experiences that have occurred in six different schools and with a wide variety of coworkers; I do not intend to disparage any person or institution, nor do I intend to speak on "out of place" or on behalf of my employer. I am solely responsible for my views.  At a few points in this discussion, specific names are obscured so that listeners focus on the broader issues rather than individual schools or people involved in the situations.  If you have a suggestion or question about content in this episode, you can contact ClassCast Podcast directly via readthinkwritespeak@yahoo.com. 

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The first highlight clip from ClassCast Podcast Ep.031 features Duke University senior Camryn Thompson speaking with host Ryan Tibbens, her former English teacher, about racism (and, more importantly, anti-racism) in schools. As a young black woman, Camryn reflects on her own experiences with explicit and implicit racism and what we can do to make schools more inclusive and productive for all students. This clip sets up the discussions that follow throughout the remainder of the episode. 

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 In this clip from ClassCast Podcast Ep.031, Camryn Thompson addresses the impacts of implicit racial biases and microaggressions in schools. Speaking with her former English teacher, she details personal experiences and shared anecdotes in which students were (intentionally or unintentionally) made to feel different, excluded, or less  capable than their peers. Host Ryan Tibbens suggests that the cumulative effects of these unintentional expressions of implicit or subconscious bias may actually be more damaging to many students than the more overt, explicit acts that school staffs tend to focus upon. The two then discuss how school leadership should respond and promote anti-racist culture. 
 

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In this clip from ClassCast Podcast Ep.031, future doctor Camryn Thompson talks with host Ryan Tibbens about how student participation and direction might improve staff equity/race training, school committees, and new anti-racist measures in schools. Essentially, Camryn picks up a thread that has connected several episodes of the ClassCast Podcast -- if we're serious about student efficacy and empowerment, then they must be involved in the decision-making process.  In this segment, Thompson and Tibbens discuss how including students, particularly students of color, in school-wide race and equity activities might improve inclusion, participation, and effectiveness. 

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​In this highlight clip from ClassCast Podcast Ep.031, student and Black Lives Matter activist Camryn Thompson shares her thoughts on the importance of racially diverse school faculties as well as how to increase racial diversity without resorting to quotas or altered expectations. Among her many thoughtful suggestions is how improved teacher compensation could help to attract the best talent from a variety of racial and ethnic groups, ultimately improving the quality of education and job satisfaction for teachers. While "pay teachers more" is a common (but not always productive) strategy, Camryn makes a logical and passionate argument for why educators are deserving of more pay and prestige, and how those improvements could yield faculties more representative of (and effective with) their student bodies.

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ClassCast Podcast Ep.030 features Leleda Beraki, an incredibly intelligent and focused member of the high school Class of 2020, discussing her high school experience, her reflections on the pandemic closure/online learning, how to improve school, and how honest discourse can help resolve racism in school and society.  As she prepares to enroll at Yale in the fall, Leleda has given serious thought to school's shortcomings and the social struggles we must all work to correct.  At the end, Leleda shares her unofficial graduation address -- it was not selected for her school's virtual graduation ceremony, but it includes serious and determined tones that beautifully represent the world in 2020.  

Also, to be sure to check out www.instagram.com/Advice4Action. Leleda and other members of the college Class of 2024, all of whom are entering "elite" or more selective institutions, are banding together in a new form of advocacy and activism. The brilliant young people are offering help with college admissions to other young people in exchange for donations to Black Lives Matter and related charities, attending rallies/protests, promoting local events, reading race-related books, and making promises to raise awareness.  If you know students in need of free/cheap college admissions help, they can get that help by supporting the BLM cause.  Check out their IG page; a new website will follow soon. 

Be sure to like, follow, share, and comment to let us know what you think and help boost ClassCast's reach. If you listen on a platform that supports reviews, we would appreciate some positive comments! 

** DISCLAIMER -- This episode contains honest, open discussions about race, racism, and bias in schools. Both Leleda Beraki and host Ryan Tibbens engaged in this discourse to share perspectives and learn. As the host, as a white male with my upbringing, I assume there are plenty of flawed statements in this discussion, but the only thing that's clear to me after recording is that I talked a little too much.  Also, as a teacher, I have referred to professional experiences that have occurred in six different schools and with a wide variety of coworkers; I do not intend to disparage any person or institution, nor do I intend to speak "out of place" or on behalf of my employer.  I am solely responsible for my views.  For those listening with a more critical ear (or predisposition to cancel culture/virtue signalling), please extend a little grace.  We're all trying to get better.  If you have a suggestion or question about content in this episode, you can email ClassCast Podcast directly. 


Support the show (http://paypal.me/TibbensEST)!

In this clip from ClassCast Podcast Ep.030, Leleda Beraki talks about her recent experiences as a member of the high school Class of 2020. She addresses her hopes and concerns as she prepares to enroll at Yale in the fall; her memories, concerns, and observations of distance learning at the end of her senior year; and how pandemic responses and shifts to online schooling revealed serious problems with students' educational motivations. 

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In this highlight clip from ClassCast Podcast Ep.030, recent high school graduate Leleda Beraki shares her experience visiting an unschooling/independent learning center, thoughts about public school requirements, desires for more student choice, and visions of what would be her ideal school. Increased student participation in policy and administrative decisions has become an unintentional theme in this podcast, and this discussion fits right in -- Leleda is the youngest guest so far on the ClassCast Podcast and offers the freshest, most clear representation of what high school students want. 

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In this highlight clip from ClassCast Podcast Ep.030, recent high school graduate and future Yale student Leleda Beraki talks with host Ryan Tibbens about race and racism in schools, in society, and how honest, purposeful discussion offers a path to a more just and equitable world. Ryan Tibbens was Leleda's teacher in Advanced Placement English Language and Composition and served as his teacher's assistant during her senior year, so they know each other well and have engaged in conversations about race many times in the past, both in and out of class. In this clip, Leleda offers criticisms and suggestions for how schools can do better, and Ryan explains his decision-making when teaching classes that focus on rhetoric, justice, and equity.

** DISCLAIMER -- This episode contains honest, open discussions about race, racism, and bias in schools. Both Leleda Beraki and host Ryan Tibbens engaged in this discourse to share perspectives and learn. As the host, as a white male with my upbringing, I assume there are plenty of flawed statements in this discussion, but the only thing that's clear to me after recording is that I talked a little too much.  Also, as a teacher, I have referred to professional experiences that have occurred in six different schools and with a wide variety of coworkers; I do not intend to disparage any person or institution, nor do I intend to speak "out of place" or on behalf of my employer.  I am solely responsible for my views.  For those listening with a more critical ear (or predisposition to cancel culture/virtue signalling), please extend a little grace.  We're all trying to get better.  If you have a suggestion or question about content in this episode, you can contact ClassCast Podcast directly via readthinkwritespeak@yahoo.com.

Support the show (http://paypal.me/TibbensEST)!

In this clip from ClassCast Podcast Ep.030, guest Leleda Beraki shares her experiences growing up, moving, and adapting to new cultures. Leleda was born in Eritrea, a small African nation, and moved to the United States during elementary school. Because of her family's experiences on two continents and in several cultures, she explains how she has come to understand racism and how her family's views may vary from those of black people born in the United States. 

Support the show (http://paypal.me/TibbensEST)!

In this quick clip from ClassCast Podcast Ep.030, Leleda Beraki presents her unofficial commencement address, reflecting upon challenges and opportunities facing members of the Class of 2020. Leleda tried out to be graduation speaker, and though her speech was good, competition was stiff; the main graduation speaker did an excellent job. However, host Ryan Tibbens was on that selection committee, so he knew Leleda's speech was also great and offered her the opportunity to share it at the end of the podcast. While it may be more serious than most graduation speeches, it is also real, sincere, and, ultimately, hopeful. 

Support the show (http://paypal.me/TibbensEST)!